Founded in 2014, Core Spreads is an FCA licensed online brokerage, owned and operated by Finsa Europe Ltd in the UK. Core Spreads offers low cost platforms for retail clients trading in CFDs and Spread Betting. Setting it apart from many online brokers is the £1 first deposit policy as well as industry leading tight fixed spreads, and streamlined trading platforms resulting in low cost trading. Core Spreads works only with tier-banks and segregates clients’ funds for protection. Maximum leverage is set at 1:200 in line with many brokers in the industry.
Account Features
Unique Loyalty Scheme
Core Spreads operates an ongoing Loyalty Scheme for clients who trade on the proprietary Core Trader platform. Conveniently, when clients open a Core Trader account, they are automatically included in the Loyalty Scheme. We found the scheme simple and transparent, with traders earning ‘Core Points’ on spread trades executed every calendar month, potentially resulting in unconditional loyalty bonuses in the form of cash rebates. To qualify for a loyalty bonus on the following month’s spreads or commissions, the points total must fall within the rebate ladder at the end of the previous month.
Demo Accounts at Core Spreads
Demo accounts are available for both trading platforms, mirroring the functions and features of live accounts on those platforms. Traders interested in opening a demo account can go to ‘Platforms’ on the dashboard of the Core Spreads website and fill in a simple form with name, email and telephone number. Additionally, they must indicate the platform they want to practice on, and they will be given a virtual £10,000 to develop their trading skills by Core Spreads.
We saw that the Core Trader demo account does not have an expiry date and allows traders to keep up to 500 transactions open at the same time. By registering a Core Trader demo account, traders can download the mobile app to mobile devices and trade on the move. Traders choosing the MT4 demo account can download the platform for desktop and mobile trading, on the Core Spreads website or wait for an email explaining exactly how to do the download the software. We think that it’s worth noting that an inactive MT4 demo account expires after 30 days unlike the Core Trader account.
Live Trading Account
Core Spreads offers customers the possibility of opening a live trading account on one of two trading platforms. Unlike most online brokers, there is a nominal £1 minimum deposit requirement to open a trading account at Core Spreads and a £1 minimum trade size.
Trading Software & Assets
At Core Spreads, traders can choose from the proprietary Core Trader platform and mobile app, or the Core MetaTrader 4 platform for desktop and mobile trading. Importantly, the Core Trader platform provides tight fixed spreads whilst the MT4 trading platform provides tight variable spreads. Core Spreads keeps costs to traders down, by providing a simple trading environment without unnecessary ‘extras’. The minimalist platforms allow traders to focus on ‘razor-sharp execution’ and maximising returns.
Core Trader Platform for Spread Betting
The unique Core Trader platform is a proprietary web based trading platform developed for fast, low cost, spread betting on desktop and mobile devices. Clients can trade a broad range of financial instruments with narrow fixed spreads across thousands of markets. Financial instruments include 30 popular Forex currency pairs with spreads just 0.7 pips wide for EUR/USD as well as Commodities, Stocks and Indices. Notably, the Core Trader platform provides a reliable interface that’s easy to use, but no automated trading. Significantly, investors have access to a broad range of risk management tools and advanced market analysis to facilitate informed trade execution. We were pleased to see that traders have access to guaranteed stop-loss, trailing stops, hedging and guaranteed limit orders tools. The Core Trader desktop version is accessible through the desktop browser without download and the mobile app is available free in the App Store for iOS powered devices.
Core MT4 Platform for Trading CFDs
Whilst many online brokers offer the download and app based MetaTrader 4 trading platform, Core Spreads have customised the software making the multi-lingual, MT4 platform more competitive for traders in CFDs. Notably, thevariable spreads are amongst the tightest in the CFDs marketplace and commission charges are especially low at $1.5/lot per side. Moreover, the commission fees remain at this low level irrespective of the volumes traded. Importantly, the Core MT4 trading platform gives clients access to the Auto-Trade functionality and facilitates ‘lighting fast’ executions.
Support Information
Core Spreads provides live English language customer support 24 hours a day, 5 days a week from Sunday 10pm to Friday 10pm. Clients resident within the UK can use the free phone number indicated on the website, whilst investors from outside the UK must pay to call the international number. Alternatively, traders can contact live support on the website interface or send an email for a rapid response.
Banking & Company Information
Core Spreads operates a default zero fees policy for deposits and withdrawals by credit/debit card, Skrill or bank transfer. What’s more, clients are not charged an account inactivity fee in contrast to many online brokers. Nevertheless, deposit fees may be charged in certain situations outlined in the company terms and conditions. Under normal circumstances, withdrawal requests are processed within 24 business hours. However, settlement time depends on the payment method and whether the payments are destined for customers resident within the UK, Europe or outside Europe. A detailed breakdown of payment methods and expected settlement times is available under Deposit and Withdrawal Policy in the ‘Legal Notices’ on the Core Spreads website.