Virtual fx account

Here is an illustration about position finding and position closing operations: for example, if there is a prediction euro to become more expensive than dollar does in some future moment, this means we will prefer buying euro to dollar in the present, so that we will have the ability to sell it at a higher price later.

Real forex bonuses

We will proceed almost in the same way, when EUR will be cheaper than USD, so that we will get some profit in both two cases.
We work through the international finance markets and FOREX making us independent of the incentives to provide to other companies. Hence our loyalties stand by you, our clients. We work through your interests providing suitable solutions to fulfill our vision of 100% client satisfaction.

Virtual fx account

Our vision statement

Our mission statement

The longstanding relationship and trust we build with our clients is the base of the foundation that is virtualfx today. With over 13 years of combined financial experience, our team strives to provides our client with exceptional 24/7 service which is prompt, professional and friendly.

As our clients, your interests are our first and foremost concerns. We do value honesty and ethics which are main aspects for integrity. We hold the trust you place in us with highest regards by guarding your information, providing a work with transparency and paramount confidentiality at virtualfx.

We work through the international finance markets and FOREX making us independent of the incentives to provide to other companies. Hence our loyalties stand by you, our clients. We work through your interests providing suitable solutions to fulfill our vision of 100% client satisfaction.

Our goal is to empower you through your investment towards financial freedom. Several years of experience helped us master concepts in high probability trading platforms like FOREX developing an efficient strategy to produce excellent results. This in turn help you to reach your current needs and pursue your future goals.

Shortly about FOREX trading

FOREX (foreign exchange market) is a sum of selling and buying operations of foreign currencies in defined conditions (sum, exchange rate, time). The main players in the forex marketing are: trading banks, currency exchanges, central banks, investment fund, brokerage companies, private persons, etc.
The main currencies taking part in the forex system are: USD, EUR, JPY, CHF and GBP. The daily volume of conversion operations is about 5 trillion dollars.

The daily operation volume of the biggest banks worldwide amounts to milliards of dollars. Spot-operations or so-called current conventional operations are known as selling or buying currency deals. Their factual implementation is realized on the second day, after the deal is closed.
Thanks to the margin trade, everybody can take part in the process вђ“ even those, who donвђ™t have enough money. Brokers who can suggest marginal trading help insist on a deposit and give customers the possibility to make selling/buying operations in size, much bigger than the deposit they have given to their broker. Loss risks are taken by the clients themselves. The deposit is only a guarantee for the brokers.
Places we can obtain information about the financial markets conditions from are REUTERS, DOW JONES, CQG, BLOOMBERG, TENFORE and so on. They are using real-time systems, giving us data about the currency quotation and financial-economic news from international agencies, as well.

Unlike the real currency delivery operations/the real currency exchange, forex traders, especially those with limited monetary opportunities, are taking part in the process of deposing their money. This means they're taking part in a margin trading/leverage trading). Each margin trading operation always passes through two stages: currency sale/buying process at one price and exit sale/buying process at the same or different price. The first actions is calledвђњposition findingвђќand the second oneвђњposition closingвђќ.

When opening a position, the client deposits his own money. This insurance is like compensation, if there is some risk of loss. After closing a position, the deposit is given back to the client and he gets a loss or profit report вђ“ it depends on the final results he has obtained. In addition, the deposit is often 100 times smaller than the sum that has been invested by the customer.

Explanations:
exchange rate вђ“ this is the price of the currency of a country and its equivalent expressed in another currency while selling/buying process. This price can be defined as a ratio between currency supply and demand and usually regulated by governmentвђ™s financial authority вђ“ central bank.

Types of exchange rates:
direct quotation вђ“ the quantity of a currency that can be bought for one foreign currency unit. Most of the countries has a practice foreign currencies to be expressed in their own one.
Reverse quotation вђ“ the quantity of a foreign currency that can be bought for one national currency unit
FOREX (foreign exchange) вђ“ international currency exchange. It can be met as FX

Major exchanges:
EUR = ECU
USD вђ“ (american dollar)
GBP = STG ( sterling, pound, cable)
CHF = SWF ( swedish franc, swissie)
JPY = YEN (japanese yen)
FOREX work time according to GMT (greenwich mean time)

Best forex demo account review (2021)

Forex demo accounts are great for beginners to practise trading and test platforms such as metatrader 4 and 5. Demos’ are also good for experienced traders to do backtesting. Below we look at the top brokers with the demo accounts for 2021.

Top forex demo accounts

The 2021 forex demo account review focused on test trading platform features, easy of use and customer service.

Pepperstone– best MT4 demo account overall

IC markets– best MT5 broker for CFD trading

Plus500- offers top risk tools for practice

Etoro– top social trading demo platform

FXCM- good to practice charting with ninjatrader

Oanda–top unlimited forex demo

IG– best forex demo account for UK traders

Thinkmarkets-best demo account for mobile trading

Axi- best customer support with demo account

TD ameritrade – has thinkorswim, the top demo account in the US

Pepperstone MT4 demo account

Pepperstone has one of the best demo accounts as it allows you to practice with metatrader 4 (MT4), metatrader 5 (MT5) or ctrader forex trading platforms.

Metatrader 4 is the best choice of platform for a demo trading account, as it is considered the gold standard when it comes to trading platforms. This platform offers all the essential trading tools to familiarise yourself with trading such as 30 indicators, 31 graphical tools, 9 timeframes, automated trading and social trading.

With over 60 currency pairs to choose from, all with ECN-like tight spreads, pepperstone will help you minimise your trading costs. Pepperstone is known for its lightning-fast execution speed of 30ms on average which will help you avoid slippage and its award-winning customer service team, many who are traders themselves. Traders can choose from their commission-free standard account and razor account with $7.00 commissions round-turn per lot.

Pepperstone’s demo trading account is ranked first due to the ease of setting up an account, a balance of virtual money to simulate live trading and the access an environment similar to ECN trading. You can view a complete review of pepperstone. After familiarising themselves with the platform and forex broker, users can sign up to a real money account and start trading forex and cryptocurrencies.
Key strengths of pepperstone’s forex demo account:

Fastest execution times (avg 30ms)

Up to 500:1 leverage (30:1 for retail traders in the UK and europe)

$50,000 in virtual money, 30-day trial (can be reset through with pepperstone support)

Regulation with ASIC, FCA, DFSA, cysec, bafin, CMA, SCB

MT4, MT5 or ctrader trading platforms

Excellent trading conditions and customer service

Note: pepperstone limited (UK) does not offer crypto products due to FCA forex broker compliance requirements. Crypto trading is available with all other subsidiaries.

IC markets demo account

IC markets demo account offers virtual forex trading on the world’s top trading platforms (metatrader 4, metatrader 5 and ctrader). Unlike most brokers which limit the virtual cash and time you can use the demo account, IC markets allows you to choose how much virtual cash you wish to trade and the account will only be closed after 30 days of inactivity. IC markets demo account is free, you don’t need to open an account (which requires a $200 deposit) to practice trading.

Metatrader 5 (MT5) is the successor to metatrader 4 (which is widely considered the gold standard for platforms). Metatrader 5 offers more technical indicators, graphical tools and faster processing than MT4. One notable difference is that MT5 is designed for decentralised and exchange-traded cfds such as stocks. In time, this platform will because the world’s most popular platforms as MT4.

IC markets offers 64 currency pairs and an ECN-like environment with fast execution speeds and high leverage. Traders can choose between their standard account and raw spreads account which has commissions of $3.50 side trip.

Key strengths of IC markets forex demo account:

Fast execution speeds

Unlimited virtual cash (you set the amount)

Demo account is valid until 30 days of inactivity

Up to 500:1 (30:1 in UK and europe for retail traders) leverage

64 forex pairs, as well as a range of financial instruments such as commodities, metals, stocks, and bonds

MT4, MT5 or ctrader trading platform

Regulated by ASIC, cysec, and FSA

Plus500 demo trading account

Plus500 is one of the world’s largest cfds providers. Plus500 have designed their platforms to help traders take advantage of the wide range of cfds available with ease. Cfds available in addition to the usual forex and indices include an extensive range of commodities including some rare options such as lean hogs, cattle and 13 cryptocurrencies. Traders can also trade options, stocks and indices for sectors such as cannabis, lithium and real estate.

Plus500 does not charge commissions which means fees are included in the spread and include risk management tools such as negative balance protection and guaranteed stop-loss.

Key strengths of plus 500 demo account:

Demo account has 50,000 in virtual cash (resets when below 200)

Demo account has no time limit (FREE unlimited account)

Risk management such as guaranteed stop-loss/take-profit

Offers extensive CFD range including unique sector indices and options

Use of ‘guaranteed stops’ in demo accounts

Regulated by ASIC, FCA and cysec

Note: plus500uk ltd does not offer crypto trading due to FCA compliance requirements for forex brokers. Crypto is available with all other subsidiaries.

*your capital is at risk ‘76.4% of retail CFD accounts lose money’

OANDA demo trading account

Oanda’s offers a choice of their in-house developed platform oandatrade which is available as a web trader, desktop and mobile version and metatrader 4. With both platforms, your demo account will have 100,000 virtual units for trade which never expires.

Choosing oanda gives you a choice of 2 retail investor account, the premium account which is a spread only product and core account which has a commission of $7 per 1k round turn and ECN like trading execution.

The latest version of the brokers’ trading platform (oanda trade v20) offers institutional-grade execution of less than 1ms, a guarantee of no requote or rejections and trading directly from the charts.

Key strengths of OANDA markets demo FX account:

100,000 virtual trading unit that can be reset anytime

Demo platform never expires

Choose from 5 trading platforms (oandatrade, metatrader 4, tradingview)

70+ currency pairs including exotic currencies

Trade directly from the charts

No requotes or rejections

FXCM demo forex trading account

FXCM allows you to choose from 4 trading platforms to demo. These include trading station, metatrader 4, ninja trader and tradingview. Trading station is FXCM’s own proprietary trading platform which is the best option (along with metatrader 4)if you wish to use trading automation with FXCM automation and backtesting. Ninjatrader is the best option should you use to access advanced charting and trade management options. Tradingview is the best option if you wish to practice social trading.

FXCM only offers one account, and this account is spread only meaning there are no commissions*. FXCM like to be open about their transparency, the broker publishes regular reports on their trading execution performance. In 2020 Q2 59.92% of orders had no slippage and 28.48% of orders had positive slippage. 73.24 of limit and limit entry order has positive slippage

Key strengths of FXCM demo FX account:

$5,000 to $20,000, £50,000 in virtual funds (depending on chosen platform) to trade in the demo account

CFD trading with no commission fees

Regulated with ASIC, FCA, FSCA (south africa)

*FXCM can be compensated in several ways, which includes but not limited to adding a mark-up to the spreads it receives from liquidity providers and adding a mark-up to rollover etc. Commission-based pricing is applicable to active trader account types.

Etoro demo forex trading account

Etoro is a social trading platform which makes it different to most other platforms. So learning the etoro trading platform with a practice account is very handy. The etoro account is available for free and includes 100,000 if etoro virtual money and has no time limitations.

Etoro’s biggest feature is its social trading component. Rather than conducting your own analysis and placing each individual order, social-copy trading platforms allow you to follow and copy the strategies of successful traders with a wealth of experience. Key features include:

Copytrader (copy people): openbook’s standard account mirroring service, where you copy the trading strategies of other users, rather than placing trades yourself.

Copyportfolio: designed as a longer-term investment, copyportfolios are bundles of cfds that include different traders’ strategies and asset classes.

Key strengths of etoro demo FX account:

100,000 etoro virtual cash with automatic refresh

No time limitation

No commission

Social trading with copytrader and copyportfolio

IG markets

IG markets was founded in the UK in 1974 as a spread betting business and later renamed IG group when listing on the london stock exchange in 2000. Being a UK company, IG is a solid option for UK forex traders for a demo account. By choosing IG as your demo account, you can benefit from CFD trading such as forex, options, etfs, interest rates and bonds. If you are in the UK, you can also spread bet and binary trade. Some countries also have the possibility of trading stocks (not cfds).

IG markets allow you to use their own in-house IG platform and metatrader 4 as demo trading platforms. With the IG platform, you will get access to their online trading platform, $20,000 of virtual funds and 17,000 markets. Choosing this platform means you will get free access to exclusive educational content on the IG academy which new traders will appreciate and chart packages that may otherwise incur a fee.

If you prefer to practice using metatrader 4, IG gives you access to $10,000 in virtual currencies and 80+ markets to choose from. Choosing metatrader 4 also means you can practice with expert advisors and 18 free indicators and add-ons.

Key strengths of IG markets demo FX account:

$20,000 in virtual cash with IG platform and 17,000 markets

$10,000 in virtual cash with metatrader 4 and 80+ markets

Free access to charting packages and add on indicators

Regulated by ASIC, FCA, bafin (germany), FMA (new zealand), FINMA (switzerland), MAS (singapore), DFSA (dubai), CFTC/NFA (USA).

Thinkmarkets metatrader 4 demo account

Thinkmarkets demo account allows you to practice with their thinktrader platform thinktrader is one of the best trading apps in the market for mobile trading. With a quad screen display, 80 indicators, 50 drawing tools, 14 chart types and 200 cloud-based alerts, thinktrader is rated 5 stars by over 15,000 users in the android and ios mobile app stores.

Thinkmarkets trading includes 25,000 of virtual currency and is available for use as long as you don’t leave it inactive for 30 days.

Key strengths of thinkforex demo FX account:

Seven demo account currencies

Expert advisors (eas) testing available

No scalping limit

500:1 leverage

Regulation: ASIC, FCA, FSCA (south africa)

Axitrader MT4 demo account

A 30 day 100% free demo account is available with axi (formerly axitrader). This broker offers access to metatrader 4 and $50,000 in virtual cash with no minimum deposit requirements to open an account.

The most unique feature of axi’s demo account is the inclusion of a dedicated account manager in addition to their 24/5 client support. Axi customer support is award-winning and highly valued, as it means you can ask trading questions while you learn about forex trading and develop your trading style.

Key strengths of A GO markets demo FX account:

$50k of virtual currency in a demo account

Dedicated account manager

24/5 support over live chat or phone

Authorised and regulated by ASIC, FCA, DFSA (dubai)

TD-ameritrade broker demo account

Thinkorswim is TD-ameritrade’s proprietary trading platform and available to traders based in the united states as a desktop, web trader or mobile trading platform.

Thinkorswim provides a good range of features, with inbuilt tools for both automaton and charting.

Advanced, professional-grade charting and technical analysis tools

In-app chat and community chat rooms

Backtesting features

Market monitors and heat maps

Real-time market news

Customisable alerts

To explore the thinkorswim platform in a risk-free environment, TD-ameritrade offers a demo account with full access to the software. A virtual trading balance of $100,00 is provided to practice trading with free access for 60 days.

TD-ameritrade is one of the few brokers that offers forex trading in the USA. Choosing thinkorswim means you can trade 70 forex pairs with no commissions and leverage of up to 50:1 for major pairs and 20:1 for minor pairs.

Key strengths of A GO markets demo FX account:

Thinkorswim trading platform

70 currency pairs

Suitable for american traders

Commission-free trading

Regulated in USA by CFTC, NFA, SEC

What should I look for in A forex demo account?

The most important element when looking for the best forex demo accounts is to consider the platforms offered. The trading platform is what you will be using to trade, so it is important to choose a platform you are comfortable using. Traders generally have a personal preference to metatrader 4, metatrader 5 or ctrader trading platforms.

The second important factor is the features within the demo account that will replicate a real trading environment in the CFD and forex market. This includes what access how similar the spreads are to real markets, available leverage, customer service and risk management tools. Like choosing the best forex platform for you when forex trading, having the right features within the platform to suit your forex strategy can be critical to future success.

A third factor is execution speed which helps traders make fast trades with reduced slippage in higher volatility markets that can carry high risk. A demo account should simulate real trading conditions. This means taking spreads from real markets so you can learn how cfds work in the real world.

The final factor is the expiration date of the demo account and how much virtual currency is available. Some demo accounts are only valid for one month while others are unlimited.

Why are demo accounts so important?

Trading financial instruments such as forex and shares is a high-risk investment, especially if you are exploring different forex and CFD markets for the first time. Forex and CFD markets such as cryptocurrency are high-risk environments, therefore traders should be cautious when taking on highly leveraged positions. Leverage is a complex instrument, so it’s important to understand there are risks of losing more money than you originally deposited in your trading account. It is important to get experience trading using a demo account, so you are well equipped to deal with the volatility and the high-risk nature of financial markets before signing up for a real account or live account.

Understanding Volatility With A Demo Account

Learning to trade forex can be achieved by reading and research as well as utilising forex brokers educational tools such as webinars, faqs, ebooks, online courses. However, the most effective way is to practice trading via a demo account, allowing you to develop strategies and your trading style. Demo accounts allow users to familiarise themselves with various markets and trading platforms. Virtual money accounts are suitable for levels of experience, and we encourage you to practice trading with a forex broker listed above prior to trading with real money.

Background to our forex demo review

This demo account review was compiled and published in 2016 and was updated at the start of 2021. It was put together by the dedicated staff at compare forex brokers who spent a significant amount of time researching the industry. As the market changes rapidly and brokers continue to offer new features all the time, please validate all information read above with the forex broker’s dedicated website. We aim to update our analyses frequently, but sometimes inconsistencies can be found.

Justin grossbard has been investing for the past 20 years and writing for the past 10. He co-founded compare forex brokers in 2014 after working with the foreign exchange trading industry for several years. He also founded a number of fintech and digital startups including innovate online and SMS comparison. Justin holds a masters degree and an honours in commerce from monash university. He and his wife paula live in melbourne, australia with his son and siberian cat. In his spare time, he watches australian rules football and invests on global markets.

Top forex demo accounts

Pepperstone

IC markets

Plus500

Etoro

FXCM

OANDA

IG markets

Thinkforex

Axitrader

TD ameritrade

The leading forex broker comparison site, compare forex brokers pty ltd is an authorised representative of guildfords funds management pty ltd australian financial services licence no. 471379 (A/R no. 001274082). Copyright 2021 and all rights reserved. Trading forex and cfds with leverage poses significant risk of loss to your capital.

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FX portfolio - virtual FX position

This section shows activity only for currency pair trades. The "position" value may reflect the sum of trades executed in the FX market plus conversions to convert non-base funds into your base currency. Consequently these вђњvirtualвђќ postions do not necessarily reflect your real-time FX positions. For the actual currency balance, check the total cash field of the market value section.

To avoid having currency conversions reflected in this panel, use the FXCONV destination on the order line.

When the FX portfolio panel is displayed, currency positions will also be displayed in the trading window. To remove currency positions from display, condense the FX portfolio panel by clicking the arrow to the left of the panel title.

The following table defines the fields available for display in the FX portfolio section.

An exchange on which the pair trades. This may not be the executing exchange for the trade.

The sum of trades executed in the FX market for the selected currency pair.

Unsettled currency trades.

Currency used to buy/sell the FX pair.

Real-time price of the position.

Average price per contract.

The difference between the trade price and the market price times position, including commission.

Example : BUY 20,000 EUR.USD @ 1.54390

Market price (current price) = 1.54385

+ 2.5 commission = -3.50 unrealized P&L

Realized profit & loss for the pair.

Last liquidation "yes" or "no" tag. If set to "yes" this position will be put at the end of the queue to liquidate last in the case of margin requirements. To set, use the right-click menu on the desired position.

Note: while IB provides customers the opportunity to pre-request the order of liquidation in the event of a margin deficiency in their account, such requests are not binding on IB. In the event of a margin deficiency in customerвђ™s IB account, IB retains the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the assets to be liquidated, the amount of assets liquidated, as well as the order and manner of liquidation. Customers are encouraged to consult the IB customer agreement and the IB disclosure of risks of margin trading for further information.

TWS FX dual presentation

In TWS , IB presents currency/FX position data in two different areas of the account window. We separate out your actual currency values, which may result from FX trades, conversions, or trading products in another currency, from your direct FX pair trading activity.

Market value - real FX balances

Your accountвђ™s actual currency balances are shown in the market value вђ“ real FX balances section of the account window.

FX portfolio - virtual FX position

The FX portfolio section displays your FX trading activity in currency pairs, and may also reflect вђњindirectвђќ FX currency conversions designed to close out a non-base currency balance. This view is helpful for FX traders and allows tracking of a running P&L and average cost, but DOES NOT reflect your actual cash balance in any currency. To manage actual currency positions, refer to the market value - real FX balances section of the account window.

Automated FX transaction decision

When you submit an FX order, TWS will attempt to identify whether you want an FX pair trade or a currency conversion, based on your positions and balances, and will ask you how you want the currency trade to be considered. If you elect вђњcurrency conversion,вђќ TWS will create the order to reflect this objective. You submit the order manually, and when the order fills your virtual position in the FX portfolio section will not be affected. Previously, conversions would affect the virtual position and your only option was to manually adjust the position and cost to negate the completed conversion.

If you prefer to let TWS make this determination without displaying the confirmation box, check let TWS make this determination automatically in the future at the bottom of the confirmation box. When you activate this feature, FX trades will display FXCONV as the destination. You can change the destination on a per-order basis by selecting IDEALPRO. To enable the message again, activate it from the messages section of global configuration. Note that the order is not transmitted automatically.

Demo trading account

Try our award-winning platform* for free with a free forex demo account. Start developing your trading skills with IG.

Practice trading with $10,000 virtual funds

Experiment with trading ideas risk-free

Test strategies on the go with our free mobile apps

Open a demo trading account

Try our award-winning platform * for free and develop your FX trading skills.

What is a demo trading account?

A demo account is a simulated market environment offered by a trading provider that aims to recreate the experience of ‘real’ trading as closely as possible. This is so that you can get a feel for trading FX on our platform. The main difference is you won’t be at risk of losing any money, so you can explore and experiment with confidence.

When you open a demo account with IG, you’ll be given immediate access to a version of our online platform, along with a pre-set balance of $10,000 in virtual funds to practice with and access to IG academy.

Why use a demo account?

Traders will choose to practice trading on a demo account, because it enables them to get to grips with a platform, build their strategy and grow in confidence, without having to risk any real money.

Demo accounts aren’t just for newcomers. Experienced traders often like to use demo accounts to try out new strategies, tools or ideas, safe in the knowledge that they won’t result in any real-world losses.

You’ll often see demo accounts described as ‘paper trading’, which is the term to describe simulated securities trading. However, with an IG demo trading account, you’ll gain access to over 80 FX pairs.

A demo account will enable you to view all the FX pairs available to you with IG and get used to how they behave. You’ll be able to select the pairs you want to keep an eye on and set alerts so you can react instantly to any price volatility. The demo account will also help you navigate the IG platform, ensuring that you can read and analyze price charts, fill in the trade ticket and monitor open positions.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in using more advanced software, we also offer an MT4 demo account. This enables you to build your understanding of the metatrader4 online trading platform in a risk-free environment.

There is no difference between a demo trading account, trading simulator or paper trading account. All of these terms are just synonyms for the same type of simulated trading platform.

For your country of residence, you may wish to use <>.

Sorry we cannot open an account for clients with your country of residence through this site. Instead, please visit <>.

*winner of FX weeks e-FX 2019 award for best retail FX platform of the year. The FX week e-FX awards is a submissions-based process where companies are invited to enter the judging process. Awards are given by FX week judges, based on demonstrating innovative ideas implemented in a practical way for solving issues for clients.

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Disclosures

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New clients: 312 981 0499

Existing clients: 312 981 0498

Marketing partnership: email us now

Leveraged trading in foreign currency or off-exchange products on margin carries significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you based on your personal circumstances. You may lose more than you invest. We recommend that you seek independent advice and ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading. The information on this website is not directed at residents of countries where its distribution, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

IG is a trading name of IG US LLC (a company registered in delaware under number 6570306). Business address, 200 west jackson blvd., suite 1450, chicago, IL 60606. IG is a registered RFED and IB with the commodities futures trading commission and member of the national futures association (NFA ID 0509630).

IG US accounts are not available to residents of ohio.

Demo trading account

Develop your trading skills on thousands of markets, and master our award-winning platform for free. 1

Practise trading with £10,000 virtual funds

Get exclusive educational content on IG academy

Test strategies on the go with our free mobile apps

Open a demo trading account

Develop your trading skills on thousands of markets, and master our award-winning platform for free. 1

What is a demo trading account?

A demo account is a simulated market environment offered by a trading provider that aims to recreate the experience of ‘real’ trading as closely as possible. This is so that you can get a feel for how different products and financial markets work. The main difference is you won’t be at risk of losing any money, so you can explore and experiment with confidence.

When you open a demo account with us, you’ll get immediate access to a version of our online platform, along with a pre-set balance of £10,000 in virtual funds to practise with.

Why use a trading simulator?

You can use a trading simulator, such as a demo account, to enable you to get to grips with a platform, build your strategy and grow in confidence, without having to risk any real money.

Trading simulators aren’t just for newcomers. As an experienced trader, you can use demo accounts to try out new strategies, tools or ideas, safe in the knowledge that your experiments won’t result in any real-world losses.

You’ll often see demo accounts described as ‘paper trading’, which is the term to describe simulated securities trading. With an IG demo trading account, you’ll gain access to over 17,000 markets, including:

As well as a range of other markets including bonds, rates and options.

A demo account will enable you to see the financial markets available with IG, and get used to how they behave. You’ll be able to set alerts on markets you want to keep an eye on, so you can react instantly to any price volatility. The demo account will also help you get used to the IG platform, ensuring that you can read and analyse price charts, fill in the deal ticket and monitor open positions.

If you’re interested in using more advanced software, you can also get an MT4 demo account with us. This enables you to build your understanding of the metatrader4 online trading platform in a risk-free environment.

Yes, you can practise stock trading and forex trading for free with an IG demo account. No need to create a separate forex demo account or stock demo account – you can trade both markets via a single login.

With an IG demo account, you can practise CFD trading and spread betting risk-free. These two products both use leverage, which enables you to gain full market exposure for just a small initial deposit. While this can magnify your returns, it can also magnify your risk – so it’s important to get to grips with how they work before you start to trade on live markets.

There is no difference between a demo trading account, trading simulator or paper trading account. All of these terms are just synonyms for the same type of simulated trading platform.

For your country of residence, you may wish to use <>.

Sorry we cannot open an account for clients with your country of residence through this site. Instead, please visit <>.

1 awarded ‘best multi platform provider’ and ‘best finance app’ at the ADVFN international financial awards 2020

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Spread bets and cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and cfds work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk.

The value of shares, etfs and etcs bought through a share dealing account, a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

CFD, share dealing and stocks and shares ISA accounts provided by IG markets ltd, spread betting provided by IG index ltd. IG is a trading name of IG markets ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 04008957) and IG index ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 01190902). Registered address at cannon bridge house, 25 dowgate hill, london EC4R 2YA. Both IG markets ltd (register number 195355) and IG index ltd (register number 114059) are authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority.

The information on this site is not directed at residents of the united states, belgium or any particular country outside the UK and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

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Forex price quotes

A currency pair is the quotation of the relative value of a currency unit against the unit of another currency in the foreign exchange market. The currency that is used as reference is called quote currency, while the currency that is quoted in relation is called base currency. In TWS we offer one ticker symbol per each currency pair. You could use fxtrader to reverse the quoting. Traders buy or sell the base currency and sell or buy the quote currency. For ex. The EUR/USD currency pair’s ticker symbol is:

EUR is the base currency

USD is the quote currency

The price of the currency pair above represents how many units of USD (quote currency) are required to trade one unit of EUR (base currency). Said in other words, the price of 1 EUR quoted in USD.

A buy order on EUR.USD will buy EUR and sell an equivalent amount of USD, based on the trade price.

Creating a quote line

The steps for adding a currency quote line on the TWS are as follows:

1. Enter the transaction currency (example: EUR) and press enter.

2. Choose the product type forex

3. Select the settlement currency (example: USD) and choose the forex trading venue.

The IDEALFX venue provides direct access to interbank forex quotes for orders that exceed the IDEALFX minimum quantity requirement (generally 25,000 USD). Orders directed to IDEALFX that do not meet the minimum size requirement will be automatically rerouted to a small order venue principally for forex conversions. Click HERE for information regarding IDEALFX minimum and maximum quantities.

Currency dealers quote the FX pairs in a specific direction. As a result, traders may have to adjust the currency symbol being entered in order to find the desired currency pair. For example, if the currency symbol CAD is used, traders will see that the settlement currency USD cannot be found in the contract selection window. This is because this pair is quoted as USD.CAD and can only be accessed by entering the underlying symbol as USD and then choosing forex.

Creating an order

Depending on the headers that are shown, the currency pair will be displayed as follows;
the contract and description columns will display the pair in the format transaction currency.Settlement currency (example: EUR.USD). The underlying column will display only the transaction currency.

Click HERE for information regarding how to change the shown column headers.

1. To enter an order, left click on the bid (to sell) or the ask (to buy).

2. Specify the quantity of the trading currency you wish to buy or sell. The quantity of the order is expressed in base currency, that is the first currency of the pair in TWS.

Interactive brokers does not know the concept of contracts that represent a fixed amount of base currency in foreign exchange, rather your trade size is the required amount in base currency.

For example, an order to buy 100,000 EUR.USD will serve to buy 100,000 EUR and sell the equivalent number of USD based on the displayed exchange rate.

3. Specify the desired order type, exchange rate (price) and transmit the order.

Note: orders may be placed in terms of any whole currency unit and there are no minimum contract or lot sizes to consider aside from the market venue minimums as specified above.

Pip value

A pip is measure of change in a currency pair, which for most pairs represents the smallest change, although for others changes in fractional pips are allowed.

For ex. In EUR.USD 1 pip is 0.0001, while in USD.JPY 1 pip is 0.01.

To calculate 1 pip value in units of quote currency the following formula can be applied:

Ticker symbol = EUR.USD

Amount = 100,000 EUR

1 pip = 0.0001

1 pip value = 100’000 x 0.0001= 10 USD

Ticker symbol = USD.JPY

Amount = 100’000 USD

1 pip = 0.01

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.01)= JPY 1000

To calculate 1 pip value in units of base currency the following formula can be applied:

(notional amount) x (1 pip/exchange rate)

Ticker symbol = EUR.USD

Amount = 100’000 EUR

1 pip = 0.0001

Exchange rate = 1.3884

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.0001/1.3884)= 7.20 EUR

Ticker symbol = USD.JPY

Amount = 100’000 USD

1 pip = 0.01

Exchange rate = 101.63

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.01/101.63)= 9.84 USD

Position (post-trade) reporting

FX position information is an important aspect of trading with IB that should be understood prior to executing transactions in a live account. IB's trading software reflects FX positions in two different places both of which can be seen in the account window.

1. Market value

The market value section of the account window reflects currency positions in real time stated in terms of each individual currency (not as a currency pair).

The market value section of the account view is the only place that traders can see FX position information reflected in real time. Traders holding multiple currency positions are not required to close them using the same pair used to open the position. For example, a trader that bought EUR.USD (buying EUR and selling USD) and also bought USD.JPY (buying USD and selling JPY) may close the resulting position by trading EUR.JPY (selling EUR and buying JPY).

The market value section is expandable/collapsible. Traders should check the symbol that appears just above the net liquidation value column to ensure that a green minus sign is shown. If there is a green plus symbol, some active positions may be concealed.

Traders can initiate closing transactions from the market value section by right clicking on the currency that they wish to close and choosing "close currency balance" or "close all non-base currency balances".

2. FX portfolio

The FX portfolio section of the account window provides an indication of virtual positions and displays position information in terms of currency pairs instead of individual currencies as the market value section does. This particular display format is intended to accommodate a convention which is common to institutional forex traders and can generally be disregarded by the retail or occasional forex trader. FX portfolio position quantities do not reflect all FX activity, however, traders have the ability to modify the position quantities and average costs that appear in this section. The ability to manipulate position and average cost information without executing a transaction may be useful for traders involved in currency trading in addition to trading non-base currency products. This will allow traders to manually segregate automated conversions (which occur automatically when trading non base currency products) from outright FX trading activity.

A. Collapse the FX portfolio section

By clicking the arrow to the left of the word FX portfolio, traders can collapse the FX portfolio section. Collapsing this section will eliminate the virtual position information from being displayed on all of the trading pages. (note: this will not cause the market value information to be displayed it will only prevent FX portfolio information from being shown.)

B. Adjust position or average price

By right clicking in the FX portfolio section of the account window, traders have the option to adjust position or average price. Once traders have closed all non base currency positions and confirmed that the market value section reflects all non base currency positions as closed, traders can reset the position and average price fields to 0. This will reset the position quantity reflected in the FX portfolio section and should allow traders to see a more accurate position and profit and loss information on the trading screens. (note: this is a manual process and would have to be done each time currency positions are closed out. Traders should always confirm position information in the market value section to ensure that transmitted orders are achieving the desired result of opening or closing a position.

We encourage traders to become familiar with FX trading in a paper trade or DEMO account prior to executing transactions in their live account. Please feel free to contact IB for additional clarification on the above information.

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FX conversion with interactive brokers

Converting currencies, especially from SGD to USD to purchase overseas securities on interactive brokers can be confusing many new users to the platform. In this article, we will show you how easy it is to convert between any two currencies.

More posts in this series:

Converting currencies with interactive brokers

Every account on IB has a base currency. This base currency determines the currency of translation your statements, and also the commissions, research and trading fees are charged in your base currency.

When buying securities or stocks from another overseas exchange like the NASDAQ, NYSE, LSE or TSE, the securities are listed in another currency like the USD, EUR or JPY. To trade that particular security, you need to first convert your base currency to the listed currency of the security.

IDEALPRO vs FXCONV

There are two main venues to convert currencies on interactive brokers – namely IDEALPRO and FXCONV.

IDEALPRO is IB’s venue to conduct a foreign exchange (FX) trade and it is quite similar to a stock trade. There is an order book assembling quotes from the largest international forex banks as well as other IB clients and market makers.

IB does not mark up on the quotes, but instead charges a commission of around 0.1 to 0.2 basis points of the trade value, subjected to a minimum of US$2 per trade.

A virtual FX position will be created for tracking and you can find IDEALPRO on their webtrader interface.

FXCONV is the alternative method to convert currencies on IB. It generally costs slighly less, and has a more immediate execution. You can find FXCONV on their trader workstation (TWS) platform.

Both IDEALPRO and FXCONV does the exact same thing, which converts your currency balances from one to another like a cash transaction. However, IDEALPRO creates a virtual FX position and transaction record in your account to later monitor FX gains and losses, which is my preferred way of conducting forex.

Converting your SGD (or base currency) to USD

The first step to any forex conversion is to identify the relevant currency exchange pair. For example, to exchange SGD to USD, the currency pair you’re interested in is the USD.SGD pair.

The second step is to identify if it’s a buy or sell transaction of the currency pair. In the above example, to convert SGD to USD, you’d want to buy USD and sell SGD. Hence, you’d BUY the USD.SGD pair on the exchange.

In most forex markets, the USD is generally considered the transaction currency for quoting purposes, i.E. Quotes are expressed as a unit of 1 USD per the other currency quoted in the pair (e.G., USD.CAD, USD.JPY, USD.CHF).

The primary exceptions to this rule are the GBP, the EUR and the AUD which are quoted as GBP.USD, EUR.USD and AUD.USD, respectively. These quoting conventions are industry standard and orders cannot be submitted to IB’s IDEALPRO venue in an inverted format (e.G. USD.EUR).

Therefore, the summary to the above is that you search for the USD.SGD pair, and select BUY.

Limit vs market order

The difference between the two dives a little into trading and order execution, but I’ll try to keep things simple.

In layman terms, a limit order is when you want the exchange to execute the trade at the price you desire, or better. In the above scenario if you select a BUY limit order of 1.35 USD.SGD, then the exchange will only execute the trade if you can get USD at 1.35 SGD or better (e.G. 1.34).

A market order is when you want the exchange to execute the trade at the best available price immediately – something like amazon’s one-click checkout. The exchange looks for the lowest selling or ask price currently available and matches it to your order.

Now, if you ask me, honestly, the difference between a limit order and market order is insignificant for small amounts of currency exchange. That’s because currency markets are usually very liquid, and the execution price difference between the two is likely to be very small (a couple of cents). So – select market if you want an instant transaction, or limit with a buy price you wish to execute your currency exchange at.

Setting the quantity

A tricky part about IB conversion is that you’d need to figure out how much to convert and do a little bit of mental sum in your head. Let’s say you wish to buy 10 shares of VWRD at US$85. How much SGD do you need to convert?

First, identify the trade value of the transaction in the foreign currency. In this case, 10 shares of VWRD at US$85 is US$850.

Then add a US$5 commission to the trade value – this step is to determine the total amount of USD I need to have converted inclusive of exchange fees (

US$1.93) if you’re on tiered pricing.

Next, check the prevailing bid/ask price for the currency pair either IB or google. Let’s say the prevailing USD.SGD exchange rate is 1.385.

This means I need (850+5)*1.385 = approximately S$1184 to exchange for US$850 (net of fees) to buy 10 shares of VWRD. I ensure that my account is funded with at least S$1184 (especially if I am on a cash account).

In the quantity box, I enter 855 – this amount will also cover US$3 of exchange commissions and US$2 of buy fees later.

Exchange currencies on webtrader

IB’s webtrader platform allows you to execute trades and exchange currencies from your browser.

Under the order management panel at the bottom of the account screen, select the forex tab.

Select the action – buy or sell.

In the quantity box, enter the quantity to exchange for as explained above.

In the symbol box, type the currency pair and search for the IDEALPRO market. For the SGD-USD exchange pair, look for USD CASH IDEALPRO SGD USD.SGD.

Under order type, select LMT for limit order.

Under TIF (time in force), select DAY for the trade to be valid only for the day.

When you’re done, click the preview order button and then submit order, ignoring the warnings about odd lot orders below the US$25,000 minimum.

In the webtrader platform, you can execute foreign currency exchanges conveniently without the TWS desktop application

Once the order is filled, check the trades tab to check your execution price and commissions. Your new foreign currency balances will be updated in the market value panel under cash bal.

Convert currency on web portal

You can also convert currency via their web client portal.

Head over to the side bar and click convert currency.

In the order ticket section, use the convert currency tool to convert from one currency to another.

In-app FX conversion tool

You can also use the new in-app FX conversion tool on IBKR mobile (ios / android). This tool can also help close a currency balance directly from either the account or portfolio screen.

Under cash balances on the portfolio screen you can click on the desired currency and hit convert or close balance (for non-base currencies).

You can then enter how much currency you’d like to exchange in the following screen. Once you’re done, just hit submit!

That’s a faster way to convert currencies – although you sacrifice the more advanced options of converting currencies such as order type and TIF.

That’s it! I hope you found this post useful. If you haven’t heard of IB, you can check out my intro post here.

Virtual FX portfolio – what is it and how can I avoid it?

The virtual FX portfolio shows your positions and P&L for currency pair trades via IDEALPRO – reflected as the sum of all trades executed in the FX market plus conversions to convert non-base funds into your base currency.

As these are just virtual portfolios, they do not represent the real-time currency balances in your account. To check the actual balances, look for the the total cash field of the market value section.

To avoid having virtual FX positions, FXCONV should be used instead of IDEALPRO in the order line.

Why would I want to keep a virtual FX position ever?

It helps you to keep track of your average USD purchase cost. This is useful to identify whether you are currently exchanging money above or below your average cost.

FX conversion is complicated and fees add up very quickly, should I set my account’s base currency in SGD or USD?

I encourage you to set it to SGD as IB has one of the lowest spreads when doing FX conversions compared to banks or financial intermediaries. That means that you get to exchange currency at a very good rate with low commissions.

However, if you have already plenty of assets in USD, or you have a lot of USD already on hand, then setting the account base currency to USD can sometimes be beneficial too. For me, I set SGD as my account’s base currency.

I am on a margin account, and I decided to buy the stock before converting my currencies – do I need to pay any additional fees on the margin?

There is no interest if the borrowing is paid back within a day (i.E. FX immediately after).

If I want to convert my USD cash back to SGD instead, how can I do it?

Simply do the reverse of the post above – you sell USD.SGD with the value you want to convert back in the value box. For example, for converting US$10,000 back to SGD – you enter SELL 10,000 USD.SGD.

I have US$100K on another broker which I want to transfer to IB to buy stocks. What’s the best way to do it?

You can either (1) transfer USD from your broker to your bank’s multi-currency account, then transfer USD to IB or (2) convert from USD to SGD on your broker’s end, transfer SGD to your bank, transfer SGD from your bank to IB’s local bank account via FAST and convert the SGD back to USD.

Depending on the costs involved and whether your broker supports free USD withdrawals, method (2) might be overall more cost effective.

Does FX commissions count towards my monthly activity fee?

Why do I see a negative balance on my cash in my account after buying a stock?

If you buy your USD denominated counters without sufficient USD, it will show a negative balance on your USD. You need to buy USD.SGD via a FX trade to flatten the balances.

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FX portfolio - virtual FX position

To avoid having currency conversions reflected in this panel, use the FXCONV destination on the order line.

The following table defines the fields available for display in the FX portfolio section.

An exchange on which the pair trades. This may not be the executing exchange for the trade.

The sum of trades executed in the FX market for the selected currency pair.

Unsettled currency trades.

Currency used to buy/sell the FX pair.

Real-time price of the position.

Average price per contract.

The difference between the trade price and the market price times position, including commission.

Example : BUY 20,000 EUR.USD @ 1.54390

Market price (current price) = 1.54385

+ 2.5 commission = -3.50 unrealized P&L

Realized profit & loss for the pair.

TWS FX dual presentation

Market value - real FX balances

Your accountвђ™s actual currency balances are shown in the market value вђ“ real FX balances section of the account window.

FX portfolio - virtual FX position

Automated FX transaction decision

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