Blackwell Global Overview:
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- Regulated: FSC
- Head Country: South Africa
- Min $100 Deposit
- Operating Since: 2010
- Type: STP, NDD
- Spread: Variable
- Commission: N/A
- Platforms: MetaTrader 4, Web, Mobile
- Funding: Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, Skrill, Neteller
- Spread: Variable
Blackwell Global Review
Blackwell Global is a global brokerage firm that offers financial services in the area of online trading of financial instruments including Forex, Crypto, Indices, Commodities, and CFDs. The broker provides several trading tools, efficient customer support and other services to help ensure that they deliver competitive trading conditions to traders around the world.
Table of Contents
In this detailed Blackwell Global review, our online broker research team have covered some of the most important aspects for you to consider when choosing the best broker for your online trading needs.
Blackwell Global Overview
Blackwell Global is an online Forex and CFD broker that was founded in 2010 with a mission to become the most trusted financial service provider across the globe. The brand offers its services to various types of clients which includes money managers, institutions, corporate bodies as well as retail and professional traders.
The brokerage first began operations in New Zealand and then expanded in 2010 when they opened an office in Cyprus. Today, its head office is located in London whilst other offices are in China, Cambodia and Hong Kong. The broker has representatives in over 100 countries across the world.
Blackwell Global states that all client orders are routed to execution venues which have been carefully selected by the broker. Therefore, it has no dealing desk (NDD) and is a straight through processing (STP) broker. The brand is also committed to its best execution policy without any conflict of interest between trader and broker.
Blackwell Global strives to be innovative and has been recognized with numerous brokerage awards, 4 of which were received in 2019. Amongst the prominent awards are:
- 2019 winner of the ‘Best Forex Broker UK’ as presented by Acquisition International.
- ‘Most trusted financial service provider, 2019 by ‘Wealth and finance’.
- ‘2019 Best forex broker, UK’ by Global Business Outlook.
In line with its innovation objective, the broker has built an office tool called the “Infinitum,” which performs real-time reporting to help retail clients. It also supports its clients with some trading platform tools, sentiment analysis data and technical indicators in order to improve traders’ experience.
Blackwell Global Regulation
Blackwell Global Investments (UK) Limited is regulated and authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which is the reputable regulatory authority in the United Kingdom. The license number is 687576.
Blackwell Global UK is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This further protects eligble clients’ funds as the FSCS will compensate traders and investors up to £85,000 per client.
If you deposit money into a trading account with Blackwell Global, your funds should be kept in a segregated account in compliance with the regulatory stipulations. As such that money will not be used by Blackwell Global for business but will remain in the segregated account which is currently maintained in tier-1 European banks like Barclays bank.
Blackwell Global Countries
Blackwell Global Investment Ltd does not accept clients from the USA, Japan, and Belgium. Some Blackwell Global broker features and products mentioned within this Blackwell Global review may not be available to traders from specific countries due to legal restrictions.
Blackwell Global Platforms
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the most popular trading platforms that is used by many forex and CFD traders from all over the globe. It comes fully loaded with advanced features for online trading and market analysis. It is fast, robust and reliable. Blackwell Global makes available the MT4 platform for Windows and MAC.
The MT4 platform comes with 3 chart styles that can be displayed over 9 timeframes; from 1 minute to 1 month. It comes with 24 analytical tools and about 30 inbuilt technical indicators. The features of MT4 can be expanded using plugin apps developed with the MQL4 programming language. Multiple order types are featured and strategies can be automated through the use of software expert advisors (EAs) which can be scripted by the trader or acquired in the MetaTrader market. MT4 also has a strategy tester where you can back test EAs over historical data although this does have some important restrictions and thus, the results are not reliable.
Mobile MT4
The Blackwell Global MT4 mobile app gives you the flexibility to access your trading account on the go, wherever you may be. Using your smartphone, you can monitor the markets, analyze the charts and place orders right from your mobile device. All you need is an internet connection and the app installed.
The MT4 mobile app is developed for Android and iOS devices. The apps can be downloaded from their respective app stores. Just like the desktop version, the mobile app is loaded with trading and analytical tools including 3 charts styles displayable over 9 timeframes, 30 technical indicators and 24 drawing tools. The app is user friendly, customizable and very fast. However, it does not maintain all of the same functionality as the MT4 desktop platform.
Blackwell Global Trading Tools
Infinitum
Infinitum is the proprietary software of Blackwell Global designed mainly to reduce the administrative workload of both the trading clients and partners. Using Infinitum, clients can access a personalized view of their profile and trading history. Partners, on the other hand, can access commissions, statistics, and refunds concerning their clients in real-time.
The Infinitum platform also offers the following features:
- Funding Management Systems
- Comprehensive Reports
- Marketing Tools (for partners only)
- 24/7 client Support
- Centralized Overview
MT4 Accelerator
The MT4 Accelerator is an MT4 plugin that installs several advanced tools into the MT4 trading platform. The integration of these tools gives the trader a huge advantage over the regular trading platform. Some of the tools includes within MT4 accelerator are:
- Sentiment Monitor: shows the distribution of traders that have opened long and short positions in real-time. It also shows historical sentiments for multiple trading instruments.
- Alarm Manager: notifies the trader or their social media followers about events. It can also perform automated tasks such as sending emails or opening trade positions.
- Session Map: summarizes the important key market events through the different time zones and informs you of price movements.
- Excel Integration: gives real time excel output without programming or macros.
- Market Manager: gives you complete control over watchlists and all your trading activities from one small and active window.
The Trading Diary
The Blackwell Trading Diary is a tool that tracks your trading behaviour and patterns. It shows your best trading days, bad days, etc in order to help encourage you to become a better trader.
Some of its interesting features include:
- Playmaker: helps you set rules to ensure you stay disciplined to your preset rules. It triggers alerts to put you in check.
- Gameplan: helps you avoid pitfalls by tracking your strengths and weaknesses through your trades and providing risk management insights to help you perform better.
- Profitability Analysis: provides you with real-time data of trading statements that will help you understand your losses and wins according to dates.
- Best/Worst trades: displays the Profit and Loss statement.
- Trading Timings: shows the percentage of winning and losing trades.
- Tag trades: This a customizable trade journal that shows all trades according to dates, price, size, etc.
Economic Calendar
This is an essential fundamental analysis tool. It lists the time and dates for significant economic events and their expected effect on the financial market. The trader can access this tool on the Blackwell Global website.
Client Sentiment
Sentiment analysis serves as a useful tool to traders because it tells how other traders are approaching the markets. The sentiment of traders from the book of Blackwell Global UK is available. It shows the percentage of long and short positions of selected instruments in real-time. Sentiment analysis is often used as part of a contrarian trading staretgy where a trader looks to trade against the sentiment extremes.
Blackwell Global Education
Training Guides/EBook
Blackwell Global provides a vast collection of downloadable eBooks and training materials for beginner traders, as well as numerous articles and readable materials on topics related to trading and the world economy.
The Zone
The Zone is an educational resource portal featuring various tools, informative guides, articles, and lots more. It grants clients access to trading tools, videos, and reports of different categories. It is a comprehensive training resource for beginners.
Crypto Education
The Crypto educational portal provides the client with cryptocurrency trading resources like articles, indicators, and educational guides.
Technical Indicator Guides
This is a short guide on selected technical indicators that are included within the MT4 trading platform.
Trading Bootcamp
The Trading Bootcamp is managed by ‘Simon Clarke’ of “Smack the Markets,” who is a professional trader. He offers trading tutorials and webinars, where he gives insight into how he trades. You can learn the techniques and strategies he uses and apply them to your own trades. The bootcamp is free to all Blackwell Global account holders.
Blackwell Global Instruments
Blackwell Global offers multiple tradable assets. They are as follows:
- Around 48 currency pairs including major, minor and exotic FX crosses
- 4 Commodities
- 16 Cryptocurrencies
- 14 Indices
Blackwell Global Accounts & Fees
Blackwell Global provides multiple account types. A client can select an account that suits his capital, services required, leverage, spread, and preferences. The following trading account types are available:
Standard Account
A standard account is suitable for novice and non professional traders. It features maximum leverage of 1:30, MT4 accelerator pack, trading diary, option of deposit with Bitcoin, etc. The minimum deposit is $500 whilst there is no maximum.
ECN Accounts
This account type is designed for professional traders with tight spreads starting from 0.1 pips. Ultra speedy trade executions are obtainable from modern infrastructure and tier-1 liquidity. Also, account holders get premium support via dedicated account managers.
Professional Trader Accounts
Eligible clients can apply to become professional traders. The criteria for eligibility are as follows:
- Possess over €500,000 in liquid assets.
- Experience in financial services.
- Frequent trading; at least 10 trades in each quarter of the last 12 months.
Professional traders are offered higher leverages and best executions but they lose the ‘negative balance protection’ feature.
Islamic Account (Swap Free)
Islamic accounts are specifically designed for Muslims who are not permitted by their faith to pay or receive overnight interest fee. Thus, this account does not incur swap fees and is compliant with Sharia law. The minimum order is 0.01 lots while maximum order size is 100 lots.
Demo Account
Demo accounts are free practice accounts that enable clients to practice live trading without real money. Blackwell Global MT4 demo accounts are preloaded with virtual money and can be very useful for testing trading strategies and familiarizing yourself with the trading platforms.
As broker fees can vary and change, there may be additional fees that are not listed in this Blackwell Global review. It is imperative to ensure that you check and understand all of the latest information before you open a Blackwell Global broker account for online trading.
Blackwell Global Support
The customer support team of Blackwell Global works round the clock (24/5) to answer questions or to resolve problems encountered by its clients. The support desk can be reached on phone, instant web chat and by email. On the ‘contact us’ page of the Blackwell Global website, there is an ‘enquiries form’ meant for prospective clients to reach out to the client support desk. If you wish to be called back by a support representative, just fill the ‘call me back’ form. A short FAQ is also featured on the contact page. On social media, Blackwell Global is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Blackwell Global Deposit & Withdrawal
Blackwell Global does not accept cash deposits from clients. This is in compliance with its Anti money laundering (AML) policy. Third party transfers are forbidden. Only funds from the trading account owner is accepted. Below are the payment methods available:
Bank Transfers
Blackwell Global will not charge any deposit fees; however, bank charges may be deducted by the client’s bank. It usually takes 1-3 days for local bank transfers and up to 5 days for international transfers. The minimum withdrawal is $100 and there are no upper transfer limits. Accepted currency includes USD, EUR, GBP, and CHF.
Debit/Credit Card
MasterCard and Visa are the prominent cards accepted for both for withdrawals and deposits. Card transactions are processed instantly. Accepted currencies include USD, EUR, and GBP and the minimum withdrawal is $0.01.
E-wallet Payments
The two options available are Neteller and Skrill. Transactions are processed instantly. The minimum withdrawal is USD 0.1. Accepted currencies include USD, EUR, and GBP.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoins are accepted. Processing is done instantly.
Blackwell Global Account Opening
To sign up for a new Blackwell Global trading account, logon to the brokers website and complete the account opening form. You can access the account application form by clicking ‘start trading’ from any webpage on the Blackwell Global website.
The form below is displayed:
Enter your name, email, phone number and verify your email with the six digit code sent to the inputted email address. Click ‘next’ and you are presented with a 4-page form.
Fill your employment details, financial status, source of funds and click ‘next’. Your trading knowledge and experience is required next. Provide correct answers to the questions. As a regulated broker, Blackwell Global requires all clients to be properly identified using ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) verification procedures. You are to upload a ‘proof of identity’ and a ‘proof of address’ documents.
On completing the form, a congratulatory message is displayed. Blackwell Global typically approves new accounts within a business day.
You can then login as a client, download the trading platform, fund your account, and begin trading. It is imperative to ensure that you clearly read all of the brokers terms, conditions and policies. Only proceed if you fully understand and agree to them.
Blackwell Global Summary
Blackwell Global is multiple award winning broker and regulated brokerage. Pricing is sourced from premium liquidity providers whilst trade execution is routed to selected venues without any dealing desk interference and therefore, no conflict of interest.
The choice of trading platforms are standard. MT4 is versatile, scalable and replete with professional tools. Blackwell Global has partnered with ‘FXBlue Labs’ to bring its clients a suite of MT4 applications packaged as MT4 accelerator. There is also the very useul trading diary and free MT4 indicators to assist traders in making their daily decisions.
The broker offers a collection of educational materials and tools to help beginner traders become more informed. The collection of training resources is impressive as it contains video lessons, numerous articles and mentorship via ‘Trading Bootcamp’ anchored by a seasoned professional.
However, the brokerage offers a limited range of trading instruments. There are no ETFs, stock CFDs and bonds. The minimum trading capital of $500 is high when compared to many other brokers that give access to live trading for much less. There are no managed accounts and no social trading platform integration.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 55.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
