GKFX Prime

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, GKFX Prime is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Malta, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC), and the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands (FSC BVI).

The British Virgin Islands FSC provides less regulatory oversight than those of the EU and Australia, and although it requires brokers to keep client funds in segregated accounts, it does not require brokers to offer negative balance protection or restrict leverage to protect their traders. 

However, while GKFX Prime segregates all client funds from its operational account, it does not offer its traders negative balance protection. Additionally, GKFX Prime offers high leverage to its clients – up to 1000:1 on some of its account types. It also has no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, which means for traders who deposit small amounts, it will be difficult to hold a substantial trading position without getting stopped out and losing the money in their trading account, and possibly going into a negative balance. 

Overall, considering its history of responsible behaviour, strong international regulation, and wide industry acclaim, GKFX Prime is a safe broker to trade with. However, traders should be aware of the high leverage, low minimum deposit requirements, and lack of negative balance protection, which could see their trading accounts wiped out or even incur a negative balance.

GKFX Prime has a fast and hassle-free account opening process, with quick verification.

Traders are no longer eligible to open an account at GKFX Prime. But, while there are no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, traders must maintain a balance of 5,000 USD to open a VIP Variable Account.

GKFX Prime offers both corporate and individual accounts, but we will outline the process for opening an individual account:

1. Register an account. This can be done by clicking on the “Open Account” button. Traders are required to fill in their personal information (name, email address, and telephone number) and create a password.
2. Next traders can choose between opening a live or demo account.
3. Traders are then required to fill in their personal details, including date of birth, place of birth, physical address, and citizenship.
4. The fourth step requires traders to fill in a form detailing their financial status.
5. In the last step, traders are required to fill out a suitability test. Traders that pass the suitability test will be able to open a live account, and GKFX will recommend that those with limited trading experience open a demo account. This is a responsible move in an industry often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection.
6. In order to open a live account, traders will have to choose their preferred trading platform, base currency, and account type.
7. Lastly, traders who are eligible to open a live account will have to confirm their identity. GKFX Prime will need two documents from you:
   1. A photo ID (passport, driver’s license, or national ID card) and; 
   2. A secondary ID (a bank or utility statement with your full name and address dated in the last three months).

We suggest you read GKFX Primes risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

Overall, GKFX Prime’s account-opening process is quick, efficient, and accounts are generally ready for trading within a matter of hours.

GKFX Prime’s range of financial instruments for CFD trading includes Forex, share CFDs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.

GKFX Prime offers three commission-free accounts and an ECN account with tighter spreads and a commission per lot. There are no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, but to open a VIP Variable Account, traders need to make a deposit of at least 5,000 USD. 

GKFX Prime’s accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other brokers. When making this calculation, we use one lot of EUR/USD as a benchmark as it is the most commonly traded currency pair and it usually has the tightest spread. In a welcome show of transparency, GKFX Prime publishes its average spreads alongside each financial instrument for all of its account types.

The trading costs on the VIP Variable Account are lower than the costs on the other three accounts and are lower than those charged by other brokers on similar accounts. However, traders need to maintain a minimum account balance of 5,000 USD, which puts it only within the reach of serious beginners or more experienced traders.

The trading costs on the other three accounts are higher than average – the cost for trading one lot of EUR/USD among similar brokers is about 9 USD per lot. 

Swap Fees

The other trading costs to consider are the swap fees for positions held overnight. The swap/rollover fee is the interest rate difference between two currencies of the Forex pair you are trading. Clients pay and earn interest for both currencies (for borrowing one and lending the other). You are subject to overnight financing only if your positions are open past 10 pm UK time (GMT 22:00).

Depending on the pair, volume, and the order type (long or short), your accounts will be charged or credited at rollover time automatically. Please note that accounts are charged/credited for 3 days at spot value on Wednesdays or Fridays, depending on the product. GKFX Prime publishes all swap fees alongside each instrument on its website. For example, the swap rates on 1 lot of EUR/USD are -5.40 for a long position and +0.35 for a short position. 

We opened and tested GKFX Prime‘s accounts:

Standard Fixed Account

A commission-free trading account, fixed spreads start at 1.80 pips pips on the EUR/USD, which is wider than other similar brokers. There are no minimum deposit requirements and leverage is up to 1000:1. Trading is available on over 43 FX pairs and the maximum trading volume is up to 100 lots. 

Standard Variable

The Standard Variable account is, as the name suggests, a variable spread account with spreads starting at 1.2 pips on the EUR/USD, which is still wider than other similar brokers. Trading is offered on 47 FX pairs, leverage is up to 1000:1, and there are no minimum deposit requirements. A maximum of 100 lots can be traded.

VIP Variable

The VIP Variable Account is a commission-free account and offers variable spreads starting at 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD, which is tighter than other similar brokers but this is in exchange for a much higher minimum deposit – of 5000 USD. The maximum leverage is only up to 400:1, trading is offered on 47 FX pairs, and the maximum trade volume is 100 lots,

ECN Zero Account

GKFX Prime’s only ECN account, variable spreads start at 0.0 pips on the EUR/USD which is tighter than most other brokers, the maximum trading volume is 100 lots, and leverage is up to 1000:1. The account offers trading on 48 FX pairs, and a commission of 10 USD round turn per lot is charged, which is higher than the commissions at other brokers.

Demo Account

GKFX Prime offers a free unlimited demo account where users can practice trading on MT4/MT5 platforms with zero risks. Virtual funds of up to 100,000 USD/EUR/GBP are loaded onto the demo accounts.

Islamic Account

An optional swap-free or Islamic account option is available for all traders by request. Some small differences separate it from the standard account, but much of the details are the same.

There is no minimum deposit, and leverage is still available up to 1:400 but spreads start at 2.5 pips on this account, and a commission of 10 USD/lot per day is charged on all positions that are open for more than five consecutive nights.

The wider spreads are in place to make up for the revenue lost by the broker that would have been gained by charging interest for holding the positions overnight.

GKFX Prime’s mobile trading platforms are average compared to other similar brokers.

GKFX Prime offers support for MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. Traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.

GKFX Prime offers trading on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. While MT4 and MT5 are both excellent trading platforms, many other CFD brokers also offer their own web-based platforms, which tend to be easier to use for beginner traders. On the other hand, the benefit of GKFX Prime offering third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 is that traders can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker. Additionally, there are thousands of plugins and tools available for the MetaTrader platforms.

MetaTrader 4

MT4 has established itself as the industry standard, and is widely recognised for its fast execution speeds, range of charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability. Other features of GKFX Prime’s MT4 include:

• 50+ preinstalled technical indicators
• 24 analytical charting tools
• 3 chart types
• 9 timeframes
• 1-click trading.
• Customisation to the trader’s style.
• One-click trading
• Complete suite of trading tools and operations
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Customisable alerts
• Access to MetaTrader market and MQL4 community.

MetaTrader 5

Continuing its predecessor’s reputation, the MT5 platform provides traders with everything they need to trade the financial markets. It incorporates all of the key features of MT4 and an optimised environment for EA trading. Features include:

• 38+ preinstalled technical indicators
• 44 analytical charting tools
• 3 chart types
• 21 timeframes
• Six pending order types
• Detachable charts,
• Depth of Market
• An integrated Economic Calendar.

A well-regulated broker, GKFX Prime does not process payments to third parties. All withdrawal requests from a trading account must go to a bank account or a source in the trader’s name.

Deposits and withdrawals are accepted via bank transfers, credit cards, local banks, and e-wallets. No deposit or withdrawal fees are charged. Most deposit methods are instant. Withdrawals by bank transfer take anywhere from 1 to 5 business days, depending on the country, and 3 – 5 business days for credit card transfers. Credit card deposits may cause minor additional charges due to exchange rate differences.

GKFX Prime offers four base currencies, which is limited compared to other brokers.

At GKFX Prime, traders can only choose from four base currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, and JPY. This is limited compared to most other international brokers and is disappointing for traders who will likely have bank accounts denominated in TZS and have to pay conversion fees on all deposits and withdrawals. Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and are usually not presented on the fee report, but affect profitability.

For traders that trade in large volumes (more than 10 lots a month), it is better to open an account denominated in USD at a digital currency bank, especially for trading on assets such as the EUR/USD. This is because when trading a USD-quoted currency pair with a TZS account, there will be a small conversion fee for every trade made.

GKFX offers a number of useful trading tools, including Autochartist, Trading Central, a VPS service, the MT4/MT5 Booster tools, in addition to the Autotrade and Zulutrade Apps for social trading. It also offers the PAMM account management system.

Autochartist

Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that works with MT4 and identifies trading opportunities across hundreds of financial instruments. Autochartist is free to all GKFX Prime clients.

Autochartist’s advanced recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:

• Chart pattern recognition
• Fibonacci pattern recognition
• Key level analysis
• Pattern quality indication

Autochartist is one of the best technical analysis tools on the market, and GKFX Prime does well to offer this tool to its clients.

Trading Central

Trading Central is a tool that provides a technical market analysis from third-party industry experts. Trading Central’s top-notch indicators help guide client trades through an easy-to-access platform. It is intuitive, scans the market for opportunities 24/7, and provides comprehensive analysis and a constant notification alert system. Overall, Trading Central is an excellent analysis tool.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting

According to its website, GKFX has developed its own VPS hosting service – a private platform, reserved for select clients, who can access it remotely. The server works day and night, executing orders and running automated strategy robots.

There are three different VPS packages available at GKFX Prime:

• Welcome VPS: With a minimum starting balance of 4,000 USD and minimum trade volume of 10 lots per month, traders can access GKFX Prime’s VPS service for free. Failing the minimum requirements, GKFX Prime will charge a monthly fee of 25 USD. The bandwidth on this option is 10 GB and the disk space is 25 GB.
• Platinum VPS: For expert traders with a balance of 8,000 USD and a monthly trade volume of 30 lots, the Platinum VPS is free. Alternatively, it can be obtained for a monthly fee of 55 USD. The bandwidth on this account is 100GB and the disk space is 40GB, making the execution speeds faster than on the Welcome VPS package.
• Diamond VPS: For the fastest, lowest latency trading, the Diamond VPS is available for GKFX Prime’s elite customers with an account balance of 80,000 USD and a monthly trade volume of 100 lots. Alternatively, this package is available for a monthly fee of 160 USD.

VPS services ensure trades are never disrupted by technological or connectivity issues, such as load-shedding or internet service failure, which is a benefit to algorithmic traders who need to be connected to a server 24/7 to maximise uptime.

MT4/MT5 Booster

Designed to enhance the MT4 and MT5 platforms, the Booster comes with 9 add-ons, including new charts, indicators and UI options to optimize trading performance. The package is available for all retail clients who deposit at least 2,500 USD. A few of the tools are highlighted below:

• Mini terminal: Allows traders to adapt the platforms’ deal tickets and charts to their preferences with a host of highly configurable new features.
• Market Manager: Gain full control over symbol watchlists and all account activity in one window. Select symbols, view price activity, and manage orders. It also allows traders to name and save preferred symbols in convenient groups.
• Session Map: A map that tracks the global financial markets and an economic calendar that offers the latest key information.
• Correlation matrix: Enables you to see how correlated your watched markets are, and limit your risk accordingly.
• Sentiment trader: Allows traders to analyse market sentiment or view a historic price vs sentiment chart.

PAMM

GKFX Prime’s PAMM service allows traders to invest in proven strategies executed by expert traders and take a share of the profit. Benefits of using the PAMM system include:

• Real-Time Data updates, where followers can observe the status of their investments.
• Advanced analysis tools for expert traders to improve their trading performance.
• No hassle – no trading experience is needed to open a follower account.

Zulutrade

Zulutrade allows traders to place automatic trades with highly customized settings. It is a peer-to-peer social trading platform. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and requires no prior trading experience. ZuluTrade users can select the traders they want to follow using the Performance Table that algorithmically ranks traders based on plenty of important performance factors. Traders with higher minimum deposits can access Zulutrade for free, but traders will have to contact GKFX Prime directly to find out more.

Myfxbook Autotrade

Myfxbook Autotrade is also available to users who make a higher minimum deposit. With Myfxbook Autotrade, traders do not need to build their own strategy or conduct research on the forex markets. This tool provides the opportunity to copy a wide selection of systems directly to GKFX Prime’s MT4 trading account. One of the other benefits of the Myfxbook Autotrade copy trading platform is its functionality. It offers multiple copy trading modes and there is no limit on the number of Strategy Providers that can be followed.

The market analysis materials available at GKFX Prime are limited compared to other brokers.

GKFX Prime offers a daily selection of major news and articles that explain the current market sentiment. These articles are curated by the GKFX Prime in-house research team, and although the articles are brief, the information is relevant and insightful.

The weekly videos are created by a team of analysts that explain the highlights of the past week and financial market expectations of the upcoming week. 

It provides a daily news update and weekly market analysis videos. Educational materials are presented in both written and video formats.

GKFX Prime’s educational videos and articles are organised into beginner, trader, and expert categories:

• The Beginner section covers the core elements of Forex trading. Beginner topics include What is Forex? The Advantages of Forex, and Currency Pairs.
• The Trader section helps traders improve their skills and introduces them to new tools and gadgets to enhance trading performance. Topics include Order types and Opening a Position.
• The Expert section delves into deeper topics such as market sentiment and strategy building.

GKFX Prime also offers a free downloadable e-book and regular webinars and seminars. Webinars and seminars are educational in nature and also allow traders to expand their professional networks.

While GKFX Prime’s educational content is not as broad or in-depth as the best trading educators, like BDSwiss or IG Markets, it is still better than most market maker brokers and will be useful for both beginners and experienced traders.

Support is available 24 hours a day, from 10 pm Sunday – 10 pm Friday. The website is available in nine languages.

We found the customer support largely unresponsive – we could not get answers to our questions via email, and the live chat feature was not functional.