Best Forex Brokers in New Zealand

If you live in New Zealand and want to trade currencies one of the key things to know is how to choose the broker you will trade with. We have conducted research into the very best brokers for New Zealand traders based on service, product quality and reliability.

The Brokers below represent the best Brokers in New Zealand

• Vantage FX
• Moneta Markets
• Pacific Financial Derivatives Ltd
• Plus500
• How to choose a broker as a New Zealand trader

Vantage FX

Vantage FX was founded in 2009 in Australia and is the brand name of the Vantage International Group which is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). The broker offers negative balance protection and the segregation of client funds which are held with Australia’s AA rated National Australia Bank (NAB).

The broker offers services that are designed for both beginner and professional traders with access to trade on 300+ financial CFD instruments covering Forex ECN, Indices, Precious Metals, Energies, Soft Commodities and Shares CFDs from the US, UK, EU, Australia and Hong Kong.

Through the broker’s three core types of trading accounts called Raw ECN, Standard STP and Pro ECN, users can access leverage of up to 500:1 with minimum deposits of just $200 and access to Islamic swap-free accounts and demo trading accounts. Bonus and promotions are also offered with a current 50% welcome bonus.

Users can trade from the globally-recognised MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platform for desktop and web, as well as the broker’s own Vantage FX mobile trading app and various social trading platforms. The broker also offers 24/5 customer support in multiple languages and ProTrader Tools from Trading Central such as the Market Buzz, Featured Ideas, Analyst Views and an Economic Calendar, as well as ProTrader Tutorials which includes over 130+ video tutorials from Vantage FX.

Moneta Markets

Moneta Markets was founded in 2020 and is a trademark of Vantage International Group Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).

Users can trade on more than 300+ financial CFD instruments covering Forex, Commodities, Indices, Cryptocurrencies and Shares on the custom-built Moneta Markets Web Trader platform which provides an all-in-one account opening, funds management and trading solution. Users can also trade from the Moneta Markets AppTrader for Android and iOS.

Pacific Financial Derivatives Lt

Pacific Financial Derivatives (PFD) Limited was founded in 1999 and has been regulated by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) since 2015. The broker is also part of the Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) scheme.

Clients can choose from three account types called PFD Trader, PFD Pro, and PFD ProPlus. The PFD Trader account offers commission-free trading with competitive spreads whereas the PFD Pro and PFD ProPlus are commission-based but offer the tightest spreads. MAM, Islamic and demo accounts are also available and the maximum leverage is high at 1:300.

Plus500

Plus500 is a leading CFD trading platform with support for stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, and Forex. This commission-free brokerage charges very low spread-rates and offers fast trades on a great platform. Plus500 supports complex trades.

You can start with a free demo account to test the platform and any trading strategy. Real money accounts offer leverage of up to 30:1. This broker is based in Israel and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

How to choose a broker as a New Zealand trader

First and foremost, you want to use a broker who is regulated in your country. An unregulated broker does not account to anybody, so you can never know whether your money is safe or he will take it and disappear one day without notice. Int his case an FMA regulated broker should be your choice.

Secondly, a trading platform is something you want to check with your broker. It is your tool to trade, so if it is too complicated or non user friendly we would suggest finding another one.

Commission and spreads come next. You want to find  broker with the lowest spreads and no hidden fees.

A good broker will offer you at least a few types of accounts to choose from. Whether you come with 50$ or with 50000$ service provider should offer a type that suits your interests and possibilities best.

Customer care and service is another thing you should look into when you are in search of a broker. Brokers that do not respond to their customer requests in a timely manner should be avoided altogether.

General Regulation and New Zealand Regulation

As Forex is a vast global market it will have different legal authorities regulating it in a specific country or even region. US and Europe are two good examples. FX brokers in US are regulated by NFA and CFTC. Those are very strict regulators and they will take severe legal actions against brokers who are not registered under them. Current capital requirement for US brokers is 20 million $ and a lot of small companies cannot afford them, so the number of players in FX market is not that big.  Leverage that is allowed would be between 50:1 to 20:1 depending on currency pairs traded.

In Europe, on the other hand, requirements for FX companies are more loose and the leverage can be 200:1. In Europe Forex trading was harmonised so a broker that has a licence in one member state can legally function in any other one. Each European country will have its local regulator, some like in UK (FCA) more strict ones and some like in Cyprus (CYSEC) more loose ones.

Forex brokers in New Zealand are regulated by FMA (Financial Markets Authority). It is quite a strict regulator that was given regulation powers in 2011 after the Securities Commission of New Zealand was dismissed as an incompetent regulator that failed to curb fraud, price manipulation, excessive risk trading by local market operators and inside trading that ultimately led to huge losses for individual investors. More strict rules and regulations apply now for those who offer financial services in the country. Lots of brokers lost their licenses and new ones coming to offer their services have to comply with new rules, open their books for regular audits and share whatever requested information is needed. So, trading with FMA regulated broker is pretty safe now.

Trading Platform & Software

 It is only natural to expect that a good broker will offer you to test their trading platform on a demo version before you start trading on a real money account.  Their platform should be user friendly and easy to use, but also offer you a lot of other features and options that you might need for analysis and application of your specific trading strategies: various charts with indicators, the ability to draw and write notes, a large variety of time frames, the possibility of opening multiple windows and be able to study them separately, incorporated news feed, strategy tester, the possibility to copy other traders and etc.

Most brokers will offer you a downloadable software for Metatrader (MT 4) platform that you can launch right from your desktop and trade after logging in or they will offer you an online platform, which does not have to be downloaded, but can be used straight from your browser. Social trading platforms are also a good choice, because you will be able to use social investing platform by copying traders that are successful and make profits. Lastly, this is the age of mobile phones, so a good broker will probably have a mobile application and you will be able to trade currencies on the go on your mobile phone.

Commissions & Spreads

Most Forex brokers are compensated by spreads, which is the difference between the bid and ask price. Some companies use fixed, some variable spreads. As an example, a broker that has a fixed spread would probably offer 1-3 pips for the most popular Forex pair eur/usd. For a variable spread this range can be smaller. Under normal market conditions, where no news is expected or released the spread for the pair can be 0.2-0.5 pip. However, when news comes variable spread can increase to 10-30 pips for the pair and much more for less popular currency pairs such as gbp/jpy or eur/cad.

Account Types

Depending on your capital size most brokers will offer you a number of choices for an account. The most popular structure is micro (with micro lot size 1000$), mini (with mini lot size 10000$) and standard (with standard lot size 100k $). So, if you have only 100 $ you may apply for a micro account and start trading having gone through verification process. The same is true with other account types. Other brokers may even offer you up to 9 types of accounts. So, be sure to check them when you visit your broker‘s website and choose the one that fits your needs best.

Customer Service

Good customer service is a feature of a reliable broker. Most good New Zealand brokers will definitely have a customer service line where you can ask a question, have a query, send a complaint and get an answer 24/7. More serious complaints should also be solved by a customer care department between 24-72 hours. If you ask a question and wait for a week for a response from your broker, do not even think about opening an account with them. Trading involves a lot of risk and you need a broker whom you can trust and who deals with your problems responsibly.

Additional Services

Extra services that you would expect a broker to offer would be education  and those should be free of charge. They should offer you materials explaining basics of currency trading, fundamental and technical analysis, Central Banks‘ policy, interest rates, risks, trends and etc. You would also expect webinars on various educational topics ranging from beginner to advanced traders. Look through a brokers website to find out what they offer to see for yourself.

Conclusion

As you may see the choice of a good broker relies on a number of factors explained in the article. We have created a list based on all of these factors showing the most recommended brokers. If you trust your broker you will be able to concentrate on your trading and trade with a peace of mind without worrying whether your broker will implement some manipulative scheme against you or not. Confidence and trust will help you to make more rational decisions that will ultimately contribute to you becoming a more successful trader.

Read More:

• How To Choose the Best Forex and CFD Broker
• What are the Different Types of CFD brokers?
• Forex Brokers Regulations
• Using Win/Loss Ratio in Trading