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Switch Markets group includes 2 related companies.
Switch Markets AU - located in Australia, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Switch Markets SVG - legally registered entity located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but not regulated by any government agency.
Unfortunately, AU company has been imposed with trading leverage limitations by ASIC since the end of March 2021.
At the same time, SVG company is free from such restrictions.
Switch Markets group accepts clients from all over the world, excluding USA, Japan, Iran, North Korea nor any other countries where the offer of Forex products and services is restricted or prohibited.
Forex broker offers the following underlying assets for trading.
| 60+ Currency Pairs | Based on major and minor world currencies. |
| 6 Crypto Pairs | Based on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple. |
| 12 Indice Cash CFDs | Based on baskets of different blue-chip stocks. |
| 8 Indice Futures | Based on baskets of different blue-chip stocks. |
| 2 Metal Spot CFDs | Based on Gold and Silver. |
| 3 Energy Futures | Based on Crude Oil (WTI, Brent) and Natural Gas. |
| 2 Energy Spot CFDs | Based on Crude Oil (WTI, Brent). |
| 80+ Stock CFDs | Based on shares of US, UK and EU companies. |
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia and set up in 2019, Switch Markets is a forex and CFD broker that gives traders access to high leverage and low spreads on a long range of trading instruments.
Being regulated locally in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Switch Markets is a fully regulated and safe broker to trade with for Australian clients.
Internationally, however, this broker is registered in the popular offshore jurisdiction of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which does not regulate forex brokers. As a result, international clients of Switch Markets should keep in mind that they for all practical purposes are dealing with an unregulated forex broker. This is despite the fact that the broker states on its international website that it is “regulated by leading regulatory bodies globally.”
As far as trading instruments go, Switch Markets pretty much offer the whole spectrum, ranging from nearly all tradable forex pairs, to a selection of cryptocurrency CFDs, stock indices, popular commodities such as oil, gold and silver, and more than 80 single stock CFDs from American, British and EU-based companies.
Notably, the most liquid instruments, such as major currency pairs, can be traded with leverage as high as 1:500. This is among the highest leverage that is available from regulated brokers in the industry. This kind of leverage is far above what is available from European and North American brokers, but in line with what used to be the industry standard in Australia.
Since 2021, however, the Australian regulator ASIC has followed in the footsteps of other major regulators such as Europe’s ESMA and limited trading leverage to only 1:30, even for major FX pairs.
As with most forex brokers, Switch Markets still relies on the tried and tested MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. This trading platform remains one of the most popular among retail forex and CFD traders, with many traders coming back to it for its huge selection of custom trading strategies and indicators, and unmatched technical analysis capabilities.
As usual, MT4 can be used either in its standard downloadable version on Windows PCs, or as a web version via the web browser on any type of computer. To make trading easier and more fun, Switch Markets has also made available a whole range of “free tools,” including a forex sizing tool, an economic calendar with important news events for the forex market listed, an interesting “Pivot Point Calculator” to identify certain support and resistance levels, and many other tools.
Once ready to sign up as a client with Switch Markets, all users need to register with their name, email address, phone number, and country of residence. Further, clients will also need to choose between a Standard account with relatively high spreads but no commissions, or a Pro account with spreads starting from 0 pips and commissions per lot of USD 7.
Both of the trading accounts available from Switch Markets offer trading in the same instruments with leverage up to 1:500, and both come with a minimum deposit of USD 50. The accounts can be opened with a range of currencies as its base currency, including USD, EUR, AUD, GBP, CAD and others. Keep in mind that the base currency chosen is permanent and cannot be changed later for the same account.
In terms of customer support, the broker promises that its support team is available 24 hours a day on all trading days via live chat and email. Unfortunately, the broker has not made available any phone number it can be reached on.
In summary, we believe Switch Markets could be a decent broker to keep an eye on, particularly for Australian traders looking to trade on the MT4 with fairly low spreads. We are also impressed with the selection of trading instruments here, but wish the broker had done a better job with getting regulatory licenses outside Australia to make potential clients feel more at ease.
