Broker Review: Alpari

Alpari is a Forex and CFD broker that has an international presence. The company was founded in Russia, in 1998. Since Alpari's UK entity applied for insolvency in 2015, Alpari has become one of the most controversial Forex brokers. The company has recently changed it's focus on building an Asian arm, more specifically, Hong Kong.

Below is my review of Alpari...


What I like about Alpari

They offer fund management capabilities

Alpari offer the ability to manage other trading accounts (PAMM accounts). They also have a number of other social trading and fund management features. Though these features are not unique, not all brokers offer these trading features. You can learn more about Alpari's PAMM accounts and fund management here.

They offer a range of services and products for their clients

Alpari offer Forex, CFD's and the dreaded binary options. They also offer their own trading platform (binary options only), as well as MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. They offer a wide range of instruments and markets. Full details can be found here.

Their swap rates are competitive

Alpari offer positive swap rates on almost every currency pair. The rates are very competitive. A full list of Alpari's swap rates can be found here.

What I don't like about Alpari

Their spreads are extremely expensive

Their spreads are not competitive. I have noticed that Alpari now offer an ECN service though - the spreads offered via the EN account should be a lot tighter. I have had accounts with numerous retail brokers, Alpari offer some of the worse spreads I have seen.

Their glory days are over

The company started in 1998 and grew at a very strong rate over the next decade. They had clients internationally and were one of the most popular Forex and CFD retail brokers. They sponsored a fairly popular football team and grew their services by offering spread betting and binary options to their UK clients. Alpari's reputation and growth started to tumble when they closed their US company in 2013 and sold their clients to FXCM. In 2014, Alpari closed it's trading operations in India. In 2015, their UK company filed for administration due to the losses taken by the SNB and CHF incident. Alpari are now seen as one of the smaller Forex brokers. Most experienced retail traders won't even touch them with a stick!

They are no longer FCA regulated

With the close of their UK company, Alpari no longer promote their FCA registration. Their head office and regulatory body are not based in a major financial centre.

Summary

There is no advantage to trading with Alpari. They offer nothing unique and are a very expensive broker. Their history destroys any confidence in their ability to act as a professional and trustworthy broker. I am surprised that they did not re-brand the company and try to rid any association with the 'Alpari'. I suggest opening a trading account elsewhere.