OQtima

OQtima Regulations

In our reviews, we examine the licenses and regulations of each entity operated by a broker. This allows us to compare their different levels of protection. We rank licenses by various regulatory bodies on a three-tier system, where Tier-1 licensing indicates the highest level of regulation.

This is what I discovered about OQtima:

• CDE Global Markets Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles with license number SD109. We rank the FSA as a Tier-3 regulator.
• Nordskov Capital Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license number 406/21. We rank CySEC as a Tier-1 regulator.

We have summarized the most essential aspects of OQtima in terms of regulation and safety in the table below:

Why is it Important to Know Where Your Broker’s Subsidiaries are Regulated?

Brokers operate multiple entities because it allows them to serve clients worldwide. However, licenses obtained by regulators in different jurisdictions do not always entail the same degree of protection. Some regulators mandate compliance with the strictest financial frameworks, whereas others are less rigid. That is why traders need to familiarize themselves with the safety mechanisms ensured by the entity they want to open an account with beforehand.

Here is what you need to be looking for in a broker in terms of safety mechanisms:

• Segregation of client funds. Keeping client funds in segregated bank accounts from the ones used for the broker’s corporate capital negates the risk of accounting errors. OQtima’s two entities comply with this requirement.
• Negative balance protection. This safety mechanism removes the risk of trading losses exceeding the account balance. In other words, the losses you incur from trading are capped at the amount you have put in your trading account. This is especially important in volatile markets. Both entities ensure negative balance protection.
• Compensation scheme. A compensation scheme protects traders against the broker’s liabilities in the unlikely event that the company becomes insolvent. Clients of the CySEC-regulated entity, Nordskov Capital Ltd, are protected by up to EUR 20,000 under the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). The Seychelles entity does not ensure a compensation scheme.
• Maximum leverage. Capping the maximum leverage restricts the extent of market exposure to retail traders. The higher the leverage, the higher the potential profits and potential losses. The maximum retail leverage with OQtima is 1:500, available with CDE Global Markets Ltd.

Is OQtima Safe to Trade With?

There are two subsidiaries operating under the OQtima brand name. One is regulated offshore (FSA), and the other by a European top-tier regulator (CySEC). The broker complies with some of the most stringent safety requirements in the industry, including the segregation of client funds and ensuring negative balance protection, with some minor exceptions.

It also has a ‘best execution policy’, meaning that it guarantees to deliver the most optimal price quotes under prevailing market conditions. Overall, I find the broker to be fairly safe to trade with.

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, how big the company is, and how transparent it is in terms of readily available information.

What I really appreciated about OQtima is that there is a live spread feed on the website where traders can read about the minimum and average spread rates on different instruments across OQtima’s two account types. I compared these spread rates against the price quotes on the cTrader platform (for the ECN+ account type) and found them to be accurate.

There was one minor discrepancy that I discovered. During account registration, you are not asked to state your trading experience, trading goals, knowledge base, and personal financial information (an industry-standard practice that is used to assess risk and categorize traders). This is not a major transparency issue, though it would be beneficial to both OQtima and its clients if the broker implemented this practice to know and differentiate its clients better.

In summary, my research indicates that OQtima can be regarded as having a high level of trust and stability due to the following factors:

• Authorized by a top-tier regulatory body
• Adheres to most safety policies
• Has very high fee transparency
• Has a ‘best execution policy’

Fees

OQtima’s Trading Fees

OQtima’s Spreads

I tested OQtima’s spreads during the most actively traded times – the London open at 8:00 a.m. GMT and just after the U.S. open at 2:45 p.m. GMT. The test was conducted on 20 November 2023. The results are shown in the table below:

Broken down by asset class and compared to the industry average, OQtima features low spreads on FX pairs, commodities, and share CFDs, average spreads on cryptocurrencies, and average-to-high spreads on indices. I was especially impressed by the crude oil spread, which is one of the lowest I have recorded. I thus concluded that OQtima offers some of the lowest commodities spreads in the industry.

OQtima’s Swaps

A swap fee is a trader’s cost for holding an open position overnight because of changing interest rates. Swap long refers to the charge deductible or credit receivable for holding a buy position open overnight. In turn, swap short relates to the charges/credits deductible or receivable for holding a selling position open overnight.

The values listed below are for one full contract (100,000 units) of the base currency.

The recorded swap rates are average to high compared to the industry average.

OQtima’s Commissions

OQtima charges a $7 round-turn commission per traded lot (100,000 units). What that means is that you are charged $3.5 to open a full-sized (1 standard contract) trade and then an additional $3.5 to close the same position. This fixed commission exceeds the industry average and is applicable to FX pairs and commodities.

OQtima’s Non-Trading Fees

OQtima does not charge a handling fee for deposits and withdrawals, though third-party banking fees may apply. The broker also charges dormant accounts an inactivity fee of $30. It is charged monthly until activity resumes or the account balance drops to zero.

An account is considered dormant/inactive when no trades have been executed and no payments to or from the account have been made within one month. This waiting period is relatively short compared to what is true for most other brokers.

Are OQtima’s Fees Competitive?

To assess the overall competitiveness of a broker’s fees, it is important to examine its pricing mechanism as a whole. For instance, OQtima offers some of the lowest spreads on commodities in the industry, but it is also one of the few brokers that charge a fixed commission for trading commodities.

As a whole, I would say that OQtima’s fees meet the industry average, with some minor exceptions. Given that there is no commission on share CFDs and that the corresponding spreads are very low, I assessed that OQtima offers exceedingly favorable fees for trading instruments from this asset class.

Accounts Comparison

I have compiled the table below to help you better understand the difference between the trading fees on OQtima’s two account types. It illustrates the spreads and commissions I have recorded on the EUR/USD pair on the ECN+ and ONE account types. The table shows how much you will have to pay to trade 1 full lot (100,000 units) on the EUR/USD with a pip value of $10.

To calculate the cost of such a full-sized trade, I used this formula: Spread x pip value+commission

My tests indicate that the ECN+ account type offers conditions that are better than the industry average (a net cost of around $10), whereas the ONE account type exceeds it slightly.

Platforms and Tools

I tested cTrader, which I assessed to deliver professional-grade performance. The platform is highly customizable and features multiple analytical tools. Chart artists can take advantage of this diversity to examine price action behavior from multiple angles and spot viable trading opportunities. cTrader is also an excellent choice for those interested in algorithmic trading and copy trading.

The cTrader platform has a special version that is designed for copy trading. It connects signal providers and strategy followers and helps the latter assess the risk/yield performance of a given trading strategy, its average returns, maximum dropdown, other risk factors, and more. You can do this by using the filters as shown above. Thus, beginners can select the best trading strategy that is the closest match for their goals, needs, and aspirations.

As regards algo trading, the cTrader platform has 12 built-in bots to be used under various trading conditions. It also provides one of the best environments for testing and creating algorithms, making it one of the most practical platforms for automated trading. Additionally, OQtima provides VPS hosting, which further enhances the performance of automated strategies.

cTrader has a highly versatile mobile app version, which can be used for trading on the go.

OQtima’s Desktop cTrader Platform

General Ease of Use

The platform may seem a bit overwhelming at first glance because of its multiple features, but this is misleading. It has an intuitive design, with its watchlists of selected instruments positioned on the left-hand side, a charts screen in the middle, and an orders execution panel on the right-hand side. I particularly liked that you can search for instruments by asset class from the search bar.

Charts

I consider the chart screen of a platform its most important feature. It aids technical analysis by providing an overview of price action behavior and allows traders access to a number of analytical tools and chart configuration possibilities. A good chart should afford easy scaling up and down of price action.

cTrader features all important tools like one-click trading (as seen above), an alert setting option, and more. It even has a few rare ones, like the ‘market reply’ option, which allows you to test the performance of your trading strategies based on historical market data. This makes the cTrader platform one of the best choices for up-and-coming traders wanting to tweak and perfect the parameters of their strategies.

I have broken down the available analytical tools and chart configurations below:

• 67 technical indicators. The platform supports trend-based, volume-based indicators, oscillators, and more. These can be applied to study price action behavior and determine the underlying market sentiment. In general, technical indicators are used to gauge where the market is likely to head next.
• 23 drawing tools. Drawing tools, such as Fibonacci retracement levels and Elliott waves, are used to study repeatable price patterns. Additionally, they can be applied to determine key support and resistance levels and potential breakout or breakdown levels. cTrader notably lacks any Elliott Waves configurations, which is one of its few drawbacks.
• 26 timeframes. The platform affords multi-timeframe analysis of price action behavior. The greater the number of timeframes, the more intricate examinations that can be carried out across the short-term and long-term. cTrader has one of the largest assortments of timeframes, which is one of its defining features.
• 6 chart types. The cTrader platform offers several chart-type configurations. This diversity makes it possible to examine potential trading opportunities from multiple angles.

Orders

I have broken down the available order types with cTrader below:

• Market orders. Market orders are used for immediate entry at the best possible price. If triggered, they guarantee volume filling, though there could be a discrepancy between the requested price and the price where the order actually gets filled.
• Limit orders. Unlike market orders, limit orders guarantee exact price execution. However, a limit order will not be filled if the price action does not reach the pre-determined execution price.
• Stop orders. They are used to support open positions by limiting the maximum loss that can be incurred if the market turns in the opposite direction. A stop-loss order is placed at a fixed price below or above the spot price. If the market does indeed turn and triggers the stop-loss, it will transform into a market order and get filled at the best possible price.

My Key Takeaways After Testing OQtima’s cTrader Platform

I consider cTrader one of the most well-rounded retail platforms in the industry. It has something for everybody, from copy trading to advanced charting tools. It is especially suitable for scalping because of its wide range of timeframes. I also found the platform very suitable for beginners wanting to learn about charting and technical analysis because cTrader features an extensive collection of educational videos on the implementation of various technical indicators.

OQtima’s cTrader Mobile App

cTrader’s mobile app retains most of the features that are available with its desktop version. It affords traders easy access to the market and to their accounts. Order execution is simplified, which is an essential requirement for a practical app. I also liked its sophisticated tool for gauging market sentiment.

My Key Takeaways After Testing OQtima’s cTrader Mobile App

While I’m usually wary of trading apps because I find them rugged and cumbersome (due to the inherent challenge of displaying complex information on small-screen devices), the mobile app version of cTrader is quite flexible. It presents information clearly and allows its users to make timely trading decisions or adjust their open positions. This is what I consider its greatest advantage.

Tradable Instruments

What Are CFDs?

Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivatives used to speculate on the price of the underlying asset without physical delivery. For example, a long position on gold would generate profit as the price rises or incur a loss as it falls, all without the need to purchase actual gold bars. One of the biggest advantages of trading CFDs is that traders can get in and out of the market almost instantaneously, thereby catching even minute changes in the price of the derivative.

What Can You Trade With OQtima?

I have broken down the available instruments with OQtima below:

• 63 Currency Pairs
  Major (7), Minor (27), Exotic (29)
• 5 Commodities
  Metals (3), Energy (2)
• 750+ Share CFDs
  US (650+), HK (104)
• 19 Indices
  Europe (6), US (5), Asia (3), Other (5)
• 93 ETFs
  Financial, Retail, Other
• 45 Cryptocurrencies
  Major and Minor

Compared to the broader industry, OQtima offers a high amount of share CFDs, indices, and cryptocurrencies, an average amount of FX pairs, and a low amount of commodities.

As mentioned above, the cTrader platform makes it easy to search for instruments across all available asset classes via its intuitive search tool.

My Key Takeaways After Exploring OQtima’s Tradable Instruments

I noticed that OQtima offers a comparatively modest selection of commodity CFDs, especially when contrasted with their extensive range of indices, share CFDs, and particularly cryptocurrencies. This made me conclude that their overall offering is conducive to well-balanced trading. You have the opportunity to utilize a mix of low-risk securities, such as ETFs, and higher-yield/risk assets like cryptocurrencies. This blend allows traders to engage in highly volatile opportunities while managing their underlying risk

I also liked that some crypto CFDs are denominated in multiple currencies, helping traders avoid having to pay conversion fees.

Customer Support

You can find OQtima’s telephone numbers and a question form here. If you choose to contact them via live chat, you may do so using Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, or the website’s own live chat.

Customer Support Test

When we test a broker’s customer support team, we evaluate the agent’s knowledge of their own website, how long it takes them to respond to questions, and how detailed their answers are.

I conducted my test on 20 November around 1:00 p.m. CET via live chat. An agent connected to the chat almost immediately. He was polite and introduced himself before responding to my question, which I appreciated. I asked him about the discrepancy between what is said on the website pertaining to their negative balance protection policy and the relative ambiguity of the Client Agreement. He did his due diligence and provided a satisfactory answer.

Deposit and Withdrawal

OQtima’s Deposit Methods

How Did We Test the Broker’s Deposit and Withdrawal Process?

The deposit or withdrawal process can be tricky since you may encounter hidden fees or longer than expected processing time. To assess the broker’s offerings, we examined their deposit and withdrawal options and conditions. Using our proprietary database, we then compared these results with those of other brokers.