ACY Securities Review 2026

Regulation and Licenses

Two licensed entities anchor the group. ACY Securities Pty Ltd holds Australian Financial Services License 403863, while ACY Securities SA Pty Ltd operates under South African FSCA license FSP 51008.

A different standard applies to ACY Capital LLC, incorporated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as company 2610 LLC 2022. Incorporation confirms the company's legal registration, but it does not bring the conduct oversight, leverage controls, or external complaint route associated with an ASIC license. The relevant entity appears in the application and client agreement.

Client Money Protection

Deposited funds are kept apart from company operating money in pooled trust accounts, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank named as banking partners. This arrangement restricts the use of client balances for business expenses. It does not, however, eliminate bank counterparty risk or create a separate bank account for every trader.

For specified claims, the Australian company also carries professional indemnity insurance with aggregate cover of up to AUD 2.5 million. That policy should not be confused with a government-backed compensation scheme; it does not promise full repayment of every client loss.

Negative Balance Protection

Automatic negative balance protection applies to Australian retail accounts, preventing an extreme move from leaving the client indebted beyond deposited capital. Wholesale and sophisticated Australian clients are offered a one-time courtesy adjustment. International clients under other entities must request a rebalance, and approval depends on the governing agreement.

Security and Company Track Record

ACY has operated since 2011, and its global head office is in Chatswood, New South Wales. Security controls include identity verification, anti-money laundering checks, a client portal, and documented complaint procedures. Financial transparency is still more limited than at a publicly listed broker because ACY is privately owned.

The trust assessment depends mainly on the operating history and the Australian and South African licenses. The weaker points are equally clear: an offshore company, uneven safeguards between entities, and no group-wide investor compensation scheme.

Forex Spreads and Commissions

Spreads float with market liquidity and volatility, and they also differ by instrument, platform, and account. On Basic and Standard, the trading charge is built into the spread. ProZero uses a raw spread and adds commission separately.

Share CFD pricing follows a different schedule: US contracts start from $0.02 per share and Australian contracts from 0.08%. Bespoke forex commission begins at $2.50 per standard lot per side.

Overnight Financing Charges

Holding spot forex or most cash CFDs beyond the daily rollover creates a financing debit or credit. Instrument, trade direction, contract terms, and prevailing rates determine the amount. Forex and metals normally carry a triple adjustment on Wednesday, with the current figure displayed in the MT4 or MT5 instrument specification.

Funding and Currency Conversion Costs

ACY adds no internal deposit fee. External costs may still come from a bank, card issuer, payment processor, or blockchain network. Accounts can be denominated in USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, NZD, CAD, or JPY; deposits made in another currency require conversion at the applicable rate.

Inactivity and Other Charges

Dormant accounts do not incur an inactivity or routine maintenance charge. Withdrawal costs are more conditional: the first five requests in each calendar month are free, then each additional request costs $25 in the account base currency. Market data, share trading, signal subscriptions, payment services, and VPS use can create separate expenses.

Account Options

The three main accounts use different cost structures. Basic requires $50 and has the widest commission-free spreads. Standard requires $100 and quotes lower spreads without a separate forex commission. ProZero requires $200, with spreads from 0.0 pips and commission from $3 per standard lot per side. Trading frequency and average position size determine which structure results in the lower total cost. Bespoke is listed for higher-volume clients, and its entry requirement is $10,000. Across the main accounts, forex positions can start from 0.01 lot.

Demo and Swap-Free Accounts

A MetaTrader demo remains active for 30 days and can be used to examine the interface or conduct an initial strategy test. Pricing feeds may resemble the live environment, but simulated trading cannot reproduce real liquidity, slippage, order fills, or the pressure of risking capital.

Swap-free trading uses Standard account conditions on MT4 and MT5. Traditional swaps are removed, then an administration fee begins once a position has remained open for four days. Eligibility and instrument coverage are not universal.

Tradable Markets

More than 2,200 instruments are listed across forex, global share CFDs, indices, commodities, precious metals, cryptocurrency CFDs, ETF CFDs, and futures CFDs. Share contracts make up a large part of the total, while MT5 provides the more complete multi-asset workflow.

None of these CFDs represents direct ownership. The contract tracks the underlying market's price, but the trader does not receive custody, shareholder voting rights, or title to the referenced asset.

Leverage and Margin Requirements

Leverage depends heavily on entity, platform, instrument, and position size. Qualifying offshore trades can reach 1:5000 through the ACY Trading Platform, while international MetaTrader accounts generally top out at 1:500. For Australian retail clients, major forex pairs are capped at 1:30 and other CFD classes carry lower limits.

A margin call occurs at 100%, with a stop-out at 50%. Dynamic margin may further reduce leverage as exposure grows.

Execution Quality and Trading Rules

ACY describes a hybrid execution model supported by liquidity from 16 global banks. Its advertised 30-millisecond figure measures processing between the broker's server and liquidity providers, rather than the full journey from a trader's device. Internet quality, device latency, and market conditions remain outside that measurement.

Scalping, hedging, news trading, Expert Advisors, and high-frequency strategies are allowed without a published minimum holding period. Execution is still exposed to available liquidity and slippage. Even a correctly placed stop-loss cannot guarantee the requested exit price during a gap or a fast market.

Supported Platforms

The platform choice covers MT4, MT5, and ACY's proprietary web and mobile software, with apps for Android and iOS. MT4 remains useful for established MQL4 indicators and robots. MT5 adds more timeframes, Level 2 pricing, support for additional asset classes, and a more developed strategy tester.

For browser-based trading, the ACY Trading Platform combines charts, an economic calendar, custom workspaces, dynamic margin, and platform-specific risk tools without a desktop installation. MetaTrader counters with a much larger third-party ecosystem of indicators and Expert Advisors.

Charts, Research and Analysis

Charting includes technical indicators, multiple timeframes, one-click orders, custom layouts, and market depth on MT5. The research stream adds daily analysis, an economic calendar, technical and fundamental articles, signals, webinars, and market commentary. Useful as preparation, these materials are not a substitute for independent judgements.

Automated and Copy Trading

Automation begins with the Expert Advisors and scripts supported by MT4 and MT5. Clients requiring direct connectivity can use ACY Connect for FIX API access through FIX 4.4 with selected FIX 5.0 SP2 extensions. VPS hosting is also available, including a $35 monthly credit for eligible accounts trading at least 20 lots per month.

Copy trading runs through Tradingcup, which connects with MT4 and MT5. Providers may charge subscription or performance fees. Results can also diverge from the displayed track record because latency, account settings, and execution prices vary from one follower to another.

Learning Materials

The education library spans webinars, seminars, eBooks, videos, platform guides, market analysis, and articles on technical analysis, risk management, psychology, and strategy development. Beginners receive a solid foundation, but the sensible next step remains demo practice followed by conservative position sizing.

Registration and Identity Checks

Opening an account requires personal and residential details, financial information, trading experience, and account preferences. Identity verification usually involves a passport, identity card, or driving license together with proof of address. Depending on the case, ACY may also request a selfie, liveness check, or source-of-funds evidence. The name on the payment method should match the name of the trading account holder.

ACY does not accept residents of the United States, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Belarus, North Korea, New Zealand, or Russia.

Approval Times

A complete application is often reviewed within a few hours. Unclear documents, address mismatches, sanctions screening, or enhanced compliance work can slow the process. A demo account can be opened earlier, but live funding must wait for approval.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Funding options cover Skrill, Tether, Bitcoin, wire transfer, Visa, Mastercard, Alipay+, China Union Pay, QR Code Pay, DragonPay, Neteller, and USD Coin. The withdrawal list includes Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Union Pay, Tether, Bitcoin, Alipay+, China Union Pay, QR Code Pay, DragonPay, Neteller, and USD Coin.

Deposits carry no internal ACY charge. During each calendar month, five withdrawals are also free; later requests cost $25 apiece. Card refunds require an earlier card deposit and cannot exceed the amount placed by that card. Instant cryptocurrency withdrawals, where eligible, are capped at 30% of current account equity.

Processing Times

Card, electronic wallet, and cryptocurrency deposits usually credited instantly or within 24 hours. Wire transfers move more slowly and commonly require two to five business days.

Requests submitted before 21:00 AEST receive same-business-day internal processing. Once approved, a bank transfer generally needs two to three business days, a card refund three to five, and an eligible cryptocurrency payment only minutes. Compliance reviews or delays at third-party providers can extend those ranges.

Contact Options and Availability

Customer support is available around the clock from Monday to Friday. Channels include live chat, [email protected], the international number +61 2 9188 2999, and the Australian number 1300 729 171.

Response Speed and Service Quality

Live chat is the practical option for routine login or platform questions, whereas email creates a clearer record for funding and compliance matters. A trade dispute should include the account number, platform, instrument, order ticket, time stamp, and supporting evidence.

Languages and Complaint Handling

Depending on staff availability, support is available in English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Arabic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Malay, Italian, Russian, Bengali, Punjabi, German, Cantonese, and Korean.

Australian clients can lodge a complaint by ticket, email, telephone, or letter. ACY normally has up to 30 calendar days to issue a final response; eligible unresolved cases may then move to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. ACY Securities Pty Ltd is registered with AFCA under member number 26427. Clients of other entities must follow the process stated in their own agreements.

Better Choice for New Traders

IG is a more suitable starting point for traders who require guided education before moving to a live account. IG Academy includes courses, exercises, webinars, and material covering trading principles, technical analysis, risk management, and trading psychology. Its international demo account provides $20,000 in virtual funds, while the international CFD account has no minimum balance requirement.

This creates a clearer progression from education to simulated trading and then to a funded account. ACY provides educational material and demo access, but its learning resources are less closely integrated into a structured beginner program.

Better Choice for Lower Costs

Pepperstone is a stronger comparison for active forex traders who want raw spread pricing with a clearly stated commission. Under its Australian Razor schedule, forex spreads start from 0.0 pips and commission starts from $3.50 per standard lot per side. This equals a minimum commission of $7 for opening and closing one standard lot, before the spread, slippage, and financing costs are included.

ACY's ProZero account follows a similar spread plus commission structure. However, Pepperstone also supports MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and its own platform, giving cost-conscious traders more choice over execution interfaces and analytical tools.

Better Choice for Experienced Traders

Saxo is better suited to experienced traders who need access to several asset classes from one account. Its product range includes forex, stocks, exchange-traded funds, bonds, options, futures, and CFDs. SaxoTrader also provides margin trading, advanced order functions, research, and tools intended for more complex portfolio management.

ACY is more focused on leveraged forex and CFD trading through MT4, MT5, and its proprietary platform. It also supports automated strategies, VPS hosting, copy trading, and FIX API access. These functions may be sufficient for experienced traders whose activity remains concentrated on forex and CFDs.

Reasons to Choose ACY Securities

• Access to discretionary, automated, and copy trading platforms.
• Account options range from low-deposit access to commission-free and raw-spread pricing.
• A large CFD catalog and permission for scalping, hedging, and news trading.
• No inactivity charge, plus five free withdrawals each month.
• Access to regulated Australian and South African entities for eligible clients.

Testing and Scoring Process

Every broker is assessed using the same review methodology and scoring framework. Applying consistent criteria across all reviews makes it easier to compare brokers on matters such as regulation, pricing, platforms, account conditions, market access, funding, and customer support. A full explanation of the process is available on our broker review methodology page.

Editorial and Commercial Disclosure

Our broker reviews are produced independently and do not constitute personal financial advice. The same methodology, scoring criteria, and editorial standards are applied to every broker, and no commercial relationships influence our evaluations.

Broker terms can change after publication. While we review and update broker information regularly, readers should still confirm current spreads, commissions, leverage limits, minimum deposits, promotions, payment methods, restricted jurisdictions, and client protection measures before opening or funding an account.

ACY combines MetaTrader platforms, proprietary software, tiered pricing, and support for automated and copy trading. Whether these features are relevant depends on trading frequency, preferred platform, and the legal entity holding the account.

The account entity ultimately determines whether that package is attractive. ACY can suit traders who accept the applicable legal framework and use leverage with restraint. It is a poorer fit for anyone seeking identical safeguards worldwide, a universal compensation scheme, or the financial disclosure expected from a listed company.