Trust Capital licences

Yes. Trust Capital's summary of conflicts of interest says Trust Capital may act as the counterparty to a client's trades. As counterparty, Trust Capital buys when the client sells and sells when the client buys. Trust Capital may then set its own prices, which may not be the best available, and may offer different prices to different clients. Trust Capital's home page calls Trust Capital an STP broker, meaning a broker that passes client orders straight on to other firms. Trust Capital's FAQ also says Trust Capital passes all trades to its liquidity providers, the firms that supply its prices.

Trust Capital's website footer says trustcapital.com is intended for clients outside the European Union. The live sign-up form refuses residents and nationals of 6 countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, the United States, Iran, North Korea and Indonesia. The sign-up form does not refuse applicants from other European Union countries. European Union applicants must tick a box saying they know the regulatory restrictions for European residents.

Yes, for trustcapital.com clients. Trust Capital's home page and FAQ allow scalping (very short trades), hedging (opposite trades at once) and Expert Advisors (automated trading programs). Stop and limit orders must be at least 6 pips away from the market price. Clause 3.10 of the Client Service Agreement still lets Trust Capital cancel open or closed trades at its absolute discretion. Clause 3.10 applies when Trust Capital suspects that a trading style breaches the agreement. The EU terms of the Cyprus sister company, Trust Capital TC Ltd, list scalping and hedging as abusive trading. Under clause 35.4 of the EU terms, abusive trading can lead Trust Capital TC Ltd to reverse all past trades.

Yes, but only at Trust Capital's discretion. Trust Capital's account types page offers a swap-free (Islamic) option on all 3 accounts, with no interest charged for keeping positions open overnight. Clause 8.5 of the Client Service Agreement grants swap-free status at Trust Capital's sole discretion, under a separate Swap-Free Policy sent by email. Trust Capital's FAQ says Trust Capital charges no overnight swaps. Trust Capital's risk disclosure says a client who buys a CFD pays swaps for as long as the position stays open.

Trust Capital's instrument pages list 221 symbols in 7 classes:

• 58 forex pairs
• 9 metals, including gold and silver
• 7 commodity futures, such as coffee and wheat
• 21 stock indices, including index futures
• 6 energy products, including US and UK oil and natural gas
• 86 US and EU shares
• 34 shares listed in the United Arab Emirates

The home page advertises more than 300 instruments and cryptocurrencies, but no instrument page lists a cryptocurrency.

Trust Capital's FAQ promises negative balance protection, but the Client Service Agreement, which is the binding contract, does not include negative balance protection. Negative balance protection means a trading loss cannot cost a client more than the money deposited. Appendix 1 of the agreement says the client must pay any loss or deficit left after Trust Capital closes the client's positions. Clause 1.2(i) warns that losses may be much larger than the client's investment and margin deposit.

Trust Capital's FAQ asks clients to fill in the Complaint Form from its Complaints Management Policy. Clients send the form to compliance@trustcapital.com, or by registered post to the head office. Clause 24.3 of the Client Service Agreement gives Trust Capital 7 business days to answer a formal complaint. Clause 3.4.2 of Trust Capital's complaints policy allows up to 21 business days instead. A client who is unhappy with the final answer can take the case to the Seychelles FSA.

Trust Capital's contact page gives the phone number +248 255 97 92 and a message form. A WhatsApp button on the website opens a chat with the same number. Customer care works from 09:00 to 23:00 (GMT+4), Monday to Friday, and the contact page says queries get an answer within 2 working days. Clients can also email cs@trustcapital.com or use the chat window on the website.

Trust Capital Ltd, a company incorporated in Seychelles, operates trustcapital.com and signs the client agreement with trustcapital.com clients. The trustcapital.com footer gives Trust Capital Ltd's registration number as 842814-1. Trust Capital TC Ltd in Cyprus runs trustcapitaltc.eu, Trust Capital S.A.L. in Lebanon runs trustcapital.com.lb, and the UAE introducing company runs trustcapital.ae. Trust Capital TC Ltd says the Cyprus firm offers its services only through trustcapitaltc.eu. TCFP Ltd, another Cyprus group company, provides advisory, marketing and support services, but does not execute trades.

Trust Capital gives approximate processing times for withdrawals. Bank transfers take 3 to 5 working days, and cards, including Maestro and Mada, take 3 to 10 working days. Trust Capital lists SticPay, Kora and crypto withdrawals as instant, with crypto subject to network confirmations. A client can withdraw money deposited by card 2 to 3 working days after the deposit, according to the FAQ.

Trust Capital's deposit and withdrawal page shows 0 fees on every payment method, but the client agreement allows a withdrawal commission. Clause 2.9.1 of the Client Service Agreement allows a commission of 2% to 4.5% after low trading activity. Low activity means fewer than 2 trades a month between the last deposit and the withdrawal request. The rate is 2% after 1 to 3 low-activity months, 3% after 3 to 6 months and 4.5% after more than 6 months. Trust Capital must give notice before charging the withdrawal commission. Appendix 1 of the agreement says the full list of fees arrives by email only after the account opens.

Trust Capital's spreads are variable, and the spread is the gap between the buy price and the sell price. The CENT Account starts from 1.6 pips and the Standard Account from 0.9 pips, both with zero commission. The Professional Account starts from 0.0 pips and charges 3.5 USD per lot per side. The broker's FAQ says EURUSD spreads can go as low as 0.8 pips, without naming the account.

Trust Capital offers 3 accounts, all on MetaTrader 5. The accounts differ in minimum deposit, spread (the gap between the buy and sell price) and commission:

• CENT Account: minimum deposit 1 USD, spreads from 1.6 pips, zero commission, and micro lots of 1,000 units.
• Standard Account: minimum deposit 50 USD, spreads from 0.9 pips, and zero commission marked 'terms and conditions apply'.
• Professional Account: minimum deposit 1,000 USD, raw spreads from 0.0 pips, and a commission of 3.5 USD per lot per side.

The account types page offers a swap-free (Islamic) option on all 3 accounts, with no interest charged for holding trades overnight. Leverage lets a trader open a position larger than the deposit. The account types page advertises leverage up to 1:1000 on forex, while Trust Capital's risk disclosure gives a limit of 1:400.

Trust Capital's website offers leverage of up to 1:1000 on forex, for positions of up to 1 lot, the standard trade size. Leverage lets you open a position larger than your deposit: at 1:1000, 1 USD of margin controls 1,000 USD. Forex leverage falls as your open volume grows, from 1:200 between 1 and 5 lots down to 1:25 above 100 lots. For the first lot, the website gives 1:400 on index futures, 1:200 on gold and energy futures, and 1:100 on silver. Trust Capital's risk disclosure gives a lower limit: clause 2.3 says leverage goes up to 1:400, depending on the instrument and on management's decision.

Yes. Trust Capital says in its FAQ that it opens a live account within the working day once the client's documents are complete. This document check is called KYC, which stands for know your customer. Clients must be at least 18 years old.

The minimum deposit at Trust Capital is 1 USD, on the CENT Account. The Standard Account needs 50 USD, and the Professional Account needs 1,000 USD. The home page offer to start trading with 50 USD matches the Standard Account minimum.

Trust Capital lists 6 payment methods for deposits and withdrawals:

• Bank transfer, in USD and EUR
• Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards, in USD
• Maestro and Mada debit cards, in USD
• SticPay e-wallet, in USD
• Kora, in Nigerian naira (NGN)
• Crypto, in USD, with no coin or network named

Clients deposit and withdraw through the client area. Trust Capital does not accept payments from another person, or withdrawals to another person's account.

Trust Capital offers MetaTrader 5 (MT5) only, on all 3 of its accounts. The platform page lists MT5 for Windows, iOS and Android, and lists no web version and no Mac version. Trust Capital's pages do not offer MetaTrader 4. The Trust Capital App manages accounts, deposits and withdrawals, while trading happens in MT5.

Trust Capital Ltd, the company behind trustcapital.com, is regulated only offshore, by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles. The FSA register lists Trust Capital Ltd as a securities dealer, and Trust Capital's website gives the licence number as SD122. An FSA Seychelles licence comes with no investor compensation scheme, which is a fund that repays clients when a broker fails. The CySEC licence 369/18 belongs to the Cyprus sister company, Trust Capital TC Ltd, and does not cover trustcapital.com clients. Trust Capital's client agreement also makes the client liable for losses beyond the deposit, although the FAQ promises negative balance protection.