Established in 2011, Exante is an investment firm that caters to professionals in the financial sector, whether they are institutions, brokers, or tradersThe company was co-founded by Gatis Eglitis, Alexey Kirienko, and Anatoly KnyazevCurrently, the EU-based firm has offices in Hong Kong, Cyprus, Malta, and London, and is registered and licensed in all those regionsIn this review, we look at Exante’s various trading platforms, how to open an account, and what features they provide.
How to Register and Open an Account
While opening an account with an investment firm is always going to be a daunting experience, Exante strives to make it as painless and straightforward as possibleThe registration can be done in a few easy and simple steps, with Exante guiding you all the way.
The first thing a trader needs to do is to sign up to ExanteThis can be done through the broker’s websiteClick the open account button and pick whether you wish to open an individual or corporate accountYou will then be prompted to enter some personal informationThis includes your name, email, and mobile phoneFor those wishing to open a corporate account, you will also need to provide your company name.
Exante will use the above information you have inputted to contact you directlyThey will then give you access to your Client Area portal, which has a demo account waitingYou can either start trying out the demo account or move on to open a live account.
To open a live account, you first must fill in the questionnaire showcasing your trading experience and fields of interestThis will help Exante to pick an account that will match your current needsYou will then be prompted to verify your identity by uploading the required documents for each account typeFor an individual account, Exante requires you to upload proof of identity and proof of residenceA corporate account is more complicated, with documents such as proof of registration, incorporation documents, registered office, proof of active status and more being needed.
If the provided documents are valid, it generally takes one business day for Exante to approve the accountIf any more documents are required, the necessary information will appear in your Client Area, which will guide you through any further steps.
Once an account has been approved by the firm, you will have to deposit the funds required for your account typeAn individual account requires a minimum deposit of 10,000 EUR/GBP or equivalent, whereas a corporate account needs 50,000 EUR/GBP or equivalentIf you are worried about transferring all the funds in one go, Exante has you coveredFor starters, there are no fixed minimum or maximum transfer limitsThis also means it is possible to transfer your deposit in parts, rather than in one lump sumThat said, you will only receive access to live trading once the minimum deposit requirement has been reachedAfter completing all these steps, you will obtain full access to Exante’s trading platform.
Exante Trading Platforms
Exantehas two versions of its trading platformThe first is a downloadable trading platform that can be installed on both desktop and mobile, while the other is a web-based browser versionWhile both platforms are nearly identical and are extremely powerful and informative for traders, the downloadable version is more easily customisableIt provides more robust and advanced tools, such as advanced charting, customisable indicators, and algorithmic trading, to name a few.
Desktop and Mobile
As stated above, Exante’s downloadable trading platform is available for both desktop and mobile operating systemsThis includes Windows, MacOS, Linus, iOS, and AndroidThe trading platform is also available as an app in both the App Store and Google PlayYou can download the program straight from Exante’s official website.
All the above versions include tools and features such as account balance, trade activity, real-time market data for traders to make strategic decisions, a bond screener, an overview of transaction history, and many more.
This means the downloadable version can work anywhere, anytime, allowing traders instant access to any financial markets so long as they have internet access.
Exante has recently introduced the Touch ID functionality to increase the safety of clients’ personal informationThat said, this function is only available for Mac usersAdditionally, not all Mac devices support Touch ID, which means this option may not appear for all Macs.
Web version
Exante’s web-based platform provides nearly the same number of features and information as the downloadable version and is a fast and convenient way to trade directly in a web browserThis means no matter where you go, you can stay on top of the market, so long as there is internet accessBecause this application is web-based, there is no need to install a program to begin trading – you only need to open up Exante’s terminal in your web browserThese web browsers can include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Opera.
The web version can be entered via Exante’s Client AreaJust click on Trading, and a drop-down menu will appear that has the button Web platformTraders can either start trading from their live accounts instantly or practise their strategies through a demo modeThis mode can be changed by toggling a switch at the top part of the screen.
The web version allows users to visualise their financial data through a chart, and it can be personalised via different time intervals, adding drawings or indicators, or picking a chart styleOne thing that makes Exante’s web trading platform unique is that traders can share their charts with a friend or another user, allowing for more collaboration, which is great in trading communitiesThis is done by copying a link right from the address barThis creates a shareable link that not only shows the instruments being shared but also the timeframe as well.
If a friend has not registered an account with Exante yet, you can still create a shareable linkInstead, it links to a demo chart rather than a live versionDo note that the quotes in the demo are delayed by at least 30 minutes.
Fix API
Exante also has features suited for algorithmic tradersMore specifically, the firm allows you to trade via FIX API, which stands for Financial Information ExchangeExante supports a Fix 4.4-based API that enables quote retrieval, data transfer, and full-scale trading automationLive servers Exante provides include London, London LD4 DC, Germany, Moscow DataSpace DC, New York, NY4 DC, and Equinix CH3 data centre in ChicagoYou can even connect two servers simultaneously for backup purposes.