Worked example
Practising on FP Markets's numbers
This is an exercise sheet, not a review. We are going to take three things that FP Markets publishes — a spread, a ladder of account types and a list of licences — and turn each of them into something you can do arithmetic with. By the end you should be able to repeat the whole exercise on any firm you come across, which is the actual skill being taught.
The figures we are working from
Nothing below is our estimate. Where a firm has not published something, or we could not read it on a source we trust, the box says so instead of guessing — a habit worth copying when you build your own broker notes.
Exercise one — turn the spread into money
FP Markets does not publish a EUR/USD spread we were able to verify, so there is no honest arithmetic to do on this page. Do not substitute a number you read on a comparison site: an unverified spread quietly becomes an unverified cost, and then an unverified plan. Use one of the other examples on the practice index for this exercise and come back to this file for the account ladder below.
Exercise two — read the account ladder
Account tiers are a pricing structure dressed as a status ladder. FP Markets offers 3 rungs. Read them as a question — what does each rung ask of me, and what does it give back? — rather than as a set of prizes to climb towards.
- StandardThe entry rung. Whatever the published spread applies to, it is almost always this one — so this is the rung your arithmetic above describes.
- RawA higher rung usually trades a tighter spread for a commission, a larger deposit, or a status test. Convert both pricing models to money per lot before you decide either is cheaper.
- DemoA higher rung usually trades a tighter spread for a commission, a larger deposit, or a status test. Convert both pricing models to money per lot before you decide either is cheaper.
Account names as published: Standard, Raw, Demo. Platforms listed: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, Iress, Mobile apps.
Exercise three — what this licence list means for you
A long licence list is not automatically a good sign. What matters to a beginner is a narrower question: which entity would hold my money, and who supervises that entity? Those are often not the same as the impressive name at the top of the list. Here are FP Markets's lines, each with a plain reading.
| Regulator | Entity on the register | Number | What that means for a beginner |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASIC · Australia | First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd | AFSL 286354 | a top-tier regulator: compensation scheme, capital rules and a public register you can search yourself |
| CySEC · Cyprus | First Prudential Markets Ltd | 371/18 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
| FSCA · South Africa | FP Markets (South Africa) | FSP 50926 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
| FSA Seychelles · Seychelles | First Prudential Markets Limited | SD130 | an offshore registration: a company exists and pays a fee, but expect little practical recourse from that entity |
| CMA Kenya · Kenya | FP Markets (Kenya) | 193 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
1 of these line is top-tier — held by First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd. If you are onboarded to a different entity than those, the protections attached to the top-tier line are not yours, however prominently the regulator's initials appear in the marketing. 1 line is offshore registration; treat those as a company address rather than as supervision.
The record behind these numbers
- FP Markets states it was established in 2005 and its Australian entity First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd holds ASIC Australian Financial Services Licence 286354.
- The group also lists CySEC licence 371/18 held by First Prudential Markets Ltd, FSCA South Africa FSP number 50926, Seychelles FSA licence SD130 and Capital Markets Authority of Kenya licence 193.
- FP Markets' regulation page states a minimum deposit of $100 to open a live account.
- The company states retail client funds are kept separate from firm capital and held with banks, and that its accounts are externally audited.
- FP Markets offers MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and the Iress platform for share CFDs.
What we could not verify
The following are unconfirmed and are deliberately left blank rather than estimated: maximum leverage; EUR/USD spread; negative balance protection; exact Seychelles and Kenya entity names. Confidence in this file overall: high. When you build your own notes on a firm, keep a list like this one — the gaps are more useful than the figures, because they tell you what to go and check.
Run the same exercise on another firm
PipMentor does not rank brokers, does not award badges and does not tell you where to open an account. This page exists so the arithmetic you learn in the curriculum has real numbers to bite on.