Worked example
Practising on XS.com's numbers
This is an exercise sheet, not a review. We are going to take three things that XS.com 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
XS.com 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. XS.com 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, XS mobile app.
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 XS.com's lines, each with a plain reading.
| Regulator | Entity on the register | Number | What that means for a beginner |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASIC · Australia | XS Prime Ltd (Australian company number 141 194 934) | 374409 | a top-tier regulator: compensation scheme, capital rules and a public register you can search yourself |
| CySEC · Cyprus | XS Markets Ltd (Cyprus registration HE 386563) | 412/22 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
| FSCA · South Africa | XS ZA (Pty) Ltd (registration 2023/608801/07) | FSP 53199 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
| UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) · United Arab Emirates | XSTrade Financial Consultation L.L.C (company 1495925) | 20200000339 | a mid-tier regulator: real supervision and a register, usually with a smaller or capped compensation scheme |
| FSA Seychelles · Seychelles | XS Ltd (Seychelles company 8428765-1) | SD089 | an offshore registration: a company exists and pays a fee, but expect little practical recourse from that entity |
| Labuan FSA · Malaysia (Labuan) | XS Finance Ltd (Labuan company LL17310) | MB/21/0081 | an offshore registration: a company exists and pays a fee, but expect little practical recourse from that entity |
| FSC Mauritius · Mauritius | XS Trade Services Ltd (Mauritius company 224974) | GB25204786 | an offshore registration: a company exists and pays a fee, but expect little practical recourse from that entity |
1 of these line is top-tier — held by XS Prime Ltd (Australian company number 141 194 934). 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. 3 lines are offshore registrations; treat those as a company address rather than as supervision.
The record behind these numbers
- XS.com's regulations page names seven group entities, including XS Prime Ltd under ASIC licence 374409 and XS Markets Ltd under CySEC licence 412/22.
- XS Ltd, the Seychelles entity operating www.xs.com, holds FSA Seychelles securities dealer licence SD089 under company number 8428765-1.
- The group also lists FSCA South Africa FSP 53199, Labuan FSA licence MB/21/0081, FSC Mauritius licence GB25204786, UAE SCA licence 20200000339 and a Kuwait authorisation numbered 513918.
- XS states its website is not directed at residents of the United States, the European Union, Australia, Japan and other restricted jurisdictions.
- XS notes that investor compensation scheme coverage varies depending on which group entity a client contracts with.
What we could not verify
The following are unconfirmed and are deliberately left blank rather than estimated: founding year; headquarters; minimum deposit; maximum leverage; EUR/USD spread; segregated funds; negative balance protection; exact account tier 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.