Scandinavian Capital Markets Review

Trading Conditions Review

Scandinavian Capital Markets provides trading conditions to accommodate advanced forex traders. The company provides multiple trading platforms co-located in Equinix data centers in London and New York. The trading platforms connect directly to Tier-1 liquidity providers and exchange to access deep liquidity and excellent pricing.

Trading Account Types

Scandinavian Capital Markets offers three trading accounts: Standard, Premium, Islamic and Custom. The trading conditions vary according to deposit size. 

The Standard account, with a minimum deposit requirement of US$10,000, offers straight-through processing to the company’s liquidity providers. Spreads start from 1.7 pips, and there aren’t any trading commissions.

The Premium account, with a minimum deposit requirement of US\$25,000, offers straight-through processing to the company’s liquidity providers and access to forex ECNs, which are essentially forex exchanges with order books. Spreads start from zero pips, and commissions are $10 per lot (round trip) on MT4 or $50 per million dollars traded on cTrader.

The Custom account, with a minimum deposit requirement of US$250,000, lets you negotiate with Scandinavian Capital Markets and completely customize your trading conditions.

The Islamic account, designed to comply with Shariah law and Islamic finance, does not charge swap fees. Instead of paying swaps, a daily administration fee is charged. Some products are exempt from the Islamic account. The minimum deposit required to open an Islamic account in cTrader is US$10,000, whereas, for MT4, it’s US$1,000,000.

Leverage

The maximum leverage offered by Scandinavian Capital Markets is 1:100. Although there are many 1:500 leverage forex brokers to choose from, you might wonder why Scandinavian Capital Markets offer much less. The reason is, as a true STP broker when they offer higher leverage than they receive from their liquidity providers, they must provide the margin. 

Suppose the broker gives you 1:500 leverage, they get 1:100 leverage on USD/CAD, and your position size is one lot. In that case, the broker asks you for a $200 margin, but they give their liquidity provider a $1,000 margin. As you can see, this is very cash flow intensive. Hence why true STP brokers don’t give very high leverage.

Trading Instruments

Scandinavian Capital Markets product offering focuses on forex products, gold and silver.

• 41 currency pairs: AUD/CAD, AUD/CHF, AUD/JPY, AUD/NZD, AUD/SGD, AUD/USD, CAD/CHF, CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/CHF, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/NOK, EUR/NZD, EUR/SGD, EUR/TRY, EUR/USD, GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD, GBP/CHF, GBP/JPY, GBP/NZD, GBP/USD, NZD/CAD, NZD/CHF, NZD/JPY, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/CNH, USD/DKK, USD/HKD, USD/JPY, USD/MXN, USD/NOK, USD/PLN, USD/SGD, USD/TRY, USD/ZAR
• 2 precious metals: XAG/USD, XAU/USD

Scandinavian Capital Markets Minimum Deposit

The minimum first-time deposit with Scandinavian Capital Markets is US$10,000, or the equivalent amount in euros or pounds. This is quite a large requirement, especially when numerous forex brokers with a $10 minimum deposit or less. However, you should consider that Scandinavian Capital Markets is strictly a non-dealing desk broker offering STP or ECN execution. Hence, the company needs high trading volumes to generate worthwhile revenues. 

Deposit & Withdrawal methods

Scandinavian Capital Markets only handles deposits and withdrawals via bank transfers. The company has a high minimum deposit; therefore, other payment methods like e-wallets and credit cards aren’t suitable. 

Scandinavian Capital Markets Features

Trading Platforms

Scandinavian Capital Markets offer four trading interfaces: MetaTrader 4, cTrader, Currenex and FIX API. 

Trading Education

Although the company doesn’t have any educational courses, e-books, etc., as many other forex brokers offer, Scandinavian Capital Markets posts regular market analysis and hosts regular webinars. 

Jamie Saettele is the broker’s resident chief technical analyst, publishing videos and articles almost daily. Michael Buchbinder, a Partner at the company, hosts a live stream on TradingView twice per month. The live stream titled Trading Where to Focus (WTF) brings professional traders, investors and industry executives for lively discussions. 

MAM Account

As a forex broker tailored to institutional and professional traders, Scandinavian Capital Markets offer several partnership opportunities. One way to partner with this broker is to become a money manager using their advanced MAM solution. 

They offer a custom solution that utilizes the latest smart investment technologies and provides a full-featured back-office to manage risk, trade operations, positions, settlements and fee settings. The Scandinavian Capital Markets MAM technology is available on MetaTrader4 and Web GUI.

Customer Service

Most forex brokers offer online support via live chat and email tickets on a first-come-first-served basis. In contrast, Scandinavian Capital Markets give clients dedicated success managers who are reachable directly via email, phone and instant messaging. A customer success manager can be important if you’re looking for very specific trading conditions that require some customization.

FXCopy

FXCopy is Scandinavian Capital Markets’ proprietary forex investment platform. The platform is designed for professional traders and forex asset managers to provide their trading strategy to other Scandinavian Capital Markets customers. Conversely, investors can allocate funds to copy a particular strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Scandinavian Capital Markets accept Canadian clients?

Yes. Canadians can open an account with Scandinavian Capital Markets.

Does Scandinavian Capital Markets support cTrader Copy?

Yes. Scandinavian Capital Markets is a full-member broker of cTrader Copy, allowing you to be a strategy provider or follower in the cTrader Copy community. 

Is Scandinavian Capital Markets affected by ESMA leverage restrictions?

No. Although Scandinavian Capital Markets is based in Sweden, a member of the European Union, forex is not considered a financial instrument in Sweden. Therefore, MiFID 2 and ESMA rules do not apply to the company because it only provides forex products.

Does Scandinavian Capital Markets accept US clients?

Yes, but under very specific conditions. The company will only consider accepting US-based clients if they meet an Eligible Contract Participant (ECP) criteria. For individuals, the criterion is $10M+ aggregated discretionary investments in their own name or $5M if hedging.