has a license from the Russian Central Bank and operates within the legal framework of the Russian Federation, this increases reliability and gives clients maximum protection. In addition to high reliability, customers are promised good trading conditions.
From this article you will learn:
- General information about the Alfa Forex broker
- Registration in Alfa Forex
- Alpha Forex account types
- Trading conditions
- Replenishment and withdrawal of funds
- Trading training from Alfa Forex
- Analytics and supporting tools
- Alfa Forex Affiliate Program
- Advantages and disadvantages of Alfa-Forex
- Conclusion
a brief description of
- Official website: alfaforex.ru.
- Year founded: 2016.
- Registration address: Moscow.
- Regulator: Bank of Russia.
- Minimum deposit: unlimited, based on margin requirements - about $25-$30.
- Leverage – 1 to 40.
- Stop Out: 85%.
- Demo account: yes.
- Trading platform: MetaTrader5.
- Replenishment and withdrawal of funds: via Alfa-click, bank transfer and cards.
- Status: paying .
General information about the Alfa Forex broker
The Alfa-Forex brand has been operating since 2003, the rights to the brand belong to Alfa Capital Holdings Limited . In 2016, the board of directors of Alfa-Bank decided to organize Alfa-Forex LLC, operating in accordance with the then new law regulating the work of Forex brokers in the Russian Federation.
Do not confuse these and the company with offshore registration (it has been operating since 2003) - they are different brokers.
The company received a license from the Bank of Russia on December 20, 2018 (number – 045-14070-020000). We find confirmation of this on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; as of August 1, 2022, 4 companies in the Russian Federation have licenses, including Alfa-Forex.
The Russian regulator issues a work permit for an indefinite period and imposes a number of restrictions. Among the most significant requirements we highlight:
- ban on providing clients with PAMM accounts . This is one of the forms of trust management, and Russian legislation prohibits transferring money directly to management, so a broker is prohibited from working with PAMM accounts;
- Leverage limitation; at the request of the regulator, it cannot exceed 1 to 50 . The broker decided to limit leverage to a maximum of 1 in 40 with a stop out at 85%.
The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) does not insure traders' deposits. Clients' money is stored in nominal accounts opened with Alfa-Bank.
Guarantees
Additional guarantees of successful cooperation on the part of Alfa-Bank forex broker will be:
- Bringing all client transactions to the open interbank market;
- Working with actual currency quotes;
- Development and implementation of progressive new products;
- Execution of orders with maximum accuracy.
Contact numbers and addresses for resolving questions and feedback on Alfa-Forex
Alfa-Bank Forex has long become one of the largest Russian players on the Forex exchange. The business reputation of this organization depends on the success of its operations and honest cooperation with clients. This is exactly the approach that the Forex Alfa-Bank organization uses in its work. Tight spreads, progressive and carefully selected trading instruments allow you to carry out transactions with the greatest possible profit. The company's reliability is confirmed by decades of successful activity in this field and an impeccable business reputation.
Registration in Alfa Forex
Compared to offshore brokers, registration here is not very convenient. Only Alfa-Bank clients will not experience problems. After clicking on the “Open account” button, they will only need to log in to the bank’s application and confirm their acceptance of the terms of the client agreement. Data for authorization on the Alfaforex ru
will come by email.
Clients of other banks can apply for an Alfa-Bank debit card or visit the broker's office and sign all the necessary documents. This is the main inconvenience.
As for opening the account itself, it takes several hours. If the application is submitted at the end of the working day, you will most likely receive access data the very next day.
There are also standard requirements - 18 years of age and full legal capacity.
The broker does not set a minimum deposit limit, so you can experiment with small amounts. Considering the leverage of 1 to 40, a deposit of $30-$40 is enough to open trades, but it is better to replenish the deposit with a larger amount in order to have a margin of safety in case of losses.
Online support (2nd attempt).
After waiting until morning, I try to contact the consultant again. The clock is 8:14 Moscow time. This time, not even a minute had passed before the Dmytry consultant appeared. When asked about the minimum deposit, Dmitry immediately sent me to the FAQ section without greeting. It’s good that the information is still on the site, but why it is not in the trading conditions section remains a mystery, it’s inconvenient. Also, after mentioning problems with registration, I received a small interrogation in response, to be honest, it bothered me a little. Okay, I won't quibble. We are all humans. Chating history:
Click to enlarge.
For some reason, Dmitry thought that I had a problem with access to the Account and sent me an email with the following content:
Why this was done, I still don’t understand. I personally did not ask for this. Once they have replaced it, that means it will be so. Nothing bad happened. Let's move on.
Alpha Forex account types
There is no abundance of different types of accounts (nano, cent, VIP, gold), and there is no division of accounts into classes depending on turnover. Depending on the features of position accounting, there are only 2 types of accounts:
- with hedging (in broker terminology it is called “without netting”) - you can lock positions on it. That is, if a trader opens a EURUSD Buy position with a volume of 1.0 lot and later enters into a sell transaction with a volume of 0.5 lot, then both transactions will be displayed in the terminal;
- without hedging or with netting , positions are summed up. If you buy 1.0 lot on EURUSD and then sell 0.5 lot on the same instrument, then there will be one purchase transaction with a volume of 0.5 lot left in the terminal. That is, the positions will be summed up.
The effect is rather psychological. If you plan to actively lock or add to the trend, choose the option without netting.
The broker also has training accounts. But when registering, you will encounter the same difficulties. You can’t just register a demo account and test working with Alfa-Forex.
Instructions for registering with a broker
Registration is standard, you will need:
Fill in the current data
About yourself, place of residence. Let me remind you, provide only relevant , factual information. Otherwise, there may be problems with verification and withdrawal of funds. When registering a personal account, you will have to provide a lot of information.
Verification
After this, you will definitely need to undergo verification , that is, confirm that the information you entered corresponds to reality. To do this, you can upload a scan of your passport or any other document confirming your identity.
Important note: you cannot use a scan of one document to verify data . So the ideal option is to use, for example, a scan of a passport and driver’s license or other document.
Registration of a personal account
If, due to some problems, scans of documents cannot be uploaded, then they can be sent by email [email protected] , just do not forget to indicate your personal account number in the subject line of the letter . The verification process will take a maximum of 2-3 days, after which you will be able to use the functionality of your personal account to the maximum - open an account and start trading.
Previously, it was possible to scan a signed application form, but now this option is not possible . Only verification through your personal account with uploading scanned copies of your documents, and the application form is filled out online in your personal account.
Another important point is that you cannot change your data in your personal account yourself . If you registered, passed verification, but some data has changed (changed last name, registration address), then you can change the information only by contacting support in chat or by phone.
Trading conditions
If you evaluate the Alfa Forex broker according to the key conditions for the trader, the following becomes clear:
- For ruble pairs, the spreads here are small. In terms of majors, crosses and exotic instruments - at the level of other brokers. At the moment the market closes, the spread on ruble instruments increases very much due to a drop in liquidity. Below are the spreads as the market closed on Friday. For example, for EURUSD at this time the difference between the Bid and Ask was 1.6 points - a good result; on myfxbook, statistics at the same time show a spread range from 0.4 to 10 points;
- leverage is 1 to 40 and only for pairs with the Mexican peso and Turkish lira is reduced to 1 to 20;
- There are no complaints about the speed of execution . The reviews do not criticize the company for this either. If you enter directly during the release of, for example, the NFP report, there may be slippage, but under normal conditions orders are executed almost instantly. If you don't pip, there won't be any problems;
- The broker does not provide CFDs on cryptocurrency, stock indices, oil, precious metals and other assets . We will have to limit ourselves to 29 currency pairs.
It is very inconvenient that the Alfa-Forex broker only supports MetaTrader5. If you use non-standard indicators or advisors in your work, most likely Alfa-Forex will not suit you. MT5 has many fewer indicators, and since the programming languages for MT4 and MT5 are incompatible, indicators and robots will have to be rewritten for the new platform.
In communication with traders, the broker informs that it is not going to introduce MetaTrader4. This will not change in the future.
Installation of a trading terminal.
The terminal can be downloaded directly from your personal account when opening an account, or another way is to use the website (Menu “Platforms” - “MetaTrader 5”). Installing the terminal does not take much time. Graphically, the installation process is as follows:
Step 1 (Click “Next”);
Step 2(o);
Step 3 (here you can specify a different installation path, I left everything as is, “Next”);
After which the program will download the missing files and install the trading terminal itself. As you can see, there is nothing complicated.
I'm launching the trading terminal. First of all, the program automatically pings the server. I checked several times, the ping was in the range of 26-32 ms. Not bad. To connect to a trading account, select “File” - “Connect to trading account” in the program menu. In the connection window, I enter my username and password and click “OK”.
MT5 was successfully connected to the account. As you can see, 100 bucks are already waiting for me. 
Click to enlarge.
Replenishment and withdrawal of funds
The situation with replenishment is standard for brokers licensed by state regulators. Electronic payment systems, cryptocurrencies, and replenishment through terminals are not supported; only 3 options are available:
- through Alpha Click - the most profitable option, no commission is charged;
- through a branch of Alfa-Bank or another bank . The commission depends on the specific financial institution;
- from Visa, MasterCard, MIR. Payments are only available in rubles; if you send a transfer in a different currency, it will be rejected and the money will be returned to the card within 1-2 business days. Alfa-Bank will write off 1% as a commission, and the client will also pay a commission to the card issuer.
In order not to get confused with the details, you can create an invoice in your personal account; it contains all the data necessary for the transfer. As for the payment processing time, the maximum is 2 business days, usually everything happens faster.
With the conclusion, the situation is the same - the stricter the regulation, the fewer ways. Alfa-Broker allows you to withdraw money only by bank transfer to the account of Alfa-Bank or any other bank in rubles, dollars or euros. Payment is processed within 2 business days and cannot be issued to a third party.
Paying taxes
In the case of offshore brokers, this issue has to be resolved independently. For Alfa-Forex, everything is simpler; the company is regulated by the Bank of Russia and is a tax agent. This means that clients do not need to think about paying personal income tax; this amount is written off automatically when withdrawing funds.
While money is kept in a brokerage account, it is not considered income. The tax is paid in 3 cases:
- when withdrawing money;
- upon termination of the contract with the company (closing the account);
- at the end of the year (the tax period ends).
Let’s assume that in January a trader doubled his deposit and his account balance was 20,000 rubles. The total tax on this profit is 10,000 x 13% = 1,300 rubles.
The client submits a request for withdrawal of funds, he wants to withdraw 2000 rubles. He will receive 2000 – 2000 x 13% = 1740 rubles to his account. In this case, it remains to pay 1300 – 260 = 1040 rubles, his trader will pay on subsequent withdrawals. Since he will continue to trade, the tax amount will be constantly adjusted.
The total result for all accounts is taken into account. If a profit of 10,000 rubles was made on a ruble account, but a loss of €200 was formed on an account in euros, you will not have to pay tax since the total result is negative.
Eurobonds of Russian companies
The main advantage of investments of this kind is the possibility of receiving dividends at the level of 26% per year . This offer only works if you invest currency in shares of Russian companies . Trading stocks may seem daunting for beginners, but in reality you can earn good income without much risk or effort.
This method of investment can be considered as a replacement for the usual bank deposit , judge for yourself:
- you get more than the bank can offer;
- at any time you have the opportunity to withdraw your funds . Moreover, the conclusion can be made either complete or partial;
- your income will consist of 2 parts : guaranteed income from the coupon + profit due to the increase in the value of the shares themselves.
To better understand the algorithm of such investments, I will explain:
- By purchasing shares of a company, you give that same company the opportunity to manage your funds. You could say you are lending to her;
- any debtor pays his creditor , this rule also works here. That is, the company pays you a commission (the same coupon income), due to this, a constant part of the income is formed.
Now a couple of features of investing in stocks:
- low entry threshold - you can start investing as early as $1000;
- shares of more than 20 largest companies in the Russian Federation , including Gazprom, Lukoil, Alfa-Bank;
- You can trade through your personal account ; no additional software needs to be installed. So you can invest from literally any PC with access to the Internet.
Trading training from Alfa Forex
Alfa - Forex
conducts training webinars for beginners. This is a good training format, but they are unlikely to teach you how to trade profitably.
The video covers basic questions:
- traders' mistakes;
- rules for developing trading strategies;
- basic tools.
There are few webinars; they are all freely available on the broker’s YouTube channel.
Much more information directly related to trading can be found in the FAQ. Here, in a question-and-answer format, explanations are given of the features of the broker's work, as well as the principle of operation of indicators, running graphic and candlestick patterns. Attention is also paid to fundamental analysis.
The glossary contains an explanation of trading terminology.
The broker does not have ready-made strategies in the training materials, and this is correct. The basics are given, that’s enough, the beginner must choose or create a strategy for himself.
Education
Unlike most large Forex brokers, Alfa-Forex does not provide trading training on its own. In the corresponding section of the broker there are links to the so-called broker-certified partners for training in Forex trading and several videos simply telling about the advantages of banking Forex. Even as a material for beginners, the usefulness of this is a big question, this can be considered another confirmation that the company is focused more on professionals than on beginners.
In this section there is online support , within its framework it is offered:
- morning trading plan for the day . Every morning at 9:30 a.m. you can check out how a financial expert sees the day ahead. It is difficult to judge its usefulness, and it cannot be called training. After all, the expert does not teach analysis, but literally indicates at what levels the price can stop;
- evening analogue . In principle, the same thing, but the price behavior during the day is taken into account and a possible forecast is made for the beginning of the next day.
Free webinars are also held on topics such as “Divergence”, “Market Turning Areas”, etc... But there is no clearly structured structure for teaching beginners the basics of working in the market .
Analytics and supporting tools
In the analytical section we find:
- economic calendar;
- rates established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Forex market rates;
- standard economic calendar with news classification by “weight”;
- market reviews.
Market reviews provide the greatest value to traders. They come out with a frequency of several days, there is a text part and chart markings highlighting key support and resistance levels.
Among the auxiliary tools on the site there is only a calculator . It is used to calculate the level at which a trade will be stopped out, as well as the financial result of the trade.
For calculations you need:
- select a currency pair;
- set the transaction opening price and closing price, as well as the direction of trade;
- indicate the account balance and position volume in lots;
- set the account currency.
As a result of the calculation, we obtain the amount of loss or profit in the deposit currency, the margin level and stop out. Stop-out refers to the price level at which the broker will close the position. This can happen if a trader entered the market in violation of money management and the chart went against the open trade. If you follow the capital strengthening rules, the stop-out option is unlikely.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
According to reviews of Alfa-Forex, the broker provides additional opportunities to its clients that significantly simplify the trading process.
In particular:
- Application for mobile devices running iOS and Android. You can enter into deals, analyze quotes, and set up push notifications when an opportunity to enter a position becomes available.
- Qualitative analytics. Reviews of financial markets are compiled by leading Russian specialists using information from reliable sources: Bloomberg, Reuters and official channels of Central Banks.
- Trading Academy – on the Alfa-Forex website you can find informative videos that discuss the basic aspects of the trading process. Experienced teachers conduct webinars on a regular basis.
The company's clients also have access to an economic calendar, which is necessary for forecasting and trading based on news. It displays all important news and macroeconomic events.
Alfa Forex Affiliate Program
Alfa Forex gives you the opportunity to earn money by attracting clients. The size of the reward is not limited and is calculated depending on the referral’s trading turnover (the result of his transaction is unimportant).
Calculation example:
- the referral opens a deal to buy 5 lots of EURUSD at a price of 1.1900. That is, he spent $595,000;
- the transaction turned out to be unprofitable and was closed at a price of 1.1800. This is also taken into account when calculating trade turnover, which gives another $590,000;
- the total turnover is $1,185,000. Affiliate remuneration is calculated using the formula S = (turnover/1,000,000) x K x $20. In our example, S = ($1,185,000/$1,000,000) x 1 x $20 = $23.7. The coefficient K is 1.0 for ordinary agents (partners).
The referral made a loss due to this position, but the broker's agent made money from it. The affiliate program is peer-to-peer, that is, the referrals of your referrals are not taken into account when calculating the reward.
Services
The broker offers a large number of services related to trading on the Forex currency exchange. There are several opportunities to make money:
- As a trader, performing transactions on the stock exchange and making a profit from the difference in exchange rates of currencies and other assets.
- As a manager, you can use not only your own funds, but also investors’ funds.
- As an investor, by putting his money under the management of a skilled trader, the investor can receive income from his successful trading.
Special conditions for VIP clients:
Advantages and disadvantages of Alfa-Forex
Let's start with the advantages :
- regulation by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation - maximum reliability and customer protection;
- if you are a client of Alfa-Bank, registration is quick, and deposits and withdrawals are commission-free;
- small spreads for ruble pairs;
- there is a demo account;
- unobtrusive technical support. Managers do not constantly call with bonuses and other “advantageous offers”;
- taxes are withheld automatically;
- good speed of execution of orders.
There are some drawbacks , and for some traders they can become critical:
- There is no support for MT4 and there are no plans to do so. This cuts off all indicators and advisors created for MT4; they will have to be rewritten from scratch for MetaTrader5;
- very inconvenient registration if you are not a client of Alfa-Bank.
As for the small leverage, lack of PAMMs and inconvenient methods for depositing/withdrawing funds, these can also be considered disadvantages. But this is a requirement of the regulator, and not the whim of the broker; if Alfa-Forex violated these rules, the license could be revoked.
INVESTMENT SERVICE
This Forex broker does not have a service for PAMM investing or a service for copying trading operations, since they are prohibited by the main regulator in Russia. However, additional software is not required. You can create a source of passive income using the functionality of the MetaTrader 5 trading terminal. Install or create a robot yourself that will make deals for you.
You can manually search for signals using indicators and other technical analysis tools. Investment opportunities for traders are unlimited, regardless of the chosen Alfa-Forex account.
