[ 01 ]Brokers · the roster

The brokers I trade with, and the ones I’d skip.

Where my personal capital actually lives. Regulator, execution, withdrawal speed, the small print most reviews miss. Affiliate links where I have them, same review either way.

Affiliate links where I have them · same review either way
[ 02 ]Withdrawal speed

The number that actually matters when you want your money out.

Spreads can be optimized later. A broker that drags its feet on withdrawals is a different problem. This bar is the test I run against every broker on the roster, before I size up.

No brokers in the roster yet. When the first broker lands, the withdrawal-speed bars show up here.

[ 03 ]The three tiers

Live capital, on watch, and dropped.

1 broker holding live capital right now. None dropped yet, but when one is, the receipt lands here. No redactions.

Using

live capital deployed1 broker
TMGM
Live · capital deployed

Australian broker where I trade my personal capital. Tight raw spreads, EA-friendly execution, same-day withdrawals.

ASIC+2 more

Considering

in evaluation0 brokers

Empty for now. Brokers under evaluation appear here before they earn live capital.

Discarded

tried and dropped0 brokers

Empty for now. When a broker gets dropped from the roster, the receipt lands here.

[ 04 ]Per-broker spec

The numbers, side by side, without the marketing layer.

One canonical spec table per broker on live capital. Pulled from the regulator pages and my own review notes, not from affiliate landing pages. Empty rows are skipped, not faked.

Spec · canonical
TMGM
Full review
Regulators
ASIC (Australia) · AFSL 436416TradeMax Pty Ltd
VFSC (Vanuatu) · 40256TradeMax Global Markets Ltd
FSP/FMA (New Zealand) · FSP 591498TradeMax NZ Limited
Spreads model
Raw + commission
Typical spreads
EURUSD 0.1, XAUUSD 1.5, US500 0.4
Commission
$7 per round turn / lot (Edge account)
Execution method
ECN / STP, no last-look
EA friendliness
Excellent · no restrictions on EAs, scalping, hedging
Withdrawal fees
Free SEPA + bank wire. 1% on card refunds.
Segregated funds
Yes · client funds held at AU Big Four banks
Leverage
Up to 1:500 (non-EU residents)
Min deposit
$100 USD
Platforms
MT5
[ 05 ]Tricky things nobody talks about

One sharp gotcha per broker. The kind that costs money.

Every broker publishes a clean spec sheet. Each one also has a clause underneath that bites at the worst time. These are the ones worth knowing before you fund.

TMGM · the small print
AU residents get ASIC entity; everyone else gets VFSC

The ASIC license covers Australian residents only. If you sign up from outside Australia, you're contracted with the Vanuatu (TradeMax Global Markets Ltd) entity, which has weaker investor protection. Same trading platform, very different consumer recourse if something goes wrong. Check which entity you're signing with before you fund.

Read the full review
[ 06 ]Methodology

How I rank brokers (and how one loses the roster).

Regulator weight first, then execution and EA friendliness. Spreads matter, but never more than withdrawal speed and segregation. I’ve moved capital out of brokers over a single bad withdrawal experience. I’d do it again.

Earns the roster
  • Tier-1 or better regulator on the entity I sign with
  • Client funds segregated at a named, verifiable bank
  • Withdrawal cleared inside the published SLA, at least once
  • EA policy in writing, including news / scalping carve-outs
Loses the roster
  • Withdrawal request delayed past SLA without a reason
  • Quiet leverage or instrument changes mid-account
  • Regulator action that goes unaddressed in their docs
  • Aggressive affiliate inflation in public reviews
[ 07 ]Reading list

Full reviews for every broker on the roster.

The long-form behind each card above. Live-account notes, regulator citations, and the exact spreads I’ve seen on my own fills.

[ 08 ]Affiliate disclosure

Some links are affiliate. The reviews are written the same whether I’m affiliated or not.

If a broker I’m affiliated with does something I’d warn a friend about, I write that too. The tricky-things section above is exactly that. My personal capital sits at the brokers in the Using tier, which is the strongest signal I can give.

Tom

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