Detailed Review of London Capital Group (LCG)
Day trading is a sensitive business. It is associated with your efforts, dreams, and money. Therefore, it is crucial to know whether London Capital Group (LCG) is trustworthy.
LCG started as a financial holding firm in 1996. After a few years, LCG steered its ship towards turbulent waters, heading for a leading position in the online brokerage industry. LCG is now amongst the most experienced brokers in the United Kingdom.
Before we go ahead with the LCG review, let us first understand a bit about the company. LCG is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and its head office is in London. It is also registered in Wales and England. LCG offers trading on more than 9,000 markets over nine asset classes.
LCG’s trust score is 81 out of 99, which makes it fairly trustworthy. However, the company has faced criticism recently due to financial losses and the fact that some of its most experienced employees have left the firm. However, it is still one of the highest praised and most-used online brokers in the UK and is famous for high-quality support and low prices.
LCG offers access to a wide selection of CFDs (Contract For Difference- A form of Derivative Trading) as well as spread betting agents across various asset classes including indices, Forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, individual stocks, and bonds. They provide comparatively low spreads and zero commissions.
Pros:
- Top-notch mobile application
- LCG’s insights and analysis have a higher than average quality
- The connection between the desktop web version and the application is instantaneous
Cons:
- No automated trading or backtesting
- No means of connecting third-party instruments to the platform
Trust
LCG offers clients a guarantee that they will never lose more than the amount they hold in their accounts due to its negative balance protection. Depending on market situations, guaranteed stop losses may be employed on some instruments; however, they are susceptible to an additional price until they are held open.
LCG takes measures to make sure client funds are not combined with corporate funds, as per UK FCA client money regulations. This ensures that client assets are shielded in the unlikely scenario that the company turns insolvent. This is done by keeping those funds in separate accounts at regulated banking institutions.
Clients possess additional asset protection via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) of up to £50,000. The firm does not offer additional protection for two-factor authentication for its clients’ accounts.
In this LCG review, we would like to rate this aspect as entirely safe and reliable.
LCG’s desktop trading app is above standard. LCG Trader is a simplified trading platform, which is stable as well as easy to access from Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, among other browsers.
LCG Trader has an easy-to-use interface, which allows traders to analyse charts, set up watchlists, and place and check trades. The technical analysis chart can be expanded to full screen, which is accompanied by more than seventy technical indicators that can be applied over several different time frames, from weekly charts to tick charts.
If you are looking for a regular platform, LCG offers an MT4 (MetaTrader 4) option. LCG Trader provides access to various financial tools, which can be marketed from either the chart or from the new order window. You can also fix price-based alerts on your instruments, and LCG Trader will alert you via text message or email as soon as the price goal has been reached.
Sadly, LCG Trader is not an open system. Advanced traders who choose to incorporate other automation and analytical tools in their trading procedure may be disappointed when they realise they cannot integrate those instruments directly with the LCG Trader.
However, for this LCG review, this aspect is satisfactory.
Mobile Experience
The connection between the desktop web version and the application is instantaneous. Alerts are very flexible and easy to set up, which is a crucial feature when operating a business via a mobile application away from your desk. You can easily modify or include effective indicators to the charts.
Additionally, the navigation between account management, research tools, and order entry is very straightforward and simple. Just like the LCG Trader’s web version, its mobile application is easy to use, has a regular menu and charting layout, and is fast.
Charts can be opened in fullscreen mode and can be quickly reverted to a reduced format. Therefore, there is no reason why you cannot manage your account through its mobile app in the same way that you can when using the desktop version.
The app’s security features are not customisable, which is a concern when it offers access to every aspect of your account. There is also no fingerprint scanning. Videos documenting LCG’s research would have been a positive addition, but the analysis is restricted to the news feed, which only comprises technical reports.
Our LCG review finds this to be favourable.
Research Instruments and Insights
Everyday videos are a great means of connecting traders with the trading market as well as supplement LCG’s educational resources, which are comparatively weak on their own. Although there is just one person responsible for the analysis, its content is of high quality and is actionable.
Trading platform and charts are regular features in LCG’s commentary, which is a notable improvement over the teleprompter/green screen style that is commonly seen in the industry. The written technical reports of Trading Central are well known and available from LCG, along with market-wrap articles and a typical economic calendar.
LCG also offers a regularly scheduled online seminar programme and allows for detailed insight into educational topics and weekly events. These are informative and delivered well. Investors can review prior recordings or attend live recordings.
According to this LCG review, the research tools offered by LCG are useful and numerous.
Education
The education offered by LCG is typical of the articles and basic-level videos offered everywhere in the industry, which means it contains nothing exclusive. New investors are able to locate helpful background information; however, it is not wise to rely on its educational provision if you want to be proficient in the trading markets.
The education videos are of high quality but the material is presented in a teleprompter/green screen format without an actual market application. However, the how-to videos describing how to utilise the LCG Trader platform are very helpful.
LCG does not deviate from the norm of the industry, that is, offering basic education on the CFD and Forex markets. There is not much educational content for advanced traders seeking to enhance their abilities. However, the daily analyst webinars and videos are crucial to sealing this gap and providing education data on every asset class.
In this LCG review, education is useful for beginners and learners.
Investment Products
LGC offers access to a wide range of financial tools across nine distinct asset classes, such as Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, individual shares, bonds, and commodities. However, it does not provide trading discounts for traders who transact bigger volumes in a month or traders with larger account balances.
LCG does not ask for commissions on its trades and all costs are included in the spread. You do not have to pay any charges for terminating an account or for standard withdrawals, but LCG asks for an inactivity fee. So, if you have a sufficient amount in your account to meet LCG’s margin requirements, you do not have to invest a minimum deposit when opening an account.
In short, according to this LCG review, this aspect is positive.
Special Features
LCG’s special features are available mainly via MetaTrader 4 and a proprietary trading platform. LCG Trader, the custom platform, offers an updated feel and look, full integration across mobile platforms and desktop, and one-click trading that should serve budding traders well.
However, several advanced traders may use its MetaTrader 4 platform, which offers a more flexible trading procedure through expert advisors. This setting works well for traders familiar with the MetaTrader 4 platform or for investors who are seeking a platform with better indicators and charts but with less flexibility.
The technical reports of Trading Central are also available through LCG, which is a good addition for traders wanting new technical strategies and ideas. Most of its special features are combined with trading platforms of the firm, so LCG clients should decide upon the platform they prefer: MT4 or LCG Trader.
MT4 is more flexible, while LCG Trader is a wonderful entry-level platform that has better charts by default. Automated trading and backtesting are available within MetaTrader 4; however, there are not many supplemental instruments for traders who are looking for something unique.
This LCG review concludes that both platforms have their own set of special features.
Commissions and Fees
The majority of the trading costs at LCG are charged via the spread. However, utilising a guaranteed stop loss will require a premium, which is added to your account. The spreads on major markets are competitive but not the lowest.
The commission and spreads are not too high or too low, as per this LCG review.
Customer Support
Chat, email, and telephone support are available from Monday to Friday, 8 am–7 pm as per UK time. Hold times via phone and chat are much shorter than average and the executives are very courteous and quick to respond. However, it would be very convenient if LCG was to launch a live chat feature.
Overall, LCG customer support is knowledgeable and responsive. Having access to a chat platform in custom trading is very convenient. If you use the LCG website and log in via a demo account, you will see that the chat box pops up frequently, unsolicited, to check-in with its visitors. While you may find it annoying, it does not happen with live accounts. LCG does not have any branch office to visit and it is not clear whether their headquarters based in London is set up to offer services in person for those in the area.
It might be difficult to attain an in-person service from LCG; however, its online customer support is enough to solve your problems and answer your questions. This LCG review gives a thumbs up to LCG customer support.
Overall Verdict
LCG is probably amongst the best online brokers in England. The firm is highly regulated and has a decent reputation from years of excellent service in the stock market. The company is in a good position due to its tight spreads and low commissions.
It allows traders to invest in several markets and earn a good profit. What is more, LCG’s excellent selection of trading platforms has many benefits. Both MT4 and LCG Trader are powerful tools, opening up over nine thousand markets over nine asset classes. Finally, this LCG review would be incomplete without mentioning its excellent customer support.