FOREX.com belongs to StoneX Group Inc., a financial services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SNEX. Launched in 2001, the brand now serves clients in more than 180 countries and is one of the most established players in retail Forex. The StoneX group is not limited to online trading: it also runs institutional brokerage, clearing and risk management businesses in currency, commodity and securities markets. For retail clients, this structure has a concrete consequence. As a listed company, StoneX publishes quarterly results and audited annual financial statements, so anyone can check the financial strength of the parent company before depositing funds.
In Canada, accounts are opened with FOREX.com Canada, a subsidiary authorized by CIRO (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization) and a member of the CIPF (Canadian Investor Protection Fund). Client funds are held in accounts separate from the company's own, in line with CIRO segregation standards, and CIPF protection covers up to $1 million per account category if the dealer becomes insolvent. Leverage follows Canadian caps: it can reach 45:1 on major currency pairs and is lower on minor pairs, indices and stocks. FOREX.com applies an internal cap of 45:1 on major currency pairs, below the CIRO limit of 50:1. This framework is more prudent than that of several foreign brokers not authorized in Canada, but it also limits the size of potential losses on a small account.
The offering covers more than 3,000 markets: more than 80 currency pairs (majors, minors and exotics), about 2,700 stock CFDs, nearly 200 ETFs, commodities such as gold, silver and oil, the main global stock indices and a few bonds. Cryptocurrencies are not offered to Canadian clients, due to the regulatory restrictions on derivatives based on digital assets in Canada. Two account types are offered. The Standard account builds all costs into the spread, which makes the cost of each position simple to calculate. The RAW account shows raw spreads from 0.0 pip and charges a fixed commission per lot, a structure that becomes more advantageous as trading volume increases.
In our comparison, FOREX.com ranks 2nd with an overall rating of 9.5/10. Regulation earns the top score, thanks to CIRO authorization, CIPF membership and the financial transparency of a publicly listed group. The quality of the platforms, with a choice between the proprietary platform, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView, also weighs in the evaluation, as do the competitive spreads on major pairs and the VIP program, which pays volume rebates to active traders. What places it behind the top-ranked broker is the lack of registered accounts (RRSP and TFSA), the inactivity fees after a year without trading and an advanced platform that takes a beginner some time to learn.