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Berstein Bank Review

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Berstein Bank Review by professional Forex trading experts the “” FX trading team, Finding out everything you need to know about the broker is in this Berstein Bank Review.

Berstein Bank Review

Bernstein Bank is a German private bank, which also provides forex and CFD trading. This automatically means they are highly regulated, but we had some issues with the presentation of their services.

The Company. Security of Funds
Company Country Regulation
Bernstein Bank GMBH Germany BaFin

Bernstein Bank is subject to supervision by the “Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht” (the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) (BaFin) and the Deutsche Bundesbank (German Central Bank). This makes them one of the more highly regulated forex brokers you can find. The security of your funds is truly guaranteed when dealing with such a company, which is also a bank. Negative balance protection and an investor compensation scheme (which pays the clients back, in case their broker goes bankrupt) are among the rules which Bernstein Bank follows.

Germany is not a popular destination among forex brokers, as the regulatory requirements are quite harsh and with the creation of the MiFID (The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), a broker registered in one of the EU member states can (almost) freely operate in the entire Union. This is why a lot of companies prefer destinations like Cyprus. While its rules are (arguably) a bit more loose than the German ones, they still provide a decent level of protection. Unregulated and off-shore brokers are the ones we would recommend avoiding, when possible.

We must mention that Bernstein Bank also offers managed accounts. This is a practice which most brokers stand aside from as it creates an obvious conflict of interest. If a company operates with a STP/ECN model, they have the incentive to trade more frequently than necessary, in order to generate more commissions. That being the case, a Market Maker offering managed accounts is obviously even more ridiculous.

Trading Conditions

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no information on the minimum deposit required for the creation of a new trading account at Bernstein Bank. While this isn’t really an issue, most brokers display this at a very visible section of their website. For instance, FXCM requires only $50, which can attract less experienced traders.

Average spreads & Commissions

Spreads at Bernstein Bank start from 1 pip on EUR/USD. That being the case, we must reiterate there are different account types at this broker, which are not fully disclosed. Here is a screenshot of the bottom of the list of spreads which they provide (click to zoom-in):

We had issues with logging into our demo account, after we created one, so we can’t reveal the spreads available there. This came a bit unexpectedly to us, but may be indicative of a temporary technical issue. Be sure to check out our real-time spread comparison platform, for a detailed view of the spreads offered by some of the top-rated forex broekrs.

Leverage

The maximum leverage at Bernstein Bank is 1:100. Nowadays this level is considered conservative, given the offers available by other brokers, which can go as high as 1:500 (or even exceed this level).

Remember, bigger leverage ratios only allow you to take bigger risks. This may sound lucrative at first, but the potential for loses is also increased. Be sure to understand at least the basics of risk management before you start trading.

Trading Platforms

MetaTrader4 (MT4) is the platform, provided by Bernstein Bank. This is the most popular currency trading platform in the world, as many brokers provide it. The charting package and the ability to load multiple instuments, witout overwhealming the hardware are its main strenghts. The platform also provides an easy to learn programming environment, which has led to the development of multiple new indicators and automated trading systems.

MT4 also has a mobile app, available for Android and iOS. It features most of the functionality of the desktop platform. One of the most neat things about it is the fact you can load multiple accounts, with different MT4 brokers in the same app. Later you can easily switch between them. This can save a lot of storage space on your device, presuming you are diversified with multiple brokerages.

Sadly we couldn’t get the Bernstein Bank MT4 platform running, due to an inability to log in with our newly created demo account. Hopefully this is just a temporary problem.

Methods of Payment

While there isn’t any information on the payment methods available at Bernstein Bank, it would be safe to guess that bank transfers are supported. We are not certain how they stand on alternative methods, like PayPal, Skrill or Neteller.

Bernstein Bank is a German private bank and forex broker. regulated by BaFIN and the Budesbank. This guarantees the security of any funds you deposit with them. That being said, the presentation of their service is lacking. The “spreads vary by deposit” principle is fine, but not stating the details on the company’s website is not. We had issues with the login process, with our newly created demo account, which may be a temporary issue. While Bernstein Bank is a well-regulated bank, we feel they can improve their services greatly.

Instead of the forex broker you can use Plus500, XM, eToro, Fxpro or AvaTrade forex brokers.

Berstein Bank Review Conclusion

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