Global Option Review
| Broker | Global Option |
|---|---|
| US Traders Accepted | |
| Company Name | WGM Services Ltd. |
| Headquarters | 48 Themistokli Dervi Ave., Nicosia 1066, Cyprus |
| Regulation | No |
| Bonus Type | Deposit |
| Bonus Size | $125 |
| Max Payout | 95% |
| Out-of-Money Reward | 15% |
| Trading Platform | EZTrader |
| Deposit Options | Credit/debit cards, wire transfer, Skrill |
| Deposit Currencies | USD, EUR or GBP. |
| Minimum Deposit | $200 |
| Minimum Trade | $25 |
| Maximum Trade | $3,000 |
| Online Since | 2010 |
| Trading Instruments | Stocks, indices, currencies, commodities, indices-futures |
| Number of Trading Instruments | 80 |
| Binary Option Types | Call/Put (High/Low), long term trades |
| Customer Support Types | Live chat, toll free phone, email or webform |
| Education Offered | Glossary, FAQ, Introduction, and Weekly Overview, nothing too comprehensive |
| Tools Offered | The Weekly Overview |
| Commission | $25 fee on wire transfer withdrawals |
| Languages | English, German, Arabic, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Danish |
| Demo Account | No |
Global Option is a relatively new binary option platform that has been operating since 2010. Global Option is owned and operated by WGM Services Ltd., a broker some traders may already be familiar with since they also operate EZTrader. Global Option uses the same EZTrader platform. Global Option is headquartered in Cyprus and is currently seeking regulation by CySEC. Unlike many other binary options brokers, Global Option accepts US traders.
Opening an Account with Global Option
It’s easy to register for an account with Global Option; registration is free, and there are no deposit fees. The minimum deposit amount is $200.00 or the equivalent on EUR or GBP. You can use credit, debit, wire transfer, or Skrill to deposit your money. Unfortunately Global Option does not offer a demo account at this time; the only way to use the platform is by trading with real money. You can mess around with the controls a bit to see how it works, which is more than you can do on some other platforms, but if you try to place a trade, it tells you that you have insufficient funds to continue.
It’s highly recommended that you try demo testing on some other platform that offers that capability before you go live, even if you do decide to trade with Global Option. Demo testing gives you a chance to see if the method you have developed for winning trades works as well on real time data as it does on historical data, and it also gives you a chance to address trading psychology issues. Once you’re ready to go live, Global Option does currently provide a nice sign-up bonus of $125.00 if you deposit $500.00 on your first trading day. If you deposit $1000, you can get $500. If you deposit $2000, you can receive $1200. That’s almost a 50% match, not bad at all.
The minimum trade size is $25.00, which is a little higher than the minimum trade size some other brokers offer, though that is probably because there is no 60-second binary trade option. If it’s important to you to be able to trade with one-minute expiry times, you’ll want to look for another platform since you can only trade longer time frames. If you are interested in long-term position trades (like trades that last a week or more), then Global Option could be a good choice. You can earn up to 95 percent on a winning trade, which is excellent. You can get 15 percent back on losing trades, which is also pretty good. There are no fees or commissions associated with trading, and no withdrawal fees either as long as you use a credit or debit card. For a wire transfer there is a $25.00 fee.
One thing that is dissatisfying about Global Option is the lack of option types. There are a lot of different financial instruments you can trade—more than 80, but there are only a couple of ways you can trade them. It seems like all that’s available is Call/Put (High/Low). What that means is you can wager as to whether a given instrument will be trading above or below its current price at some future time. What we didn’t find were option types such as Double No Touch, which provide more flexibility and allow you to strategically profit off of consolidating markets. A little more variety in the types of options would definitely make Global Option a more versatile broker.
As far as the website is concerned, the user interface seems intuitive and simple. The same EZTrader platform is available for traders who are using Android or iPhone and want to trade on their mobile device. There was no direct link to the mobile area however; we had to search for it on a search engine to find it. And while the site supports a number of languages, there is no simple drop-down to select them.
Customer Support and Resources
Customer support options are good; you can choose from live chat, toll free phone, email, or a webform. The live chat help desk was not staffed when we contacted customer service, however, and despite waiting an hour for assistance, no one responded. Additionally, when we sent in an email inquiry with a simple question, it took a week to get a response. So Global Option may not get full points for promptness, though they do offer a number of contact avenues.
There are some educational resources offered, but they are very basic. A glossary, FAQ, and Introduction can help a beginner to learn the basics of binary options trading, though these resources are not comprehensive enough to replace a full education (you should be researching and testing before you invest anyway though). There is a Weekly Overview provided as a trading tool for fundamental traders which may be of some interest.
Conclusion
Global Option has a number of benefits but also a fair number of drawbacks at this point. No demo platform is a disadvantage, albeit a common one. The sign-up bonus for opening an account with $500.00 is very nice, while the $200.00 minimum offers greater accessibility to traders with small accounts. Keep in mind however that since the minimum trade size is $25.00, $500 is a more reasonable bankroll for responsible money management. So it’s really in your interest to consider depositing the $500.00 and taking the bonus if you’re going to sign up. The sign-up bonuses at the higher tiers are really awesome—it’s hard to beat an offer of $1200 just for opening an account with $2,000. That gives you a much better starting point for growing an account at a reasonable rate.
The large number of financial instruments is another definite plus, but the lack of binary option types could be a drawback for traders looking for more flexibility and more versatile means of making money from ranging markets. A trader with a simple trading plan consisting only of Call/Put and long term position trading could do well with Global Option, but those who want to do 60-second trades will need to trade elsewhere. All in all, there are other brokers which offer greater flexibility (i.e. TradeRush), though Global Option does have its advantages.