6 Best High Leverage Brokers of July 2024 (2024)

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Commissions & Fees	Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	Visit Site
		£250.00		0.98info

IG is my top choice for high-leverage traders in 2024. IG is regulated as a broker in nearly a dozen countries, including Switzerland where it is regulated as a bank. Even though the minimum deposit is higher compared to IG’s other global entities, IG’s Swiss entity is my top choice for investors seeking higher leverage.

IG Bank offers traders the ability to trade from within a Swiss Bank account and access forex markets without restriction on leverage, up to the maximum offered: typically 200:1 on forex or the equivalent of 0.5% margin.

Overall, IG is a highly trusted broker with numerous global regulatory licenses. That said, the amount of leverage offered will vary depending on your country of residence and the subsidiary in which you choose to open an account. Check out my IG review to learn more.

Company	Overall Rating	Minimum Deposit	Commissions & Fees	Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard	Visit Site
		$0		1.1info

One of the most highly trusted, well-regulated brokers we review, Saxo operates multiple global entities where the maximum leverage will be determined by local regulations (and any limits imposed by the broker). Saxo is an excellent choice for many reasons, including its stellar SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO platform suite. For traders seeking high leverage, however, its Swiss branch stands out the most.

In Switzerland, Saxo is regulated by FINMA and operates as Saxo Bank (Schweiz) AG, also known as Saxo Bank Switzerland. In this jurisdiction, Saxo is not subject to the EU’s leverage restrictions and can offer higher leverage – up to about 67:1 (unless you are an EU resident). With no minimum deposit required for its Classic tier, and all the other benefits of holding a Swiss Bank account, Saxo Bank Switzerland is a fantastic choice for high-leverage forex trading.

It’s worth noting that the size of your trade may determine any applicable leverage and margin requirements. Saxo's excellent execution of larger orders also makes it one of my picks for the best market maker brokers. Generally speaking, larger trades will have a proportionally higher margin requirement (depending on the Saxo branch you are dealing with). For more information, read my full Saxo review.

Swissquote is a highly trusted and regulated brand operating numerous brokerage and banking entities around the world, including its headquarters in Switzerland. Swissquote Bank provides traders with access to a vast selection of global markets across multiple trading platforms and account types, along with higher leverage depending on your country of residence and your applicable Swissquote entity.

In Switzerland, Swissquote offers up to 100:1 leverage for all clients, or a 1% margin requirement. Qualifying professional accounts in the U.K. may also request 400:1 leverage but will waive many regulatory protections that they would otherwise receive, like negative balance protection. It’s important to reiterate that high leverage can amplify losses as well as gains and must only be used responsibly by experienced investors.

Swissquote provides a good selection of educational materials and powerful market research, alongside multiple trading platforms, including MetaTrader, its own Advanced Trader platform, and associated mobile app. Read more by checking out my full Swissquote review.

Leverage limits sometimes push traders to seek higher leverage brokers in unregulated offshore jurisdictions. Countless forex brokers promote very high leverage on the internet and it can be easy to get lured in by advertisem*nts offering extreme margins, but using that much leverage can be detrimental to your portfolio and not sustainable for consistent long-term trading.

Frequently, the brokers that advertise very high-leverage offerings – if not outright scam brokers – are either completely unregulated or have extremely limited regulation that offers little protection to investors. While I’m not a fan of using high leverage as a sustainable trading strategy, if you are going to choose a high-leverage broker it's best to pick a trusted brand with numerous Tier-1 regulatory licenses and reliable trade execution to avoid scams. Learn more about regulation by visiting our Trust Score page.

Yes, a negative balance is always possible when trading from a margin account, which is necessary for forex trading. If there is a big enough market gap and your margin close-out (liquidation call) is executed at a considerably worse rate than expected, you can lose more than your initial deposit even if you aren’t using extreme leverage.

That said, high-leverage trading can result in considerable losses even without a significant market anomaly. For example, say you’ve opened a $1 million position using 1000:1 leverage with a $2,000 margin account balance. In this scenario, a market move of just 10 pips represents $1,000. Given that the market can move 10 pips in just seconds (multiple times a day), you can see how quickly your deposit can be lost using this kind of leverage.

A free demo account may be a good way to simulate the effects of high leverage or large trades that can result in forced liquidation. Read my guide to the best forex demo accounts.

While some brokers may offer 1000:1 leverage, they are often scam brokers or have questionable dealing practices and are best avoided. The most trusted brokers that offer higher leverage or the lowest margin requirements will generally limit it to a maximum of 400:1 (and such leverage is only available in certain jurisdictions).

To put this in perspective, 400:1 leverage would enable a trader to control $1 million worth of currency with just $2,500 in their account as margin, while 1000:1 would only require $1,000.

Similar to the leverage restrictions in place in the EU by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has retained its leverage caps in the UK at the same levels post-Brexit. These limits range from 30:1 for major currency pairs to as little as 2:1 for cryptocurrency CFDs. Here is the full breakdown:

• Major currency pairs: 30:1 (3.33%)
• Non-major currency pairs: 20:1 (5% margin)
• Commodities except gold and non-major indices: 10:1 (10% margin)
• Individual shares and other index values: 5:1 (20% margin)
• Cryptocurrencies: 2:1 (50% margin)

Read my guide to the best UK brokers for more information.

Recently the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), following in the footsteps of the EU and UK regulators, implemented the same restriction levels to cap forex leverage in Australia ranging from 30:1 to 2:1. The restrictions also included negative balance protection mechanisms, standardizing how liquidation calls (i.e., margin close-outs) are handled, and other rules related to promotions (i.e., deposit bonuses and rebates).

It’s worth noting that ASIC found that within the first months of implementing the leverage reduction, there was a 91% reduction in net client losses, from $372 million to $33 million on average per quarter. There were also 51% fewer “loss-making” clients and an 87% reduction in margin close-outs (i.e., liquidations) and negative balances. This attests to the value of choosing a broker with reasonable leverage limits to protect you from volatility and large losses. Australian forex traders can find highly trusted, well-regulated brokers by checking out my guide to the best forex brokers in Australia.

In 2024, the maximum leverage in the US remains capped at 50:1 (2% margin) for major currency pairs and 20:1 (5% margin) for non-major pairs, per member rules from the National Futures Association (NFA) and following CFTC regulations. Many US brokers may include additional self-imposed margin requirements beyond those regulations depending on the specific currency pair and trade size.

This leverage cap by the NFA at 50:1 leverage in the US applies to the major currency pairs, such as those that involve: the Australian dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, Danish krone, euro, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc.

Non-major pairs, essentially any currency pair not listed above like the Mexican peso, South African rand, or Brazilian real, have a lower leverage limit of 20:1 due to their tendency to be more volatile. Read my guide to the best US forex brokers.