How the Desk Reviews and Scores Forex Brokers

Broker Reviews, the desk’s verdict

By Ken Chigbo, founder and macro trader, KenMacro. Updated 2026-06-04.

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We Trade These Brokers With Real Money

I run a live macro trading desk. So when we review a broker, we open a real account and trade it with real capital and real positions. That is the whole difference between this page and a faceless review site. A committee filling in a spreadsheet has never had a stop hunted, never watched a fill slip three pips in the second after a CPI print, never waited on a withdrawal. We have. Everything below comes from putting our own money through these accounts and recording what happened. We do not ask you to trust us blindly. We trade these brokers ourselves and show you the results.

We Verify Regulation Directly, Not From a Logo

Plenty of sites copy a broker’s claimed licensing straight off the broker’s own footer. We go to the regulator and confirm it. We check the named regulator, the actual license or AFSL number and the legal entity that holds it. For Blueberry that means ASIC AFSL 535887. We also tell you plainly when an entity is offshore rather than tier one, because the entity you sign with decides what protection you actually get. A broker can be perfectly usable on an offshore licence, but you deserve to know which entity holds your money before you fund it, not after.

We Track the Real Costs, and We Date Them

Cost is where most reviews go stale fastest, so we put a date on it. We record raw spreads on the pairs that matter, the commission per lot on raw accounts, and the swap or overnight financing you pay to hold a position, because swap quietly eats swing and position traders alive. Every cost figure carries the date we checked it. If you read a spread number here, you know exactly how current it is rather than wondering whether it was true two years ago. Spreads move with the market and with the broker’s pricing, so a dated figure is an honest figure.

We Test Execution Where It Hurts: Around News

A broker can look cheap on a calm chart and fall apart the moment it matters. So we test execution under pressure: fill speed on entry and exit, slippage around scheduled news like NFP, CPI and central bank decisions, and whether the platform stays up when volatility spikes. Anyone can fill an order at 3pm on a quiet Tuesday. We care about the fill you get when a rate decision drops and everyone hits the button at once. That is the moment cheap spreads stop mattering and execution quality decides your result.

We Test the Platforms You Will Actually Use

We run the broker across the platforms it offers: MT4, MT5, TradingView and cTrader where available. We check stability, charting, order types, mobile parity and how cleanly the platform connects to the broker’s pricing. A great broker on a flaky platform is a bad broker in practice, because you trade through the platform, not the marketing page. If a broker only properly supports one platform, or if one of its platforms is clearly an afterthought, we say so.

We Weigh What a Trader Actually Needs

We do not score on vibes. We weigh the factors that decide whether a broker is right for you: regulation and safety first, then total trading cost, execution quality, the platforms on offer, the range of assets, available leverage, deposit and withdrawal speed, and the quality of support when something goes wrong. Safety and cost carry the most weight because they protect your capital and compound across every trade you place. A broker can win on flashy features and still lose on the two things that matter most, and our scoring reflects that order of priority.

We Show Our Trades, Wins and Losses

This is the part most review sites will never do. We publish the desk’s actual trades, the winners and the losers. You can see how these brokers performed on real positions we took, not a sanitised highlight reel. Showing the losses is the point. It is the only honest way to prove the incentive is aligned, because a desk that hides its losing trades is selling you a story, not a track record. If we recommend a broker, we have lost money on it as well as made money on it, and you get to see both.

We Disclose How We Get Paid, Plainly

Here is the money side with nothing hidden. If you open and fund an account through our links, we earn a CPA commission from the broker, at no extra cost to you. That is how the desk funds this research. What matters is the rule on top of it: a partner cannot pay to change a verdict, move up a ranking or bury a flaw. The commission is the same whether a broker scores well or badly, so we have no reason to inflate a score. If a broker we earn from has a real weakness, you will read about that weakness on its review.

We Keep the Money Pages Current

A broker review is only as good as its last check. So we re-test the brokers we recommend and roll the data forward: we re-verify regulation, re-check spreads and swaps, and re-run execution tests, then update the dates on the page. Our recommendation pages are kept current rather than written once and left to rot. If a broker’s regulation changes, its costs drift or its execution degrades, the review changes with it. That is why every cost and verdict here carries a date you can check against.

How to Use This to Choose Your Own Broker

Even if you never use our links, you can run this same process. Start with regulation: find the regulator, the license number and the entity, and confirm it on the regulator’s own site. Then add up the true cost on the pairs you actually trade, spread plus commission plus swap if you hold overnight. Then test execution with a small live position around a news event before you commit real size. Finally, fund small and withdraw once before you trust a broker with serious capital. Safety first, cost second, execution third. That order rarely lets you down.

Frequently asked

How does KenMacro review brokers?

We open real accounts and trade each broker with live capital. We verify the regulator and license number directly, track dated raw spreads, commissions and swaps, test fill speed and slippage around news, and assess platforms, asset range, leverage and withdrawals. We then publish our own trades, wins and losses, and disclose that we earn a CPA commission if you fund through our links.

Are KenMacro’s broker reviews independent if you earn commission?

Yes. We earn a CPA commission if you fund a broker through our links, at no extra cost to you, and we disclose that plainly. The commission is the same whether a broker scores well or badly, and a partner cannot pay to change a verdict or hide a flaw. If a broker we earn from has a real weakness, it appears on the review.

Do you actually trade the brokers you review?

Yes. KenMacro is a live macro trading desk run by Ken Chigbo. We open real accounts and trade these brokers with real money and real positions, not mystery-shopping. We then publish the desk’s actual trades, including the losing ones, so you can see how each broker performed on live capital.

How do you verify a broker’s regulation?

We confirm it at the regulator, not from the broker’s footer. We check the named regulator, the license or AFSL number and the legal entity that holds it, for example ASIC AFSL 535887 for Blueberry, and ASIC plus FSCA cover f. We also flag honestly when an entity is offshore rather than tier one, because the entity you sign with decides your protection.

What factors do you score a broker on?

Regulation and safety first, then total trading cost, execution quality, platforms offered, asset range, leverage, deposit and withdrawal speed, and support. Safety and cost carry the most weight because they protect your capital and compound across every trade. A broker can win on features and still lose on the two factors that matter most.

Why do you publish your losing trades?

Because it is the only honest way to prove the incentive is aligned. A desk that shows only its winners is selling a story, not a track record. By publishing wins and losses on the brokers we recommend, you can see how those accounts performed on real positions, not a sanitised highlight reel.

How current is the cost data on your reviews?

Every cost figure carries the date we checked it, so you always know how recent a spread, commission or swap number is. We re-test the brokers we recommend and roll the data forward, re-verifying regulation, re-checking costs and re-running execution tests, so the money pages stay current rather than going stale.

How should I choose a forex broker myself?

Verify regulation first: find the regulator, license number and entity and confirm it on the regulator’s own site. Add up the true cost on the pairs you trade, spread plus commission plus swap. Test execution with a small live position around a news event. Fund small and withdraw once before trusting a broker with serious size. Safety first, cost second, execution third.

How do you test broker execution?

We test fill speed on entry and exit, slippage around scheduled news such as NFP, CPI and central bank decisions, and platform stability when volatility spikes. Anyone can fill an order on a quiet day. We care about the fill you get when a rate decision drops and everyone hits the button at once, because that is when execution quality decides your result.

General market education only, not financial advice. KenMacro earns a commission if you open an account through the broker links above, at no cost to you. Trading is leveraged and most retail accounts lose money. Spreads, terms and regulation can change, check the broker’s current terms before funding.