KVB Kunlun Review
While KVB Kunlun is a trusted brand that offers services across the globe, its retail forex and CFDs offering is incredibly basic and unimpressive.
Top Takeaways for 2019
After spending several hundred hours testing 28 forex brokers over six months for our third annual forex broker review, here are our top findings on KVB Kunlun:
- Founded in 2001, KVB Kunlun is publicly traded (HKG:6877) and regulated in four tier-1 jurisdictions, making it a safe broker to trade forex and CFDs with.
- Compared to pricing leaders CMC Markets and FOREX.com, KVB Kunlun is expensive and not a good choice for discount trading.
- Developed by BancLogix, KVB Kunlun's in-house technology arm, the ForexStar software interface failed to run during our most recent tests.
- KVB Kunlun is a plain vanilla MetaTrader (MT4) broker with little market research to offer. Compared to industry leaders such as IG, Saxo Bank, and Dukascopy, KVB Kunlun left us unimpressed.
- KVB Prime's proprietary web and mobile app are not yet fully launched in the UK.
Overall Summary
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Overall | |
| Trust Score | 90 |
| Offering of Investments | |
| Commissions & Fees | |
| Platform & Tools | |
| Research | |
| Mobile Trading | |
| Customer Service | |
| Education |
Is KVB Kunlun Safe?
KVB Kunlun is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 90 out of 99. KVB Kunlun is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by four tier-1 regulators (high trust), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), and zero tier-3 regulators (low trust). KVB Kunlun is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Securities Futures Commission (SFC), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Learn more about Trust Score.
Regulations Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 |
| Trust Score | 90 |
Offering of Investments
The following table summarizes the different investment products available to KVB Kunlun clients.
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Forex: Spot Trading | Yes |
| Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) | 31 |
| CFDs - Total Offered | 7 |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency traded as actual | No |
| Cryptocurrency traded as CFD | No |
Commissions & Fees
Overall, KVB Kunlun offers only one account type for forex, which limits pricing options and makes trading expensive.
Spreads: While KVB Kunlun doesn't publish average spreads for forex, it lists a minimum target spread of 1.3 pips for the EUR/USD pair, which is not as competitive as the leading industry peers (even if it were an average spread). KVB Kunlun acts as a principal when executing off-exchange products, including forex and CFDs.
UK Offering: The brands KVB Prime offering in the UK offers retail traders a Prime account, which can be established with a $100 deposit and provides lists spreads of 1.6 pips on the EUR/USD.
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Fees Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Minimum Initial Deposit | N/A |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.3 (as of May 19) |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No |
Platforms & Tools
For forex and CFDs trading, KVB Kunlun is a MetaTrader 4 (MT4) -- only broker with little to offer beyond the standard, out-of-the-box MT4 platform experience, which is branded as ForexStar.
ForexStar: The ForexStar interface developed by the KVB Kunlun's technology arm, BancLogix, failed to run and did not provide a smooth user experience.
KVB Prime: From its UK entity, KVB Prime offers MetaTrader5. Note: The firm also has a proprietary web and mobile app, although both were not yet fully launched around the time of our review.
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Research
KVB Kunlun does not score highly when it comes to research. No economic calendar, daily blog updates, trading signals, sentiment tools, or related research resources are offered for forex and CFDs trading.
KVB Prime: A limited but functional economic calendar is available from KVB Prime's UK site along with market news and analysis from Investing.com and FxStreet.
Mobile Trading
KVB Kunlun is a MetaTrader-only broker when it comes to forex trading. iOS and Android versions of the MT4 app come standard (branded as Forex Star).
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Other notes
It's worth noting that KVB Prime, which is the brand's UK-based entity regulated by the FCA, is not part of KVB Kunlun.
Final Thoughts
KVB Kunlun is a publicly-listed broker regulated throughout Asia-Pacific, which, despite its respected brand, is not a good choice for retail forex and CFDs trading. Unfortunately, KVB Kunlun does not stack up to the best forex brokers.
About KVB Kunlun
Founded in 2001, KVB Kunlun Financial Group Limited (KVB Kunlun) became a listed forex broker (HKEX:6877.HK) after its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) in July 2013. As of June 30th, 2019, the group employs 29 people and held over $90m Hong Kong dollars (HKD) in deposits.
KVB Kunlun is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's largest investment bank, CITIC Securities (HKG:6030), following its acquisition of the broker in 2015. In 2017 it transferred its listing from the General Exchange Market (GEM) to the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries that operate using the KVB Kunlun brand, the broker provides forex and CFD traders the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation, and proprietary software developed by its Banclogix division. This review focuses on KVB Kunlun's forex and CFDs trading offering.
KVB Kunlun Trading Features
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Web Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No |
| cTrader | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 51 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 31 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes |
KVB Kunlun Research Features
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No |
| Weekly Webinars | No |
| AutoChartist | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No |
| Delkos Research | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
KVB Kunlun Mobile App Features
| Feature | KVB Kunlun |
|---|---|
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Trading - Forex | Yes |
| Trading - CFDs | Yes |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes |
| Watch List | Yes |
| Watch List Syncing | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 |
| Charting - Draw Trend Lines | Yes |
| Charting - Trend Lines Moveable | Yes |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes |
| Charting - Drawings Autosave | No |
| Forex Calendar | No |
2019 Review Methodology
For our 2019 Forex Broker Review we assessed, rated, and ranked 28 international forex brokers over a six month time period. Each broker was graded on 81 different variables and, in total, over 60,000 words of research were produced.
While encouraged, broker participation was optional. Each broker had the opportunity to complete an in-depth data profile and provide executive time (live in person or over the web) for an annual update meeting.
All data submitted by brokers is hand-checked for accuracy. Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
"There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses." Learn more.
About the author: Steven Hatzakis Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
