KVB Kunlun Review
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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.
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. This review will focus on KVB Kunlun’s forex and CFDs trading offering.
Review Summary
While KVB Kunlun is a trusted brand that offers services across the globe, its forex and CFDs offering specifically is incredibly basic.
Benefits
- Regulated in several top-tier jurisdictions and publicly traded in Hong Kong.
Considerations
- Expensive pricing.
- Limited range of tradeable CFDs.
- Only one account type for forex.
- Limited research and educational resources.
Is KVB Kunlun Safe?
KVB Kunlun is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 95 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 Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA). Learn more about Trust Score.
Regulations Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 | 1974 | 1992 | 1989 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Bank | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trust Score | 95 | 99 | 98 | 98 |
Commissions & Fees
Overall, KVB Kunlun offers only one account type for forex, which limits pricing options and makes trading expensive.
Benefits
- None.
Considerations
- Forex trading costs at KVB Kunlun consist of the spread, and the broker acts as a principal when executing off-exchange products, including forex and CFDs.
- 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 leading industry peers (even if it were an average spread).
Gallery
Further Reading
Fees Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Initial Deposit | N/A | £250.00 | $2,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.30 | 0.750 | 0.900 | 0.744 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.363 | 0.600 | 0.744 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commissions & Fees |
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.
Benefits
- None.
Considerations
- News headlines stream only for live account holders.
- While not applicable for this review, KVB Kunlun does offer its Hong Kong Securities Trading platform, which gives investors access to exchange-traded shares in Hong Kong and 32 international shares under its Global Securities Brokerage.
Gallery
Further Reading
- Best Forex Trading Platforms 2019
- Best FX Brokers for Copy Trading 2019
- Best MetaTrader Brokers 2019
Tools Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | No | No |
| cTrader | No | No | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 51 | 22 | 47 | 81 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 31 | 17 | 17 | 24 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 12 | 12 | 8 |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platform & Tools |
Research
KVB Kunlun does not score highly when it comes to research as it lacks the usual research tools offered by forex brokers.
Benefits
- None.
Considerations
- No economic calendar, daily blog updates, trading signals, sentiment tools or related research resources offered for forex and CFDs trading.
Further Reading
Research Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly Webinars | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoChartist | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | No | Yes |
| Delkos Research | No | No | No | No |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Research |
Mobile Trading
Since 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).
Benefits
- MT4 provides a reliable mobile app experience.
Considerations
- No additional features offered beyond the standard MT4 mobile app.
Gallery
Further Reading
Mobile Apps Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trading - Forex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trading - CFDs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watch List | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watch List Syncing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 26 | 41 | 23 |
| Charting - Draw Trend Lines | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Trend Lines Moveable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forex Calendar | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading |
Offering of Investments
The following table summarizes the different investment products available to KVB Kunlun clients.
Offering Comparison
| Feature | KVB Kunlun | IG | Saxo Bank | CMC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex: Spot Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) | 31 | 91 | 182 | 183 |
| CFDs - Total Offered | 7 | 15000 | 32999 | 9959 |
| Cryptocurrency traded as actual | No | No | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency traded as CFD | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Offering of Investments |
Final Thoughts
KVB Kunlun is a publicly listed broker regulated throughout Asia-Pacific, which despite its respected brand, is not a good choice for forex and CFDs trading.
Pricing is limited, research is non-existent for retail traders, trading tools are limited to just MT4, and the KVB Kunlun product offering consists of just 31 forex pairs and seven CFDs.
For forex and CFDs trading, KVB Kunlun unfortunately does not stack up to the best forex brokers.
For our 2019 Forex Broker Review we assessed, rated, and ranked 28 international forex brokers. Each FX broker was graded on 81 variables. 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.
