EdgeClear Review – Benzinga

EdgeClear Product Offering

Despite being a relatively new brokerage (established in 2020), EdgeClear has quickly gained popularity as a leading futures broker from its robust trading tools, cost-efficiency and comprehensive services with the goal to help minimize trading risk. Here’s a breakdown of its offerings.

Before choosing a brokerage firm to kickstart your trading journey, you must consider the trading platform and tools they offer. An ideal brokerage should offer advanced trading platforms with multiple tools that streamline efficient decision-making and risk management. EdgeClear offers suites of platforms and tools to help you navigate the fast-paced and complex nature of the futures market. These tools cater to diverse trading needs and feature advanced capabilities that can help your futures market analysis, trade execution and risk management. Here are some of the core tools.

EdgeProX

EdgeProX is EdgeClear’s trading platform. It is beginner-friendly, feature-rich and highly customizable. EdgeProX is renowned for its beautiful charts and analytics capabilities. Thanks to its numerous charting templates, bar styles and 300+ indicators, you can customize the chart to suit your trading style. The platform runs on the Rithmic or CQG feed. Additionally, it supports IQFeed. All three are exceptionally fast and reliable data feeds in the futures market. 

EdgeProX also features advanced order-flow tools, including advanced depth of market, volume imprint, market profile TPO (Time Price Opportunity), order flow heat map, volume profile and more. These tools are incredibly useful, especially if your futures trading strategies are based on auction market theory. EdgeClear features discounted pricing for the popular Rithmic platform. EdgeProX with Rithmic offers MBO (Market by Order) feed to offer full depth, actual Place-In-Queue, size of resting limit order and priority. You can set price alerts, import/export data and view price action across multiple timeframes.

EdgeProX features simulation and replay modes to help you get comfortable with the platform, test new strategies and review actions from your previous sessions. These are vital tools for developing your market edge and personal trading skills. The EdgeClear webpage contains comprehensive how-to video tutorials and knowledge-base articles to get you started with the platform and its core features. EdgeProX runs on a very efficient and fast Java code-base that you can enhance to your custom needs. 

The software is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux. 

EdgeQX

EdgeQX is an automated quantitative trading program focusing on intraday futures trading for busy traders. It encompasses a slick set of professionally designed quant-fund strategies combined and seamlessly traded in a fully automated fashion. It’s akin to having a co-pilot for your investment journey. The program blends real-time automated trading with end-of-day transparency. 

Quant-fund strategies (or quantitative fund strategies) are investment approaches that rely on mathematical models and algorithms to analyze and execute trades. These strategies often involve systematic and data-driven methods to identify trading opportunities and manage risk. EdgeQX is designed and managed by EdgeClear’s partner, InvestiQuant — a quant trading specialist. The program trades highly liquid markets systematically but with human oversight by the EdgeClear team. It requires an annual or quarterly subscription fee. 

EdgeWatch

When trading complex markets like futures, tracking your trading data or statistics can help you identify patterns, evaluate performance and make informed decisions for futures trades. EdgeWatch is an innovative, trade tracking tool by EdgeClear to help you monitor your trading performance and growth with time. EdgeWatch can help you organize trades, gauge performance metrics and track trends. It provides a comprehensive approach to optimizing your financial endeavors with features like trade logs, daily stats, equity curves and win-loss graphs. The best aspect is that all of these features are free. 

Tradable Instruments and Market

EdgeClear provides an extensive selection of futures products spanning diverse asset categories and accessible across a multitude of exchanges. With a wide-reaching exchange network that includes the likes of CME, Eurex, ICE, HKEX (Hong Kong Exchange), ASX (Australian Securities Exchange), JPX (Japan Exchange Group), CBOE, SGX (Singapore Exchange), and beyond, they offer access and flexibility for traders and investors.

Available asset classes encompass equity indexes, metals, energies, agricultural commodities and cryptocurrencies. The equity index includes popular micros like Micro E-Mini S&P 500, Micro E-Mini NASDAQ, Micro E-Mini Dow, and the Micro E-mini Russell 2000. The brokerage offers Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether, which is ideal for crypto traders interested in trading on a regulated exchange. 

E-Micro Gold and Micro WTI crude oil are the low-rate micro futures contracts in the metal and energy class. Keep in mind that numerous standard futures contracts are available. EdgeClear’s futures contracts are exhaustive and cut across popular futures exchanges. These include popular exchanges such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Eurex. 

These exchanges are where you trade the futures contract. Each offers different futures contracts that may vary based on the underlying asset, contract size, tick size, and expiration date. There’s also EdgeClear Ags, a separate department dedicated to CME agricultural products like corn, wheat, sugar, etc.

Educational Resources 

EdgeClear offers a variety of educational resources that can help boost your understanding of the futures market and advance your trading expertise. For instance, the podcast is resource-rich, providing traders an inside look at the futures industry and the everyday trading process, struggles, successes and learning moments. The EdgeClear website also offers a comprehensive introduction to futures, detailing every aspect of the futures or derivatives market. If you’re a beginner, this will help you answer questions on futures trading fundamentals. 

Additionally, on the trading platform section of EdgeClear, you can compare trading platforms. This can be particularly useful if you’re trying to decide which platform best suits your futures trading needs. A number of EdgeProX how-to articles are available on the company’s Knowledge Base and video tutorials gallery to help traders better understand the EdgeProX trading platform. 

An efficient customer support channel is vital for providing timely assistance to clients, resolving issues promptly and ensuring smooth account management and trading operations. In a high-risk market like futures, a lack of responsive customer support can result in loss of investment or investment opportunities. That must be why EdgeClear takes customer service very seriously. You can either submit a contact form or connect to a customer support personnel via the LiveChat Channel on the lower left side of the website. When you send a message via this channel, you’ll immediately be connected with a dedicated broker or EdgeClear representative who will attend to your needs and point you in the right direction.

Benzinga was impressed by the response time and professionalism on different occasions. You can also contact the company via phone at (773)-832-8320. EdgeClear raised the bar on customer support as each trader enjoys a dedicated broker who assists them when necessary. Plus, you can get most answers to your questions via the Support Center (knowledge base) or video gallery. EdgeClear maintains an active presence on multiple media channels, including X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. EdgeClear enjoys an impressive Trustpilot rating of 4.3/5 and a 5-star rating from Google. Reviewers’ comments were overwhelmingly positive, reflecting an overall excellent customer experience.

When opening a trading account, you must consider the regulatory status of the brokerage. EdgeClear is an introducing broker focused on connecting traders with Futures Commission Merchants (FCM’s) and exchanging membership services to meet their needs while prioritizing long-term relationships and efficient risk management practices at a reasonable cost. Therefore, the company does not hold or access your funds or investment capital. Brokerages are subject to stringent regulatory requirements that typically include capital adequacy standards, compliance with reporting requirements and adherence to certain conduct and ethical standards. A well-regulated broker, therefore, provides a level of security and peace of mind. EdgeClear is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It is also a National Futures Association (NFA) member (NFA ID: 0524928). 

CFTC and NFA are the U.S.’s core regulatory and licensing authorities overseeing the derivatives market, including futures trading. EdgeClear might collect your personal identifiable information during account registration. However, the firm will not sell or share such data to a third party without the user’s consent except following judicial procedure. 

EdgeClear employs robust encryption protocols to safeguard traffic across its network and prevent information theft by underworld cyber actors. You should review all the legal notices on the lower part of the website to ensure compliance with terms and conditions, privacy policies and regulatory disclosures.

EdgeClear maintains the highest level of funding transparency in its services — no hidden fees exist. The minimum entry barrier depends on the futures market or exchange. Typically, EdgeClear requires a $5,000 minimum initial funding for all contracts and $1,500 if you only trade the micros. Some markets may need more depending on the margin requirements and the amount of contracts you want to trade. On certain occasions, they can accept lower investment minimums with approval from their risk department.

EdgeClear accepts both domestic (U.S.) and international wire transfers. However, there are a few rules guiding account funding that you must obey. For instance, funds for your trading account must come from a bank account bearing the name on your EdgeClear’s futures account. That is, a third party can’t fund your account. This is in line with anti-money laundering rules. You can’t fund your individual trading account with a corporate bank. When funding your individual account from a joint bank account, additional information may be required to process the funding. 

The applicable fees include trading commissions, exchange fees, regulatory fees (NFA), trading platform fees and data feed fees (Rithmic or CQG). EdgeClear charges $34.99 per month for its trading platform, EdgeProX. However, you can explore a free 14-day demo before subscribing. EdgeWatch is free and operates on Rithmic, so you don’t have to pay for multiple data connections.

Special promotions are currently available: Benzinga customers will pay $0.69 commissions on the most popular futures products and $0.20 on micro products*. Additionally, you’ll enjoy a $5 discount on a monthly subscription to EdgeProX by using the discount code: benzinga**. Traders must have a live account with EdgeClear to take advantage of the special promotions. 

You can also earn up to $50 in commission rebates when you invite other traders to join Edge Clear  (limited to one referral credit per customer). 

*Plus fees

**Discount limited to one month

EdgeClear streamlines futures trading, delivering an excellent user experience to both seasoned and beginner futures traders. The platform’s appeal to diverse futures investors is a testament to the depth of its impressive service offerings. Its trading platform blends the right set of cutting-edge tools without compromising simplicity. However, the most compelling feature of EdgeClear is its customer support system. 

EdgeClear will collaborate with high-volume traders of CME Futures products to explore the potential for lowering exchange fees through the leasing of a seat on the exchange. Employing a hands-on approach, EdgeClear assists traders in navigating a tailored process of inquiry and analysis to identify the optimal membership option for their needs.

Whether you need assistance with platform setup, resolving clearing issues, improving execution speed, implementing automatic daily loss limits or any other aspect of trading, the EdgeClear team has the integrity and expertise to help. Of course, this is strictly Benzinga’s opinion after asking multiple questions and receiving straightforward and professional answers. You may consider the platform’s technological capabilities as its most attractive feature and that will still be right.

Either way, in our opinion EdgeClear sets a new standard in the futures trading industry. There are no hidden fees — all fees and commissions are clear and simple. A 24-hour emergency trade desk is offered to customers. Plus, the educational resources are top-notch and aim to enhance understanding of the futures market fundamentals, improve individual trading expertise and better acquaint them with the trading platform. Benzinga considers EdgeClear highly recommendable.

EdgeClear vs. Competitors

EdgeClear has a few competitors like Interactive Brokers, NinjaTrader and TradeStation. While some of these brokers offer compelling futures trading services, they charge higher commissions and fees with no personalized support, unlike EdgeClear. Besides its low and transparent fees, EdgeClear’s customer support and innovative trading technology give them a basket of valuable assets. 

Whether you’re a seasoned expert or a beginner futures trader looking for a futures broker to kickstart your trading journey, EdgeClear should be among your first choices. The firm offers a personalized and fantastic trading experience within the futures brokerage industry. The platform blends exceptional customer support with uncommon trading technology while keeping commissions and fees low. EdgeClear’s customer-centric approach is reflected in its overwhelming positive review across multiple independent platforms. The firm is all about integrity and transparency and has traders’ best interests at heart.

Frequently Asked Questions