Blackstone Futures Review

Blackstone Futures is a South African-based, multi-asset forex and CFDs broker that was founded in 2009. Clients can trade forex and CFDs on commodities, cryptocurrencies, equities, energies, precious metals, futures and indices using the MetaTrader 4 platform as well as a proprietary trading platform called CloudTrade. Blackstone Futures is a STP broker for retail traders and offers ZAR and USD trading accounts.

Blackstone Futures is a duly appointed juristic representative of Trade National Financial (Pty) Limited. Trade National Financial is a trading name of Finsa Europe Ltd which is a global financial services company that is licensed and regulated by the FSCA in South Africa, FCA in the United Kingdom, ASIC in Australia and SCB in the Bahamas.

Is Blackstone Futures regulated?

Yes, Blackstone Futures (Pty) Limited is a licensed and regulated forex and CFDs broker. Blackstone Futures is a juristic representative of Trade Nation Financial (Pty) Limited which is an authorised Financial Services Provider under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act No 37 of 2002.

Blackstone Futures renders financial services to clients on behalf of Trade Nation Financial (Pty) Limited. Trade Nation is a trading name of Finsa Europe Ltd, a global financial services company.

Finsa Europe Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa and the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).

FSCA: Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is responsible for market conduct regulation and supervision in South Africa. The FSCA aims to enhance and support the efficiency and integrity of financial markets and to protect financial customers by promoting their fair treatment by financial institutions.

FCA: Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for regulating the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. The FCA operates independently of the UK government and was introduced as a successor to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FCA regulates over 58 000 businesses across the UK. Many of these companies are also governed by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) which is responsible for safety and risk control within the financial services sector. The FCA is widely regarded as the leading financial regulatory authority in the world.

ASIC: Australian Securities and Investments Commission

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC’s role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to protect Australian consumers, investors and creditors.

SCB: Securities Commission of the Bahamas

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas is a statutory body established in 1995. The Commission is responsible for regulating and overseeing investment funds, securities and the capital markets in the Bahamas. It also functions as the Inspector of Financial and Corporate Services and is responsible for ensuring that all persons operate in accordance with the Financial Corporate Services Providers Act, 2000, which provides for the licensing and regulation of financial and corporates service providers in the Bahamas.

Is Blackstone Futures regulated in South Africa?

Yes, Blackstone Futures is regulated in South Africa by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). The financial services company is licensed as a juristic representative of Trade National Financial (Pty) Limited under license number FSP49846.

Blackstone Futures is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Is Blackstone Futures legit?

Yes, Blackstone Futures is a legitimate forex and CFDs broker and electronic trading platform. It is regulated under license to perform forex broker and multi-asset trading services by top-tier authorities based in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Bahamas.

What type of broker is Blackstone Futures?

Blackstone Futures is a STP-only broker which allows for near-instant execution on both its ZAR account and USD account.

STP stands for Straight Through Processing. STP is a type of Market Making broker but they usually present their bid-ask quotes which are relative to those of the interbank. STP brokers pass all or some of a client’s trades directly to liquidity providers for execution and make a profit by charging a small fixed markup on every trade (usually 1 pip).

STP forex brokers do not process clients’ orders through a Dealing Desk (DD). This means there are no middlemen involved in facilitating trades which gives STP brokers the capacity to instantly process their clients’ orders. They also do not send re-quotes to clients.

The advantage of trading with a STP forex broker is the speed of orders and clients can trade without limits. STP brokers work with several liquidity providers which allows them to get better fills for their traders. The liquidity providers used by STP forex brokers are a combination of banks, large brokers, hedge funds or investment corporations.

Is Blackstone Futures a good broker?

In terms of security, state-of-the-art electronic trading platforms, research and education; Blackstone Futures is rated highly as a trusted retail broker in South Africa.

Blackstone Futures has been in business since 2009 and has established itself as a regulation-compliant forex and CFDs broker that is safe to use by traders in Africa.

Security

In terms of security, Blackstone Futures is regulatory compliant and has put in place recognised processes to keep your information and money secure so you can trade forex and CFDs with peace of mind.

Regulated broker

Blackstone Futures is a duly-appointed juristic representative of Trade Nation Financial (Pty) Limited which is licensed and regulated by the FSCA in South Africa, the FCA in the United Kingdom, the ASIC in Australia and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.

Negative Balance Protection

Blackstone Futures provides Negative Balance Protection for its clients. Blackstone Futures will automatically top up the balance to 0 and the client doesn’t pay anything in the case where market volatility doesn’t allow the client to keep a positive balance on his/her trading account.

Two-step authentication

Blackstone Futures requires two-step authentication to enhance the security of the information on your trading platform and to protect your personal information and funds from hackers using SMS and backup codes.

Know Your Customer (KYC) checks

Blackstone Futures is required by law to collect and verify certain personal Information and execute Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. The laws governing these requirements, where applicable, include:

• Financial Sector Regulation Act (Act 9 of 2017)
• The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (2001) and the Amendment Act 2017
• Protection of Personal Information Act (2013)
• South African taxation laws
• Corporation laws
• Financial service laws

Trading platforms

Blackstone Futures offers clients a proprietary trading platform called CloudTrade as well as MetaTrader 4 (MT4). MetaTrader 4 is the most popular and widely-used electronic trading platform in the world. Both CloudTrade and MT4 are available as mobile apps.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader is an electronic trading platform that was pioneered by the developers, MetaQuotes Software. The software company has released a number of versions since it started up in 2002 but hit the jackpot with a significantly enhanced version called MetaTrader 4 that it took to market in 2005. In 2010, MetaQuotes Software introduced the significantly re-coded MetaTrader 5.

Today, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the most widely-used online trading platforms for retail foreign exchange (forex) speculative traders. MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is a more advanced trading platform and is growing in popularity as investors find value in its superior features.

CloudTrade

CloudTrade is a proprietary trading platform that was developed by Blackstone Futures. It is a browser-based trading platform that requires no download. CloudTrade offers Blackstone Futures’ clients access to a wide range of financial assets, including forex, cryptocurrencies, indices, equities and commodities. CloudTrade has an advanced charting package and is used by both new and experienced forex and CFDs traders.

CloudTrade is also available on mobile. The CloudTrade app offers real-time quotes of financial instruments, the full set of trade orders, supports all types of execution modes and records your complete trading history.

Research

Blackstone Futures provides its clients with comprehensive research tools which include the Forex Market Sentiment Indicator, Economic Calendar and Dividend Adjustment tool.

Market Sentiment Indicator

The Forex Market Sentiment Indicator shows you how many traders are buying and selling. The Forex Market Sentiment Indicator is simply a sliding scale, showing you how people are feeling about certain currency pairs. When traders are feeling optimistic, they buy the currency pair which sends the price up. When traders are feeling pessimistic, they sell the currency pair which drives the price down.

Economic Calendar

The Economic Calendar is a powerful forex tool that’s used extensively by traders to track market events, announcements, economic indicators, government reports and upcoming market-moving events. Daily, traders can see a list of the financial world and economic news events in a chronological order.

‘Breaking news’ events published on the Economic Calendar help forex and CFDs trader research and evaluate the impact they could have on different currencies, stocks, indices and commodities. Each event is graded from No Impact to High Impact in terms of its likely effect on forex trading.

Dividend Adjustments

Blackstone Futures provides information on dividend adjustments that affect the overall value of different Indexes on the global financial markets. Every week, Blackstone Futures publishes the estimated impact that company dividends will have on the price of each Index throughout the week.

Dividend adjustment payments are payments similar to dividends, which are charged or paid to clients holding open positions in CFDs on shares, indices and/or ETFs. The dividend adjustment is an unusual practice designed to compensate holders of convertible preferred stock for dividends lost between the time of the last dividend and the time of conversion.

Education

Blackstone Futures publishes an impressive range of educational material covering a wide amount of topics. Education resources include:

• a comprehensive trading course
• platform insight
• trading articles
• trading education
• FAQs

What products does Blackstone Futures offer?

Blackstone Futures offers access to forex and CFDs via MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and CloudTrade.

Forex	More than 30 currency pairs
CFDs	Commodities, cryptocurrencies, equities, energies, metals, futures and indices

Does Blackstone Futures offer cryptocurrency trading?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers CFDs on cryptocurrency trading on MT4 and CloudTrade. Traders cannot buy and sell the underlying asset (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum).

Does Blackstone Futures offer social trading?

No, Blackstone Futures does not currently offer a social trading platform but it has indicated it will introduce a copy trading platform shortly. The platform will benefit forex and CFDs traders who want to take advantage of the financial markets without the need to monitor multiple channels.

Blackstone Futures caters for the social trader by delivering fundamental analysis, up-to-date educational content, daily forex trading ranges, educational webinars and morning videos that highlight trading opportunities.

Does Blackstone Futures have Nasdaq?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers NASDAQ-100 (USTec 100). The index is traded as a CFD on the MT4 and CloudTrade trading platforms. The NASDAQ-100 (USTec 100) represents a capitalisation-weighted index featuring 100 of the largest publicly traded non-financial businesses on the Nasdaq composite index.

The NASDAQ Composite Index is arguably the most significant large-cap growth index in the world. The Index comprises 100 mega-companies – domestic and foreign – listed on the premier index, the NASDAQ, aka US_Tech100.

The NASDAQ Composite Index (US_Tech 100) has outperformed the S&P 500 index 10 times over in the past 12 years (as of March 2023). By the end of 2019, the market capitalisation of the NASDAQ was $9.8 trillion. By 2023, that figure had increased substantially.

What awards has Blackstone Futures received recently?

Blackstone Futures does not indicate on its website what awards it has won in the local financial market in South Africa.

How to use Blackstone Futures to trade forex and CFDs

Traders and investors cannot directly access the forex market. They must trade through a trading platform hosted by a regulated forex and CFDs broker.

To start trading the financial markets with Blackstone Futures, you need to register an account, choose a trading platform, an account base currency and a leverage value. Once you’ve decided how and what you will trade, you can open a corresponding trading account.

After signing up with Blackstone Futures, you will receive your login credentials via email. You are required by law to verify your account by uploading copies of your identity documents. You can then deposit funds into your trading account and start trading.

How to open a forex trading account with Blackstone Futures

To open a forex trading account with Blackstone, follow the simple steps below:

1. Open the official website for Blackstone Futures
2. Select OPEN ACCOUNT
3. Complete ACCOUNT REGISTRATION for a demo or live account
4. Select a trading account on CloudTrade or MT4
5. Select a base currency; ZAR or USD
6. Choose an amount that reflects your initial live account deposit
7. Start trading on the demo or live account once your account has been verified and opened

What types of accounts does Blackstone Futures offer?

Blackstone Futures offers a Standard live trading account with the option of one of two base currencies.

ZAR account	Minimum deposit Maximum leverage Minimum spread Commission	ZAR 1 000 400:1 0.60 None
USD account	Minimum deposit Maximum leverage Minimum spread Commission	USD 100 400:1 0.60 None

Does Blackstone Futures offer a free demo account?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers a free demo account on both forex trading platforms. The demo account has no time limit and will only be disabled after 30 days of inactivity.

Clients can register and sign up for a free demo account which is instantly available to start trading virtual (fake) money. It gives clients access to the forex and CFDs market which can be traded in real-time under real market conditions but with zero risks of losing real money on a forex trade order.

Once beginner traders have spent time learning how to trade on a free demo account, they progress to opening a live trading account.

Does Blackstone Futures offer an Islamic account?

No, Blackstone Futures does not currently offer an Islamic swap-free trading account.

Deposits and withdrawals

How to deposit money into a Blackstone Futures trading account

Funds can be deposited into a Blackstone Futures trading account in multiple ways. Popular options include credit or debit cards, electronic funds transfer (EFT) and Ozow. Depending on the method and your choice of bank, there might be some delay before the funds reflect and can be allocated to your account so you can start trading.

• A credit or debit card is an instant and convenient way to deposit funds into your Blackstone Futures trading account. The only drawback is credit/debit cards can only be used to fund ZAR accounts. If you have a USD account, you can easily open a ZAR account to make the payment and then do an internal transfer to your USD account.
• An EFT is only instant when it is made from the same bank as the receiving bank and if you make use of the immediate payment option. Banks normally charge a fee for this service.
• Ozow is a service that allows you to do instant EFTs from any of the major banks in South Africa without any additional fee to the client. The only limitation is that you can only fund a ZAR-based trading account. If you have a USD account, you can easily open a ZAR account to make the payment and then do an internal transfer to your USD account.

How to withdraw money from your Blackstone Futures account

There is only one way to withdraw money from your Blackstone Futures trading account. All withdrawals are made via EFT direct to your nominated bank account regardless of the deposit method you used. EFTs can be successfully done to all major banks in South Africa as well as the same bank in a neighbouring country.

How many days do Blackstone Futures withdrawals take?

All withdrawals requested from Blackstone Futures before 15h00 South African time (GMT+2) on business days are processed and paid on the same day. Once it leaves the company’s bank account, the time it takes to reflect in your bank account depends on the individual banks, as with any normal ETF. Blackstone Futures withdrawals typically take between 24 to 72 hours, depending on the bank and its location.

Fees and spreads

Does Blackstone Futures charge a fee for deposits and withdrawals?

No, Blackstone Futures does not charge a fee for account deposits and withdrawals. However, traders are charged a transaction fee by their banks.

What are Blackstone Futures’ fees?

Blackstone Futures is a true STP broker and offers ECN-like spreads without trading commissions. Blackstone Futures charges an overnight swap fee. Spreads start from around 0.60 pips on major forex currency pairs.

What is the minimum deposit for a Blackstone Futures trading account?

ZAR account	Minimum deposit	ZAR 1 000
USD account	Minimum deposit	USD 100

What are the contract specifications for forex trading on Blackstone Futures platforms?

1. Forex spread calculation

Blackstone Futures trading conditions display the standard bid-ask spread (pips) for forex instruments unless otherwise stated. Standard spreads are as stated under normal market conditions. Spreads can widen depending on market conditions.

Spread Cost Formula: Spread x Trade Size = Spread Charge in Secondary Currency*

*Secondary Currency is the Second Currency quoted in an FX pair (CUR1/CUR2 USD/JPY, EUR/USD, etc.)

Example

For a 1 000 EUR/USD trade with a spread of 3 pips (0.0003), the calculation is as follows:

0.0003 X 1 000 = $0.30*

1. Bid-Ask spread and commissions

Blackstone Futures is compensated through the bid-ask spread, except when otherwise stated. Blackstone Futures charges no commission on either ZAR or USD account. The STD broker makes money by charging a markup on its spreads. Minimum spreads are tight for a South African broker; down to 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD, 1 pip on the USD/JPY, and 10 pips on the USD/ZAR.

1. Forex margin/leverage calculation

All instruments are traded on margin allowing you to leverage your positions. Blackstone Futures trading conditions display both margin and leverage amounts. Margin is displayed as a percentage (%) while leverage is displayed as a ratio.

Percentage Margin Formula:

Trade size x margin (%) = Margin required in primary currency*

Leverage margin formula:

Trade size / leverage = Margin required in primary currency*

*Primary currency is the first currency quoted in a forex pair

Example

For a 1 000 EUR/USD trade with a margin requirement of 0.50% or leverage of 200:1, the calculation is as follows:

Percentage margin requirement:  1 000 x 0.005 = €5.00

Leverage Margin Requirement:  1 000 / 200 = €5.00

1. Forex buy/sell overnight interest calculation

Blackstone Futures trading conditions display the Over-Night (O/N) interest rates charged/paid daily for holding a position open past our End of Day time. These rates are displayed in the Overnight Interest – Buy and Overnight Interest – Sell” columns.

End of Day is 22:00 GMT except during Daylight Savings when it changes to 21:00 GMT.

You can use the following formula to calculate your Daily Overnight Interest amount:

Trade amount x daily overnight interest = Daily overnight interest charged/paid*

*Overnight interest charged/paid will be calculated in the primary currency. Primary currency is the first currency quoted in a forex pair.

Example

For a 1 000 EUR/USD trade with a daily overnight interest buy (or sell) rate of -0.0053% and subject to a charge for 1 day, the calculation is as follows:

1 000 x -0.000053 = -0.053 = -€0.05* rounded

Note: Blackstone Futures platforms display overnight interest (swaps) in annualised terms.

FAQs: Blackstone Futures

Does Blackstone Futures have a Welcome Bonus?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers a Welcome Bonus at certain times of the year. Blackstone Futures may choose to extend or end the period at its discretion. Terms and conditions apply.

As a new client, you become eligible for a 30% credit on your first deposit with Blackstone Futures. The maximum deposit credit is 30% with a maximum of R5 000 and is subject to terms and conditions.

How you can participate in the Blackstone Futures Welcome Bonus

You must have opened a live trading account with Blackstone Futures and have had it FICA approved. The deposit credit is limited to one account per user. Multiple accounts will not be eligible. You must fund the account with a minimum of R1 000 or currency equivalent. It may not be a transfer of funds between accounts. The credit will be in the form of a credit limit applied to your account and as such may not be withdrawn.

Can I start trading with no money in my Blackstone Futures live account?

No, you cannot start trading if you have not deposited the required minimum balance in your Blackstone Futures live account. You can only trade with no deposit on a free demo account but you are practising to trade with ‘fake’ money and will not earn profits from any trades.

What leverage does Blackstone Futures offer?

Blackstone Futures offers maximum leverage up to 400:1 on the ZAR and USD trading accounts.

Where is Blackstone Futures’ headquarters based?

Head Office: The Mall Offices, 5th Floor, 11 Cradock Avenue, Rosebank, 2196, South Africa

Service Office, Finsa Europe: 9th Floor, 30 Crown Place, London, EC2A 4ES, UK

Telephone +27 860 111 563 (07h00 to 22h00 GMT+2)

Trading desk +27 860 77 77 66 (24/5)

WhatsApp +27 78 104 7566

Email [email protected]

Who is the CEO of RoboForex?

The CEO of Blackstone Futures is Nick Sproule.

Does RoboForex offer online support?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers dedicated online Customer Support for its forex traders via Live Chat on their website. Live Chat is available 24-hours a day on the 5 working days. You can also contact Blackstone Futures Customer Services via email or telephone.

Does Blackstone Futures offer a demo account for forex traders?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers a free demo account to registered clients.

A demo trading account is a type of forex trading account that is funded with entirely virtual money but still includes all of the functionalities and technical indicators as a live account. It’s the perfect tool for beginner forex traders because you can become familiar with trading strategies and indicators in real-time on your trading platform before you start trading with real money.

Does Blackstone Futures have a mobile app for forex trading?

Yes, Blackstone Futures offers an easy-to-use mobile app for CloudTrade and MetaTrader 4.

Does Blackstone Futures publish an Economic Calendar?

Yes, Blackstone Futures publishes an Economic Calendar.

How to communicate with Blackstone Futures

Blackstone Futures provides dedicated Customer Services supported by Live Chat, email or telephone.

Live Chat Blackstone Futures

Telephone +27 860 111 563 (07h00 to 22h00 GMT+2)

Trading desk +27 860 77 77 66 (24/5)

WhatsApp +27 78 104 7566

Email [email protected]

FOREX TRADING AFRICA DISCLAIMER

Forex and CFDs are complex instruments and trading these instruments come with a high-risk warning. Trading forex and CFDs involves a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage and margin. You need to understand how forex trading works and decide whether you can afford to take the risk of losing money on trade orders that do not go your way.

Forex Trading Africa annually reviews brokers and financial instruments and provides information to help traders and investors make better decisions when trading on global markets. The information provided is purely to grow your knowledge and expertise in financial trading. Broker reviews and articles on our website must not be construed as personal advice. Forex Trading Africa recommends you seek advice from a professional financial advisor.