SunBirdFX

While some Forex traders prefer to trade with colossal brokerage firms, others prefer the accessibility of smaller trading companies. Although Sunbird has been operating on a small scale for five years, it has recently expanded to cater to Forex traders worldwide. If you’re looking for the personal touch of a smaller broker, Sunbird may be just what you need. We’ve tested the Sunbird’s trading platforms, customer service, features and more, and recorded our findings below so that you can make an informed decision.

General Information

Maximum leverage: 100:1
Minimum deposit: $100 on MT4 and $5000 on G-Pro
Minimum deal size: 5,000/limited by margin
Languages available: English, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, French, Russian, Lithuanian.

Trading Platform
Despite its relative youth, Sunbird offers multiple trading platforms that rival those of more established competitors such as Ava FX and FXCM. We were impressed by the breadth of offerings provided by Sunbird, though we wished there was a single page that could help the trader see all of his options at a glance. Still, each designated registration page explains the advantages of that specific trading platform with brief, understandable bullet points, so that with a bit of reading, users can choose the Forex trading that best meets their needs. Sunbird’s autotrading platforms are not currently available, but they should be launched in the coming months.

Traders who can’t decide can enjoy demo accounts of most platforms so that they can see for themselves which platform they like best. Sunbird’s trading platforms include:

Standard Platforms:
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 5

Mobile Trading Platforms:
MT4 Mobil

ECN STP Platforms:
MetaTrader 4 ECN
G-Pro
Currenex

MAM (Multiple Account Manager) Platforms:
G-Pro ECN for Fund Managers
Metaquotes Multi Terminal
EA Enabled MAM Proprietary

Features

Sunbird offers a limited range of features, which, though small in number, are suitable for both new and experienced Forex traders. The site also promises new features in the future, and we have every reason to believe that any new features will be equally useful. We were especially impressed by the way that the company caters to new traders who are looking for ways to succeed.

Sunbird’s Forex desktop provides a convenient way to receive market and personal account information directly, and the ability to customize the desktop means that traders can choose the information that they find critical while avoiding unnecessary distractions. Setting up the desktop was extremely easy, though we did have some difficulty removing items that we didn’t want. Still, the initiation process was relatively short, and the convenience of the desktop is undeniable.

Another feature that we found intriguing was the ‘build your own automated strategy’ feature, which suggests that users that contact the company’s R&D department will have access to programming professionals and mathematicians that can help create a personalized tool. Although we didn’t test out this feature, we were impressed that Sunbird was willing to offer such a service – and if our experience with their customer service department is any indication, they will truly be available for this service.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Sunbird also offers an ample guide for beginning traders that offers clear, easy-to-understand information to help new traders get a handle on the Forex world.

Customer Service

Unlike bigger Forex brokers who don’t have enough staff to handle their high customer inquiry volume, Sunbird obviously tries hard to respond quickly to the needs of their users. While Forex brokers such as iForex offered chat windows that kept telling us to try again because no representatives were available, we chatted with the Sunbird team 6 times, and received immediate service.

We had equally pleasant experiences using Sunbird’s phone and email services. We called Sunbird several times and were never on hold for more than 2 minutes. Likewise, we emailed Sunbird on Thursday, February 3rd, and received a response in about an hour and a half.

Ease of Use

Registering for Sunbird was a quick and painless process. Although the confirmation emails weren’t as aesthetically pleasing as those from some more established Forex brokers, we were especially impressed that the company provided us with our username and password both in the confirmation email and on the confirmation web page, so that the information would be easily accessible.

We tested the company’s MT4 account, and were surprised that we were asked to submit our personal details again after the platform was downloaded. We were, however, able to proceed by pressing cancel instead of resubmitting these details. An initial glance at the trading platform, we found that while navigating the system wasn’t entirely obvious for new traders, it was easy to navigate with the help of the support documents and the company’s chat support. 

Another feature that made an impression on us was the strategic placement of information notices at the bottom of the platform, which offered helpful information to supplement the trading platform. Although we were too busy focusing on the platform to pay much attention to the articles, we thought that they could be an asset in the future, once a trader became more familiar with the platform.