ACY Securities review: the Sydney ECN challenger, honestly assessed
ACY Securities is a credible Sydney ECN-style broker with competitive ProZero raw pricing, sitting one tier below the leaders on platform range and track-record depth. The Australian operation holds AFSL 403863 and runs MT4 and MT5 with three account tiers: Standard (spread-only from 1.0 pip), ProZero (raw from 0.0 pips plus around USD 3.00 per side), and Bespoke (cheaper commission at USD 10,000+ deposits). The genuinely interesting extra is Capitalise AI, a code-free automation layer that lets traders script strategies in plain English. The honest comparison: ProZero pricing is competitive with FP Markets and Pepperstone, but the platform stack stops at MetaTrader, and Fusion Markets still wins pure cost. Rating: 4.0 out of 5.
Key facts at a glance
The headline parameters Australian retail traders should know.
Is ACY Securities safe? Regulation check
ACY Securities' Australian operation holds ASIC AFSL 403863 from Sydney, carrying the full retail framework: segregated client funds, negative balance protection, ASIC leverage caps and AFCA access. The standard group-structure caveat applies as it does across the mid-tier: where a brand also operates offshore entities, only the Australian entity carries Australian protections, so confirm the licensee named in your account agreement at onboarding. The one-minute verification walkthrough is in the ASIC-regulated brokers guide.
Accounts, spreads and commission
Three tiers, sensibly structured:
- Standard: spread-only from around 1.0 pip EUR/USD, no commission. The low-frequency option.
- ProZero: raw spreads from 0.0 pips plus around USD 3.00 per side per standard lot (USD 6 round turn). The active trader's account, and genuinely competitive: in the same tier as FP Markets Raw and slightly under Pepperstone Razor.
- Bespoke: for deposits of USD 10,000+, commission drops further (around USD 5 per round turn), a straightforward volume reward.
Context from our monthly spread tracker: Fusion Markets' AUD 2.25 per side keeps the outright cost crown in AUD terms, and ACY's USD-denominated commission adds a small currency layer for AUD-based accounting. A swap-free Islamic option exists with flat per-lot fees.
Platforms: MT4, MT5 and Capitalise AI
The core stack is MetaTrader 4 and 5 across desktop, web and mobile, with expert advisors unrestricted. The distinctive extra is Capitalise AI: a code-free automation layer where strategies are described in structured plain English and executed automatically against the account. For non-programmers wanting rule-based automation, it is the most accessible on-ramp in the ASIC set, and a legitimately good fit for the honest-automation approach in our AI trading guide, with the standard caveat that plain-English strategies overfit exactly as easily as coded ones.
The stack's ceiling matches TMGM's: no cTrader, no native TradingView. Traders wanting either are pointed to the platforms comparison.
Deposits, withdrawals and AU rails
The Sydney operation supports local AUD funding rails alongside international methods, with the usual practice notes: same-name funding only, and test the withdrawal path early.
ACY ratings breakdown
Pros and cons
Who ACY Securities is for
Two fits are genuine. A cost-conscious MetaTrader trader gets ProZero pricing competitive with the majors from a Sydney-regulated operation. And a non-programmer who wants automation gets Capitalise AI, the lowest-friction route to rule-based trading in the ASIC set. Within those briefs, ACY delivers.
The 4.0 reflects the tier gap everywhere else: platform range, scale, and independent track-record depth all sit below the ranked leaders, and the pure-cost crown stays with Fusion Markets.
Alternatives worth considering
Pepperstone is the direct ECN upgrade with the full platform stack. Fusion Markets wins outright cost. FP Markets offers the same pricing tier with IRESS multi-asset depth. For beginners, AvaTrade; for simplicity at scale, Plus500. Full ranking in the best forex brokers Australia pillar.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. ACY Securities' Australian operation holds ASIC AFSL 403863 from Sydney, bringing segregated client funds, negative balance protection on retail accounts, ASIC leverage caps and AFCA dispute access. As with any broker whose group also operates offshore entities, confirm at onboarding that your account sits under the Australian entity, since only that entity carries the Australian protections. Verification takes a minute on the ASIC register; the walkthrough is in the ASIC-regulated brokers guide.
Three tiers. Standard: spread-only from around 1.0 pip on EUR/USD, no commission. ProZero: raw spreads from 0.0 pips plus around USD 3.00 per side per standard lot (USD 6 round turn), the account active traders should evaluate, and pricing genuinely competitive with FP Markets and Pepperstone. Bespoke: reduced commission (around USD 5 per round turn) for accounts depositing USD 10,000 or more. In AUD terms, Fusion Markets' AUD 2.25 per side remains the cheapest commission in the ASIC set on our monthly spread tracker.
Capitalise AI is a code-free automation layer: you describe a strategy in structured plain English (conditions, entries, exits, sizes) and the platform executes it automatically against your ACY account, without writing MQL code. For non-programmers who want rule-based automation, it is a genuine differentiator and considerably more accessible than learning MQL5. The honest caveats are the same as for all automation: the tool executes whatever rules you give it, plain-English strategies overfit exactly as easily as coded ones, and the evaluation discipline in our expert advisors guide applies unchanged.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 across desktop, web and mobile, with expert advisors fully permitted, plus the Capitalise AI automation layer. That covers the standard workflow well, but the stack stops there: no cTrader for depth-of-market execution and no native TradingView order placement. Traders wanting either should look at Pepperstone (all four platforms) or the cTrader brokers covered in the platforms comparison.
Pricing is close - ProZero's roughly USD 6 round turn versus Pepperstone Razor's AUD 7 - so the decision moves to everything else, where Pepperstone leads: cTrader and native TradingView on top of MT4/MT5, no minimum deposit, AUD-denominated commission, a longer track record at much larger scale, and the stronger documented execution record. ACY's genuine counterpoint is Capitalise AI for code-free automation. For most Australian traders Pepperstone remains the stronger pick; ACY is a credible ECN-style alternative rather than an upgrade.
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