Gerchik & CO

Gerchik & CO is a brokerage company, that was founded in 2015 by traders from Ukraine, Alexander Gerchik and Ivan Kroshny. Initially, the service was targeted only at clients from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but has since expanded to the European market and stands out for its functionality and affordable pricing.

However, is everything as perfect as it seems on the surface? Is Gerchik & Co a reliable investment partner or just another scam? Let’s take a closer look.

 

Terms of Trading with Gerchik & CO

Broker gerchik.co offers a lot of opportunities for beginners and experienced traders.

First, there are 6 types of accounts for independent traders: dollar and euro.

• Easy Start with a minimum deposit of $100, a lot from 0.01 pips and spread from 0.4 pips. A commission of $10 is charged from each lot. For beginners (Forex Trading Training).
• Mini with a minimum deposit of $500 and spreads starting from 0.01. The broker’s commission is also $10 per trade. The account is designed for more experienced traders, who are not looking to invest large amounts.
• Simple with a deposit over $1000, a lot from 0.1, and spread from zero. A commission is $10 from each lot. Here, the “trader’s statistics” service is available (estimating the profitability of transactions based on your personal trading history).
• Silver with a minimum deposit of $10,000, lots from 0.1, and spreads from 0 pips. The commission is already lower: $9 per lot.
• Gold with a deposit of $25,000. Commission: $8 per lot. All other conditions are the same as in the previous tariff.
• Platinum – trade big with a deposit of $100,000 or more, lots starting from 0.1 and spreads from zero. A commission is $7. And for even more output, there is the option of automatic trading and personal consultations with the founder of the company, Alex Gerchik.

Leverage in all cases is floating and can reach a maximum of 1:100, which reduces the degree of risk. In favor of the company also speaks a fixed commission: in Gerchik & CO they earn not on spreads, and the operator is not interested in you quickly losing the deposit. In addition, stop-out in 50% and Margin Call protect against a large “drawdown”, although market professionals create certain restrictions. Secondly, there are two types of trust management accounts with a minimum investment of $1000 and the same leverage up to 1:100:

• TIMA Mini – more cautious trading lots from 0.01 with a commission of 10 dollars per lot.
• TIMA Simple with a minimum lot from 0.1 pips and the same commission. Additional difference – connected “Trader’s statistics”.

This is a kind of analog of PAMM trading, in which the manager also trades his assets, and all his transactions are copied into the client’s clearing account. Profits and losses are distributed in proportion to investments (they can be calculated in a special calculator). The commission usually ranges from 30 to 50%. The difference is that you can set the maximum level of drawdown, and all transactions are automatically closed.

There is a rating of managers with an indication of the profitability graph and the current percentage of profitability, as well as the amount under management so that you can not only assess the potential of the trader but also choose the strategy that meets your interests (say, scalping, which, incidentally, is allowed in some cases).

Third, asset insurance with the “Risk Manager” option works for free on any type of account. You activate or deactivate it in your cabinet and set the allowable percentage of loss, and the program performs the necessary calculations and in appropriate circumstances stops the trade, so that the user is not overdrawn. The “Risk Manager” algorithm has been developed over several years based on an analysis of real market conditions.

Fourth, the presence of automatic trading (“Algotrading”) with the execution of transactions in 1 ms. Or a little longer. There are no restrictions on the number of connected robots, trading advisors, and open transactions – you can invest and make a profit without restrictions. In addition, the broker promises no slippages and failures. And to reduce the likelihood of “plummeting”, the “Risk Manager” is also connected.

Fifth, a wide range of analytical services and training materials are available (most of which are free to all, while some are part of paid packages):

• Real Market Volume is a horizontal volume indicator that captures the number of orders (Ask and Bid) at each point. It helps to predict further price movement and thus increase profitability.
• Trader’s calculator calculates the profitability of a trade, risks (taking into account your statistics), or point value in 1 second. A clear display that even a novice user can understand.
• Algorithm Builder is a tool for creating your own strategy, forming a checklist, and sequence of actions, setting up charts, and taking into account the peculiarities of the market and the capabilities, weaknesses, and strengths of the trader.
• Trader’s statistics, which was mentioned above, – evaluation of profitability by 37 parameters (time intervals, buy/sell positions, etc.). Analyzes trades, sorts positions by a given parameter (even the emotional state at the moment of trade start, if you noted it in the journal), and “gives out” the most effective ways to increase the margin.
• Investing Academy with Victor Makeev and Initial Training in Trading – training courses on trust management. Conducted with bots in Telegram, Viber, and Facebook messengers.
• Courses from the companyfounders – at the moment they are “Reset by Gerchik” (theory and practice, detailed analysis of transactions and market situations, performance of tasks and tests) with a free training schedule.
• Blogs, books, expert articles, economic calendars, market news, and more.

A total of 360 assets are available in Gerchik & CO: currency pairs, indices, cryptocurrency. The company has a number of partners, as well as contracts for stocks, metals, and raw materials. There is an opportunity to join affiliate programs (3 types: referral, White Label, and representation – we will describe them in more detail) and to participate in contests and promotions (the latter, unfortunately, are not many). The site provides comprehensive and detailed information about everything, which again speaks in favor of the broker.

Trading Platform gerchik.co

Gerchik & CO works with the most popular platforms – MetaTrader 4 (MT4), and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). It is available in all versions: web (no installation, requires internet connection), mobile (downloadable application for narrow format devices), and PC (installation for computer, works in offline mode).

• Terminals are popular primarily because of their high functionality:
• All basic chart types (bars, candlesticks, lines, and their modifications).
• 30 technical indicators, and 24 analytical objects (lines, channels, Gann and Elliott instruments, etc.).
• 9 timeframes (M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1, MN).
• Interactive features (scrolling, zooming, color schemes) and notifications (PUSH, sound).
• General chat with traders and communication with the consultant.

And also simplicity: even inexperienced traders will be able to understand the interface. Of course, it will take some time, but it is quicker than with other software.

Client accounts are placed in dedicated accounts (the company has no access to them). All transactions are protected by SSL encryption protocol to eliminate the risk of losing finances.

Quotes from Gerchik & Co

The broker operates on the STP (Straight Through Processing) model, which ensures that you have access to the actual financial markets and the quotes from liquidity providers that cannot be influenced.

We cannot compare quotes with the data of other providers, and we found only 1 review, the author of which tells about the detected inaccuracies (there are no other positive or negative user opinions on this subject).

 

Gerchik & CO Demo Account

To sharpen your skills or to learn forex trading in practice, the operator offers to open a demo (test) account. In it you make transactions not for real currency, but for “nickels” (without the risk of losing money).

The MT4 training terminal is provided for this purpose. There is no time limit, and if you feel you are ready for real trading, a trading account is connected to the same account. To get access to the demo account and platform, you need to register on gerchik.co.

 

Gerchik & Co Mobile App

Gerchik & CO does not have its mobile application, the broker works with the MT Mobile application for Android, iOS, and Windows. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store, Google Play Market, and Windows Store. When selecting a provider, the name of the company is indicated, and the login and password are used (set during registration).

The software offers all the features of the full-size version and is rated by users in general quite well: 4.6-4.7 points on a five-point scale. Some dissatisfaction is caused by occasional technical errors after updates, but this problem, as far as we can judge, is present in all trading services for smartphones and tablets.

 

Bonuses at Gerchik & CO

The company offers cashback bonuses very rarely, if at all. In our case, they were not available. However, contests are held on demo accounts, where market newcomers can compete to earn a profit. The prize for the contest is $1,000 in cash for users who reach the top 55 positions in the ranking.

There are 3 options for affiliate programs:

• Referral (“Web-partner”) – compensation up to 40% from the commission of the transactions of referrals (who went to you by the individual link or banner or RSS feed, placed in a social network, on the site, etc., and connected to the service of users) and another $4 from each of offer.
• White Label – providing access to software and liquidity sources to open your own brokerage company (under your brand).
• “TIMA-agent” agent program – mediation between investors (Gerchik & CO clients) and managers (traders) with a share of the profit of the latter. You attract new users, advise them on the strategy, and earn from each successful transaction, which was executed for them by the manager.

 

Deposit and Withdrawal

Gerchik & CO uses many methods to make deposits and withdrawals. In case of deposits, it is bank cards VISA/MasterCard, bank transfers, payment systems and wallets Skrill, Neteller, AdvCash, WebMoney, Perfect Money, Payeer, and Crypto (Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin). In case of withdrawals, Neteller takes QIWI. The fee for a transaction you pay yourself: on average, it is 0.5%-4% (except AdvCash, which does not charge a fee for the transfer).

Deposits are credited to the account within 1 business day. Payouts are from 1 to 5 business days depending on the method. In addition, for security purposes, clients are verified (verification): you provide a certified copy of your passport and a document confirming the address (say, a receipt for housing and utility services).

Conversion is carried out at the rate determined by the company and its partners (it is mentioned in paragraph 3.10 of the User Agreement).

 

Complaints against Gerchik & CO

The company openly listens to customers’ opinions about their work and to this end has created special platforms for comments both on gerchik.co. There is a large number of reviews dedicated to Gerchik & CO in review boards and forums. If we focus on the verified ones, the reputation of the broker is ambiguous. The authors of individual posts speak well of Gerchik’s training program, noting the high speed of transactions and the absence of problems with withdrawal. However, traders believe that the platform needs a significant investment.

Many visitors of the website talk about the discrepancy between quotes and market conditions and slow execution.

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Regulator of the gerchik.co Broker

Gerchik & CO is an official member of the Financial Commission.

• The certificate of membership in the financial commission

Gerchik & CO Limited is a registered company with the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) under registration number 40512. The VFSC is a reliable regulator that provides support to consumers, and therefore, the service providers who have received a license from the VFSC also enjoy a high level of confidence. You can verify the status of your document on the official website of the VFSC.

• View Gerchik & CO’s user agreement.

Gerchik & Co User Agreement

The user (customer) agreement defines the rights and responsibilities of the service provider and the customer to each other, so it’s important to read the document before registering and signing up for an account. To make it easier for you, we decided to tell you about its main provisions. So, clause 2.3 says that when you make transactions, there is no physical delivery of currency. This means: trading is carried out, so to speak, within the service. And the operator, despite his assurances, has the ability to influence the quotes.

Responsibility for all executed trading operations lies entirely on you – the broker does not act as your agent (clause 3.4).

If you violate the instructions given by the company in the process of providing mutual settlement (deposit/withdrawal), the latter is not responsible for possible financial losses (clause 3.7). Quite a “slippery” condition, which allows, if the operator is unscrupulous, to set unfulfilled requirements and to say that it is impossible to complete the transaction.

The point 3.8 describes the possible cases of Gerchik & CO charging additional commissions and cancellation of the contract: late payments, no transactions on the account within 12 months, failure to contact the managers of the organization “for a significant period” (which is not stipulated), top up the balance currency different from the account currency, etc.

You compensate any costs incurred by the service provider due to inaccurate information provided by you, within the legal regulations and terms of the agreement (clause 4.2.1).

And are obliged to confirm the information specified in the registration and use of its resources (clause 4.2.2).

If you access your account using your username and password, any actions within it will be deemed to have been performed on your behalf, unless you have been notified that your personal information was inadvertently disclosed to third parties (clause 5.1.5 of “Rights and obligations of the parties”).

You can’t create more than 1 account and 1 client account on one name or register third parties in the system without notifying the broker. Such actions are considered a violation and lead to the blocking of all accounts and additional investigations (clause 5.2.4).

The company has the right to limit the number of open transactions by you and to refuse to open them (clause 5.3.3), and also to increase the amount of the security deposit (clause 5.3.4) at its own discretion.

And in case of non-compliance with the terms of this policy to deny service (clause 5.3.6).

Even to transfer (assign) his obligations under the agreement to a third party (clause 5.3.9).

In this case, the contract with you is terminated by the operator unilaterally – with prior notice (without giving reasons) or without it (in the case of spreading information that defames the reputation of the company). This is stated in paragraph 5.3.10. In case of any suspicions regarding your account, it may be blocked (clause 5.3.11).

 

Interestingly, Gerchik & CO is not responsible for losses incurred by customers as a result of the negligence of agents and partners of the broker (clause 6.1.3 of the section “Liability of the company”).

And accuracy, completeness of the information, recommendations provided in cooperation, and/or use of the broker’s resources (clause 6.1.8).

 

Any complaints are sent within 2 working days to the email address of the provider. Otherwise, they will not be accepted (clause 13.4).

 

Is Gerchik & CO a Scam?

In our opinion, Gechik & CO offers quite favorable conditions for cooperation:

• Many useful services, most of which are free.
• All trading schemes – independent trading, trust management, auto-trading, and trading robots (algorithms).
• Protection of investments according to the risk management program.
• Relatively small starting deposits.
• Interesting affiliate program.

However, if you believe the words of traders from verified sites, you need to invest in the service in a big way, and the quotes do not always correspond to the market ones. And the system for encouraging ordinary users (not attracting new clients) looks weak. In fact, at this point, we have only found a contest of demo accounts, although with a good prize fund. The client agreement contains several clauses that put traders at a disadvantage (e.g., disclaimer of responsibility to compensate losses in case of partners/agents’ negligence, assignment of obligations to third parties, etc.).

But all trading conditions are described on the website (to view them you do not need to register), and earnings are not spreads, which creates a direct correlation between client losses and profits, but fixed commissions: Gerchik & CO earns in any case, you win back the deposit or “sell”. We believe Gerchik & CO is not a scam, but a serious broker, though, it has certain drawbacks.

 

Conclusion

Overall, Gerchik & CO has proven to be quite a good broker. It has loyal requirements at the start, fixed fees, clear and simple trading conditions, a user-friendly and accessible interface, and interesting functionality. The bonus program, however, is not as strong as it could be. So far, in our opinion, there is still a certain imbalance that has not been fully addressed: a focus on young traders in terms of profitability, combined with serious financial requirements. On the whole, this is a solid broker that is generally pleasant to deal with, if you don’t focus too deeply on the flaws that almost every service provider in the industry has.