About the eGoli Bars editorial desk

Who runs this desk

The eGoli Bars desk is run by a small editorial team that writes about gold (XAU/USD) trading for readers in South Africa. We are writers and researchers, not traders taking your money and not a company selling a course, a signal service or a managed account. There is no registered financial services provider behind this site, and we do not present one.

Every page here is written in plain English for a local reader who wants to understand how a gold CFD account actually works before opening one. That means rand amounts where they help, an explanation of local funding such as EFT and cards in ZAR, and a clear statement of the FSCA and other regulators involved where it matters.

The editorial standard we apply before any number goes live

A number is published only when we can point to where it came from and show the arithmetic that produced it. For gold examples we start from the reference price we are using, currently around 4275.0, and we show the lot size, the pip value and the margin calculation in full. If we cannot show the working, the number does not go on the page. That rule applies equally to a margin figure and to a rand amount a South African reader might use to size a position.

We distinguish between a number we were given and a number that depends on conditions we cannot see. Spreads, commissions, swaps and minimum deposits fall into the second group: they vary by account, platform and market conditions, so we describe what the cost consists of and what it depends on rather than quoting a figure. That is a deliberate editorial choice, not a gap. A reader who wants the exact cost for their account should check the broker's own schedule, because that is the only place it is binding.

Every worked example is dated and tied to the assumptions used to build it. At 1:200 leverage for retail clients, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin; we show that figure with the leverage and lot size attached so a reader can see exactly what it assumes. We do not present it as a recommendation or as a typical position. If the assumptions change, the figure changes, and we would rather show the method than leave a stale number standing.

The regulator and entity detail we expect readers to check themselves

We expect every South African reader to check which entity their own account is opened with before relying on anything published here. FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa; the entity that serves South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL. Those are different legal arrangements, and the protections, the leverage cap and the complaint route can differ between them. The caveat is not a formality.

That check matters most when leverage is the subject. The maximum available in South Africa is up to 1:200 for retail clients and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on instrument, and eligibility is assessed by the entity you are actually with. A reader who assumes the higher cap applies to them without confirming their classification is building an example on the wrong assumption. We would rather repeat the caveat than let that pass.

We do not resolve entity questions for readers and we do not tell you which entity you should be with. What we do is keep the caveat on the pages where leverage, margin or platform access is discussed, and keep the entity name spelled out rather than abbreviated. If your account documentation names a different entity from the one above, that documentation is the one that governs your position, and it should be the basis for any margin figure you calculate.

How this desk is run and how trading decisions get made

The desk is run by a small editorial and trading team that meets each morning before the South African market opens to review gold (XAU/USD) positioning and any changes to the tools we publish. Decisions are made by consensus, not by a single voice, and every call is logged with the reason it was taken so it can be reviewed later. We do not run client money and we do not execute trades on behalf of readers; our output is analysis, education and worked examples only.

Every decision that affects published content goes through two checks: a trading check, where the person who models the position confirms the lot size, pip value and margin arithmetic, and an editorial check, where a second person confirms the wording matches the numbers. For gold, one standard lot is 100 oz and one pip is 0.01, so a small slip in the decimal place changes the whole example. That is why we never publish a worked figure without both checks signed off.

Where a decision depends on a broker or platform detail, we say so rather than guess. Leverage is a clear example: the maximum available to South African retail clients is up to 1:200, and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument. That is a cap, not a target, and our decisions about what to publish reflect that distinction. We treat the entity serving South Africa, FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL, as the relevant operating entity unless a reader's own account says otherwise.

How to challenge something we have published

If a figure looks wrong, the fastest route is to send the page, the sentence and the arithmetic you think is correct, and we will check it against our working. We keep the assumptions behind every worked example, so a challenge can be tested rather than argued. If we got it wrong, we correct the page and note what changed. If we got it right, we will show you the working so you can see where the disagreement sits.

Challenges about costs are handled differently because we do not publish spread, commission, swap or minimum deposit figures as numbers. If you believe a cost description is misleading, tell us which words you object to and what you would put in their place. We will review whether the description still matches what the cost consists of and what it depends on. We will not replace a description with a number we cannot verify, even if a reader supplies one, because we cannot bind a broker's schedule.

Challenges about leverage, margin or instrument facts are the ones we take most seriously, because those are the numbers that change a reader's position size. Gold is quoted as XAU/USD, one standard lot is 100 oz and one pip is 0.01; if any published example contradicts that, we want to know. Send the correction with the source you are relying on, and we will check it against the regulator caveat and the entity detail before we republish.

How the site is paid for and where that does and does not reach

The site is funded through commercial arrangements with brokers and through advertising, and those arrangements are kept separate from what we publish. Funding pays for the writing, the modelling and the review process. It does not buy a place in an example, a favourable description of a platform, or a number we would not otherwise publish. Where a commercial relationship exists with a broker we mention on the site, that relationship is disclosed on the page where it is relevant.

What funding does influence is which brokers and platforms we are able to cover in detail, because we can only write about what we can verify. FxPro, with MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, is covered because we can check the platform facts and the entity structure. What funding does not influence is the risk framing: gold trading on leverage can lose more than the margin committed, and no commercial arrangement changes that sentence or softens it.

We do not accept payment to remove a caveat, to describe a cost as favourable, or to present leverage as a strategy rather than a cap. The regulator caveat for South African readers stays as written: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa, and readers should check which entity their own account is opened with. That caveat is not negotiable and is not affected by who pays for the site.

How the desk is funded

Affiliate links are the only revenue this desk earns. When a reader follows a link to a broker and opens an account, the broker may pay us a referral fee. That fee does not change what you pay the broker, and it does not buy a better rating, a softer review or a hidden weakness.

Payment never buys a rating. If a broker has a flaw that matters to a South African reader, such as a funding method that does not work locally or an entity that is not the one you expected, we say so in the same words whether or not there is an affiliate link on the page. Where we cannot verify a fact, we say that instead of filling the gap.

What this desk is not

This desk is not a broker, a bank, a payment provider or a licensed financial adviser, and nothing on the site is personal advice. We do not hold client funds, open accounts, process withdrawals or recover money for anyone. If you have a problem with a live trading account, the broker is the only party who can resolve it.

We also do not know your circumstances, your tax position or your risk tolerance, so we cannot tell you whether to trade gold or how much to put at risk. What we can do is explain the mechanics, the costs and the risks in language that is accurate and checkable.

What we will and will not put in a worked gold example

A worked gold example on this site always shows the instrument code, the lot size, the pip value and the margin arithmetic, and it always names the leverage assumption behind the margin figure. For XAU/USD, one standard lot is 100 oz and one pip is 0.01, so the example is only useful if those two facts are visible. We will not publish a margin figure without the leverage attached, because the same position needs different margin at different caps and the number means nothing on its own.

We will not put a rand conversion, a funding method or a platform name into an example unless it changes the arithmetic or the risk. Local cards, bank transfers in ZAR and e-wallets are the funding routes a South African reader is likely to use, and we mention them where funding is the subject, not as decoration in a trading example. The point of the example is the position, not the payment rail.

We will not present a cap as a setting to aim at. Up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on instrument are ceilings, and an example built at the ceiling is showing the smallest margin the position could require, not a recommended size. Where an example uses a lower effective leverage, we say so, because the difference between the cap and the position is where most of the risk sits.