Assessing the pros and cons of five of the largest

On Jan 16, 2022

eToro: What is it?

eToro was founded in 2007 and now has a customer base of over 20mln investors in 140 different countries – the world’s largest community of traders, according to its website.

It is a multi-asset platform that allows the trading of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), indices, and cryptocurrencies – but just 15 cryptos at present.

eToro is also the world-leading copy trading broker, it said, which enables investors to automatically and in real-time mimic positions opened and managed by the most successful individuals to follow risk-control rules.

Opening an account with eToro is relatively simple, although it may take several days for your identity to be verified and your account to be opened – much like most other trading platforms.

Pros:

It offers zero-commission trading for stocks and ETFs
Offers free trading courses, so is great for beginners
24/7 customer support
Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Investors are insured on losses suffered due to insolvency on up to one million pounds, euros, or Australian dollars (depending on the region).
You can purchase fractional shares
Offers a free Demo account with US$100,000 of virtual cash
No fees on copied trades

Cons:

Minimum purchase for any cryptocurrency is US$25 – making it harder to diversify
Minimum deposit of US$1,000
UK customers are subject to a US$5 fee for withdrawals, but deposits and withdrawals are simple
US$10 per month inactivity fee

Trading212: What is it?

Trading212 was founded in 2004 and has been UK’s number one trading app since 2016, it said, and has 1.5mln users.

It is a multi-asset trading platform that allows its customers to trade stocks, ETFs, forex, and commodities.

Opening an account with Trading212 is as simple as it is with eToro.

Pros:

Zero commission on all trades
Regulated by the FCA
The mobile app is very user friendly and simple making it attractive to beginners
Fractional shares can be traded
No fees on deposits under £2000
Funds are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 if the platform fails to protect your assets or becomes insolvent
24/7 support
Offers a free Demo account with £50,000 of virtual funds
Easy to deposit and withdraw funds at no cost

Cons:

Has a 0.7% fee on any deposits above £2000
There is currently a waiting list to join due to high demand, with some investors waiting over four months, according to the app’s reviews on the app store
0.15% fee for trades that are a different currency to the one used by the account holder

IG: What is it?

IG was founded in 1974 and had over 287,200 customers actively trading across five different continents in the past quarter, it says.

It is the world’s leading contract-for-differences (CFDs) provider, but also offers the opportunity to trade shares, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, bonds, forex, and much more.

Stockbrokers.com ranked IG as the UK’s number one broker for 2021 in a report released…