Review Summary
eToro was created in 2007. It is registered in Cyprus and currently has over 6 million traders. The FCA and CySEC regulate the platform and it has won several awards over the years. Today, it is one of the largest social trading platforms in the world. Social trading entails retail traders combining the knowledge and experience to trade. The traders on this platform are able to interact with other traders, discuss their strategies, and utilize the proprietary eToro CopyTrader to copy their trading portfolios automatically. The platform supports trade in various assets with a primary focus on CFDs. On this platform, you can trade in crypto assets as well as stocks.
Fees
On eToro, there is no commission for ETF and stock trading for European traders. For those outside the EU, there is a very low fee. The fee is included in the spread, the difference between the ask and the bid price. If you wish to exchange crypto to fiat, there is a 5% fee. To change from crypto to crypto, you are only charged a 0.1% fee. The minimum trade size for crypto trading is $20 and the maximum is $10,000 for each transaction. Spreads for crypto trading on eToro range from as little as 0.75% for BTC and as high as 4.5% for IOTA. In general, eToro offers traders some of the lowest fees in stocks while the FX fees are average.
Regulation and Fund security
eToro is regulated by ASIC, CySEC, and the FCA, which are all very strict and reputable regulators. Different firms in the eToro group manage the brand in different nations. In the UK, eToro (UK) Ltd oversees its activities, under the registration number FRN 583263. Under FCA rules, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers traders on eToro (UK) Ltd.
In Europe, eToro (Europe) Ltd oversees its activities. The company is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission in Europe as a Cyprus Investment Firm under license number # 109/10. The Investor Compensation Scheme covers those using the European platform. Its activities in Australia are overseen by eToro AUS Pty Ltd, which is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission under license number 491139.
Account Types
eToro offers traders a variety of account types, these are:
- Demo Account
eToro offers traders the option to set up a demo account. With this account, traders will be able to polish up their forex trading skills. The account comes with $100,000 in virtual funds.
- Micro Account
With this account, you will be able to trade micro-lots, set at 1000 units of your base currency.
- Mini Account
With this account, eToro lets you trade mini lots, set at 10,000 units of your base currency.
- Standard Account
With a standard account, you are able to trade standard lots, set at 100,000 units of your base currency.
- Islamic Account
This is a great account for Islamic traders. The account fully adheres to Shariah law. For instance, the account does not allow the user to earn or pay interest. This is sometimes called a swap-free account.
Investment Products/Trading instruments
eToro allows you to trade in 6 asset classes. These are commodities, currencies, ETFs, market indices, stocks, and crypto-assets. On eToro, you will be able to trade all of these asset classes as CFDs. Some of the CFDs can be traded with the underlying assets such as stocks, ETFs, and crypto. This allows you to take full ownership of the underlying assets instead of simply speculating on its price movement. The others such as commodities, indices, and currencies are only traded as CFDs. Crypto trading was the last to be added to the eToro platform. With crypto trading, you will have access to three categories, which are crypto crosses, crypto-currency crosses, and individual coins. In total, you have 30 different combinations of crypto assets that you can trade.
Trading Platforms
eToro offers a web trading platform and mobile app. There is no desktop-based platform for eToro. The eToro platform was built in-house. With this platform, you can perform individual trading or social trading using a single screen. The platform can be accessed directly through your browser.
The mobile app can be accessed on both Android and iOS. With the app, you will access all the features found on the web version of the platform. These features include the ability to browse traders, executing trades, and managing the account.
Customer Support
eToro customer support is offered from Sunday to Friday 24 hours a day. Fifteen languages are supported on the platform. You can contact support via fax, telephone, or support ticket. A Live chat is also offered on the platform. They are also quite active on social media and they can be contacted via Instagram Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Linkedin. The telephone support is offered toll-free for residents of Cyprus, the UK, and New Zealand. If you need a quick response, you can always send support an email.
Webinar, seminars, educational material
eToro has an active education center where you will find various tools that could help you to enhance your trading skills. In the center, you will have access to training courses, webinars, and various videos on how to become an excellent trader. The guides cover everything from the basics of becoming a trader to how you can deposit and withdraw funds from your existing account.
You will have the opportunity to take part in various live webinars where you can learn how the eToro platform works from various trading experts. During these webinars, you will have the opportunity to hear from financial experts about how to excel as a trader. In the education center, there are well-curated eCourses that are designed to help traders master the trading skills at their own pace. The courses are excellent for experienced and new traders. On the WebTrader platform, a news screen shows traders what is going on in the Forex world to help them make the right trading decisions. eToro also has a blog that is offered in different languages.
Active Bonus and Promotions
Because of MiFID restrictions, eToro does not offer deposit bonuses. However, they still offer traders promotions if they register for the Popular Investor program. Traders may be able to enjoy a 2% management fee. If you trade regularly, you should consider signing up for this program.
How to open an account
Opening an eToro account is quite easy. Simply visit the eToro site and click on “Trade Now” or “Join Now.” On the next page, you will find an electronic form where you will fill in all the personal details needed to open an account. Once you are done, click on “sign-Up.”
As part of the KYC requirements, new users have to provide a confirmation of their current residence such as a valid utility bill that was issued within the last six months. They also need to provide proof of identity such as an official photo ID or a passport. eToro could also ask for more details such as level of knowledge in the capital markets and professional status as part of the KYC process.
Conclusion
eToro is an awesome trading platform for retail traders that need to crowdsource their investment idea thanks to its awesome copy trading technology. It can also be an awesome platform for experienced traders that wish to get a reward for sharing their trading strategies with other traders. For a newbie that needs a bit of handholding, this can be an awesome platform. Another reason why traders should consider using the platform is its zero-commission stock trading for European traders. Opening an account on this platform is quite easy. Once you sign up, you will find numerous innovative features such as the proprietary social trading technology. However, for high volume traders, eToro might feel a bit limiting for them due to the small maximum trade sizes and high spreads.
