Trading 212 Review
Why Trading 212 Sucks In 50 Words
Everybody wants to trade cryptocurrencies but a quick look at Trading 212’s website will show that you are not able to trade this type of asset with this broker. In response to the FCA’s policy statement on cryptocurrencies: “PS20/10: Prohibiting the sale to retail clients of investment products that reference cryptoassets“, on Friday the 27th of November, 2020, Trading212 suspended the trading of cryptocurrencies. Not a biggie, just something to be aware of.
Why Trading 212 Doesn’t Suck In 50 Words
They’ve weathered the storm and managed to stay in business since 2006 and got regulated in 2014 so they’ve shown adaptability and persistence despite some negativity in the earlier days. Now they’ve developed into a solid brokerage, with good trading conditions and improved relationships with their customers. That being said, regulation remains the main reason why they don’t suck.
Is Trading 212 A Scam?
As a rule of thumb, a regulated broker is usually free from scam suspicions. A broker that’s regulated by two financial watchdogs is even further away from scam territory and if said broker also happens to have a lot of experience and a long time in business, then you truly have a trustworthy partner. Trading 212 ticks all the boxes above so we have no doubt about their integrity and no fear that we may be dealing with a scam.
For the sake of accuracy and honest reviewing, we must note that in the past there was an online wave of client aggression directed towards Trading 212 and this was mainly because of their marketing and some ads that popped up everywhere. However, Trading 212 toned down their marketing and fixed a few things, which ultimately resulted in a better reputation and a “happier” client base.
Should I Open An Account With Trading 212?
Trading 212 is an online CFD and FX broker established back in 2006 and currently authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under Reference number 609146 (as Trading 212 UK Limited) and regulated by the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) as Trading 212 EOOD, under Register number RG-03-0237.
With a long time in business, a web-based platform developed in house, and regulation from two financial watchdogs, you would think that Trading212 is the perfect choice for any trader. However, they don’t offer the most popular trading platform – Meta Trader 4 – which means that you won’t be able to use any of your custom indicators or Expert Advisors. This may or may not be a deal-breaker, depending on your preferences but in my opinion, any major broker should offer this platform. However, their proprietary platform is more than enough for most users, whether they are newbies or more seasoned traders.
Trading212 offers two types of accounts: Trading212 Invest and Trading212 CFD but you will get separate ways of trading: the CFD account offers leveraged CFD trading on currencies, stocks, indices, and commodities and with the Invest account, you can invest in Stocks & ETFs, with zero commission. Commission-Free trading is available for clients from the UK and Germany. As for the minimum required deposits, they start at $1 for the Invest account and $10 for the CFD account. Obviously depositing this low will not get you a lot of trades, but at least it’s good they offer the freedom to deposit as little as you want.
In the Education section, they offer a series of videos, tutorials, and Daily analysis for most high-profile trading instruments. However, the last post in the analysis section was made in late-2020, so I doubt it will be of much help or interest. Depending on your level of trading experience, you will find these more or less exciting and helpful but it’s good to know the daily analysis is actually daily. They also provide a forum for traders to interact but there’s not a lot of activity there, probably because these days traders have other means of communicating.
All in all, the negative online sentiment that surrounded Trading 212 in the past, doesn’t seem fully justified. The trading conditions are fair, they are fully regulated and we couldn’t find any hidden fees or weird terms and conditions. That being said, you should always conduct your own research on any broker that you want to invest in. Maybe we missed something or maybe some of their trading conditions don’t seem fair to you. As they say, different strokes for different folks.
The listed addresses are 107 Cheapside London EC2V 6DN UNITED KINGDOM, 43-45 Dorset Street, London, W1U 7NA, and 1756 Sofia, Lachezar Stanchev Str., Litex Tower, fl. 10, Bulgaria. The broker can be contacted at phone (+44) 20 3769 9897 and email [email protected].
Trading 212 Complaints
All brokers have complaints – we know that – but if you ask me, I would rather deal with a broker that has too many ads than one with a bad reputation for price manipulation or some other serious issue. And besides, lately, Trading 212 has drastically reduced its pop-up quantity. Their rating on ForexPeaceArmy forums is around 2.5 stars out of 5, but it looks like Trading212 reps are joining the discussions and trying to solve the clients’ issues.
Trading 212 Withdrawal
The accepted methods are Skrill, Dotpay, Giropay, Carte Bleue, Direct eBanking, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, iDEAL, bank transfers, and credit/debit cards. The time it takes to process the transaction is usually up to 2 business days. Trading 212 doesn’t charge fees for deposits and withdrawals but your payment processor (bank, e-wallet, etc.) may apply their own fees. Once your total deposits reach 2,000 GBP, Trading212 will apply a 0.7% fee to each deposit made through other methods than wires.
Trading 212 Regulatory Warnings And Announcements
Although there are no warnings against Trading 212 itself, the British FCA has warned that another company has illegally cloned this well-known broker. The cloned website is thetrading212 (dot) com, so you should always check the address and make sure you land on the page of the genuine broker. See FCA warning here.
Trading 212 Extras
Commission-free investments (stocks and ETFs) for UK and German customers! For the auto-trading enthusiasts, Trading 212 offers a mobile solution called AutoInvest, which works as a Pie System where you decide in which assets to invest (available for iOS and Android). We have not tried it and cannot vouch for its performance.
Trading 212 Ratings
User Friendliness 17/20
The trading platform fairly easy to use but like all things, it will take a bit of time to learn the ins and outs, which is normal. Demo accounts are available, as well as mobile apps for both major operating systems. The website is translated into 11 languages and is well structured, with easy-to-find information and tutorials. Clients from the U.S. and Canada are not accepted, mobile apps are available.
Range Of Markets, Spreads And Leverage 17/20
The choice of assets is large and covers most asset classes – CFDs on currencies, commodities, indices, stocks, as well as investing in stocks and ETFs. The spreads are floating so we cannot give an exact number because they change depending on market conditions. At the time of writing the spread for EUR/USD was around 1 pip, which is average-to-low for the industry. The leverage goes up to 1:30 for retail clients (it has been lowered to comply with ESMA rules) but depending on your region, it can go as high as 1:500.
Fees And Support 17/20
Trading 212 doesn’t charge to open an account, just like basically every broker out there, and they don’t even charge fees for withdrawals. This is obviously an advantage because we’ve seen many brokers that charge north of 25 bucks for withdrawals.
There is no inactivity fee at Trading 212! No one likes fees but keep in mind that almost all brokers charge such fees and some even start charging it after 3 months of inactivity. Support was surprisingly fast to respond and answered all questions promptly. There’s also a Help Centre with tons of useful information.
Deposits And Withdrawals 18/20
The minimum amount for both deposits and withdrawals is 1 USD/EUR/GBP and the methods are Skrill, Dotpay, Giropay, SafetyPay, Carte Bleue, Direct eBanking, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, iDEAL, bank transfers, and credit/debit cards. Withdrawals take up to 2 business days to process and deposits are usually faster, depending on the method.
Website Extras 16/20
Auto investing via AutoInvest Pie System solution and commission-free investments in Stocks and ETFs. Some nice features, especially if you are interested in hands-free trading and investing as opposed to CFD trading.