Is Plus500 a scam? Scam investigation!

Are you curious whether Plus500 is a scam? In this article, I investigate whether Plus500 is a fraud or not.

Tip: Try first with a demo account

Do you doubt whether Plus500 is a scam? Then it may be wise to get acquainted with the broker by opening a free demo account. You can open a free demo account with Plus500 by clicking the button below:

Is Plus500 a scam?

Plus500 is not a scam. I have extensively researched Plus500 and the company has a long track record. During my investigation, I found the following:

• Plus500 has been around since 2008 and has a long history.
• Plus500 has welcomed beyond 22 million investors.
• The broker operates in more than 50 different countries.
• The company is listed on the stock exchange and makes a profit every year.
• Plus500 is regulated by different authorities.
• Plus500 scores more than 4.0 on Trustpilot.
• Plus500 sponsors multiple football teams.

Illustrative prices

Is Plus500 legitimate?

Plus500 is a legitimate company that has been active since 2008. To further investigate the company, I even visited their headquarters in Haifa. Plus500 shares a nice office building with Microsoft. All employees can eat free ice cream there, and they even have a gym in the building. I was able to speak with many employees, and they indicated that they enjoy working for the company.

Plus500 has many subsidiaries:

• Plus500UK Ltd
• Plus500CY Ltd
• Plus500AU Ltd
• Plus500SG Pte Ltd
• Plus500IL Ltd
• Plus500SEY Ltd

The company is also supervised by different authorities:

• Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909)
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC Licence No. 250/14)
• AFSL #417927 issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• FSP No. 486026 issued by the FMA in New Zealand
• Authorised Financial Services Provider #47546 issued by the FSCA in South Africa
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (License No. CMS100648-1)
• Seychelles Financial Services Authority (Licence No. SD039)

It is a positive sign that Plus500 is active in so many countries and has official registrations. This confirms once again that the company is not a scam.

Is Plus500 popular?

Plus500 receives many positive reactions on the internet. At the time of writing (August 2023), Plus500 has an average score of 4.0 based on more than 11,000 reviews!

I found many positive reactions on the internet, but also some negative ones. Some people incorrectly called Plus500 a scam. This is often because people have lost their money with their investments. They feel deceived and blame the broker.

Remember that investing with Plus500 is not a game. You risk money, and you could lose a large part of your deposit. Therefore, only invest with money that you can afford to lose.

How does Plus500 make money?

Some people think that Plus500 is a scam because they do not charge fixed commissions. However, this is certainly possible: the company makes money by charging a spread.

The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of, for example, a CFD share. Click here to read more about how a spread works.

Claims that money has not been paid out for Plus500

When you search the internet for whether Plus500 is a scam, you come across some claims that some people make that their money has not been paid out. However, Plus500 states that these people have abused the broker’s terms and conditions. For example, they have created multiple accounts or have created an account with false information. If this comes to light, Plus500 is forced by law to close the account of these people.

There are also claims online that trading CFDs at Plus500 is not fair. This is mainly due to people’s ignorance about this method of investing. Trading in CFDs is not the same as investing in stocks. On our page, you can read more information about CFD trading with brokers like Plus500.

Do you want to know how the payout process works at Plus500? Then read this article!

Is your money secure with Plus500?

When you deposit money at Plus500, it is handled carefully. Customer funds are stored in a separate account and the company will not invest them.

Due to the ESMA rules, user accounts within Europe are also protected against a negative balance.

With the Investor Compensation Fund, users are also protected up to €20,000 in the event of the company’s bankruptcy. You can read about the characteristics of this fund here.

Characteristics of a reliable broker

When investing money with an online broker, it is natural to be concerned about reliability. Someone could set up a fake website with the aim of scamming people. It is therefore wise to pay attention to some characteristics when choosing a broker that demonstrates the site’s reliability.

At Plus500, you can tick more of these characteristics than with most other brokers that offer their services online. For example, Plus500CY Ltd is regulated by the CySec (#250/14). This is an independent authority that closely monitors the behaviour of financial institutions in Europe.

An additional characteristic that shows the reliability of Plus500 is the fact that they are listed on the stock exchange. As shares of Plus500 are available on the London Stock Exchange, they have to be transparent. Moreover, as a listed company, they also have to meet a whole range of additional legal requirements.

Why I would recommend Plus500

Once you are familiar with the risks and the way CFD trading works, Plus500 is a reliable CFD broker.

Some characteristics of the broker that ensure this are:

• The user-friendly software and the free demo you can create.
• The website & software of Plus500 are fully available in multiple langiages.
• No fixed commissions are charged on your investments.

All of this makes Plus500 one of more reliable CFD brokers. Click here to open a free demo account with Plus500:

Plus500 review & experiences (2023): pros & cons

In this review of Plus500, I share my experiences with this trading platform. After reading this comprehensive Plus500 review, you will know if this platform is a good fit for you.

What are the biggest advantages of Plus500?

• Extensive offering: You can trade in more than 2000 CFD securities with Plus500.
• User-friendliness: The software of Plus500 is very user-friendly.
• Free demo: You can try the possibilities at Plus500 for free with a demo account.
• Speculation: It is also possible to speculate on decreasing prices with Plus500.
• Transparency: Plus500 does not charge any hidden costs for withdrawing or depositing money.

What are the biggest disadvantages of Plus500?

• Customer service: Plus500 is only accessible via online chat or email.
• Limited software: You cannot perform advanced analyses with the Plus500 software.
• Poor education: Plus500 offers limited education and no further support.

Try Plus500 for free with a demo!

Read the rest of the Plus500 review to read in detail about my experiences with the trading platform. Do you want to try out if Plus500 is a good fit for you? Than open a free demo account with this provider:

How to invest with Plus500?

Option 1: Active trading with Plus500

Most investors use Plus500 CFD at Plus500. With Plus500 CFD, you can actively speculate on the price movements of popular CFD stocks. When investing in CFDs, the following applies:

• No ownership: You invest in a derivative, not the underlying asset.
• Leverage: You can open a larger position with a small amount of money.
• Short position: It is also possible to speculate on decreasing prices.
• Short-term: CFD trading is only suitable for the short term.

Do you want to know in detail how investing in CFDs works? Read this article!

Option 2: buy stocks with Plus500

Since 2023, it is also possible to directly buy and sell stocks with Plus500 Invest. In this case, you do pay commissions on your transactions, but this method of investing is also suitable for the long term.

How to open an account with Plus500?

Opening a demo account with Plus500 is quick and easy: just click the Try free Demo button on the website. Do you want to create an account with Plus500 yourself? Click here!

You only need to leave an email and a password. It is even possible to open an account directly with your Google, Facebook or Apple account.

With the free demo, you can try out all the features of the Plus500 software for free and without risk. If you want to invest with real money, you still have to go through some additional steps. It is required to confirm your identity and address and to pass a knowledge test.

Is Plus500 reliable?

I believe that Plus500 is a reliable trading platform:

• 14 years active: Plus500 has been active for over 14 years.
• 20+ million customers: with 22 million opened accounts in 50 countries, Plus500 is a large player.
• Regulated: Plus500 is under supervision, which is a positive sign for its reliability.
• Segregated account: customer funds are stored in segregated accounts at Plus500.
• Tradable: Plus500’s shares are tradable on the stock exchange.
• Sponsor: Plus500 sponsors various sports teams.

On the internet, Plus500 receives an average score of 4.1 at the time of writting:

Below is an overview of all the parties that regulate Plus500:

• Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909)
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC Licence No. 250/14)
• AFSL #417927 issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• FSP No. 486026 issued by the FMA in New Zealand
• Authorised Financial Services Provider #47546 issued by the FSCA in South Africa
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (Licence No. CMS100648-1)
• Seychelles Financial Services Authority (Licence No. SD039)

Plus500 also takes adequate measures to protect its clients’ funds. In the overview below, you can see the steps they take:

I have personally visited the Plus500 office in Israel and everything looked reliable. If you still are keen to know more about the reliability of Plus500, you can read one of the following articles:

• Is Plus500 a scam?
• Is Plus500 reliable?

What are the costs of investing with Plus500?

• No commissions: You do not pay any commissions when trading CFDs with Plus500.
• Deposit & withdrawal: Depositing and withdrawing money is free with Plus500.
• No service fees: You do not pay any service fees on your account.
• Inactivity: If you do not log in for three months, you will be charged $10 per month.
• Conversion fees: You pay 0.7% for currency conversion.
• Spread: You pay a spread on each transaction.
• Leverage: You pay financing costs on your transactions.
• Guaranteed stop loss: You pay an extra charge for this feature.

I find it a positive point that Plus500 does not charge hidden costs: for example, depositing and withdrawing money is free. Because your costs are relative to the investment position you open, Plus500 is very suitable for active traders.

However, the costs are too high if you want to invest with Plus500 for the long term. I would not recommend Plus500 CFD for long-term investors.

The costs of Plus500 Invest are reasonable: especially on US stocks, the costs are low at $0.006 per share.

What can you invest in with Plus500?

(CFD) stocks

With Plus500 Invest, you can invest in stocks, while with Plus500 CFD, you can actively trade in stocks. You can trade in over 2000 shares from European countries, America, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong at Plus500. A positive point within the review is that you can also speculate in smaller, local CFD stocks.

Forex

At Plus500, you can trade in both major and minor currency pairs. The spread on EUR/USD was only 2 pips at the time of writing (September 29, 2022, 23:00). Plus500 also allows you to trade in many exotic forex pairs, such as USD/PLN, USDN/RON, and USD/MXN.

Commodities

It is also possible to actively speculate in commodities with CFDs at Plus500. In addition to the well-known gold, silver, and oil, you can also trade in, for example, slaughter pigs and soybeans.

Indexes

You can also trade in different indexes at Plus500, such as the VIX volatility index, the AEX, and sector-specific indexes.

Crypto

With a leverage of 1:2, you can also actively speculate in cryptocurrencies at Plus500. It is also possible to speculate on falling crypto prices with CFDs. If you want to invest in cryptocurrencies, a party like Bitvavo can be a good option.

Options

If you want to invest with a high leverage, you can speculate on options by using CFDs. Options already have a built-in leverage, which means that your potential profit and loss can increase faster. Click here to read about investing in options in more detail.

Review of the Plus500 software

In this part of the review, I will share my experiences with the Plus500 trading platform.

My experiences with the trading platform

For this review, I extensively tested the Plus500 trading platform. The high user-friendliness is a big plus of the software.

To find an asset, you can use the search function or the list function. When you want to open a position, you can choose to buy (you speculate on a price increase) or sell (you speculate on a price decrease).

On the left, you always have an overview of the menu. Here, you can find the following items:

• Menu: view the complete overview of options.
• Trade: open a new trading position here.
• Open Positions: view the overview of your current investments.
• Orders: view all your outstanding orders at Plus500.
• Closed Positions: view all your closed positions.
• Real Money: switch to trading with real money with this button.

At the top of the screen, you also have an overview of the financial situation within your account. You can see how much money you have available and how much space you have to open new positions. It is important to keep an eye on your margin: if there is not enough money in your account, you can lose all your investments.

How to open a position at Plus500?

You can open a position within the trading platform by clicking on the buy or sell button. You have two options:

• Market order: you can buy or sell the CFD share directly at the prevailing price.
• Limit order: you can set the price at which you want to buy or sell the CFD share.

With close at profit and close at loss, you can set an amount at which your position will automatically close. It is also possible to use a trailing stop, which is a stop loss that automatically moves with your investment. Finally, for an additional fee, you can use a guaranteed stop loss.

Don’t forget to review all the data and costs of the CFD before opening a position under information.

After the position is opened, you can manage it under open positions. Here, you can see live updates of your profit or loss on the investment.

Do you want to learn more about how to invest with Plus500 in more detail?

• Click here to open the Plus500 manual
• Read the comprehensive Plus500 tutorial here

Analysis Tools on Plus500

You can also use various analysis tools within the software to support your decision-making. However, our review found that there are more advanced programs available. If you want to be a professional day trader, a program like MetaTrader may be useful for making more complex analyses.

You can enable various technical indicators on the chart, which can help you select buying and selling moments.

You can also draw on the chart within the Plus500 software. For example, you can indicate horizontal levels where the price often bounces off. When you perform analyses on multiple charts, it can become somewhat cluttered within the software.

Finally, you can see the sentiment of other traders on Plus500. This can give you an extra boost in confidence when making your own investment decisions.

Quality of the Demo Account

Within this review, I found the demo account to be very pleasant. You can try the possibilities with a fictitious amount of money. The results within the demo are identical to the results within a real money account. This allows you to become familiar with the possibilities of Plus500 perfectly. As soon as you are ready, you can switch to a real money account with a single click.

Guidance and Education

The guidance at Plus500 is limited. You can use the economic calendar to see which events may influence the price. You can also use technical analysis by adding indicators to the chart. However, there is no other information available about trading in general. This is a weaker point within this review.

The Plus500 software excels in user-friendliness, but does not offer an enormous number of possibilities. Whether this is a problem, depends on your investment plans.

The Plus500 Mobile Platform

Plus500 has developed an application that allows you to invest anytime, anywhere. Evidently, the mobile application is less extensive than the desktop version. For example, you cannot perform technical analysis within the mobile application.

You can use the Plus500 mobile application primarily to keep track of your current trading positions. When you start investing with Plus500, the mobile application is a handy additional method for accessing your account.

The mobile application receives good reviews

How Does Depositing and Withdrawing Money Work at Plus500?

After completing the verification process, you can deposit money into your account (minimum $100). You can directly deposit money into your account via iDEAL, credit card, and PayPal. It is also possible to deposit money by bank transfer, but this takes longer. Depositing money at Plus500 works well and Plus500 scores well in the review.

You can deposit money at Plus500 using all popular methods

Withdrawing Money from Plus500

Withdrawing money is possible from$100 for bank transfers and $50 for PayPal and Skrill at Plus500. If you do not have this amount in your account and still want to withdraw your money, you can make a deposit and then withdraw the full amount.

Withdrawing money is 100% free at Plus500. Only if you withdraw money more than five times in a month, you will be charged a fee. This is a positive point within the review, since some brokers charge high transaction fees for withdrawing money.

Withdraw requests are processed quickly: in my case it took about three days for the withdrawal request to be processed, and the money appeared in my bank account a day later. Withdrawing money works smoothly at Plus500!

How is Plus500’s customer service?

A weak point of Plus500 is their customer support. Whenever you have a problem, it is always resolved. Unfortunately, this support only works via email or live chat. I would appreciate it if it was possible to speak to someone directly over the phone. Plus500 could improve on its accessibility.

Of course, we have tested whether customer service responds to inquiries. The live chat is fast: you get someone to speak to who will answer your question within a few seconds. Sending an email is less effective as it can take several days to receive a response.

With the Plus500 live chat you receive a quick reply

Conclusion of Plus500 review: is this a good broker?

I have been using Plus500 for active speculation for years. For example, I used Plus500 during the corona pandemic to actively speculate on the price of oil. However, Plus500 is not suitable for everyone: it is mainly suitable for active trading and the risks involved are considerable.

Are you curious if Plus500 is right for you? Then open a free demo account at Plus500:

Frequently asked questions about Plus500

Risk warning: 82% of retail investors lose money on CFD trading with this provider. You must consider whether you can afford the high risk of losing money.

BLOX review (2023): is this a reliable crypto broker?

BLOX is a crypto application that allows you to trade in over 35 different cryptocurrencies. BLOX aims to make crypto trading as simple as possible. In this comprehensive review, I investigate whether BLOX has succeeded in making crypto accessible to the public.Note: BLOX is only available in the Netherland, Spain and Belgium. If you live in Europe you could try Bitvavo (which is a lot cheaper) or Binance (which offers more features).

BLOX in brief

BLOX is a mobile application from the well-known BTC Direct, which has been around since 2013. BLOX stands out for its user-friendliness and allows you to quickly trade in the most well-known cryptocurrencies. With transaction fees of 1%, BLOX is pricier than Bitvavo (0.25%) and Binance (0.075%), but it does offer €10 in free cryptocurrency to every user. This makes it definitely worth opening an account with this provider. Use the button below to receive your free €10:Use code to receive €10 in free cryptocurrency!

Founded in:	2018
Minimum deposit:	€1
iDEAL:	Yes
Fees:	1%
Staking:	No
Regulator:	Dutch National Bank (DNB)
Deposit & withdraw crypto:	No
Platforms	Mobile platform

How to open an account with BLOX?

Opening an account with BLOX is easy:

• Click here to directly download the BLOX mobile application
• Use code <X> to receive €10 in free cryptocurrency
• Enter your personal information; your name, email address, and password
• Indicate how much experience you have with investing
• Confirm the source of your deposits (e.g. your income)

After opening an account, it is recommended that you set up 2FA (two-factor authentication) to prevent malicious parties from stealing your cryptocurrencies.

How does the BLOX platform work? Quick guide

A positive point within my BLOX review is the user-friendliness of the application. You can find all the functions you need in 4 different tabs.

Prices

Under the prices tab, you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Select the cryptocurrency whose current price you want to consult, and you will immediately see how the price has developed. You can buy a cryptocurrency for as little as €1 with BLOX.Buying cryptocurrencies with BLOX is simple:

1. Click on the cryptocurrency you would like to buy
2. Then press the Buy button
3. Enter the amount for which you would like to buy crypto and press Continue
4. Then Confirm the purchase

Vault

Curious about how your crypto investments are performing? In the vault, you can immediately see whether you make a profit or a loss.

Earn

Do you know any friends who are interested in crypto? You can give them €10 worth of crypto for free! In addition, you will receive 20% of all trading fees they make.

Settings

Under the last tab, you can change your password and contact customer service.

Deposit money at BLOX

You can deposit money at BLOX using all the usual payment methods, such as:

• iDEAL
• Bank transfer
• Bancontact for Belgium
• Credit card (Visa and Mastercard)

Depositing (and withdrawing) funds at BLOX is almost always free. Only when you deposit money with your credit card they charge 1.5% in fees. Depositing money at BLOX is quick and easy, which makes it a good choice in this review.

Offer of cryptocurrencies

You can also see from the selection that BLOX focuses primarily on the novice investor. At BLOX, you can only invest in the most well-known cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, you can trade 37 different cryptocurrencies at BLOX. Examples of cryptocurrencies that you can buy and sell at BLOX are: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Solana, and Ripple.I find the selection of cryptocurrencies a bit limited, but this is because I also like to invest in lesser-known altcoins. If a large selection is important to you, Binance can be a good choice.Don’t expect any special extra features. At BLOX, you cannot speculate on falling prices or follow other investors as you can at eToro. It is also not possible to earn extra returns through staking. It’s safer, but less interesting.

What are the costs at BLOX?

Your return is largely determined by the costs you pay: at BLOX, you pay a standard cost percentage of 1% on your transactions. This cost percentage is lower than some other Dutch providers, but certainly not the lowest on the market.For example, at Bitvavo, you pay a maximum of 0.25%, and at Binance, around 0.125%! If costs are critical to you, it’s better to choose another provider.The Bitcoin price can also differ from broker to broker. Keep in mind that this can cause your costs to be higher or lower than expected.

How reliable is BLOX?

Registration & regulation

BLOX is registered under the brand name BTC Direct with the Dutch Central Bank. This is a good sign: BLOX complies with Dutch rules and regulations.Another positive sign for the reliability of BLOX is that the parent company has been around since 2013. This means that the broker has been active for almost 10 years without any unpleasant hacks.

The BLOX wallet

BLOX stores all cryptocurrencies in a central wallet. Unlike some other brokers, you cannot deposit or withdraw cryptocurrencies. This offers the advantage that you do not have to protect a wallet yourself. A clear disadvantage is the lack of control, as BLOX is technically the owner of the cryptocurrencies.When it comes to security, BLOX seems to be doing well. Most of the cryptocurrencies are stored on so-called cold wallets. Cold wallets are not connected to the internet, which makes them more difficult to hack. Moreover, there are sufficient security protocols to prevent the cryptocurrencies from being stolen.However, for crypto investors who consider control to be crucial, BLOX is not an option. You remain fully dependent on the company’s security.

Stability & outages

Recently, BLOX has not always built up a good reputation for stability. They have had several outages, resulting in users losing money. As a user, it is important to be able to sell your cryptocurrencies quickly, especially when strong market movements occur. It seems that BLOX has improved its stability & accessibility in 2023.

Conclusion: Is BLOX a good crypto exchange?

BLOX is not the best crypto exchange, but I don’t think BLOX is trying to be the best either. This crypto app mainly focuses on novice investors who want to invest in Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies with little knowledge. BLOX does little wrong for this target group, and with the free €10 in crypto, it can be attractive to open an account:Use code to receive free €10 in crypto!

Frequently Asked Questions about BLOX

Trade Republic review (2023): advantages and disadvantages of the platform

The German Trade Republic is now available in the Netherlands! Trade Republic allows you to invest in thousands of stocks & ETFs with your mobile phone. It’s also convenient that with this broker, you can automatically invest in shares & ETFs on a regular basis. In this review, I will share my experiences with Trade Republic.

About Trade Republic

Trade Republic was launched in Germany in 2005, but is now also active in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Despite the fact that the broker only offers an app, you can invest in an extensive range of stocks and ETFs. The low transaction fees (maximum of €1) make the application an attractive alternative to many traditional brokers.If you want to try Trade Republic for yourself, you can open an account directly with the button below:

Year of foundation:	2015
Products:	Stocks & ETF's
Costs:	Maximum €1 per order
Minimum deposit:	€1
Payment methods:	Bank transfer & credit card

Advantages of Trade Republic

• You pay a maximum of €1 in transaction costs per order
• You can invest in over 7500 products
• Trade Republic is regulated by the German BaFin
• The savings program is an interesting feature
• You can trade outside of regular trading hours

Disadvantages of Trade Republic

• The application is only available in English
• It is not possible to deposit with iDEAL yet
• Your orders are sold to the Hamburg stock exchange
• The customer service is only available by email

Unique feature: savings plan

I am a big fan of the savings plan which is offered by Trade Republic.With a savings plan, you can invest a fixed amount periodically (e.g., every month) in a selection of stocks and ETFs. Not all products are available in the savings plan: you can choose from 1,000+ ETFs and 2,500+ stocks.You then only pay one euro in transaction fees for your entire transaction. This means that you can also invest a small amount in stocks like Amazon and Alphabet shares. Within Trade Republic, you can also buy fractional shares, which allows you to buy part of a bigger stock.You can, for example, invest €100 each month in Amazon, €100 in an ETF of your choice, and €100 in Philip shares. By creating your own savings plan, you retain complete control.By investing periodically, you can take advantage of dollar-cost averaging, which allows you to achieve an average return on your investment. By consistently investing a fixed amount, you can build up a large sum over a longer period. With this tool, you can see for yourself what the effect of periodic investments can be.

Unique feature: longer trading hours

Another advantage of Trade Republic is that you can also invest outside of regular trading hours. Because you can still trade stocks after the market closes, you can also react to events outside the trading hours.There is a disadvantage to this: outside of normal trading hours, the spread increases. The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of a stock. Outside regular hours, there are fewer active traders, which makes it difficult to find buyers and sellers. This makes it important to be extra careful when investing with Trade Republic in the late hours!

Trading options with Trade Republic

The trading options at Trade Republic are excellent, especially for a mobile application. You can invest in thousands of different stocks from the United States, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom, among others.It is also possible to invest in ETFs at Trade Republic: with over 400 products, there is plenty of choice. If you like, you can also trade more than 500 bonds from companies and governments.You can also invest in commodities to a limited extent at Trade Republic; in gold, silver, and oil. For Forex traders, Trade Republic is less interesting since you can only trade the euro versus the dollar.

How does investing with Trade Republic work? The application

The Trade Republic application is just as user-friendly as BUX’s. The company’s target audience is therefore mainly younger, less experienced investors.In my opinion, a big disadvantage of web applications is the lack of extensive analysis capabilities. You can quickly place and execute orders within Trade Republic, but don’t expect many other options.You can use the following order types at Trade Republic:

• Market order: with a market order, you open the investment immediately at the prevailing price.
• Limit order: with a limit order, you set a price at which you open an investment
• Stop order: with a stop order, you can automatically close a trading position at a certain loss
• Periodic order: this allows you to place a savings plan order, you can read more about this earlier in the review.

What are the costs of Trade Republic?

A positive point within the review is the low costs: at Trade Republic, you pay a standard fee of €1 for each order.In the article free investing, I investigated various ‘free brokers’ and they were found to regularly charge additional fees. This is not the case with Trade Republic, and there are no hidden costs. With Trade Republic, you do not pay custody fees and depositing and withdrawing money is entirely free of charge.An additional advantage is that Trade Republic does not charge conversion or currency exchange fees. With many brokers, you pay a markup for exchanging euros for dollars, e.g. 0,25%. When you buy US stocks, you almost always need to exchange euros for dollars. By not charging conversion fees, Trade Republic can save you a lot of money.

Is Trade Republic trustworthy?

Before opening an account with Trade Republic and starting to invest, you probably want to know if it is a trustworthy party. In this part of the review, I will discuss if this is the case!

Regulation

Trade Republic is supervised by BaFin, which is a German financial watchdog. This is a good sign: Trade Republic must comply with German and European laws and regulations, which means your money is protected.Trade Republic is also registered with the Deutsche Bundesbank (the German central bank), which guarantees the balances in your account up to €100,000. This is higher than some other brokers offer: a reassuring thought!

Sale of orders

Trade Republic states that they do not earn money from transaction fees. However, the broker does make money in another way: by reselling all orders to the Lang & Schwarz Exchange in exchange for a commission.This practice is not allowed in every country, since it can, in theory, work against the interests of customers. If exchange A sells shares at a higher price but charges a higher commission, orders could be executed on the less attractive exchange.This doesn’t seem to be the case with Trade Republic. According to this study (which they conducted themselves), Trade Republic is almost always as cheap as the usual exchange and sometimes even cheaper. I have examined some random examples myself and came to the same conclusion. Therefore, it seems that reselling orders is not a problem with Trade Republic.

Securities lending

The second method Trade Republic uses to make money, is by lending out your securities. This may sound scary, but it is very common.The risk is minimal, because the parties borrowing the securities must provide collateral. This collateral typically consists of high-quality government bonds. If the other party is unable to repay the securities, the collateral can be sold.If you object to securities lending, you can open a special custody account. You will then pay higher transaction costs, but your securities will not be lent out.

Depositing & withdrawing money

You can deposit money with Trade Republic using the following methods:

• Bank transfer (can take up to 3 days)
• Credit card
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay

You can withdraw the money in your account to your bank account after verification.

Trade Republic customer service

Trade Republic’s customer service is disappointing. Unlike some other brokers, you cannot call or use live chat. The only way to request support from Trade Republic is via email and in English, which is a major disadvantage of this broker.

Conclusion review: investing with Trade Republic

I am a fan of Trade Republic: I definitely think that this new broker can compete with existing parties in Europes. With the savings plan, investors can also invest in interesting stocks with a small amount of money. If you don’t mind your orders being resold, then Trade Republic is a good choice!

Frequently Asked Questions about Trade Republic

What are the best mobile stock investment apps (2023)?

Are you curious about the best investing apps of 2023? In this article, I will discuss my favourite trading apps that allow you to invest online in assets such as stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. In my top 10 list, you will find the best trading apps you can use to buy & sell stocks.

What are the best mobile investment apps of 2023?

In the overview below, you can see my favourite mobile apps of 2023. In the rest of this article, you can read more about the features of the different mobile applications.

Brokers	Benefits	Register
	Buy without commissions. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply.	Register
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1. eToro – Best social investing application

eToro is my favourite all-around investment app. You can invest in 3000+ different stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies on eToro without commissions. Moreover, it is possible to actively speculate on price increases and decreases with derivatives. New users can also try the possibilities for free with an unlimited demo.I’m also a big fan of the Copy Trading feature, which allows you to copy other successful traders within your account. However, there are also some downsides to the eToro application: you can only open a dollar account, and you will pay $5 in transaction fees when you withdraw money. Do you want to know more about eToro? Click here to read the review or open an account directly! (74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.)

2. Plus500 – best trading app

In my opinion, Plus500 is the best CFD trading application. With CFDs, you can speculate on price increases and decreases of, for example, stocks, commodities, currency pairs, index funds, and cryptocurrencies. By using leverage, you can open a large position with a small amount of money. Plus500 also allows you to speculate on a declining price: this is called short selling.Plus500 is especially suitable for the more advanced investor who enjoys actively engaging with the stock market. In my review, you can read more about Plus500. Before you begin, it is recommended to first try the possibilities for free with a demo:

3. Freedom24 – invest in IPOs with this mobile app

The investment application of Freedom24 cannot be left out from this list. Unique to Freedom24 is that you receive interest (3%) on money you deposit into your account. It is also appealing that as an investor at Freedom24, you can participate in IPOs. An IPO is an initial public offering, which is the moment a stock gets listed on the exchange. This makes investing with Freedom24 particularly interesting if you are interested in participating in the stock market launch of large companies.Click here to read my review of this platform or open an account with Freedom24.

4. Trade Republic – application which a free stock

With Trade Republic’s investment app, you can invest in more than 8,000 different stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. The Trade Republic application is user-friendly, and as a new member, you receive a free share immediately.I am particularly a fan of the savings plan they offer: with this plan, you can invest in a selection of stocks for only €1 per month. With €100, you can already invest in 10 stocks, which makes it easy to apply diversification. Furthermore, It is beneficial that you can invest outside normal trading hours. Click here to read my review or open an account directly.

5. Bitvavo – best crypto application

I use the Bitvavo crypto application to buy and sell Bitcoins & Ethereum. A big advantage of this crypto app is its high level of user-friendliness. You can buy and sell cryptocurrencies in no time. Moreover, at Bitvavo, you can trade in over 175 different cryptocurrencies, which meants there is plenty of choice.Bitvavo is one of the cheapest European crypto applications: you never pay more than 0.25% in transaction fees. In 2023, Bitvavo has introduced a new scheme in which your balances are protected up to €100,000 under certain conditions in case of theft. Do you want to know more about Bitvavo? Click here to read the extensive review or click here to open an account & pay no transaction fees on your first €1000 in trades.

6. DEGIRO – best stocks & ETF application

DEGIRO is perhaps one of the most well-known brokers: this is not surprising given that they come up in dozens of studies as one of the best brokers to invest with. DEGIRO also keeps up with the times and has introduced a modern investment app. With the application, you can track the latest price developments and place orders directly on the stock exchange.Unfortunately, at DEGIRO, you cannot invest in stocks without commissions: for example, you pay €3 for European shares. However, under certain conditions, you can invest in ETFs from the core selection without transaction costs. In my review you can read more about DEGIRO, and by clicking here you can open an account directly.

7. BUX Zero – best ‘free’ mobile investing app

BUX Zero aims to make investing as accessible as possible for beginners. In my opinion, they have succeeded: the BUX Zero application is user-friendly and allows you to trade in familiar stocks and ETFs. The total selection of investment options is somewhat limited compared to some other brokers, but for many investors, the options at BUX will be sufficient.Click here to read about my experiences with BUX Zero or open an account directly & receive a free share after depositing!

8. Peaks – investing with your spare change

Peaks is an application that allows you to automatically invest your spare change. You can link the application to your bank account and then automatically invest small amounts. When you make a payment of, for example, $1.20, Peaks rounds this amount up. It then automatically invests $0.80 in an index fund.Although I am a fan of the concept, the high costs of investing with your spare change at Peaks make it less attractive. With small amounts, you pay $1 per month. A better alternative would be to invest a fixed, monthly amount in an ETF; discover here how this works.

9. MEXEM – a high-quality investment app

Another investment app you can use is the stock application from MEXEM. MEXEM uses the well-known Traders Workstation, which is globally recognized as one of the best investment programs in the world. The software itself is of high quality, and you can perform complex analyses with the extensive tools.MEXEM is also a relatively affordable broker: for example, when buying and selling Dutch shares, you pay a minimum of $1.80. This means that MEXEM can be slightly more affordable than DEGIRO.

10. Capital.com – application with the most extensive offering

Capital.com has a trading application that is interesting for the active trader. At Capital.com, you can trade in thousands of different securities with CFDs. Since 2023, it is also possible to invest in stocks without paying commissions in Europe.An advantage of Capital.com is that you can trade in hard-to-reach markets. Within the application, for example, you can speculate on the price movements of the Russian rubble or the developments of Russian stocks. Capital.com can therefore be a good choice for the serious trader: read my detailed review here or open a free (demo) account directly.

What should you look for when selecting a stock trading application?

• Reliability: not all investment applications on the market are equally reliable. There are many scams: therefore, research well whether the party behind the investment application can be trusted.
• Costs: in addition to transaction fees, also investigate hidden costs well. In my article on free investing, I show how some ‘free’ brokers still charge hidden costs.
• Features: for novice investors, a simple investment application may be sufficient. More demanding investors may want to invest in ‘exotic’ markets. Therefore, research whether the app offers enough opportunities for your needs.
• Features: some applications offer only one function, which is buying and selling stocks. With other stock trading applications, you can perform complex analyses or follow other investors.

Is mobile investing the future?

I, personally, believe 100% that mobile investing is the future. I already see that almost 80% of visitors to this website use a mobile device. It is therefore not surprising that more and more people use their mobile phones to trade in, for example, stocks. I think that in the future, the majority of investments will be executed using a mobile device.Do you also want to be able to invest everywhere and always? Then open an account with your favourite app today! Can’t decide? It is always possible to open an account with multiple brokers.

Frequently asked questions about investing with an app

Capital.com review & experiences (2023): is this a reliable broker?

Capital.com is an interesting broker for anyone who wants to actively trade in CFD stocks, commodities, cryptos & ETFs! Capital.com was founded in 2016 but has grown tremendously since its inception and now has over 300,000 active customers. In this extensive review, we investigate whether it is appealing to trade with Capital.com.

Capital.com summary

Capital.com is a reliable broker where you can actively trade thousands of different stocks. You can only trade in CFDs at Capital.com, which makes the broker unsuitable for novice traders. Capital.com is suitable for the active trader who wishes to speculate on rising and falling prices with an user-friendly platform.Do you want to try the possibilities of Capital.com for free? Then use the button below to open a demo immediately:

License:	FCA, CySEC, ASIC & NBRB
Founded in:	2016
Minimum deposit:	$20
Broker type:	CFD-broker
Products:	Stocks, crypto, forex, ETFs & commodities
Free demo:	Yes

What are the pros of Capital.com?

• No hidden costs: commission-free trading & low spreads
• Over 5000 stocks to trade
• You can trade in exotic trading products
• MetaTrader4 is also available
• You can already deposit money from $20 with credit card
• Customer service by telephone

What are the cons of Capital.com?

• You can only trade in CFDs at Capital.com
• The software is decent, but not extensive

How does trading at Capital.com work?

We start the Capital.com review with a small guide so that you immediately understand how to start trading with this broker.

Step 1: Open an account

Before you can trade with Capital.com, you must first open an account. Opening an account at Capital.com is easy: you can open an account with your Facebook or Apple account.After you have opened an account, you can immediately get started with the demo mode. With the demo, you can test strategies and discover if Capital.com is right for you. If you want to trade with real money, you still have to go through a few verification steps:

• You must upload a copy of your ID
• You must upload proof of your address

These steps are required, since Capital.com is overseen by CySEC in Europe. According to European rules, financial institutions must verify that customers really exist and that the money they use has been obtained legally.

Step 2: deposit money at Capital.com

After your account has been approved, you can deposit money directly into your Capital.com account. Depositing money is a positive point within this review: you can start trading from $ 20 with this broker. In addition, all known payment methods are available, such as:

• Credit card
• Apple Pay
• PayPal
• Bank transfer
• Instant Bank Payment

With most payment methods, the money is immediately added to your account. You can then immediately start trading!

How does CFD trading work?

After opening an account, you can start speculating at Capital.com. Some traders do not understand what CFD trading is; that is why I would like to explain CFD trading in this part of the article.With CFDs, you do not trade directly in the underlying security. You don’t buy a share; instead, you buy a contract on a share. The price development then determines whether you make a profit or loss.When trading CFDs, you can use two unique options:

• Short selling: you speculate on falling prices
• Leverage: you can open a larger position with a small amount

CFD’s are risky financial products. If you use them wisely, you can quickly achieve a high return. However, many traders fail to achieve a positive return; therefore only trade with money in CFDs that you can really miss. Click here to read in more detail how CFDs work.

How reliable is Capital.com?

Capital.com is regulated by several parties. Within Europe, the broker is supervised by CySEC which is the Cypriot financial regulator. Capital.com must therefore adhere to the high standards of the European Union, which is a good sign for its reliability.As with many other brokers, your funds at Capital.com are also stored separately. This prevents you from losing all your money if Capital.com goes bankrupt.Capital.com is also affiliated with the Investor Compensation Scheme, which means that if something goes wrong, you do not lose all the money in your account. At the time of writing, this guarantee amounts to €20,000.

What can you trade in at Capital.com?

I am enthusiastic about the range of CFD trading products at Capital.com. You can actively speculate on a wide range of trading products.

Stocks

You can of course trade in British and American shares at Capital.com. With this broker, however, it is also possible to trade in more exotic stocks. It is for example possible to trade in CFD stocks listed on the Russian or Japanese stock exchange. I didn’t count them manually, but you can trade over 5000 stocks at Capital.com!This also allows you to speculate on the price movements of smaller companies, which can be interesting.

Forex

Capital.com started as a Forex broker, and you notice this immediately: the fees on Forex trading are low and you can trade in some unique currencies. At Capital.com you can, for example, speculate on the price development of the Russian Ruble or the Turkish Lira. These currencies sometimes make significant jumps, which you can capitalize on by using leverage.

Cryptocurrency

You can also speculate in a handful of cryptos at Capital.com. Personally, I am not a big fan of CFDs on cryptos: the leverage is limited, and the costs are often relatively high. If you want to trade in cryptos, you can also consider Bitvavo. At Bitvavo you never pay more than 0.25% in fees, and you can hold the cryptos for a longer period.

ETFs & indices

With Capital.com you can also speculate on the price movements of the well-known indices: for example, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ. What is unique is that you can also trade in thematic indices such as a crypto index or the corona antivirus index. It is wise to research carefully which stocks are included in these indices before you open a position.The thematic indices are interesting as they respond to current trends. For example, during the war between Russia and Ukraine, Capital.com introduced a special oil portfolio.

Commodities

At Capital.com you can also trade in various commodities like gold, silver and oil. Capital.com also offers a few unique commodities like aluminium or orange juice. The leverage for trading in commodities is 1:10, allowing you to take a large position with a small amount of money.

What are the costs at Capital.com?

I have of course also extensively researched the costs for this review. Capital.com doesn’t charge annoying, hidden fees. For example, I didn’t find any costs for:

• Depositing and withdrawing money
• Opening an account
• Not using an account (inactivity fee)
• Converting currencies

This is of course a very positive point within this review: many other brokers charge  annoying, hidden costs. Yet Capital.com also has to make money, and they do this by charging a spread and financing costs.

The spread

Capital.com makes money by building in a difference between the buy and sell price of a security. Most spreads at Capital.com are dynamic: this means that the transaction costs are not fixed. When there is a high volume, the spread is usually lower than when there are, for example, too few buyers.In general, Capital.com offers attractive spreads. On April 14, 2022, at 6:00 PM local time in Bogota Colombia, the following charges were calculated:

• On a barrel of oil, the spread was $0.04
• On a Philips share, the spread was $0.08
• Over EUR/USD pair, the spread was $0.00007
• On Bitcoin/USD, the spread was $110

Capital.com generally charges low and competitive spreads. It is wise to always check the costs before opening a position, as they are dynamic and can therefore fluctuate greatly.Capital.com does not charge fixed commissions. As a result, you can also trade with a small amount, since your costs are relative to the amount you trade with.

Financing costs

When you use CFDs, part of the position is financed by the broker. If you decide to keep the position open overnight, financing costs are often charged. This is not always the case, sometimes the broker pays you a fee for holding a position.Financing costs at Capital.com are at an attractive level. An extra positive thing is that at Capital.com you only pay financing costs over the leveraged part of your position and not on the part of the position you finance with your money.On crypto, the leverage is 1:2 for example. When you open a position with €1000, you only pay financing costs over €500.Although financing costs are reasonable at Capital.com, it is important to keep a close eye on them. Due to the financing fees, Capital.com is especially suited for short-term trading and certainly not for long-term investing.

The trading platform reviewed

Most traders will use Capital.com’s online platform. Within the platform, you can immediately follow the latest trends with the discover option. You can see what other Capital.com users are trading in, and you can also consult the latest news.If you want to trade in a specific security, you can press trade. Here, you can quickly find a specific share or other trading product using the search function. You can then use the chart to perform extensive analyses: at Capital.com you can use a wide range of technical indicators.When you would like to open an order, simply press the buy (speculate on a rising price) or sell (speculate on a falling price) button. You can then use some useful functions within the user-friendly order screen:

• Buy at price: set a price at which you open a position.
• Close at loss: close your position automatically at a certain loss.
• Close at profit: close your position automatically at a certain profit.

Before opening a position, don’t forget to check the market info. In the market info section you see the applied leverage, spread and calculated financing costs.The Capital.com software does what you would expect: the web trader is user-friendly, and you can quickly find the securities you want to trade in. However, Capital.com is not the most comprehensive trading product: copy trading and physical stock investing are not available.

MetaTrader 4

More professional traders often prefer the MetaTrader platform. A big advantage of Capital.com is that you can get started with the MetaTrader. Within MetaTrader, you can put multiple screens next to each other and perform more complex analyses. You have to physically download MetaTrader, and this software is definitely not suitable for the novice trader.

Mobile application

You can also use the excellent mobile application at Capital.com. The mobile application allows you to open and manage positions in a user-friendly way.Interestingly, you can also use the Investmate application with your Capital.com account. Investmate is designed for novice traders and teaches you useful information that you can use for your trades.

Customer service Capital.com

Another advantage of Capital.com is that you can reach customer service in English at +44 20 8089 7893. This ensures that your problems can be solved quickly.

Experiences other users

Capital.com scores well on Trustpilot with an average score of 4.3. This is a good sign: most users are satisfied with the services offered by the broker.

Capital.com review conclusion

Capital.com is a fairly new party that can certainly be interesting for the new trader. I find Capital.com especially intriguing because you can trade in markets that are often difficult to access. For example, you can speculate on a fall of the Turkish Lira or Russian Ruble and since you can use leverage, this can lead to significant gains (or losses!).Do you want to test the options without risk? Open a free demo at Capital.com:However, Capital.com is a bit limited, since you can only actively trade with CFDs. If you prefer to physically buy stocks and ETFs, DEGIRO or BUX might be a better choice.

Frequently Asked Questions about Capital.com

Can Bitvavo be trusted? Bitvavo safety

On the news, you constantly read reports of people losing their crypto assets due to scams or theft. Therefore you might be wondering whether Bitvavo can be trusted. In this article we will discuss the security & safety of the crypto exchange Bitvavo. We will also explain how you can protect your account at Bitvavo.

Tip: try Bitvavo for free

Do you want to test Bitvavo for yourself? Then it might be smart to open a free account with this crypto exchange. Our research showed that Bitvavo is a reliable crypto exchange. Moreover, you do not pay any transaction fees over the first € 1000 when you open an account through this link:

Our research: is Bitvavo reliable

I have been using Bitvavo for trading cryptos for a long time. In those years, I have not had any unpleasant experiences with Bitvavo. However, this is not enough to state with certainty that Bitvavo can be trusted.Therefore, I visited Bitvavo’s head office in Amsterdam and talked to its employees. I also researched whether the company is completely legitimate.In the end, I came to the conclusion that Bitvavo can be trusted. In the rest of the article, I will discuss how I came to this conclusion.

Can Bitvavo be hacked?

A big fear of many people using an exchange is of course hacks. This is for a good reason: in the past, entire exchanges have gone bankrupt because all their Bitcoin were stolen. Even the well-known exchange Binance had to deal with a major hack where a large number of Bitcoin was stolen.So yes, like any exchange, Bitvavo can be hacked. Fortunately, they do everything they can to minimize losses in such an event.

Cold wallets

You can store crypto coins such as Bitcoins and Ethereum in both cold wallets and hot wallets. Cold wallets are not connected to the internet, so they cannot be hacked easily. Most of the cryptocurrencies managed by Bitvavo are therefore stored offline and in secure locations, which is a lot safer.Only the part needed for active trading is stored on a hot wallet. These wallets are connected to the internet, which guarantees that the funds are quickly accessible. Bitvavo uses complicated models on a daily basis to calculate how many cryptos will likely be traded. In the unlikely event that more crypto are needed, they move cryptos from the cold wallets to the hot wallets. When this happens, someone has to physically move and connect the cryptos in a well-secured vault.Because Bitvavo has such strict security protocols, you can rest assured that your funds are managed reliably.

Custody providers

Bitvavo uses multiple custody providers to manage the cryptocurrencies: these are parties that store most of the digital currency in cold wallets.A big advantage of this is that the assets are insured up to an amount of €250 million. In the unlikely event that something does go wrong, at least not all the money is gone. Multiple signatures are also required for transactions, so a lone wolf cannot suddenly empty Bitvavo’s entire vault.

Headquarters located in the Netherlands

It is also good to know that Bitvavo’s head office is located in the Netherlands. If you want to, you can visit the Bitvavo office at Herengracht 450 in Amsterdam. They rent several mansions there, which they need to accommodate their rapid growth.Since they operate from Amsterdam, they must also comply with the AVG (General Data Protection Regulation) which is active in the EU. Therefore, your private data cannot be sold or shared with another party.Bitvavo also adheres to the fifth anti-money laundering guideline (AMLD5) is a positive sign for the trustworthiness of Bitvavo. Bitvavo also possesses all the necessary licences: for example, they are supervised by the Dutch bank.

What happens if Bitvavo goes bankrupt?

Bitvavo is doing very well: cryptos are more popular than ever, and the chances of the company going bankrupt are not very high. However, it is good to know that in case of bankruptcy, you won’t suddenly lose all your cryptos.This seems to be settled; if Bitvavo goes bankrupt, nothing will happen to your money. Bitvavo has set up the Bitvavo Payments Foundation to safeguard user funds in case of bankruptcy. As you can see, Bitvavo is doing well: they serve many customers all over Europe!

Improve your account security

Even though Bitvavo is completely reliable, there is still the risk of individual hacks. Therefore, it is recommended to apply the following steps to secure & protect your account:

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

By applying two-factor authentication (2FA), you make it a lot harder for hackers to steal your cryptos. Within Bitvavo, you can easily set up 2FA. After you set up 2FA, you receive an access code via your phone.

Device and IP management

I travel a lot, so I often notice they use IP and location-based account protection. Bitvavo increases security by keeping track of where you often log in from. When you log in with a new device or from a new IP address, you have to confirm this by email. This prevents a smart hacker abroad from quickly withdrawing your funds.

Antiphishing protection

Phishing is a type of scam where a criminal tries to fool you into believing that the email is from Bitvavo when it is not. If you click on the link and provide your details, they know how to log in.Within the settings of Bitvavo, you can set a unique code with which the official mails from Bitvavo will be signed. This allows you to confirm that the emails are sent by Bitvavo and not a third party.

Protection against withdrawal of funds

In the unlikely event that a third-party gains access to your account, they cannot simply steal your funds. The bank account number where you send the money must be in your name. If you want to change this, you need to contact Bitvavo directly.If despite all measures, something goes wrong, Bitvavo has a dedicated team to assist you in case of fraud.

Does Bitvavo experience downtime?

Of course, a website can never be 100% protected against downtime. However, Bitvavo does everything they can to minimize downtime.They want to guarantee reliable and uninterrupted access by hosting their systems in zones. If one zone fails due to an outage, traffic is diverted to a backup server.

Conclusion: is Bitvavo reliable?

Yes, Bitvavo is absolutely reliable! Of all the crypto exchanges I have tested, I have the best feeling about Bitvavo. This is because the exchange is based in The Netherlands, and they clearly do everything to protect their assets as much as possible.However, when you invest large amounts of money, it can be wise to store your crypto’s in a cold wallet yourself. This way, you will keep full control over your cryptocurrencies.

Do you want to read more about Bitvavo?

• In the Bitvavo review you can read everything about this crypto exchange
• In the Bitvavo manual we teach you everything you need to know about crypto investing

How to withdraw money at Bitvavo?

Have you made a nice profit and do you want to withdraw the money to your account? In this article we will immediately show you how to transfer your funds to your bank account.

How to cash out at Bitvavo?

Step 1: Going through the verification process

Before you can deposit, withdraw or trade digital currency you must first verify your details. This allows Bitvavo to trace whether the source of the money is legal.You will need to verify these details before you can pay out any funds:

• E-mail address
• Additional questions
• Identity verification

Step 2: Add an account

After you have been verified, you still need to link a bank account. It is only possible to transfer money to an account in your own name.You can link your account to Bitvavo by depositing $1 (or any other amount) into your Bitvavo account.You can easily deposit money to your account from your bank account via bank transfer.

Step 3: Selling cryptos

Before you can withdraw the money to your account, you must first sell your cryptos. In order to sell your crypto, click on the sell button. In the order screen you can fill in how much of the crypto you want to sell. The amount will then be added to your account.

Step 4: Withdrawing funds

You can transfer the balance in your account to your bank account. To do so, click on withdraw and enter the amount you wish to transfer to your account. It takes on average one to two working days before the money is in your account. In my experience, the withdraw is often processed within a few hours.You can also leave some of the money in your account: this allows you to open new crypto positions quickly.

How can you withdraw cryptos from Bitvavo?

Of course, you don’t have to convert your crypto profits into euros: you can also choose to withdraw the crypto to an external wallet. That way, you can store Bitcoins on, for example, a cold wallet, which makes it harder for hackers to access them.

Step 1: go through the verification process

Bitvavo is registered with the Dutch bank. This registration makes Bitvavo reliable, but also forces them to verify the source of the money you use.Before you can send crypto to an external address, you must add it to your address book. You can then verify the external wallet by sending a screen capture.

Step 2: Withdraw your digital currency

After you have added an external address, you can easily send your cryptos. To do so, log into your Bitvavo account and navigate to the crypto you want to cash out. Then click the withdraw button.Then enter the address to which you want to send the digital currency and enter the amount you want to send. You can subsequentially confirm the transaction via email.Please note that you can only withdraw digital currencies with your computer: it is therefore not possible to withdraw cryptos in the mobile version or application!After you have withdrawn the cryptos, it usually takes several hours for them to arrive in your wallet. Keep an eye on the costs: miners have to be paid to send digital currencies and these costs can fluctuate greatly.

Questions about Bitvavo

Other interesting articles about Bitvavo

• How to deposit money with Bitvavo
• Bitvavo review: is Bitvavo a reliable crypto exchange?
• In the Bitvavo manual you can read everything about the Bitvavo platform
• Discover the best method for buying bitcoins in this article
• Read about investing in cryptos here

What are the advantages of Bitvavo?

Are you considering buying bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies at Bitvavo? In this article we will discuss the biggest advantages of Bitvavo’s trading platform. Are you also curious about the disadvantages of Bitvavo? Then read this article.Don’t have an account with Bitvavo yet? Open an account now for free & pay no transaction fees on your first €1000 of transactions:

Advantage 1: low transaction fees

A big advantage of buying & selling Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies at Bitvavo is the low transaction fees. At Bitvavo, you will never pay more than 0.25% in fees, and this percentage can go down even more when you trade high volumes.Are you curious about Bitvavo’s fee structure? Then read this article & discover how the fee structure at Bitvavo works.

Advantage 2: trade from as little as 5 euros

Cryptos are accessible to everyone at Bitvavo. It is possible to buy bitcoins for an amount of €5. This allows you to buy cryptos periodically (e.g. every month) for a small amount.

Advantage 3: reliable exchange

Bitvavo does everything in their power to keep your crypto assets safe. For example, Bitvavo’s wallets are insured up to an amount of 255 million euros. Because you are trading with a Dutch company that is registered with the Dutch bank, you can be sure that the company has to meet strict requirements. In our article about the reliability of Bitvavo we will discuss this in more details.

Advantage 4: usability

Another major advantage of Bitvavo is the user-friendliness of the platform. Some crypto exchanges make the buying and selling of bitcoins unnecessarily complicated. At Bitvavo, you can actually buy bitcoins with just a few clicks.

Advantage 5: earning money with staking

Another advantage of Bitvavo is that it allows you to earn money by staking. With staking you periodically receive interest over your cryptos. At Bitvavo, this staking can yield up to 10.

Advantage 6: professional support

Another advantage of Bitvavo is their reachability. You can reach the support team of Bitvavo by means of their live chat and email. Their support is available in multiple languages such as English, Dutch, French and German.

Do you want to read more about Bitvavo?

In this Bitvavo review, you can read everything you need to know about trading cryptos with Bitvavo. You can also read the Bitvavo manual: there, we discuss in detail how buying & selling cryptos works.

What are the disadvantages of Bitvavo?

Although the Bitvavo exchange has many advantages, there are also a few disadvantages. In this article, we will discuss the biggest disadvantages of trading in cryptos at Bitvavo.

Disadvantage 1: limited possibilities

A major advantage of Bitvavo is the user-friendliness of the platform. On the other hand, the number of possibilities is more limited in comparison with, for example, Binance. At Bitvavo, you cannot trade in leveraged products or speculate on decreasing prices.The advanced trader does offer more possibilities for the active trader. However, people who are professionally involved in trading are better off choosing Binance. Click here to open an account with this crypto exchange.

Disadvantage 2: it is hard to get an overview of your results

At Bitvavo, you can monitor the development of your portfolio and your purchases and sales per crypto. However, it is not possible to track your total profit or loss in one clear overview.Therefore, when using Bitvavo, you need to keep track of your results in a smart way. When you don’t do this, it is easy to lose track.

You can see your purchases and sales at Bitvavo, but not your results in a clear overview

Disadvantage 3: limited supply of cryptos

Compared to the competition, the offer of cryptocurrencies at Bitvavo is still limited. Bitvavo is working hard on improving this: they recently added many popular cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin and Binance Coin to the platform.For most people, the selection at Bitvavo will be sufficient. However, if you want to trade more exotic altcoins (there are thousands of them), you may need accounts at several providers.

Disadvantage 4: not reachable by phone

The last disadvantage of Bitvavo, is that you cannot speak to someone directly over the phone. This is not necessarily a major drawback, as you can easily reach them by email or through the live chat feature.

Do you want to read more about Bitvavo?

Would you like to read more about the crypto exchange Bitvavo? In the Bitvavo review, I discuss in detail whether it is wise to trade cryptos at Bitvavo. You can also read in detail how the Bitvavo trading platform works here.

How to open an account at Bitvavo?

Do you want to open an account at Bitvavo? In this short guide, we will discuss how to quickly open an account at Bitvavo. This allows you to start trading cryptocurrencies in no-time.Don’t have an account with Bitvavo yet? Click here to visit the site & pay no transaction fees on your first €1000 in trades!

Step 1: provide your basic details

Go to register and enter an email address, first name, last name and password. Then select your country of residence: only people living in Europe can open an account at Bitvavo.It is also important that you are aware of the risks associated with investing in cryptos. By ticking the box, you indicate that you understand that trading cryptos is risky.

Step 2: Answering additional questions

Before you can start investing with Bitvavo, you will need to answer a few questions. You must indicate the purpose for which you want to use your Bitvavo account & the origin of the funds you want to deposit into your account. The Dutch bank requires this to prevent money laundering.

Step 3: Confirm your identity

Before you can deposit funds to your account, you must first confirm your identity. For this purpose, Bitvavo will require a copy of an identity document which shows the following:

• Full name
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Issue date
• Expiry date
• Country of issue
• Passport photo
• Document number

Step 4: Depositing money

The next step in opening an account is to deposit money. It is important that your bank account is in the same name as your Bitvavo account. You can easily link your account by transferring an amount from your bank account to your Bitvavo account.

Step 5: Protect your account

You have now completed all the steps necessary to start trading cryptos. However, it is still wise to go through the last security step. You can first confirm your telephone number. Your phone can then be used to confirm login attempts. For extra security, it is also advisable to enable 2-FA authentication. This way, you prevent malicious persons from gaining access to your account.

Want to read more about Bitvavo?

• Click here if you need help with depositing money
• In this guide, you will discover how to invest with Bitvavo
• Read the extensive review & find out if Bitvavo suits you
• In this guide, you can read everything about buying & selling bitcoins
• Do you want to invest in cryptocurrencies? Then read this article.

Frequently asked questions about Bitvavo accounts

Bitvavo vs Binance: which crypto broker is better?

In this extensive comparison, we will examine which crypto exchange is better: Bitvavo or Binance. This allows you to decide which crypto broker you want to start trading Bitcoins and other cryptos with.

Do you want to test Bitvavo and Binance?

Do you want to find out for yourself if you like Bitvavo or Binance? You can open a free account with these exchanges right away:

• Click here and open an account with Bitvavo
• Click here and open an account with Binance

At Bitvavo, through the link above, you will temporarily pay no transaction fees on your first €1000 of transactions!

Comparison	Bitvavo	Binance
Crypto offer	100+	500+
Costs	0,25%	0,1%
Software	User-friendly	Advanced
Reliability	Not regulated	Supervised in EU
Costumer support	Multiple languages	Only in English
Payment options	iDEAL & wire transfer	Creditcard
Staking	Yes	Yes
Creditcard	No	Yes
Short selling	No	Yes

Cryptos available for trading: Bitvavo vs Binance

At Bitvavo, you can trade more than 150 different cryptocurrencies. All known cryptocurrencies are tradable at Bitvavo, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. Bitvavo constantly analyses the market and regularly adds new, relatively stable altcoins to its platform. An advantage of this approach is that you will not easily find a crypto scam coin on the platform.If you prefer to trade in exotic altcoins, Binance is the best choice. Binance offers significantly more trading options than Bitvavo. Some active traders like to buy unknown coins in the hope that they will rise in value sharply.At Binance, the crypto offering is more extensive, but at Bitvavo there is more control.

Costs: is Bitvavo or Binance cheaper?

At Bitvavo, you will never pay more than 0.25% in transaction fees. If you trade large amounts, your transaction fee can even decrease to 0%. For the smaller trader, however, the fee is 0.25%: this is the case when you trade less than €100,000 per month. Click here to read more about the fee structure at Bitvavo.The costs are clearly lower at Binance: the maximum costs you pay there are 0.1%. At Binance, the transaction costs also decrease when you trade a lot. You can also further reduce your transaction fees by buying Binance Coins.Both crypto exchanges are cheap, but Binance is clearly the cheapest. If you want to start trading actively, Binance is a better choice. If you only want to buy crypto’s sporadically to hold them for the long term, Bitvavo is also a good option.

Software: Binance vs Bitvavo

An important part of a crypto exchange, is of course the software. At Bitvavo, you make use of a user-friendly web trader. Because of the simple design, even a beginner can quickly find and buy cryptocurrencies.The trading software of Binance is more complicated: the menus are quite extensive, which can make Binance’s software rather overwhelming, especially for beginners. In return, however, there are many extra options.Which software package is better depends very much on your personal preference. If you want to trade actively, you might want to choose Binance. If this is not your goal, Bitvavo might be the best option.

Reliability: Bitvavo vs Binance

As for Reliability, Bitvavo clearly wins: there is simply not that much known about Binance. I was even able to visit Bitvavo’s office, where they explained everything they do to keep your assets safe. Cryptos, for example, are stored in data centres without being connected to the internet. In this article you can read all about the measures Bitvavo implements.Binance, on the other hand, is regularly portrayed in a negative light: this is mainly because they do not always follow local legislation. As a result, local banks regularly block payment options and there is a bit more uncertainty about the future course of the company. Personally, I don’t think your funds will just disappear, but it feels safer to have a clear and local point of contact.For me, Bitvavo’s higher reliability is a good reason to choose this provider.

Customer support: Bitvavo wins

Due to the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies, many exchanges are struggling with their customer service. At both Bitvavo and Binance, it’s not possible to get someone on the phone. Fortunately, Bitvavo can help you fairly quickly via email or live chat in Dutch.My experiences with the customer service at Binance was not as good: they can be difficult to reach (I only received a reply after several emails) and they only help costumers in English. Bitvavo therefore wins from Binance when it comes to customer service.

Payment options: Bitvavo or Binance?

Bitvavo is the best choice if you want to deposit or withdraw money into your account quickly. Because it is a Dutch company located in the EU, you can deposit money quickly with iDEAL or your local bank. You can then have the money paid back into your bank account in no time as well. It is a pity that credit cards are not supported: this is because the Dutch central bank is afraid of people using thenm to buy crypto with borrowed moneyBinance is a better choice if you want to deposit money into your account with your credit card. Since Binance does not always comply with local laws, it is not possible to deposit / withdraw money from a European bank account. This is obviously a major drawback and a good reason to prefer Bitvavo over Binance.

Possibilities and unique features

Bitvavo was developed for one specific purpose: to be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies quickly. Therefore, the crypto exchange is very well-developed for this specific purpose.However, if you are looking for an exchange with more ‘unique’ features, Binance is a better choice. For example, at Binance, you can apply for a special credit card that allows you to make payments with cryptos. Binance also offers more diverse crypto products and a more advanced trader, giving you more options.Of course, more options are not always better: if you only need a solid trading platform, Bitvavo is a good choice. However, if you want to trade in more exotic products, Binance may be a better choice.

Staking at Bitvavo and Binance

You can earn additional returns on your investments by staking crypto. This is possible at both Bitvavo and Binance. At Bitvavo, the return on staking is not very high compared to other providers.If you want to participate in staking, you can consider opening an account at Binance. At this provider, you can also participate in swaps and launch pools. It is important, however, that you research what these are so you can properly assess the risks.

Bitvavo or Binance which is better?

After reading this comparison, you might wonder which exchange is better: Bitvavo or Binance. It’s difficult to give a definitive answer, since this will strongly depend on your personal preference. Personally, I think Bitvavo is a better exchange because of its higher reliability and user-friendliness. However, if you want to trade in more exotic products, Binance may be a better option.Are you not sure which exchange is a better fit? Then it is certainly advisable to open an account with both crypto exchanges. This is completely free and allows you to discover which exchange fits you better.Click here to open an account with Bitvavo & Click here to open an account with Binance

frequently asked questions

Do you want to read more about crypto trading?

• Click here to read an in-depth review on Bitvavo!
• Discover how to buy Bitcoins here
• In this guide you can read about investing in crypto

Bitvavo wallet: how does the Bitvavo wallet work?

At Bitvavo, you have the option to store your crypto’s in their online wallet. But what is a wallet and how can you transfer cryptos to your wallet?

What is a wallet?

A wallet stores cryptocurrencies. Every wallet has a unique address: you can use this address to receive cryptocurrencies.

Do you have a wallet with Bitvavo?

At Bitvavo, you have access to multiple wallets. When you buy a crypto currency, you are not obliged to store it on an external wallet. Bitvavo hosts wallets for each crypto currency. This allows you to manage all your cryptocurrencies online.

Where can you find your wallet address?

You can find the address of your Bitvavo wallet by navigating to the crypto currency you want to buy. Then press the deposit button within the crypto.You will then see the address of your wallet. Send your crypto to this address to add it to your online wallet. Note: the wallet address for each crypto currency is different. Therefore always double check the correctness of your wallet.If you send the crypto to the wrong address, you can lose the entire amount.

Why have my cryptos not arrived in my Bitvavo wallet yet?

• In process: the transaction has been sent and is already confirmed at least once within the blockchain network. It may take a few minutes to hours before you see the crypto’s within your account.
• Inspection: Bitvavo must inspect all transactions to meet the requirements of the Dutch bank. Is the transaction still under inspection? Please contact Bitvavo at [email protected].
• Approved: the cryptocurrencies have arrived safely within your Bitvavo wallet.

There are several reasons that can explain why a cryptocurrency does not arrive in your wallet. It is important that you use the correct wallet when you send cryptos to Bitvavo: you cannot send Bitcoins to an Ethereum address.For some crypto’s it is also required to provide an extra description (for example EOS and XRP). Without the required transaction ID, the crypto will not arrive in your wallet.You also need to pay sufficient fees to the miners for verifying your crypto transaction. If you don’t do this, the transaction will not be included in a block and the crypto’s will not arrive.Do you need help with your transaction? Then contact Bitvavo by sending them an email: [email protected].

Make use of a hardware wallet

Bitvavo is doing everything they can to keep your cryptos as safe as possible. In this article you can read about the safety measures they apply.Still, especially when it comes to large amounts, it may be wise to take matters into your own hands. You can do this by storing your crypto’s in a cold wallet. A cold wallet is not connected to the internet, which makes it difficult for hackers to steal your crypto’s.

Frequently asked questions

Bitvavo staking: how does it work at Bitvavo?

When you use staking, you can get an even higher return on your cryptos at Bitvavo. By staking, you actually receive a kind of interest on your cryptos. This amount is then added to your account on a weekly basis. But what is staking and how does it work at Bitvavo?

What is staking?

Staking is a reward you receive for holding a crypto in your wallet. You can actually compare this reward to the savings interest you receive on your bank account. However, there is one big difference: the interest on cryptocurrencies is a lot higher.Incidentally, you can’t stake all cryptocurrencies: this only applies to cryptos that use Proof-of-Stake. You then participate in the approval of transactions, ensuring that the network continues to function properly. Fortunately, at Bitvavo, you can easily see which coins offer staking.

How does staking work at Bitvavo?

Fortunately, Bitvavo makes it easy to stake cryptos. All you have to do to start staking is push one simple button. Under settings, you can indicate that you would like to enable staking.After you have enabled staking, it will be activated automatically. You will receive an email every week with the amount of money you will receive from staking.In most cases, you receive your staking rewards in the same cryptocurrency. This allows your crypto portfolio to grow, without you having to spend any money yourself!

How much can you earn with staking at Bitvavo?

At Bitvavo, you can examine how much you can earn with staking in the staking section. There you see the estimated earnings on a yearly basis and you can also see how much you have already received. For example, on Bitcoin, the rate at the time of writing is 0.82% while on Cardano you will receive 5%.Please note that these percentages can fluctuate. The protocol can change and also Bitvavo can make changes. Fortunately, you always have a good overview of the percentages you can earn with staking.

What is the best staking crypto coin at Bitvavo?

The crypto coin with the highest staking percentage, is not necessarily the best crypto coin to buy. If a crypto coin pays out 5% staking but drops 50% in value, you’re in for a big loss. At the same time, a coin with 1% staking and a 50% gain can be a lot more attractive.Therefore, don’t just look at the staking percentages. It is more important to execute proper research on the underlying cryptocurrency. In this article you can read more about how investing in different cryptocurrencies works.

Which crypto coins can you stake at Bitvavo?

• Bitcoin
• Cardano
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Ontology
• Tron
• VeChain Thor
• Ark
• Bitcoin Cash
• Chainlink
• Dai
• ICON
• NEO
• Tether
• Tezos
• USD Coin
• Waves

What are the benefits of staking at Bitvavo?

You can engage in staking at Bitvavo without any complicated equipment and earn an extra return without much effort. All you actually need to do is to hold one or more of the mentioned cryptos in your account.Moreover, you will support the blockchain of your favourite cryptocurrency. If you were planning to hold on to the cryptocurrency in question anyway, staking can be an attractive option.

What are the disadvantages of staking at Bitvavo?

Don’t forget that your cryptos are stored in a wallet on the Bitvavo platform. As you can read in this article, Bitvavo is doing everything they can to protect your cryptos as good as possible. Still, you don’t have full control over your assets when you hold them at Bitvavo.Also, the return on staking at Bitvavo is sometimes disappointing compared to other crypto exchanges. If you want to achieve a higher staking percentage, it may be interesting to [H]open an account at Binance[/go/11/staking].

Is it wise to stake at Bitvavo?

Personally, I make use of staking. If you intend to hold your crypto anyway, it can be a nice additional source of return.Given Bitvavo’s reliability, I think the risk is limited. Therefore, if you don’t mind that your cryptos are stored with a third party, you can definitely turn on the staking option within your account.

Frequently asked questions

Read more about Bitvavo & crypto

• In the Bitvavo review you can read everything you need to know about Bitvavo
• The Bitvavo manual explains the Bitvavo platform
• Click here & discover the best method for buying Bitcoins
• In this guide, we discuss investing in cryptocurrencies

Bitvavo manual: how to successfully buy bitcoin?

In this comprehensive Bitvavo guide for beginners, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to trade your first Bitcoins. We start with an explanation where we briefly discuss how to buy your first crypto at Bitvavo. Then we’ll dive deeper and take a look at the advanced trader & discuss how to determine a good entry point.

How to buy your first bitcoins at Bitvavo?

Step 1: open an account

Before you can trade bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies at Bitvavo, you first need to open an account. Don’t have an account opened with Bitvavo yet? Then use the button below & pay no transaction fees on your first €1000, of crypto transactions:Opening an account at Bitvavo is effortless. You only need to fill in a username and password & then you will have instant access to the trading platform.Don’t forget to open the email with the confirmation link. Only after you have confirmed the email, you can continue with the verification process.

Step 2: verify account

You can confirm your identity by uploading a copy of your ID card, driving licence or passport. The verification process normally only takes a few minutes.After your identity has been verified, you still need to verify your phone number. You do this by simply filling in your phone number. You will then receive an SMS code that you can use to verify your mobile phone number.

Step 3: deposit money into your account

Now that your account is verified, you can deposit money into your account. It is only possible to deposit money from a bank account that is in your name.To deposit money, press the deposit button. You can then enter the correct amount and select your preferred payment method.

Step 4: Select cryptocurrency

Now that there is money in your account, you can choose to buy your first cryptocurrency. On the Bitvavo platform, you can choose from over a hundred different cryptocurrencies. If you want to buy a specific crypto, all you have to do is press the cryptocurrency in question.

Step 5: placing an order

After selecting a crypto, the order screen will open. To buy your first bitcoins, all you have to do is fill in the amount you want to buy. When you press buy, the crypto will be added to your portfolio in no time. Within the Bitvavo platform, you can also clearly see the amount of transaction fees you pay.Selling Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies is also easy at Bitvavo. To achieve this, navigate to the crypto you want to sell. Here, you can indicate for which amount you want to sell the crypto.

Step 6: withdrawing crypto

This step is not mandatory, but can sometimes be wise. If you are investing in crypto with large amounts of money, you may want to store the cryptos safely on your wallet.To withdraw your crypto’s, navigate to the crypto you want to withdraw and click on the withdrawal button. Here you can specify how many cryptos you want to send and to what address. Pay attention and don’t make any mistakes: if you enter the wrong wallet address, you might lose the entire amount.

Tip: protect your account

Hackers are constantly trying to steal cryptocurrencies. It is therefore recommended protecting your account at Bitvavo as much as possible. You can do this by choosing a strong password.You can protect your account even better by also activating 2-FA protection. After enabling 2-FA protection, you must enter an additional code to log in. You can use the Google Authenticator application for this purpose, which you can download for free.However, it is important that you save your recovery code somewhere safe. This allows you to regain access to your account if you lose access to your phone.

Do you want to know more?

• Click here and learn about staking – with staking, you can receive interest on your cryptos.
• Click here and read about the security at Bitvavo – discover how safe Bitvavo is & learn how to protect your account.
• Click here and read about the Bitvavo wallet – discover how the Bitvavo wallet works & lean how to deposit and withdraw crypto’s

How does the advanced trader work at Bitvavo?

At Bitvavo, you can also switch to the advanced trader. The advanced trader is suitable for people who want to trade cryptos more actively. In this part of the manual, we will discuss the extra features of the advanced trader.

Difference between market and limit order

When you buy bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies from Bitvavo, you can choose between market and limit orders.With a market order, the transaction is executed directly on the market at the best available price. The advantage of a market order is that your trade is always executed, but the disadvantage is that you may receive a less favourable price than expected.With a limit order, the transaction is executed at a certain price. The advantage of a limit order is that you never pay more than you specify for your crypto transaction. A disadvantage of the limit order is that there is no guarantee that the order will actually be executed.In the advanced trader, Bitvavo offers you several types of limit orders:

• Good till cancelled: this type of order remains in place until it is completely executed. With a limit order, the order is only cancelled when the desired amount of crypto has been purchased in full.
• Immediate or cancel: the part of the limit order that cannot be executed is immediately cancelled.
• Fill or kill: the order is only executed when it can be fully executed immediately. If this is not the case, the order expires.

The stop limit order

The stop limit order is a specific type of order that you can use to limit your losses (or maximize your profits). A stop limit order is an order that is automatically executed when a certain price is reached.With a stop limit order, you indicate at the trigger price at which the order must be activated. This is the value at which you start buying or selling.Then specify the quantity you want to sell: for example, one bitcoin.You also have to set the limit: this is the maximum price you want to pay or the minimum price you want to receive.After you have placed the order, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. When the crypto price reaches the set level, the order is automatically executed.

The order book

Within the advanced trader, you also have access to the order book. In the order book you can constantly see an overview of all the orders of both buyers and sellers. It also shows the price at which each trader will buy and sell bitcoins.The price of a cryptocurrency is ultimately established via the order book. The order book can therefore be a useful addition to keep an eye on the price development of a crypto.

The more complex chart

Within the advanced trader, you can also use a more advanced chart. When you want to actively engage in daytrading, you can make use of it. The complex chart allows you to perform more complex analysis. Candlesticks, for example, indicate how the price of a crypto is developing.You can also add technical indicators within the chart. Technical indicators can help you to select a good entry moment.Finally, at the bottom of the chart, you can see the trading volume. In times of high volatility, you often see a higher trading volume. The trading volume simply indicates how much is being traded at any given time.

How to determine when it is best to buy Bitcoin?

In the last part of the Bitvavo manual, we will discuss how to best determine when to buy Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. That way, you’ll increase your chances of success!However, never forget that cryptos are risky investment products. If you are not careful, you can lose a lot of money with active trading.

Identifying the trend

When you want to invest in Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, it is often a good step to first recognize the general trend. There are actually three types of trends:

• Uptrend: the price of a crypto moves mainly upwards
• Downtrend: the price of a crypto moves mainly downwards
• Consolidation: the price is moving mainly sideways

The trend or direction of the stock price may differ between time scales. For example, on the annual chart, the price may move up, while on a shorter timescale, the price may mostly move down.

In the picture above, you see a clear example of an uptrend

An important first step when trading cryptos, is to establish this general trend.Do you want to know more about recognizing trends? Then read our special about trends:

Horizontal levels

When you start investing in cryptos, it is wise to look for strong horizontal levels. A horizontal level is a price level which the price often reacts to.This could be a support level: this is a level which the price is having trouble breaking through. You’ll see that at such a level, the price often rises again.You could also be dealing with a resistance level: here you’ll see that the price is having a hard time establishing a new top.When you start actively trading cryptos at Bitvavo, it is important to keep a close eye on these levels:

• When a horizontal level is broken through, you can take a position
• If there’s no breakthrough, you can also take a position

Do you want to read in more detail how horizontal levels work? Then read this article:

Understanding Candlesticks

This Bitvavo tutorial isn’t complete without an introduction to candlesticks. Beginners often use a traditional line chart. However, a line chart isn’t perfect, as a lot of information is missing.By switching over to candlesticks, you’ll know a lot more about the price movement on a certain moment. A candlestick namely indicates the following:

• Colour: the colour shows whether the price has risen (green) or fallen (red)
• Body: the body shows where the price is opened and closed
• Stick: the stick shows the total range of that time period

A candlestick can cover a minute, but also an entire day. Candlesticks exist in all kinds of patterns: if you recognize a candlestick pattern on a strong horizontal level, this could be a good reason to open a position.Do you want to learn in more detail how to read candlesticks? Then please read our extensive tutorial about reading candlesticks:

Research the underlying crypto

Blindly investing in a crypto because the chart looks promising is not wise. There are plenty of stories about cryptocurrencies that have gained a lot of value, but then collapsed. This is partly due to the large number of scammers that you can encounter in the crypto world.Therefore, always start with the white paper and examine whether it is put together well. In the white paper, you can examine the ideas of the developers. Verify whether they are cleverly formulated and research whether the team behind the crypto is competent.It is important to properly research the functionalities of the cryptocurrency. By doing so, you avoid buying a crypto that doesn’t actually introduce any useful features. Ask yourself if the crypto in question actually has a reason to exist. If this is not the case, it is in any case unwise to invest in the crypto for the long term.Also track the latest news on the crypto market. New developments can give the price a boost, while scandals can put the price under pressure. There are many beginners active on the crypto market: it is therefore important to carefully examine the price movements. Is the crypto falling for a legitimate reason, or are people simply panicking?

Follow the general developments

Finally, just as with the normal stock market, it is important to keep an eye on the overall crypto market sentiment. The overall sentiment strongly influences the overall direction of crypto prices.When bad news about cryptocurrencies is released, the price can quickly drop by tens of percent. An example of this is China announcing to ban miners.Positive news, such as the tweet in which Elon Musk announced that he would accept Bitcoins as a means of payment, can cause the prices to rise. This increases confidence in cryptocurrencies: there is then a chance that the coins will have real applications in daily life.For timing buying and selling moments, it is therefore advisable to keep an eye on these kinds of general trends. Remember that panic sometimes causes people to dump crypto’s without a good reason. These can be very attractive moments to buy crypto’s.

Frequently asked questions

Read more about Bitvavo & cryptos?

• Read our comprehensive review of the Bitvavo exchange here
• Click here & discover the best way to buy Bitcoins
• In this guide, you will learn how to actively trade in Bitcoins
• Find out how to best invest in cryptocurrencies here

Bitvavo review: is this a reliable exchange?

Bitvavo is a rapidly growing crypto exchange active in the European Union. In this review, we will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of this popular crypto exchange. In the end we will conclude whether Bitvavo is a reliable crypto exchange.

Trade for free at Bitvavo

Do you want to start trading at Bitvavo? Then take advantage of this special offer: on the first €10.000 of cryptocurrencies you buy, you pay no transaction fees. For a limited time, you also receive €10 for free when you deposit at least €10. Click on the button to open an account right away:

What is Bitvavo?

At Bitvavo, you can buy and sell more than 100 different cryptocurrencies. Because Bitvavo is located in the Netherlands, you can deposit money quickly with iDEAL or bank transfer and buy bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies directly. Click here to read in more detail what Bitvavo is.In this review, we will examine in detail what the strengths and weaknesses of Bitvavo are. That way, you’ll know right away if this crypto exchange is right for you. We start with the advantages & disadvantages of Bitvavo and then dive into the details.

Information	Bitvavo details
Regulation	Dutch Central Bank
Suitable for	Beginners & investors
Deposit money	iDEAL, PayPal & wire transfer
Promotion	No commission over first €10.000 in trades
Platforms	Online and mobile application
Costumer support	Chat & email
Crypto offer	200+ cryptos
Minimum deposit	€10
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands

What are the benefits of Bitvavo?

• At Bitvavo, you can start buying crypto from as little as 10 euros
• Bitvavo is a reliable and secure crypto exchange
• Bitvavo’s trading platform excels in user-friendliness
• You pay low transaction fees at Bitvavo: never more than 0.25%.
• You can get extra returns by staking your cryptos
• Professional costumer support available in English

What are the disadvantages of Bitvavo?

• You cannot trade on margin or take short positions
• It is difficult to keep track of your results in an orderly way
• You can’t reach Bitvavo by phone

Is Bitvavo reliable & secure?

The reliability of a crypto exchange is essential. Unlike money on bank accounts, cryptocurrencies are not protected: in case of a hack, you really do lose everything! Therefore, an important part of our Bitvavo review focuses on the reliability & security of this crypto exchange.

Account guarantee

Bitvavo offers compensation of up to €100,000 per customer in case hackers manage to steal your assets. This protection applies when someone gains unauthorized access to your account and withdraws your funds without permission (fiat/crypto).It is crucial to properly secure your account, such as by enabling 2FA. If, for instance, you willingly provide your password to hackers, you would still lose your assets. If you become a victim of theft, you can contact Bitvavo, and they will investigate whether you qualify for compensation.Ultimately, it is safest to store your crypto assets in an external wallet.

Protection of assets

The biggest risk for any exchange is an online robbery: if hackers steal large amounts of cryptos, an exchange can even go bankrupt. Luckily, Bitvavo uses smart protocols to reduce this risk.The majority of Bitvavo’s crypto assets are stored on cold wallets that are not connected to the internet. Every day they calculate how many cryptos are needed for trading and the rest is safely stored offline in different geographical locations.

Protecting your account

Another risk of a platform like Bitvavo is that your account can be hacked and that someone steals the cryptos in your account. Bitvavo offers sufficient protection in this area as well. Algorithms constantly monitor whether login attempts are suspicious.It is also advisable to make use of the 2FA security on your account: this prevents third parties from accessing your account.

Protection of assets

You want to avoid losing your money if Bitvavo goes bankrupt. Fortunately, they have a clever solution to this problem: your funds are safely stored in a separate foundation called Bitvavo Payments (SBP). If Bitvavo B.V. would file for bankruptcy, you won’t suddenly lose your money.

Regulation

Another good sign for Bitvavo’s reliability in this review is that the exchange adheres to all regulative laws. Bitvavo is registered with the Dutch bank. This ensures that Bitvavo adheres to strict European regulations.

Conclusion: is Bitvavo reliable?

Bitvavo is a reliable crypto exchange: I definitely recommend Bitvavo. Do you want to read in more details what Bitvavo does to secure your account? Then read this article about the safety & reliability at Bitvavo.

How much does it cost to invest with Bitvavo?

Another important part of this review is the fee structure of the Bitvavo platform. High costs automatically decrease your return: it is therefore advisable to choose a cheap crypto exchange. But is Bitvavo actually a cheap crypto exchange?

How high are the transaction fees?

Bitvavo has two types of transaction fees: maker and taker fees. When you buy a crypto like Bitcoin directly, you pay the taker fee. You are not helping Bitvavo build a new market, so the costs are a bit higher. However, when you place an order, you are a maker, and you pay lower costs.The good news is that at Bitvavo, you never pay more than 0.25% in transaction fees. This percentage drops further when you trade with high volumes, which means your transaction fees can even drop to the 0% mark.

Volume (30D)	Taker fee	Maker fee
€0+	0,25%	0,15%
€100.000+	0,20%	0,10%
€250.000+	0,16%	0,08%
€500.000+	0,12%	0,06%
€1.000.000+	0,10%	0,05%
€2.500.000+	0,08%	0,04%
€5.000.000+	0,06%	0,04%
€10.000.000+	0,05%	0,03%
€25.000.000+	0,04%	0,03%

Monitor the spread

On every exchange, you also have to deal with a spread: the spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of for example the Bitcoin.When the price of a crypto rises or falls sharply, it can be difficult to find enough buyers or sellers. The difference between the price at which you can buy and sell a cryptocurrency can then increase significantly. When there is a large spread, it may be wise to wait awhile before you execute your transaction.

Are there any hidden fees with Bitvavo?

Fortunately, there are no hidden costs at Bitvavo. For example, withdrawing money to your bank account is always free. When you deposit using wire transfer, Bancontact or iDEAL, you pay no transaction fees either.Please note that when you send cryptos to an external wallet, you will have to pay the miner. These costs are not related to Bitvavo and can fluctuate greatly.

Conclusion review: is Bitvavo cheap?

Bitvavo is one of the cheapest crypto exchanges, and they manage to achieve this without compromising on quality or service. Therefore, if you are looking for a cheap exchange, Bitvavo is a good choice! In this article you can read more about the costs at Bitvavo.

Does Bitvavo offer many cryptos to trade in?

Of course, you can trade the well-known Bitcoin & Ethereum at Bitvavo. But it doesn’t stop there: at Bitvavo, you can also trade more than 150 different altcoins.At its launch, Bitvavo’s offering was a bit disappointing compared to other crypto exchanges. Nowadays, Bitvavo also offers more exotic cryptocurrencies.Bitvavo’s crypto diversity is still disappointing compared to the international exchanges. However, I have heard from sources that Bitvavo is planning to add many more crypto exchanges in the near future, making the platform more and more attractive for the more active trader.

How is it like to deposit & withdraw money at Bitvavo?

I have been trading with Bitvavo for over a year now, so I have quite some experience with depositing and withdrawing money at Bitvavo.

Depositing money on Bitvavo

Depositing money at Bitvavo is free in most cases. When you use iDEAL or bank transfer, the money is quickly added to your account. However, it is important to go through the verification process before you can deposit money to your account. Unfortunately, Bitvavo does not support credit cards: this is to prevent users from getting into debt to invest in cryptos.

Withdrawing money from Bitvavo

Withdrawing money from Bitvavo is also easy. Officially, it can take up to 2 business days when you send a request, but from my experience, I receive the money almost instantly on my bank account. I am very pleased with the speed at which I can deposit and withdraw money at Bitvavo.Read the articles withdrawing money from Bitvavo and depositing money from Bitvavo for more information!

Bitvavo review: How does the Bitvavo trading platform work?

In this part of the review, we will assess Bitvavo’s trading platform. Here we distinguish between the webtrader, the advanced trader and the mobile application.

The webtrader

Bitvavo’s online trading platform especially excels in user-friendliness: it takes even a novice trader just a few minutes to buy their first cryptos.Within the webtrader you can immediately see which cryptos you can trade. When you want to buy a crypto, you only need to fill in the amount for which you would like to invest. Bitvavo’s user-friendliness also has a downside: the software might be a bit too limited for professional traders. However, Bitvavo also offers the advanced trader for the more experienced trader.

Advanced Trader

Within the advanced trader of Bitvavo, you can perform more complex analysis on the charts. For example, it is possible to use technical indicators, which can help you to predict the development of the price. You can also use the advanced trader to execute more complex orders: for example, you can automatically close your position at a certain loss.The advanced trader offers more options for the trader who wants to get more serious about buying and selling cryptos. Still, some other crypto exchanges offer even more advanced tools for the professional investor.

Mobile app

Bitvavo is also available as a mobile application. This mobile application is ideal for traders on the move: you can even place an order and buy one or more Bitcoins on the train.All in all, Bitvavo has enough trading platforms available to appeal to a wide audience. Both the novice and the more advanced crypto investor can get started with this provider. For the most professional investors, there are probably better options available.

Bitvavo functions & possibilities

A good crypto exchange offers more features than just buying and selling Bitcoins. In this part of the review, we’ll assess how Bitvavo is doing compared to other crypto exchanges.

The Bitvavo wallet

With Bitvavo, you can also store your cryptos in an online wallet. This is attractive for beginners, who find it awkward to manage a wallet themselves. At the same time, there are risks involved: if your account is hacked, third parties can gain access to your crypto assets.The wallets at Bitvavo work well: after you buy a crypto, it is automatically added to your wallet. Do you want to read more about using the Bitvavo wallet? Then read this article.

Staking at Bitvavo

You can also stake some crypto coins at Bitvavo: you then push a button and subsequently receive some sort of interest on your crypto coins. Personally, I’m a big fan of staking, since it can earn an additional return without effort. Do you want to know more about staking at Bitvavo? Then click here and discover how you can use of this option yourself!

Limited options

Active traders are often looking for more ‘exotic’ crypto products: think of crypto options, leverage products and the possibility to speculate on falling prices. Unfortunately, these options are not available at Bitvavo. Bitvavo is therefore only suitable for traders who want to buy and sell bitcoins and other crypto products with their money. If you want more functionality, it is better to open an account with another crypto exchange.

How does Bitvavo perform?

As for functionality, Bitvavo does what you expect, but not much more. Bitvavo is an excellent trading platform, but other than that, you can’t do anything special with it. Fortunately, you can always open accounts with multiple platforms, so you can take full advantage of all the possibilities that cryptos can offer!

What is the best strategy at Bitvavo?

For most investors, dollar cost averaging is probably the best strategy. The idea behind this, is that you never really know if the price is at an all-time high. By investing a fixed amount periodically (say, weekly or monthly), you benefit from the average return on a crypto like bitcoin.With this strategy, you will not become a millionaire overnight because you invested in a crypto at most favourable moment. At the same time, you avoid losing a considerable amount of money, precisely because you also didn’t deposit all your money in a crypto just before a crash.Only when you have a lot of time and motivation, you could consider actively trading cryptos. Only a few people manage to achieve successful results, and the chance that you’re one of the few is small.Do you want to learn in detail how to start investing with Bitvavo yourself? Read our comprehensive Bitvavo guide and learn all the tips & tricks:

How is the customer service at Bitvavo?

An important part of the review of the crypto exchange Bitvavo, is of course the customer service. Bitvavo’s customer support is available in English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Italian via both live chat and email.I’ve asked them questions and often received an answer within minutes to hours. Please note that the customer service is only available on weekdays from 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening.This level of support is reasonable: it would be a plus if Bitvavo could be reached by phone in the future. Furthermore, the crypto market is a 24/7 market, so it would be nice to be able to reach the customer service outside of office hours. Despite these drawbacks, Bitvavo’s customer support is still of a higher level than that of the competition, which is why I gave it a good score in the review.

How does opening an account with Bitvavo work?

Opening an account with Bitvavo is straightforward. All you have to do is visit the [H]website[/go/8/review] and press register. After entering your email address and password, you will have immediate access to the trading platform.However, before you can deposit and withdraw money, you have to go through the verification process: you have to prove that you are who you say you are. Fortunately, you only have to go through this process once and from experience, I can say that it’s quickly done. Do you want to know how to go through these steps? Then read our article on how to open an account.

Conclusion review Bitvavo: is Bitvavo the best exchange?

Bitvavo is my favourite crypto exchange: when I want to buy bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies, I choose Bitvavo. The crypto platform is user-friendly, fast and reliable.However, there is room for improvement: the product range, for example, is somewhat limited, so that the more professional investor might be better off using another exchange. Nevertheless, Bitvavo doesn’t do much wrong.Do you want to try Bitvavo for free? Open an account now & pay zero transaction costs over your first €1000 in trades:

Frequently asked questions Bitvavo

Do you want to read more about Bitvavo?

• Which exchange is better: Bitvavo or Binance?
• Read how to invest in Bitcoins here
• Read more about investing in crypto’s here

Interview with Plus500 manager David Zruia

Read the interview with David Zruia, who works at Plus500. Do you want to try investing with Plus500 without any risk by using a demo? Then use the button below to open an account:

Who is David?

Question: Hello David, thank you for participating in this interview.  Before we start this interview, can you tell us a little about yourself? What do you like to do in your spare time?Answer: thanks for doing the interview. OK, let’s start! When I’m not working, I like to travel, play football and spend time with my family and friends. For me, it is important to relax regularly as my life is sometimes quite hectic.Question: Have you done any trading yourself?Answer: Yes, of course! This is part of the reason I joined Plus500.

About Plus500

Question: Nice, and what do you do professionally? Can you tell me more about Plus500?A: I am the head of the Plus500 affiliate program, which is part of the marketing department. Plus500 is one of the leading platforms in Europe. Being regulated by the UK’s Financial Markets Authority, Plus500 is one of the most trusted brokers.

The target audience of Plus500

Question: Who is Plus500’s target audience?Answer: Any retail investor keen to trade online, from beginners to traders needing more advanced tools, we try to cater for both groups. Plus500 concentrates on the retail investor only, and does not accept institutional investors.

Competition for Plus500

Q: How does Plus500 differentiate itself from its competitors?Answer: We offer a variety of platforms through which you can trade, from desktop software to web browser software; we also have software for the iPhone, iPad and for Android phones. All of these technologies are proprietary to Plus500 and have been developed by the R&D department. We have developed many software packages to provide a clear trading environment with many advanced features for those who require them.Since we only focus on the private sector, we have a much clearer picture of the wishes of the average private individual. This allows us to tailor our software entirely to the needs of private investors.In addition to our convenient trading capabilities, we also offer a wide range of instruments for our clients to trade. We support CFDs on Forex (currency pairs), a large range of stocks, index funds, commodities and ETFs,By strictly following the guidelines of the British Financial Markets Authority, our customers’ money is always safe. This is a vital point for us.Q: Who are Plus500’s main competitors in the Forex market?Answer: Possibly IG Markets and Saxo Bank, however, we think that our software and technology is better as it is more efficient and resonates better with private investors.

Points of improvement & the future of Plus500

Q: What do you see as the biggest disadvantage of trading with Plus500?Answer: Plus500 was launched in February 2009 and some may consider this a short operational period. However, we are regulated by the FSA, which makes us at least as safe as any other CFD Broker.Q: Why doesn’t Plus500 have phone support?Answer: As a rule, we prefer support by e-mail: from our experience, this is more reliable. It is not uncommon for a representative to be unable to provide precise answers to all questions during a telephone call. Via e-mail, the same representative can first consult his/her colleagues and then send an e-mail that the company fully endorses. This leaves less room for errors or misleading answers.We will also soon be launching a live chat. An internal survey has shown that many people prefer this over contact by e-mail and often even over contact by phone.Q: What is your vision for the future of Plus500?Answer: Plus500’s goal is to become the world’s leading CFD broker. We will continue to increase the range of tradable instruments we offer each week, and we are constantly developing new features for our customers.

Strategy

Q: What advice do you have for people who have just started trading?Answer: I recommend people to start small and only increase investments when you have gained more confidence and experience. Our demo mode is a great place to start as the features and results are the same with the presence of real live quotes. Our demo account is unlimited, making it the perfect way to find out what Plus500 has to offer. Try it for free with a demo. (CFD service, 82% of retail investors lose money with CFD’s)Q: What is the mistake most often made by traders? What should you always keep in mind?Answer: As CFDs are leveraged, they are inherently high risk. It is wise to experiment with the demo modes and to start with smaller investments before getting involved with larger amounts.Q: How much has the Forex market changed in the past two years?Answer: The Forex market and online trading market in general is much more competitive than it used to be. In addition, the market is much more regulated, which is good news for Plus500 and its traders.

Scam

Q: What do you think of Forex scam?Answer: Forex scam is obviously terrible as it hurts the clients and degrades the image of Forex trading as a whole. Therefore, I would urge people to always check the reliability of the CFD broker – if the broker is not regulated by a respectable regulator, it is wise to stay away.Interview conducted in 2011 with David from Plus500

Plus500 Guide: How to trade with Plus500?

Do you want to invest with Plus500? In this guide to the Plus500 platform you will learn everything you need to know to start trading with Plus500.

How to create an account with Plus500?

If you have not yet created a demo account with Plus500 you can do so free of charge. All you need to do to open a demo account is enter your email address and password. Only when you start trading with real money do you need to enter more details. That’s why practice is especially important! Use the button below to directly open an account with Plus500:

Read this before investing

• Plus500 tutorial: learn how to trade with Plus500 software
• Plus500 review: discover the strengths and weaknesses of this broker

How does trading with Plus500 work?

Before trading with Plus500, it is important to remember that you are not trading in shares or commodities yourself. Plus500 uses CFDs instead. A CFD is a derivative that allows you to speculate on price changes. But how does this work in practice?

When you buy or sell a CFD on an Apple share, you are speculating on a price movement. You never actually become the owner of the share. CFDs are therefore intended for short-term speculation and are not suitable for long-term investments. Plus500 is therefore particularly suitable for active traders who want to take advantage of stock market volatility.

How do you open a position with Plus500?

Opening a position is starting an investment. Thanks to the user-friendly software you can find all known shares within the platform. For example, if you want to buy or sell Apple CFD shares, go to the shares category and then to the US category, here you will find the Apple share and you can press the buy or sell button. Of course you can also use the search function to find a share you want to trade in.

Buying and selling at Plus500: illustrative prices.

When you then press buy, the order screen opens. Within this screen you indicate the amount of money for which you want to open a trading position. When you press the buy button the trading position within your account will be opened.

Illustrative prices

How can you open a short position with Plus500?

An advantage of trading CFDs with Plus500 is that you can also open a position at a falling price: this is also called a short position. With a short position, you get a positive trading result when the price falls, and you lose money when the price rises. By pressing the sell button you can open a short position within the Plus500 software.

How can you place an order?

You do not have to open a trading position with Plus500 directly: it is also possible to use an order. You use the buy when rate is option. Here you can enter the price at which the position should be opened. Remember that your order will continue to exist: when market conditions change it is important to close your position again. This prevents you from opening a trading position without wanting to.

Illustrative prices

Automatically grab your profits and losses

When you open a position within Plus500’s software, you can also choose to automatically take your profit or loss. By selecting the Close at profit option you can set a price at which you will automatically take your profit. The Close at Loss option allows you to select a price at which you automatically take your loss.There is no guarantee that the price you fill in will actually be carried out. When the market moves strongly, you may receive a more disadvantageous price: your loss may then increase further. For some CFDs you can therefore apply a guaranteed stop. You pay extra transaction costs for this, but you can be sure that your trade will be executed according to your plan.

Illustrative prices

How does the leverage work with Plus500?

An important part of this manual is the lever on Plus500. Plus500 allows you to open positions that are up to 30 times greater than your deposit without losing more than the amount in your account. For example, if you start trading with $1000, you can trade CFDs up to $30.000. The moment you close your trading position then determines your profit or loss.

The leverage is automatically applied to your trades. For each CFD you can see which leverage you are applying below the information. By choosing the amount you want to trade with, you decide how much risk you are exposed to. It is important to remember that both your potential profit and loss increase when you use leverage. In the next section we will illustrate this with an example.

Illustrative prices

Example of leveraged trade

You can choose to deposit the full amount of an investment. When you buy or sell a share with a price of $1.000, you deposit the full amount of $1.000. If the price then rises by 10%, you get a positive result of $100 and if the price falls by 10%, you get a negative result of $100.You can also choose to buy or sell the share with a leverage of 1:2. You then deposit $500, but buy or sell the CFD share of $1000. When the price rises by 10%, you achieve a return of €100. However, this is a return of 20% compared to your original deposit: a leverage effect greatly increases your results.This is also the immediate danger of the leverage: if you are not careful, you can lose the entire amount of money in your Plus500 account.

How can you manage trades?

Under open positions you can see the results of all your open trades. It is also possible to close trades manually. It is advisable to monitor your trades closely. You can do this by installing the Plus500 mobile application.

How do the margins work at Plus500?

Plus500 deals with two types of margins: the initial margin and the maintenance margin. The Initial Margin is the free amount of money you need to open a trade in your account. If the Initial Margin is 20%, then you must have at least 20% of the value of the trade in your account. On a €1000 CFD share, the initial margin would then be €200.

The maintenance margin indicates the amount that must be in your account to keep the position open. If the maintenance margin is 10%, then you must have at least 10% of the value of the trade in your account. On a $1.000 CFD share the maintenance margin would then be $100.Is your investment depreciating sharply in value and are you approaching the maintenance margin? Then there is the risk of a margin call. Plus500 will ask you to make an additional deposit. If you do not do this, your trade will automatically close, and you will lose the entire deposit. Plus500 protects you against a negative balance, so you can never lose more than the amount you deposit into your account.Note that all your trades count towards the margin. A good trade can increase your margin, while a bad investment can jeopardize all your other trading positions.

What is the night premium?

Plus500 also charges a night premium on your trades. You only pay the night premium if you leave the trades open for more than one day. Part of the amount for your trade is financed by Plus500: you pay interest on it. The amount of interest can be found in the information section of each CFD. Please note that on weekends and special public holidays you will often have to pay a night premium for several days as the trading session is closed during.

Illustrative prices

What is the spread at Plus500?

You do not pay a fixed commission when you start investing with Plus500 which allows you to also open positions with a small amount of money. However, you do pay a spread. The spread is the difference between the bid and ask price. You pay this difference on every CFD you buy or sell. Under information, you can find the spread of the share you want to trade in. Many spreads are dynamic, meaning that they vary depending on market conditions.

Illustrative prices

How are your trading results determined?

When you open trades, you can see for each position whether you are making a profit or a loss. Only when you close the trade does the profit or loss become final. Until then, anything can happen!

Keep practising!

Plus500’s software is very user-friendly. Opening and closing positions goes without saying and the charts are easy to read. However, many people will have to get used to it in the beginning. It is therefore advisable to first start with the free demo account and then start trading with real money.

Frequently asked questions about Plus500

In the last part of our Plus500 explanation we answer some frequently asked questions about the Plus500 trading platform.

How can you reset the demo?

Plus500 automatically resets your demo as soon as the balance is under $200. You can use the Plus500 demo for as long as you like.

How can you change the language?

Plus500 is available in more than 20 languages. Before logging in you can easily change the language on the top right.

How much does Plus500 cost?

How does Plus500 make money?

Plus500 earns money by calculating transaction fees. Each time you open a position Plus500 earns a small spread.

What is the minimum deposit / withdrawal?

The minimum amount to deposit with Plus500 is $100. You can also withdraw a minimum of $100 at Plus500 at one time. There is never any charge by Plus500 for depositing and withdrawing funds.

How to close the Plus500 account?

You can delete your Plus500 account by contacting Plus500 Customer Service.

82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

eToro reliability: Is eToro a scam?

eToro is a broker where you can try many services for free. Because of this many people wonder if eToro is a scam. In this article, we examine whether it is safe to use eToro. That way, you can decide for yourself whether you think the company is legitimate.

Our findings: is eToro a scam?

We investigated eToro extensively and concluded that eToro is not a scam. eToro sometimes gets a negative image because investors start trading without having sufficient knowledge. Investing is a risky activity with which you can lose a lot of money. However, if you make the right decisions, you can obtain good results with eToro.

In any case, it is not advisable to invest a large amount of money directly with eToro. It is wiser to practice with the demo first. That way, you will discover how the software works and you can deposit money as soon as you are ready for it. Would you like to try eToro for free? Use the button below to open a free demo at this broker:

Is eToro regulated?

Reliable brokers are normally regulated by an official institution. Financial regulators ensure that financial institutions comply with the rules. eToro is supervised by the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC. We have checked the registrations, and eToro is indeed registered with these bodies. This means that the company has to abide by strict rules and can’t go crazy with your money.

eToro is safe

Your data is securely stored at eToro under SSL encryption. The money you deposit is stored in secure banks. Depositing money at eToro is therefore safe. Also, eToro actively fights parties who launder money or use the platform for criminal activities.

Extensive testing

We tested the platform ourselves extensively. eToro seems 100% legitimate. We have deposited money with eToro, opened a few positions, and had the money paid out again. All this went smoothly. In the social trading section, we also saw enough, other satisfied traders. eToro is certainly not a scam. Do you want to know what we discovered when we tried eToro’s platform? In our extensive eToro review you can read everything you need to know:

Why do people say eToro is a scam?

eToro seems to be completely safe and reliable. Yet, some people claim that eToro is a scam. How is this possible? Some people don’t realize that you can lose money by investing. When you start investing with eToro, it is clearly stated everywhere that you can lose money. The platform also offers various options with which you can manage your risks. With a stop loss, for example, you can prevent your losses from increasing too much. You can also withdraw money from your account at any time.

Yet, some people ignore the warnings and start gambling at eToro. Instead of first learning how to invest, they immediately deposit money and open random positions. This will certainly lead to a large investment loss in the long run. Some of these losing investors then blame the broker.Do you want to take responsibility for your trading results? Then learn straight away how to invest better at eToro with our comprehensive manual:

eToro risk warning

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and crypto assets, as well as trading CFDs.Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Past performance is not an indication of future results.Crypto assets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading crypto assets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.

eToro risk warning

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro. 

eToro fees: how much does investing with eToro cost?

Before you start investing with eToro, you probably want to know how much trading with eToro costs. On this page, we describe how expensive it is to invest with eToro so that you can make an informed decision.

An account is 100% free

Opening a (demo) account with eToro is 100% free of charge. Even if you don’t want to invest with real money, you can use the professional tools offered by eToro. You can also participate in the social network and make use of various analyses. Even if you don’t want to invest with eToro, it is therefore attractive to open a demo. Use the button below to open a free demo at eToro yourself:

No commissions on shares

A big advantage of eToro is that you don’t pay commissions on the shares you buy, but other fees do apply. We’ve looked into this and it’s true. Because of this you can even buy one share for a few dollars and benefit from it. At eToro, you can, therefore, build a varied portfolio even with a small amount of money.

No management fees

At eToro, you pay no management fees. At some banks and brokers, you pay for the use of their services. For example, you have to pay a fixed percentage of service costs every month. Fortunately, this is not the case with eToro. Even if you copy other traders or follow professional portfolios, you don’t pay any additional transaction costs. This makes eToro an attractive option for investors who want to trade passively.

Bummer: you pay costs when withdrawing money

However, it is a pity that you have to pay the costs for withdrawing money at eToro. These costs are quite low: 5 dollars. However, this makes it more difficult for people with a small trading amount to achieve a positive return. After all, when you deposit $200, you lose 2.5% in costs to get the money back from your account. When you trade with larger amounts of money, this percentage will decrease. On paper, the amount seems small, but in practice, it can reduce your return considerably.

How high is the spread at eToro?

At eToro, you also pay a so-called spread. The spread is the difference between the bid and offer price. These transaction costs are calculated at each broker. For example, you can buy a share for $5 and sell it for $4.98. The difference constitutes the transaction costs you pay.The spread can be different for each investment product. At the time of writing, you pay $0.78 for an Apple share, which is 0.2%. If you want to trade the Bitcoin, you pay $71 at the time of writing, which is 0.75%. On oil, you pay 5 cents per barrel at the time of writing, which is 0.12%. The spread changes constantly. Therefore, it’s always wise to check if the spread you have to pay is acceptable for you.

The spread is the difference between the buy & sell price

What is the cost of leverage?

It is also important to remember that you pay extra costs when you use leverage. We also call these extra costs the financing costs. When you use leverage, you open a larger position with a smaller amount of money. The broker will then lend you the rest of the money. If you close the position on the same day, you do not have to pay any extra costs.This is different when you leave the position open. When you leave the position open for one night, you pay interest on your position. This is also called the night premium. With eToro you can immediately see how high the night premium is and how much you pay per day. In this way, you can make a well-considered decision whether you want to trade with leverage.At the time of writing the night premium on EUR/USD on a long position is $0.000062. For gold, the night premium is $0.008153 per day and for the China50 index only $0.

Within the software, you can see the night premium of each effect

What are the minimum costs?

At eToro, minimum costs are charged for different product categories. Below we briefly mention the minimum costs:

• Currency: the minimum cost is 1 pip.
• Raw materials: the minimum cost is 2 pips.
• Indices: the minimum cost is 100 pips.
• Equities & ETFs: you pay a premium of 0.09% with CFDs.
• Cryptocurrencies are already trading at 0.75% cost.

Conversion costs

Another disadvantage of investing with eToro are the conversion costs. Accounts can only be held with eToro in dollars. If you transfer money into another currency, you pay conversion costs to convert your currency into dollars. For the most commonly used currency pairs, the conversion costs amount to 50 pips. This amounts to 0.0050 cents per currency unit. For more exotic pairs, the costs can increase considerably.If you invest with eToro and your country does not use the dollar by default, you are automatically also subject to currency risk. The dollar can lose its value against the euro. Even with favourable investment results, you can lose money in this way. At the same time, of course, you can also make a profit when the dollar becomes worth more against your currency.

Cost of inactivity

It is important to use your eToro account regularly. If you do not log into your account for 12 months, you will incur costs for inactivity. These costs are $10 per month. No positions are closed to pay these extra costs. You can easily avoid these costs by logging in at least once a year. If there is no balance in your account, you will not incur any inactivity fees.

Conclusion: is eToro cheap?

eToro is certainly a good choice for the investor who wants to trade in shares without commissions. However, it is important to take the costs of withdrawing money and converting currencies into account. The latter is particularly detrimental to investors who use a currency other than the dollar.Despite these inconveniences, eToro is certainly a good choice for the investor with a small to the medium-sized trading budget.

eToro risk warning

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

eToro tutorial: how can you invest with eToro?

Are you curious how you can invest with eToro? In this tutorial, you’ll learn everything you need to know to trade at eToro!

In this tutorial

By clicking on the links, you navigate directly to the specific part in the tutorial:

• Part 1: eToro software: learn how to make your first investment.
• Part 2: Social trading: how do you make money by following other people?
• Part 3: stock exchange trading: how does stock trading work?
• Part 4: market conditions: when do you buy or sell a share?
• Part 5: Investment tips: these tips increase your chance of success.

How can you open an account with eToro?

In this tutorial we use the software of eToro. eToro is one of the largest brokers in the Netherlands. This is partly because at eToro you can buy shares entirely without commissions. This allows you to achieve good investment results when investing only a small amount. In addition, you can test eToro’s capabilities for free and without risk through a demo. So, what are the biggest advantages of eToro?

• You can practice for free with the unlimited demo.
• You can buy shares without commissions.
• You can open a demo in just 3 minutes.

Do you want to get started with a free demo at eToro? Click the button below to open an account directly:To open your free demo account, you only need to fill in some basic information, such as your name, email address, password and phone number. It is even possible to open an account through your Facebook or Google account.Do you want to know more about eToro? In our extensive review you can read everything you need to know!

Part 1: eToro software

In this part of the tutorial we will explain how you can open trades with the software of eToro.  We will discuss how you can buy your first share within minutes. Do you want to know something specific about eToro’s software? By using the links below you can directly jump to the section within the article:

• Buy eToro shares: how do you buy a share?
• Active investing: how do you trade CFDs?
• Falling stock prices: how do you benefit from falling stock prices?
• Orders: how do you place an order with eToro?
• Deposit money: how can you deposit money with eToro?
• Balance management: How do you manage your investments?

How do you buy a share at eToro?

After you open a demo account, you can use eToro’s software through your browser. When you want to buy a specific share, you press trade markets. Under ‘trade markets’, you can quickly find share to invest in. Click on industry to filter for shares from a particular industry or click on exchange to find shares that are listed on a particular exchange.

Are you looking for a specific share? Then you can also use the search function. In this guide,  we are going to buy Microsoft shares. When you use the search function, you will immediately see the screen you need to open a position. Press the trade button to open a position.After you press the button the stock screen will open. Make sure to press buy and make sure that the  leverage is set to 1X. By using a leverage of one, you buy the share with your money. Do not forget to set the amount you want to buy shares for. At eToro it is not possible to invest in partial shares. By pressing the Open Trade button, the investment opens directly within your account.

Tip: Managing your winnings and losses

Within eToro’s software, it is also possible to automatically manage your winnings and losses. In some cases, it may be wise to set a value where you automatically take your loss or  profit.It is important to remember that these values are never guaranteed. When the market is very volatile, your stop loss or take profit may be executed against a less favorable value.You also have the option to use a trailing stop loss. This is a special type of stop loss that moves along when the price rises. This prevents you from closing the position too early and missing out on potential winnings. At the same time, you protect the investment from a potential future loss. You can easily select this option within eToro’s software. Stop loss and take profit are not guaranteed and trading with leverage involves high risks.

Is buying shares really free?

Buying shares at eToro is 100% commission free. This makes eToro a lot more attractive than the competition. By offering this service, eToro hopes that you will also trade in shares by using CFDs. With CFDs, you can actively trade leveraged shares. By charging financing interest, they make a high profit on this type of trading. In the next part of the guide to eToro you can read how you can actively trade by using CFD’s.

Active trading with CFDs

At eToro you can also choose to take a little more risk. You can do this by using CFDs. CFDs are financial derivatives that allow you to apply leverage. In this part of the tutorial we will discuss how this works.

Apply leverage at eToro

When you place an order, you can choose to use a leverage. When you apply leverage, you only need to deposit a small part of the total trade. The rest of the money is then financed by the broker. You can use a leverage by moving the multiplier from X1 to x10, for example.Applying leverage ensures that both your winnings and your losses move extra fast. When you buy a share without leverage, price fluctuations have a less significant impact on your results:

• An increase of 10% leads to a profit of 10%.
• A 10% drop leads to a loss of 10%.

When you apply a leverage of X10, the results in both directions increases exponentially. You would then achieve the following results:

• An increase of 10% leads to a profit of 100%
• A 10% decrease leads to a loss of 100%

Leveraged investing makes it possible to achieve a high return in a short time. At the same time, trading with leverage is also a lot riskier. Furthermore, it is important to remember that this way of trading is certainly not free.

Costs of trading with leverage

When you trade with leverage, you borrow some of the money you need. If you leave the trade open for more than a day, you will have to pay financing costs. The daily financing costs are low and are always displayed under the ‘Open Trade’ button. Below you can see the cost on an EUR/USD position worth $300,000 at the time of writing:However, it is important to take these costs into account. When you want to make a long-term investment, it is smarter to buy the shares without a multiplier. You won’t pay any extra fees, and you can hold the position for as long as you want.

How can you benefit from falling stock prices?

At eToro, it is also possible to make a profit when the stock prices decrease. If you want to benefit from a decreasing price, you should press the sell button in the order screen:

When you open a sell position (aka short position), you earn money when the price drops. It is important to mention that you can only speculate on a falling price with CFDs. If you want to invest without financing costs, you therefore can’t open a short position on a share.

How do you place an order with eToro?

It is also possible to place an order with eToro.  With an order, you only open the investment when a certain price is reached. You can do this by changing the setting Trade to Order within the eToro trading platform. Subsequently, you can set the price at which you want to buy the share.

How can you deposit money with eToro?

You can deposit money within eToro at any time. It is possible to trade with as little as $200. To achieve this, switch from your virtual demo account to a real money account. After you switched to a real money account you can press the deposit money button:Before you can deposit money, you must first verify your identity. The European Union has made this mandatory to combat money laundering. You can deposit money to eToro quickly by using your credit card.

Managing your investments

At the bottom of the screen, you will always see your current account balance.

• The available credit is the amount you can still use to open investments.
• The total allocated is the amount you are using for your current trades.
• The profit indicates the result of your open trades.
• The equity shows the total value of your account.

You can easily manage all your open positions.   You can then view each investment and its performance. You can also adjust the moment you take your profit or your loss.When you invest with leverage, you must keep enough money in your account. When there is not enough money left to finance your open positions, you will lose the full amount in your account.

Smart investing at eToro

Many novice investors immediately lose all their money at eToro. This is often because they act too recklessly. It is advisable to practice with the demo first. When you understand the software, you may decide to make an initial deposit. First, deposit a small amount so you experience what it is like to lose and win real money.Only when you have gained enough experience it can be interesting to apply leverage to your trades. It is important to use the leverage in moderation. Especially with volatile investment products, you can quickly lose the full amount in your account.Another important tip is to only open investments that offer you a favourable risk-return ratio. If the potential profit on an investment is 10% and the potential loss is only 5%, this is an investment with a good risk-return ratio. You have to get it right in less than half of the cases, to get a good result.When speculating with CFDs, it is important to always use a stop loss. Because of the leverage, you may otherwise lose the entire amount in your account. It is always advisable to assess your trades. By doing so, you can learn from your mistakes and improve your trading strategy.Are you looking for a more passive way to invest? Then eToro’s social trading platform might be a good option!

Part 2: social trading

At eToro you also have the opportunity to trade socially. This is an interesting option that allows you to take advantage of the knowledge and skills of other investors. In this part of the tutorial we look at how you can best take advantage of this opportunity.

Talk about shares

Within the eToro software you can visit the News Feed.   The newsfeed is eToro’s social media platform. Here, traders share their opinions and experiences. If you have doubts about an investment, you can spar with other investors there. This is a useful addition that does come with a disclaimer.On eToro you can find many amateurish investors. These investors do not always take the various factors that can influence a share price into account. It is therefore important to make your investment decisions based on multiple factors.

Copying investors

An interesting option for novice investors, is the ability to copy other traders. On eToro, anyone can share their trades with other investors. Investors that are very successful and receive many followers receive a commission for their work.Therefore, investors on the eToro platform will be motivated to deliver good results.

Past performance is not an indication of future results

You can find details on any investor you can follow. This way, you can determine whether it is wise to follow the trader.In any case, it is important to look at the following statistics:

• Statistics: here you can see what the trading results are.
• Portfolio: here you can see what securities the trader invested in.
• Chart: the chart shows the investor’s result over time.
• Feed: you can read posts made by the trader here.

It is important not to simply copy random investors. Specifically, it is important to choose traders with a longer track record. By choosing traders with a long track record, you lower the chance of losing a lot of money when the trader goes rogue. Regardless, it remains important to monitor the investments of the traders you follow.

How do you find a good trader to follow?

Likewise, choosing good traders can be an art. In this part of the eToro tutorial we briefly cover what you should look for when selecting a good investor to follow.

Don’t blindly follow the most popular trader. Sometimes a trader has become popular by chance. A popular trader does not always have to be the trader with the best results.  Therefore, always check how profitable the trader is.Also check how consistent  his results are. When the investor has a huge loss one month and a huge profit the other month, the results are not stable enough.It is also important to check whether the investor sometimes takes a loss. Keeping investments open for too long can work out well for a longer period of time. In the end, however, one position can blow up the entire account. It is therefore important to choose an investor who is not afraid to take losses.Also check whether the trader you consider following makes an effort.  For example, does he answer questions on his feed? If this is not the case, I would never follow that investor. If he doesn’t bother to answer simple questions, he’s probably not a reliable person to follow either.Finally, you have to ask yourself if the trader you want to follow fits within your profile. What do you want to invest in? How much risk are you willing to take? If you think the trader is right for you, you can start following him. It is advisable to do this with a small amount of money in the beginning. If the results remain positive, you can slowly increase the amounts you invest.

What is the maximum risk you want to take at eToro? Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Part 3: stock exchange trading

Would you like to invest with eToro? Then you must understand how stock trading works. In this part of the tutorial you will learn how to predict the price of a share yourself.

What determines the price of a share?

Before you start investing in shares at eToro, it is important to remember that a share price is created by people like you and me. The stock market always balances out. The asking price on the stock market is the price at which the number of buyers and sellers are equal.

When the number of buyers increases, the price increases. When the number of people who want to buy the share falls, the price drops. If you start investing in stocks, it is therefore important to consider what the average investor would do. In this part of the tutorial we take a quick look at how you can predict the price development of a stock.

The general market

The first factor playing a major role in determining the price of a share is the general market condition. When a country’s economy is not doing well, you see that the shares of the companies in that economic zone fall. If the economy is doing well and investors are euphoric, prices can rise sharply.Extreme examples include the corona crisis in 2020 and the credit crisis in 2008. These are big events that have a huge impact on the economy. Many investors are amateurs and they quickly panic. In these kinds of situations, you see that people dump their shares en masse. The share prices can then suddenly fall enormously.For example, in the graph above, you can see how strongly the Dow Jones crashed after it became clear that the corona crisis was going to have a huge impact on the economy. After such a crash, you often see a smooth recovery. As a smart investor, you can benefit double from these situations. You can short sell shares on the sharp drop and at the same time buy shares at a discount.

Research the share

Of course, not all shares follow the market one on one. It is therefore also important to research the company behind the share. During the corona crisis, for example, you could see that some companies had a much tougher time than others.For example, companies that live off tourism are doing terribly. Planes are grounded, and it is uncertain when it will be possible to fly anywhere. You can see the share price of Air France KLM during the first weeks of the corona crisis in this graph:At the same time, you can see that some companies benefit greatly from this crisis. Netflix shares, for example, are doing very well. With more and more people stuck at home, people are looking for alternative forms of entertainment. In the chart below you can see that the corona crisis has been excellent for Netflix:As an investor, it is therefore always important to keep your cool. Avoid taking emotional decisions and buy or sell shares based on proper analysis. In general it is wise to trade with the trend as much as possible. In the next part of this tutorial we will teach you how you can deal with the different market conditions.

Part 4: market conditions

Before you open an investment, it is always advisable to examine the market conditions. You can examine market conditions on different timescales. When you are an active trader you look at shorter periods than if you are an investor for the long term.

What trends exist?

When you start investing, you may have to deal with three types of trends. The first type of trend is the uptrend. During an uptrend, you can see that the price is mainly moving up.

Of course, things don’t always go well. Sometimes you see that a share is mainly falling. We are then talking about a downtrend.In some cases, there is indecision. We call this a consolidation. The share price then mainly fluctuates between two levels.

Time your investment

It is important to time your trades well. Even in an uptrend, a share price won’t just move up. An impulse up is always followed by a retracement down. And precisely in this downward movement it can be attractive to buy.Of course, you must be careful that the trend does not reverse. Nothing rises forever and good times are regularly interspersed with bad times. By using a stop loss, you prevent yourself from being stuck with a bad investment forever.

Search for confirmation

You can achieve better investment results by always looking for confirmation. There are two strong factors that can help you time a position.

Horizontal levels

A horizontal level is a price level at which the price of a stock regularly bounces off. When a horizontal level is touched more often without being broken, the strength of the level increases. When you start trading, it may be smart to look for these levels. Do you want to know how to do this? Read this article for more information about this subject.

Candlesticks

Candlesticks can also help you make trading decisions. Candlesticks provide a lot of information about the battle between buyers and sellers. When you learn how to read candlesticks, you will achieve better investment results. Do you want to know how to do this? In our candlestick guide you read everything you need to know!

Technical analysis

We don’t want to go into too many technical trading details in this concise eToro manual. Are you serious about trading the markets? Then it may be interesting to learn these advanced techniques and apply them to your investments at eToro. Use the button below to visit our technical analysis course:

Follow the trend

The most important lesson I want to impart in this part of the tutorial is that it is important to pay attention to the trend. The saying the trend is your best friend exists for a reason. Investors who are aware of trends and who know how to respond to them achieve better results.The more technical investment methods are intended for active traders. If you mainly plan to buy shares for the long term, all you really have to do is examine the companies behind the shares. The exact timing in the long term is less important.In the last part of the eToro tutorial I want to impart a few more investment wisdoms that can help you achieve better results.

Part 5: investment tips

Simply buying a share is not very difficult. It is often a matter of pressing a button, and before you know it you are the proud owner of a Shell or Microsoft share. This action is the same for everyone. However, not all investors achieve the same result when they start using eToro. By following these final tips, you increase your chance of winning.

Draw up a plan

It is important to invest according to a plan. Buying and selling shares indiscriminately is rarely a good strategy. If you want to do this, you would be better off going to a casino. When you gamble at the casino, you at least get a free drink or bite.Each plan is drawn up for a specific purpose. Making money as your only goal is not good enough. Conceive what results you expect to achieve with your investments at eToro. Decide how much money you want to invest and what return you want to achieve. With this data, you can decide where your investment would best serve you.In any case, a good plan must contain clear rules.   Consider the conditions under which you open an investment. For each open position it is also important to set clear rules for selling it again. At what price do you take your winnings? When does it become too risky, and would it be better to close the position? By setting up these investment rules in advance, you avoid having to do this under pressure later.Next, it is important to evaluate your plan properly. Like an accountant, check your investments monthly. Keep track of how much you win or lose and see what mistakes you have made. Only by doing so critically, and regularly you will become a better investor.

Control your emotions

Another important tip I would like to give you in this eToro tutorial is that it is important to control your emotions as much as possible. Many investors lose a fortune because they allow themselves to be guided by emotions far too much.They sometimes say that fear is a bad counsellor. When you start investing, this is absolutely true. Investors who do not overcome their fear leave loss-making positions open for too long, while cutting off profitable positions too early.Of course, it is not realistic to invest without emotions at all. Emotions are human and when you lose money it hurts. When you want to make a profit, you must learn to control your emotions. Do you want to know more about the influence of emotions on your investments? In this article you can read everything you need to know about this subject!

Accept losses too

Another common mistake among investors is that they do not dare to take losses. When you pursue a 100% profit, you end up with a maximum loss. Leaving loss-making positions open can work well in the short term. After all, the chances of a loss-making position becoming profitable again within a few months’ time are very high.But if a position unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse, you can lose everything with this strategy. Therefore, always think about the level at which you dare to take a loss. Novice investors avoid losses as much as possible, while professional investors embrace calculated losses. To what category do you want to belong?

Plenty of practice

After reading this comprehensive eToro guide, you will know everything you need to start investing successfully. You now know how to buy shares within the WebTrader and you know what to look out for to be successful. Still, I must get real with you. After reading this tutorial you are certainly not an expert. You still have a lot to learn and always will.I would therefore advise you to keep practising. Even if you trade with thousands or tens of thousands at a given time, you can still learn. Strong investors are always curious.Did you not open a free demo account to practice yet? Use the button below to open a free & unlimited demo with eToro directly:

eToro risk warning

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

Where can you invest against low fees?

Do you want to invest against low costs? In this article we will reveal the brokers with the lowest transactions fees. By using this comparison you can save on your annual costs at your broker.

Where can you buy shares cheaply?

Costs can greatly reduce your profit! When you buy shares, you often pay a commission on each transaction. The cost of paying a commission every time is much higher than just the commission itself. The amount you pay cannot be invested in new shares, which means you will miss out on a lot of profit in the long run.

Fortunately, there are brokers who sell shares without charging commissions. This makes it possible to achieve good results on the stock market even with small investments. A good broker who does not charge transaction fees is eToro. Use the button below to open a free account immediately:

What is the cheapest broker for active trading?

Are you a more active trader? Do you want to open multiple transactions and be able to bet on a declining market? Do you want to be able to use leverage? Then a traditional broker is often not the best or cheapest option. When you want to trade actively, a CFD broker can be a good choice.

One of the cheaper CFD brokers is Plus500. At Plus500, you don’t pay commissions when you open a position. Moreover, you can try the possibilities risk-free with a demo of $40,000. Do you want to know more about Plus500? Read this comprehensive review. You can also open an account directly with the button below: (82% of retail investors lose money)

Why do you have to compare the fees?

It is important to compare brokers’ costs well. A cost difference of 0.5% can make a huge difference. We would like to illustrate this by means of an investment with a return of 8% or 7.5% after deducting costs. In this example, an amount of $100,000 has been invested. With a return of 8%, you get the following results:

• After 10 years, the investment is worth $21,589.
• After 30 years, the investment is worth $100,626.
• After 50 years, the investment is worth $469,016.

With a return of 7.5%, you get the following results:

• After 10 years, the investment is worth $20,610.
• After 30 years, the investment is worth $87,459.
• After 50 years, the investment is worth $371,897.

0.5% of cost difference seems very little, but in practice it can cost you thousands or even tens of thousands!

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot

Many investors choose to invest at their bank out of convenience. This is almost never a good idea. The rates are much higher at a bank than with a broker. Banks know that many people do not bother to properly research where they can invest cheaply. They have a well-known name and therefore receive enough customers.At a bank, you often pay high fees on your investments. Many banks even charge annual fixed fees just for owning an account. If this is the case, you also pay money when you do not open new positions. Therefore, take a moment and choose a broker with a low rate. This can do a lot for you in the long run.

Choose advantageous investment products

When you buy bread from two different bakers, the prices can vary greatly. The same goes for brokers. Still, you might think, bread is bread. This is certainly the case with stockbrokers. Whether you buy stock from eToro  or DEGIRO makes little difference. The share is 100% identical. But this is not the case with the various investment products. Some investment products are much more expensive than others. Therefore, also research whether the costs of the investment product are justified.When you look at funds, you often find that active funds charge much higher transaction fees than passive funds. Yet most active funds do not achieve better results than funds that simply track an index. Therefore, always research whether the higher costs of the investment product are worth it.

What is the cheapest broker?

For this test, we bought 30 shares of Royal Dutch Shell. A Philips share costs 40 at the time of this writing. The value of the total transaction is therefore 1,200. For each broker, we calculate the transaction fee to determine where investing is cheaper. The costs are a snapshot taken on May 28, 2020. For the current costs you can consult the brokers’ websites.

• eToro: 0 commissions, we did not pay transaction fees for this transaction
• DEGIRO: 1,75 + 0.014%, we paid 2.30 for this transaction.
• Interactive brokers: 6 per stock transaction.
• IG: 8 when you have less than 2 transactions.

eToro is clearly the cheapest broker for this order. When you do a lot of share transactions, you can quickly save hundreds per year with this broker. Do you want to try out eToro for free with a demo? Use the button below to open a free account immediately:

Compare investing costs

Before you open an account with a broker, it is a good idea to compare the cost of your investments. Different providers have different rates.

Commissions

Most stockbrokers charge a commission on each transaction. There are some providers where you can buy cheap or even completely free shares. Choose a broker with low commissions, especially when you want to invest with smaller amounts.

Spread

In addition to a commission, you also pay a spread with each broker. The spread is the difference between the purchase and selling price. It is wise to choose a broker that charges an attractive spread. This increases the profitability of your investments.

Activation fees

Some brokers charge activation fees when you want to trade on a particular exchange. It may therefore be smarter to trade with, for example, Plus500 or eToro. With these parties, you do not pay activation fees.

Other expenses

Always read the broker’s fees page carefully before investing. Brokers regularly  sneakily hide additional rates in their terms. For example, you may have to pay some brokers to withdraw money or to receive dividends.

Pay out plus500 & withdraw money

At Plus500 you can easily request a payout. In this article, we will show you how you can withdraw your money quickly. After all, when you have achieved a nice profit from your trading activities you may want to spend it elsewhere.

What are the terms of a payout?

Before you can withdraw your money, it’s important that your account is approved. You must have submitted a valid copy of your identification so plus500 can verify your identity. This is required because Plus500 adheres to European & British guidelines.

How can you withdraw money from Plus500?

Great, your account has been approved and now it’s time to actually withdraw the money! Navigate to funds within the Plus500 software.

Then press the Record button.

Illustrative prices

Here you can transfer the money to your bank account. You have to fill in the amount you want to transfer.

How long does it take for your money to be paid out?

It normally takes one to three business days for the money is credited to your account. If it takes longer to withdraw your money you can contact the customer service of Plus500. They can help you with your transaction.

Does Plus500 really pay out?

Plus500 always pays out. The company is listed with the Financial Conduct Authority and because of this regulation they are obliged to deal confidentially with the funds of customers. Profits you achieve and your own deposit can always be withdrawn without conditions. Do you want to know more about the reliability of Plus500? In this article you can read everything you need to know about the reliability of Plus500.

How is your transaction processed?

After you submit the withdrawal request, the amount of your request will be deducted from your balance. Until the request is processed, it can still be cancelled. You can do this yourself. Plus500 can also cancel the withdrawal request when you have open positions and no longer have enough money in your account.

After the withdrawal request is approved, it can no longer be cancelled. The amount will soon be credited to your bank account.Please note that you can only withdraw the unused balance. If there are already open positions, you cannot include the required margin for these positions until you have closed the positions.

eToro review & experiences (2023): is this broker reliable?

In this extensive eToro review, I investigate whether this is a reliable broker. After reading my experiences, you know exactly what the pros  & cons of this broker are.

What are the biggest pros of eToro?

• Comprehensive offer: eToro allows you to trade in cryptos, currencies, stocks, and ETFs in one fell swoop.
• Social trading: at eToro, it is possible to follow other traders, completely automatically!
• No commissions: you don’t pay commissions on stocks & ETFs with eToro.
• Speculation: at eToro you can speculate on falling prices & use leverage.
• User-friendly: eToro’s software is user-friendly.
• Free demo: you can try the possibilities risk-free with a demo.

What are the biggest disadvantages of eToro?

• Withdrawals: you can only withdraw your money from $30 and you pay $5 for this.
• No 24/7 customer service: you can only reach customer service via tickets or chat.
• Dollars only: you can only open a dollar account with eToro.
• Crypto Fees: the 1% transaction fees on crypto are high.

Try eToro for free with a demo!

In the rest of the review, I will share my extensive experiences with the trading platform. Are you wondering if eToro is for you? Then open a free demo account with this broker and trade risk-free with $100,000 in fake money:

What is eToro?

eToro is a trading platform that was launched way back in 2007 by three Israeli entrepreneurs. The company’s focus was initially only on trading currencies, but its options have grown rapidly. By 2023, eToro is active in over 100 countries and has over 20 million users!

Free demo:	Yes
Offer:	Stocks, Cryptos, CFD Commodities, Forex, ETFs
Minimum deposit:	$50
Minimum withdraw:	$30
Deposit money:	Bank transfer, PayPal & credit card
Costs:	Commission free on shares
Exchange costs:	150 pips
Copy trading:	Yes
Costumer service:	Ticket
Account:	Dollar

How can you invest with eToro?

Option 1: investing with eToro

You can use eToro to invest in stocks & ETF’s without paying commissions (other fees applicable).

Option 2: Active trading with eToro

You can also choose to actively trade or speculate on eToro. Speculation is riskier and only suitable for short-term trades. When you speculate, you can use the following options:

• Leverage: you can use leverage that allows you to take a larger position with a small amount of money.
• Falling prices: with a short position, you can speculate on a falling price.

When you trade actively, you use a CFD. Would you like to know more details about how CFDs work? Click here!

How do you open an account with eToro?

Opening a demo account is easy with eToro. You only need to leave your name, E-mail, password, and telephone number.Do you want to trade with real money? Then you need to switch to a live account. The requirements for opening a real money account are a bit stricter. You have to confirm your identity & address. These are European guidelines to prevent customers from using eToro to launder money.eToro also asks you a few questions: in this way, the broker can determine whether you have sufficient knowledge about trading.Do you want to know how opening an account works? Then watch the video below:

Is eToro reliable?

eToro is a reliable broker in my opinion. In my experience, eToro is reliable because:

• 15 years in business: eToro has been around for over 15 years, which is an impressive achievement.
• Regulated: eToro is regulated by the CySEC and FCA.
• 20+ Million Customers: Millions of people worldwide trust the company.
• Segregated funds: Client funds are held separately from eToro’s funds.
• Cold storage: Cryptocurrencies are stored ‘cold’ as much as possible, which is safer.
• Guarantee Fund: Your funds are guaranteed up to $20,000 in the event of problems with eToro.

eToro scores well on Trustpilot

How does eToro make money?

Some people believe eToro must be a scam. After all, how can a broker remain in business when no commissions are charged for stock investments? eToro still makes money in the following ways:

• Crypto Commissions: eToro charges 1% commission on every transaction.
• Interest: eToro may earn interest on customer funds.
• Order flow payment: eToro receives an average of $0.00028 on every transaction
• Spread: eToro makes money by calculating a spread on trades.
• Leverage: eToro charges financing interest when you speculate with borrowed money.
• Other Fees: eToro charges fees for inactive accounts and withdrawals.

eToro does not lend shares, which makes it a more reliable broker.

How does social trading work at eToro?

Unique to eToro is that they enable social trading. eToro is basically a kind of social network where traders come together to discuss the markets. Under each share, you can ask questions and discuss the stock.

Copytrader: follow other traders

With Copytrader you can follow other traders. You can copy the positions that other traders open on eToro into your account.You can see the performance of each trader in detail. Within the copytrader you can see their monthly and yearly return. The overview also states the trader’s risk class. Moreover, you have the opportunity to communicate directly with the trader, which fits perfectly within the social trading concept.There are also some additional settings to protect your account. For example, with eToro you can automatically close your positions when a trader suddenly performs poorly. The great thing about the Copytrader, is that you can use this option without paying extra costs.

Past performance is no guarantee for the future

You do have to be careful when selecting traders to follow:

• Assess the entire trading history: check whether they also show good results in the past.
• Risk appetite: choose traders that fit your risk appetite. Some traders take bigger risks than others.
• Be careful with following trades: it is wise to only follow new trades. Opening the existing trades is risky, as they may have already risen sharply.

Smart Portfolios: spread  your risks

Diversification is an important concept for most traders. By cleverly spreading your trades, you ensure that the risk of your trades decreases sharply. With eToro, you can also decide to follow portfolios. For example, a portfolio can consist of a basket of stocks in a particular sector. Other portfolios consist of multiple traders pursuing a particular strategy.The Smart Portfolio is another way to automate your trading activities with eToro.

Past results are no guarantee for the future

How much does trading with eToro cost?

• No Commissions: You pay no fixed commissions on stocks & ETFs.
• Crypto commission: You pay a 1% commission on all crypto transactions.
• Withdrawing Money: You pay $5 to withdraw money from eToro.
• Inactivity: You pay $10 per month when your account has not been used for a year.
• Spread: You pay a difference between the buy and sell price, read here how this works.
• Conversion Fee: You pay 150 pips, which is equivalent to 0.15% for currency conversion.
• Financing costs: You pay daily interest for keeping CFD positions open.

In my opinion, the fee structure of eToro is favourable. Especially for traders who want to trade small amounts in several shares, the costs are low compared to competitors. Given the high crypto trading costs, however, it is better to use Bitvavo.It is a pity that you have to pay $5 for withdrawing money at eToro. On top of this, you also pay 0,15% when you deposit and withdraw money in a different currency than the dollar.Would you like to read in more details how much trading with eToro costs? Then read this article!

What can you trade in at eToro?

Shares

You can trade in more than 2000 shares at eToro. It is possible to trade in shares & to actively speculate on the share prices. eToro also offers fractional shares: this means that you can buy a small proportion of an Amazon share. This makes more expensive stocks at eToro accessible to traders with a small purse.

ETFs

At eToro, it is also possible to trade in funds. This allows you to trade in the price development of the S&P 500 without paying commissions.

Raw materials

At eToro you can actively speculate in commodities such as oil and gold by using CFDs. This allows you to speculate on both rising and falling prices.

Forex

eToro is also a suitable broker for trading different currencies. Fore trading is also done by using CFD’s.

Crypto

Recently, it is also possible to trade in crypto at eToro. The transaction costs of 1% are high compared to the competition. I prefer to trade at Bitvavo, where I only pay 0.25%.

How is eToro’s software?

An important part of any review is a broker’s software. In this part of the review, I share my experiences with the eToro software.

User-friendliness software

eToro’s software is very user-friendly. You can quickly find all the assets within the software by using the search function. The icons make everything very visual, which makes it easier to recognize the different stocks.Opening a trading position is also user-friendly. You search for the relevant share, press buy, and before you know it you have opened the position.

Charts and Technical Analysis

A strong point of eToro are the graphs. You can add different technical indicators within the software that can help you make trading decisions with confidence. You can draw horizontal levels, with which you can determine at what time it is attractive to buy or sell a share.

Background information

Another strong point within the review, is the that you can request all kinds of background information. You can find a written analysis for many traded shares. You can also find important figures about the company & you can see whether other traders are buying or selling the share.

Deposit & withdraw money at eToro

As soon as your account is confirmed, you can deposit money: this is possible from as little as $50. You can deposit money via all known methods: bank transfer and credit card are among the possibilities.

Is it safe to deposit money with eToro?

Depositing money with eToro is safe in my experience. Customers’ money is kept in separate accounts to protect it in case of bankruptcy. eToro therefore cannot trade with costumers funds.

Withdraw money from eToro

Withdrawing money with eToro is a straightforward process! It is a pity that unless you are a Platinum, Platinum+ or Diamond member, you have to pay $5 to withdraw money. This is especially expensive when you trade with only $50: the withdrawal costs are then 10%!

How to buy shares in eToro?

In this part of the review, I’ll show you how to buy a stock via eToro. First select the stock you want to buy and press the B to buy.Then the order screen opens with which you can buy the share.

Buy or sell (1)

You can choose to buy or sell a security. When you buy you are speculating on a rising price and when you sell you are speculating on a falling price. Kindly note that you can only sell (= go short) by using CFDs.

Amount (2)

Decide which amount of money you want to invest in the specific stock. At eToro it is also possible to trade in fractional shares: you can therefore also enter an amount that is lower than the price of the share.

Stop loss & take profit (3)

A stop loss is a price level at which you automatically take your loss. You can also use a take profit to automatically take your profit at a certain level.

Leverage (4)

When you want to trade, leave the leverage at X1. You then buy the stock, and you can hold it for the long term.It is also possible to use a leverage. You then speculate on the share price with a CFD. Note that when you use leverage, both the potential profit and the potential loss increase.

Trade or order (5)

With trading, you immediately open the position at the prevailing market price: this is also called a market order.You can also place a limit order: you set the price at which you want to buy or sell the share.

Would you like to learn in detail how trading at eToro works? Then read the eToro tutorial!

How does the eToro club work?

With eToro, you automatically become a member of the eToro club when you have a large amount of money in your account. eToro distinguishes the following levels:

• Silver: $5,000
• Gold: $10,000
• Platinum: $25,000
• Platinum+: $50,000
• Diamond: $250,000

With the silver level you can participate in live webinars, get a daily market overview and receive an 85% stake on your cryptocurrencies.With the gold level, you also get weekly market analysis.When you reach the platinum level, you don’t pay any more withdrawal costs, and you receive a 50% discount on the conversion costs. You can then use the Trading Central research and analysis platform and receive a free subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Finally, as a platinum member, you will receive a personal account manager.As a Platinum+ member, you will receive invitations to special events and tickets to sporting events. You will also get access to financial publications.As a Diamond member, you receive premium access to financial publications, and you receive access to the special Diamond events. Finally, as a Diamond member, you also receive a discount on your crypto costs.

How is eToro’s customer service?

Unfortunately, eToro customer service is not available by phone. When you have a question, you have to manually open a ticket. Only when you trade with large amounts, you get a personal account manager.

Conclusion review: how reliable is eToro?

I am very enthusiastic about eToro. The possibilities with this broker are enormous: you can trade in a wide range of trading products, and you can use various technical analysis tools. Unique to eToro is its social trading, which allows you to follow other members. I also think it’s great that they offer commission-free trading.Are you interested in eToro? Then open a (demo) account right away and discover if eToro is right for you:

eToro Frequently Asked Questions

Risk Warning eToro

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

How do brokers earn money?

It is sometimes surprising how brokers can make money when you consider that they often do not charge commissions at all. How on earth can they make a profit? In this article we look at how brokers actually make money from the investments that you make with them.

Spread

CFD brokers usually do not charge a commission on opening positions. They achieve the greatest profit by calculating a spread. The spread is the difference between the buy and sell price, usually these prices are the same.However, for a buying position brokers charge a higher price and for a sales position a lower price. For example, if the spread on a lot GBP/USD is 1 pip, the broker already earns 10 US dollars immediately on this transaction. Read more about the spread in the article about transaction costs.Brokers also do hedges, whereby they settle positions internally. In this way there are actually no risks for the broker (they do not lose money on the position) while no transaction costs have to be paid. You can read more about the hedging of positions in the article on how brokers hedge their positions.Looking for a broker? Take a look at our overview of the best brokers!

Other income from the assets

Moreover, the assets you deposit with the broker also generate money. The money will, of course, be kept in a bank account and the broker will receive a certain interest on the total capital. In addition, dividends are regularly received on shares and, depending on the broker’s policy, it will pay this dividend or retain it itself. Nowadays, most brokers simply pay the dividend to the customer.Did you know that brokers may use a certain percentage of the assets to buy and sell securities themselves? Brokers will therefore be happy to buy liquid stocks like Apple and Google, as these are easy to ultimately sell. These shares can then be allocated to customers who occasionally order some shares. That way they do not have to go to the market for every small transaction.

Brokers earn real money!

So don’t worry about the brokers; they really know how to make money. Do not feel guilty if a broker promises you free money, they ultimately get it back. They can earn thousands and thousands of pounds from a customer in the long term and that is why they are only too happy to promote customer loyalty. Make the most of it!

A visit to the office of Plus500

Last summer I travelled through Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. Of course I will not bother you here with travel stories about adventures in a hot desert. Coincidentally though the Plus500 headquarters can be found in Haifa in Israel, and they were kind enough to receive me and some friends. In this article I will give you a short impression of the Plus500 office.What immediately struck us is that they are very hospitable at Plus500. They did not only pay for our dinner, but also for taxis to and from the office, and they arranged an extensive lunch for us in their conference room.Then we were given a tour of all the departments of the company. What is immediately noticeable is that all the employees are very cheerful. This is understandable when you consider that everyone can eat free ice cream and that there is a PlayStation in the hallway.At one point we also met the CEO of Plus500 and the founders of the company. It is nice to see how the entire atmosphere at Plus500 is informal; even the owners of the company, who sometimes own hundreds of millions in Plus500 shares, simply walk around in normal shirts. The oldest staff member is 35; it is therefore clearly a young company.All in all, it is impressive what Plus500 has achieved, especially when you consider that they have only existed since 2008 and already have a market value of hundreds of millions. The visit to the company was nice, and it gave me even more confidence in the reliability of Plus500.Now that I have seen who is working at Plus500, I want to work with them even more. Below you can see a photo of the company’s customer service team.Click here to open a (demo) account at Plus500 >> ( CFD service, 82% of retail investors lose money with CFD’s)

DEGIRO review: my experiences with this broker

In this review you can read everything you need to know about the broker DEGIRO. In the short DEGIRO manual we will show how you can open your first trade with DEGIRO. We will also discuss the fees that DEGIRO charges their costumers. By combining this information you can quickly decide whether DEGIRO is right for you. Do you want to compare DEGIRO with other brokers? Check out our brokers compare page!

DEGIRO review conclusion

We thoroughly tested the possibilities at DEGIRO for this review. In our opinion DEGIRO is a great broker to buy and sell shares with. DEGIRO is especially attractive because of the relative low fees they charge. The software of DEGIRO is user-friendly, but does not offer many analysis options. DEGIRO will be a great choice for many investors.Do you want to open an account with DEGIRO? Use the button to open an account with this broker directly:

What are the biggest advantages of DEGIRO?

• DEGIRO is one of the cheapest brokers available.
• Opening an account with DEGIRO is 100% free.
• The software is user-friendly and easy to use.
• Depositing and withdrawing money goes smoothly.

What are the biggest disadvantages of DEGIRO?

• DEGIRO is not the best fit for active traders.
• The options for analyses are fairly limited.

DEGIRO extensive review

We start the article with an extensive review of DEGIRO. If you want to read more about a specific functionality of this broker you can quickly navigate to the section by pressing one of the links:

• Opening an account: how can you open an account with DEGIRO?
• Software DEGIRO: what is the quality of the software?
• DEGIRO fees: what are the costs of investing with DEGIRO?
• Open a trade: how do you open an investment with DEGIRO?
• DEGIRO cheap: why is DEGIRO so cheap?
• Deposit money: how can you deposit money with DEGIRO?
• Costumer service: how is the support of DEGIRO?
• For whom is DEGIRO suitable? 

How does opening an account with DEGIRO work?

Opening an account at DEGIRO is easy. To start, you only need to enter a login name and password.After you have created an account, you will need to provide some additional information. All brokers are required to check whether the holder of the account actually exists. This way, brokers prevent criminals or terrorists from using the accounts to launder money. At DEGIRO you can choose from different types of accounts. We discuss these types of accounts here briefly:

Regular account

With a regular account, you can trade in all known securities. With a regular account, DEGIRO can lend your shares to third parties. Other parties regularly borrow shares to take a short position. When you take a short position on a share, you can make money on a falling price. DEGIRO receives a fee for the lending of the shares. This is not entirely without risk: the other party can go bankrupt and in theory you can then lose your shares. Fortunately, this rarely happens in practice.

Custody account

Personally, I feel the risk is limited and that is why I created a regular account at DEGIRO. But if you want to minimize the risks, you can choose to create a custody account. DEGIRO is not allowed to lend the shares within a custody account to third parties. A disadvantage of the custody account are the costs charged for receiving dividends.

Active trader account

You can also open an account for active trading at DEGIRO. With this account, you can trade in riskier derivatives. You also get more freedom: you can for example trade using margin. It is then possible to have a negative balance. However, you do have to pay interest on this balance.In many cases, it is not advisable to use the margin. Invest only with money you can really afford to lose. Moreover, when you owe money, you must pay interest, and the return on your investments has to be a lot higher to achieve a good result. In any case, DEGIRO is less suited to active trade. If you wish to speculate, it is better open to an account with Plus500 or eToro.

What is the quality of the software?

At DEGIRO you make all your investments by using their online trading platform. The basic functionalities are present and opening or closing an order is fairly easy. However, you shouldn’t expect miracles when it comes to the software.The analysis options are quite limited. When you visit a company’s company profile, you see some basic information about that stock. You can read a short description with general information about the company, and you can determine the earnings per share. If you want to make more extensive analysis, you need to use other external websites. The lack of extra information is therefore a disadvantage within this review.

Technical analysis

At DEGIRO you can perform technical analysis. The options are sufficient: you can choose from dozens of indicators that you can go back up to ten years. Besides these indicators, DEGIRO does not offer any other forms of advice or education. 

Dividend and information

Dividends are automatically added to your account. In my opinion, the provision of information within the online software could be even better. It is sometimes unclear when, for example, dividends are credited. The DEGIRO software could be more user-friendly in this regard.

Mobile platform

You can also invest using DEGIRO’s mobile trading platform. The mobile application has roughly the same functionalities as the online web trader. You can place orders and place shares in your favourites list with the mobile platform. The mobile platform makes it possible to track your investments on the road and you can make some adjustments if necessary. The mobile platform, like the web trader, is not very extensive, but offers the functionalities that you can expect. The mobile platform scores as sufficient in our review.

How high are the trading fees with DEGIRO?

The current cost of DEGIRO are clearly visible on the broker’s website under fees. DEGIRO does not charge any custodial fees: you only pay for the investments you execute. The same fee applies for every (stock) transaction. There is usually a fixed part and a variable part. The fixed part does not change regardless of the number of securities you purchase, but the variable part obviously does.For example, if you buy UK shares with DEGIRO you pay £1.75 + 0.014%. If you open a position for £1,000, you would pay £1.89 in transaction costs. If you open a position with a total value of £10,000 this increase to £3.15.Do you want to know how high the costs are for different investment products at DEGIRO? In this part of the article you can discover which fees you pay for each investment product:

• Shares
• Index funds
• Bonds
• Options
• Futures
• Currency costs
• Interest fees
• Costs for live share prices
• Fees for short positions
• Costs of a deficit
• Exceptional fees

How much do you pay in fees on shares?

The low cost is a positive point in this review. On UK shares you pay £1.75 + 0.014% which is a lot lower than most competitors. The maximum cost you pay is £5. German, Canadian and US stocks can also be traded at DEGIRO. The costs on the more exotic exchanges such as those of Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore are significantly higher.

What are the costs of ETF’s or index funds?

A big advantage of DEGIRO is that you can invest in many index funds without transaction fees. To do so, you must invest in a core selection ETF. These are, for example, the FundShare funds. With an index fund, you can monitor a market or sector at low cost. This can be an attractive way to build equity. It is advisable to take a look at the terms and conditions for this promotion on the website of DEGIRO.On newly listed investment funds, you do pay higher transaction costs. You pay €7,5 + 0,1% or in some cases even €75 + 0.1%. So, be careful and pay close attention to the type of fund you are purchasing!

What are the costs of bonds?

You also pay low costs on bonds at DEGIRO. However, it is important to note that the choices are somewhat limited. At this moment you can only buy Dutch, Belgium, Portuguese, French and German bonds. Bonds from the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and France can be traded at €2 + 0.06%. German bonds are more expensive at €5 + 0.05% and some more exotic bonds are traded at even higher rates. So, be careful when you want to buy exotic bonds!

What are the costs on stock options?

The cost per contract on Eurex shares (Germany) is €0,75. One contract covers 100 shares, the cost per share is then €0.0075 which is very reasonable. German, Belgian, French and Portuguese options are also cheap to trade with DEGIRO.On U.S. options, you pay only $0.50 per contract at DEGIRO. However, additional stock prices may be charged. For example, you pay €5 for using the market. Even if you only buy one share, you have to pay this amount monthly. Trading US options can therefore become expensive for small investors.

How much does executing an option cost?

To execute an option you pay €1 per contract at DEGIRO. In most cases, it is more attractive to simply sell the option.

How much does investing in futures cost?

On futures listed in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris you pay €2,5 per contract. It is also possible to invest in American futures. The transaction fee for U.S. futures is $0.50 per contract. However, you will have to pay another $5 per calendar month to take advantage of the US market.

What are the currency costs?

To convert currencies, you normally pay 0.1%. So, when you buy shares in dollars, you immediately lose 0.1%. It is possible to convert currencies manually. You will pay €10 + 0.02% which can be cheaper in large transactions. If you can buy the share in your currency, this is always advisable.

What are the interest costs?

When you borrow money, you pay interest on it. Britain shares are 1.25% above LIBOR. This is cheaper than consumer credit, but can cause your return to fall significantly. Therefore, be careful to invest with borrowed money at DEGIRO.

How much do you pay for quotes?

The Amsterdam, German and American quotes (CME only) are completely free at DEGIRO. For the live quotes at other exchanges you must often pay. The costs vary from a few euros to €10.50. Do you want to trade on a foreign exchange? Then it is important to first consider how much you must pay for quotes.

What are the costs of short positions?

At DEGIRO you can also take a short position on a share. You are then speculating on a drop in the stock price. The rates for this vary depending on the risk of the share. On low-risk stocks you pay 1% and on high-risk stocks you pay 2%.

How much do you pay in case of a deficit?

When trading on margin, you may have to deal with a deficit. The costs of a persistent deficit are €50 + 0.5%. If you exceed the margin by 125% you pay €100 + 1%. So, it’s important to make sure you do not exceed the margin on your account.

Are there any other exceptional costs?

Transferring a portfolio to DEGIRO costs €10 per position. When you place orders over the phone, this costs £8,5 extra. Processing dividends is free. When you opt for stock dividends, you pay €7.50 in fees. To subscribe to emissions you pay €2 + 0.02%. Transferring money is free.For every stock exchange you trade on you also pay €2,5 in connection fees. This is a disadvantage for smaller traders, since it can drive up your transaction fees.

Conclusion: fees at DEGIRO

The fees are a positive point in our test of DEGIRO. Of all professional English brokers, DEGIRO offers investing at the lowest rates. Therefore, DEGIRO is suitable for building a portfolio.

What are the trading options at DEGIRO?

One of the most important elements in a broker’s assessment are of course the trading options. At DEGIRO you have many investment options. You can choose from 60 stock exchanges which makes it possible to invest in more exotic countries like Turkey or New Zealand.At DEGIRO you can between various investment products: from shares to funds and from leveraged products to bonds. At DEGIRO you can most probably find the security you want to invest in.

How can you place an order at DEGIRO?

I have already made some transactions with DEGIRO’s software. In my opinion, the software can be somewhat more user-friendly, but generally does what it has to do.After you have deposited money you can search for the asset you want to invest in. I have carried out profitable transactions with DEGIRO in Plus500 and ABN AMRO shares. You can see the results of these transactions with DEGIRO below:When you want to open a position, you first must find the right security. With the search function, you can easily find the security you want to trade in. You can search by entering the name, the ISIN or Securities Identification Number or by using the symbol. After you found the security you can press the buy button to open an investment.Many shares are traded on multiple exchanges. It is always advisable to select the stock exchange that lists stocks In your currency. When your account is for example listed in euros, it is cheaper to trade shares listed in euros. When you buy shares in another currency, you will have to pay additional transaction fees to exchange your euros for dollars. In addition, you will have to deal with an exchange rate risk.Before you buy the stock, you need to provide some additional details. Within the order screen you can indicate how many shares you want to buy. You can also select the type of order. With a limit order you only buy the share at a certain price. With a  market order you buy the share regardless of the current price. You can then indicate whether the order should apply continuously or only during the day in question. You can also place an order for a certain amount if you only find it attractive to buy the stock at a lower rate.If you want to protect funds, you can choose to enter a stop loss.  A stop loss is a value on which you automatically close the position. After you buy a share, you must create a separate order to automatically close it at a predetermined loss.After you opened your position, you can find it under your open positions:Do you want to sell your investment? Then all you have to do is press the sell button. With a market order, you will sell the securities at the current price.

How can DEGIRO be so cheap?

DEGIRO is a cheap broker that offers investing against low rates. How is it possible that DEGIRO is so cheap?This is due to various decisions the company has made. The main reason for their cheap services is the fact that they have an extremely efficient IT structure and that they build all of their software in-houseDEGIRO also regularly lends securities; this is necessary to make it possible for customers to open short positions. Borrowing securities involves a small risk. It is however possible to disable this functionality. When you open a custody account instead of a normal account DEGIRO will not lend your securities to another party. A big disadvantage of this account type, is the fact that you pay extra costs when you receive dividends.Finally, DEGIRO is working on obtaining economies of scale. At the moment, DEGIRO is active in roughly eighteen countries. By dividing the offices over a larger number of customers, the operational costs per transaction can be significantly reduced and this can help keep the prices low. However, DEGIRO does not have a significant market share in every country yet.

How can you deposit money with DEGIRO?

You can deposit money on your account at ANY time with DEGIRO. You can do this via the button book money in & out. You can then deposit money into your account by transferring money from your bank into your investment account. When you choose iDEAL, the money is deposited into your account directly. You do not have to wait to invest.You can withdraw money at any time. In fact, you can transfer money to your bank account. It is only possible to withdraw the balance of your account. If you want to withdraw the amount of your portfolio, you must first sell the securities. The money is booked out smoothly and always hits your account within a few days. For that reason, depositing and withdrawing money is a strong point in this review.

Costumer service

DEGIRO can be reached both by telephone and e-mail. During downtime, you can always reach them quickly. When the markets are very volatile, DEGIRO sometimes has problems keeping track. For example, during the corona crisis, they can only be reached in English and indicate that it is better to send an e-mail. For that reason, their response time has increased significantly.The customer service is of good quality when it works. However, I believe that they must be able to cope with special market conditions. For that reason, they only receive a sufficient score for their customer service in our review.

How safe is DEGIRO?

DEGIRO keeps customers’ assets on separate accounts. When DEGIRO unexpectedly goes bankrupt, your money should be safe there. The money you deposit will also be placed in a separate fund. DEGIRO cannot touch this money unnecessarily. An investor compensation system even exists. If DEGIRO were to break these rules, you would receive a refund of up to €20,000.The fact that DEGIRO has been around for over 10 years and serves more than 500,000 customers is also a good sign. For that reason, it is safe to deposit money with Plus500. I have been a customer with DEGIRO for a long time myself and I have never come across any shady dealings. Investing at DEGIRO is in my opinion therefore 100% safe.

Regulation

DEGIRO is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the Dutch National Bank (DNB). In addition, you can find DEGIRO in the register of the Chamber of Commerce under number 34342820.

Education and guidance

At DEGIRO you can find some information about investing within the investor academy.  The videos on their website are clear and can help you on your way. However, there is no advanced information available that can help you make in making investment decisions. In the field of education and guidance, DEGIRO does not score remarkably high in this review.

For whom is DEGIRO suitable?

DEGIRO is suitable for the private investor who has some assets. DEGIRO is a broker for the purchase of investment products for the long term. At DEGIRO you can, for example, buy popular stocks or trade in the Dow Jones.In addition to these standard products it is also able possible to trade in bonds, options and index funds. The range of products is very extensive and the transaction costs are low. This makes it possible to start investing with small amounts of money.

The biggest benefits of DEGIRO

• DEGIRO is one of the cheapest brokers available.
• It is possible to invest worldwide on different exchanges.
• There are no hidden costs: opening an account is 100% free.
• It is possible to use a margin to invest with more money than you deposit.

Conclusion of review: investing In DEGIRO?

DEGIRO is a relatively new company with a strong drive to expand. Thanks to the cheap services and the basic yet simple software, it is possible for private individuals to invest advantageously in stocks with a modest budget. If you are looking for a broker with few bells and whistles and where you get value for money, DEGIRO is a solid choice.Do you want to open an account with DEGIRO? Click on the button below and open a free account directly:

Invest safely with a foreign broker

Investing is borderless, making it possible for broker parties to offer investment accounts all over the world. Can you invest safely with a foreign account? And what must you pay attention to when you want to invest with a foreign broker?

Research the broker

When investing abroad, it is especially important to research the broker carefully. Do you want to know what the best parties are for online investing? Then take a look at our list of best brokers:

Registration

In Europe, a foreign broker only needs to be registered in one European country to be able to offer its services anywhere. Some financial regulators take their work more seriously than others. It may therefore be a good idea to check carefully whether the company is not running a scam.The same applies for countries outside of Europe: with a single registration, a broker can offer provide their services in many other countries.Never invest with parties who promise guaranteed returns. Remember that when you invest with a foreign party, you can lose your entire deposit, like always.

Pros and cons of investing abroad

Foreign brokers can sometimes offer better trading conditions without limiting investment opportunities. Moreover, foreign brokers often offer better access to local markets.However, it can be more difficult to contact a foreign broker. Therefore, always check whether and how you can reach the broker. In any case, it is important that you can speak to the broker’s staff in a language you are comfortable with.

Check the financial supervisor

Many brokers have their headquarters in Cyprus; this location is often chosen because of the tax advantages. However, this does not mean that the broker is not licensed by a regulator. Take for example the broker Plus500; its head office is located in Haifa. However, the broker does have an official registration with the Financial Conduct Authority, the financial watchdog of England.If a broker is registered with a foreign watchdog, it is important to find out what the rules of this regulator are. For example, up to what amount is your money secure with the broker? In the rare event that a broker goes bankrupt, it is important to know what happens to your money.

Double-check the reliability

With a foreign broker, it is especially important to check the reliability. Therefore, look up more information about the broker online. Furthermore, check what the rules of the relevant regulator are regarding the investment account. In this way, you can avoid unpleasant surprises.

Securing money of customers

Fortunately, most brokers take adequate measures to safeguard customer funds. For example, at Plus500, investors’ money is held in separate accounts and the company does not invest with these funds. As a result, in the event of the broker’s failure, the money will not be lost.

Is Plus 500 reliable?

Many people wonder if Plus500 is a reliable broker. I have been trading for over a year with Plus500 and in all that time I haven’t had any problems. In this article, we discuss the reliability of this broker, so you can decide if you are going to take the plunge and start trading with them.

Plus500 reliability check

• Plus500 is listed on the London stock exchange.
• Try trading with Plus500 risk-free with a demo
• Plus500UK has a licence with the FCA (#509909)
• Plus500CY Ltd authorized & regulated by CySEC (#250/14)

Plus500 is 100% reliable, according to our research. Do you want to try out the possibilities for free with a demo? Use the button below to open a demo account immediately:

Many people are negative about Plus500 because they don’t understand the program properly. Illustrative prices.

What is Plus500?

Plus500 is an online broker where you can trade in CFD’s on shares, commodities and Forex. With Plus500 you trade using the innovative WebTrader. By using orders you can largely automate your trading activities.

You can trade with Plus500 from just $100. In addition, you can try trading the possibilities risk-free with an unlimited demo of $40,000. By using the demo you can test whether Plus500 is a reliable broker.

Is the reliability of Plus500 guaranteed?

Plus500 is a professional broker. You can ascertain if a broker is reliable by checking if it is registered with a regulatory institution. Plus500 is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Conduct Authority. CySEC regulator is the regulator for Europe while FCA is the official regulatory insitution for England. Client funds are kept in segregated bank accounts in accordance with the regulatory authorities.

Negative experiences?

If you look at reviews of brokers, you will usually find a few negative experiences. Some of these ‘experiences’ are posted by competitors. When a broker wants to defeat the competition, they will sometimes act unethically to try to get ahead. The majority of the negative experiences found on the internet are from unhappy starting traders.Many people don’t understand the risks of trading and go all-in right away. When they lose their money, they get frustrated and this frustration usually results in lashing out at the broker Plus500. If you are looking for objective reviews, be sure to check professional websites.

How does Plus500 make money?

Many people think it’s suspicious that Plus500 offers a free demo to customers. However, this is not surprising: when you can try out the possibilities for free, you are much more likely to become a customer.

Plus500 does not always charge commissions. This is because they make money from the spread. On each transaction there is a difference between the buy and sell price of a CFD. By charging a small spread they can make a few cents on each traded CFD share.

Where is Plus500 located?

The headquarters of Plus500 can be found in Haifa, a beautiful coastal town in Israel. The company has grown considerably and has offices in London and Sydney.

It is also nice to know that you can invest in Plus500 shares yourself. In recent years, the shares have performed well. The company has achieved profitable results until 2020.When you start trading at Plus500, you start your trading activities at a solid and reliable company.

Is your money secure at Plus500?

All client funds are held in segregated client bank accounts in accordance with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission’s (CySEC) client fund rules.

In the worst-case scenario, Plus500UK is even connected to the so-called Financial Services Compensation Scheme or FSCS. In the event of the bankruptcy of a financial institution, they will compensate investors up to 85,000 British pounds.

Plus500 is reliable

Plus500 is a reliable broker and the Financial Conduct Authority makes sure it stays that way. I have been trading with Plus500 for a while, and they always pay you within a few days. Since it always keeps its clients’ money in a separate account, you can be assured that your money is secure. Apart from that, you can try out Plus500 completely risk-free by signing up for a free demo account.It is important that you find out which broker you feel comfortable with. Look at our overview of the best brokers and open demo accounts with several providers. This way you can try them out completely risk-free!82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Broker selection: how to choose a good broker?

When you start investing, it is important to choose a good broker. In this article, we will give you some tips that you can use in selecting the broker that suits you best.

What do you look for when choosing a broker?

• Is the broker cheap? Check the transaction fees!
• Is the software user-friendly? This helps you to get started quickly.
• Is it possible to try everything for free with a demo?
• Can you invest in all known stocks and commodities?

On Trading.info we have set up an extensive comparison, so you can immediately see what we think are the best brokers. Use the button below to directly compare brokers:

How actively do you want to invest?

An important question to answer for yourself is whether you want to trade very actively or whether you want to build a portfolio. If your goal is to achieve a fixed return, building a portfolio is the best choice. In that case, you can use a broker like DEGIRO or eToro.

If you want to trade actively, you should choose a broker where you can trade CFDs. CFDs are designed for short-term speculation. At an internet broker, you can actively trade at lower transaction costs. Thanks to the presence of a leverage, it is even possible to actively trade with lower amounts.

Pay attention to the broker’s fees

The transaction costs on investments are essential for the final result. Many investors focus on returns, and forget about costs. Yet, a few percentage points can make a huge difference over a longer period. It is therefore worthwhile comparing different brokers in terms of costs.When choosing a broker, it is also important to look at the other costs. Some brokers have low transaction costs, but then charge a lot of extra fees. This means that the costs at a ‘cheaper broker‘ can suddenly be much higher. For example, some brokers charge extra for paying dividends or transferring securities. Therefore, pay close attention to the extra conditions of a broker.There is also an increasing number of brokers who allow you to trade without commissions. Also, with ‘free’ brokers it is important to study whether the broker is beneficial. At brokers where you trade without commissions, the difference between the buy and sell price of a share is often greater. As a result, with small amounts it is often more beneficial to trade with a broker without fixed commissions, while with larger amounts, it may be better to trade with a broker with fixed commissions.In the article Cheap Investing you can read where you can invest against low fees.

Costs can significantly reduce the final return.

Take a look at the broker’s investment products

Not all brokers offer the same securities. Therefore, first think about what you mainly want to use the broker for. Make a list of the different securities you want to trade. Then you can compare the different brokers in this field. It may even be wise to compare the exact costs per broker. This way, you can determine whether the broker you have in mind is indeed the most advantageous for your investment plans.

Check reliability

When you place an order, it is naturally important that it is executed quickly. With most large brokers, this is indeed the case. Downtime can be quite a burden when you want to buy or sell a certain investment quickly. It may therefore be wise to investigate how reliable the broker’s software is.The financial institution to which the broker belongs can also be an indication of its reliability. UK brokers, for example, fall under the as a result of which they must comply with all kinds of strict requirements. Foreign brokers may fall under a different authority, which means that other rules may apply. Therefore, always check carefully whether the broker is reliable, especially with foreign brokers.Also check whether customer assets are properly segregated. This will ensure that you do not lose your assets or investments if the broker goes bankrupt.

Support is important

When choosing a broker, support is also important. Most brokers offer at least email support. With the more expensive brokers, it is usually also possible to contact them by telephone. Brokers differ on the support languages that are available, but practically all of them offer support in English.

Research the software

When selecting a broker, it is also wise to take a look at the broker’s software. The functionalities and the user-friendliness of the software of the various brokers sometimes differ. That is why you should first have a look at the broker’s software before you actually deposit money. After all, it is important that you can place orders quickly and that you understand how to manage your investments.

Plus500’s software is very user-friendly. Illustrative prices.

Brokerage options

Finally, the specific capabilities of the broker are quite important. Brokers distinguish themselves more and more by offering special functionalities. At Plus500, for example, you trade through a user-friendly software system. The user-friendliness of the software makes executing a trade a lot easier.At Markets.com it is also possible to use the advanced MetaTrader for intensive technical analysis. At other brokers, you can trade automatically through the innovative ZuluTrade platform, so you don’t have to make difficult financial decisions yourself.Other brokers distinguish themselves by a high level of education. Some brokers also offer a free demo, so you can try out the possibilities without risk. Think about the extra options you need and cross out the brokers that don’t offer them.

View the conditions

Also investigate whether there are any special conditions that could be detrimental to you as an investor. At some brokers your securities are lent to other parties. This increases the risk of your investment.Some brokers also charge extra fees for paying dividends or making a deposit. Therefore, when selecting a good broker, always check whether the broker has any disadvantageous conditions.

Shares or a fund?

When choosing a broker, also consider whether you want to invest in shares yourself or whether you want to put a periodic amount in a fund. Not every broker is equally suitable for every investment product. At some brokers, for instance, you can invest in all kinds of funds at very low rates, while at other brokers you can buy shares at low rates.

Pay attention to the financial characteristics

When selecting a broker, it is also advisable to pay attention to other financial characteristics. For example, does the broker have a minimum deposit? At some providers, you can only invest with thousands of pounds.Some people want to invest on margin; discover what the maximum margin is and what the requirements are for this.

Choosing a broker

There are quite a few factors that are important when selecting a good broker. Ultimately, it is important to choose a broker that suits your requirements. Therefore, compare the brokers that offer the possibilities you need and finally choose the party with the most advantageous rate. In our broker section, you can take a look at different brokers and compare them on various factors, so you can make an informed choice.

ZuluTrade review: is ZuluTrade a reliable party?

Is your bank balance not growing fast enough but don’t you feel like investing yourself? In that case, the new automatic investment option is an ideal option for you! At ZuluTrade dozens of professional investors offer their investments and thanks to the innovative software you can automatically take over the investments within your account. In this extensive review we explain if ZuluTrade is a good investment platform.

What are the advantages of ZuluTrade?

• Automatic investing: you do not have to select investments yourself.
• Good protection against losses: follow an investor automatically in the event of a high loss.
• The platform is fully localized in 20+ languages and the software is very user-friendly.
• You can invest automatically at ZuluTrade from as little as $100.
• You can try out the possibilities unlimited with a demo.

Investing at ZuluTrade is attractive for the investor who wants to benefit from active trading, without making the decisions themselves. It is recommended to first try the possibilities for free with a demo. In this way you will discover for yourself whether you can achieve good results with investments at ZuluTrade. Use the button below to directly open an account with ZuluTrade:

How does the ZuluTrade platform work?

ZuluTrade is a platform you can use to automatically open trades within your trading account. ZuluTrade has a platform where thousands of traders try to make the best trades available to you. When you follow successful traders, you can achieve good results with your ZuluTrade investments.

Investors on the platform do not deliver their trading signals without reason. They usually invest with their money, which gives them a good motivation to achieve good results. In addition, the investor receives a small commission for each investment opened. This commission increases when the investment is opened with more followers: this creates a healthy motivation among investors to achieve good results. Good results give the signal provider more followers and more money.The investors on ZuluTrade always try to achieve the best results as this is how they earn the most money. You can learn how to invest, and the best members on this website have spent a large part of their lives doing so. By opening a free account on the site you can start tracking these investors right away.

How does automatic trading work at ZuluTrade?

The principle of automatic investing at ZuluTrade is simple. On the website you will find several people interested in Forex trading or currency trading. These people like to share their trades and earn some extra money. These investors are called signal providers.

You can follow these signal providers with an amount of $100 or more. When the signal provider opens a position, the position also opens automatically within your account. This gives you the same results as the investor you are following.

How can you try ZuluTrade yourself?

On the ZuluTrade website you can open a demo account completely free of charge. When you press open an account you can choose to start working with a live account or to open a demo first. With a demo, you can start immediately: you will receive a virtual amount and your results will be 100% fictitious. For this review, we opened both a demo and a real account: opening an account is not difficult.

Automatic selection

You can use ZuluTrade’s algorithms to automatically follow a selection of providers that suit you. Within our review of the platform, this is a useful feature, especially for novice investors.With the risk scan, you can immediately indicate the level of risk you want to take. The algorithm then calculates a combination of traders that fits your risk profile.

Self-selection of signal providers

Of course, you can also choose to select traders yourself. If you want to select traders yourself, it is often best to go for the top traders. In this section you’ll find the signal providers who deliver the best results. You can examine the following data in the overview:

• ROI: how much did the signal provider earn in relation to the first deposit?
• Drawdown: what is the maximum loss the trader has ever had on open positions at any one time.
• Graphic progression: a smooth, equivalent graphical progression indicates that investments are developing steadily.
• Followers: how many people are following the account?
• Capital: how much capital is following the trader?

If you are interested in the signal provider, you can visit the profile. Within the profile you will see much more detailed information about the signal provider. There you can see exactly how the results have developed and how risky the provider is. If you have confidence in the qualities of the signal provider, you can choose to follow them.When you follow a signal provider, the trades are automatically opened within your account. You can in any case pay attention to the following when selecting signal providers:

• High win rate: the signal provider must win at least 30% of the trades.
• Long-term positive ROI: in the long term the provider achieves a positive result
• Experience: the signal provider has carried out at least 100 trades.
• Drawdown: the provider’s drawdown is limited.

How can you invest with real money at ZuluTrade?

After you have tested the possibilities, you can choose to follow other providers with real money. To do this, you need to link your ZuluTrade account with a broker. After you have opened an account with ZuluTrade, you can also open an account with a broker the company works with.The most advantageous broker where you can open an account is AAFx. At AAFx you benefit from favourable rates for the transaction costs, allowing you to achieve a higher return. After you have linked the account you can keep track of the results within your ZuluTrade account.Investing with ZuluTrade happens automatically, but it is important to keep a close eye on the results. With ZuluTrade you can automatically stop following investors when they suddenly lose a lot of money. However, it is also wise to regularly evaluate the results and risks: in this way you avoid losing your entire investment with ZuluTrade.

Successful investing with ZuluTrade

When you decide to automatically start investing, you no longer have to make complicated decisions about whether to purchase certain securities. However, you do have to decide which investors you trust handling your money. Of course, it is important to look at long-term returns. On ZuluTrade, you can see at a glance how an investor’s return has developed.When composing your signal providers, take the risk into account. Check whether the graph is (almost) smooth and check whether the provider has a not too strong a drawdown. Drawdown is the maximum loss of open positions within a given period of time. A drawdown that is too high carries a high risk: this can be a sign that the signal provider is leaving positions open for a long time until they become profitable again.When the drawdown rises, you may even face a margin call. A margin call occurs when you no longer have enough money in your broker account. You may then lose the full amount of your deposit.

Investing in cryptocurrencies with ZuluTrade

It has also recently become possible to invest in cryptocurrencies at ZuluTrade. Cryptocurrencies offer many opportunities for achieving high returns. In 2020, for example, the Bitcoin rose by hundreds of percent when investors started looking for safe havens under the influence of the corona pandemic. When you don’t have the knowledge, it can be difficult to take advantage of these developments.Luckily, ZuluTrade also has several experienced cryptocurrency traders that you can follow. This way you can benefit from active cryptocurrency trading even when you don’t have a lot of time.

Is ZuluTrade reliable?

You may wonder if ZuluTrade is reliable. For this review, we have of course extensively investigated the reliability of ZuluTrade, and we came to the conclusion that ZuluTrade is reliable. The platform and the brokers behind the platform are all regulated and follow international rules. You can deposit money using the familiar methods: for example, iDEAL, PayPal, credit card and bank transfer. We have also requested deposits from ZuluTrade several times: we always got the money paid out into our bank account without any hassle.

How much does it cost to use ZuluTrade?

Using ZuluTrade is not completely free: you pay an extra 1.5 pips over every transaction. Half a pip goes to the signal provider, provided the investment ends positively. The other full pip goes to the owner of the ZuluTrade platform.These are reasonable fees when you manage to follow good signal providers. However, a profitable position does not have to be immediately profitable for you: when a provider closes positions with a minimal profit, you do not always achieve a favourable result yourself.Fortunately, the ZuluTrade Guard ensures that your capital is protected when a signal provider makes multiple bad decisions. In this way, you avoid losing a lot of money because a signal provider is playing crazy tricks on you. We consider the costs to be reasonable: after all, when you invest in an investment fund, you also pay management costs.

Customer service

Another important part of a financial platform is customer service. We tested customer service extensively for this review, and it came out well. You can always schedule a phone call with the team behind ZuluTrade or you can choose to send an email. The customer service is easy to reach and available in English.Incidentally, as a point of criticism, we noticed that the website has not always been translated into other local languages well. Some parts of the website are in English, while other parts have been translated. It would be nice if ZuluTrade translated the entire website to provide international investors with a better experience.

Last tip: be careful with the leverage

You can use leverage within the platform of ZuluTrade. Leverage allows you to take a larger trading position with a smaller amount of money. The problem with leverage is that you can also quickly make a large loss. Therefore, be careful with highly leveraged investments!

General information about ZuluTrade

ZuluTrade is a financial company headquartered in New York. ZuluTrade’s daily business activities are carried out from Cyprus and ZuluTrade has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Athens, Greece and other countries.The company was founded in 2007 and works via a peer2peer system where traders exchange trades among themselves. By opening an account with a broker, it is possible to automatically invest as a user by following the investments of other users.

Conclusion ZuluTrade

ZuluTrade is a unique online platform that is suitable for the investor with little time & knowledge who still wants to benefit from active trading. For a relatively low fee you can follow successful traders who sometimes offer hundreds of per cent return per year.Make no mistake: automatic investing does not mean that you can just forget about your positions all together. It is important to keep a close eye on your account and to regularly evaluate your signal providers. In this way, you avoid losing a large part of your deposit due to the mismanagement of a signal provider.Thanks to the presence of an unlimited demo, you can try out the possibilities without any risk. Do you still doubt after this review if automatic investing with ZuluTrade is something for you? In that case, opening a demo the ideal way to try out the possibilities yourself!

Why invest automatically with ZuluTrade?

• Without investing time, you can still benefit from active trade!
• Automatically follow professionals with years of experience.
• No commissions: even small amounts can be invested.
• Reduce risks thanks to ZuluTrade’s handy tools.
• Convenient predictions so that you know what return you can expect.
• You can try ZuluTrade 100% free with a demo.

Starting with ZuluTrade in three steps

• Create an account on the website.
• Search and select signal providers.
• Deposit money and positions open automatically!

Would you rather try investing yourself with a free demo? Open a free demo account and try active speculation yourself:

Frequently asked questions about ZuluTrade

Is ZuluTrade regulated?

Yes, ZuluTrade is regulated under Triple A Expert SA # 2/540/17.2.2010. This means that the company has to adhere to strict rules and this is a good sign for the reliability of ZuluTrade.

Is ZuluTrade a broker?

ZuluTrade itself is not a broker: to use the platform you need to open an account with one of the connected brokers. Fortunately, on the ZuluTrade website you will immediately have a clear overview of the connected brokers.

Is your money safe with ZuluTrade?

You do not deposit money on ZuluTrade’s platform yourself: it is therefore important to thoroughly investigate whether the party you are depositing money with is reliable.

How can you make money with ZuluTrade?

You can make money with ZuluTrade by following the right signal providers. However, it is important to pay attention to the consistency of the trader. Some investors are temporarily successful, but then lose all their profits. You can also make money with ZuluTrade by offering your services as a signal provider.

What is a good alternative to ZuluTrade?

I am a fan of eToro’s social trading platform. eToro itself is also a broker, enabling you to buy and sell shares with this party. Would you like to know more about the possibilities at eToro? Read more in this article.

Is ZuluTrade the best social trading platform?

ZuluTrade is not necessarily the best platform, but it is certainly one of the better options. By opening a demo yourself you can check if the platform suits your needs.

Can you open an account anywhere at ZuluTrade?

A big advantage of investing with ZuluTrade is that you can open an account from almost any country. A few possibilities are for example England, America, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.

Compare brokers: what is the best broker?

Are you looking for the best broker? In this comparison of brokers you will immediately find the broker that suits you best. You can open a free (demo) account or you can read an extensive review. By comparing brokers you will discover which trading party suits you best!

What are the best brokers to actively trade shares?

These brokers are best for active trading. With these brokers you trade in CFD’s on shares, commodities & Forex. These brokers are especially suitable for short-term speculation. You can always try the possibilities for free using a demo.

Plus500 tutorial: learn how to trade

In this article you will learn how to trade using the Plus500 platform. We will teach you how the Plus500 software works and you will discover how you can open your first trade. After that, we will teach you important information that you can use to make your investment decisions.

Covered in this tutorial: how does Plus500 work?

• Part 1: Plus500 software: learn how to trade with the Plus500 software.
• Part 2: stock market: discover how the stock market works
• Part 3: The market: learn to analyse the market with horizontal levels.
• Part 4: Price action: learn how to predict the price of a security.

How do you open an account at Plus500?

In this tutorial we use the Plus500 software as an example. Plus500 is one of the best brokers, especially if you want to actively trade the markets. When you sign up with Plus500 as a new trader, you receive a free demo of $40.000! By using the demo you can experience the possibilities of trading without risk. You can practice as long as you like with the demo functionality. What are the biggest advantages of the Plus500 platform?

• Unlimited & free practice with a demo
• Trade in all the popular CFD stocks
• Open a free demo account

Do you want to open an account with Plus500? Press the button to open a free & risk-free demo account:

By pressing the button you can immediately open your free demo. 

Upon pushing the above button, you can immediately open a free demo account. The only thing you need to open a free demo account are a valid mail address and a password. Another option is to log in via your Facebook or Google account.

Part 1: Plus500 software

This tutorial will teach you how to use the Plus500 online software, allowing you to immediately open and close trades. In this Plus500 manual we discuss several aspects related to investing at Plus500:

• How does the Plus500 software work?
• How can you open your first position?
• How can you manage your existing positions?
• How can you manage your risks?
• How can you deposit money at Plus500?
• Some important trading tips

Plus500: the software explained

The Plus500 software is very user-friendly. At the top you can immediately search for the CFD stock you want to trade. The top bar also indicates the available balance on your account. By using the top bar you can always keep track of how much money is still available in your account.The middle screen will show you a clear overview of the prices of different stocks. You can browse to this screen to consult the buy and sell prices of the stocks you are interested in. A simple push on a button will also allow you to place an order. You can search for a stock in a certain category. The example shows you all currencies in the Forex category.

Illustrative prices

At the bottom of the software you find the graph of the CFD you have selected. The graph shows you the price fluctuation over various periods of time. You can also conduct your analyses on the graph by using technical indicators.

Illustrative prices

How do you open a position?

When you want to trade with Plus500, you can for example open a position on a stock or a commodity When you open a position you always have two options. By buying, you speculate on a price increase. This makes it possible to profit in economically good and bad times!

Illustrative prices

Upon clicking the buying or selling button, the order window will pop up. You can use the order window to indicate how many CFD stocks you would like to trade. Upon clicking the buying button, your position will immediately open. You can also make use of an order. By selecting the option ‘buy when rate is’, you can indicate at which price you would like to automatically open a trade.One general advice: always make use of a stop loss. This is the level at which you automatically take your loss. By selecting ‘close at loss’, you can make use of this useful feature. You can also opt to automatically close a position when achieving a certain return on investment.Another functionality is the trailing-stop. A trailing-stop is set, when you want to make sure your profit automatically moves along with a possible stock price increase. This way you will not only grab the maximum profit, but you will also secure your profit.

Illustrative prices

Before investing at Plus500, it is recommended to read the additional information. The additional information tells you the minimum number of units you have to invest in. You can for example trade a minimum of 0,5 CFD Tesla stocks in the below example.You will also find the leverage you can apply. Using a 1:5 leverage, you will only have to invest 20% of the entire amount yourself. A 1:5 leverage means you invest $100 to trade $500. Nevertheless, be aware this not only means a significant profit increase but in some cases also a significant loss increase. Does the price rise by $1? In that case, your profit will immediately be $5. On the other hand, does the price fall by $1? In that case, you will lose $5. This article will tell you more about investing with a leverage.Moreover, there is also the spread. When dealing with a dynamic spread, it is of crucial importance to keep a close eye on the transaction costs to ensure they remain at an acceptable level.

Illustrative prices

Each CFD still has other information which is displayed: the base currency, the overnight financing fee, margin requirements, expiration date and trade sessions. Let us briefly look at those concepts.

Base currency

This is the currency against which the CFD is traded. For example, American stocks are traded in dollars.

Overnight financing fee

The overnight financing fee is a fee you are charged when you keep your position open upon closure of the stock exchange. The fee time is the time at which the fee will be charged. Do you still have your position at that moment? In that case, you will be charged additional costs.The overnight financing fee – buy is calculated upon buying your stock and the fee – sell is calculated upon selling your stock.

Margin requirements

The initial margin indicates which amount you must have on your account to open a position. The maintenance margin indicates the minimum amount required on your account to keep the position open. In this case, the margin is 10%.Practically, this means, you must have at least $100 on your account if you would like to trade $1000 of CFD stocks. Do you not meet the minimum amount? In that case, you will have to deposit extra money. If you don’t deposit additional money, your position will automatically be closed. This is also known as a margin call.

Expiration date

Please be aware some CFDs have an expiration date. When a CFD expires, it will automatically close at that particular moment and it doesn’t matter if you hold a winning or losing position.

Trade session

A trade session is a period of time during which you can trade the stock.

Managing positions & orders

The left menu bar of the software is the place where you manage all your trades. The open positions menu shows you all open trades. The orders menu will tell you which orders you have placed. The closed positions menu displays all results you have achieved through your investments.Open positions will show you a real-time view of your position’s performance. Only upon closing a position, the result becomes final. Your profit or loss will then be added to or deducted from your balance.It is recommended to create a clear plan before opening your position. Don’t make adjustments to your running investments. It’s the only way to ensure you keep on trading rationally. Emotions gaining the upper hand… it’s unfortunately a behaviour many investors get confronted with.

Manage your risks at Plus500

When you open a position, you can use the stop loss and take profit functionalities. With a stop loss, you can determine the moment when you automatically take your loss. With a take profit, you can determine the moment when you automatically take your profits. Always use the stop loss function,  so you don’t need to watch your position constantly and so you will always know how much you can maximally lose on one trade!When you want to trade profitably, it is clever to set the take profit twice as high as your stop loss. When you want to lose a maximum of $10 on a position and you would potentially earn $20, you only need to make the right decision in 50 percent of the cases. Dealing with risks is essential when you want to make money by trading.Let us further clarify and explain this by means of a fictitious investment. Suppose you want to open a position on a $10 stock. You have done the required analysis and expect a possible price increase up to $15. You don’t expect to lose more than $2.50 on the position and therefore a $2.50 loss is set as your stop loss. This would be an investment with a favourable risk-return on investment ratio.

Deposit & withdraw money at Plus500

Before you can start trading with real money, you will have to make a first deposit at Plus500. As little as $100 is minimally required to start trading at Plus500. Before you can deposit money you will have to verify your identity. This is a legal requirement for anyone who wants to open an investment account. Fortunately, you only have to do this once.Withdrawing money is child’s play. To withdraw your money, you just click the withdrawal button. A few business days later, your profit will have been deposited on your account!

Some general Plus500 tips

• Deposit a small amount to get used to trading with real money.
• Practice and keep track of what works and what doesn’t; learn from your mistakes.
• Always use a stop loss so that you can’t lose more than X% of your account.
• Don’t put too much money into one trade; only risk a modest percentage.

Part 2: how does the stock market work?

In the second part of the Plus500 tutorial we discuss the ins and outs of the stock market. It’s important to get a good understanding of the stock market and the way prices are set. This way you will also get a better understanding of how to benefit from the Plus500 possibilities.

The interaction between supply & demand

The price of each CFD within the Plus500 software is the result of the interaction between demand and supply. When an increasing number of people want to buy a certain stock, the price will increase too. If on the other hand, everyone wants to get rid of the stock and no one is interested in the stock anymore, the price will probably fall.Becoming a successful investor is therefore not about outperforming the market but only matching it and behaving like the average investor. Try to think like the average Joe.

Responding to the news

When you invest, psychology is key. An individual is hard to read. It is way easier to predict group behaviour than to predict individual behaviour. When you decide to invest, it is recommended to think like the average Joe.It is crucial to remember investors do not take the rational path. The value of a stock doesn’t automatically determine the value of the underlying company. Humans are like sheep and try to be part of the herd. When bad news is published, the stock prices can therefore dramatically fall in the blink of an eye.A perfect example is the coronavirus pandemic which occurred in 2020. The virus resulted into a global lockdown. Many companies can’t continue their services and sales during a lockdown. Another consequence was the fact people started to sell their stocks en masse. The stock prices dramatically fell.When negative news hits the road, a smart investor responds properly. Remember people often start selling stocks in a panic and negative news can have a dramatic effect on the stock prices. This way, you can predict the probable fall of the stock prices.Logically, the same strategy can be applied to an individual stock. Negative news can also cause the crash of an individual stock. For example, when the world came to know Luckin Coffee published fraudulent sales figures, the company’s stock prices experienced a sudden, dramatic 80% fall in one day time!On the other hand, positive news can also be an important trigger. When the economy is thriving, the stock market is often also booming. If a company publishes wonderful figures, there is a big chance the company’s stock price will rise. On average, the prices increase less quickly on good news than they fall on bad news.

Speculate on volatility

As a trader on Plus500, you can speculate on price movements. Even when there is bad news you have the opportunity to speculate on a decreasing stock price.Plus500 namely makes it possible to go short. With a short position, you can speculate on a decreasing price.But how do you decide when it is the best time to open a trade? In the rest of this comprehensive Plus500 manual, we will discuss how you can time your trades appropriately.

Part 3: Market & horizontal levels

Now you know the ins and outs of the Plus500 software, we can further investigate how to select the best investments. This part of the Plus500 tutorial will tell you all about how to best invest considering different market circumstances. To achieve the best investment approach the following steps have to be taken:

• How do you determine the current trend?
• How do you trade with the trend?
• How do you recognize a horizontal level?
• What do you do when there is a consolidation?

Determining the trend

The Plus500 graphs can be zoomed in and out. You can also adjust the period the graph displays. Within the 1-minute graph for example each period is exactly one minute, while in the 1-week graph each period is one week. Longer periods can be very handy to predict future price patterns.On every timescale you can always see the market situation. Study the rates at a somewhat larger period to determine the general trend, there are three possible market conditions:

• Uptrend: the price is mainly moving up; you’re looking for the right time to buy.
• Downtrend: the price is mainly moving down; you’re looking for the right time to sell.
• Consolidation: the price is moving between two points; there is no specific trend at this time.

Example of a clear uptrend

 

Example of a clear downtrend

Trading with trends

When the market has a clear trend, it is important to trade with the direction of the trend. When you notice that the price is going up within the Plus500 software, you should buy; and when you see the price is going down, you should sell. It is important that you do not open a position randomly!It is better to find a technical reason to open up a position. When there is a trend, the price moves in the direction of the trend. We call this an impulse. After the impulse the price drops a bit, the retracement.The chance of success is at its highest when we open up a position right after the retracement. We buy in an uptrend in a temporary move down and in a downtrend we sell right after a temporary move up. You can use this trading style until there is a case of a trend reversal, which is when a new trend forms in the opposite direction.

Recognizing horizontal levels

But how do you time a trade? To time a trade properly, you need to look for horizontal levels. A horizontal level is a level the price reaches multiple times but doesn’t seem to go past. A lower horizontal level in an uptrend is what we call support and a higher horizontal level in a downtrend is what we call resistance.The Plus500 software also allows you to draw horizontal levels. To activate this feature, use the third icon at the top of your graph.By opening your position on a horizontal level, you increase your chance of making a successful trade. As almost everyone expects the price to move in a certain direction at this point, this happens a lot at that specific level! This is why horizontal levels, which are in effect for longer periods of time, are a lot more powerful than a level which is reached only a few times.It can also occur that the role of a horizontal level changes after a break-out. A resistance can become support or vice versa. This is very handy because you can see if there’s renewed action when this level is reached again.

Special situation: consolidation

Besides the uptrend and downtrend, a consolidation is also a possible scenario. In the case of a consolidation, the price fluctuates between two horizontal levels. In a consolidation it is best to buy at the lower horizontal levels and sell at the higher horizontal levels.

Consolidation: buy low, sell high

Part 4: price action & the right timing

The next part of the Plus500 investment tutorial will tell you all about how to use candlesticks to achieve better results.

Working with candles

A line within a chart doesn’t give you a lot of information. That is why good traders would rather use candles. With candles, you can determine the so-called price action, which gives you an indication of possible further movement. Within the software of Plus500, you can easily switch to candles by pressing the button shown below. A candlestick always applies to a certain period. A candlestick can for example show the price movements over the course of a trading day. A candle has a body that is colourized and a stick that sticks out.The colour of the body indicates if the market is going up or down. Red shows if the price closed lower and green shows if the price closed higher.The stick shows what the reach of the price was within that period; how high or low did the price go?

Candles explained: clear trend

These candles can indicate a clear trend.

The high test / low test

On the left you see a high test; it is marked with a long stick above the body (a minimum of 2/3). A low test is the opposite; you’ll find the body on top and the stick is long and pointing down. The colour isn’t relevant with the high and low tests.The high and low tests are both strong price indicators. They reflect the switch of buyers to sellers and vice versa. At the high test the price was pushed up significantly, but the buyers were too weak and the price came back down. This is a strong sell signal and, vice versa, the low test is a strong buy signal.

Train tracks and twin towers

The train tracks consist of two (nearly) identical bars next to each other, first a green one and then a red one. With the twin towers it is the opposite, a red bar is intersected by an almost identical green bar. This combination can be seen as a merged high or low test; the two bars together form a failed break-out.The train tracks are a strong sell signal because the sellers take over from the buyers. The twin towers is the opposite and can therefore be seen as a strong signal to buy.

Bullish / bearish engulfing bar

The bullish engulfing bar is a dropping bar followed by a rising bar that both surpass the bar at the bottom and the top. After the initial drop, the price kept rising; many sellers joined the party and this level couldn’t be maintained. The price dropped and the low of the previous bar was also breached; this is a strong signal to buy.Vice versa, the bearish engulfing bar is a strong sell signal. The rise is followed by a much stronger drop where both high and low surpass the previous bar.

Candles explained: indecisive

These candles can indicate there is no clear trend.

Inside bars

The inside bars are a strong indicator of indecisiveness. The inside bar fits into the previous bar; thus there is no clear direction. The double inside bars are even stronger. Here the third bar fits within the second bar. After double inside bars, a strong movement down or up is to be expected.

Doji bars

The Doji bar sends out a strong signal of indecisiveness. The Doji bar is almost symmetrical in the centre where the price went up or down. Within that period there wasn’t a lot of action.

When to invest?

The information provided in this tutorial can help you to make trades with a higher return on investment potential. When you take a position on a horizontal level, there is an increased chance you make a beneficial trade. When you take a position based on the candlesticks we have discussed in this manual, you are also more likely to determine the right timing for your trade.The strongest investments are opened when all indicators are aligned. Do you for example acknowledge an upward trend? In that case, you have the greatest chance on success when the price moves back to a resistance level. When you see a candlestick at this level indicating a continuous upward trend, this can be the right moment to open a trade.Please be aware, being a profitable investor doesn’t automatically mean you always have to be right. If you manage to find the perfect risk-return balance, regular failure might still result into an overall positive result.

Would you like to learn more about investing?

You have now mastered the basics of technical analysis. These basics give you a clear advantage over newbie Plus500 investors. Moreover, you can even enhance your results by using technical indicators. You can read more about technical indicators by reading our technical analysis course. Use the below button to immediately browse to the course:

Start trading now!

You now know a lot more than other beginning traders. Do not forget that trading is not about intelligence; it is about managing and dealing with risks. Make sure you earn more on a winning trade than you lose on a losing trade.Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to look for the gathering of factors. Do you have a good price action on a strong horizontal level? Take that position! Be prepared to sometimes lose because you can’t always win. The prices cannot be predicted with a 100% certainty. Therefore, always use a stop loss!Do you want to become an even better trader? Then it is time to start practising! Did you not open an account yet? Use this button to open a free demo account with Plus500:82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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• Speculate on a falling price by opening a short position.
• Benefit from low transaction fees and no commissions.
• Try investing without risk with a free demo.

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• You can try trading completely risk-free with a demo of $ 40,000.
• Plus500 offers a user-friendly webtrader.
• You can speculate on increasing & decreasing prices.
• With leverage you can open bigger trading positions.

 

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