eToro Brokerage Account Review - Zero Commission Online Broker & Copy Trading Platform.
eToro is an online brokerage site that was first launched in 2007. It offers a wide selection of assets - such as traditional shares and ETFs.
Cryptocurrencies can also be bought and sold at the platform and depending on your country of residence - you may have access to CFD facilities. Crucially, eToro is often billed as a go-to broker for those entering the online investment scene for the very first time.
But, is eToro the right broker for you?
In this eToro review, we cover everything there is to know about the platform. This includes fees and commissions, tradable markets, supported payments, security, and more.
What is eToro?
eToro is a regulated online broker that offers traditional investments, as well as CFD trading products. Regarding the former, this includes shares from 17 international markets and copy crypto traders reddit over 150+ ETFs. You can also buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
The overarching selling point of eToro is that the platform offers a 100% commission-free service. This means no dealing fees to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
The platform - which has attracted over 13 million clients since it was launched, is also attractive to newbies. This is because eToro is simple to use and the broker avoids overly complex features, tools, and jargon. eToro is also known for its social and copy trading for cryptocurrency [
https://crypto.copy-trade.fun] trading offering.
The former allows you to communicate with fellow eToro users to share market insights.The latter allows you to pick a profitable eToro trader that you like the look of - and then copy their investments like-for-like.
In terms of eligibility, eToro supports dozens of countries - including the US. The platform is registered with FINRA and licensed by the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), and CySEC (Cyprus).
What Assets Does eToro Offer?
First and foremost - if you’re from the US, you will only have access to cryptocurrencies and stocks. This is due to regulatory constraints - meaning you can’t trade CFDs like gold or oil.
Nevertheless, below you will find the many asset classes hosted by eToro.
Cryptocurrencies.
eToro gives you access to 16 cryptocurrencies. This includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Litecoin, and more.
Once you make a purchase, you won’t be able to withdraw the coins out to a privately owned cryptocurrency wallet. Instead, they will remain at eToro until you decide to cash your investment out.
Stocks.
eToro offers in the region of 1,800 stocks. This covers 17 different stock exchanges, so you can easily create an internationally diversified portfolio.
This includes markets based in:
Amsterdam Brussels Copenhagen Frankfurt Helsinki Hong Kong London Lisbon Madrid Milan NASDAQ (US) NYSE (US) Oslo Paris Saudi Arabia Stockholm Zurich.
In particular, there is a strong focus on US stocks listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ. This includes most stocks that represent the S&P 500 Index - such as Apple, Amazon, IBM, Disney, and Facebook. The UK’s London Stock Exchange also carries a lot of weight at eToro - with all FTSE 100 and some FTSE 250 shares on offer.
ETFs.
eToro offers over 150 ETFs. This is great for diversification purposes, as you will be investing in hundreds of different assets through a single trade. There are dozens of index-tracking ETFs at eToro, which is useful if you want to gain exposure to a particular stock market.
This includes the likes of:
SPDR Dow 30 ETF Vanguard S&P 500 ETF FTSE China 25 ETF iShares FTSE 100 Vanguard FTSE All-World.
As we cover in more detail shortly, there are no maintenance fees charged by eToro on ETFs - so you can keep hold of your investment for as long as you wish.
CFD Markets.
It is important to note that stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies can also be traded in the form of CFD instruments at eToro.
Before we get to that, as long as you do not apply leverage on the aforementioned markets and you go long (meaning you are not short-selling), then you will own the underlying asset outright. This means that in the case of stocks and ETFs, aplikasi copy trading crypto terbaik you will be entitled to dividends.
If, however, you short-sold a stock or you applied leverage, this would convert the traditional asset into a CFD instrument.
On top of stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies you can also trade the following CFD markets at eToro:
Forex.
If you’re looking to trade currencies online, then eToro offers over 45 forex pairs. This covers a wide selection of major and minors, as well as exotic currencies like the South African rand and Romanian leu.
Indices.
On top of index-tracking ETFs, eToro also offers indices in the form of CFDs.
This includes the:
Dow Jones 30 China 50 Australia 200 FTSE 100 France 40 Germany 30 NASDAQ 100 S&P 500.
You can trade 31 different commodity markets at eToro via CFDs. This covers popular metals like gold and silver, as well as energies like oil and natural gas. eToro also offers a good selection of agricultural commodities, such as wheat, sugar, and cocoa.
Once again, the above CFD trading markets are not available to US residents.
eToro Fees and Commissions.
As we briefly noted earlier, eToro stands out because of its low-cost pricing structure. In fact, across all of its traditional and CFD asset markets, there are no trading commissions to pay. This makes eToro one of the cheapest brokerage sites in the online space.
Here’s an example of what a Bitcoin investment would cost you as a US citizen:
You deposit $500 into your eToro account via debit card You buy $500 worth of Bitcoin - paying 0% commission You hold on to your coins for two years - paying no monthly or annual fees You sell your Bitcoin investment when it is worth $1,200 - again paying 0% commission.
In comparison to other popular cryptocurrency brokers like Coinbase, eToro is significantly cheaper.
For example, Coinbase charges 3.99% on debit card deposits. It also charges a trading commission of 1.49% - which is payable when you buy a cryptocurrency and again when you sell.
Now let’s look at an example of a stock investment at eToro made by a non-US citizen.
You are based outside of the US and deposit $500 into your eToro account All non-USD deposits incur an FX fee of 0.5% - so that’s $2.50 You buy $500 worth of Apple shares - paying 0% commission When you get around to selling the shares, again you’ll pay 0% in commission.
As per the above, buying $500 worth of Apple shares at eToro would cost you just $2.50 in fees. However, it is important to remember that eToro is in the business of making money and it does this through the spread - which we cover below.
eToro Spreads.
While you won’t pay a commission when you invest at eToro, the spread is an indirect fee that you need to take into account. For those unaware, this is the difference between the buy and sell price of the asset you wish to buy.
The specific spread will vary wildly at eToro depending on the asset class and current market conditions. But, we often find that on major stocks, the spread amounts to about 0.2% on average.
On cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, this is often in the 0.75% region.
While these are not the most competitive spreads in the brokerage scene, don’t forget that you will avoid the need to pay any commission on your buy and sell positions.
Other eToro Fees.
Other fees that you need to consider at eToro include the following:
FX Fee: As we briefly mentioned above, all non-USD deposits incur an FX fee of 0.5%. This is charged when you make a deposit. After that, you won't pay an FX surcharge to access international markets. Inactivity Fee: If you have a positive balance at eToro and fail to place a trade within one year, you will incur an inactivity fee of $10 per month. This won’t come into force if you have a long-term position open on stocks, ETFs, or cryptocurrencies.