Trading 212 Review

Trading 212 is a London based fintech company, founded in 2004 under its Bulgarian based entity, Avus Capital.

In 2012, Trading 212 received regulatory status through its U.K entity, and has grown immensely since.

The firm aims to democratize the financial market through its free, smart and easy-to-use app, and in 2017 the firm launched the U.Ks first zero commission trading platform.

Who is Trading 212? 🤔

Trading 212 is currently jointly owned by Ivan Ashminov and his business partner. And although brokers traditionally made their profits through commissions, Trading 212 hasn’t been affected, with revenues of £43.7 million in 2017, and estimated pre-tax profits of over £25m in 2018.

Trading 212 now boasts over 14 million app downloads, making it one of the most popular trading apps in the world. With a reported 50,000 active clients as of September 2018, Trading 212 are on a steady path to success.

Since 2016, Trading 212 has been the UK’s number one trading app, and in 2017 the broker announced that they have taken the number one spot in Germany too.

Is Trading 212 Safe? 🛡

Trading 212 is a trusted broker and is fully compliant with EU regulations. The firm is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, a tier-1 regulator, and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Bulgaria. This makes Trading 212 one of the most heavily regulated online brokers in the industry.

Customers funds are stored in a seperate account and are protected for up to €20,000, as required by the EU Directive 97/9/EC.

The company also has rigorous measures in place to ensure traders information is protected, including performing regular penetration tests, and a dedicated 24/7 Security Operations Center.

Trading 212’s Growth Against the Grain 📈

2018 proved to be a tough year for brokers across the board with the implementation of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) product intervention measures. This resulted in a decrease in a lot of brokers and trading providers earnings for that year. Trading 212 however, are an exception to this and has not just managed to survive, but thrive in the face of this.

The broker reported a good financial overview of its UK-based operations for the end of 2018, and not only were profits good, but they earned an increase on a year on year comparison.

Trading 212 Compared

Trading 212 UK Financial Results 📃

While Trading 212 UK reported a yearly decline in revenue across a 12-month period, this was still a great result given the circumstances, ending with around £4.03 million ($4.99 million); a decrease of 3.5 percent in comparison to the year previous.

That said, Trading 212’s operating profit grew by 49.3 percent year on year from the previous financial year, leading to the firm recording a figure of £1.85 million. This is an increase on the 1.24 million they made in 2017.

When income and costs are taken into consideration, the profit before tax came to around £1.85 million. This is a 44.8 percent increase on the firms £1.28 the previous year.

Trading 212 successfully reduced its expenses, leading them towards a significant profit growth. To go into detail, the firm’s total expenses were around £2.18 million, which is lower than the previous year by 52.7 percent.

These achievements are more significant when you look at the broker’s customer base, with the majority of them based in the UK or Germany. Both countries were affected by ESMA’s measures, which enforced leverage restrictions.

Nonetheless, the broker did see a drop in the number of total funded accounts.

Fees & Spreads 💳

Trading 212 Co-founder Ashminov stated, “The commissions charged by UK brokers are nothing short of a disgrace. Brokers are charging multiples of the actual cost of executing a trade, not margin.

We want to completely shake up retail share trading by democratising the marketplace so smaller investors are no longer penalised for putting their money to work.”

When trading forex and other CFDs such as commodities and crypto, Trading 212 charge based on the spread, the difference between the buy and sell price of an instrument. The broker does not publish an average spread to reflect its actual costs to traders.

Trading 212’s minimum spread for trading EUR/USD is pips – which is quite a low charge considering the average EUR/USD spread is .70 pips.

So, how much would you need to pay to trade one lot of EUR/USD with Trading 212?

How Much Trading 212 Charges to Trade EUR/USD 💰

If you buy one lot of EUR/USD, about 100k units, with Trading 212, with an exchange rate of 1.2124, and then sell it off the next day for the same price you will generally pay $0 in fees. This is great value when you compare it with XTB, who would charge $2.

That said, while we can quantify fixed spreads offered on 32 pairs, once you get to over 150 pairs, variable spreads are offered.

Nonetheless, having access to both fixed and variable spreads can be a good thing for traders depending on your individual needs and trading style, as Trading 212 provide clients with a diverse range of markets.

Customer Support & A Community Vibe ☎

Customer support is excellent, mostly quite responsive, and available 24/7, but they can be slower during key trading hours, which isn’t the best considering that might be when you need it most.

The customer support team is available across a range of platforms and offers support in 16 different languages including, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, Norwegien, Serbian, Swedish, Russian, Szech, Romanian, Turkish, Arabix, and Chinese.

You can also take a look at the broker’s Community Forum to see a wide range of previously asked questions and answers, or to ask one yourself. You can choose from different categories, such as Investing and active trading, and arrange it from the latest to the top asked questions.

The overall vibe is friendly and helpful, and means that you have a community that you can count on for support as soon as you join.

What Trading 212 Does Best 🏆

Trading 212 offers a good range of trading platforms which include: a mobile app for Google Play, IOS, and webtrade.

Trading 212’s web-based trading platform offers traders access to over 1,800 instruments. The platform is easy to use, and highly-responsive, with generally no disruptions.

Once you visit the Trading 212 website, your credentials will save, and you will be able to log-in automatically in future. In addition to this, the platforms features are designed to create the most ease of use possible with its simple and clear layout.

Unlike many brokers, Trading 212 also has its own Google Chrome plugin which offers users quick-access from a browser by replicating the mobile version.

The platform has five charting times, 55 indicators, and almost 20 drawing tools. You will also have access to their 24/7 live chat if you need any assistance.

Where the Platform Could Improve 👨‍🔧

The order window is a bit too basic in some respects, and lacks some advanced features; like adding a take-profit to a pending order, and a Good-till-Date parameter.

Tradable Assets 📜

Trading 212 have over 1,800 tradable instruments, including commodities, forex, stocks and indices. The firm allows you to trade stocks like, Lloyds, Apple and Tesla Motors. You can trade commodities like gold, oil and silver. And over 30 indices in both major and niche markets.

Trading 212 also support 14 crypto pairs and several unique FX pairs, including 37 against the Bulgarian Lev.

Learning Experience: How to Invest from Just £1 👨‍🏫

Beginners can watch the firm’s video on how to invest from just £1 to help you get started.

Trading 212’s learning section offers well designed videos that are catchy and hold your attention. Some other good beginner videos include, How to Buy Your First Share, and Understanding Divergence.

You can also browse sections including, Trading Modes, that includes articles explaining hedging, netting and trading modes, How to Use Charts, Concepts and Terms, and Economic Indicators; all great sources for any forex newbies.

Leverage 💼

The company offers a high leverage rate of about 1:300 for professional accounts. While this is good if you’re careful, this does substantially raise your risk of loss, too. Try to strategize as much as possible, and only trade what you think is necessary.

Where Trading 212 Could Do Better 🚧

Trading 212 does have a research section that includes News, an Economic Calendar, and market analysis, but it’s certainly not the best out there, to say the least.

While Trading 212 does offer daily market analysis for a wide range of instruments, including silver, gold, and oil, there is a lot more that the firm could do to up its game.

It’s also hard to decipher where the news headlines are being pulled from, which makes it difficult to understand the angle fully, and most crucially, there is only a small selection of third-party research available, which isn’t ideal.

Lastly, mobile traders will notice that there is no research accessible from the app – A crucial downfall.

How to Open a Trading 212 Account 👷‍♂️

Because Trading 212 is regulated by the FCA and CySEC, everyone will need to pass some standard compliance checks to confirm your understanding of all the risks involved in trading, and that you are allowed to trade.

To be sure that you have everything you need when opening an account, make sure to check off this short list:

• ☑️ A color copy of your passport, or other photo ID, such as your driving license.
• ☑️ A bank statement or utility bill from the past 3 months to prove your home address.

And that’s it for documents. The compliance questions you’ll be asked will be basic, and will more or less just confirm your trading experience. The whole process should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

Keep in mind, it could take a few days for your status to be updated and you won’t be able to make any trades until it’s confirmed that you have passed compliance.

To begin opening an account with Trading 212 just click on ‘open an account’ on their homepage.

Account Types 🗃

Traders can only get one account type, bar one exception, which means that fees, charges and leverage is the same of everyone, a feature that complements the company’s goal of  democratizing trading. Trades are commission free, and you can easily switch from ‘demo mode’ to real mode by simply funding your account.

Professional Account 👤

There is one way that traders can get ahead and that’s by qualifying for a Professional Account. Traders who meet the right criteria for a ‘professional account’ can get access to higher leverage, once you agree to waive regulatory protection. The criteria consists of trading experience, how active you are, and your capital.

Demo Account ⏳

You can easily alternate between your ‘real’ account and a practice account, which is quite handy, and saves you setting up two accounts. The setup only takes under a minute to do..

Minimum Deposit 💵

You will need to make a minimum deposit of just $10 to begin trading with Trading 212, however, it is advised that you initially deposit more if you are serious about trading.

You can send payments through bank transfer, credit/debit cards, Giropay, Dotpay, SafetyPay, Carte Bleue, Direct eBanking, Mister Cash, UnionPay and CashU.

The Bottom Line 🏁

Trading 212 arguably do not get enough credit for pioneering zero-commission in shares and ETFs early on in the UK and some parts of the EU.

The broker offers excellent customer service and a good, visual learning section that beginners will enjoy. Trading 212’s platform is also quick and easy-to-use. However, its research just isn’t up to scratch, and should move with the times to offer traders something more substantial.