Saturday, 26 December 2020

eToro Review 🐂 | Zero Fee Stocks | Pros & Cons (US Friendly)

eToro Review
eToro logo
  • Demo Account: Yes
  • Min. deposit: $100
  • Trading Platforms: Desktop, Web & Mobile
  • Assets: Forex, Crypto, Stocks & Commodities
  • Market-leading social trading
  • Available for US citizens
  • Free stock and ETF trading
  • Easy account opening

75% of retail CFD accounts lose money

eToro has successfully won the hearts of its users due to its unmatched level of service delivery. Since its launch in 2007, the Israeli-based social trading platform has enjoyed a large customer base in the USA and over 140 countries worldwide.

This eToro review explores eToro further, highlighting its features as a multi-asset trading platform and all you need to know about it.

Read our review on eToro’s social trading platform here –>

Is eToro Safe?

eToro Review

Absolutely. eToro is a registered and licensed brokerage. It’s registered by the Cypriot Investment Firm (CIF) and regulated by different institutions of both high-trust and medium-trust statuses. They include:

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  • Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission (CySEC)
  • The Market in Financial Instruments Derivative (MiFID)
  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

These regulatory bodies ensure that eToro doesn’t manipulate or adjust market prices, your money is kept safe, and any withdraws made are honored promptly.

eToro uses top-tier bank accounts to keep funds deposited on eToro by clients securely. With the impenetrable SSL encryption used to guard the client’s data, eToro assures all its users a safe experience on the platform.

More so, eToro offers its users an option to use Two-Factor Authentication as an added layer of security. It requires entering a unique one-time code sent to your mobile phone as an SMS before accessing your account. You can manage this action in your eToro account settings.

There are steps you can take personally to enhance your security on eToro. For example:

  • Use a unique, strong password for your eToro account. Don’t use this password on another site to lower the chances of compromising your eToro security.
  • Use devices that don’t have malware or viruses.
  • Update your computer and browsers often. Many of these updates are geared toward improving security and fixing any security issues.

Remember that eToro is not responsible for the money you lose while making trades on the platform. That is why eToro encourages its users to trade cautiously on the Stocks, Forex, Indices, Commodities, CFDs, and other financial assets accessible on the platform.

When you log in to your eToro account, you’ll notice a note from eToro showing that 71% of the investors on the platform lose their funds trading assets like CFDs. Your success as an investor on eToro is dependent on how keen you are while making trades on the markets and your knowledge of how different assets make a profit.

Who eToro is For

eToro is for anyone who is looking to invest in different assets and make profits. There is no specific qualifying criterion, and so you can sign up and start making trades. Whether you are a beginner or an expert trader, eToro is well suited for all traders.

The platform has a beginner-friendly interface both on the website and on the mobile app. It’s fit for anyone in the US (registered states only) and outside the US.

Investors in the USA can trade cryptocurrencies, while those in other countries can trade CFDs and stocks. The fantastic social trading feature allows other traders to mimic trade positions and strategies from experienced traders.

eToro Review: Fees

eToro Review - Fees
eToro Review – Fees

A brokerage like eToro charges its clients’ fees to maintain their services and profit as a company. eToro charges different fees for the services they offer, both trading and non-trading fees. Compared to other brokerages, eToro’s trading charges are relatively low, but non-trading fees might be slightly higher.

Let’s discuss the various fees in detail.

Get the updated fee list here –>

eToro Trading Fees

These refer to charges that apply when a trader places a trade, like when you buy a stock. This fee can be a commission determined by the traded volume or a fixed rate, a spread, which is the difference between the buying price and selling price, or an overnight charge for leveraged positions that hold for more than a day.

Stock and ETF Fees

eToro review - Stock & ETF Fees
eToro review – Stock & ETF Fees

While trading stocks and ETF on eToro, no charges apply. You incur no commission, no rollover fees, no additional fees on the broker, no ticket fees, and no management fees. This means that there is no broker fee charged when opening new positions or closing any open positions.

These freebies are available for you only when you are trading real stock and not CFDs. The difference between Real Stock and CFD is in the leveraging. When trading real stock, you open non-leveraged positions, but when trading CFDs, you use leverage.

CFD Fees

Review of eToro - CFD Fees
Review of eToro – CFD Fees

Trading CFDs allows you to use leverages, therefore earning more profits from a single trade. It’s also suitable for short selling. These benefits that come with CFDs attract charges to it.

On eToro, these charges are pretty low compared to other brokerages, because while other brokerages charge high percentage commission, eToro charges a fee called “spread.” It’s called spread because it’s the difference between the buying and selling prices of the asset.

The charges are different for each stock as the prices differ in every market. The charge applies at the close of a position.

CFDs also incur overnight charges when the leveraged positions hold for more than a day. An overnight fee covers the cost of leverage that will be used on the stock through the night.

Forex Fees

eToro applies a conversion fee when depositing funds into eToro in other currencies. This is because the platform operates in US Dollars. Any amount deposited in US Dollars does not get charged.

The amount that deposits into your account depends on the currency, the amount, and the method of payment you prefer. The conversion fee is in pips.

On eToro, for example, the conversion fee for EUR/USD is 50 pips, and we know that one pip for EUR/USD is 0.0001. Therefore, the fee will be 0.0050 or 0.5%

eToro supports deposits in nine different currencies: GBP, EUR, PHP, VND, RMB, THB, IDR & MYR.

Other Fees

eToro Review - General Fees
eToro Review – General Fees

They include:

  • Withdrawal Fees – eToro charges a withdrawal fee of $5. When withdrawing to other currencies, the currency conversion fee applies.
  • Inactivity fee – if your account remains inactive for a year, eToro will charge you a $10 inactivity fee. Any activity on your account, even just signing in, keeps the account active and free from this charge.
  • eToro Crypto Transfer Fee – This fee applies when an investor transfers cryptocurrencies from the eToro platform to the eToro wallet.

eToro Review: Account Opening

eToro has the most straight forward account opening process. You only need to enter the details required on the application form, and you’re good to go. We’ll go through the process step by step in this article.

Account Types

There are two types of eToro accounts:

  1. A demo account
  2. A live account

The only difference between these two accounts is that a demo account uses virtual (not real) funds, and the live platform uses real money (you have to deposit).

You can practice your trading strategies, feel the market mood, and check out different markets without risking your money on the demo account. When you feel ready to swim with the sharks, switch to a live account, and make real profits.

How to Open an Account

Here’s a step by step guideline to opening your eToro Trading account.

    1. Go to etoro.com.
    2. On the homepage, find a “Join Now” icon and click on it.
    3. On the application form, fill in all the details required, entering the correct personal data. You have an option to sign up with your Google account or your Facebook account. When you choose this option, eToro will collect your required information from these accounts.Application Form at eToro
    4. Agree to the terms and conditions by ticking on the box, then continue to create an account.
    5. At this point, you already have a demo account, and you can start practicing. To have a live account, you have to verify your identity by providing your Proof of Identity (PoI) and your Proof of Address (PoA). eToro would also want to give you a more customized experience on their website, so they engage you a little through a questionnaire.Verifying Account with eToroVerifying Account with eToro 2
    6. Once verification is complete, you can deposit funds and begin trading on the live account.

eToro Review: Deposit and Withdrawal

eToro has kept these two processes easy and fast, depending on the payment method you choose. Depositing funds on eToro is free and long as you deposit your funds in US Dollars. A withdrawal fee applies for all withdrawals.

How to Deposit Funds

Here’s how to make a deposit

  1. Log in to your eToro account.
  2. On your profile, click on the “Deposit Funds” icon showing at the bottom of the page.
  3. Choose the amount you want to deposit.
  4. Choose the currency.
  5. Choose your preferred payment method and complete your payment.

Most deposit methods process the funds immediately, and you can use them to make profitable trades right away.

eToro Review: How to Place an Order

There are two types of orders:

  1. A market order
  2. A pending order

When do you place a market order? Let’s say, for example, you want to invest in a particular market, but it’s closed for the day or the weekend. You can set a market order, meaning that your trade will execute immediately after the market opens. You can edit and review the trade parameters any time you want and set your order.

A pending order is set anytime with a target rate while the market is still open. When the target rate reaches, your order is automatically converted into a position and runs within the rate range set depending on the market’s volatility.

You have an option to cancel an order before it executes, and your funds will be available in your account balance again.

eToro Review: Web Trading Platform

The web trading platform:

  • Has a simple and clean design that is easy to navigate.
  • Is user-friendly, even for beginners.
  • Has an intuitive interface and easy to use.

The web platform gives a fuller trading experience, even though there’s a limitation in customizing charts because of the fixed panels.

You can access the web trading platform in different languages, such as Arabic, Thai, Romanian, Italian, Russian, Malaysian, Dutch, English, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Finnish, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Danish, Vietnamese, Polish, Swedish, Portuguese, Czech, German and Danish.

The web version also comes with reinforced security because of the two-step authentication factor before logging into your account. This step requires you to authorize log-in by entering a code sent to your mobile phone as an SMS.

Other features that you can access on the web platform include:

  • In-built search functions – the platform is home to thousands of market assets, and so you might need to search for your preferred asset instead of scrolling through the list.
  • Placing Orders – You can easily set any orders from the web platform, and they’ll execute as scheduled.
  • Instant Notifications – Would you want to get browser notifications when a certain price target reaches or when your order executes? eToro web platform allows you to set price alerts and get browser notifications instantly.
  • Portfolio and fee reports – Your portfolio keeps you abreast with your progress and how much fee you have paid. Your fees report is available in your portfolio’s history tab, on the gear icon where you can download the account statement.

Check out eToro’s trading platforms here –>

eToro Review: Mobile Trading Platform

eToro has consolidated its multi-asset platform on a mobile app, giving the users access to over 2,000 financial assets in a single tap.

From the mobile app, you are also able to access features like

  • Virtual Portfolio – This is where you view your demo account and use it to practice.
  • Tipranks Research Tab – It gives you access to insights from experienced analysts, and you can tap into the cumulative knowledge of experts and top investors in the world.
  • One-click trading – This feature is very instrumental because it keeps the parameters of a previous trade position, so you can open a new position using those same parameters in just one click.
  • Stop Loss & Take Profit – A useful feature to protect investors from making huge losses and also take profits when a price reaches a set point.
  • Pro Charts – With this professional technical analysis tool, you can compare charts of different assets and different time frames.
  • Offline Trading – You can place orders even when you’re offline, wherever you are.
  • Social Trading – The app makes social trading easy as you can learn from other traders and make trading online more engaging.
  • Copy Trader – With this amazing feature, you can safely copy what other traders are doing in real-time. Read our review of eToro’s CopyTrader concept here and check out eToro’s CopyTrader page.

What could make trading more interesting than this? With the mobile app, you can invest any time, anywhere, and monitor your trades on the go.

Read a review of eToro CopyTrader here –>

eToro CopyTrader website here –>

eToro Review: Desktop Trading Platform

According to an update done by eToro management, there’s no downloadable desktop trading platform available yet. They might consider having one in the future, but for now, only the web-based platform and the mobile app platforms are available.

Check out eToro’s trading platforms here –>

eToro Review: Trading Products

eToro supports different financial assets that you can trade and make profits. They include Cryptoassets, indices, currencies, commodities, and EFTs. Each one of these assets is traded differently as they each possess different characteristics.

On the eToro platform, you can profit by owning the assets (buying long non-leveraged positions) or, use CFDs to leverage trades and sell short positions.

Stocks & EFTs

Stocks are suitable for long-term investments because their market movements are determined by significant announcements, like new product launches. You can buy a stock on a non-leveraged position, meaning that the underlying asset is acquired and held in your name. You can also use CFDs to sell short and use leverages.

An Exchange-Traded Fund (EFT) is an asset made up of several other assets that have been grouped to act as one tradable asset. Like in stocks, you can buy long positions, that are non-leveraged, and the underlying asset is purchased and held as yours. Also, you can use CFDs and invest less to make more profits.

Some of the commonly traded stocks on eToro are Apple, Google, Tesla, Facebook, and Amazon. EFTs includes SPY, VXXB, HMMJ, TLT & QQQ.

Forex

The Forex market is dynamic and incredibly volatile as so many people are involved in it and trading a daily average volume of more than $5 trillion. Because of this volatility, the price makes small changes, requiring substantial capital to make reasonable profits.

On eToro, all Forex trades have fixed leverages and are traded as CFDs so that a trader can make high profits in a single trade even with low capital. However, the losses incurred in these leveraged positions are high, and so you must trade carefully.

The most common currency pairs traded on the eToro platform are EUR/USD, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, & USD/JPY.

Cryptocurrency

eToro provides an opportunity for all investors to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. The platform hosts a long list of cryptocurrencies that investors can choose from and invest in.

The crypto market has unpredictably high volatility, such that in a single day, the price can fluctuate in double-digit percentages.

On eToro, all trades on cryptocurrencies do not have leverage, therefore when you buy crypto, you are trading the real asset, and it’s held by eToro in your name.

Some of the cryptocurrencies supported by eToro are Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin, Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Stellar, XRP, and many others.

Visit eToro cryptocurrencies here –>

eToro Review: Social Trading Concept

eToro’s social trading network is an oasis of knowledge and wise trading tips from traders and investors. Not only do they share tips with others, but also allow copy trading actions from others who have volunteered.

The site suggests to you people that have been making profitable trades so that you can copy them. You can also search and locate people that match your trading methods and interests, and you can copy them.

Sharing and letting other people copy your strategies is not easy, and eToro knows this very well. That’s why they introduced the Popular Investors Program whose goal is to reward successful Investors who allow others to copy from them. It is considered a reward for their effort to study the markets, coming up with a reliable strategy, and then sharing it with other people.

Further, the Social News Feed keeps you in the loop with news from the financial assets you follow, traders you like, and other social media. Engage with other traders by liking, commenting, sharing posts to your feed, and with time become a contributor to the general feed by creating content related to your trading preferences.

Read our review of eToro’s social trading network here –>

CopyTrader

Using CopyTrader is extremely easy. You only need to spot a trader you’d like to copy, click on them, and start copy trading.

Here’s how to copy another trader:

  1. Filter traders based on performance, risk score, choice of assets, and other factors you deem fit, then choose one trader that you like.
  2. Set an amount for the copy trade. Other parameters calculate automatically.
  3. Click on the “Copy” icon. The trader’s position is copied and executed as your trades, giving you a higher chance to make profits.

Visit eToro CopyTrader here –>

With CopyTrader, you can run as many trades as you want, choose whether to copy all trades or just newly added trades, and many others. In simple terms, you remain in control of your account and make important decisions.

You can use the “pause-copy” option to stop any more traded from being copied, but the already copied trades will continue to copy any updates made on the original trade.

Before you go into copy-trading, here are some things you should know:

  1. The minimum investment amount for a trader is $200.
  2. You can copy only 100 traders at a time.
  3. You can not invest more than $2,000,000.
  4. Trades should be placed with amounts > $1.
  5. You can close copied trades before they expire, and release the funds back to the platform.

CopyPortfolio

eToro CopyPortfolios are investment instruments comprising of a group of assets or traders. Therefore, when you invest in a CopyPortfolio, you are not copying from a trader, but a portfolio of top traders.

You can invest in market CopyPortfolios where you follow a specific market, for example, a major technological company, offering an opportunity to traders who always wanted to invest in it but could not.

Secondly, you can invest by copying Top Trader CopyPortfolios. The eToro’s machine algorithms put together a group of top traders on the platform to create different portfolios for profit.

CopyPortfolios have a default stop-loss feature set at 10%. Before investing in CopyPortfolios, take time to understand how it works so that you can get larger returns.

Visit eToro CopyPortfolios here –>

eToro Review: Research

eToro’s research capabilities may be a little limiting even though they are competitive. Most of the research tools available on the platform are not fully integrated into the platform and redirect to external sources.

Some of the research tools available on eToro are News Feed, daily market analysis, an economic calendar, podcasts, and earnings reports calendar. The news feed streams with information on what’s going on the platform.

eToro employs excellent fundamental analysis into the platform, giving a close following to market leaders such as Saxo Bank.

The sentiment data available on eToro calculates using data from top traders, giving a better result on the market mood.

Visit eToro’s homepage for more information –>

eToro Review: Customer Service

eToro‘s customer service is not very efficient, although they make sure that they answer all your questions with relevant answers.

Their most efficient way of communication is through web-based live chat, although there are not always online. Pending queries get responses within seven days. You can use their ever-reliable email service and get your questions answered in detail. On the flip side, eToro does not offer Customer Service through the phone.

They also have an informative FAQ section that looks to address most of the questions people ask on the platform. That way, you can get your answers before opening a case with customer service.

Visit eToro’s homepage for more information –>

eToro Review: Education

eToro has not invested much in educating its users on how to go about their trading business. However, it has these features to get a beginner going:

  • An educative blog with five articles.
  • Explanatory texts alongside each trading tool symbol.
  • A “Trading School” that has several videos with basic trading information.
  • YouTube videos that are accessible to all its users.

The platform also offers its users a demo account with a $100,000 virtual currency to help practice and familiarize themselves with the markets and the eToro platform.

Visit eToro’s homepage for more information –>

eToro Review: Conclusion

eToro is a good trading platform and a place where traders can thrive and grow. Thanks to its wide range of services and financial assets available on the platform, eToro attracts investors of all kinds.

As you trade on eToro, you can be assured of your safety and that of your investment. Therefore, you can make trades with peace of mind. If you are a beginner, eToro would be great place to start because of the social trading services where you can copy what other traders are doing.

We hope that our review of eToro gave you everything you needed to take action on your trading future.

Safe trading!

The post eToro Review 🐂 | Zero Fee Stocks | Pros & Cons (US Friendly) appeared first on TradingGator.



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