Trading 212 Review
Trading 212 is a multi-regulated broker with many years of expertise, offering a diverse choice of assets to traders worldwide with fast trade execution and low trading costs with in-house web and mobile trading platforms.
Trading 212 is a fintech company that democratises financial markets by providing free, smart, and simple-to-use apps that allow anybody to trade stocks, ETFs, Forex, commodities, and more. The broker was founded in 2006 and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus, and the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in Bulgaria. All client monies are maintained separately in segregated bank accounts for your protection and in accordance with the laws and are insured by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) Bulgaria. In the unusual case of a default, the FSCS and ICF will compensate up to a certain limit. If one of the firms fails to meet its clients’ obligations due to financial difficulties, each client should be paid compensation.
Trading 212 includes a wide range of trading instruments, including CFDs, forex, stock, indices, and real stocks/ETFs. The broker has its own in-house web trading platform and is available in quite a few languages and accessible through mobile. They provide you with some excellent charting tools as well as fundamental data to help you get the most out of your trades. There are plenty of guides and video tutorials on how to utilise trading platforms and the basics of investing online, which is an advantage for beginners, as is the demo account option.
Trading 212 has a lot to offer prospective clients. The key advantage is commission-free trading across a wide variety of asset classes. These small costs, especially for regular users, may soon mount up and cut into already tight margins. It’s an attractive option for individuals trying to join the market for the first time. Another significant advantage is the Trading 212 mobile app’s simplicity of use. It is free to download, simple to use, and has a rich layer of functionality that eliminates most of the complexities involved with trading assets without compromising features. Finally, the variety of instructional materials accessible is a major draw for anyone wishing to learn more about financial markets.
For professional clients, leverage is lower than many other online brokers, with several rivals providing tighter spreads. More seasoned investors may choose the more widely utilised MetaTrader platforms over the Trading 212 app. Integration with both MetaTrader platforms is still lacking at this point. The emphasis on mobile may be off-putting to frequent users since many prefer to utilise a terminal, generally with multiple screens, for more complex analysis. Finally, some prospective users may not appreciate Trading 212’s simplicity: they may seek trading platforms that place a more considerable emphasis on managed services, automated trading, or the possibility to copy the trades of successful users.
Let’s highlight the advantages and disadvantages of Trading 212.
Trading 212 offers an excellent range of over 10,000 global Stocks and ETFs. In all, Trading 212 includes a wide range of trading instruments, including CFDs, forex, stock, indices, and real stocks/ETFs. At the same time, a few other asset classes like cryptocurrencies, bonds, and options are missing. If you are looking to trade cryptos then you might want to take a look at our best crypto brokers instead.
Trading 212 Instruments Summary
| Instruments | Trading 212 |
|---|---|
| Forex | ✓ |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Indices | ✓ |
| Commodities | ✓ |
| Cryptos | x |
| Options | x |
| Bonds | x |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| CFDs | ✓ |
Commission and Spread Fees
Trading 212 provides an edge to the traders in their spreads, fees, and commission sections. Unlike other brokers, the fees and commissions are relatively low. Trading 212 is regarded as a zero commission broker. Trading 212 charges zero commission. However, they charge competitive market spreads starting from the 0.2 pips on CFD Accounts. Spreads are not applicable on the rest of the accounts, like Invest Account and ISA Account.
- Trading 212 does not charge zero commission on CFD Accounts.
- Trading 212 Invest account is free of commission and fees on trades.
- Trading 212 ISA account is free of commission and trades but available to UK citizens only.
| Fee | CFD Account | Invest Account | ISA Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission (per standard lot per side) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Spreads from | 0.2 | N/A | N/A |
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Trading 212 accepts various payment options but makes transactions simple for its clients by not imposing a deposit or withdrawal charge. However, before proceeding with a transaction, you should verify with your service provider to see any transaction fees.
Inactivity Fees
It is an additional privilege to the clients as Trading 212 does not charge any inactivity fees and withdrawal fees.
Trading 212 offers in-house developed Trading Web and Mobile Trading platforms. Unfortunately, they have not provided MetaTrader platforms for their users to date. That being said, I quite like the simplicity of the Trading 212 platform and think it has more than enough capabilities to meet the needs of most retail traders. However, if you are looking for more powerful features and functionalities, then IG have some excellent professional trading platforms.
Trading 212 Web Trading Platform
Trading 212’s web trading platform is well-designed and easy to use. Even if you have little trading expertise, you will find it incredibly easy to use. One disadvantage is that the platform lacks customisation. Trading 212 allows for two-step authentication while logging in. You may configure it using a third-party authenticator programme like Google Authenticator.
Its search features are compelling. You may search for products by putting their names into the search bar or browsing pre-defined categories such as stocks or indexes. Different order types and order time limitations are available in CFD and Invest accounts. A trade ticket will be shown if you click to ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ an asset. This is highly handy since it displays key order data of UK real stocks.
On the platform, you may configure price alerts. Choose the asset and click the ‘Alert’ button to get started. Trading 212 provides detailed portfolio and fee reports. You may get to them by clicking your username and then choosing ‘Report.’ You may see your profit/loss statement, interest (swap points) charged or received, and cash balance, among other things. You couldn’t, however, discover a method to export these reports.
- Available in various languages (English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Chinese)
- Different order Types and limits (Market, Limit, Stop, Stop Limit, OCO)
- Alerts and Notifications
Trading 212 Mobile Trading Platform
The mobile trading platform of Trading 212 is user-friendly and well-designed, with excellent search, alert, and order functions. Trading 212 has a mobile platform for both Android and iOS. It supports the same languages as the web trading platform. The Trading 212 mobile trading platform is simple to use and attractively designed. When you use the trading app, you can get an enjoyable experience without the unnecessary complications of some other platforms.
Trading 212 provides two-factor authentication. Touch ID and other biometric authentication technologies are also available. There are search functions on the Trading 212 mobile platform that operate similarly to those on the web trading platform. You’ll be able to locate any asset quickly and easily. The same order types and time constraints as on the web trading platform are available. Price alerts and notifications are offered by push notifications only, not SMS or email.
Trading 212 Platforms Summary
| Platform | Trading 212 |
|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | x |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | x |
| cTrader | x |
| Proprietary | ✓ |
| Desktop | x |
| Web | ✓ |
| Mobile | ✓ |
| Social Trading | x |
| Other | x |
Trading 212 offers a wide range of free instructional resources for rookie and expert traders. These training materials are intended to help you enhance your trading abilities and financial market understanding.
Trading 212 has excellent charting tools and fundamental data, but no news feed or trading ideas are available. Research tools are available on both the web and mobile trading platforms. They are provided in the same languages as the trading platforms.
Trading 212 does not offer trading ideas. You may, however, use a pattern recognition tool on charts. These patterns may provide insight into whether the price will rise or fall. Trading 212 offers comprehensive fundamental data, such as previous financial statements and financial ratios. One of Trading 212’s trading systems’ strengths is charting. Almost all critical technical analysis studies are provided, along with about 50 technical indicators to aid in your trading choices.
Trading 212 does not have a news feed; however, it offers an economic calendar. It’s convenient to view the most significant events in one location, and it’s even better to filter events by effect or impacted currency pairings. Trading 212 has a “Filter” tool that allows you to filter stocks depending on stock prices.
Trading 212 offers tutorial videos and articles about the trading platforms and the basics of trading, a great feature for beginners. The only thing missing is webinars, which you can get through FXTM.
News
The news section is updated throughout the day. However, it is often restricted to one to two words and serves as a headline aggregation service.
Economic Calendar
Trading 212’s economic calendar is similar to those seen in many online stores, and it provides a good summary of economic reports and their predicted effect. The navigation is easy, and the overall layout is tidy.
YouTube Videos
In education, tremendous effort has been made. Trading 212 has taken advantage of the fact that younger traders like watching videos by making its instructional information accessible on its own YouTube channel, which looks pretty popular.
Community Forum
Trading 212 provides a community for its members to share information and knowledge. If you have any queries, you can raise them to the community, and someone who knows the answer will respond to you.
Trading 212 Research and Education Summary
| Resources | Trading 212 |
|---|---|
| Market Analysis | ✓ |
| Guides | ✓ |
| Videos | ✓ |
| Webinars | ✓ |
| Autochartist | x |
| Trading Central | x |
| Economic Calendar | ✓ |
| Other | x |
Trading 212 provides various payment options. Users can use bank transfers and Debit/Credit Cards to deposit and withdraw their funds. You can also choose from a fantastic choice of e-wallets for quick and easy funding. With so many payment methods, the broker puts the cherry on top by not charging any transaction fee from its clients. I do think they could improve by adding support for crypto payments. If this is something you are looking for then Axi are worth considering.
Trading 212 Funding Summary
| Payment Method | Deposit | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Wire Transfer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Credit/debit Card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electronic Wallets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cryptos | x | x |
Trading 212 is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus, and the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in Bulgaria. For your safety and in line with the regulations, all client funds are kept separate in segregated bank accounts and are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) Bulgaria. In the unlikely event of a default, the FSCS and ICF will compensate up to a specified limit.
Trading 212 Regulation Summary
| Regulator | Trading 212 |
|---|---|
| ASIC (Australia) | x |
| IIROC (Canada) | x |
| CySEC (Cyprus) | ✓ |
| SFC (Hong Kong) | x |
| JFSA (Japan) | x |
| MAS (Singapore) | x |
| FINMA (Switzerland) | x |
| FCA (UK) | ✓ |
| CFTC (USA) | x |
| Other (FSC, FSCS, ICF) | ✓ |
Trading 212 Safety
Trading 212 is a top-tier FCA-regulated broker that offers negative balance protection. However, it is not a public company; therefore, there is no financial information available about the company. In addition, the company does not hold a banking licence.
All client funds are maintained separately in segregated bank accounts for protection and in accordance with rules protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF), and the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) Bulgaria. In the uncommon case of a default, the FSCS compensation is up to GBP 85,000, while ICF Cyprus and Bulgaria compensation are up to 90% of the client’s money (The percentage and amount are subject to change). If one of the firms fails to meet its clients’ obligations due to financial difficulties, each client can be paid accordingly.
Overall, Trading 212 provides adequate customer assistance, with its friendly employees providing quick, transparent, and relevant information. However, there is no phone help. When you contact Trading 212 by email or live chat, you will get timely, relevant, and simple responses. To access email support, you must first complete a form on Trading 212’s website. You choose the subject of your inquiry, and you will get multiple suggested articles from the FAQ area, possibly avoiding the need to contact customer support.
Trading 212 is mainly a CFD broker regulated by multiple financial regulatory agencies. On the bright side, Trading 212 provides commission-free stocks and ETFs, as well as cheap CFD and non-trading costs. The account opening procedure is simple, and the trading platforms are simple to use. Trading 212, on the other hand, offers a restricted product portfolio, missing some popular asset types like bonds, options and cryptos. The forex costs were quite hefty, and USD was not accepted as an account currency, with a beautifully designed custom mobile app, commission-free trading, a straightforward account structure, and a slew of extra instructional tools. Trading 212 provides excellent customer service as well as easy support withdrawal. All of this makes it an excellent alternative for would-be investors to investigate. Trading 212 is a perfect option for individuals investing in equities or trading leveraged CFD products on a superb trading platform. New investors don’t have to be afraid to give it a go since it has a free demo account option.
