Trading 212 is a fintech company established in 2004 and regulated by top, reputable authorities, such as FCA, CySEC, and ASIC. This lineup of high-tier regulating bodies make the company seem reliable and trustworthy.
There are other benefits, such as a whopping number of more than 13,000 tradable symbols and a low minimum deposit of $1. In this thorough Trading 212 review, we will investigate the good and the bad of this company.
Company Information & Regulation
Trading 212 was founded in 2004 by Borislav Nediakov and Ivan Ashminov, with its headquarters nestled in the heart of London, United Kingdom.
What makes Trading 212 unique is its solid regulatory framework. The broker operates under the solid supervision of three major financial authorities:
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK;
- Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus;
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia.
The company is located at Aldermary House, 10-15 Queen Street, London, EC4N 1TX.
Table of Features and Key Details
In this section of the review, as always, we will provide a table of main specifications of the brokerage:
Broker | Trading 212 |
Account Types | Invest, CFD, and ISA |
Regulating Authorities | FCA, CySEC, ASIC |
Based Currencies | USD, GBP, EUR, and Local Currencies |
Minimum Deposit | 1 USD for Invest and ISA Accounts $10 for CFD Accounts |
Deposit Methods | Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Skrill, Wire Transfer |
Withdrawal Methods | Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Skrill, Wire Transfer |
Minimum Order | 0.1 |
Maximum Leverage | 1:500 |
Investment Options | Interest on Cash, Share Lending |
Trading Platforms & Apps | Proprietary Platforms |
Markets | Forex, Stocks, Commodities, Indices, Treasury, ETFs |
Spread | Varies |
Commission | No Commission on Trading |
Orders Execution | Market |
Margin Call/Stop Out | 45%/25% |
Trading Features | Dedicated Account for Trading Stocks |
Affiliate Program | Yes |
Bonus & Promotions | None |
Islamic Account | No |
PAMM Account | None |
Customer Support Ways | Live Chat, Email, Ticket |
Customer Support Hours | 24/7 |
Trading Account Types
Trading 212 falls into the category of brokers with low variety in account types, offering 3 accounts. Account Specifics:
- Invest: Recommended for investing in stocks and ETFs, with more than 13,000 global symbols available;
- ISA (Individual Savings Account): Tax-efficient investing for UK residents, available only for clients from the Great Britain;
- CFD: For trading CFDs on various markets such as Forex, indices, and more, with negative balance protection and FSCS government protection up to £85K.
It's crucial to understand that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Always ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading CFDs.
Getting Started; How to Sign Up and Verify
If you have made a decision to start with the discussed company, the first step is to open an account. Here's a quick guide:
- Visit the official website at www.trading212.com;
- Click on the "Open Account" button;
- Choose your country from the list, then choose your desired account;
- Enter your email address and create a password;
- Verify your email by checking your inbox.
You have created your account on the broker now. To deposit real funds and start trading, you will need to complete your profile and verify your identity by submitting the required documents.
Trading Platforms: Does It Support MetaTrader 4/5?
Trading 212 offers a proprietary trading platform that's available in both web and mobile versions. You can choose a version based on your device and preferences, but the mobile applications should be faster. Access the software through the links below:
While the proprietary platform is user-friendly and feature-rich for most traders, it's worth noting that Trading 212 doesn't support popular third-party platforms like MetaTrader 4 or 5. This could be a drawback for traders accustomed to these widely-used platforms.
Trading Commissions and Other Costs
Trading 212's fee structure in trading, payments, and other sections is competitive, but it's important to understand the nuances. Here's a lowdown of trading commissions based on the account type:
Account Type | Invest | ISA | CFD | |
Trading Commission | None | |||
Custody Fee | None | |||
Spread | Variable | |||
FX Fee | 0.15% | 0.5% |
Other than the fees mentioned above, there are no costs for inactivity periods, deposits, and withdrawal. However, for $2,000+ deposits made via cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other similar systems, a 0.7% fee is applied.
Funding and Withdrawal Methods on Trading 212
It offers a variety of deposit and withdrawal options to provide versatility for its clients. These are the supported methods:
- Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro;
- E-Payment Systems: PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Skrill;
- Bank Transfers: Wire Transfer.
Available Copy Trading & Investment Options
While the discussed broker doesn't offer a traditional copy trading feature, it does provide some interesting investment options.
You can earn daily interest without any limitations or minimum levels on your cash in the brokerage. The rate varies depending on the currency. Rates for some currencies:
- USD: 4.6%;
- GBP: 5.17%;
- EUR: 3.7%;
- CAD: 3.5%;
- HUF: 7%;
- RON: 5%.
In addition to this feature, there's a "Share Lending" service available, which works based on this process: the client lends shares to borrowers and receives interest in return.
While these features offer some level of automated investing, they don't quite match the sophistication of copy trading platforms offered by some competitors.
Bonuses And Promotions
Based on our investigations while writing this review, broker Trading 212 doesn't currently offer any ongoing bonuses or promotions. This approach does not necessarily count as a drawback since promotional offers are not actual features; they are more of marketing tools.
Support Contact Methods And Working Hours
This brokerage provides customer support through several typical channels:
- Email: info@trading212.com;
- Live Chat: Accessible through the personal account;
- Ticket: Available on the website for everyone.
Based on the available data, the customer support team is available 24/7. The lack of phone support and live chat option for unregistered traders could be downsides for some people.
Trust Scores & User Evaluations
Some websites like Trustpilot and ForexPeaceArmy are well-known sources for trust scores of companies. The brokerage has received mixed reviews across mentioned platforms:
- Trustpilot: 4.6/5, based on more than 38,000 reviews with +77% being 5-star;
- ForexPeaceArmy: 2.6/5, only 65 reviews
Since the number of ratings on FPA is too low compared to those on Trustpilot, we cannot rely on them. Therefore, we can say that Trading 212 is trustworthy based on the reviews received from users.
Conclusion And Final Words
Trading 212 is a multi-asset brokerage focused on stock investments, offering an account dedicated to this purpose. The availability of +13,000 instruments and licenses from respected authorities such as ASIC, FCA, and CySEC are its two most attractive benefits.
Other than the lack of access to MetaTrader platforms and a phone support option, we see no notable downsides to this broker. We recommend it if you are OK with the mentioned cons.