eToro is a fintech company that provides social trading and asset brokerage services. Established in 2007 and headquartered in Cyprus, the United Kingdom, and Israel, it now has more than 10 million clients across the world. The company specifically operates an online trading platform accessible via a native web browser or a mobile app via Android or iOS to provide its clients with online retail forex trading, financial spread betting, CFDs, and copy trading.
A Concise of Review of eToro Platform and Services
The following are a summary of the features and pros of eToro:
• Provides individual client with zero to minimal experience the ability to trade through minimal account opening cost and social trading or copy trading. One of the strengths of eToro is that it is tailored specifically for those with a basic understanding of forex and cryptocurrency trading.
• Gives traders access to different investment options, including stocks, commodities, global equity indices, and forex, as well as EU exchange-traded fund. It also recently provides cryptocurrency trading.
• Social trading via the platform allows clients to implement copy trading easily, particularly by allowing them to mimic the trades and trading strategies of the most successful clients automatically and in real-time.
• The platform is very visual to give clients or more specifically, new investors an introduction of different investing concepts. It uses graphical representations for various financial instruments to make trading easy and interesting.
• Spread per side of shares is competitive. The company has also recently introduced commission-free stock trading.
• The company is registered through the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. It is also compliant with European Securities and Markets Authority or ESMA and also has a license from the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom.
Below are the limitations and cons of eToro:
• Opening account costs USD 200 except for a USD 50 charge in the U.S. and Australia. Withdrawal fees amount to USD 25, plus banking costs and forex differences. There is also a USD 10 monthly inactivity fee. The non-trading fees and financing rates have been considered above average than other online trading platforms.
• Commissions and other fees are also high. Minimum forex, commodity, and index spreads are high, with USD at 3.0 pips and S&P 500 at 75.00 pips. The spreads can also widen depending on the changes in the market conditions.
• Poor customer service is another major criticism of eToro. The platform only uses a ticket and chat system, but it does not have immediate, direct, and real-time contact support for clients who have issues about their accounts or trading activity.
• Some highly-skilled clients or advanced traders might find the platform insufficient. It lacks connecting technology, or in other words, the platform does not hook up to third-party software, services, or algorithms such as MetaTrader 4 Expert Advisors.
• The company does not offer guaranteed and robust stop-loss protection or additional private insurance coverage. The order entry interface is also inadequate because it lacks risk extensive risk management features.