eToro Review
Copy experienced investors
Pros
- Large Social Trading Platform
- Copy experienced investors
- For starting and experienced investors
- User-friendly platform
Cons
- No MetaTrader platform
- Spreads cryptocurrency quite high
Introduction
eToro (founded in 2006) is one of the most innovative CFD brokers thanks to a wide range of services and possibilities. The purpose of this is to familiarize the novice investor in the world of CFD trading. The special thing about eToro is that it is not only a CFD broker, but also the largest social trading network in the world. Here you connect with other successful traders where advice is given and you can follow investors. Click on the link if you first want to know more about what are CFDs? In this eToro review we explain clearly what this broker has to offer and for whom this is the ideal broker.
Target audience
eToro is the ideal broker for starting investors because of the social trading network where you can follow experienced investors. However, there are also opportunities for experienced investors. If you are a successful investor and have many followers on the social trading network you can become a "Popular Investor" and get paid to invest.
Is eToro reliable?
Etoro Ltd. is based in Cyprus, where it is regulated by the Cypriot Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC). eToro also has a branch in London named eToro (UK) Ltd. where it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), one of the strictest financial regulators in the world, so that you are certain of a safe trading environment. eToro therefore receives a reliability score of 5 stars.
Trading instruments
With eToro you can trade CFDs in shares, indices, forex, commodities, ETFs and cryptocurrencies with a maximum leverage of 1:30. The minimum deposit for trading CFDs is £200, which is fairly high. The range of CFD instruments in general is relatively small. However, the selection of CFDs in cryptocurrencies is quite large. The range will be more than enough for the novice investor. This broker has some educational material available for the beginners. There are e-courses, live webinars, and a trading guide available. The point at which eToro distinguishes itself from other CFD brokers is the social trading network where successful investors can be followed and copied. The trading platform offers more than enough analysis material for most investors and is user-friendly.
eToro CopyPortfolio
At eToro you can take CopyTrading to the next level and join different CopyPortfolios. You choose a certain strategy and determine the size of your investment.There are three types of CopyPortfolios:
- Top Trader CopyPortfolios which comprise the best performing traders on eToro, according to a predefined strategy. This portfolio can give high return on your investment, but also high risks are involved.
- Market CopyPortfolios which bundle together a select combination of CFD stocks, commodities or ETFs, according to a predefined theme.
- Partner CopyPortfolios which have been created by their partners - Tipranks, a stock analyst software company; WeSave, a French robo-advisor; and Meitav Dash, a multi-billion Dollar investment house.
Spreads
At eToro the spreads are at a medium to high level. The spread is the difference between the purchase price and the selling price. For example, if the purchase price of Shell is £21.44 and the sale price is £21.40, then the spread is 0.04. The lower the spread, the better. Average spreads apply to forex and commodities, but spreads are very high for cryptocurrencies.
Demo account
eToro gives the possibility to use a free demo account that works exactly the same as the real mode. Only the money you bet is virtual.
In short
The Social Trading Network, CopyPortfolios and the wide range of educational material makes eToro the ideal broker for beginners. However, for highly experienced investors, eToro also offers opportunities such as getting paid for being a "Popular Investor".
- Social trading platform
Copy professionals
High cryptocurrency spreads
High minimum deposit - Active investors
400,000
- Reliability
- Trading platform
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- Social platform
- Suitable for:
Allround investor
- Functions platform
Average
- Mobile app
- Tradable assets
1200
- Spreads
Average
- Spread EUR/USD
3
- Stocks
>1000
- Forex
47 pairs
- Cryptocurrencies
92
- Commodities
13
- Indices
13
- ETFs
21
- Loss-making investors
75%
- Customer service
- Education
- Usability
- Inactivity fee
£10 p/m after 1 year
- Bank transfer
- Credit card
- Skrill
- PayPal
Enable desktop mode for a better visibility of the comparison tables.
- Pros and cons
- Active investors
- Reliability
- Trading platform
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- Social platform
- Suitable for:
- Functions
- Demo account
- Mobile app
- Spreads
- Spread EUR/USD*
- Tradable assets
- Stocks
- Forex
- Cryptocurrencies
- Commodities
- Indices
- ETFs
- Loss-making investors
- Customer service
- Education
- Usability
- Inactivity fee
- Bank transfer
- Credit card
- Skrill
- PayPal
- Very user-friendly
Competitive spreads
No MetaTrader platform
Fewer analysis tools - 110,000
- Experienced investor
- Average
- Low
- 0.6
- 2000
- 1900
- 50 pairs
- 14
- 22
- 30
- 95
- 76.4%
- £10 PQ after 3 months
- Social trading platform
Copy professionals
No MetaTrader platform
High spreads on crypto - 400,000
- Allround investor
- Average
- Average
- 3
- 1200
- 1000
- 47 pairs
- 92
- 13
- 13
- 21
- 75%
- £10 PM after 1 year
- Excellent platform
Low spreads
Traders Trends
High trading fee - Unknown
- Active investor
- Professional
- Low
- 0.5
- 2200
- 2000
- 57 pairs
- 6
- 25
- 33
- 54
- 81%
- £10 PM after 3 months
- Variable spreads
Good education
Higher spreads in MT4
Inactivity fee - 100,000
- Experienced/allround investor
- Professional
- Low at large volume
- 3
- 2100
- 2000
- 55 pairs
- 19
- 26
- 74%
- £25 PM after 3 months
*This was the spread on 1/1/2020
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
