Trading 212 is a investment broker famous for its intuitive trading app, equipped with interesting functions for managing your investments. Trading 212 offer can be divided into two segments – Invest, where we can invest in stocks and ETFs and CFDs, where we have leveraged CFD products on stocks, indices, forex, cryptos and commodities.
The broker has three companies registered and regulated in the United Kingdom (Trading 212 UK Ltd., registration number 609146), Bulgaria (Trading 212 Ltd., registration number 201659500, license no. RG-03-0237) and in Cyprus (Trading 212 Markets Ltd, registration number 398/21).
It is worth adding that the broker offers zero commissions when trading stocks and ETFs. The spreads on CFD products can be seen here (link).
Contents:
- Invest and CFD offer
- Trading 212 trading platform
- Demo account
- Fees and commissions
- Trading 212 reviews
- FAQ
Trading 212 offer – Invest and CFD
As mentioned at the beginning, Trading 212 divides its offer into the categories “Invest” and “CFD”. The Invest offer is intended for people who want to invest in more traditional instruments such as real shares and ETFs. There is no leverage here.
The broker offers access to over 7,000 different stocks and ETFs, including, of course, the largest ones such as Apple, Amazon or Tesla. These are shares from the largest European and American stock exchanges.
CFD, in turn, is an offer for contracts for difference, where trading leverage is available. It varies depending on the type of instrument. The highest leverage can be obtained on major currency pairs (30:1) and the lowest on crypto (2:1).
Clients from Europe, will trade with Trading 212 by entering into an agreement with a Cypriot licensed entity (CySEC). Therefore, they are subject to protection of funds up to 20,000 euros and protection against negative balance. Trading 212 Markets Ltd adopted ESMA’s product intervention measures such as negative balance protection, margin close-out rule and max and lowest leverage ratios and that the protection of funds is also subject to the Investor Compensation Fund.
A detailed description of the different types of instruments offered by Trading 212 is provided below.
Forex (FX) in Trading 212
Trading 212 offers over 180 currency pairs. In addition to the most popular major pairs with the US dollar (the so-called majors), the offer also includes more exotic pairs, for example, Polish zloty to yuan.
Each currency pair, like all other CFD instruments, has its own dedicated page (here) where information about the average spread, margin and maximum leverage are presented. Trading with zero commissions and no hidden fees.
An example page of FX Trading Instruments on the Trading 212 website
Stocks, ETFs and indices in Trading 212
The stock market in the case of Trading 212 is available in two forms. You can invest either in real stocks through the “Invest” offer or in CFDs through the “CFD” offer. In the first option, you can choose from real stocks from around the world and ETF contracts, while in the second one you can also choose stock indices.
The list of shares in both cases includes the most popular companies from Wall Street and stock exchanges from around the world. In total, 7,000 global shares and ETFs are available.
When using the “Invest” option, you can buy pieces of stock with the “fractional share” offer, starting from just one dollar (or one pound, euro, etc.). Thanks to this, the client does not have to invest several hundred pounds at once to buy shares of the largest companies, such as Tesla or Amazon.
Commodity instruments
In Trading 212 you can also find a very long list of goods and raw materials. In addition to the most popular ones, such as CFDs on oil, gold, silver or gas, there are also rarer ones, for example based on the price of cotton, cheese, cattle and soybeans.
Cryptocurrencies
Like many other retail CFD brokers, Trading 212 also offers cryptocurrencies to its clients. The offer currently includes 15 cryptocurrency assets, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Algorand, Polygon, Polkadot, EOS, Litecoin, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Chainlink and Uniswap.
The average spread for Bitcoin from the last 30-day period according to the broker’s website is 31.82, while for Ethereum it is $3.43. The maximum position size varies depending on the instrument and is equivalent to 1 BTC for BTC and 10 ETH for ETH.
Some of the cryptocurrency CFDs offered by Trading 212
Trading platform
Trading 212 offers two proprietary trading platforms, one in the form of an application and the other in the form of a web platform. Certainly, the big advantage of both of these platforms is their intuitiveness and ease of use. It is worth noting, however, that they are equipped with some quite unique tools.
They look different for Invest and CFD accounts, you can freely switch between them and they guarantee access to the most popular technical analysis indicators. The only downside is the limited ability to adjust the look and layout of the platform to your needs.
Diagrams and AutoInvest
The diagram function is quite an interesting solution that allows you to easily manage your investment portfolio, which automatically draws attention to the diversification of your portfolio. It is worth adding that this is a tool available in the “Invest” account.
The diagram function shows the components of your portfolio in a pie chart. Additionally, you can easily adjust its content by subtracting stocks or ETFs or adding new ones.
It is worth adding that you can create several diagrams, each of which will consist of different assets.
Diagrams on the Trading 212 platform
The application also has the AutoInvest tool that allows you to automatically invest in a specific diagram. Trading 212 will simply deposit funds and split them across all assets in the diagram as intended. For example, if you have 5 stocks in your diagram, 20% each in your portfolio and you deposit $ 100 into it, Trading 212 will allocate $ 20 to each of the companies in your portfolio.
You can determine how often such purchases are to be made and for what amount.
AutoUnvest feature inside the Trading 212 app
Demo account with Trading 212
The Trading 212 platform offers access to a demo account. Just go to the broker’s main page (here) and click the “OPEN ACCOUNT” button.
After entering the e-mail address and password, the account will be created and the investor will be able to choose whether he wants to set up a real account or “practice with virtual money”.
At the start, the user receives PLN 25,000 of virtual funds, but if they are lost, he can reset his account. Inside the platform you can also switch between CFD and Invest markets.
Fees and commissions
Although the broker does not charge commissions for trading stocks or CFD products, it does charge other commissions that are worth paying attention to. These include the aforementioned currency conversion fee that will be charged on each transaction.
When opening a trading account, you need to choose the base currency of the account. If you will be trading mainly US dollar products, then it makes sense to choose a US dollar account as your base currency. The more so that the currency conversion fee for “Invest” products is 0.15%, and for “CFD” 0.5%.
The exact trading conditions and fees are described on the broker’s page here and will vary depending on the choice of “Invest” or “CFD” account. For the former, the minimum deposit amount is PLN 50, as is the minimum amount when choosing a bank transfer. In the case of bank transfers, the broker does not charge a commission for the deposit, in the case of other forms, a fee of 0.7% is charged when the deposit amount exceeds EUR 2,000.
As for the “CFD” account, the minimum amount of deposit and withdrawal is PLN 50, but no additional commissions are charged for their execution. The margin (margin) for open CFD positions will depend on the type of instrument, but for the main ones it is as follows:
- Major currency pairs – 3.33%
- Other pairs – 5%
- Gold – 5%
- Other commodities – 10%
- Shares – 20%
- Major indices – 5%
- Other indices – 10%
Trading 212 reviews
On the Trustpilot review site, Trading 212 has accumulated over 20,000 reviews and received an “excellent” rating of 4.6 stars out of 5. 75% of the reviews issued are five-star reviews.
In the Google Play store, the application has been downloaded over 10 million times, giving it 128,000 reviews, and the final score is 3.9. In the Apple Store, the rating is much higher and amounts to 4.7 with 4.1 thousand reviews.
Trading 212 FAQ
Is Trading 212 safe?
Yes, the broker has been operating on the market since 2004 and has positive feedback from its clients.
Is Trading 212 legal?
Yes, the platform has licenses in 3 countries - Great Britain, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
What can you trade on Trading 212?
The broker offers two types of investments, i.e. traditional stocks and ETFs as well as CFD products for stocks, indices, commodities, currencies (forex) and cryptocurrencies.
Is the Trading 212 account paid?
No, the account is free, but there are other transaction fees.
Does Trading 212 offer access to cryptocurrencies?
Yes, Trading 212 offers several of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the form of CFDs, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Does Trading 212 give you access to real stocks?
At Trading 212, you can set up an Invest account where you invest in real stocks and ETFs. In addition, as part of the CFD account, you can invest in derivatives based on real shares in the form of contracts for difference.
How do I set up a demo account with Trading 212?
Does Trading 212 charge for depositing and withdrawing funds?
In the case of a CFD account, there are no such fees, in the case of an Invest account, they occur in the case of deposits other than by bank transfer above the amount of EUR 2,000. Then the commission will be 0.7%.
How can I deposit funds into Trading 212?
You can choose from a traditional bank transfer, payment by credit and debit cards and using services such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Sofort, GiroPay, DotPay, iDeal and Blik payment.
Does Trading 212 offer access to Forex?
Yes, on the Trading 212 platform you get access to over 180 currency pairs, including the most popular and more exotic ones. Trading is based on contracts for difference, or CFDs.
How to withdraw money from Trading 212?
All you have to do is log in to your account, go to the withdrawal section and indicate the amount you would like to withdraw. However, remember that the money will only be withdrawn in the same form in which it was deposited.
