Trading 212 Review Ireland | 2024 | Sumlad (2024)

Trading 212 Invest in an account for people who want to buy and sell stocks or ETFs and own the underlying assets whereas Trading 212 CFD is for investors who want to open leveraged positions for trading purposes.

To put it another way, Trading 212 Invest is the standard account for regular everyday Irish investors who want to begin investing for the long haul. Trading 212 CFDs is a service for experienced investors or professionals with a high-risk tolerance.

If you open a Trading 212 Invest account, a CFD account will also be created. Funds for each account are held separately, and you can toggle between the two accounts at your discretion.

If you only want to invest in stocks and ETFs, make sure that you log in to Trading 212 Invest before placing any buy or sell orders.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Here’s what you’ll need to open a Trading 212 investment account:

1. Go to Trading 212 or download the app
2. Select your country
3. Choose an Invest or CFD account
4. Sign up!

Once you’ve completed the signup process, you’ll need to complete just a few more steps too. You’ll be required to supply the following

1. Identification document to prove you’re over 18
2. Proof of address documents
3. Money to fund your account (bank transfer or card details)

Follow the steps that appear on-screen and your new investment account will most likely be approved for trading within a day or two.

You can add money to your Trading 212 Invest account via bank transfer or by inputting your debit or credit card details. Select “Deposit” on the online platform or Trading 212 investment app and you can add your IBAN or card information.

• Debit card: This option is free for up to €2,000 worth of deposits. After that limit is reached, deposits by debit or credit card will cost 0.70% of the total deposit.
• Bank Transfers: This option is free but the money may take slightly longer to arrive in your account.

You can also choose to set up a recurring deposit if you want to invest on a regular basis.

It doesn’t cost anything to withdraw money from Trading 212. Here are the steps you can follow to make a withdrawal:

1. Go to the menu and select “Manage funds”
2. Choose “Withdraw funds” and confirm your login credentials
3. Select the amount you would like to take out and press “Confirm withdrawal”

It can take up to three business days for Trading 212 to process withdrawals.

You can buy:

• US stocks from the NYSE, Nasdaq, and OTC markets
• UK stocks from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the LSE Alternative Investments Markets
• European stocks from Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Swiss stock exchanges

The Trading 212 Invest account opens investors up to markets globally. You can invest in shares from more than 10,000 companies listed in the US and Europe so there’s only a small chance you won’t find what you need.

You can not buy Irish shares from the Irish stock exchange on Trading 212. However, some Irish companies may be listed on the US or UK markets if you want to buy them.

There are hundreds of ETFs on Trading 212. They are split into five categories:

• Equity-focused (standard)
• Inverse funds
• Real estate funds
• Commodity funds
• Fixed-income funds (bonds)

The ETF selection comes in all shapes and sizes from thematic investment options to leveraged trading.

Trading 212 lets you buy crypto tracker funds and ETFs that follow the price of specific cryptocurrencies or a particular basket of cryptocurrencies

There are several ETF partners Trading 212 works with to provide the service. They are:

1. VanEck: Global investment manager
2. 21Shares: Largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the world
3. WisdomTree: Global provider of ETFs and ETPs with $95 billion+ in AUM
4. ETC Group: One of the first regulated crypto ETP providers

Irish investors can buy cryptocurrency ETFs for the following assets on Trading 212:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Solana (SOL)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Polkadot (DOT)

Trading 212 pays interest on your uninvested cash. Here are the rates for each currency effective 11 January 2024:

• Euro: 4.20%
• GBP: 5.00%
• USD: 5.10%

There is no stated limit for how much money you can earn interest on with Trading 212. Other brokers have caps, such as €25,000 or €50,000. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Trading 212.

If you’re considering depositing money to earn interest with Trading 212, but aren’t sure about the safety, here’s the information you need:

• You are covered under the EU investor compensation scheme up to €20,000
• Trading 212 has secured additional insurance of up to €1 million per client
• Client funds are not used by Trading 212 for hedging or margin trading

It’s possible to trade commodities through ETFs. You can also trade using leverage, even if you are using a Trading 212 Invest account.

You can trade these commodities and more on Trading 212:

• Oil
• Natural gas
• Wheat
• Sugar
• Gold
• Silver
• Palladium

You can trade CFDs for the majority of products mentioned above. CFDs are targeting short-term traders, and they are by no means a suitable product for beginners.

CFDs will follow a very different fee structure compared with non-leveraged products that will vary depending on the asset you wish to trade. Overnight fees generally apply, and greater leverage means greater risk so only trade CFDs if you know what you are doing.

Here’s a brief idea of how much leverage you can access for each product only if you are comfortable trading CFDs:

• Major currencies: Up to 30x
• Major indices: Up to 20x
• Gold: Up to 20x
• Commodities (excluding gold): Up to 10x
• Stocks and ETFs: Up to 5x
• Crypto: Up to 2x

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Trading 212 extended hours trading was launched in October 2023. It is the first and only investment platform in Europe that currently offers extended-hours share trading. (eToro has a similar feature, but it’s only for CFDs).

Extended hours trading for stocks on Trading 212 is available now and will be fully rolled out to its full selection of more than 5,600 US stocks by the end of November.

Here’s a visual representation of the Trading 212 Invest fee schedule to help you understand how it works*:

*A separate fee structure applies to Trading 212 CFD accounts

There are also trading fees levied by FINRA and the SEC in the US which are out of Trading 212’s controls. Here they are listed for you:

• FINRA’s selling fee is $0.000145 per share (US-listed stocks only)
• The SEC’s 0.00229% charge on stock sales (US-listed stocks only)

There are also government charges for trading European stocks on Trading 212:

• UK stamp duty of 0.5% (UK-listed stocks only)
• UK government levy of £1 on sales of shares worth £10,000 or more (UK-listed stocks only)
• French financial tax on shares of 0.3% (French-listed stocks only)

Overall, most of these government levies and taxes are minuscule in the grand scheme of things. You’ll have to pay them no matter what broker you’re with, but it’s good to know anyway.

Trading 212 is a good investment platform for any budget. Here’s what it costs to invest €100, €1,000, and €10,000 on its platform.

*Cost includes 0.50% stamp duty in the UK and 0.30% Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in France

Before you make a trade, you’ll be able to see any costs involved in the transaction. If you want to see the information about how much you are paying with Trading 212, you can do the following:

1. Log in to Trading 212 on your desktop or open the investment app
2. Click on the dropdown menu and select ‘History’
3. Here you’ll be able to see all of the deposits, withdrawals, trades, and the costs or fees for every transaction on your Trading 212 Invest account

There is a currency conversion fee of 0.15% when you purchase stocks that are not in your own currency. For a Euro account, you’ll pay 0.15% whenever you buy stocks listed in the UK or the US.

The cost of trading CFDs can change dramatically depending on the leverage you use, the holding period, and what the underlying asset is. You will have to pay a 0.50% currency conversion fee on any non-home currency assets along with overnight fees which will vary.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Card deposits are free up to €2,000 on Trading 212, but any excess deposits after this point will carry a 0.70% fee. However, you can avoid card fees on Trading 212. Instead of adding money to your account by card, just do a bank transfer which is completely free.

All withdrawals are completely free. For both deposits and withdrawals, there is a minimum of €1 per transaction.

There aren’t any hidden fees. We found Trading 212’s pricing structure to be extremely transparent.

The Trading 212 menu is split into six distinct categories:

• Home: Stock lists where you can browse the latest moves in the markets
• Portfolio: The portfolio design is extremely neat and stores all of the information on your investments in one place.
• Search: Discover stocks from all over the world or type the ticker of stocks you want to invest in
• Calendar: All of the most recent economic data, earnings report dates, and dividend payout dates neatly stored in one place
• Videos: Educational resources that can help you learn more about the stock market and keep up to date with recent news
• Notifications: You’ll hear about any account changes or major asset price fluctuations from here

On Trading 212’s mobile app, instead of the ‘Videos’ tab, you get a ‘Social’ tab. This is the area dedicated to social trading where users can share their thoughts and opinions, copy other users’ portfolio strategies, and more. It’s where you can find new stocks and discuss various trends with other like-minded investors.

Again, the design is impressive and there are plenty of stock-specific and thematic investing communities where you can browse the latest events.

You’ll find stock lists on the Home menu in the Trading 212 app. They can be a good way to familiarise yourself with companies people are already interested in.

A few examples are stocks that are ‘Popular’, ‘Top Winners’, and ‘New on Trading 212.’

Various graphics add detail to your portfolio allocation and each investment you have on Trading 212. You can build your own unique personal portfolio, set up recurring deposits, and track your investment goals.

Every investment you’ve ever made is shown, along with the current financials and details of the companies you’ve invested in. You can even see if your shares on Trading 212 have ever been lent out on the Portfolio tab.

Trading 212 has a mode called “Advanced Charting.” This feature allows traders analyse stocks using popular trading techniques such as Elliot Wave Theory, Fibonacci rules, or the use of Bollinger Bands.

The advanced charting solutions by Trading 212 are obviously targeting experienced traders. It’s one of the pros of Trading 212, it’s a suitable investment platform for all kinds of users.

The Trading 212 calendar feature not only notifies you of key earnings dates but also tracks economic data releases from different countries — upcoming inflation reports or employment figures for example.

It provides a forecast before revealing the actual results which allows traders to adjust their strategy with real-time data directly from the investment platform or app.

Trading 212 operates three groups under the same name, all of which are regulated:

• Trading 212 UK Ltd: Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK
• Trading 212 Markets Ltd: Regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• Trading 212 Ltd: Regulated by the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in Bulgaria

Find out more here.

Trading 212 has put measures in place to make sure its client’s interests are protected. Here is the compensation that applies to Trading 212 clients in different regions:

• Irish investors: Up to €20,000
• European investors: Up to €20,000
• UK investors: Up to £85,000 GBP

An additional €1,000,000 in investor protection through an insurance policy secured through Lloyds.

Although Trading 212 is a private company, we have retrieved its does publish annual financial statements, which we have examined. Here’s some basic information for you:

• Trading 212 reports financials in accordance with International Accounting Standards
• Its auditor, Buzzacot, believes Trading 212’s financial statements “give a true and fair view of the company’s affairs”
• Revenue reported for 2022 was £98.73 million with £41.10 million in profit
• The balance sheet showed it has £99 million in cash at the end of 2022 and only £16.80 million in total liabilities

The live chat customer support feature is available on the Trading 212 app and online investment platform.

If you’re on a desktop, you can log in to your account and tap the speech bubble in the bottom-left corner.

If you’re using the Trading 212 app, go to the setting tab and select “Contact us.”

If you have a complaint, you can email [emailprotected].