Originally founded in 2006 as RetailFX, eToro came to be in 2007 and was brought into this world as a social platform for online transactions in stocks, currencies, indices, and commodities. Thanks to eToro’s intuitive OpenBook trading platform, traders can conduct transactions with various financial instruments such as stocks, commodities, precious metals, currency pairs, and market indices. eToro’s CopyTrading feature allows rookie and veteran traders alike to copy trades from their experienced colleagues.
Over 6M traders
Founded in 2007
Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus
Who regulates eToro?
In terms of regulatory oversight, eToro is regulated in two different countries: The United Kingdom, and Cyprus. eToro is regulated by the British Financial Supervision Authority (FCA) in the UK, and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus. Additionally, because both the FCA and CySEC follow the Financial Instrument Market Directive (MiFID), eToro has all the requirements necessary to operate and conduct financial activities in the Eurozone.
Regulated by: CySEC, FCA, MiFID
What types of accounts and platforms does eToro provide?
At eToro, they try not to complicate simple things. You can choose among two trading account types: a standard trading account and a demo account. To open a standard trading account, a mandatory deposit must be provided in the amount of $500. By choosing a demo eToro trading account, traders will have access to $100,000 in virtual currency. Therefore, the platform allows traders to test various trading strategies without any financial risk. This is also a great opportunity for potential eToro traders to check the broker’s services and trading platform functions before transferring real funds. Also available are Islamic accounts.
One of eToro’s distinguishing features in the industry has been and remains their trading platform – OpenBook. Launched in 2010, OpenBook was one of the first of its class on the market. Unlike traditional online platforms, eToro’s platform managed to mobilize the wisdom of the masses in order to maximize the income of traders. Social trading platforms allow traders to see each other’s statistics: open positions, profitability levels, and real-time trading strategies that are being used.
Limited choice of accounts
Expensive entry point of $500
Demo account with $100,000
Social OpenBook platform
Trade copying
How does eToro operate?
One of eToro’s attractions is the ability to copy other traders’ transactions. You can search among the registered traders based on some of the following criteria:
• Investors with a stable weekly income;
• By level of risk involved in the operations;
• Investors with a portfolio that involves their own trades as well as copied trades;
• Active copyists;
• Highest rated traders;
• Equity investors.
You also have access to some advanced filters, which have many more parameters, but the best course of action is to avoid using a lot of criteria because arguably the most important thing is the trader’s profit and level of experience. These are the two key points that characterize whether a trader has stability.
One of the advantages of eToro’s platform is the ability to communicate with other traders. You have the luxury of observing other people’s transactions in real time, copying them, or, on the contrary, letting others use your transactions in exchange for a commission. All private information, of course, is shared with no one.
The CopyTrader function is a real opportunity to form an investment portfolio consisting entirely out of other traders’ transactions. All you have to do is subscribe to the traders whose activities seem promising to you. You can even communicate with them if you want to. To find out who is currently most successful, the Popular Investors option will help immensely. The system determines the leaders automatically according to a number of criteria, ranging from the number of successful transactions to the total amount of investments for a certain period.
Ability to search traders through filters and Communication with other traders.
How to deposit and withdraw?
eToro provides its customers with the opportunity to trade a wide variety of assets, ranging from stocks and currencies to CFD’s. To get started, you will need to register via a special link and deposit a certain amount into your account. You can transfer money using a credit card, electronic payment systems like PayPal and WebMoney, or via a bank transfer. All transactions are as secure as possible, as they are protected by SSL technology.
The account must be verified within 5 days after making the first deposit. After verification, it is possible to replenish your account with large sums. The maximum replenishment with a single payment is limited to $50,000. Customers who have more than $20,000 in assets are classified as Premium. This gives them various privileges, ranging from bonuses when depositing to the account and ending with their own personal manager and access to exclusive materials.
Conclusion
eToro certainly brings a lot to the table with its innovative platform. Being able to see other traders’ transactions, copy them, learn from them, and even communicate with them, definitely earns eToro some major points. However, other areas don’t shine as bright as we would like. There is no consistency with withdrawals, with a surprising amount of people experiencing complications, and when there is a need for assistance, the customer support team isn’t always there to help. The ridiculous entry sum of $500 is already enough to scare away newcomers. While eToro’s main attraction of copying others is quite intriguing, especially for rookies, you have to understand that the majority of the time simply copying others won’t be a strategy you should rely on, since the moment a trade is done, seconds after the market conditions are already different.
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37
Comments
EdgaR
55
21/02/2019, 20:10:00
Only complications I had so far in 4 months was with the withdrawals and reaching the support team. The platform is cool, spreads are higher than normal, seeing other people's results serves as motivation to learn and trade more. I am satisfied with my choice.
Juliana Myers
55
14/02/2019, 10:03:44
I really enjoy the OpenBook platform. I have practically zero knowledge as to what is going on during the trades and how they work in general, but the fact that I can copy other people’s trades has been the deciding factor in my relatively small success so far. But I'm starting to learn things little by little.
Michelle
55
13/02/2019, 17:58:53
I've been using this broker for about 2 weeks when I decided to suggest that my partner join the mix. After about a week of us both trading and replenishing each other’s accounts with 3 different credit cards, both of our accounts were closed because it was apparently suspicious activity. So far my calls have been useless, and only 1 of the 3 emails I sent have received a reply, and still it wasn't even a legitimate answer. This kind of disrespect takes away from my wish to continue trading in general, which I really wanted to get in to.
peterQ
55
12/02/2019, 09:03:14
Twice already I had issues with withdrawing, with delays that were absurd, to be frank. Instead of the promised 2-3 days max, I had to wait 8 days for my second and last withdrawal. The social platform is good and all for learning and seeing how other people do things, but attempts to have a constructive dialogue with other traders have failed 100% of the time so far, no one just seems to care.
DDVigol4
55
10/02/2019, 19:25:01
eToro was my first broker a few years ago. Since then I have tried a few others, and a few weeks ago decided to return to my roots, see how things have changed. It has definitely become a lot more mainstream today, but most of the things stayed the same. While the platform itself has become a highlight, no doubt, the new entry-level deposit of $500 is definitely a drawback. Considering there is only one account, this makes the entry point quite expensive. Also, now that I want to withdraw what I have, they are asking for a $25 commission on top, which is ridiculous.
JosephCindella
55
09/02/2019, 16:49:41
Decided to give it a go after seeing one of my friend’s attempts at trading. Even though he seems to have lost everything in the first few days, I've had better luck so far. 3 weeks in and I'm learning new things almost every day. Being able to see other traders' activities certainly helps put things into perspective. I was very hesitant at first though, especially with the $500 deposit. I have yet to withdraw anything, so we will see how that goes.
moneyman
55
09/02/2019, 09:24:50
eToro is great. I use it practically for the trade copying function alone, since I don’t understand most of the stuff that’s in front of me. Luck or not, I've almost doubled my investment in 1,5 months of trading. I tried taking a look at some of the educational materials, but my intuition seems to be doing the job so far.
eToro Review
What is eToro?
Originally founded in 2006 as RetailFX, eToro came to be in 2007 and was brought into this world as a social platform for online transactions in stocks, currencies, indices, and commodities. Thanks to eToro’s intuitive OpenBook trading platform, traders can conduct transactions with various financial instruments such as stocks, commodities, precious metals, currency pairs, and market indices. eToro’s CopyTrading feature allows rookie and veteran traders alike to copy trades from their experienced colleagues.
Who regulates eToro?
In terms of regulatory oversight, eToro is regulated in two different countries: The United Kingdom, and Cyprus. eToro is regulated by the British Financial Supervision Authority (FCA) in the UK, and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus. Additionally, because both the FCA and CySEC follow the Financial Instrument Market Directive (MiFID), eToro has all the requirements necessary to operate and conduct financial activities in the Eurozone.
What types of accounts and platforms does eToro provide?
At eToro, they try not to complicate simple things. You can choose among two trading account types: a standard trading account and a demo account. To open a standard trading account, a mandatory deposit must be provided in the amount of $500. By choosing a demo eToro trading account, traders will have access to $100,000 in virtual currency. Therefore, the platform allows traders to test various trading strategies without any financial risk. This is also a great opportunity for potential eToro traders to check the broker’s services and trading platform functions before transferring real funds. Also available are Islamic accounts.
One of eToro’s distinguishing features in the industry has been and remains their trading platform – OpenBook. Launched in 2010, OpenBook was one of the first of its class on the market. Unlike traditional online platforms, eToro’s platform managed to mobilize the wisdom of the masses in order to maximize the income of traders. Social trading platforms allow traders to see each other’s statistics: open positions, profitability levels, and real-time trading strategies that are being used.
How does eToro operate?
One of eToro’s attractions is the ability to copy other traders’ transactions. You can search among the registered traders based on some of the following criteria:
You also have access to some advanced filters, which have many more parameters, but the best course of action is to avoid using a lot of criteria because arguably the most important thing is the trader’s profit and level of experience. These are the two key points that characterize whether a trader has stability.
One of the advantages of eToro’s platform is the ability to communicate with other traders. You have the luxury of observing other people’s transactions in real time, copying them, or, on the contrary, letting others use your transactions in exchange for a commission. All private information, of course, is shared with no one.
The CopyTrader function is a real opportunity to form an investment portfolio consisting entirely out of other traders’ transactions. All you have to do is subscribe to the traders whose activities seem promising to you. You can even communicate with them if you want to. To find out who is currently most successful, the Popular Investors option will help immensely. The system determines the leaders automatically according to a number of criteria, ranging from the number of successful transactions to the total amount of investments for a certain period.
Ability to search traders through filters and Communication with other traders.
How to deposit and withdraw?
eToro provides its customers with the opportunity to trade a wide variety of assets, ranging from stocks and currencies to CFD’s. To get started, you will need to register via a special link and deposit a certain amount into your account. You can transfer money using a credit card, electronic payment systems like PayPal and WebMoney, or via a bank transfer. All transactions are as secure as possible, as they are protected by SSL technology.
The account must be verified within 5 days after making the first deposit. After verification, it is possible to replenish your account with large sums. The maximum replenishment with a single payment is limited to $50,000. Customers who have more than $20,000 in assets are classified as Premium. This gives them various privileges, ranging from bonuses when depositing to the account and ending with their own personal manager and access to exclusive materials.
Conclusion
eToro certainly brings a lot to the table with its innovative platform. Being able to see other traders’ transactions, copy them, learn from them, and even communicate with them, definitely earns eToro some major points. However, other areas don’t shine as bright as we would like. There is no consistency with withdrawals, with a surprising amount of people experiencing complications, and when there is a need for assistance, the customer support team isn’t always there to help. The ridiculous entry sum of $500 is already enough to scare away newcomers. While eToro’s main attraction of copying others is quite intriguing, especially for rookies, you have to understand that the majority of the time simply copying others won’t be a strategy you should rely on, since the moment a trade is done, seconds after the market conditions are already different.
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