eToro is a leading trade site for social endeavours, its user base is currently at an impressive 5 million traders. CySec, ASIC and the FCA all support eToro with proper licensing and regulation, the site has been the product of many awards. The twist of eToro is that it allows users to tap into other retail traders' statistics and monitor the successes and errors of their execution.
Your capital is at risk.
eToro encourages interaction between traders for better strategies, CopyTrader is a software program (sanctioned under eToro) that allows users to copy others' portfolio ratings.
The minimum deposit required for an account at eToro is $100 for most, except those living in Middle Eastern countries, they need a $200 deposit for opening of an account. A deposit of $20,000 or more will automatically place you in the premium member pool where you get your own manager, credit card, access to otherwise locked sectors and a lesser wait time for withdrawals. eToro follows the commission and spread concept of trading, its spreads are a bit higher than average but if you become a reputable investor, you have the potential to trade without any spreads at all.
eToro are known to be the pioneer of social trading within the industry, they place a big emphasis on communication between everyone as it can lead to better methods and profits overall. In addition to the CopyTrader program which eToro heavily promotes, the Personal Investment Program allows users to view others' portfolios, watch lists, activity feeds, trade history, general statistics and risk level.
The selection of investment options at eToro is varied and diverse, you can trade stock in things like currency, valuable metals/gold and unorthodox items like crude oil. eToro have recently begun offering stocks in US, Spain, Italy, Russia and China to widen their grasp on the market. Bitcoin trading was introduced as a trade option in 2014 and it's treated as a stock rather than a currency. The technical quality of eToro's website is second to none, ever since they stripped away the ancient WebTrader and OpenBook platforms and moved to a modern HTML5 foundation, the site has been running like a breeze. Mobile devices are supported with a dedicated app.
You can deposit money into your account through various payment methods - transfer, credit cards and PayPal are obviously accepted as well as obscure platforms like Neteller, WebMoney and MoneyBookers. Withdrawals can be made into the same sites, you must fill out a short form before every payout.
Restrictions on regulation law disallow eToro from offering deposit promotions/bonuses. Traders however can relish in other extras if they are promoted to the "Popular Investor" status, these benefits include a complete rebate on spreads and a smaller management fee. Constant traders are what eToro look for when promoting to this level.
Support is offered via phone, webchat and operates 24 hours, five days a week. E-mail is available as well, but only for low-priority issues and a longer wait time is common for replies.
Conclusively, eToro is a great choice for anyone looking for a more social and open trade platform. Be wary of spread percentages though, for unproven investors they can be very high and eat into your profit gains.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
I am very happy that you can now also trade in cryptocurrency with Etoro. This month I've already made 58% profit with Bitcoin and Ethereum. I occasionally have the odd day where I make a loss but generally in the last few weeks all cryptocurrency has been on the rise. What I do think is a shame is that there is no referral programme to enable you to invite friends. With other brokers it's possible to earn a bit of extra cash this way.
It took 3 weeks for me to receive my request for payment of 550 euros. If I compare this to other brokers, this is an extremely long time. If they don't improve on this, I'm going to move to another broker soon. The excuse I got from customer service was that overseas transfers always take longer. When I transfer money to my brother in Belgium it usually arrives within 2 days. Why do payments take so long at Etoro?
Finally I've found a broker where I can actually make a profit. I put in a one-off amount of 250 euros and gradually I managed to increase this to 1350 euros. It did take me 8 months but it's still a lot better than the interest offered on my savings account. What I do, is copy other traders. I only select traders with low profits and low-risk investments. Make use of the filters and most importantly, your common sense. If you see a trader you'd like to copy who has 100% profit then it's safe to assume it's high-risk. Rather, pick a trader with 10 to 30% profit per month. Copy this trader and stay on top of your investments. I tend to check multiple times throughout the day, which is easy to do via the app. Also, for each investment try to avoid using high amounts, so you're not left without any money. If a particular investment dips, don't be afraid to cut your losses. It's better to limit the loss, rather than let it grow significantly. The same also applies to profits. Try to capitalise on the profits when you think it's the right time and try not to get too greedy. I see a lot of people making good profits early on, only to wind up making a loss. My advice is to take your time, and make sure to grow your capital slowly and make sure to keep an eye on your investments.
2 months ago I deposited 50 dollars in my account. I lost everything in 1 day because I didn't understand the software and the market. I got a call from customer service who wanted to see if they could help me with anything. They explained it all to me step by step, I spent more than an hour on the phone with them. At the end of the conversation they advised me to copy other traders seeing as I was just starting out. The next day I deposited 100 euros and copied a number of traders. This has really paid dividends so far, I'm on 183 dollars profit now. Don't make the same mistake as I did and just start first by copying other traders.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.