eToro Review 2021

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7.5
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eToro is an Israeli company that hosts a platform for people to invest in assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2007 and currently has over 17 million users. eToro allows its users to be involved in what is commonly referred to as social trading. In this form of trading, investors – who do not have extensive knowledge of the asset markets or pricing – can follow the behaviour of their peers and make financial decisions.

 

The financial strategies used are called copy trading because investors copy the trades of their peers.  Below, we will go through an eToro review that will focus on some of the pros and cons of the social trading platform.

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(Last Updated On: October 11, 2021)

How Accessible is eToro?

eToro is available for traders in over 100 countries. In the United States, eToro can be accessed from 43 states, as well as Washington, D.C. since 2018. Users living in United States regions of Delaware, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Puerto Rico, or Tennessee can open eToro accounts, but are not able to trade. eToro initially imposed a withdrawal fee for all users to discourage them from leaving the trading market and withdrawing their funds. Although the fee was removed for U.S. residents, there is still a $5 fee for non-U.S. residents. In an eToro UK review, eToro would also be classified as a highly accessible app.

eToro focuses primarily on making trading easier for users who are not experts in the asset market, such as stocks or foreign exchange trading. It provides graphical illustrations and allows you to copy the strategies of successful traders which makes it easier for many people to make profits. We believe that if you are interested in investing in the asset market, such as stocks, then you must give eToro a try.

Is eToro Good Quality?

In this eToro review, one of our main focuses is to gauge and illustrate how easy it is for everyone to use. A new user can easily open a new account online and start using the app. Before you can start trading, you will have to submit the required documentation and information that will be used to verify your identity. This may take quite a few days, and this shows that eToro makes sure their users are all genuine and are authentic investors. It should be noted though that U.S. citizens are not able to open an account or trade when they are located overseas. Overall, the platform definitely passes the question – “is eToro good?”.

Deposit Required to Open eToro Accounts

If you are a resident of the United States or Australia, you will need a minimum of $50 in order to start trading. Residents of all other countries are required to have a deposit of at least $1,000, except for Algerians, who are required to have a deposit of at least $5,000. eToro uses the service of Plaid to link its users trading accounts to bank accounts. In some countries, users are also able to link their credit cards and PayPal accounts to their eToro accounts. The deposits required for non-US and non-Australian residents might downgrade the app a little in an eToro UK review.

How is Trading Done in eToro?

One of the best parts of our eToro review is evaluating the way that users can conduct trading through the application. The important factors to notice are the UI/UX characteristics that users go through in order to trade, as well as how fast and seamlessly transactions are actually carried out.

Many people carry out transactions using their web browsers. While viewing the assets, such as cryptocurrencies, you can see a “Trade” button which allows you to go into the particular asset and make whichever trading decision you want. Once you press the “Trade” button, you can see the “Buy” button which allows you to purchase the cryptocurrency. You can make purchases in lots of the same item. It is like making purchases in bundles. If you would like to sell the item, you can select the “Sell” option from a dropdown and then sell the item. In the same way as making a purchase, you can sell items off in lots or bundles. You will be able to sell assets only in the same style as you initially purchased them i.e., in the same lots.

In countries other than the United States, you are able to press a button called “Markets” which allows you to view assets from many different categories, such as equities, foreign currencies, and CFDs (contracts for differences). You are able to implement stop losses in your trades. This means that you can set a minimum amount at which you are able to sell off a particular asset after purchasing it so that you do not have a loss above a particular limit. This feature is not available in the version of the application in the United States.

The UI/UX in the mobile application is very similar to that of the web application. The trading buttons and mechanisms are very similar. However, the main difference is that the mobile version of eToro does not have as many analytical graphs or trends which users can use at the time of making their trading decisions. This means that some fairly simple decisions can still be taken through the mobile app at times of travel, for instance.

Different Options for Different Countries

At the moment, eToro allows United States residents to trade only cryptocurrencies. They do not have the option to trade equities or foreign currencies using the app. However, non-U.S. residents are allowed to trade cryptocurrencies, along with foreign currencies, contracts for difference (CFDs), stocks, and Exchange-trade funds (ETFs). This might be due to the trading laws between the United States and other countries. The greater options for investment will certainly upgrade the app’s rating in an eToro UK review.

Costs For eToro Users

In this eToro review, we will be looking at the costs incurred by the users during their transactions as well. Users who are residents of the U.S. are required to pay a fee of around 0.75% to 5% while trading cryptocurrencies. The user generally does not see this fee explicitly because the fee is added to the price of the cryptocurrency during the purchase or sale. The percentage of the fee incurred during the transaction depends on the type of the cryptocurrency being traded.

Customers outside the United States do not have to pay any percentage on long positions of stocks. However, they do have to pay an 0.8% commission fee for purchasing short positions. Another form of cost that eToro users might incur include charges for converting from one currency to another. This situation can happen when a Japanese user of eToro buys an American stock. Users will also incur a fee of $10 every year for not being active in their accounts. Outside the United States, users will also incur a fee of $5 for withdrawals. The withdrawal fee would reduce the app’s rating in an eToro UK review.

Education and Training Materials in eToro

eToro is significantly equipped with hefty amounts of education and training materials that can help users onboard onto the different functionalities of the application. For this eToro review, we found that if a user goes to the Help Center section of the app, they will be able to access a page where a large quantity of training materials will be listed that they can access. The different training materials that are listed in the eToro Help Center include general information about eToro accounts, investing, purchasing, selling, and depositing and withdrawing money. Users outside the U.S. are also able to register and join webinars every week through which they get to learn more about cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange trading. Users outside the U.S. also have access to the media center, blog and video tutorials of eToro where they can develop their knowledge of investing and trading in the platform.

Research Materials in eToro

eToro does not have any central research facility within its app. This can be an issue because of the fact that users are always on the lookout to learn new things from the community and research among the community members could be a huge source of knowledge, especially for those who are not experts in the trading realm. The newsfeed of the app is a good discussion board where different users can come in and post their thoughts on different things or findings. This is one of the places where social trading can really take place as newcomers to the app can take the opportunity to actually observe the line of thought and strategies of other investors. However, overall, we find in this eToro review that the research material is still rather under-developed.

Portfolio Analysis Options in eToro

The portfolio analysis and management features of eToro are not very developed. The section of the application which states “Portfolio Analysis” simply shows a list of the assets that you own at the moment. You can also see the rise or fall in net asset value you experienced from the beginning of your trading till that moment. You can make edits to the columns and metrics displayed in the section to see how things are actually looking for you financially, however, the application does not have the option for you to make any hypothetical adjustments whereby you would be able to see how exactly the addition or deletion of a particular asset from your portfolio could affect your over net asset value.

In our eToro review, we find that portfolio analysis is another sector of active development for the app. If a user ever wonders “is eToro good?” based on the portfolio analysis and management options, then it has a long way to go.

Customer Service in eToro

There are many levels of customer service that eToro offers to its users, depending on the tier the user belongs to in the platform. For example, users with less than $5,000 get the regular customer service from eToro. This means that the users will get help online from customer service representatives and will be able to submit tickets or get help from live chat with representatives. Generally, there is no support received over phone so live chat and email are the only options.

Those users who have more than $5,000 in their accounts have access to priority customer service because they have a personal account manager assigned to their account. This means that they do not have to wait for about 14 days or so to have their help tickets resolved. Users with accounts over $25,000 get access to platinum customer support. This includes even more options and personalised assistance from customer service representatives. However, it is important to note that regardless of the tier of the customer, none of them have access to live broker help.

How Safe is eToro?

eToro is generally considered very safe by users. They have a trust score of 95 on forexbrokers.com which is quite high based on the markets that it is in. It has a biometric option enabled for mobile applications which creates an extra layer of security. Moreover, eToro does not operate with a bank and outsources its task of bank account and fund management to Plaid. Moreover, eToro is not available for public trading in any of the stock exchanges in the market.

7.5Expert Score
Based on the eToro review points that we have highlighted in the discussion above, we think that eToro is legit. It has informative, yet sleek graphical illustrations that tell traders the exact story of the market. Additionally, they have a great user interface and user experience design which allows traders to navigate their way through the app easily. Even those who are not experts at trading often find themselves familiar with the processes, because of their ability to copy the strategies of the traders whose investments were profitable. They also have reasonable fees, as well as conditions to regulate the behaviour of traders in the community of users.
PROS
  • 15 different cryptocurrencies available to trade
  • Can copy profitable traders with ease
  • Ideal for trading beginners
  • Asset traders community
CONS
  • Withdrawal fee included
  • Comparatively high minimum-investment needed

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