Avus Capital UK Ltd, as well as Avus Capital Ltd, are the main companies behind the Trading 212 trading name. Mainly a CFD and Forex broker based in the UK, its regulated by FCA or Financial Conduct Authority of England and Whales. Additionally, the company is regulated in Bulgaria by the prestigious Financial Supervision Commission.

The company was founded back in 2004 and has well over 200,000 users who continue to trade from more than 60 countries. Trading 212 is found to be compliant with all of the EU Markets in the Financial Instruments Directive and which is registered with around eleven authorities across the world.

Trading 212 is the most downloaded trading app in the UK

Traders using the broker can trade gold, currencies, indices, oil, stocks and commodities. It is also possible to trade with an ETF index. The ETF index for those who don’t know is a category of stocks which are traded through exchange traded funds making it much easier as well as cost efficient compared to individual stock trading. Plus, the prices vary in proportion to the index of the indices.

Safety & Regulation: Is it a scam?

To start with it’s important to recognize that the name Trading212 is trademarked by two companies i.e. Avus Capital Ltd and Avus Capital UK Ltd. While one trademark being owned by two companies is not something new, it is something that’s clearly popular amongst online forex brokers in general.

The vast majority of online trading services are registered to a mother company which is then regulated by local and international financial bodies. Now that this is clear we will look at exactly how Trader 212 is regulated. We will base our judgment of if or not it is worth trusting based on the regulation information.

Both parent companies are duly regulated by the FCA, which as we already know is one of the most reliable and popular regulatory bodies internationally. The main regulatory body is based in the UK.

While it is not uncommon for regulators to end up being deceived by scammers, FCA’s regulators are regarded as being the best of the best in the world. In addition, since the broker is in Bulgaria, the company is also registered with the local Bulgarian Commission.

We can safely say that Trading 212 or its parent companies comply with European Regulations. The company boasts of having duly insured accounts which help investors be assured that their investments are safe. The mechanism makes sure that the funds deposited by traders cannot be accessed or used by the company’s directors.

It goes without saying that there have been a few cases in the past where the company’s directors used clients’ money to pay their own bills and so the regulation reduces the instances of this type of thing from happening.

Finally, it is important to say that it’s impossible to judge with 100% accuracy if a broker is in fact safe. That said we can say that Trading212 has managed to fulfill all safety requirements which is and can be expected of any reliable broker.

Fees

Every trader and even many non-traders know that there is a cost associated with trading. So, no broker in the world allows for free trading since they need to cover operational costs and also make a profit. Obviously, since it costs money, it’s always worth choosing a broker who is comparatively cheaper and yet offers all the necessary bells and whistles.

Interestingly nowadays there are maybe a few brokers who will charge a commission for trading or investing. In the past traders would be charged a pretty handsome commission after which there will be fees levied on the dividends earned from the investment and finally charged when selling the shares.

The vast majority of brokers like Trading212 don’t charge a commission. Products like CFDs, for instance, has changed the way brokers work. Now traders don’t need to pay a commission for trading commodities like oil, or even currency. Though using Trading212 for CFD trading has a bit of a downside because there is a small commission levied. The fee paid is mainly in the form of a spread.

A small commission also has to be paid by traders depositing funds into their Trading212 account. The commission varies from 0.7% to around 3.5% mainly depending on the payment method chosen.

But with an increasing number of brokers ready to do business available at the click of a button it makes sense to reduce costs. So, we see no need for traders to invest and pay a commission in the process.

The Trading Platform

We are surprised to learn that Trading212’s platform is not based on MetaTrader4, but instead, they have chosen a proprietary platform. The platform is not necessarily bad because it can actually be good if it provides all the required tools and options. That said the vast majority of traders in the CFD market use MetaTrader 4 and prefer it over others.

The trading platform enables investors to trade from just about anywhere in the world. Traders can access the system from any computer or use any Android or iOS enabled device. Plus, the platform can provide trading signals as well as display graphics allowing for traders to analyze charts and other data. It’s also possible to execute trades directly via the charts.

Traders can perform many operations on any given currency pair which allows for investing in both low and high points. Investing on both sides of the currency pair is called ’scalping.’ Leverage is allowed though the level at which it is allowed will vary mainly depending on what asset is is traded.

Trading212 recently released Tradebird, which is mainly a social network where traders can copy each other’s trades and participate in sharing their trades. So, you if for instance have executed a winning trade and it starts becoming more successful other people can join you by copying your trade.

This feature has now been integrated into the platform and an excellent feature for people who want to take advantage of social trading.

We can easily say that Trading 212 uses a trading platform that’s very easy for all traders. It has all the required features a trader would need to execute good trades. The system provides all the necessary trading tools in addition to the graphical trading signals that investors may need to improve their trading efforts.

We will not be doing this platform and service justice without mentioning its demo accounts. Trading212 gives 10,000 Euros in virtual money via its demo account which clients can use to test out their strategies and learn to use the platform. But keep in mind that since the money is virtual, you cannot withdraw or use any of the profits.

Accounts

Trading212 offers traders a single standard account. The minimum deposit required for the standard account is $150 with minimum 5K lots. The max leverage provided is 1:200, in addition to variable and fixed spreads. Fixed spreads are 1.9 pips.

The variable spread is applied to mainly the EUR/USD currency pair which is around 0.9 pips and happens to be one of the most competitive in the industry. Another benefit is super fast STP executions and very little to often no slippage.

The demo account offered by Trading212 allows for mainly young males between the ages of 25-45 to test out the platform. The inexperienced trader gets to experience trading with virtual money without the fear of loss.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Funds can easily be deposted into the trading account via a number of methods including debit and credit cards. Bank wires, and many online payment methods like Mister Cash, Safetypay, Dotpay, Skrill, eBanking, UnionPay, CashU etc. Are also accepted.

The same methods can be used to withdraw money from the account as well. Withdrawing via debit or credit card does not incur a fee, but the bank may charge a fee. Paypal, however, does charge a fee.

The bare minimum deposit required is EUR €100 or $150USD. There is no upper limit set on deposits.

Education Section

Trading 212 boasts of having a lot of educational material. To start with their blog is regularly updated with the latest discussions and usually on useful topics. Plus, you can browse through previous discussions to find answers to many questions about the platform and trading in general.

World news is also posted almost every day. Traders have the option of going back to previous day’s news as well to identify trends by simply clicking the back arrow button.

Traders will also find the short and accurate technical assessment of every asset that’s traded to be useful regardless of experience level.

Some of the tutorial videos offered by Trading 212

Economic Calendar is also regularly updated. The impact of an upcoming event is also highlighted so that traders can tailor their strategies accordingly. Plus, it also displays an indicator chart.

Traders can also benefit from the company’s basic as well as advanced tutorials and lessons in video and text format. This material is available to anyone who is on the Trading 212 website. It is worth checking out even for non-registred visitors.

Out of the many topics discussed the most important are hedging and aggregating. Anyone who is new to trading will find these and the associated trading charts to be immensely useful.
The glossary and the FAQs section is organized in alphabetical order. The FAQs are also indexed into various categories. So, finding a question and the answer to it is very quick and easy.

Feedback and Opinions

It goes without saying that there is no shortage of opinions on the internet. The feedback is posted by everyone ranging from those who have had bad experiences and say it is a scam to those who are happy with the service and platform. We think that the platform is neither immensely wonderful as claimed nor the worst out there.

We personally think it’s good. Plus, the regulation that the broker is subject to is also good enough. We especially like the demo account which can be used by newbie traders for as long as they want and it does not require depositing money like some other Forex brokers out there.

We think that one of the drawbacks of Trading 212 is the costs associated with using the service. It’s not a good idea for the broker to charge traders just because they want to invest funds. Our opinion is reflected by others who have said the same thing on various trading forums and in reviews.

The welcome bonus is another point of contention because there isn’t any. Anyone wanting a welcome bonus should probably seek another broker.

Summary

We understand that you’ve taken the time to read this review and now understand Trading 212 in great detail. We take many aspects into account when reviewing an online Forex or any other broker.

That said some of you may still be a bit confused and so we would like to list a couple of the main pros and cons of the service. The list should help clarify things further.