The stock broker ITRADER operates out of Europe due to its legislative links being based in Cyprus, which is in the EU.
ITRADER, which is owned by Hoch Capital Ltd, is regulated in EU, which follows a stringent process for all brokers. In order to be the best stock broker, ITRADER has focused on offering the most stocks that it can. This marks ITRADER out as a stock trading broker that puts its efforts much more on product than marketing, as this review of ITRADER shows. Here, we take a look at how the broker works towards this goal.
While aesthetics are important, great stock options and a wide range of trading assets are what we are here for, after all, so it is worth checking out these first.
Forex: You can trade with all the leading foreign currency pairs, and some niche ones too. Some solid spreads and fine margins are available when you step up to at least the Gold account, which makes ITRADER competitive with other brokers.
Cryptocurrency: Make the most of a constantly changing market with digital currencies to add to your portfolio.
Stocks: ITRADER stock trading is where this broker has made its name, and it does not let itself down in this regard, offering a lot more stock options than most other brokers do. All of them are driven through CFDs, meaning that you can move lots of stocks without dealing with asset transfers.
Commodities: There is a strong range of commodities next to the other offerings, with the likes of sugar and coffee available alongside natural gas and crude oils.
From a look at the website and its social media profiles, as well as what is written about the broker elsewhere, it seems clear that the ITRADER stock trading positioning is led entirely by what stocks it has on offer, and this is pretty much the sole route that it has taken into the market.
This review of ITRADER finds that you will not have to pay any fees for each trade you carry out, but it is not so clear which stock exchanges it has on offer. Unsurprisingly, this impacts our ITRADER brokerage review a bit. You cannot find the list of available stock exchanges and search for information as easily as you can with some other leading stock brokers, but you will find a much better selection once you actually sign up and use its tools. ITRADER may not be competitive in terms of marketing and profile, but it is competitive with its core product.
When looking at the overall opportunities for investment, the fact that you can bet on big corporations, insurance giants, tech enterprises and stock exchanges at the same time allows you to widen your portfolio net as much as possible. This makes ITRADER worth looking into.
ITRADER works with contracts for difference (CFDs), and it is a lot easier to start working with stocks this way than it is with old-fashioned asset transfers. This is because of how the ITRADER brokerage account has been set up – its trading commissions are all designed to be quick and easy to use.
ITRADER has delivered a one-click trading function, and it has a range of account types to make it easier to choose which trading conditions you want to operate under. This broker comparison assesses the differences between them so that you can pick the one that is best suited to you.
The three main account types offer different leverages and spreads. Silver starts you out at 1:200 and a margin of 2.2 pips on EUR/USD compared to just 0.7 when you go up to Platinum. This means that depending on which account you choose, you can get super-competitive spreads, and swap discounts of up to 50%, which is worth looking at if you trade often, especially on currency pairs and foreign stock exchanges.
Alongside this, you can enhance your efforts with various extras that come with the upper-level account types. These include dedicated news alerts and customisable notifications.
If you require a swap-free account due to religious beliefs, then you can get an Islamic account, while a demo account is available for those who want to practice before they begin investing with real money.
Like all major brokers these days, ITRADER caters to the changing needs and expectations of traders. This is partly because we operate so much on the move these days that everything is done via a mobile format.
However, if you want the best experience of trading stocks here, then you should get the desktop app. It has all of the tools and customisable indicators that are harder to set up if you have less processing power.
While the ITRADER stock trading website states that it likes to focus on web development, from a cursory glance, this does not ring quite so true as some of the claims of its rivals, which is worth taking into account.
As ITRADER does not have its own proprietary platform, its branding is interlinked instead with MetaTrader 4 software, so it will follow a similar pattern to many other brokers if you have used their services before.
This stock broker comparison finds that you can keep up with trades daily via mobile and tablet forms, which come in a streamlined version, as does the one you would use if you went through the website browser.
Many stockbrokers these days try to tempt in customers not just in terms of their product, but also in the way that it is accessed. The website itself may not actually be that usable, which is a huge problem if you are basing your choice just on this.
This review of ITRADER finds that the homepage is sorely lacking in content, with a lot of it appearing rushed. It is hard to find out specifics and details, and this means that it has to lose points.
When it comes to using trading platforms on its web browser, there are many tools to make it easier to use, with charts and indicators that you can pick and choose from to make sure that the data you are looking for matches your intentions for investing.
On the whole, there are some nice additions, including a one-click trade function that is similar to those you would see at the big e-commerce companies. There are some nice touches, but you get the impression that ITRADER could certainly be doing a lot more to make it easier for clients to find the essential bits.
There are not so many brokers with customer support available at weekends, and ITRADER is no different, but at least it is making the most of its services when they are available. They can be reached in a number of different ways, and by all accounts, good customer service is one of ITRADER ‘s strongest suits.
You can catch the staff members on the end of a phone in a number of languages, which is good for those who may have decent English but are struggling with some specific terms. If you simply find it easier to converse in some of these other popular languages, then the option is there, and it is not one that every broker will offer. You can usually host live chats with different language options, but multilingual phone calls are a plus point.
You can also get in touch via the obvious digital ways that are now becoming commonplace. In a way, emails are becoming more old-fashioned, but phone calls are back in vogue as you are more likely to get a quick answer, even if you have to spend a few minutes on hold.
Live chat functions are possible, and there is a contact form on the website. You can also choose to contact ITRADER through social media, where it maintains active profiles.
In this digital environment, it is only natural that online brokers are keeping up with the trends by making it possible to deposit in as many different ways as possible. This enables people from all over the world with varying connections and bank balances to get involved and begin investing.
The proliferation of e-wallets has picked up hugely over the last few years as people look to cut down on time and make their payments more efficient. It also gives you the opportunity to pay less on foreign exchange rates.
This review of ITRADER shows that if you want to pay the more traditional way, using a credit or debit card, then this is going to be fine – unless you do not have either Visa or Mastercard. For Maestro or Amex, it might be a bit more challenging, and in which case you will need to opt for a wire or bank transfer.
Of course, one of the issues with this is the fees that can sometimes be applied. E-wallets can pose the same problem, but many are designed to avoid this issue, so you can pick the one that limits any processing costs.
According to our ITRADER brokerage review, you will also need to deposit a minimum of 250 euros, dollars or pounds to be able to trade, while the minimum withdrawal amount is $100 or a currency equivalent.
No traders operating in Europe are allowed to avail bonuses or promotions, but there are other ways that offers can be used by brokers to tempt in more custom.
Research and education is the way that ITRADER goes about this. The broker offers many tools and a range of formats to suit people who learn in different ways. Some traders may find it harder than others to read through eBooks and the like, but ITRADER has produced these to suit both beginners and advanced traders.
For those who are used to digital content and learning via this method, a host of videos and webinars are available, and there are some progressive educational tools to help you get used to how ITRADER works. You can also see the demo account as part of the same idea, and learn as you go, to make sure that you maximise your potential for success.
ITRADER may not have delved into this in the same way as some of its competitors, which have really decided to be the best in the market when it comes to educational materials. ITRADER is not on the same level here, but there is still plenty to keep you occupied, and lots to learn.
Good, varying range of short and long education formats
Thanks to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), ITRADER is able to position itself as one of the safest brokers out there when it comes to its European operations, alongside its rivals in the same space.
This is because CySec is understood to be one of the regulatory environments that falls under the banner of the European Union, which is strict about ensuring that brokers are sustainable in their set-up so that there is less chance of a market crash happening. Because of this, all deposits through the platform must be effectively segregated in order for it to be granted regulatory approval.
This is good news when it comes to protecting your investments as they cannot be kept next to the directors’ pot. It also ensures that in the event of unexpected insolvency or something similar, you will be able to get most, if not all, of your money back.
However, ITRADER does not have the same restriction outside of Europe, and nor will they be covered in its operations. While this is fine for some regions, you should check the laws of your local jurisdiction if you are investing.
ITRADER has no obvious awards list to speak of displayed on its website, which suggests that it has not actually won any industry honours.
If you look at other broker sites, many of them try as hard as possible to display them prominently on the homepage, and you will be able to hear about what they have won by using search engines. However, this does not appear to be the case with ITRADER, and many will be wondering exactly why this is.
For many brands out there, winning awards is hard, and it could simply be that ITRADER have sought to focus on developing its product instead of making sure that it gets shiny trophies. This would be an understandable plan, if it could get enough people to test out its offering, but there is no guarantee that many would get past the initial stage of checking it out. Given that ITRADER has been operating since 2012, for it to have barely had any coverage or media attention implies that it is doing something wrong.
So, is ITRADER good? The wide range of stock and trading opportunities suggests that ITRADER knows what it is doing, especially when it comes to providing one of the biggest selections of brokers out there. However, there are plenty of sticking points that do not do it any favours, and will leave many questions for those seeking reassurance by viewing the website.
If you are looking for enough stock options to diversify your portfolio, and are considering signing up to a higher-level account anyway, then it could tick all the boxes. Just do not expect ITRADER to be shouting about it.