Fineco Bank Forex Broker Review

Founded in the year 1999, Fineco is an Italian bank that is regulated by the Bank of Italy, the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob). It has a banking license and is subject to limited regulation of the UK FCA and the PRA. Being listed on the Borsa Italian Stock Exchange, Fineco Bank is a part of the STOXX Europe 600 stock index. 

Fineco Bank serves customers from two countries, the UK and Italy. The services provided by the Fineco bank such as the trading fee and other facilities differ in both the countries. Even though it has entered the market not so long ago, Fineco Bank has shown great promise and has been a recipient of a number of awards due to the same. Some of these awards include awards at the London Forex Show including Best Trading Tools, Trading Platform, and All Round Provider in 2020.

This Fineco Bank review outlines the most important aspects that you need to consider before choosing this low-cost service provider. 

Fineco Bank specialises in CFD products which can be traded across a vast number of asset classes including stocks and shares, currencies, hard metals, energies, futures and options.

For the beginners, Fineco Bank may not be the ideal choice as it imparts more responsibility on the user in terms of the trade placed. For the same reason, experienced traders find it a perfect match for their needs as they get to go beyond the limits on their trades. However, Fineco Bank offers managed portfolios so that the beginners can also reap the benefits of this powerful trading platform but this portfolio management comes at a fee. In addition to this, Fineco Bank also provides one of the best on-site education which makes it the perfect platform for beginners who want to gain experience. 

Product Range

Fineco offers a wide array of products and this product portfolio is one that can not be matched by most brokers in the market. The multi-currency trading platform offers stocks, share ETFs and CFDs, a multitude of investment options, and much more. Fineco offers one of the best services when it comes to CFDs. Considering that 69.9 per cent of traders lose their money while trading with CFDs, Fineco Bank provides helpful articles that educate the traders on basic mistakes that they might make. 

However, as wide as the product array of Fineco might be, there still are some facilities that Fineco Bank does not provide. For instance, it does not offer ISA, SIPPs, or corporate accounts for UK based customers. This makes the platform restricted to just commercial banking and trading. 

For the UK users, Fineco Bank offers access to 26 global markets where you can trade in UK shares and ETFs, US and EUR shares and ETFs, CFDs, Futures, Foreign exchange (forex)

Options, Funds, and Bonds.

For the advanced traders, Fineco has something special to offer. Enhanced with advanced tools and techniques such as detailed technical analysis and the ability to optimise performance via customisation of the trading space, Fineco Bank’s advanced platform called PowerDesk is truly a blessing for the traders looking to quench their thirst for advanced trading. 

Coming to the web-based trading platform at Fineco, the design is of this platform is mesmerizing. Built on top of modern concepts, this platform provides an unmatched experience both to the beginners as well as experienced users. However, the platform is rich with features which require some effort from the user’s side to get used to. For instance, the platform allows the addition of several charts on a single screen which then allows the user to analyse multiple markets at the same time.

Last but not the least, the mobile trading platform of Fineco. Considering the increasing number of traders preferring mobile applications, Fineco Bank’s mobile trading platform stands out than the rest. From the user experience to the user interface, everything has been designed in an elegant way. The addition of face ID makes it more secured as does the feature of trade confirmation. One key consideration in this app that further enhances the user experience is the search functionality called Stock Screener. It allows a user to explore the market quite easily. 

Research services

The research service is one of the main reasons why Fineco Bank is deemed as a worthy competitor by the best brokers. It provides trading ideas and screeners with more than 90 indicators, making it one the most extensive research services. It further includes analyst’ opinions which helps a user decide whether to buy, hold or sell. It also incudes advanced charting that allows a user to change timeframes, view multiple charts and personalise the charts to experience more comfort while trading. 

All this advanced research and education may seem overwhelming to a beginner which is why Fineco Bank also provides a comprehensive education section containing in-depth videos. If a beginner wants to learn about the financial jargons, including elements such as stop losses, conditional orders, and trading books, this educational section will be a blessing. In addition to this, the users on Fineco Bank platform can greatly benefit from the frequent webinars where the in-house analysts of Fineco Bank discuss about the fundamental market changes.

Fees and Charges 

The competitive fee gives a further edge to Fineco Bank. Even though the fee varies depending on the asset class that is being traded, the customer of Fineco Bank will find solace in the low trading fee charged at Fineco as compared to the other brokers. In addition to this, the fee structure is completely transparent. 

Coming to the numbers, the fee at Fineco starts at £2.95 per trade with the added bonus of forex and commodities being traded on a commission-free basis. While this fee already seems low when compared to what other brokers charge, this fee is complemented by the fact that Fineco does not charge any platform fee. Combining these facts, Fineco is certainly one of the cheapest trading platforms. 

Mentioned below are some of the scenarios representing the fee to be paid by a user for a certain asset class. 

1. US stock can cost $3.95 per trade for UK customers, while $3.95-$12.95 per trade for Italian customers. However, this cost is also subject to the number of trades completed in a month. 
2. A trade in EURUSD is charged in a spread. 0.8 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours.
3. For mutual funds, a Fineco Bank user in the UK would have to pay the following percentage of a trade value per year – 0.25% for  £0 – £250k, 0.15% for £250k – £1m and 0.05% for £1m – £2m. A trade above £2m is free. As for the Italian customers, €/$9 per trade is the fee. There are 700 free funds also available to Italian customers.

Therefore, it can be said that whether a user trades from the choice of thousands of international stocks, shares, currencies, futures, ETFs, or options, the pricing structure is quite simple. The costs are fair and the fee is also very competitive. Generally, there are three pricing models – Standards fees, Reduced fees and Active fees.

Pros

1. Interactive application and web platform
2. Low trading fee for most asset classes including stocks or ETFs
3. Highly secured
4. No fee on inactivity, withdrawal, or deposit

Cons

1. High fee for Forex and high rates for financing
2. Only bank transfers are allowed for deposit
3. Charting tools require more effort to get used to
4. Educational tools need more resources

Account types

There are only two account types at Fineco Bank, individual and joint accounts. Moreover, a customer who has opened an account with the Fineco Bank automatically opens a current account. This account can be used not just for trading but also for payments. For the Italian customers, the opening of a small business account is also in the picture. 

The process for account opening is fully digitalised and takes just 15 mins to complete. However, the verification of the account can take a long time depending upon various situations. Sometimes an account can be verified after 2 business days. Opening the account over the phone is also an option. 

The following steps represent the process of opening an account in Fineco Bank:

• Add your personal information, like name or date of birth.
• Give your permanent address and tax residence.
• Add information about your citizenship, employment status, and source of wealth.
• Answer a few questions about your educational background and trading experience.
• You have the option to choose a debit card from Fineco.
• Make a bank transfer in order to identify yourself.
• You get your ‘Account opening password’ by text and the ‘Contract number’ on email.
• You have to upload an ID as proof of identity and accept the T&Cs.

Customer service

Being a bank, customer service at Fineco is just outstanding. The highly qualified support staff has been successful in creating a portfolio of 96% satisfied customers which is also a result of more than 200 operators at the disposal with the additional over 2,600 personal financial advisors that are able to analyze and fulfill investment expectations. The Educational section of Fineco can also be deemed as a part of this customer service. English and Italian are the supported languages. 

Support can be availed during the service hours(Mon-Fri 08:00 to 22:00, Sat 09:00 to 13:00) over the phone, through chat, or by email. The response time for emails is almost immediate which makes it satisfying.