Saxo Bank is a globally known Danish based investment bank that now provides remarkable online services for hundreds of thousands of beginner and advanced level traders worldwide. The company was founded in 1992 which makes it one of the oldest and largest brokerages in the world. Since then, they have expanded their business much fold. Their subsidiaries are present in many regions of the world as separate legal entities.
In the following article, we will be reviewing the Saxo Bank on the basis of the different services that are provided by them. We will be analyzing the different regulations, the quality and number of trading platforms provided by them, other aspects which makes this brokerage safe to trade with, their trading fees and commissions (if/any), inactivity fees, forex and fund fees, bonuses or promotions, the different type of account types, funding methods for depositing and withdrawing your money for the trades and various other things.
The aim of this review is that by the end of the article you should be able to decide whether to select Saxo Bank as your trading partner or to select any other broker that would serve you better.
Brief Overview of Saxo Bank:
1. Secure: Being regulated by different top tier financial regulatory bodies, Saxo Bank has deemed itself safe to trade with.
2. Advanced Trading Platforms: Their trading platforms have far more impressive features than their traditional counterparts.
3. Experienced: Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank has now subsidiaries in most of the developed countries of the world. Their years of experiences in the field are much appreciated by traders worldwide.
Saxo Bank – Company Profile:
The Saxo Bank was founded in the year 1992 as a privately owned firm. Headquarters of Saxo Bank is located in Hellerup, Denmark. Since its inception, Saxo Bank has grown to become one of the largest retail brokerage in all of Europe.
Within Europe, the company is an industry leader as it offers competitively low forex and fund fee in the market. They are acceptable for International Trading.
Saxo Bank has 11 offices across 10 countries. They have offices in Australia, Czech Republic, France, India, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Saxo Bank – Regulations:
The various financial regulatory bodies of the world are categorized into top, bottom, and average tier regulatory bodies. Understandably, the top-tier regulatory bodies only provide licenses to the best of the best brokerage in the world. Hence, when reviewing a broker, careful introspection of the regulatory body should be made.
Saxo Bank is not publicly traded; however, it does operate a bank. Saxo Bank is authorized by 6 top-tier regulatory bodies and one mid-tier regulatory body.
Saxo Bank offices in Australia are regulated by the Australian Security and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Their Japanese office is regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Offices in Singapore are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Their Switzerland office is regulated by Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
In the UK, they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In Hong Kong, they are regulated by the Securities Futures Commission (SFC).
These multiple top-tier regulations are not easy to achieve. Hence, we conclude that trading with Saxo Banks is safe and reliable.
Trading Platform:
Saxo Bank hosts 2 types of platforms, the Saxo Trader Pro (desktop) and Saxo Trader Go (web based).
Saxo Bank provides an advanced trading platform which is futuristic. This platform can be used to trade a variety of instruments. They also offer a variety of asset classes that span across several global financial markets. The platform is available for Windows, MacBook, blackberry and Linux users.
The platform is downloadable. The platform provides all the essential features that a trader might possibly require. The entire platform is highly customizable. The customized charts and watch lists are automatically saved in the mobile app.
The platform can be regarded as extremely user-friendly and is secure as it requires one-step verification login. Added security by the addition of IP address link for login is provided for the Platinum and VIP account holders.
Traders are also given the option of using any other third party trading platform that is suitable for trading and managing their portfolio according to their needs. Third party platforms that can be used include Meta Trader 4, MultiCharts, Dynamic Trend, Updata or Trading view.
Accounts:
Various account types are available at Saxo Bank. They include:
- 1. Classic Account – Minimum deposit for this type of account is $10,000. However, if you reside within the UK minimum deposit becomes around 500 GBP, within Singapore it is about 3000 SGD and for Australian residents, the minimum deposit is 3000 AUD.
- 2. Platinum Account – Minimum deposit for this type of account is $200,000 or 300,000 AUD. If you have a Classic account, you can be upgraded to the Platinum account by earning volume related loyalty points that are offered by the Saxo Bank’s Loyalty Program.
- VIP Account – This account offers the most savings on pricings. In 2020, Saxo Bank was awarded for the Best VIP client experience. This type of account is reserved for elite investors as it requires a minimum deposit of $1,000,000. Account holders of the VIP account get exclusive access to events and connections to Saxo Bank’s analysts.
Demo Accounts:
If you sign up with Saxo Banks, you also get a demo or a practice account, free of charge. 2 types of demo accounts are available.
An instant demo account is which allows traders to view the platform and assess its functionality.
A full demo account is also available which enables traders to test strategies and refine them.
The access to demo accounts allows traders to experience trading in real, life-like scenarios but with zero risks. By using the demo account traders can build and improve their knowledge. It also proves to be a great way of testing out the trading platform.
As with the normal live accounts, clients get access to various trading tools and financial instruments with the demo account as well.
Minimum Initial Deposit:
As stated above, the minimum initial deposit is quite high for all types of accounts offered by Saxo Bank.
Spreads and Commissions:
Overall, the trading fees are quite high. They have low forex fees. The mutual fund fees are also low. Option fees are generally high. Future fee is also a little high on the scale. The CFD is average.
Trading at Saxo Bank is commission free. Saxo Bank makes its money through the spreads.
Inactivity Fee:
Their inactivity fee is quite high and depends upon the geographical location.
For clients in the UK, inactivity fee is known as the platform fee and pertains to about 25 pounds per quarter. If you hold cash funds in your account then a platform fee would be charged. However, no platform fee is charged if you’ve paid a custody fee.
For clients outside of the UK, inactivity fee is charged after 6 months of inactivity and equals to around $150.
Deposit and Withdrawals:
2 types of deposit methods are available. They include bank transfers and deposit via credit/debit cards.
They offer around 26 base currency options. The deposits are free of charge. Online payment methods are not available. Traders can also add multiple base currencies to their main account.
The withdrawal methods include bank transfer. The withdrawal can be made to either your bank account or to a broker account. Withdrawals are completely free of charge.
Market and Trading Products:
They have a huge variety of trading products. Saxo Bank offers some of the most exotic assets as well. Their products include: forex, bonds, equities, mutual funds, options, futures, CFDs and ETFs.
They provide more than 100 currency pairs, which include the major, minor and exotic pairs.
They provide access to around 5000 bonds, 3400 of which are developed market bonds and 1600 of which are emerging market bonds. Users can also gain access to government bonds in over 40 different countries.
Customer Support:
You can contact Saxo Bank via phone and email, and a chat bot . However, customer support was lacking in terms of the response time. The operator was respectful and had adequate knowledge of the different products and basic queries.
The customer support staff is adequately informed and has the capacity to resolve minute disputes and queries. Customer support is available in many languages. They are very cooperative and will guide you to the best of their capability.
Email replies generally took a day to a day and a half. The chat bot was able to answer most non-specific questions. As expected, queries that were specific in nature were not answered by the chat bot.
Conclusion:
Saxo Bank is regulated by several financial regulatory bodies worldwide.
Their account opening process is swift, easy and completely digital. They charge NO commission fees. Deposits and withdrawal options are limited. Deposits and withdrawals are free of charge.
Their platform is available for all kinds of devices. Their customer service is satisfactory. Their user reviews are also mostly positive. The main drawback includes the very high minimum deposit fees, high inactivity fees and borderline high trading fees.
