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With a global presence, Saxo Markets is a leading provider of contract for difference (CFD) services. It offers clients direct access to various financial tools like stocks, bonds, forex, and more.
Saxo Markets is also a primary liquidity and infrastructure resource for wealth managers, banks, and smaller brokerages.
Read our Saxo review to learn more about its pros, cons, and costs to help you decide whether to trade using this online platform.
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Saxo review Pros:
- Reduced pay-outs.
- Direct market entry.
- Powerful exchange system.
Saxo review Cons:
- Not easy to understand for newcomers.
Saxo Review: Why We Like It
Saxo Markets is a suitable option for traders who possess advanced skills. However, beginners may find its platform, analysis, and direct market access too complex.
Saxo Bank Group, a fintech specialist established in 1992, offers wholesale clients multi-asset trading and banking-as-a-service solutions.
It was one of the pioneers that launched an online trading platform in 1998. The company has been operating in the United Kingdom through Saxo Capital Markets U.K. Ltd. since 2006.
Unfortunately, Saxo Bank does not accept traders from the United States. Its flagship platform, SaxoTraderPRO, is a downloadable application for experienced traders.
The web-based platform SaxoTraderGO has a user-friendly interface and practical trading features, making it a suitable option for traders on the go.
Saxo Markets provides access to third-party tools and APIs that can improve the trading experience. However, it does not offer MT4, a commonly used interface in most forex broker platforms.
Saxo Markets offers an impressive range of products, including forex, indices, shares, commodities, options, bonds, and futures, which can be traded through CFDs, forward contracts, and direct ownership. Spread betting is only available to professional clients.
The FX spreads are highly competitive across all retail account tiers. Investopedia has recognized Saxo Markets as the Best Forex Broker for Advanced Traders due to its broad range of products, advanced user interfaces, and superior research offerings.
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Saxo Review: Who Saxo Markets Is For
Saxo Markets caters to advanced traders, offering extensive brokerage services specifically designed for sophisticated, active traders, professionals, investors, and institutions adept in financial management.
However, smaller account holders may encounter challenges, including higher account minimums, various fees, and limited customer support options.
The trading costs for tiered accounts decrease as the equity grows, but most retail traders may find reaching higher customer tiers challenging. For instance, for U.K.-based accounts, the Platinum and VIP customer tiers start at £200,000 and £1,000,000, respectively.
Saxo Review: Costs
Our Saxo review notes that Saxo Markets generates revenue through its spread or commission charges, which are consistent with industry standards. The minimum forex bid-ask spread starts at 0.4 pips, with lower average spreads and increased benefits for higher-tiered accounts.
However, the minimum £200,000 required to upgrade to these accounts may discourage the average retail trader. Commission charges are added when trading other instruments, and overnight holding costs are competitive.
Account holders will appreciate free withdrawals, but inactivity for six months may result in a $100 fee and other general charges that can add up for retail traders.
Although Saxo Markets is not intentionally attempting to deceive, the intricate nature of the expenses linked to the broker's services can be difficult to clarify. Nevertheless, Saxo Markets strives to maintain transparency as much as possible.
However, the information provided for other regions where Saxo Markets operates often contradicts what is presented on the United Kingdom website.
Even after considering currency conversions, there are conflicting fees and trading conditions for identical products and position sizes.
Additionally, there is a risk of confusion due to the possibility of overlooking small print that adds an extra surcharge on minor trades. If you want to reduce trading expenses, read our review of XTB: lower trading costs.
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Saxo Review: Trade Experience
The broker Saxo has developed its own user interface for its trading platforms, the downloadable SaxoTraderPRO and the web-based SaxoTraderGO.
These platforms have been designed with traders in mind and provide significant improvements over industry-standard platforms such as MT4 and cTrader, which can only be accessed through API interfaces.
Furthermore, the platforms can seamlessly integrate with third-party tools, offering advanced traders a range of possibilities. SaxoTraderPRO is a fully customizable desktop interface that can be downloaded on Windows and Mac operating systems, similar to the best Forex desktop trading platforms.
It allows traders to utilize up to six screens and offers advanced workspace management.
The platform has multichannel linking between modules and a robust charting package with a comprehensive suite of annotations, drawing tools, and over 50 technical indicators to assist traders in their analysis.
Order tickets are formatted to showcase all relevant data while maximizing efficiency. The platform also supports algorithmic trading.
SaxoTraderGO may not have all the features of SaxoTraderPRO, but it is still impressive in its own right. The advantage of SaxoTraderGO is its accessibility, which is better than its "big brother."
Although customization is limited, it does not affect its functionality. This web-based version allows traders to organize charts, news, research, and watchlists according to their preferences.
Charting and technical indicators are fully equipped with custom time management and linking among platform windows.
SaxoTraderGO offers a wide range of market and pending orders, which surpasses competitors and emphasizes Saxo's dedication to attracting advanced traders.
Five different order types are available on the order ticket across all platforms, with "take-profit" and "stop-loss" orders being optional add-ons.
The stop-loss order can be a trailing or stop-limit, but a guaranteed stop-loss order is not available, which is the only omission in an otherwise impressive array of order types.
- Market: Traders can place a simple order when they want their trade request executed at the current market rate. The platform also offers a "quick trade" option, where traders can quickly place trades without any stop-loss or take profit orders attached. This feature is designed to meet the trader's need for speed.
- Limit: A trader can place a pending order that triggers at a specific point below or above the current market rate, depending on whether it's a buy or sell order. The trader can also choose the expiry time for this order.
- Stop: An order waiting to be executed at a specific point, either above or below the current market rate, depending on whether it is a purchase or sale, is known as a pending order. The trader can also choose when this order expires.
- Stop-limit: The pending order is placed before the prevailing market rate and is either a buy or sell order. The trader can select the range for execution, but the order is canceled instantly if the market rate exceeds the selected range and the tolerance interval. Additionally, the trader can choose the expiration time for this order.
- OCO: The trader can place two orders (an entry stop and an entry limit), but if one is executed, the other is automatically canceled. The trader can also choose when this order expires.
Like the best forex mobile trading platforms, the SaxoTraderGo applications for iOS, Android, and tablets make it simple to access all the features on the desktop and online versions, and they sync flawlessly across devices.
Traders get easy access to real-time research and news with only a few taps, and the number of available indicators is extensive.
Although the apps offer fingerprint ID entry, it is not part of a two-tier authentication process. It is worth noting that Saxo Markets does not provide MT4, a commonly used interface by most forex brokers.
Apart from that, Saxo Markets allows its clients to create customized applications through APIs, including its own OpenAPI and third-party APIs like Excel, etc., which can access Saxo's data feeds.
Furthermore, clients can also use third-party applications like Dynamic Trend, TradingView, and MultiCharts to assist them in trading. MultiCharts, for instance, enables traders to back-test strategies, while TradingView markets itself as a platform that helps traders make informed decisions.
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Saxo Review: Range of Offerings
As noted in our Saxo review, Saxo Markets provides its clients with a wide range of leveraged and investment products across various asset classes.
The company offers an extensive catalog that covers almost everything in the investment industry. The Saxo Markets' UK and international websites advertise their numerous instruments accessible to clients.
- Controlled investments.
- 3,000+ ETFs.
- 12,500+ stock market funds.
- 9,000+ CFDs.
- 1,200+ available international accounts.
- Cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Notes.
- 200+ futures contracts.
- 19,000+ stocks (36 worldwide exchanges).
- 5,000+ bonds (government and corporate).
- 20 contracts for differences in commodities.
- 182 currency exchange pairs.
- 140 foreign exchange forward contracts.
- 40+ FX-vanilla-options.
Numerous trading instruments can be accessed through various channels and methods of order routing, which offer great variety, but some channels may result in higher costs than others.
Nevertheless, the range of products available is remarkable and will likely satisfy even the most avid global markets enthusiast. Saxo is comparable to CMC, which also offers thousands of instruments to traders, as discussed in our review of CMC Markets.
Saxo Review: Education
The educational materials provided by Saxo mainly focus on teaching platforms and product tutorials and brief coverage of fundamental and technical analysis topics and have limited resources for building skills.
This aligns with Saxo's aim to attract experienced and well-financed traders.
Saxo Review: Portfolio Analysis
Saxo's trading platforms offer portfolio analysis, including performance data, risk assessment, and breakdowns. The reporting suite enables clients to export position, trade, and performance data in PDF and Excel formats for external use.
The trade tickets contain margin requirements and allow users to select units for stop-loss and take-profit orders.
There is no lag period between gathering information and making educated choices.
Saxo Markets also integrates with external tax reporting, reclaim services, and third-party portfolio tools (Eximius) (GlobeTax). The reporting suite displays performance statistics to aid in filing tax reports.
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Saxo Review: Research Amenities
Saxo Markets is well-known for its commitment to providing clients with a wide range of timely and informative research. The availability of such resources alone could persuade a serious trader to consider opening a live account with this broker.
The research materials can be accessed through the website or directly through the platforms. Saxo's team of in-house analysts provides regular market updates, ratings, and timely commentary, which adds value to the research materials.
With multiple real-time streaming news services, various market reports in different time formats, and access to analyst rating reports, Saxo Markets offers comprehensive research resources to satisfy even the most experienced trader.
In short, the broker offers all the research materials a client would require to make informed trading decisions.
Saxo review: Security
Saxo Markets prioritizes security measures and is licensed by various authorities globally. Detailed information about its licenses is available on the Saxo website.
To comply with the regulations set by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, Saxo ensures that customer funds are kept separate from corporate funds and are held in segregated accounts at regulated banks. This protects customer assets in case Saxo becomes insolvent.
Customers are also covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for up to £85,000. Furthermore, Saxo guarantees that clients will not lose more than the funds in their accounts, based on the negative balance protection rules enforced by ESMA in 2018.
However, guaranteed stop-loss protection is not offered, which could lead to significant losses in extreme market conditions, such as the 2015 Swiss franc currency shock. Saxo's software is also available for customer use.
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Saxo Review: Frequently Asked Questions
We answer some frequently asked questions in our Saxo review below.
Is Saxo Markets Safe?
Our Saxo review shows that Saxo Markets is under the regulation of the FCA, and the FSCS ensures the protection of your funds.
Does Saxo Markets Offer Spread Betting?
Spread betting services were formerly provided by Saxo in conjunction with London Capital Group. However, Saxo stated in 2015 that it would end its spread betting business. Hence, Capital Spreads took over Saxo's spread betting customers.
Saxo's spread betting services were a white label of the Capital Spreads platform. This decision was made after major changes occurred at London Capital Group with a considerable staff reduction under the leadership of Charles-Henri Sabet, who aimed to restore the spread betting and forex broker's profitability.
Do Saxo Markets Have a Monthly Fee?
Opening an account with Saxo Markets is free of charge. However, some monthly charges exist for accessing real-time data on particular markets.
Additionally, if you keep only cash in your account, you will be charged a fee of £50 every three months.
What Is the Minimum Deposit for Saxo Markets?
Opening a standard account requires a deposit of at least £500. However, for Platinum accounts, a minimum deposit of £200,000 is necessary, while VIP accounts have a minimum deposit requirement of £1,000,000.
Are Saxo Markets Good for Beginners?
Saxo Markets allows novices to participate in the stock market without trading derivatives. However, the platform is better suited for seasoned investors.
Still, newcomers may open an account and begin investing right now.
Does Saxo Markets Charge a Withdrawal Fee?
Our Saxo review notes that there is no charge for withdrawing funds, but you must ensure that your account information is accurate and current to avoid delays in the process of requesting your money back.
After all, Saxo Markets must follow AML regulations before returning funds.
Final Verdict: Saxo Review
If you’re looking for one of the best online trading platforms for advanced traders, Saxo Markets can be a suitable option. It caters to advanced traders and professionals with significant account balances, offering various research tools, an API interface, and discounted fees for high-tier accounts.
While these features could boost profitability, the lack of trader education and substandard customer service may be a drawback. The fee schedules are complex and may include hidden costs, making it difficult to estimate the final costs.
Overall, Saxo Markets is a reliable choice for experienced, well-funded market professionals.
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