Polish CFD broker XTB has boosted its multi-asset credentials by introducing Real Stocks, a new service that allows its customers to trade more than 3000 physical equities and ETFs from an XTB UK account.
Investing as an add-on to trading
XTB UK customers can now trade physical stocks alongside CFDs and margin FX products.
As of today, UK clients can deal in any of more than 3000 equities and 300 ETFs drawn from 16 major exchanges, including those from UK, US and European markets.
The new trading instruments can be accessed via the firm’s X-station trading platform on both demo and live accounts.
Traders can intuitively look up an equity or ETF ticker, and drag that instrument onto the charting panel to immediately call up a price chart of that stock.
Clicking on the instrument in the watchlist brings up a deal ticket which can be quickly configured for execution.
- Related guide – our views on the best stock brokers for investing in shares
XTB investing charges
Physical equity and ETF trading with XTB is commission free up to a point.
I say that because rather unusually, XTB will charge a commission of 0.2%, with a €10.00 minimum ticket, if you turnover more than €100,000 or £86,000 per month.
Whether that charging structure is designed to appeal to smaller equity traders and deter larger players, or is just for differentiation is not immediately clear.
There are no minimum deposits required to open an XTB share trading account.
Custody arrangements
XTB will hold all client assets in a segregated custody account held with KBC Securities. Clients will receive dividends as cash credits into their accounts and they will be able to participate in corporate actions in the usual way.
How does XTB’s share trading service compare to the competition?
IG the market leading margin trading broker also offers a share trading service covering more than 13000 shares, ETFs and investment trusts.
IG offers commission fee trading on US stocks, just as long as you’ve traded three times or more in the previous month.
If you didnt, then you pay £10 per trade.
It’s a similar scenario for those who trade UK stocks if traded less than three times in teh prior month you will pay £8.00 per trade, but only £3.00 per trade if you meet or beat the prior month’s trading hurdle.
It’s also worth noting that these rates only apply for trades with a consideration of £25000 or less. If you are trading in sizes that are larger than that, you will need to negotiate your rates with IG.
Denmark’s Saxo Markets also offers physical share trading with commissions from $0.01 per share, depending upon which account tier you qualify for.
The 1 cent per share commission is available to VIP accounts trading in stocks listed on Nasdaq, the NYSE, and the NYSE MKT exchange (formerly the ASE).
Saxo’s classic clients pay 2 cents per share on US stocks with a minimum $5.0 ticket charge. Whilst platinum account holders will pay 0.15 cents per share, subject to a minimum $4.0 ticket charge.
Saxo’s charges vary by exchange in European trading.
Dealing in Dax constituents on Deutsche Bourse’s XETRA platform, costs VIP customers 0.05% with €3.0 minimum, while classic clients pay 0.1% and or a €6.0 minimum.
On LSE-listed UK equities, classic clients pay 0.1% with a £6.00 minimum charge. Platinum clients pay 0.07% subject to a £5.0 minimum.
The broker’s VIP customers pay just 0.05% with a £3.0 minimum ticket fee.
CMC Markets offers physical share trading through its recently launched CMC Invest division.
Clients can trade in more than 3250 UK and US shares commission free, alongside more than 400 UK-listed ETFs and investment trusts.
If you are trading US-listed stocks with CMC Invest with a sterling-denominated account you will pay 0.5% FX conversions fees.
Social Trading platform eToro offers its clients access to just over 3170 international stocks which can be traded on a commission-free basis, and there are no minimum ticket charges or volume related restrictions when trading stocks with the broker.
With over 35 years of finance experience, Darren is a highly respected and knowledgeable industry expert. With an extensive career covering trading, sales, analytics and research, he has a vast knowledge covering every aspect of the financial markets.
During his career, Darren has acted for and advised major hedge funds and investment banks such as GLG, Thames River, Ruby Capital and CQS, Dresdner Kleinwort and HSBC.
In addition to the financial analysis and commentary he provides as an editor at GoodMoneyGuide.com, his work has been featured in publications including Fool.co.uk.
As well as extensive experience of writing financial commentary, he previously worked as a Market Research & Client Relationships Manager at Admiral Markets UK Ltd, before providing expert insights as a market analyst at Pepperstone.
Darren is an expert in areas like currency, CFDs, equities and derivatives and has authored over 260 guides on GoodMoneyGuide.com.
He has an aptitude for explaining trading concepts in a way that newcomers can understand, such as this guide to day trading Forex at Pepperstone.com
Darren has done interviews and analysis for companies like Queso, including an interview on technical trading levels.
A well known authority in the industry, he has provided interviews on Bloomberg (UK), CNBC (UK) Reuters (UK), Tiptv (UK), BNN (Canada) and Asharq Bloomberg Arabia.
