- Good Money Guide experts rate Trading 212 highly for its low-cost structure, highlighting zero-commission share investing and excellent portfolio automation tools as key strengths. However, they note that the platform's research capabilities are relatively basic compared to traditional brokers, which may not satisfy more experienced investors seeking in-depth analysis.
- Across 2 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 3/5, customers appreciate the platform's ease of use and competitive interest rates on uninvested cash, while some express frustration over the lack of telephone support and difficulties in communication through email and live chat.
Trading 212 Australia Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.Our experts have rated Trading 212 Australia across five key areas of our review framework.
- Pricing5.0
- Market access4.5
- App & platform4.5
- Customer service4.0
- Research & analysis4.0
Pros
- Zero-commission share investing
- Excellent portfolio automation tools
- Huge international market access
Cons
- FX fees on overseas trades
- No telephone customer support
- Limited investment research
See full expert review
Our verdict
Trading 212 is a low-cost investing and trading platform that has expanded its service specifically for Australian customers through its ASIC-regulated Australian subsidiary. The main attractions for the Invest account are zero brokerage, zero commission stock and ETF investing, access to more than 13,000 international securities, fractional shares, Pies and AutoInvest.. The platform is particularly well suited to newer and cost-conscious investors who want an easy way to build a diversified portfolio of international shares and ETFs. More experienced investors may find the research relatively basic, while active Australian investors should factor the 0.15% FX charge into the cost of regularly buying and selling overseas shares.
For experienced, leveraged traders, Trading 212 also offers a CFD trading account via the platform.
Is Trading 212 any good for australians?
Note: CFDs are complex, leveraged products and carry a high risk of rapid capital loss. Most retail investors lose money trading CFDs. You should not trade CFDs unless you understand how they work and can afford to lose the money you invest. Please read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) available on their website.
Pricing: How much does Trading 212 cost?
Trading 212 is one of the cheaper investing platforms available to Australian investors. There are no dealing commissions or custody/platform fees for buying and holding shares and ETFs. The main charge Australian investors need to watch is currency conversion: Trading 212 AU currently charges a 0.15% FX fee.. Other fees, such as third-party taxes or market charges may also apply depending on what and where you trade.
CFD trading is also zero commission, but costs are built into spreads, with overnight financing applying when leveraged positions are held overnight. The FX fee within the CFD account is 0.50%. Further information can be found in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Market Access: What can you invest in?
Trading 212 offers Australian customers two main ways to access the markets: an Invest account for buying investments outright and a CFD account for leveraged trading.
The Invest account provides access to more than 13,000 global stocks and ETFs across 16 exchanges: London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, NYSE, Euronext Amsterdam, Deutsche Börse
Xetra, Borsa Italiana, Euronext Paris, OTC Markets, Toronto Stock Exchange, Gettex, Bolsa De Madrid, London Stock Exchange AIM, SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Brussels, Wiener Börse, Euronext Lisbon
Fractional shares are available from as little as A$1, making expensive US stocks more accessible.
CFD customers get a broad range of markets, including CFDs of thousands of shares, major indices, commodities and more than 180 forex pairs.
For the more risk averse and for when you are not invested in the markets you get 5.2% p.a. interest on uninvested cash, paid daily.
App & Platform: What features does Trading 212 offer?
Trading 212's app is particularly good for investors who want to automate their portfolios. Its standout feature is Pies, which lets you create a portfolio from different stocks and ETFs and automatically allocate new investments between them. You can also browse Pies created by other investors and copy them into your own account. Other useful features include fractional
shares, portfolio transfers and 24/5 trading in selected fractional shares. Trading 212 also supports multiple currencies within one investment account, which is useful for Australians investing regularly in overseas shares.
Auto invest also allows users to set up recurring orders and investments and essentially set and forget.
Note: This is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. Users are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions.
Customer Service: How can you contact Trading 212?
Trading 212 provides 24/7 customer support and currently advertises an impressive average response time of just 29 seconds. The main route for getting help is through the Trading 212 app, where customers can access its support and contact functions; there is also an online contact form. For Australian complaints, customers can use in-app live chat, email info@trading212.com or write to Trading 212 AU in Sydney. The lack of a conventional telephone support line may disappoint investors who prefer speaking directly to someone.
Research & Analysis: What investment research do you get?
Research isn't really Trading 212's strongest feature, particularly compared with traditional full-service brokers. Instead, it focuses on giving customers accessible market information and educational content. Its Learn Centre includes guides covering subjects such as dollar-cost averaging, financial statements, diversification, dividends and building dividend portfolios. Trading 212 has also introduced an AI-powered Chatbot Analyser, which can answer market-related questions and provide key insights, relevant instruments and supporting news sources. Overall, there is enough information for everyday investors, but serious fundamental investors wanting institutional-quality analyst reports, detailed company research or proprietary stock recommendations may find the research offering relatively limited.
Client Safety: Is Trading 212 safe?
Trading 212's Australian business is Trading 212 AU Pty Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by ASIC under Australian Financial Services Licence 541122. Its registered Australian address is Suite 102, 151 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Client money is held separately from Trading 212's own money in designated client-money accounts, with institutions including J.P. Morgan and ANZ. Shares are held through custodian Interactive Brokers LLC, with customers remaining the beneficial owners. Trading 212 states that these assets cannot be claimed by its creditors if the company becomes insolvent.
Customer reviews for Trading 212
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 2 reviews
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- Very good0%
- Basic0%
- Poor0%
- Bad50%
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An easy to use platform with no fees for ETF trading and good interest rates on uninvested money
I've been using Trading 212 for a year now.
They offer 5.2% interest on un-invested cash for sterling.
They are FSCS registered which means they are subject to inspection, are held to good practices and loss of cash will be compensated up to £85,000
The investor owns their ETFs so if Trading 212 goes under the ETFS will not be lost.
Trading 212 do not charge fees for trading ETFs.
They have exceptionally low Fx rates. The lowest I have seen.
Their graphical interface could do with some improvement, but it is as good or better than their close competitors.
Help is from the forum, which has active staff support, or by email. The latter often gives same day responses and the quality of the support is high.
I have used three platforms of this type and Trading 212 is the best by some margin.
Communicating with Trading 212
Communicating with Trading 212 is a nightmare, NO phone communication is available its only email and live chat. I haven't used a live chat in this form. When you send a message it may take an hour or half a day or maybe in the afternoon you may get a respond. And if you reply to that message no one knows when will you get a response. Come on we are in 21st century. So this is something very serious and before you join to Trading 212 please consider this matter. If this continued I will be leaving as well.
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