Saxo Bank Review
Saxo Bank is a Danish financial bank that started in 1992. It offers online investment and trading services. The company is regulated by a few financial institutions globally, including the Danish Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Saxo Bank is an international service provider and its sections are present in the form of separate legal entities in various countries of the world. The services provided by the various entities may slightly differ, especially with regard to costs and product portfolios. In this review, we tested Saxo Bank UK.
Pros and cons
The experience of Saxo trading is fueled by an outstanding and well-structured trading platform. The research service is also spectacular, with Saxo’s exclusive research team continuously coming up with new trading ideas. Saxo has a broad-range of products, meeting the requirements of even the heaviest of traders.
However, Saxo’s bonds, options and futures costs are high. The minimum deposit is relatively high, ranging between $600-10,000, depending on your occupancy. And there is no live chat customer service or 24/7 availability.
- Outstanding trading platform
- Great Research
- Wide product portfolio
- High costs for bonds, options and futures
- Minimum deposit is costly
- Lacks live chat and 24/7 availability
Main features
Country of regulation
Denmark, UK, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Australia
Trading cost class
Average
Products offered
Stock, ETF, Forex, Fund, Bond, Options, Futures, CFD, Crypto, SaxoSelect
Minimum deposit
€10.000
Deposit with bank card
Available
Depositing with electronic wallet
Unavailable
Time to open an account
3 days
Number of base currencies supported
26
Demo account provided
Yes
Fees
We ranked Saxo Bank’s costs levels as minimal, average or high based on how they compare to those all reviewed brokers. Let’s cover some lingo connected to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading-costs and non-trading-costs.
- Trading-costs happen when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and costs of conversion.
- Non-trading costs include charges not directly linked to trading, such as withdrawal costs or inactivity costs.
We examined the costs of Saxo Bank UK. While Saxo’s costs differ from country to country, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Hong Kong, France, the United Arab Emirates and Russia are charged similar to those charged by the broker’s UK entity.
To have a clear overview of Saxo Bank, let’s start with trading costs.
- Low forex fees
- Low fund fees
- No charge for withdrawal
- Inactivity cost
- Costs for bonds, options, and futures are pricey
| Assets | Cost level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| US stock | Average | $0.02/share; min $10, but by using VIP pricing the minimum can be as low as $3 |
| Aandelen optie Shell | Low | The costs are built into the spread, 0.8 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. Using VIP pricing the spread can be as minimal as 0.4 pips. |
| Mutual fund | Low | Mutual funds are available only in some countries. The broker does not charge any cost for mutual fund trading. |
| Inactivity cost | High | In the UK, £25 after one quarter of inactivity, SIPP and ISA accounts are exempt from this cost. In non-UK countries, up to $150 after 6 months of inactivity. |
| Saxo Bank stock and ETF commission of a $2,000 trade | |
|---|---|
| US stock | $10.0 |
| UK stock | $10.4 |
| German stock | $12 |
| Stock costs | |
|---|---|
| Market | Commission |
| USA & Canada | |
| NASDAQ, NYSE, ARCA, AMEX | $0.02/share (min $10) |
| Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange | CAD 0.03/share (min CAD 20) |
| Europe / Middle East / Africa | |
| Athens Exchange | 0.35% (min €12) |
| BME, Spanish Exchanges, Irish Stock Exchange, Milan Stock Exchange, NASDAQ QMX Helsinki, NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (AEX), NYSE Euronext Brussels, NYSE Euronext Lisbon, Vienna Stock Exchange | 0.10% (min €12) |
| London Stock Exchange | 0.10% (min £8) |
| London Stock Exchange (IOB) | 0.10% (min £20) |
| Deutsche Börse (XETRA), NYSE Euronext Paris | 0.10% (min €10) |
| NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen | 0.10% (min DKK 65) |
| NASDAQ OMX Stockholm | 0.10% (min SEK 65) |
| Olso Stock Exchange | 0.10% (min NOK 65) |
| Prague Stock Exchange | 0.28% (min CZK 500) |
| Warsaw Stock Exchange | 0.30% (min PLN 75) |
| SIX Swiss Exchange | 0.10% (min CHF 18) |
| Johannesburg Stock Exchange | 0.25% (min ZAR 100) |
| Asia / Pacific | |
| Hong Kong Exchanges | 0.15% (min SGD 25) |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | 0.15% (min JPY 1,500) |
| Singapore Exchange | 0.15% (min SGD 25) |
| Australian Securities Exchange | 0.10% (min AUD 8) |
| Forex benchmark cost of a $20,000 30:1 long position held for one week | |
|---|---|
| EUR/USD benchmark cost | $7.8 |
| GBP/USD benchmark cost | $6.3 |
| AUD/USD benchmark cost | $7.2 |
| EUR/CHF benchmark cost | $5.3 |
| EUR/GBP benchmark cost | $8.9 |
| Commission for a $2,000 fund purchase | $0.0 |
| Commission for a $2,000 fund purchase | |
| Mutual fund | $0.0 |
| Commission of a $10,000 government bond trade | |
|---|---|
| US treasury bond | $96.0 |
| EU government bond | $96.0 |
| Stock index options commission of 10 contracts | |
|---|---|
| US stock index options | $30.0 |
| UK stock index options | $39.0 |
| German stock index options | $48.0 |
| Options costs for stock indexes | |
|---|---|
| Currency of underlying product | Commission per contract |
| EUR | 4 |
| GBP | 3 |
| USD | 4 |
| AUD | 7 |
| CAD | 6 |
| CHF | 8 |
| HKD | 45 |
| JPY | 1,000 |
| NOK | 65 |
| SEK | 75 |
| SGD | 15 |
| Stock index futures commission of 10 contracts | |
|---|---|
| US micro e-mini stock index futures | $30.0 |
| UK stock index futures | $39.0 |
| German e-mini stock index futures | $48.0 |
| CFD benchmark costs, for a $2,000 long position held for one week | |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 index CFD cost | $1.5 |
| Europe 50 index CFD cost | $2.1 |
| Apple CFD cost | $21.7 |
| Vodafone CFD cost | $22.8 |
| Non-trading costs | |
|---|---|
| Account cost | No |
| Inactivity cost | Yes |
| Deposit costs | $0 |
| Withdrawal cost | $0 |
Account Opening
Saxo‘s account opening is fully online, easy-to-use and available in most countries. On the other hand, the minimum deposit is high in specific countries and account authentication can take longer.
Saxo accepts clients from all over the world with some exceptions. You can’t open an account if you are a resident of the US, Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Syria or North Korea.
Saxo’s opening of account is quick and fully online. Signing up online only takes 10-15 minutes, however the account authorization process is a bit sluggish. Our account was only authorized after three business days.
- Fully online
- Easy-to-use
- Available in almost every country
- Lowest deposit is costly in certain countries
- Sluggish account authorization
Account types
Saxo Bank provides three account types for UK residents (account types may differ in other countries):
Classic
minimum £500 deposit
Platinum
minimum £200,000 deposit
VIP
minimum £1,000,000 deposit
How to access your account
Online application
Approval process
Funding
Saxo’s opening of account Is quick and fully online. Signing up online only takes 10-15 minutes, however the account authorization process is a bit sluggish. Our account was only authorized after three business days.
Deposit and withdrawal
Saxo Bank charges zero deposit fees. To deposit funds, you can make a bank transfer or use credit/debit cards, however electronic wallets are not available. Credit/debit card withdrawal is not available in certain countries, check Saxo Bank’s website for a completed list.
To test the process of depositing funds, we sent money from our Revolut account and it arrived instantly.
Credit/debit card payment should be instant as well, but bank transfers can take a few business days.
Please note that you can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.
We were glad to see that withdrawal is free of charge. You can only use bank transfers for withdrawal, similarly to Saxo’s competitors.
How long does it take to withdraw funds from Saxo Bank? We tested withdrawal through bank transfer and it took 1 business day. You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.
Trading platform
SaxoTraderGo
Saxo Bank’s web trading platform is one of the finest among online brokers. While it’s simple to use, the platform also provides features tailored for professionals, such as state-of-the-art order panel.
If none of the above platforms suit your needs and you’d develop your own interface, you can be an API partner of Saxo.
SaxoTraderGo is an exceptional platform; two features would partly highlight are its modern design and user-friendly interface.
The easily accessible platform meets the requirements of both beginner and professional traders. However, customizability has its limits; for example, you can change the size of various tabs but not their relative positions.
Mobile trading platform
Saxo bank’s easy-to-use mobile platform has the same look and feel as the web platform.
Saxo Bank’s mobile trading platform has both iOS and Android versions. In this review, we tested it on Android.
The platform is available in the same languages and has the same features, order types and alerts as the web trading platform. It offers a two-step verification.
When it comes to the web trading platform, the user-friendliness has room for improvement. We enjoyed the modern design but were a little disappointed by the menu structure, which was confusing and sometimes made it hard to find what we were looking for.
Desktop trading platform
Saxo Bank’s desktop trading platform is one of the best on the market. It is well designed, easy to use and provides outstanding customizability.
Saxo’s desktop trading platform, SaxoTraderPRO seems similar to its web-based equivalent.
At the same time, true to the ‘PRO’ tag, the desktop version provides more advanced customizability. You can run up to six windows simultaneously and create your own trading environment. Each window is customizable in size and position.
Markets and Products
Markets
Instruments
Jurisdictions
Stocks and ETFs
Saxo clients have access to a broad range of stock markets. You can trade on major markets, such as US stock exchanges or Deutsche Borse, and on smaller markets such as the Prague Stock Exchange or the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Forex
Saxo has one of the best currency pair selections among all brokers.
At Saxo Bank, clients can also trade Forex Swaps.
Funds
Mutual funds were only recently added to Saxo’s product portfolio. They are available only in a few countries like Germany, Poland and Denmark. The number of available mutual funds lags behind competitors, especially Swissquote.
Bonds
Saxo’s selection of bonds is competitive, and more superior than DEGIRO but trailing Swissquote.
Saxo’s product portfolio includes both government and corporate bonds.
Futures
Similarly to options, Saxo Bank covers a lot of futures markets.
With Saxo Bank, you can trade futures on the following underlying asset types: commodity, stock, index, bond and currency.
CFD's
Saxo Bank has a well-developed CFD spectrum including stock, ETF, index-tracking, commodity, forex, bond and index options CFDs. The total number of these assets surpasses that of competitors.
Options
The number of options available at Saxo is high. You can trade on major stock exchanges such as a CBOE or Euronext, but you will also find lesser-known ones such as the SEHK.
You can trade options on stock, forex and contracts.
Crypto's
You can trade Bitcoin and Ethereum by using ETN instruments.
If you want to learn more regarding crypto trading, check out our article on how to invest in Bitcoin, Bitcoin ETNs, CFDs and futures.
Research
Trading ideas
There are multiple analysis pieces and recommendations on Saxo’s trading platforms and on tradingfloor.com
Fundamental data
Saxo offers very elaborate data on stock fundamentals. But, only a handful are available for free, namely Microsoft, Barclays, Apple, Siemens, Nokia, ENI, Telefonica, Hennes & Mauritz and Nestlé. To gather information on other stocks, you have to be a subscriber.
Charting
The interactive chart feature is easy-to-use and great.
You will find 50 technical signs and can apply multiple editing tools, such as trendlines or Fibonacci tools.
Furthermore, there is a trading signal tool, which grants you the buy or sign signal based on technical indicators.
News feed
A news feed and an economic calendar are also available on Saxo’s trading platforms. One small setback is the fact that you can’t filter news by assets.
With tradingfloor.com, you can read more news, daily commentaries, long-term outlook pieces and expert opinions.
Other research tools
There is a prominent stock screener where you can filter stocks by industry, financials and country.
For instance, if you are seeking tech companies in the US with a P/E or less than 15 and a market cap more than $1 billion, this is basically a two-click exercise on the screener.
Customer Support
Saxo’s customer support is available in multiple languages, with phone and email support that work well despite minor issues. Disadvantages include the lack of live chat and 24/7 availability.
A substantial language selection is available not only on Saxo’s trading platforms but also in client support. We found even minor languages such as Hungarian among supported languages.
Overall, we found Saxo’s customer support acceptable. We received significant answers on the phone, but the connection was slow. Responses to emails arrived within one day but were not always accurate.
You can also use a chat box, which is similar to an intelligent FAQ. It gives significant answers to basic questions such as “what is the charge for inactivity?”, but cannot answer certain queries. The ability to chat with a real person would solve this issue.
Saxo’s customer support via phone is available only from Monday to Friday between 9:00 amand 5:30 pm local time in 16 offices globally.
If you wish to better your knowledge on finance, Saxo Bank has a lot to offer. You can use a demo account, watch educational videos or attend webinars.
SaxoSelect & Loyalty program
SaxoSelect is a combination of mutual funds and an automated-advisory service. It’s recommended if you don’t want to manage your investments on your own or simply need to gain some confidence in investing.
You can select from various portfolios and trading strategies based on your risk appetite. The minimum investment typically starts from $20,000 though, and charges range between 0.15% and 1% of the invested amount. The cost is quite expensive when compared to robo-advisors.
Saxo Bank introduced a Loyalty program, something rather distinctive among our reviewed brokers. Depending on what asset you trade (and in what volume), you can earn points (ranging from 30 to 11) after each trade. If you gain a certain amount of points, you can upgrade to a Platinum or VIP account. You’d need 120,000 points for a Platinum, and 500,000 for a VIP account upgrade.
Saxo Bank’s research is sizable, with well-designed tools for both technical and fundamental analysis. Clients have recommendations, detailed fundamental data and easy-to-use interactive charting at their disposal.
Bottom line
Saxo Bank is a great broker, providing a decent and comprehensive service. It provides an easy-to-use and well-structured trading platform. Backed by outstanding research. The product portfolio covers all asset types as multiple international markets.
It has a few setbacks though. The charges for bonds, options and futures are quite high. There is also a costly minimum deposit for some countries. Lastly, there is no live chat or 24/7 customer service.
