Thank you! In my opinion it's a sub-par option for investors for many reasons (incl. their choice of Cyprus regulation) and mostly just benefits those that are looking to milk their audience for as much money as possible, as they pay insanely high commissions to affiliates. Pretty sure those same influencers would never recommend Freedom24 to close friends or family members though.
@AngeloColomboFi Greece. I USE Freedom24 and yes they steal the customers with high fees and i think e-toro or trading 212 , or Light Year , wich you prefere ??
Can you suggest any guides on how to properly file Austrian KESt tax on stocks/dividends? I will file my first tax returns in 2025 in Austria, any useful resources will be much appreciated. I want to learn this process to be able to do it myself and stick with IBKR instead of Flatex.
XTB is also a great option. It has 0 provision for buying and selling stocks up to 100k EUR monthly. It allows investing in EUR and USD directly. It has interest on uninvested funds. In some countries it offers accounts with tax benefits, like ISA in UK. The only thing beginners should be aware of is that they offer CFDs alongside standard stocks and ETFs, so very similar to t212.
Nope that does not explain it (I could easily add my affiliate link). In fact, if I wanted to make as much money as possible, I would be promoting CFD brokers like eToro, XTB and other questionable options like Freedom24 over anything else. The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone anywhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
@AngeloColomboFi I think it would be enough to just warn people about CFDs, just like in case of t212. But besides that, it was a very helpful video, thanks!
@AngeloColomboFi true point they offer lot of derivates and CFD but also as mentioned they are very good option for long term ETF investors. All they CFD are explicitly mentioned in name of ETF, stock ... so there is only one rule -> avoid anything with CFD and focus on ETF and you are good. I ahve it few years never paid anything except that spread during buying...Offering many ETF accumulating and in EUR currency FTSE All world Invesco/Vanguard where you dont pay for portfolio management fee if < 250 000 eur and if you didn't trade more than 100 000 eur. You pay only spread which is decent on big ETF. Worth to check .
What you did not mention about N26 (and that's why I did not use them after first time): they do not have limit orders!! So you have to buy at the market price.
Angelo, I have a question: I will be switching a £550k+ portfolio to IBKR in April 2025 now I live in Europe. I am having to sell everything and re-buy VWCE with IBKR as it’s a UCITS fund and is more suitable due to the tax situation for me as an expat. Am I better to use IBKR to do the currency conversion automatically when I buy the fund, or should I use Wise to convert to USD before then transferring the cash to IBKR and then buying VWCE? Which is going to be cheaper? I’m thinking IBKR?
Great video, Angelo, as usual! You could even think of creating a quarterly, or bi-yearly, update on the topic. I hold more than 20,000€ on T212 but I wasn’t fully aware about their situation. I’ll think about moving them to TR. Un saluto dall’Italia!
Right now I'm planning a yearly update as long as not too much changes, as well as specific videos when something important changes on brokers like Interactive Brokers or Trade Republic. Saluti da Vienna! 🇦🇹
Angelo, great video, thank you! One quick question, why did you start using TR, you mention is your second option, but besides comparing them why not stick o my with IB. Thank you!
My pleasure! I enjoy having several brokers to choose from, each with their pros & cons. Since I also use Trade Republic as a € savings account and to get 1% saveback on card payments, I always have most of my uninvested funds sitting there earning interest anyway. That makes buying dips very easy and convenient for me, especially considering the flat 1€ fee.
Excellent video and clear content, thank you! Could you turn this into a "series", like to a video like this every year maybe or make a video during the year if something hapens. This video was very good on openning my eyes to other brokers and i would like if they improve or not, thanks
Thank you! I'm planning a yearly update on the broker landscape as a whole and specific update videos for larger brokers like IBKR and Trade Republic when something important changes :) I'm also thinking of finally relaunching my website and having a regularly updated post comparing the brokers
Hi Angelo. Regarding the purchase of etfs at trade republic i've noticed for instance that etf s&p core 500 USD can be bought in euros even tough it says USD in its name. How does the exhange rate works in this case? Will I always have the exchange rate when I'm buying and having my dividends reinvested? At the same time, XTB allows me to buy the same etf via the German broker (SRX8) investing in euros. Should I use XTB given the fact that I can avoid the exhange rate? Thank you in advance
USD is simply the internal fund currency, which is irrelevant as you can buy the ETF directly in euros on all the brokers I mentioned. You're not losing anything to currency conversion, as these are traded directly in € on the stock exchanges used on each broker.
You need to follow whatever laws are applicable in your country regarding inheritances and send IB the necessary documentation & proof, after which you (or whoever this is about) should be able to inherit the assets. I'll do more digging on the exact procedure on IB's front though.
Hello, thank you very much for your content and your transparancy! Do you have a single 500€ recurring investment per month on trade republic or do you use 2,3 or even 4 smaller paiments? Thank you! Keep up the nice work! 😊
I have a single 500€ recurring investment at the start of the month on Trade Republic and then buy additional shares directly after I get paid at random times throughout the month (I'm self-employed)
Hi, Angelo! Thank you very much for this video. I have a question about buying "Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS Acc" ETF only. Are you not scared that ETF will be perform worst than "Vanguard FTSE All-World Acc" ETF in the future (after 10 years)? And what if it'll be hard to sell it? What do you think?
Of course, there is a risk that he will behave worse, but no one can give a guarantee. So far, there is nothing to suggest that, as Invesco is a very solid company. There is no way that you won't be able to sell because, with the help of a market maker, the units you want to get rid of will be redeemed.
Hi Angelo. Regarding Interactive Brokers, Tiered pricing is allowing lower fees for ETFs, but if the account contains Stock as well, how will it be affected?
Tiered pricing for stocks also has a lower minimum fee (eg. 0.35$ vs. 1$ for US stocks). You can compare the pricing models for stocks/ETFs directly on IB's pricing page: angelo.fi/ibfees
Hi Angelo, i read it is not possible to transfer your ETFs and Stocks from Trade Republic to another broker because of the "Lang & Schwarz" exchange they use, as no other broker uses this platform due to the fact that is it small and its only operated in Hamburg, Germany. Could you do a research about it pls?
I have. It is of course possible, countless investors have transferred their shares already from Trade Republic to other international brokers incl. IBKR, none of which use the L&S exchange. Stocks and ETFs are not held on exchanges but at depositories and they can be traded at different exchanges. ETFs held at Trade Republic can be transferred to Interactive Brokers, where they can then be traded via XETRA (IBIS), BVME or AEB for example.
@AngeloColomboFi thank you so much for the quick reply. Can you pls male a video on how to go about it? it will be very nice to know how it's done properly, because I'm having difficulty with transferring my investments. Thank you again for your quick reply.
Hi Ângelo. Thank you for the very informative vídeo. I’ve read that at T212 you are a beneficiary of shares but they are registered in the name of the broker…so you are not really the owner of the shares… is this true? do you feel safe with this issue? thank you
I don't have an issue with this, as every European broker registers the shares in their name, but you're still the beneficial owner and they can't be touched in case of broker bankruptcy. The thing I don't like as much is that with Trading 212 you're adding an extra step to this custody chain, as your ownership is now on Trading 212's books, and Trading 212 owns the shares according to IBKR's books, which registers the shares as held by IBKR.
Hi Angelo! If you are doing the Einkommensteuererklärung for 2023 do you use the OeKB Jahresdatenmeldung for 2023 with the amount of stocks that you owned until the time of the Meldung or do you use Jahresdatenmeldung from 2024 with the number of stocks that you owned on 31.12.2023? My tax advisor doesn't know how to tax my VWCE ETF. 🙈🙈🙈
The exact date the report was published is the only date that matters, ignore the reporting period (Meldejahr). So the VWCE shares you held on 26.1.2023 need to be taxed with the amounts in that report, converted to EUR on that date (2023 tax report filed by Mid 2024 usually, later with a tax advisor) and the shares you held on 18.1.2024 go into your 2024 tax report, which you file by Mid 2025.
Hi Angelo, sorry for the rookie question but would this mean that it makes more sense to start investing into ETFs after the date when the yearly tax report got generated by the broker? I'm also based in Austria and planning to start investing from January 2025 but I'm not sure how it will influence the tax report which I will need to file for the year 2024 if I would start buying ETFs right at the beginning of the year.
Yes, but every European broker does that. You are still the beneficial owner, which means the shares are fully protected even in case of broker bankruptcy.
I have no experience with Directa, but from what I can see their fees are generally quite a bit higher compared to my personal top 3 brokers. But if you're based in Italy, they make your taxes easier in some ways and you don't mind paying a bit extra, they're probably not a bad option!
Great content thank you! I'm wondering though why you didn't give TR 5 stars. They tick every box you mentioned. Is it just because IB has a longer great standing and so it wins by half a star?
IB offers investments in multiple currencies, access to every exchange, stock, ETF and bond you can think of and has way more features, even though I personally don't use 99% of them :) Add to that its long history and financial strength and it deserves to be a step above the rest in my opinion.
Good morning! Do we have any updates regarding the EU directive/legislation for KID in our native languages? I am asking this, as still Degiro denies to sell Vuaa to Greek investors
Nope, but as a Greek resident you can buy it both on Trade Republic (just checked their assets available to investors from Greece) as well as Interactive Brokers.
Can someone suggest me a stocks broker using MT4 or MT5 please, having thousands of shares. Typical Forex brokers have only 30-40 companies' shares but I want to access more via MT4 or MT5. Is there a such broker?
They’re a relatively new broker regulated in Estonia and they’re the only one that would have required me to send them what I was going to say about them in videos beforehand for approval. The funny thing is, after they saw that my previous broker comparison got over 120.000 views they reached out to me again. As soon as I told them I’d be happy to set up a link for my viewers as long as I can share my honest unfiltered opinion, they still insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first. So I happily declined once again and here we are. I don’t know about you, but this did not give me confidence in what they’re offering. I mentioned them in my last broker comparison.
Hello Angelo, new subscriber here, greetings from Greece! I have a brokerage account in T212 at the moment, reaching 20.000 euros, and thinking on opening another one for the long term. My question is, as I like a lot Trade Republic from your review, is my cash safe in there for up to 100.000, even if I enable interest in cash, or it is not recognized as cash and therefore money is not guaranteed? BTW fantastic videos with excellent content in your videos my friend.. Wish you and your family all the best! 🎉🎉🎉
Right now as a Greek resident, everything is secured up to 100.000€. I talk about what changes to expect once Trade Republic rolls out the deposit update to countries outside of Germany (which you have to agree to first incl. a new IBAN, so there won't be any surprises) after minute 06:33 in the video :) Thank you, wishing you and your family all the best as well! 🥂
Hi, i want to trade ETFs in interactive brokers but it does not allow me do to KID documents requirement. How did you enable it? I read online that most europeans have same issues.
Were you trying to buy US ETFs which aren't available to EU residents? ETFs domiciled in Europe should not be a problem. You can check justetf.com to find European counterparts to most ETFs and check out this video why US-ETFs are likely not a good idea to begin with: th-cam.com/video/sXK_ncs1GnI/w-d-xo.html
@ Not for me because that means that’s how they make money. They make money with CFD that people CHOOSE to buy (you can simply opt out of it) which explains why they can have ETFs with zero commission unlike some brokers that temporarily let your units that you purchased be loaned and borrowed from. XTB does not touch your investments.
Definitely a solid option with a strong financial backing! Just check the conditions for you - they still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list
@AngeloColomboFi Why did you specifically remove a star from your rating for Trading 212 due to its CySEC regulation, compared to other brokers regulated by different authorities? What aspects of CySEC's oversight concern you more than those of other regulatory bodies?
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance. After Brexit happened, Trading212 moved EU clients to Cyprus specifically because it was the easiest/fastest way to get a brokerage license in Europe. They're aware it's not the most reputable though, which is why they seem to be working on changing that.
Most likely yes, unless you're based in Germany (Trade Republic, Scalable) or Austria (Flatex). If you're curious about taxes on ETFs across different countries in Europe, this video might be interesting: th-cam.com/video/s_UK3n1PVHs/w-d-xo.html
Definitely a solid option with a strong financial backing! Just check the conditions for you - they still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list
And XTB? Which is the best broker present in the European market currently for those who don't buy thousands of euros per order, because supposedly the best one would be IB.
The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone somewhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
@AngeloColomboFi @AngeloColomboFi Yes, but in that case you wouldn't put the T212 either since with a simple touch of a "button" you can immediately switch to CFDs. But ok, I understand that you need to be "careful" when writing, for example, Google and not clicking on the CFD instead of the stock itself. But it is the best for all of Europe for purchases in € of stocks and even for stocks in $ if you create an account in $.
kinda strange you rate trading 212 the lowest? i mean they are regulated as well but i guess your feelings are saying its bad while on the contrary they are not, if i am wrong please provide concrete reasons
My main gripe is with how they're regulated, which I consider very important (remember shares are only protected up to 20.000€ if there's a major issue eg. fraud on European brokers!). Feel free to watch this: th-cam.com/video/U47v1DkQRQk/w-d-xo.html Generally, regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
It should be 52 times/year as it simply says weekly in the app, where did you read 48? The only thing worth mentioning is that you can only start the weekly investment plan at the start or middle of each month.
@AngeloColomboFi i didn't read as it is not written clearly . I see at the edge of the month the day of the purchase shift to match beg of the month so that i fear it will miss some of the 52 yearly weeks
Yes, but I would wait until Trade Republic becomes "steuereinfach" (takes care of taxes for Austrian residents), otherwise it might be a bit of a mess tax-wise.
Thank you for this great video. I have parked about a quarter of my portfolio in IBKR but I don't actually use it because I find it quite complicated and unintuitive. The rest of my portfolio is in T212 which works exactly the way I want it to but I have concerns because my portfolio value is well into the six figures now.
Very informative video, thanks Angelo. Regarding Trading 212 and its regulator CySec, you say it's not known for its strict regulation. Do you have any concrete examples of this? Thanks.
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
I have a TR account in the Netherlands, and it seems to me that TR uses this 0.5% spread to bid and ask values in all assets, not just bitcoin. I find it pretty annoying.
I've never seen a spread anywhere close to that high on TR. Are you trading during regular market hours (9-17:30) or outside of that? Eg. for my ETF it's 0.06% right now (14:00 CET). Or are you specifically talking of crypto assets?
Hi, can you explain more about interest rate on cash, stored on brockers account: what brokers, what currencies apply, how much time the funds should be in the brokers account (months or years), can I withdraw the cash during this time, what other important tirms or rules apply. Thank you.
Hi Angelo, Congratulations on your videos, I love them. I need some clarification regarding Trade Republic: I am Italian and opened my account while living in Italy. However, I now live in France, and I am not allowed to change my residential address in the TR account. It seems there is an option to add an additional tax residence, but I am concerned about potential taxation issues. Since I am registered with AIRE, I am fiscally based in France. Could you help me understand how to proceed? Thank you in advance. Continua così !
The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone somewhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market). When they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this. They're likely ok, but this did not leave a good impression on me so I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
Thanks for this one. As a flatex user, I am really annoyed that they don't support percentage in holdings account. All other accounts are supporting it. Also transaction costs are significantly higher 😢. Saving plan on my ETF works well I have to admit
Your money in Trade Republic IS NOT protected! I held 9,000€ and after they forced me to accept the new terms, 7,000€ went to the fund. And you don't have any control over that. The terms are vague, one they you can have all of your money held in a bank, and on the next day it could all be in a fund. I used them only because of the bank guarantee (not for ETF investing), but is no longer there.
I'd love a video about QMMFs. I'm confused about the product - what do they invest in, how is it regulated, and how safe is it actually. The same hold for ETFs. The entire concept of the fund and what it means to buy a share of the fund. Could be a good video about the details of the working.
If I'm not mistaken, BUX lends out shares as well, so they wouldn't be at the top of my list. IBKR, Trade Republic and Scalable are all available in NL, so I would pick one of those personally
No, we're simply using my wife's Trade Republic account for that. We'll gift her the shares once she turns 18 and can have her own brokerage account, hopefully by then gifts within the family will still be tax free in Austria
Freedom 24 is listed in the Greek stock exchange and audited by the biggest auditing firms. I respect if someone doesn't want to use it by it is not dangerous for investing
Hi Angelo, Great video! Thanks for your research and for sharing this valuable info! Do we have any broker in EU with which one could open a custodial account for his/her kid? Here in Finland, gifts to own kids above 5k within 3 years is a taxable event. Therefore, I assume it could be beneficial to open a brokerage in my son's name and manage the assests until he turns 18.We have few local banks that can open a book-entry account in kid's name, but their fees are ridiculous compared to IBKR, Trade Republic, etc. And I couldn't find any offers abroad. I will greatly appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and maybe advise a broker for this case. Many thanks!
Thank you! Sadly I don't have any experience with this, since kids are legally unable to have their own brokerage accounts in Austria. I also haven't seen low-fee brokers offer this feature yet for other countries. For now we simply buy ETF shares for our 2 year old daughter on my wife's Trade Republic account, which we'll gift her once she turns 18 and can have her own account.
XTB: This broker based in Poland can be a decent option for some investors, as long as you focus on physical stocks and ETFs instead of CFDs. The reason I did not include them is because they still only offer derivatives in many countries like Ireland, and in that case, I'd rather not send any of you guys there. Freedom24: A Cyprus-based broker I'd personally avoid, the only reason they're ever mentioned as a "great option" is because they're paying affiliates ridiculous amounts of money to promote them.
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market). When they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this. They're likely ok, but this did not leave a good impression on me so I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
Some people reported issues transferring their assets from Trade Republic to other brokers, possibly due to holdings being tied to the Hamburg Stock Exchange
That's definitely not the reason, nothing is "tied" to an exchange, those assets can easily be moved to other exchanges (eg. on IBKR). I have also read reports where it took longer than expected, but each case was resolved in the end - oftentimes it was something as simple as using the correct email for transfers out from TR, which IBKR asks for for example. This is the correct one in that case: transfer-out@traderepublic.com
He seems to just make nonsense claims lately without actually checking if that's really the case. Of course you can transfer shares to other brokers that use other exchanges, otherwise no TR investor could have ever transferred shares, something countless people have already done successfully. IB even lists Trade Republic as an option directly to transfer shares in from for that reason and so does T212. Then again I'm not surprised to see someone mainly promoting eToro as a broker to his audience not understanding the basics of where stocks and ETFs are actually held (depositories, not exchanges) and that they can be transferred between different exchanges and brokers.
This broker based in Poland can be a decent option for some investors, as long as you focus on physical stocks and ETFs instead of CFDs. The reason I did not include them is because they still only offer derivatives in many countries like Ireland, and in that case, I'd rather not send any of you guys there.
@ probably XTB its the best broker in Portugal. We belong to Europe. I invest in ETF’s there and they also have other financial instruments as well. They deserve to be on your list for your analysis since they operate in several European countries. I belive you include them on your last analysis video.
@@TorMjollnirWhy do you think XTB is the best broker for Portugal? Is it just because it is the only broker out of these that is recognized by the Portuguese entity "CMVM"?
I know that, I decided against mentioning them this time because they're still only offering CFDs in some European countries. Since many beginners are watching my videos, I'd rather avoid brokers where that's the case.
Trade republic mentions the following under "who can open an account" : "You have your permanent residence in Germany with tax livability in Germany". This excludes 16/17 EU countries . Have they forgotten to update their website?
Nope, I'm guessing you simply landed on the landing page for Germany. As soon as you switch to another country it shows that one (just tested with Ireland): angelo.fi/tr
I always see people saying that Cyprus is not known for its good financial regulations, but are there any concrete examples of this? It would make it much easier for me to convince others not to invest with parties using a Cyprus license. However, I can't seem to find specific examples illustrating why the Cyprus financial regulator is worse than that of countries like Germany.
For the record, during the 2012-2013 Cypriot financial crisis, only bank deposits over €100,000 were affected through a bail-in. Deposits below that threshold remained untouched. Investments in stocks, ETFs, or other financial products were not impacted, regardless of the amount.
Cyprus still falls short compared to Germany. BaFin’s stricter oversight and higher investor protections, like the 100,000€ compensation limit versus Cyprus 20,000€. Cyprus has made progress, but the gap to Germany’s standards remains significant.
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
@AngeloColomboFi And you also forget to mention that broker should be a publicly traded company - this adds more regulatory and more transparency. Etoro is not publicly traded company, which is the reason i would never open an account there.
Sorry to disagree about T212 not making money from ETFs/shares. They do. Their price is not market price, the devil lies in the details. So, they are earning from FX fees, CFDs, share lending. And I don't think they are paying from their pocket some of the interest paid on uninvested cash.
Yes, it's possible they make some money via spreads when trades are executed internally, but CFDs is where they generate the vast majority of their revenue & profits. What proof do you have that they're not paying some interest out of pocket for euro savings? Here is the money market fund 43% of my € are currently sitting in: www.blackrock.com/cash/en-at/products/329902/blackrock-ics-euro-government-liquidity-fund Its 1-day yield has now dropped to 2.8% p.a. after the latest ECB rate change, while Trading 212 is still paying 3.7% p.a.
@AngeloColomboFi Maybe they are getting higher interest rates through Barclays, which is a UK bank. The 3.7% won't last much more, they are going to reduce it anytime.
yes, I mentioned that in the video. At least you're not paying a yearly fee during the holding period like with ETNs, but using an actual crypto exchange like Bitvavo or Kraken is of course still cheaper (and you can transfer it whenever you want).
It is still a relatively new and unknown broker for most people in Europe. At the moment, if you are not an Estonian resident or in a country where they offer a special account to benefit from tax efficiency scheme like Hungary or the UK, I really don’t see the point to consider them. The Invesco All FTSE World ETF recommended by Angelo is not available, there is no fractional ETF share options, you cannot transfer your shares out to another broker and there is no recurring investment plan available. That being said, they are still quite new so there is a lot of room for improvements to provide all the features I mentioned above and become an alternative that Angelo would talk in his future videos about Brokers for Europeans 😉
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market) and you can’t transfer shares out, an essential feature a long-term broker needs to have. Also, when they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this, so that didn’t leave a good impression on me, which is why I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
I mean...IBKR beats all of them in Europe: reports and statements on demand; buy stock/etf in one exchange, sell on another; fractional shares on most everything; import/export your portfolio free of charge; manage tax lots; margin account; fundamental analysis tools; 3 different mobile apps, one easy desktop portal website, a professional sophisticated desktop station; etc...
Captrader = IB with higher fees, so going with IB directly makes more sense in my opinion Finanzen Net Zero is a solid option, as long as you're ok with some of the downsides of the Baader Bank being their custodian
A solid, strictly regulated option with a strong financial backing. They still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list - but you can check what conditions they offer in your country.
What do you think about that: th-cam.com/video/1BitdwWgO1c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ilVXANjCk_8l5OXk (It's impossible to transfer securities from TR to other brokers, because no one uses Hamburg stock exchange...?)
That's 100% incorrect, Kai seems to just make nonsense claims lately without actually checking if that's really the case. Of course you can transfer shares to other brokers that use other exchanges, otherwise no TR investor could have ever transferred shares successfully, something countless people have already done successfully. IB even lists Trade Republic as an option directly to transfer shares in from for that reason.
In my opinion they're sub-par options for investors for many reasons, but great for those that want to milk their audience for as much money as possible as they pay insanely high commissions to affiliates. Pretty sure those same influencers would never recommend them to close friends or family members though.
Do you agree with my broker ranking?
🇪🇺Interactive Brokers: angelo.fi/ibkr
🇪🇺Trade Republic: angelo.fi/trep
🇪🇺Scalable Capital: angelo.fi/sca
🇦🇹Flatex: angelo.fi/flatex
🇪🇺Trading212: angelo.fi/212
👉 Compare ETFs & Stocks: angelo.fi/comp
📌Tiered vs. Fixed Pricing on IB: angelo.fi/ibpricing
⚡Where I Buy Bitcoin: angelo.fi/bit
💶My High-Yield Savings Account With 1% Saveback: angelo.fi/save
Yes, we went for Trade Republic because of your video's and our own research. Living in The Netherlands
what about freedom24?
Angelo: How much did transferring your stocks from DEGIRO to InteractiveBrokers cost?
Trade republic doesn't have any customer service whatsoever. It is literally impossibile to reach them out. Very disappointing
I talked about it here: th-cam.com/video/1IT9O5WyF30/w-d-xo.html
It's a very informative content video. I like it.
Hi Angelo,
It was a great video.
Just a question. What is your opinion about freedom 24? Why did you exclude it this year?
Thank you! In my opinion it's a sub-par option for investors for many reasons (incl. their choice of Cyprus regulation) and mostly just benefits those that are looking to milk their audience for as much money as possible, as they pay insanely high commissions to affiliates. Pretty sure those same influencers would never recommend Freedom24 to close friends or family members though.
@AngeloColomboFi Greece. I USE Freedom24 and yes they steal the customers with high fees and i think e-toro or trading 212 , or Light Year , wich you prefere ??
@AngeloColomboFi I mostly agree with you. Can you make a video about Freedom24 explaining its pros and cons?
your biceps are amazing dude!
Thank you, that means a lot! 💪😅
Can you suggest any guides on how to properly file Austrian KESt tax on stocks/dividends?
I will file my first tax returns in 2025 in Austria, any useful resources will be much appreciated. I want to learn this process to be able to do it myself and stick with IBKR instead of Flatex.
For many year IBKR is my best choice, Thanks Angelo one more great content.
XTB is also a great option. It has 0 provision for buying and selling stocks up to 100k EUR monthly. It allows investing in EUR and USD directly. It has interest on uninvested funds. In some countries it offers accounts with tax benefits, like ISA in UK. The only thing beginners should be aware of is that they offer CFDs alongside standard stocks and ETFs, so very similar to t212.
yes, but no affiliated link so is not here :)
@borcan22 yeah, that explains it 🙂
Nope that does not explain it (I could easily add my affiliate link). In fact, if I wanted to make as much money as possible, I would be promoting CFD brokers like eToro, XTB and other questionable options like Freedom24 over anything else.
The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone anywhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
@AngeloColomboFi I think it would be enough to just warn people about CFDs, just like in case of t212. But besides that, it was a very helpful video, thanks!
@AngeloColomboFi true point they offer lot of derivates and CFD but also as mentioned they are very good option for long term ETF investors. All they CFD are explicitly mentioned in name of ETF, stock ... so there is only one rule -> avoid anything with CFD and focus on ETF and you are good. I ahve it few years never paid anything except that spread during buying...Offering many ETF accumulating and in EUR currency FTSE All world Invesco/Vanguard where you dont pay for portfolio management fee if < 250 000 eur and if you didn't trade more than 100 000 eur. You pay only spread which is decent on big ETF. Worth to check .
Thanks for the updated ranking! I shared your best broker 2024 video quite often with people, but now I can just share this updated version.
Always very useful information. Thanks for sharing
What you did not mention about N26 (and that's why I did not use them after first time): they do not have limit orders!! So you have to buy at the market price.
Oh wow, another reason to avoid them then. Thank you for pointing that out!
Angelo, I have a question: I will be switching a £550k+ portfolio to IBKR in April 2025 now I live in Europe. I am having to sell everything and re-buy VWCE with IBKR as it’s a UCITS fund and is more suitable due to the tax situation for me as an expat.
Am I better to use IBKR to do the currency conversion automatically when I buy the fund, or should I use Wise to convert to USD before then transferring the cash to IBKR and then buying VWCE?
Which is going to be cheaper? I’m thinking IBKR?
Excellent reviews. Thank you
Great video, Angelo, as usual!
You could even think of creating a quarterly, or bi-yearly, update on the topic.
I hold more than 20,000€ on T212 but I wasn’t fully aware about their situation. I’ll think about moving them to TR.
Un saluto dall’Italia!
Right now I'm planning a yearly update as long as not too much changes, as well as specific videos when something important changes on brokers like Interactive Brokers or Trade Republic.
Saluti da Vienna! 🇦🇹
Thanks very much Angelo 👍👍👍.
Helpful as always. Thanks mate.
Great video. Thank you 👍
I like how you skipped etoro. Unlike some other shady youtubers
Very useful Angelo, thank you.
Thanks!Great video.
Any impressions about Swissquote?
Strictly regulated & solid broker, but very expensive sadly
Angelo, great video, thank you!
One quick question, why did you start using TR, you mention is your second option, but besides comparing them why not stick o my with IB.
Thank you!
My pleasure! I enjoy having several brokers to choose from, each with their pros & cons. Since I also use Trade Republic as a € savings account and to get 1% saveback on card payments, I always have most of my uninvested funds sitting there earning interest anyway. That makes buying dips very easy and convenient for me, especially considering the flat 1€ fee.
Excellent video and clear content, thank you! Could you turn this into a "series", like to a video like this every year maybe or make a video during the year if something hapens. This video was very good on openning my eyes to other brokers and i would like if they improve or not, thanks
Thank you! I'm planning a yearly update on the broker landscape as a whole and specific update videos for larger brokers like IBKR and Trade Republic when something important changes :)
I'm also thinking of finally relaunching my website and having a regularly updated post comparing the brokers
Hi Angelo. Regarding the purchase of etfs at trade republic i've noticed for instance that etf s&p core 500 USD can be bought in euros even tough it says USD in its name. How does the exhange rate works in this case? Will I always have the exchange rate when I'm buying and having my dividends reinvested? At the same time, XTB allows me to buy the same etf via the German broker (SRX8) investing in euros. Should I use XTB given the fact that I can avoid the exhange rate? Thank you in advance
USD is simply the internal fund currency, which is irrelevant as you can buy the ETF directly in euros on all the brokers I mentioned. You're not losing anything to currency conversion, as these are traded directly in € on the stock exchanges used on each broker.
Do you know what to do at Interactive Brokers in the event of an inheritance settlement? How to report it at all? What documents are needed?
You need to follow whatever laws are applicable in your country regarding inheritances and send IB the necessary documentation & proof, after which you (or whoever this is about) should be able to inherit the assets. I'll do more digging on the exact procedure on IB's front though.
@AngeloColomboFi Thanks for the reply, thanks for all you do and have a nice holiday 😁😉
Hello,
thank you very much for your content and your transparancy!
Do you have a single 500€ recurring investment per month on trade republic or do you use 2,3 or even 4 smaller paiments?
Thank you! Keep up the nice work! 😊
I have a single 500€ recurring investment at the start of the month on Trade Republic and then buy additional shares directly after I get paid at random times throughout the month (I'm self-employed)
@ Thank you very much!
Hi, Angelo! Thank you very much for this video. I have a question about buying "Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS Acc" ETF only. Are you not scared that ETF will be perform worst than "Vanguard FTSE All-World Acc" ETF in the future (after 10 years)? And what if it'll be hard to sell it? What do you think?
Of course, there is a risk that he will behave worse, but no one can give a guarantee. So far, there is nothing to suggest that, as Invesco is a very solid company. There is no way that you won't be able to sell because, with the help of a market maker, the units you want to get rid of will be redeemed.
Hi Angelo. Regarding Interactive Brokers, Tiered pricing is allowing lower fees for ETFs, but if the account contains Stock as well, how will it be affected?
Tiered pricing for stocks also has a lower minimum fee (eg. 0.35$ vs. 1$ for US stocks). You can compare the pricing models for stocks/ETFs directly on IB's pricing page: angelo.fi/ibfees
Hi Angelo, i read it is not possible to transfer your ETFs and Stocks from Trade Republic to another broker because of the "Lang & Schwarz" exchange they use, as no other broker uses this platform due to the fact that is it small and its only operated in Hamburg, Germany. Could you do a research about it pls?
I have. It is of course possible, countless investors have transferred their shares already from Trade Republic to other international brokers incl. IBKR, none of which use the L&S exchange. Stocks and ETFs are not held on exchanges but at depositories and they can be traded at different exchanges. ETFs held at Trade Republic can be transferred to Interactive Brokers, where they can then be traded via XETRA (IBIS), BVME or AEB for example.
@AngeloColomboFi thank you so much for the quick reply. Can you pls male a video on how to go about it? it will be very nice to know how it's done properly, because I'm having difficulty with transferring my investments. Thank you again for your quick reply.
Great video! Thanks for the tip of recurring investments in IBKR for lower fees.
This is great. Thanks
Hi Ângelo. Thank you for the very informative vídeo. I’ve read that at T212 you are a beneficiary of shares but they are registered in the name of the broker…so you are not really the owner of the shares… is this true? do you feel safe with this issue?
thank you
I don't have an issue with this, as every European broker registers the shares in their name, but you're still the beneficial owner and they can't be touched in case of broker bankruptcy. The thing I don't like as much is that with Trading 212 you're adding an extra step to this custody chain, as your ownership is now on Trading 212's books, and Trading 212 owns the shares according to IBKR's books, which registers the shares as held by IBKR.
Hi Angelo! If you are doing the Einkommensteuererklärung for 2023 do you use the OeKB Jahresdatenmeldung for 2023 with the amount of stocks that you owned until the time of the Meldung or do you use Jahresdatenmeldung from 2024 with the number of stocks that you owned on 31.12.2023?
My tax advisor doesn't know how to tax my VWCE ETF. 🙈🙈🙈
The exact date the report was published is the only date that matters, ignore the reporting period (Meldejahr).
So the VWCE shares you held on 26.1.2023 need to be taxed with the amounts in that report, converted to EUR on that date (2023 tax report filed by Mid 2024 usually, later with a tax advisor) and the shares you held on 18.1.2024 go into your 2024 tax report, which you file by Mid 2025.
@AngeloColomboFi Thank you sir!
Hi Angelo, sorry for the rookie question but would this mean that it makes more sense to start investing into ETFs after the date when the yearly tax report got generated by the broker? I'm also based in Austria and planning to start investing from January 2025 but I'm not sure how it will influence the tax report which I will need to file for the year 2024 if I would start buying ETFs right at the beginning of the year.
Hi Angelo, is IBKR using omnibus accounts, right? What is your opinion on that?
Yes, but every European broker does that. You are still the beneficial owner, which means the shares are fully protected even in case of broker bankruptcy.
What do you think of Directa?
I have no experience with Directa, but from what I can see their fees are generally quite a bit higher compared to my personal top 3 brokers. But if you're based in Italy, they make your taxes easier in some ways and you don't mind paying a bit extra, they're probably not a bad option!
Great content thank you! I'm wondering though why you didn't give TR 5 stars. They tick every box you mentioned. Is it just because IB has a longer great standing and so it wins by half a star?
IB offers investments in multiple currencies, access to every exchange, stock, ETF and bond you can think of and has way more features, even though I personally don't use 99% of them :)
Add to that its long history and financial strength and it deserves to be a step above the rest in my opinion.
Good morning! Do we have any updates regarding the EU directive/legislation for KID in our native languages? I am asking this, as still Degiro denies to sell Vuaa to Greek investors
Nope, but as a Greek resident you can buy it both on Trade Republic (just checked their assets available to investors from Greece) as well as Interactive Brokers.
Can someone suggest me a stocks broker using MT4 or MT5 please, having thousands of shares. Typical Forex brokers have only 30-40 companies' shares but I want to access more via MT4 or MT5. Is there a such broker?
Thanks for the video! Any chance you can do a HYSA comparison for EU customers as well?
What do you think about Lightyear
They’re a relatively new broker regulated in Estonia and they’re the only one that would have required me to send them what I was going to say about them in videos beforehand for approval. The funny thing is, after they saw that my previous broker comparison got over 120.000 views they reached out to me again. As soon as I told them I’d be happy to set up a link for my viewers as long as I can share my honest unfiltered opinion, they still insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first. So I happily declined once again and here we are. I don’t know about you, but this did not give me confidence in what they’re offering. I mentioned them in my last broker comparison.
Maybe that's their marketing policies, but what about the product they are offering.@AngeloColomboFi
@AngeloColomboFi why do you need approval from Lightyear to say what you want? Is that part of the fine print of their affiliate program?
@@wout
The problem is that regulatory authorities view affiliate partners as part of the company, making Lightyear very cautious in this regard.
Hmm you could still refer to them without an affiliated link and do a full indepent review no?
Hello Angelo, new subscriber here, greetings from Greece! I have a brokerage account in T212 at the moment, reaching 20.000 euros, and thinking on opening another one for the long term. My question is, as I like a lot Trade Republic from your review, is my cash safe in there for up to 100.000, even if I enable interest in cash, or it is not recognized as cash and therefore money is not guaranteed? BTW fantastic videos with excellent content in your videos my friend.. Wish you and your family all the best! 🎉🎉🎉
Right now as a Greek resident, everything is secured up to 100.000€. I talk about what changes to expect once Trade Republic rolls out the deposit update to countries outside of Germany (which you have to agree to first incl. a new IBAN, so there won't be any surprises) after minute 06:33 in the video :)
Thank you, wishing you and your family all the best as well! 🥂
Hi, i want to trade ETFs in interactive brokers but it does not allow me do to KID documents requirement. How did you enable it? I read online that most europeans have same issues.
Were you trying to buy US ETFs which aren't available to EU residents? ETFs domiciled in Europe should not be a problem. You can check justetf.com to find European counterparts to most ETFs and check out this video why US-ETFs are likely not a good idea to begin with: th-cam.com/video/sXK_ncs1GnI/w-d-xo.html
@AngeloColomboFi you just made my day!! I did not know that! Thanks a lot and great content!
XTB and Interactive Brokers are my top picks.
XTB and Etoro intentionally mix CFDs and equities in the same account. This is a HUGE red flag.
@ Not for me because that means that’s how they make money. They make money with CFD that people CHOOSE to buy (you can simply opt out of it) which explains why they can have ETFs with zero commission unlike some brokers that temporarily let your units that you purchased be loaned and borrowed from. XTB does not touch your investments.
@ I replied saying why that’s not a bad thing; let me know if you received my reply
Angelo any thoughts about saxo bank?
Definitely a solid option with a strong financial backing! Just check the conditions for you - they still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list
@AngeloColomboFi Why did you specifically remove a star from your rating for Trading 212 due to its CySEC regulation, compared to other brokers regulated by different authorities? What aspects of CySEC's oversight concern you more than those of other regulatory bodies?
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
After Brexit happened, Trading212 moved EU clients to Cyprus specifically because it was the easiest/fastest way to get a brokerage license in Europe. They're aware it's not the most reputable though, which is why they seem to be working on changing that.
in all of those brokers i will need to file taxes to my country of residence myself? is there a broker that does it for you?
Most likely yes, unless you're based in Germany (Trade Republic, Scalable) or Austria (Flatex). If you're curious about taxes on ETFs across different countries in Europe, this video might be interesting: th-cam.com/video/s_UK3n1PVHs/w-d-xo.html
Does anyone notice if he’s a bit paralyzed on his left side? His lips don’t move on the left? Stroke?
Ouch 😅
Hey Angelo, from Portugal here! How about the Danish Saxo Bank?
Definitely a solid option with a strong financial backing! Just check the conditions for you - they still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list
And XTB? Which is the best broker present in the European market currently for those who don't buy thousands of euros per order, because supposedly the best one would be IB.
The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone somewhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
@AngeloColomboFi @AngeloColomboFi Yes, but in that case you wouldn't put the T212 either since with a simple touch of a "button" you can immediately switch to CFDs. But ok, I understand that you need to be "careful" when writing, for example, Google and not clicking on the CFD instead of the stock itself. But it is the best for all of Europe for purchases in € of stocks and even for stocks in $ if you create an account in $.
kinda strange you rate trading 212 the lowest? i mean they are regulated as well but i guess your feelings are saying its bad while on the contrary they are not, if i am wrong please provide concrete reasons
My main gripe is with how they're regulated, which I consider very important (remember shares are only protected up to 20.000€ if there's a major issue eg. fraud on European brokers!). Feel free to watch this: th-cam.com/video/U47v1DkQRQk/w-d-xo.html
Generally, regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
Trade republic: if i invest weekly will be 52 times a year or 12×4=48 times a year ? They should male more clear
It should be 52 times/year as it simply says weekly in the app, where did you read 48? The only thing worth mentioning is that you can only start the weekly investment plan at the start or middle of each month.
@AngeloColomboFi i didn't read as it is not written clearly . I see at the edge of the month the day of the purchase shift to match beg of the month so that i fear it will miss some of the 52 yearly weeks
I have a question is it possible to send shares from Flatex to trade republic ?
Yes, but I would wait until Trade Republic becomes "steuereinfach" (takes care of taxes for Austrian residents), otherwise it might be a bit of a mess tax-wise.
Thank you for this great video. I have parked about a quarter of my portfolio in IBKR but I don't actually use it because I find it quite complicated and unintuitive. The rest of my portfolio is in T212 which works exactly the way I want it to but I have concerns because my portfolio value is well into the six figures now.
Very informative video, thanks Angelo.
Regarding Trading 212 and its regulator CySec, you say it's not known for its strict regulation. Do you have any concrete examples of this? Thanks.
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
@AngeloColomboFi The question was about "Concrete" example.
Question : is it possible to transfer only part of the funds between 2 brokers ?
T212 only allows to transfer the entire portfolio.
@davidlguerr thanks
Yes, that's possible on IBKR, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital and Degiro
Thank you, Angelo. You are the best in our difficult capitalistic times!
I have a TR account in the Netherlands, and it seems to me that TR uses this 0.5% spread to bid and ask values in all assets, not just bitcoin. I find it pretty annoying.
I've never seen a spread anywhere close to that high on TR. Are you trading during regular market hours (9-17:30) or outside of that? Eg. for my ETF it's 0.06% right now (14:00 CET). Or are you specifically talking of crypto assets?
Hi, can you explain more about interest rate on cash, stored on brockers account: what brokers, what currencies apply, how much time the funds should be in the brokers account (months or years), can I withdraw the cash during this time, what other important tirms or rules apply. Thank you.
Do you still use Cap Trader for Interactive Brokers?
No, I moved to using Interactive Brokers directly as soon as they removed inactivity fees back in July 2021. That's because IB has lower fees
@AngeloColomboFi where you able to transfer your investments from Cap Trader to IB? I'm thinking about the same move.
I was able to move my account from CapTrader directly to IBKR (by delinking it from CapTrader), maybe that's an option as well!
Hi Angelo,
Congratulations on your videos, I love them.
I need some clarification regarding Trade Republic:
I am Italian and opened my account while living in Italy. However, I now live in France, and I am not allowed to change my residential address in the TR account.
It seems there is an option to add an additional tax residence, but I am concerned about potential taxation issues. Since I am registered with AIRE, I am fiscally based in France.
Could you help me understand how to proceed?
Thank you in advance.
Continua così !
Thank you, I'm very happy to hear that! I reached out to Trade Republic about this, as I'm also interested to know how this is handled
Can you make a video where you show us how to transfer stocks/etfs from scalable capital to other broker like IBKR 🙏
Here you go :)
th-cam.com/video/1IT9O5WyF30/w-d-xo.html
Haven't seen XTB in the list. Why is the reason for that?
The reason I didn't mention XTB specifically, is because they're still only offering derivatives in some European countries - since a lot of beginners watch my videos, I'd rather not send anyone somewhere they're likely to lose money. The Polish broker XTB can still be a decent option if you know what you're doing and you're sticking to physical stocks/ETFs.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, Angelo, it will be interesting to hear your opinion about Lightyear broker
Check above
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market). When they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this.
They're likely ok, but this did not leave a good impression on me so I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
Thanks for this one. As a flatex user, I am really annoyed that they don't support percentage in holdings account. All other accounts are supporting it. Also transaction costs are significantly higher 😢. Saving plan on my ETF works well I have to admit
Your money in Trade Republic IS NOT protected! I held 9,000€ and after they forced me to accept the new terms, 7,000€ went to the fund. And you don't have any control over that. The terms are vague, one they you can have all of your money held in a bank, and on the next day it could all be in a fund.
I used them only because of the bank guarantee (not for ETF investing), but is no longer there.
I'd love a video about QMMFs. I'm confused about the product - what do they invest in, how is it regulated, and how safe is it actually. The same hold for ETFs. The entire concept of the fund and what it means to buy a share of the fund. Could be a good video about the details of the working.
Such a comprehensive video, thank you!
Is BUX a good option? Any suggestions for brokers for NL?
If I'm not mistaken, BUX lends out shares as well, so they wouldn't be at the top of my list. IBKR, Trade Republic and Scalable are all available in NL, so I would pick one of those personally
Please don't go with BUX. It's Trade Republic, but with a monthly fee and worse interest rates.
Angelo, could you please share how you're investing for your daughter? You mentioned using Trade Republic ETFs-do they offer accounts for children?
No, we're simply using my wife's Trade Republic account for that. We'll gift her the shares once she turns 18 and can have her own brokerage account, hopefully by then gifts within the family will still be tax free in Austria
Freedom 24 is listed in the Greek stock exchange and audited by the biggest auditing firms. I respect if someone doesn't want to use it by it is not dangerous for investing
Hi Angelo,
Great video! Thanks for your research and for sharing this valuable info!
Do we have any broker in EU with which one could open a custodial account for his/her kid?
Here in Finland, gifts to own kids above 5k within 3 years is a taxable event. Therefore, I assume it could be beneficial to open a brokerage in my son's name and manage the assests until he turns 18.We have few local banks that can open a book-entry account in kid's name, but their fees are ridiculous compared to IBKR, Trade Republic, etc. And I couldn't find any offers abroad.
I will greatly appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and maybe advise a broker for this case. Many thanks!
Thank you! Sadly I don't have any experience with this, since kids are legally unable to have their own brokerage accounts in Austria. I also haven't seen low-fee brokers offer this feature yet for other countries. For now we simply buy ETF shares for our 2 year old daughter on my wife's Trade Republic account, which we'll gift her once she turns 18 and can have her own account.
Where do you store your Bitcoin? Do you keep at the broker or send it to your cold wallet?
I hold most of it offline on a Trezor Safe 3: angelo.fi/trezor
What about XTB and Freedom24?
XTB: This broker based in Poland can be a decent option for some investors, as long as you focus on physical stocks and ETFs instead of CFDs. The reason I did not include them is because they still only offer derivatives in many countries like Ireland, and in that case, I'd rather not send any of you guys there.
Freedom24: A Cyprus-based broker I'd personally avoid, the only reason they're ever mentioned as a "great option" is because they're paying affiliates ridiculous amounts of money to promote them.
@AngeloColomboFi why you should avoid freedom 24?
What about Lightyear?
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market). When they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this.
They're likely ok, but this did not leave a good impression on me so I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
Some people reported issues transferring their assets from Trade Republic to other brokers, possibly due to holdings being tied to the Hamburg Stock Exchange
That's definitely not the reason, nothing is "tied" to an exchange, those assets can easily be moved to other exchanges (eg. on IBKR). I have also read reports where it took longer than expected, but each case was resolved in the end - oftentimes it was something as simple as using the correct email for transfers out from TR, which IBKR asks for for example. This is the correct one in that case: transfer-out@traderepublic.com
@AngeloColomboFi Thanks
What are your thoughts about the latest video of Smart Money with Kai precisely talking about this issue?
He seems to just make nonsense claims lately without actually checking if that's really the case. Of course you can transfer shares to other brokers that use other exchanges, otherwise no TR investor could have ever transferred shares, something countless people have already done successfully. IB even lists Trade Republic as an option directly to transfer shares in from for that reason and so does T212.
Then again I'm not surprised to see someone mainly promoting eToro as a broker to his audience not understanding the basics of where stocks and ETFs are actually held (depositories, not exchanges) and that they can be transferred between different exchanges and brokers.
@AngeloColomboFithanks again
What about MEXEM? i live in NL
Your fees will be lower if you go with Interactive Brokers directly, but other than that they should be fine :)
XTB it’s missing….
This broker based in Poland can be a decent option for some investors, as long as you focus on physical stocks and ETFs instead of CFDs. The reason I did not include them is because they still only offer derivatives in many countries like Ireland, and in that case, I'd rather not send any of you guys there.
@ probably XTB its the best broker in Portugal. We belong to Europe. I invest in ETF’s there and they also have other financial instruments as well. They deserve to be on your list for your analysis since they operate in several European countries. I belive you include them on your last analysis video.
@@TorMjollnirWhy do you think XTB is the best broker for Portugal? Is it just because it is the only broker out of these that is recognized by the Portuguese entity "CMVM"?
I know that, I decided against mentioning them this time because they're still only offering CFDs in some European countries. Since many beginners are watching my videos, I'd rather avoid brokers where that's the case.
@@TorMjollnirporque é que achas que a xtb é melhor que a trade republic?
Trade republic mentions the following under "who can open an account" : "You have your permanent residence in Germany with tax livability in Germany". This excludes 16/17 EU countries . Have they forgotten to update their website?
Nope, I'm guessing you simply landed on the landing page for Germany. As soon as you switch to another country it shows that one (just tested with Ireland): angelo.fi/tr
@AngeloColomboFi That's correct. I already had an account with them so this got me worried. Thanks!
Great content btw, keep up the great work
I always see people saying that Cyprus is not known for its good financial regulations, but are there any concrete examples of this? It would make it much easier for me to convince others not to invest with parties using a Cyprus license. However, I can't seem to find specific examples illustrating why the Cyprus financial regulator is worse than that of countries like Germany.
Same comment from me. ++
For the record, during the 2012-2013 Cypriot financial crisis, only bank deposits over €100,000 were affected through a bail-in. Deposits below that threshold remained untouched. Investments in stocks, ETFs, or other financial products were not impacted, regardless of the amount.
Cyprus still falls short compared to Germany. BaFin’s stricter oversight and higher investor protections, like the 100,000€ compensation limit versus Cyprus 20,000€.
Cyprus has made progress, but the gap to Germany’s standards remains significant.
Regulation in Cyprus is easier to obtain compared to Germany, due to simpler compliance requirements and less stringent oversight, which has attracted less reputable firms in the past (and every single questionable CFD/high leverage broker in Europe). In contrast, Germany’s BaFin imposes tougher capital and reporting standards, stricter internal controls, more comprehensive ongoing supervision, and is more likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.
What about etoro?
Not a good option long-term in my opinion due to its CFD focus, Cyprus regulation in the EU and accounts being in USD
@AngeloColomboFi And you also forget to mention that broker should be a publicly traded company - this adds more regulatory and more transparency. Etoro is not publicly traded company, which is the reason i would never open an account there.
Sorry to disagree about T212 not making money from ETFs/shares. They do. Their price is not market price, the devil lies in the details. So, they are earning from FX fees, CFDs, share lending. And I don't think they are paying from their pocket some of the interest paid on uninvested cash.
Yes, it's possible they make some money via spreads when trades are executed internally, but CFDs is where they generate the vast majority of their revenue & profits.
What proof do you have that they're not paying some interest out of pocket for euro savings? Here is the money market fund 43% of my € are currently sitting in: www.blackrock.com/cash/en-at/products/329902/blackrock-ics-euro-government-liquidity-fund
Its 1-day yield has now dropped to 2.8% p.a. after the latest ECB rate change, while Trading 212 is still paying 3.7% p.a.
@AngeloColomboFi Maybe they are getting higher interest rates through Barclays, which is a UK bank. The 3.7% won't last much more, they are going to reduce it anytime.
Where the etfs at,wasted my time
TR has now 3% p.a. on cash, changed today
Yes, the ECB lowered euro short term rates today
Trade republic: on bitcoin very laege spreads
yes, I mentioned that in the video. At least you're not paying a yearly fee during the holding period like with ETNs, but using an actual crypto exchange like Bitvavo or Kraken is of course still cheaper (and you can transfer it whenever you want).
I wonder why Lightyear is almost never mentioned in such videos, the have by far the best costumer service
Check above
They work very well in my opinion.
It is still a relatively new and unknown broker for most people in Europe. At the moment, if you are not an Estonian resident or in a country where they offer a special account to benefit from tax efficiency scheme like Hungary or the UK, I really don’t see the point to consider them.
The Invesco All FTSE World ETF recommended by Angelo is not available, there is no fractional ETF share options, you cannot transfer your shares out to another broker and there is no recurring investment plan available.
That being said, they are still quite new so there is a lot of room for improvements to provide all the features I mentioned above and become an alternative that Angelo would talk in his future videos about Brokers for Europeans 😉
They're relatively new and regulated in Estonia (likely better than Cyprus, but still a tiny financial market) and you can’t transfer shares out, an essential feature a long-term broker needs to have.
Also, when they reached out to me about a referral link for viewers they insisted I would need to send them any content for approval first, which is a no-go as I always want to stay independent and share my honest opinion on anything in my videos (it's why I don't do sponsors). No other broker has ever demanded this, so that didn’t leave a good impression on me, which is why I decided to exclude them from the video as it was already way too long.
You left out reports and tax statements generated on each broker. IBKR wins over all
Good point, but it depends on the country. Where are you based?
@AngeloColomboFi Portugal
@AngeloColomboFi Portugal
I mean...IBKR beats all of them in Europe: reports and statements on demand; buy stock/etf in one exchange, sell on another; fractional shares on most everything; import/export your portfolio free of charge; manage tax lots; margin account; fundamental analysis tools; 3 different mobile apps, one easy desktop portal website, a professional sophisticated desktop station; etc...
Captrader/ Finanzen Zero
Captrader = IB with higher fees, so going with IB directly makes more sense in my opinion
Finanzen Net Zero is a solid option, as long as you're ok with some of the downsides of the Baader Bank being their custodian
Angelo Colombo
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Saxo
A solid, strictly regulated option with a strong financial backing. They still have inactivity fees and brokerage account fees in many countries, so they didn’t make the list - but you can check what conditions they offer in your country.
more
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What do you think about that:
th-cam.com/video/1BitdwWgO1c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ilVXANjCk_8l5OXk
(It's impossible to transfer securities from TR to other brokers, because no one uses Hamburg stock exchange...?)
That's 100% incorrect, Kai seems to just make nonsense claims lately without actually checking if that's really the case. Of course you can transfer shares to other brokers that use other exchanges, otherwise no TR investor could have ever transferred shares successfully, something countless people have already done successfully. IB even lists Trade Republic as an option directly to transfer shares in from for that reason.
What about Etoro and Freedom24?
In my opinion they're sub-par options for investors for many reasons, but great for those that want to milk their audience for as much money as possible as they pay insanely high commissions to affiliates. Pretty sure those same influencers would never recommend them to close friends or family members though.