General Information
Founded in: 2007
Headquarters: British Virgin Islands
Maximum leverage: 1:400
Minimum deposit: $50
Minimum deal size: 1,000
Languages available: English, German, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese
Regulation: NFA, FSA BaFin and more (See All eToro regulations here.)
Trading Platform
The most comprehensive trading platform offered by eToro is its downloadable platform. Like most Forex brokers, eToro offers only one version of its downloadable platform. What sets this platform apart from others, however, is that if can be operated in two distinct ways; the Expert Mode version is ideal for experienced traders, while the Visual Mode is an excellent tool for new traders.
In many aspects the Visual Mode is similar to FX Club’s ExpressFX platform which also caters to novice traders. However, while FX Club’s ExpressFX platform excludes all trading graphs and charts, eToro’s Visual Mode does include these trading tools, in a simplified version that is easier to understand. The Expert Mode of eToro’s downloadable platform functions similar to most other top Forex platforms, with charts, an economic calendar and other tools, each of which stored in a separate tab so that traders can find the information they need without being distracted by other information.
Visual Mode View (Click image to enlarge)
Expert Mode View (Click image to enlarge)
Traders who prefer not to download eToro’s trading platform can enjoy their user-friendly web interface. Although it doesn’t support the visual mode that can be critical for new traders, it does provide a clean-cut user interface that makes it easy to execute trades and to find the information you need. In a continued effort to add a social component to the trading arena, eToro’s web platform also incorporates a chat feature which allows traders to chat with other eToro traders in real time. Traders can also choose to be ‘invisible’ if they don’t wish to receive chats or to broadcast that they are online.
eToro Web Interface (Click image to enlarge)
We were surprised to see that eToro doesn’t currently provide a mobile trading interface, though their site does claim that this service will be available sometime in 2011. While this could be an understandable drawback for professional Forex traders, recreational traders should easily be able to live without mobile trading for a bit longer.
Instead, both expert and novice traders can enjoy eToro’s OpenBook platform, which essentially merges Twitter with Forex trading. Traders can see what moves other traders are executing, which can offer a glimpse into what’s successful and what’s not, or provide inspiration for new strategies. Those who are unfamiliar with this form of social networking may require a few minutes of initiation to familiarize themselves with the site, but traders who have used a similar Forex social platform should be able to jump right in.
Sample OpenBook Profile Page
Features
In addition to offering revolutionary trading platforms, eToro also offers a host of features that set it apart from many of the other top Forex brokers. As is common in the industry, traders that deposit more funds can enjoy more features.
eToro’s most basic trading account is called the Bronze account, and it caters to traders who deposit under $1000. The account boasts the following benefits:
• Automatic enrollment in eToro's Trading Challenge which has $1,500 weekly prizes
• Free entrance to the real traders' chat room
• Pop up notifications of anticipated figures for financial announcements
• Receipt of eToro’s weekly newsletter
Traders who trade over 300 lots or deposit over $1000 will be automatically upgraded to the Silver account, which offers the same benefits as the Bronze account, plus:
• Access to the eToro’s trading e-course
• A personal account executive to answer basic questions that you have about investing and platform use
• Referral incentives for people who deposit over $2500
Traders who deposit $5000 and trade 600 lots quarterly will enjoy a Gold account, which includes:
• A 10% bonus on your first deposit each month (up to $500)
• Phone access to eToro’s trading room
• Daily market report via email
• An account manager who will monitor your trading, and give you Risk Management, Trading Strategy and Market Analysis coaching
• 3 day withdrawals, which is faster than with other accounts
• Referral incentives
Finally, if you deposit $20,000 you’ll be enrolled as a VIP member, which entitles you to all of the features offered with other plans, plus:
• A 15% bonus on your first deposit each month (up to $2,000)
• One on one training sessions with Forex experts
In addition to these features, we were also impressed by the company’s Forex resources and educational materials which were both well-organized and well-written. The self-study video course was also helpful, with crisp graphics and a clear voice that should be easily understood by most (if not all) viewers.
Customer Service
eToro provides live customer support from Monday-Friday between 6am and 11pm GMT. Customers who prefer live support can receive support via email, chat and phone. eToro makes it easy for traders across the globe to call customer support by offering a Freephone number as well as customer service phone numbers in over a dozen countries worldwide. We emailed eToro on a Sunday, and were impressed that we received a response within 12 hours, despite the long email queue that we had anticipated.
Email from eToro Customer Support (Click image to enlarge)
We chatted with eToro on Monday, February 21, 2011. We were instantly connected to an eToro representative, but it took her over 5 minutes to respond to our question. Still, the response that we received was helpful, courteous and relevant.
Chat with eToro (Click image to enlarge)
Equally impressive is the extensive self-help section that eToro provides which offers succinct answers about questions relating to their trading platform, and that help is available directly from their trading platform, a feature which, though it should be obvious, is not always available.
Ease of Use
Though we’re not quite sure what the “e” stands for in eToro, we wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it stands for ‘”easy.” From account registration to trade execution, eToro has earned our respect as a Forex broker that is truly invested in enhancing the user experience. Registration was quick and straightforward which was hardly unique. What did stand out, however, was the welcome message that we received immediately after registering, which offered useful links directing us what to do next. Whereas other Forex brokers assume that users can figure out the next step, eToro eliminates the guesswork and makes it easy to get started.
Message after downloading – helpful and unique (Click image to enlarge)
Each of eToro’s platforms have uncluttered, intuitive designs that mimic the company’s tasteful website. Sufficiently large font sizes made it easy to locate all of the actions that we wished to perform. Equally easy was the ability to switch between modes in the downloadable platform with ease without losing critical information during the switch. The OpenBook platform is similarly pleasant to use, with country flags indicating where every other trader is located and an orderly interface that welcomes new users instead of overwhelming them.
Funding your eToro account is consistent with the trading experience, ie it is simple and user friendly. You can fund your account using the standard credit card, wire transfer, Paypal, Neteller, Western Union, MoneyGram, and Webmoney.
eToro supports all the major currency pairs with a spread of as low as 2 pips for the majors. You can also use the eToro practice account before trading real money and with one click, begin the actual trading with as low as a $50 initial investment. The maximum leverage eToro support is 400:1, which is the highest I have come across with any Forex broker. In addition, eToro allows you to trade with a few different base currencies in addition to the US dollar.
Overall, we found eToro to be among the most user-friendly trading platforms, and one definitely worth testing out during your search for the right Forex broker.
