Switzerland’s Swissquote Bank has a wholly owned London-based subsidiary called Swissquote Ltd. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved and regulated it since 2012.
Over 360,000 customers worldwide rely on the broker’s award-winning platforms to access more than 160 forex and CFD instruments. Manchester United Football Club has named the company as an official partner.
Swissquote Ltd. is a leading online foreign exchange (Forex) and CFD trading platform. The broker provides access to various resources, including MT4 and MT5, a custom trading platform, market analysis, and webinars.
One of the earliest discount brokers to provide trading on the Swiss Stock Exchange, Swissquote opened for business in 1996. Since those early days, Swissquote has expanded rapidly, becoming a household name across Europe and capturing a sizable portion of the retail trading industry in mainland Europe.
As you’ll see in the following review, Swissquote’s platform is packed with additional features that retain its devoted customer base, even though its prices may not be competitive with those of the lowest-cost brokers. Among these are its cutting-edge robo-advisory service, the specialized trading platform Advanced Trader, and a host of additional trading tools and features designed specifically for this platform. Swissquote’s exceptional reputation for consumer trust and safety makes it a simple decision to trade with them.
When deciding where to register an account, you could do much worse than Swissquote if you search for an online brokerage that focuses on FX and CFD trading and allows cryptocurrency trading. While it may not provide the lowest prices, the high quality of the service it delivers more than makes up for any disadvantages in this area.
Swissquote Features & Services
Countries/Regulators/Languages
Under FCA registration number 562170, Swissquote Ltd is approved to conduct business in the United Kingdom.
Swissquote is a financial services provider with subsidiaries in Malta, Luxembourg, Zürich, Dubai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Africa.
All client funds are stored in separate accounts with a bank authorized by the FCA. Corporate Governance and financial audit reports are also required annually from Swissquote Group Holding Ltd. Traders may rest confident that this broker meets the standards of a Tier-1 organization.
Account types
Users of Swissquote can choose from a variety of account types that are tailored to specific trading needs. Four tiers of accounts are available: basic, premium, prime, and professional.
With the Standard account, you may trade FX and CFDs with spreads as low as 1.7 pips and no commissions. The Premium account, with spreads starting at 1.4 pips, is the current favorite. Prime account minimum spreads on forex and CFD transactions are 1.1 pips. The minimum deposit required to open each account type is the primary distinction between them. Minimum deposits for the Premium and Prime accounts are $10,000 and $50,000, with a higher Standard account minimum of $1,000.
The Professional account allows you to negotiate your own unique price with Swissquote. You may negotiate your own commission structure and spreads with this method.
We found the available account choices to be satisfactory on the whole. Most brokers need a $50,000 minimum deposit to access the most competitive spreads, which is out of reach for most traders.
Tradable Assets & Securities
Swissquote’s impressive array of CFDs is a constant selling point. The broker offers access to several CFDs, including equities, bonds, and commodities. In terms of bond indexes, investors may choose from the USBDN, BUND, and LGILT alongside the US500, DE30, and US100. Swissquote is an excellent platform for trading CFDs on commodities, with more than 20 options. The companies above are included here: USOIL, UKOIL, and NG.
Swissquote has compiled a good collection that should meet the demands of most intermediate or novice traders; however, it is not nearly as wide as some of the other CFD-focused brokers. Swissquote comes out as a forex-centric broker, although there is enough choice that you may diversify your holdings with CFD trading if you so want.
Compared to the other markets accessible through the Swissquote platform, Forex is where it truly shines. Major and minor currency pairings, including exotic and developing market currencies, are now available for trading. Furthermore, several foreign exchanges and precious metals crosses are available for trading by customers.
The available currency pairings are superior to those offered by even the most well-known brokers. A total of over 80 currency pairings will be made available to Swissquote subscribers. Swissquote can give access to liquidity at all times because of its extensive network of Tier 1 banks and regional non-bank liquidity sources.
Compared to the other markets accessible through the Swissquote platform, Forex is where it truly shines. Traders may now choose from a wide variety of major and minor currency pairings, including exotic and developing market currencies. Users can trade in various foreign currency pairs and precious metals. The quality of the available currency pairings is high, exceeding that of even the largest brokers. A total of over 80 currency pairings will be made available to Swissquote subscribers. Swissquote can give access to liquidity at all times because of its extensive network of Tier 1 banks and regional non-bank liquidity sources.
In terms of available stock trading alternatives, Swissquote provides more than enough variety. Swissquote’s stock offerings are not the largest, but the company seems to have grown steadily and with caution. Swissquote allows you to trade stocks and shares listed in Switzerland, Europe, North America, and Asia.
Options for trading cryptocurrencies are now available on the Swissquote platform. Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum, EOS, Stellar, Tezos, Augur, and 0x are all cryptocurrencies Swissquote supports.
| Assets & Trading |  |
|---|---|
| Forex – Currency Pairs | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes |
| Total Instruments | 466 |
| Total Forex Pairs | 78 |
| US Stocks | Yes |
| Intl Stocks | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes |
| Social Trading | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency Options | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency Pairs | No |
Fees, Costs & Spreads
Swissquote’s CFD and FX spreads are not the best in the business. Compared to other low-cost brokers, the overall cost of trading appears excessive. While the hefty commissions on stocks and ETFs may be off-putting, the cheap spreads on CFDs and FX pairs should more than makeup for it. Keep in mind that if you choose forex and CFD trading, the fees may not be significantly more than the norm in the sector.
Trading with Swissquote is commission-free, with spreads as low as 0.6 pips. However, the spread on widely traded pairings like the EUR/USD with the micro account is just about 1.3 pips. Around 0.25 points are where you can get into the S&P 500 or the XAUUSD (gold).
Trading with a Premium or Prime account is free of fee. However, traders with an Elite or Professional account will be charged 2.5 Euros per side, per traded lot.
Other costs include an inactivity fee of 10 units of the account currency per month after 6 months of inactivity and overnight switch charges, which are described in full on the website.
Deposits & Withdrawals
Debit, credit cards, and wire transfers can be used to send funds in one of nine supported currencies. Neither the broker nor the client will charge you for making a deposit or a withdrawal. However, they insist on a 1,000 Euro down payment (or equivalent).
The broker provides the necessary SWIFT numbers and bank details for wire transfers under the Help section. Money withdrawals can only be processed via the ePortal. Credit card transactions are processed immediately, but wire transfers take one to three business days to clear.
Education & Research
The research part of Swissquote is excellent, with daily reports and real-time analysis of market trends. Swissquote offers various informative research materials, such as live news feeds, economic calendars, blog posts, and webinars. Swissquote stands out from the crowd thanks to its research superiority compared to its rivals.
Swissquote publishes a high-quality magazine biweekly with roughly 80 pages of technology-rich material covering worldwide markets, as well as daily written pieces in the form of its Morning News series from the Newsroom part of its website and trading articles. Some of Swissquote’s products, like the crypto exchange-traded certificate, are structured with input from the firm’s quantitative research team.
Trading Central, made up of algorithmic chart pattern analysis and expert commentary, is available to traders through Swissquote. MetaTrader also supports the AutoChartist plugin, which provides access to a comparable service. Swissquote’s many channels provide breaking news from Dow Jones Newswire and other reputable sources. Morningstar provides free reports to investors. Market Talk is a series produced internally by Swissquote that features videos and audio recordings released daily, focusing on fundamental and technical analysis.
You may learn the ropes or hone your skills in education, stocked with e-books, classes, webinars, a magazine, and free demonstrations. Swissquote excels in this area thanks to the abundance of video information available on its YouTube page, which includes hundreds of informative movies and seminars. The lack of interactive lesson programs and the sparseness of the textual information make for a dull learning experience that can’t compare to the finest FX brokers.
Customer Support
During our research, we discovered that the platform provided excellent user support. Because it is a component of a traditional bank, customers may reach out to the platform using conventional channels such as snail mail, phone, and electronic mail.
The website’s Live Chat icon in the right-hand corner is the best option. The Swissquote support staff will be in touch with you shortly. Swissquote’s global appeal is reflected in the fact that customer service is offered in four languages: English, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Our final Swissquote review remark is that the platform has a helpful support website in the form of a FAQ section that answers basic account questions and provides trading basics.
Social & Robo Trading
Major trading platforms now routinely include social trading tools. These are common because they let you learn from the experiences of other investors and mimic their success. Trading and investing methods may be learned from one’s peers using social trading tools, which is especially useful for novice traders and investors.
Although social trading tools have grown in popularity, brokers’ support levels vary widely. Compared to other providers, Swissquote’s performance here is about average. While not as robust as on other platforms, Swissquote now offers some support for social trading.
Swissquote’s robo advising service is the company’s most eye-catching freebie offer. This facilitates the mechanization of your investment portfolio and the provision of individual investment advice. The robo advisor will monitor your portfolio and customize an investment and asset allocation strategy for you based on your risk appetite and other factors. The best part is that the fee for the robo advice service is modest, ranging from 0.75 percent to 0.45 percent of your investment.
User Experience
Swissquote is a trading platform that is both user-friendly and straightforward. It is easy to see that both the web-based eTrading platform and the desktop-based Advanced Trader were developed to the needs of traders of varying expertise. The main Swissquote website might sometimes feel crowded, which is our only real complaint.
However, this is not a significant drawback because what really matters is the trading experience, and Swissquote excels at this. Swissquote caters to investors of all expertise levels and does not explicitly target newcomers to the trading world.
Swissquote Trading Platform Overview
Swissquote’s forex trading platforms and available plugins and tools are among the finest in the industry. These are some of the Swissquote services available on the various platforms:
Swissquote’s trading platform, Advanced Trader, includes cutting-edge technologies, 50 intelligent charting tools, 80 technical indicators, and a TradingView-powered synchronized layout for numerous charts. The system works with PCs and mobile phones alike. Simply dragging and dropping, you may rearrange the various parts of the interface to suit your needs. You may also make your own charts, drawing tools, and indicators and create a customizable watchlist.
Online retail forex and CFD traders mostly choose the MetaTrader 4 and 5 (MT4/5) platforms built by MetaQuotes. Swissquote’s integration with MT4/5 ensures lightning-fast trade execution and extensive market depth. Social trading and using expert advisor (EA) add-ons, which automate trading, are also possible on such platforms.
Mobile trading apps
The Swissquote Advanced Trader software is well-organized, straightforward, and user-friendly. It includes various tools for conducting market analysis and learning the ropes. However, charting capabilities are restricted, so I recommend looking into the MetaTrader package instead.
Swissquote’s Advanced Trader app and the MetaTrader suite of mobile applications are available to FX and CFD traders on the go (MT4 and MT5). Swissquote is an app for trading stocks and cryptocurrencies that is compatible with Android, iOS, and Huawei wearables.
Swissquote’s YUH app is a passive investment platform for equities and cryptocurrencies, and it’s used by PostFinance, one of the significant financial institutions in Switzerland, as part of cooperation to power both companies.
The MT4 and MT5 mobile apps from MetaTrader offer fully functional charts with 30 different indicators, nine different time frames, and fluid panning and zooming capabilities. You may select from 6 different chart styles and 11 different timeframes with the Advanced Trader software, but there are no indicators to use. It is important to note that neither landscape mode nor the ability to zoom in and out is supported by its charts.
Technical Trading Tools
Swissquote provides access to MetaTrader Expert Advisors and the MetaTrader Master Edition plugin. Swissquote customers may download the plugin at no cost; it has helpful features, including an enhanced correlation matrix, a trade management toolkit with 12 different functions, and 15 brand-new indicators.
Another helpful MT5 plugin that Swissquotes provides at no cost is Trading Central (TC). The adaptive candlesticks and adaptive divergence convergence (ADC) indicator are just a few features of this award-winning plugin for trading analysis. The TC add-on gives you a report on the market every day. The built-in pattern recognition software facilitates the rapid development of trading strategies.
They also provide Autochartist to their customers. Automatic trade notifications and rapid, accurate analysis are two of the many benefits offered by this technical analysis tool. The Autochartist search engine monitors the markets around the clock, sending you notifications when your selected currency pair or other tradable asset presents a favorable trading opportunity. The program notifies users of crucial support and resistance levels, traditional chart patterns, and Fibonacci retracement points, all of which are standard tools in technical analysis.
Our Independent View
To create an account with Swissquote, you’ll need to put down anything from $1,000 to $50,000, making it a good fit for wealthy traders with deep pockets. New traders will like this broker’s user-friendly interface and instructional resources. The tighter spreads available in the Premium, Prime, and Professional accounts attract experienced traders.
The fact that Swissquote is a registered Swiss bank, regulated worldwide, and traded publicly gives it an air of reliability and stability that its competitors lack. It also offers a variety of accounts and a bespoke trading platform to meet the needs of different traders. Swissquote offers more than the standard fare for a forex and CFD broker by providing banking services, Robo-Advisors, and tools for institutional investors and private clients.
They also access advanced features like strategy backtesting, automation, and fund management tools inside the Advanced Trader and MetaTrader platforms.
In 2022, Swissquote was ranked first in banking services and among the best in the world for cryptocurrency trading and trustworthiness.
FAQs
Does Swissquote function as a market maker?
Indeed, Swissquote is a market maker since it helps to make markets more liquid.
Does Swissquote give promotional codes or no-deposit bonuses?
Swissquote does not give promotional coupons or bonus incentives because of legal constraints.
Could you please clarify if Swissquote is a bank or not?
The Swissquote Ltd trade division is a subsidiary of the Swissquote Bank. This financial institution was founded in 2000 and offered a wide variety of digital services, including online banking, savings, ex-pat accounts, e-trading, and robo-advisory.