Saxo Capital Markets Review

Pros Explained

• Saxo Capital Markets provides clients with access to a wide range of investment and leveraged products that cover a variety of asset classes. Clients can access forex, stocks, ETFs and commodities, options, bonds, futures, and other financial products. It may be easier to list the Saxo products that are not available.

• Saxo Capital Markets (FCA #551422) is Saxo Capital Markets' regulator. This is the UK's main regulatory agency and is widely regarded for its strictness in ensuring fair market practices for individuals and businesses. A firm's credibility is enhanced when it is regulated by a credible, government-backed agency. Although traders accept the inherent risk of markets, they want to be able to rest assured that their funds aren't exposed to other risks such as counter-party risk. Segregated client funds are also held at Tier 1 banks.

• Saxo is a company that prides itself on providing top-notch research to its clients. This deserves to be appreciated. It is the gold standard for online forex brokerage.

• Saxo developed its trading platforms, SaxoTraderPRO(download) and SaxoTraderGO(web-based), with traders in mind. They offer major improvements over industry standard MT4 or competitor offerings. A seamless integration of third-party tools opens up many possibilities for advanced traders.

• Saxo's "negative balance protection" is a feature that many online brokers now offer. Most likely, the SNB Event of January 15, 2015 was the catalyst that rocked the markets, particularly the retail FX market which is highly leveraged.

The Cons

• Saxo Capital Markets' online brokerage service has the greatest problem. Anyone involved in online trading will find it crucial to be able contact a broker quickly. The website does not have a live chat function and online chat is limited to accounts that are funded. Although "Chatbot" functionality is available, Saxo would be better off if it wasn't. Prospective clients often test out brokers' offerings by opening a demo account. Having live chat access is an obvious omission.

• It is difficult to calculate the bottom-line costs due to the confusing array of fees and hidden costs. Spread and commission disclosures can be contradictory. Prices are quoted for identical or similar instruments and venues.

• Saxo Capital Markets is unable to accept U.S. clients because of regulatory constraints. However, it cannot be considered a global broker. It would be difficult to find another broker with greater global reach. The fact that the company is regulated jointly by the FCA and the U.S. regulatory agencies (NFA and CFTC) would indicate this is a problem.

• Saxo Capital Markets does not offer MT4, the white-labeled, ever-present interface that is part almost every forex broker's platform suite.

Prices

Saxo Capital Markets trading costs are either added to the spread, which is the primary way the broker generates revenue, and/or included in commissions which are consistent with industry standards. The minimum forex bid/ask spread minimums in a classic account are advertised as 0.6 pip. The average spreads fall while the benefits for higher-tiered accounts such as "platinum", "VIP", and "VIP", offer substantial active-trader discounts. However, the minimum PS200,000 to upgrade tiers will act to deter the average retail client. When trading other instruments, commission charges are added to the listed spread.

Average to competitive overnight holding costs apply. If the client has only cash funds in their account, an inactivity fee is charged at PS25/quarter. The average retail trader will find a lot of additional costs, generally referred to as "general charges," that add up to quite a burden. Account holders will be able to withdraw their funds at no cost.

The website and trading platforms lack transparency and are not clear about the fees and costs associated with CFDs, contracts and direct sales of similar instruments. Saxo does not intend to mislead, but the complexity of the costs associated with the various broker offerings can make it difficult to understand. Saxo Capital Markets tries to be as transparent and open as possible.

Saxo Capital Markets' documentation for other countries was sometimes contradictory to the U.K. website. It listed conflicting fees, including currency conversions, and trading conditions for similar products and sizes. You can also miss the fine print, which adds a surcharge to small trades. This increases confusion.

Trade Experience

Saxo's interface is proprietary. SaxoTraderPRO (downloadable) and SaxoTraderGO(web-based) were designed with the trader in mind. They offer major improvements over the industry standard MT4, accessible only through an API interface and the more recent cTrader. A seamless integration with third party tools opens up many possibilities for advanced traders.

SaxoTraderPRO, a customizable desktop interface, can be downloaded for Windows and Mac. To take advantage of the platform's advanced workspace management, the user can use up to six screens. Trader's analysis can be greatly assisted by multi-channel linking between modules, and robust charting packages that include "a comprehensive suite" of annotations and drawing tools. Order tickets are designed to maximize productivity and display all relevant information. Activation can also allow for fully integrated algorithmic trading orders. Subscription-based features such as "depth market" or "time and sales data can be valuable and prove to add value.

SaxoTraderGO may not have all the bells & whistles of SaxoTraderPRO, but it is still impressive. It's much more user-friendly than its big brother. Although it isn't customizable, it doesn't hinder its functionality. The web-based version allows for the organization of charts and news, research, watchlists, and other information according to trader specifications. The charting and technical indicators feature are fully featured, including custom time management and the ability to link between platform windows. Saxo's impressive range of market orders and pending orders easily beats the competition, and further reinforces its commitment to attracting advanced traders.

The order tickets on both platforms offer five order types. You can attach "take profit" or "stop loss" orders. The trader has the option to either make the stop loss order trailing or stop-limit. A guaranteed stop loss order is missing from an impressive range of options. While this might seem to deter novice traders, an experienced trader would know that guaranteeing a stop-loss order is not compatible with market dynamics. Brokers that offer this option admit that they will absorb any excess losses that may occur under certain market conditions.

• Market - This is the simplest type of order in which a trader indicates that they want their trade to be executed at the current market rate. This is a variant called "quick trade", which allows traders to "hit the bidding" or "pay for the offer" to trade, without having to wait for a stop loss or take-profit to be applied. This feature is designed to meet trader's speed needs.

• Limit - An order that is pending and the entry is at a predetermined level below or above the current market rate, depending on whether the trader is a buyer or seller. This order can also be extended by the trader.

• Stop - An order that is pending and the entry is at a predetermined level above or below the current market rate, depending on whether the trader is a buyer or seller. This order can also be extended by the trader.

• Stop-Limit: A pending order in which the entry is at a predetermined level above or below the current market rate, depending on whether it's buy or sell. The trader can choose the tolerance range to execute the order. This means that if the market gap exceeds the specified rate or the tolerance interval, the order will be cancelled immediately. This order can also be cancelled by the trader at any time.

• OCO - A pair or pending orders, one an entry limit and the other an exit stop. Execution of one cancels the execution of the other. This order can also be extended by the trader.

SaxoTraderGo OCO Order

SaxoTraderGo apps are available for iOS, Android and tablets. They provide easy access and full syncing between platforms to all the amazing features of the desktop and web versions. With just a few swipes, traders can access the indicator list. Although the apps allow fingerprint ID entry, this feature is not part of a 2-tier authentication process.

Saxo Capital Markets does not offer MT4, the white-labeled, ever-present interface that is part almost every forex broker's platform suite.

Saxo also offers clients the ability to create bespoke apps via APIs. This includes both its own OpenAPI as well as third-party APIs (Excel, etc.). Access to Saxo's data feeds is possible by the following: Clients can access third-party apps, including Dynamic Trend, TradingView, and MultiCharts to aid them in trading. MultiCharts, for example, allows traders to backtest strategies. TradingView is a social trading platform. Saxo doesn't offer VPS hosting locally.

A wide range of offerings

Saxo Capital Markets provides clients with access to a vast catalog that includes both investment and leveraged products. This catalogue spans many asset classes. It may be easier to list the Saxo products that are not available. The available instruments, as advertised on the U.K. and international websites of Saxo include:

• 182 FX spot pairs

• 140 FX Forwards

• 44 FX vanilla options

• 200+ Futures Contracts

• 19,000+ stocks (36 worldwide exchanges)

• 1200+ options listed (24 exchanges).

• CFDs up to 9,000

• 19 commodity CFDs

• More than 5,000 bonds (government or corporate)

• More than 3,000 ETFs (30+ Exchanges)

• Portfolio management

• 250+ mutual funds (non U.K. international accounts)

• ETNs for Cryptocurrency (non-UK International Accounts)

Multiple venues and order routing methods can be used to trade many instruments. This provides a wide range of options, but certain venues may have higher costs than others. The product range is impressive and will please any global markets enthusiast.

Customer Service

Saxo Capital Markets' online brokerage service has a problem with its customer support. There is no live chat function on the website. Online chat is available within trading platforms, but is only available for funded accounts. Local language support is restricted to higher-tier accounts. Although "Chatbot" functionality is possible, Saxo may be better off if it wasn't. Although the broker is active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it does not handle service inquiries via those social media platforms.

Prospective clients often test the offering of a broker via a demo account. The absence of live chat is an obvious omission. Prospective clients are required to contact the sales department via phone or email. Although the broker has a solid support page that covers many topics, the search function could be better. Saxo claims to offer industry-standard 24-hour customer support. However, the contact page lists office reception and sales numbers. There is no local or toll free support number. The small print states that departments are available between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 pm local time. The dealing desk does not have a direct phone number.

Education

The educational materials are primarily focused on product and platform tutorials. They also provide introductory coverage of technical analysis topics and basic concepts. There are few resources for skill-building. This fits in with the unstated goal that Saxo has of attracting well-funded, advanced traders. A glossary is not available, at least according to the commonly accepted definition. This creates another hurdle for traders who are less skilled. However, there is a FAQ page that can be used to answer questions.

Portfolio Analysis

All platforms offer portfolio analysis, including performance data, risk assessment and portfolio breakdowns. Clients can export historical trade, position and performance data to the platform reporting suite in Excel or PDF format. This functionality allows clients to consolidate holdings using an external spreadsheet or third party reporting software.

Trade tickets contain information such as margin requirements. They allow users to choose the unit (percentage, pips price, value) to place stop loss or take profit orders. Traders can make informed decisions by having all data available in real time.

Saxo Capital Markets provides access to third party portfolio tools (eXimius), as well as external tax reporting and reclaim services that can be requested from GlobeTax. Access to the complete reporting suite is available directly within the trading platforms for all clients. These reports allow for tax reporting via PDF and Excel. They include performance, profitability, dividends, interest income, fee data, and other information.

Investigate Amenities

Saxo Capital Markets is to be commended for their dedication to providing clients with timely and informative research. This section might be enough to convince serious traders to open an account with this broker. You can access research materials through the website and directly through the platforms. Saxo boasts a large number of analysts in-house who provide market updates, ratings and timely commentary.

Multiple streaming, real-time news services (Dow Jones Global News and NewsEdge Equities), a variety market reports in varying formats, trading ideas generators (Trade signals by Autochartist, trade ideas from Sales Traders, and SaxoStrats), as well as access to analyst rating reports and (TipRanks) should satisfy even the most seasoned trader.

Saxo Capital Markets can provide any research a client might need to make informed trading decisions.

Market Analysis by SaxoTraderGO

Security

Saxo Capital Markets is committed to security and has been licensed by numerous jurisdictions worldwide. You can find all licensing information here.

Saxo takes measures to ensure client funds do not mix with corporate funds. This is in accordance the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) client money rules. Client assets are protected in the event of Saxo becoming insolvent. This is done by keeping those funds in separate accounts at regulated banks. Additional asset protection is available through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, (FSCS), which can provide up to PS85,000.

Saxo offers clients a guarantee that they won't lose more than what they have in their accounts through the negative balance protection rules that were mandated by ESMA and that came into effect in 2018. But, clients are not guaranteed to lose more than they have in their accounts due to the ESMA negative balance protection rules that went into effect in 2018.

Saxo's software security meets the highest industry standards. The web-based and mobile apps will both be protected by bio-metric and two-factor authentication. Users who aren't using them for a specified period of time will be removed from the site.

Web disclosures are company procedures that ensure the best executions. They are supported by a wide range of liquidity providers, including aggregated and direct market access (DMA), as well as a variety of in-house liquidity providers.

Verdict

Saxo Capital Markets is a great option for professionals and advanced traders with well-funded accounts. Although extensive and thorough research tools, an API interface and discounted fees (high-tier account accounts) can increase account profitability, trader education is lacking and customer service is poor. Saxo's business model leads us to conclude that it is primarily focused on professional account holders and larger-scale accounts.

It is difficult to calculate the bottom-line costs due to the confusing array of fees and hidden costs. Spread and commission disclosures can be contradictory. Prices are quoted for identical or similar instruments and venues.

Saxo's approach is arrogant, which may be justified considering their track record. However, it can be demeaning for novice traders who want to access its service. Saxo's high surcharges for small trades and limited educational resources can make it difficult to find better deals elsewhere. They also have limited support options and lower trading costs.

Saxo's vast product catalogue, user interfaces and superior research capabilities would appeal to a well-funded, sophisticated market professional.