Founded in Denmark in the early 1990s, Saxo Bank now offers services to investors around the world and is one of two truly global operators (the other being Interactive Brokers). The name can cause some confusion – this is a brokerage and investment bank rather than a traditional high street bank. For this reason, it is also known as Saxo Capital Markets in some countries.
The firm offers more countries for online trading than any other firm in the broker database. Commissions are reasonable, but account fees can vary depending on which country your account is opened in, so check your local version of the Saxo website to clarify these. The exact markets available will also vary slightly for accounts opened in different countries, due to regulatory restrictions.
Be aware of the 0.5% charge on currency conversions. While these are not high by the standards of the industry – 1-2% is common – investors trading in and out of stocks in the same foreign currency frequently will want to be able to hold the proceeds in cash rather than transferring back to their base currency. Saxo offers foreign currency sub-accounts for this purpose, but these need to be set up individually for each currency and sometimes only seem to be offered to larger accounts with a minimum of around US$100,000 or local equivalent.
Saxo also offers futures, CFDs, FX and other trading services. You’ll come across quite a few critical reviews of the FX offering on internet forums. Whether these are fair is a good question – new FX traders have a tendency to lose all their money fast and then blame the provider. However, I’ve had generally good feedback on their stock trading services.
| Online trading | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan - Tokyo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK - SETS, UK International Order Book, USA, USA OTCBB, USA OTC Pink Sheets |
| Telephone trading | UK - SEAQ (quote-driven market for smaller stocks) |
| Typical online | Online: min £8/$15/€12 |
| Online details | Rates may vary between countries. Not all markets may be available through all Saxo divisions (eg Greece is not available through Saxo UK).
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Australia
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0.1% (min A$15)
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Austria
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0.1% (min €12)
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Belgium
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0.1% (min €12)
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Canada - TSE
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C$0.03/share (min C$25)
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Canada - TSX Venture
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C$0.02/share (min C$25) - capped at C$25 for shares under C$1
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Czech Republic
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0.28% (min CZK500)
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Denmark
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0.1% (DKK29)
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Finland
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0.1% (min €12)
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France
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0.1% (min €12)
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Germany - Frankfurt
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0.1% (min €12)
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Greece
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0.35% (min €12)
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Hong Kong
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0.15% (min HK$150)
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Ireland
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0.1% (min €12)
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Italy
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0.1% (min €12)
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Japan - Tokyo
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0.15% (min JPY1,500)
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Netherlands
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0.1% (min €12)
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Norway
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0.1% (min NOK10)
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Poland
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0.3% (min PLN75)
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Portugal
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0.1% (min €12)
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Singapore
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0.15% (min S$25)
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South Africa
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0.25% (min ZAR100)
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Spain
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0.1% (min €12)
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Sweden
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0.1% (min SEK65)
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Switzerland
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0.1% (min CHF18)
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UK - LSE International Order Book
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0.1% (min US$20)
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UK - SETS
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0.1% (min £8)
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USA
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US$0.02/share (min US$15)
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USA - OTCBB and OTC Pink Sheets
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0.15% (min US$25) - capped at US$25 for trades under US$50,000
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| Typical telephone | £50 |
| Telephone details | LSE - SEAQ 0.35% (min £50) with £5,000 minimum trade size |
| Account fees and inactivity fees | Generally none, but inactivity fees apply on accounts in some countries - for example, with UK accounts, there is a £25 per quarter inactivity fee for accounts with no trades in past quarter (does not apply to ISA and SIPP accounts). Check local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Custody charges for stocks | Varies between countries, but 0.12% per year (min €5 per month) for equities and bonds is standard. Check local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Dividend charges | None |
| Corporate action charges | None |
| Currency conversion charges | 0.5% margin on interbank rates |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
| Currencies allowed | AUD, CAD, CZK, CHF, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NOK, PLN, SEK, SGD, USD (only larger account holders will be allowed to have multiple foreign currency sub-accounts) |
| Tax-advantaged accounts | UK residents: ISA (administration fee of £35+VAT per year) - requires £6,500 minimum account size, SIPP (fees vary) |
| Other products and services | Bonds, CFDs, futures, FX |
| Minimum account size | Varies between countries. Typical minimum account size is in the region of $5,000-10,000. Check local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Company location | Denmark |
| Further information | Visit the Saxo Bank (Saxo Capital Markets) website |
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