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 retail bank. For this reason, it is now known as Saxo Markets in some countries.
The firm offers more countries for online trading than any other firm in the broker database. Trading commissions are mostly reasonable, but fees vary greatly 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 may also be different, due to regulatory restrictions.
The commission on currency conversions also varies, but has unfortunately now risen to 1% in some countries (it was previously 0.5%). Investors trading in and out of stocks in the same foreign currency frequently will therefore want to keep the proceeds in cash rather than transferring back to their base currency.
You can operate multiple foreign currency sub-accounts to let you do this, but these need to be set up individually for each currency you require. In some countries, there may be a minimum account size to open sub-accounts.
| Online trading | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China - Shanghai, China - Shenzhen, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan - Tokyo, Malaysia, 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/$10/€12 |
| Online details | Rates may vary between countries. Frequent traders will get lower rates. Not all markets may be available through all Saxo divisions (eg Greece and Malaysia do not seem to be available through Saxo UK).
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Australia
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0.1% (min A$8)
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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$20)
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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% (DKK65)
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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 €10)
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Germany - Frankfurt
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0.1% (min €10)
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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$100)
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Hong Kong – Shanghai Stock Connect and Shenzhen Stock Connect
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0.15% (min CNH$40)
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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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Malaysia
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0.2% (min MYR50)
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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 NOK65)
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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$10)
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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 that only hold cash and in some other countries there is a $100 fee if no trades are made for 180 days. Check local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Custody charges for stocks | Varies between countries, but 0.12% per year (min €10 per month) or 0.25% per year (min €5 per month) for equities and bonds are common. Check your local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Dividend charges | None |
| Corporate action charges | None |
| Currency conversion charges | Varies between countries, but sometimes up to 1% |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
| Currencies allowed | AUD, CAD, CHF, CNH, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NOK, PLN, SEK, SGD, USD, ZAR (only larger account holders will be allowed to have multiple foreign currency sub-accounts) |
| Tax-advantaged accounts | UK residents: ISA, SIPP (fees vary) |
| Other products and services | Bonds, CFDs, futures, FX, options |
| Minimum account size | Varies between countries. The typical minimum account size used to be in the region of $5,000-10,000, but has been falling and is lower in many countries now. Check local version of Saxo website for details. |
| Company location | Denmark |
| Further information | Go to the Saxo Bank (Saxo Markets) website |
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