What do ye guys use to invest

[startupchristian]

@porcupine73 I'm relatively new myself and I think it's fine once you understand the basics such as reading a chart and how limit orders work. It can get a more lot more complicated if you delve into leverages and shorting. I'm sticking strictly to long positions. A $10 monthly fee applies if your portfolio is worth less than $100k. If you're investing €50 a month, then it's a substantial cost.

 

[raemp]

@porcupine73 I'm currently using eToro and have had no issues, however I have realised that a large amount of people on this subreddit are using Degiro, so I'm sure there's a reason for that. I don't think you could go wrong with either, but I think it's worthwhile to setup an account with both, since you could trial invest using eToro's virtual portfolio feature.

 

[lazy_pink_nights]

@raemp I would steer well clear of etoro. It is an awful broker and I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure as an Irish resident you never own the underlying security as it's only CFDs they offer us. They're customer service and platform is terrible in my opinion

 

[daniel001]

@lazy_pink_nights Very clearly states that "you are buying the underlying asset" unless you are using leverage, opening a "Sell" position, or trading (most) ETFs. Is there a reason you think it's a CFD?

 

[lazy_pink_nights]

@daniel001 I haven't used etoro in over a year. They are known for CFD trading I understand not all their products are CFDs. I'm just giving my opinion on etoro and that is that they are an awful broker

 

[daniel001]

@lazy_pink_nights I've been using eToro without issue and none of my positions are CFDs. All unleveraged stock buys are the underlying asset as far as I can see. My portfolio is relatively small so the lack of fees is favourable to me for now. If they're not trading CFDs, why are they still an awful broker? I see a lot of hate on eToro and I'm relatively new to this, but most of it seems unfounded.

Edit: actually their servers did go down for a full 24 hours (apparently to do with Microsoft Azure) a few weeks ago - but that was the first big red day after the GME fiasco caused a massive influx of newbies so i think that was a big wake up call for the management there. I'm long on stocks and am not worried about short-term volatility in the market so it wasnt an issue for me, but definitely worrisome.

 

[lazy_pink_nights]

@daniel001 My reasons for hating etoro:
1. Incredibly high spreads on bid/ask
2. Doesn't list a large number of small-mid cap stocks on Nasdaq
3. It blocks trading when the market gets busy. Microsoft stock is going up fast? Oh no sorry you can't buy it right now.
4. Several bugs with orders (may be fixed in the last year I don't know since I left etoro) where cancelled orders would trigger and other orders not trigger
5. Terrible customer service
6. Recently their CEO went on to say that retail traders deserve more restrictions on their trading...

 

[daniel001]

@lazy_pink_nights

1. Haven't seen a massive negative there myself. Degiro fees range from €0.50 - €4 (plus a bit per share) which is far higher than any spread I've been caught by - though my buys are relatively small. Can using limit orders reduce this?
2. Fair. I have noticed some stocks I've researched not listed on eToro.
3. Haven't noticed this myself though I wouldn't purchase a stock on the day it's booming personally.
4. The couple days after their servers went down they wouldn't allow out of market close and buy orders to go through the following day, which was quite annoying. I was luckily at my screen when it opened and wasn't caught out.
5. I've heard that but never experienced it. Definitely something to worry about though. Supposedly I should have a dedicated customer service agent for reaching a certain equity threshold but it says I haven't reached that "club tier" yet despite (barely and only just) seemingly reaching the requirement. There's a lot of idiots on eToro so they're definitely swamped with mindless tickets.
6. Would that not hurt his business?

Definitely stuff to watch out for, thanks.

All in all, I still think eToro is probably the best place I have found for trading small amounts. When (if.... ) I reach a certain amount I will be transferring my money to a more established a less "gimmicky" broker. Does Degiro or IB allow fractional share trading?