Plus500

Plus500, a trademark of Plus500 Ltd, states that its principal activity is “online trading in ‘contracts for difference’ (CFDs) delivered through a proprietary trading platform via the web and other electronic channels.”

Founded in 2008, the Israel-based company operates via several subsidiaries throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and is registered with the relevant regulatory authorities. Like many forex brokers, Plus500 does not accept U.S. traders.

According to the “Country by Country“ report on its website, Plus500 Ltd (PLUS.L) is a publicly traded company that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) since June 2018 and its market capitalization, as of September 18, 2020, is £1.60 billion ($2.07 billion). Plus500UK Ltd., a U.K.-based company with its offices located in the City of London, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA #509909).

The broker offers clients in more than 50 countries access to a comprehensive product line, including forex, stock indices, individual shares, commodities, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. Plus500 is also the first broker to introduce a Bitcoin CFD in 2013 and advertises that all trading costs are contained within each instrument’s spread. Moreover, the broker offers access to options trading on many markets. These are very similar to plain call and put options traded on exchanges, but they are not standardized, which means that the option premium can be customized for your risk tolerance and strategy objectives.

Who Plus500 Is For

Plus500 is for the individual or entity that seeks access to a wide range of financial markets with low trading costs and a simple, functional platform on which to place their trades. Plus500’s product suite of 2,000+ trading instruments, offered on its proprietary WebTrader with competitive spreads and no commissions, should entice the experienced investor who prefers to transact manually and finds the lowered cost worth the lack of added functionality that some competitors offer.

Pros Explained

• Plus500 offers clients in more than 50 countries access to a comprehensive product line, including forex, stock indices, individual shares, commodities, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies.
• WebTrader has a simple and easy-to-use interface that lets you create watchlists, analyze charts, as well as place and monitor trades.
• Plus500 is regulated by the FCA which is one of the main regulatory agencies in the U.K. and is highly regarded globally for being strict in ensuring that market practices are fair for both individuals and businesses. Simply put, being regulated by a reputable government-backed agency goes a long way towards establishing the credibility of a firm.
• Plus500 offers negative balance protection, which is mandated under ESMA rules that went into effect in 2018, ensuring that clients cannot lose more than they have put into their account.
• Guaranteed stop loss orders, which protect the trader from market gap risk, are available on some instruments depending on market conditions but they are subject to a wider spread.

Cons Explained

• Plus500’s customer service options are limited to online chat and email support with the lack of a telephone number, even for sales inquiries, being the most glaring omission.
• Plus500 provides little to assist clients in learning about the markets in which they are investing and its research resources are well below industry standards.
• Plus500 does not accept U.S. clients due to regulatory constraints, which would be a red flag were it not for the fact that the company is regulated by the FCA which, along with U.S. regulatory agencies (NFA, CFTC), is widely considered to be the preeminent regulatory body.
• Advanced traders who rely on incorporating third-party analytical and automation tools in their trading process will be disappointed as none of these tools can be integrated directly with WebTrader. Moreover, back-testing functionality is not available either.

Costs

As is the norm in the brokerage industry, Plus500 generates its revenues principally from customer trades that “cross” the bid/ask spread, which are competitive within the industry. The company does not charge commissions on any client transactions as all trading costs are contained within the spread of the instrument. While the spread does not vary with trade size, Plus500 does offer high-volume traders a discount.

Additionally, the broker also generates revenues by charging premiums, effectively a financing charge, on positions held overnight by clients, which may be subject to currency conversion charges if they trade in a currency other than the account’s base currency. Furthermore, there are fees for “guaranteed stop loss orders” (GSLO), and inactivity fees kick in after an account has been idle for three months.

Traders can qualify for a “professional” account, which offers higher leverage, but the costs are the same. Investors with a professional account may increase their maximum leverage ten-fold, from 1:30 to 1:300.

One of Plus500’s selling points is that it does not subject client accounts to ancillary fees. There are no charges for normal withdrawals or terminating an account. The minimum to open an account is 100 units of the base currency. Funding options include Visa or MasterCard debit/credit cards, e-wallets (PayPal or Skrill), and bank funds transfers.

Trade Experience 

WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offers a streamlined trading experience that is stable and easy to access from multiple devices and systems (Windows PCs, web browsers, smartphones, and tablets).

WebTrader has a simple and easy-to-use interface that lets you create watchlists, analyze charts, as well as place and monitor trades. The technical analysis charts offer more than 100 technical indicators that you can apply to many different time frames, from tick charts to weekly charts. However, unlike many of its competitors, Plus500 does not offer the immensely popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform, a platform alternative that would provide more functionality and customization options for clients.

The most appealing feature of WebTrader is that it’s easy to use with layouts that will feel familiar to experienced traders. Clients can choose from more than 2,000 instruments, analyze their selection on a customizable technical analysis chart, and place their trade in just a few clicks, all within the same window. Unfortunately, WebTrader is a closed system. Advanced traders who rely on incorporating third-party analytical and automation tools in their trading process will be disappointed as none of these tools can be integrated directly with WebTrader.