Saxo Bank Review 2024

Best for:

Great trading experience	100%
ETF investing	95%
Investing online	99%

Saxo Bank’s Pros and Cons

Saxo Bank: A Summary

1. Saxo Bank was launched in Denmark in 1992 and is a fully licensed European bank, although it does not conduct traditional banking business and focuses on brokerage activities as well as white-label partnerships.
2. The company was founded with the vision of making global financial markets more accessible to a broader audience. One of the first online trading platforms in Europe was introduced by Saxo Group in 1998, providing investors with quick access to international financial markets and tools fit for pros.
3. Saxo Bank Group has customer assets of €46 billion, offices globally (e.g., in Denmark, Switzerland, the UK, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong), and 2,100 staff members.
4. Saxo Bank Group empowers more than 120 brokers and banks and more than 300 financial institutions with its open banking solutions.
5. It is a multidisciplinary broker licensed in 15 jurisdictions around the world.
6. As an industry veteran and leader, Saxo Bank has received numerous awards throughout its history, some of which include the following: “Best B2B Liquidity Provider 2019” and “Best Retail FX Broker 2019” from Finance Magnates. The Best Platform, “Active Trader 2019,” was awarded by ADVFN.
7. It is one of the longest-serving Forex brokers in the industry. As one of the most transparent and trustworthy banks and brokers in the world, it provides services to new traders as well as professional traders, institutions, and hedge funds.
8. Saxo Bank offers over 40,000 trading assets and 9500 CFDs. They have options for CFDs, Forex pairs, stocks, bonds, crypto FX, commodities, futures, forex options, listed options, ETFs, and mutual funds. Some of these assets are not available on all trading platforms or countries.

Trading Hours At Saxo Bank

• The platform is open for trading 24 hours a day, 6 days a week.
• Different currency pairs have specific trading hours. For example, the trading hours of the RON, ILS, SAR, AED, and RUB currencies are 08:15–17:00 CET, 07:00–17:00 CET, 07:00–15:00 CET, and 07:00 GMT–19. 00 GMT, respectively.

Our Take on Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is one of the largest CFD brokers worldwide and is a great choice if you are looking for a wide product selection with low stock and forex fees. The broker’s main focus is on the professional crowd, with better offers from minimum deposits of €/£50,000, but their Classic Account only comes with a minimum deposit of €/£500.

However, there are some restrictions on Saxo Bank. For the entry-level Classic account, it requires a high minimum balance of €2,000, and for the Platinum and VIP accounts, it is much higher. In addition to inactivity and custody penalties, bonds, options, and futures are subject to excessive trading fees. Additionally, its educational and research resources are simple and lack depth. Its customer service is provided by phone and email only; it is not going to last 24 hours.

Saxo’s flagship platform is SaxoTraderPro, a downloadable offering that is ideal for advanced traders. SaxoTraderGO, its web-based platform, is equipped with functional trading features, a user-friendly interface, and a functional mobile application that completes its proprietary interface.

All things considered, Saxo Bank is a solid choice for experienced traders who appreciate quick execution, affordable costs, and the ability to use a variety of trading platforms in addition to social trading. Additionally, it is suitable for traders who want to deal in a variety of instruments, such as derivatives linked to cryptocurrencies.

However, it may not be the best choice for novices, experienced investors, or traders looking for a wider range of commodities, more affordable costs, cutting-edge research and educational tools, or trustworthy customer support.

Who Saxo Markets Is for

Saxo Markets is suitable for experienced traders. It offers a wide range of brokerage services targeted at investors, professionals, institutions, and informed active traders.

Fewer customer support options, a range of costs, and high account minimums are some of the unusual challenges small account holders will face. Most retail traders will find it difficult to advance to the upper client tiers, which start at £200,000 (Platinum) and £1,000,000 (VIP) for UK-based accounts. Tiered accounts reduce trading costs and provide benefits as equity grows.

Range of Investment Options Available

Saxo is a multi-asset class provider. With these, any trader can get all the necessary resources for trading diversification, regardless of their level of experience. They have a huge collection of around 40,000 instruments, including equities, commodities, mutual funds, futures, bonds, forex spots, forex options, and CFDs.

It offers a diverse range of financial instruments, including the following products and instruments:

1. Forex: One of the richest collections of Forex pairs available: 182 currency pairs (major, minor, exotic, and spot metals).
2. Stocks: A wide selection of over 19,000+ stocks is available to trade on 37 international exchanges, including main and emerging markets.
3. ETFs as investment products: A rich selection of over 3,000 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from 30+ exchanges
4. Bonds as real assets Access over 5,000 government and corporate bonds from Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.
5. Mutual Funds as Physical Assets A collection of 250 top mutual funds from the largest investors around the world
6. CFDs: access to over 9,000 CFD instruments with underlying assets: 29 indices, 7 forex pairs, 8,800 individual stocks, 675 ETFs, 5 government bonds, 15 index options, and 19 commodities (metals, energy, agricultural products, soft, and emissions)
7. Commodities as leveraged products: a huge variety of commodities in the form of CFDs, options, futures, exchange-traded commodities (ETC), and spot pairs
8. Futures as Leveraged Products: A Selection of 200+ Futures Traded on 23 Global Exchanges, including FX, Metals, Agricultural, Equity Indices, Energy, and Rates
9. Forex Options: A collection of 44 FX vanilla options with maturities ranging from one day to one year
10. Listed Options: A large assortment of 1,200+ listed options traded on 23 international exchanges, including energies, metals, equities, indices, interest rates, etc.
11. Cryptocurrencies: You have the possibility of trading Bitcoin and Ethereum through ETN instruments.

Types of Accounts 

Saxo Bank offers a range of account types. These accounts vary in minimum deposits, spread sizes, and additional options.

Types of accounts	Description
Classic	⚫ The Classic Account is the most popular account among the broker’s clients, with a deposit of 1 EUR and a spread of 1.2 pips ⚫ The maximum leverage in this account is 1:30.
Platinum	⚫ It accounts for professional trading with spreads starting at 0.7 pips. ⚫ It is available when replenishing the balance with $200 thousand and more. Priority support is in the customer’s language.
VIP	⚫ This is a premium account with deposits of $1 million or more and spreads of up to 0.7 pips. ⚫ One-on-one access to SexoStrats experts and a personal manager starting from the account holder’s country of residence; invitations to exclusive company events.
Professional	⚫ This is an account for traders with at least 1 year of experience in the financial markets. ⚫ It is available to open if an account deposits 500,000 euros and makes 10 transactions with large amounts during the last four quarters. ⚫ A significant transaction size is considered to be 100,000 EUR (for Forex), 50,000 EUR (for indices), or 10,000 EUR (for CFDs on individual stocks). ⚫ Leverage will be up to 1:66 (for Forex instruments), and spreads will be 0.4 pips.

Demo Account

Saxo Bank’s instant demo account offers traders a chance to view the platform and test its functionality. A full demo account is then offered along with a real account, and this enables strategy testing and refinement.

Saxo Bank’s Commissions and Fees

Like many brokers, the account at Saxo Bank is free. In many countries where you use Saxo Bank, you only pay a transaction fee when you buy or sell something.

Saxo Markets’ trading costs are either included in the spreads, which primarily generate broker revenue, or added in the form of commissions, which are on par with industry standards. Spreads start at 0.4 pips, and commissions depend on the asset class but can be as low as $1.25 per lot. Swap rates also apply, and Saxo Bank offers better trading conditions to high-volume traders.

The types of accounts in this determine the spread amount. Saxo Bank has no fees associated with withdrawing funds and reloading trading accounts. But the bank charges withdrawal fees for any service or transfer. The broker charges a $50 commission per lot (per $1 million trade) for all accounts.

Account type	Spread (minimum value)	Withdrawal commission
Classical	from $12	Yes
Platinum	from $8	Yes
VIP	from $7	Yes
Professional	from $7	Yes

All prices at a glance

Other charges at Saxo Bank include the following:

1. Account inactivity fee of €/£25 if only cash is held in the account for one quarter.
2. Interest rate credit charges on accounts above €/£15,000 when applicable (interest rate debit is also paid).
3. A 0.12% annualized fee on bond, stock, and ETF/ETF positions with a minimum monthly fee of €/£10.
4. There is a manual order fee of €50 for orders placed over the phone.
5. Transfer Out Fee: if clients want to transfer exiting positions to another broker, €50 per ISIN (maximum of €160).
6. Currency Conversion Fee at the mid-FX Spot Rate, plus/minus 1%.
7. Carrying Cost at Margin Requirement * Days held * (relevant interbank rate + markup) / (365 or 360 days).
8. Holding Fee at Nominal Value: 1,000,000 * Underlying Category Fee.
9. Reporting Fee of €/£50 for requested online reports asked to be delivered via mail or email.
10. FX Options Minimum Ticket Fee: a minimum of €/£10 for positions below 50,000.

How to Open a Saxo Bank Broker Account

Opening an account at Saxo Bank is completely online and takes about 5 minutes. Common verification documents are required to be submitted to comply with KYC and AML regulations.

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit varies depending on your location and currency:

• Belgium: 0 EUR
• MENA: 5000 USD
• Hong Kong: 10,000 HKD
• UK: 500 GBP
• France: 300 EUR
• Central Eastern Europe (EU countries): 2000 EUR
• Central Eastern Europe (non-EU countries): 10,000 EUR
• Denmark: 0 DKK
• Norway: 0 NOK
• Singapore: 0 SGD
• Switzerland: 2000 CHF
• Australia: 1000 AUD
• Japan: 100,000 JPY

Deposit and withdraw funds

How To Make A Deposit

Saxo Bank offers credit and debit card deposits, as well as wire transfers. Third-party payment processors are not supported. This process is completely controlled from inside the trading platform. Saxo Bank does not charge fees for deposits. However, fees may be imposed by intermediary banks or other parties involved (e.g., remitting or receiving banks).

How To Make A Withdrawal

The Saxobank broker withdraws funds only from verified bank cards from which the balance was replenished.

• Withdrawals are available from bank accounts or credit or debit cards.
• Working with an e-wallet is not available.
• The period for crediting money to the card depends on the bank and takes up to 10 working days.

Commission-free withdrawals and replenishment are in EUR and USD. When withdrawing in other currencies, the currency will be automatically converted from EUR to USD at the exchange rate set on the site.

To withdraw funds from your Saxo account, please follow the steps below:

• In SaxoTraderGO, click Account > Deposits & Transfers > Withdraw Funds.
• In SaxoTraderPRO, click Menu > Deposits & Transfers > Withdraw Funds.

Saxo only allows withdrawals from accounts that have been verified for your ownership.

Bonuses Paid by the Saxo Bank Broker

Saxo Bank does not offer any bonuses or promotions to traders on deposits, but their multi-tier classification system does offer incentives for frequent and high-volume traders.

Saxo Bank Platform and Technology

Traders who register with the broker have the opportunity to work on the SaxoTraderGO (for novice traders) and SaxoTraderPRO (professional terminal with additional tools) platforms. For smartphone owners, mobile applications for OS platforms based on iOS and Android are available. The broker does not offer the popular MT4 and MT5 terminals.

Traders can download SaxoTraderPRO for both Mac and Windows operating systems, a desktop interface that is fully customizable. 

1. To fully benefit from the extensive workspace management features of this platform, the user can choose to use up to six screens.

1. Traders can benefit immensely from the multichannel connection between the modules and a powerful charting package that includes “annotations, drawing tools, and a comprehensive suite of over 50 technical indicators” for their research.
2. Order tickets are designed to show all relevant information and maximize productivity. Upon activation, algorithmic trading orders can also be fully placed. Tools that require a subscription, including “depth of market” and “time and sales” data, are accessible and have the potential to provide value.

Regarding the trading site, it is excellent, very clearly organized, the markets are easily accessible, and you have the option to trade any asset as a future or as a CFD if it is an index, which is a pair of commodities or currencies. When trading stocks, you have the option of trading them as real equities or CFDs for long-term investments.

You can open the options board and product overview, which provide level-2 pricing as well as all the relevant information and market depth, by dragging and dropping instruments from your watchlist into the charting screen. However, in many markets (such as FTSE Futures), access to real-time exchange data requires a subscription.

Saxo Bank Mobile App Review

The layout and usability of the Saxo Bank mobile app are so similar to its web-based platform that they are really excellent. Even without Saxo Select and basic data, it is still quite useful. For Android devices, the Saxo Trader app is available from Google Play, while for Apple devices, it can be downloaded from the iOS Store.

Saxo Bank Research and Education

Market Research Overview

It is commendable that Saxo Markets is committed to providing clients with an abundance of relevant and educational research. Only by reading this part can a dedicated trader be inspired to open a real account with this broker.

1. Either directly through the platform or through the website, research resources are available.
2. Saxo has an exceptional team of in-house analysts who provide timely commentary, ratings, and regular market updates.
3. Even the most seasoned trader should be satisfied with the availability of many real-time, streaming news services, a range of market reports in different time formats, trading idea generators (trade signals from Autochartist and trade ideas from Sales Traders and SaxoStrats), and access to analyst rating reports.

In short, Saxo Markets provides almost all the research a client needs to make an intelligent trading choice.

Education Overview

1. Saxo Bank’s educational content is mainly divided into three categories: courses, webinars, and events. Saxo Bank experts host webinars and events, while the video courses are top-notch.
2. The educational content focuses primarily on introductory coverage of fundamental and technical analysis topics, platform and product tutorials, and some skill-building resources.
3. The company also provides distance learning for novice and regular clients, as well as advice to professional investors on how to analyze mistakes and teach winning strategies.
4. There is a “Training” section to support traders.
5. All content is in English.

Saxo Bank Customer Service 

1. Saxo Bank has a very detailed help desk, and you can ask them questions directly via email or phone, but there is no live chat option available on the website.
2. Online chat is embedded within the trading platform but is only available for funded accounts, and local language support is limited to higher-account tiers.
3. Support is not available from the broker’s website; it is only available through personal accounts and trading platforms.

Security and Reliability of Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is regulated by top authorities, so it is considered a low-risk broker, operates as a bank, and publishes its financial data regularly. Staying true to their transparency policy, they published an enhanced disclosure agreement on their website that potential and current customers can access.

This is an interesting one because it follows 15 different jurisdictions, many of which are in the European Union. Saxo Bank’s primary regulator is the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA), as it is headquartered in Denmark.

Saxo Bank is regulated and/or registered with the following competent authorities:

Regulator	Country	License / Registration no.
Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA)	Denmark	1149
A/SFinancial Conduct Authority	UK	551422
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)	Switzerland	UID register no. CHE-106.787.764
Bank of France	France	483632501
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)	Australia	126 373 859
Italian Market Authority – Consob	Italy	296
Japanese Financial Services Agency	Japan	239
Monetary Authority of Singapore	Singapore	200601141M
Bank of the Netherlands	Netherlands	34357130
Czech National Bank	Czech Republic	28949587
Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	2017/995/13
Securities and Futures Commission	Hong Kong	1395901

Saxo Bank is undoubtedly one of the most reputable trading brokers in Europe and the world. It is a member of the Danish Guarantee Fund for Depositors and Investors and provides services based on the provisions of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

1. In accordance with European regulators and operating as a licensed bank, retail European customers enjoy guaranteed deposits covered by the Danish Guarantee Fund up to €100,000.
2. UK customers are covered up to £85,000. These customers also benefit from negative balance protection.

Note: Professional customers do not benefit from coverage or protection.

Saxo’s software security is aligned with the best the industry has to offer. In addition to two-factor and biometric authentication, users are logged out of both web-based and mobile applications if they are not using them for a specific period of time.

Final thoughts

Although broker Saxo bank is not a leader in providing Forex services on the market, it offers very favorable conditions for traders.

1. It has a well-designed and user-friendly trading platform, backed by excellent research, and is far superior to the standard MT4 or MT5 trading platforms.
2. It offers an excellent option for advanced traders and professionals with well-funded accounts.
3. However, due to Saxo’s surcharges for small transactions, lack of training materials, comparatively high account minimums, restricted support options, and higher-than-average bottom-line trading costs, it is not the best option for the smaller and less experienced trader.

FAQs