Considered by many new to forex trading to be one of the best forex brokers online, Cyprus based eToro was founded fairly recently in 2006. eToro is regulated by CySEC in Europe and ASIC in Australia, as well as the CFTC and NFA in the United States.
In terms of suitability, eToro would probably have the greatest appeal to newer forex traders or forex trading dabblers that require educational materials and are happy to use a more simplistic forex trading platform.
Demo Accounts - eToro offers a free demo account to those who wish to practice trading with the online forex broker before they actually fund an account. This account is funded with $10,000 of virtual money and can be used to test the performance of manual or automated trading systems.
Standard Accounts - eToro offers four types of standard trading accounts: Bronze, Silver, Gold and V.I.P. Traders can qualify for successively better account types depending on how much volume they trade or how many funds they deposit. Better account types offer improved services and trading conditions.
Islamic Accounts - Those who do not wish to pay or receive interest due to automatic forex rollovers at 5:00pm EST can open an Islamic account with a minimum deposit of $1,000 that is operated in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. Instead of rolling over positions, all positions open at 5 pm EST are automatically closed out. The trader can then reestablish the positions immediately.
eToro offers a variety of forex trading account funding options. You can fund accounts with as little as $50 using credit cards, PayPal balances, Neteller, MoneyBookers, WebMoney and GiroPay in Germany. A higher minimum deposit of $500 is required if you fund via bank wire transfer, Western Union or MoneyGram.
Withdrawals can be initiated via an electronic form, with some fees charged depending how large an amount is withdrawn. First time withdrawals require additional documentation.
eToro aims to make forex trading fun by offering its own innovative animated trading platform. The broker also partners with Tradonomi LLC to offer that company's more professional online trading platform to its clients.
The company also offers a web based platform called WebTrader that can suit Mac or Linux users, as well as traveling traders. In addition, eToro offers its Mobile Trader app for Android mobile devices to clients free of charge.
eToro offers a variety of services that can suit a beginning trader. For example, the forex broker's Education Center offers Live Webinars, a forex trading eCourse, educational videos, and online investment education center called eToropedia.
With respect to other information offered to clients, eToro boasts its own expert market analysis team, as well as reports from financial news sources.
In terms of customer service, the broker offers enrollment in exclusive Trader Programs to obtain more personalized service. The broker also offers a connection to its extensive social trading network for discussions.