With over 35,000 instruments, Saxo Bank offers both forex trading and share-market CFDs through its award-winning trading platform with features including up to 66:1 leverage, spreads from 0.4 pips and Saxo Capital Reviews averaging 7.1/10 from 182 reviews.
Updated: 07/06/2021
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The key strengths of Saxo are:
The key weaknesses of Saxo are:
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The overall rating is based on review by our experts
Saxo capital markets Australia offering is more than just currency trading. The broker has a wide range of services from share trading to contract for difference (CFDs). Below shows the wide range of markets offered all matches by low brokerage fees and commissions.
Saxo Bank offers forex traders access to a selected range of trading instruments across different asset classes. With a Saxo Bank account, you can gain exposure to the most popular and liquid markets worldwide, including:
Shares trading is one of the most popular services offered by Saxo Capital Markets. They offer share trading in Australia, USA, UK, Singapore and even Chinese stocks. Overall, traders have access to over 19,000 shares overseas across 36 exchanges. Their share trading offering won “Outstanding Value International Share Trading” in both 2017 and 2018. Other share related services are over 3,101 ETFs, ETCs and ETNs and they also offer over 1,200 listed options. Below shows the Saxo Capital Markets brokerage fees compared to other leading stockbrokers.
The key areas of this Saxo Capital Markets review were on their currency trading offering. This includes the ability to trade across 182 forex spot pairs, over 140 forwards and +40 FX vanilla options. Four key components lead FX traders to choose Saxo for currency trading.
i) ‘Tier 1’ Liquidity
Saxo uses a wide range of ‘tier 1’ banks and other sources from market-making firms to ECNs to ensure traders receive the best possible price. This helps minimise spreads that exist when a forex broker sources just one or two sources for a buy/sell rate.
ii) Price Improvement Technology
A key Saxo Bank feature is its customised orders offering. This provides forex traders with great control and near-zero asymmetric slippage occurring. This leads to real benefits on a large number of currency trades through the Saxo forex trading platform.
iii) Reduced Premature Stop-Outs
Saxo triggers stop orders at the opposite end of the spreads, to minimise forex traders from being stopped out early. This is set at a neutral price via a large inter-bank venue. Premature stop-outs are one of the most complained features of other forex brokers and a key positive found in this Saxo Capital Markets Australia review.
iv) Client-centric approach
We fully disclose our dealing practices and never trade against you in the market. Our commitment to transparency shows that our interests are fully aligned with yours.
The final area Saxo offers is the contract for difference (CFDs Trading). You can trade leveraged products with Saxo Bank on more than 9,000 CFD instruments including shares, indices, bonds, ETFs, commodities and index options as shown below.
Commissions on US stocks are USD 3.00 while Australian CFDs stock commissions start at AUD$6. Leverage varies and for the US 500 is 40:1 with spreads of 0.4 points. Below you can review the different types of CFD trading commissions charged across the 3 main Saxo trading accounts.
It’s not unique for a forex broker to offer more than just currency trading, with most also offering CFDs trading. What separates Saxo is their domestic and international stockbroking services. This makes Saxo Capital markets a one-stop-shop broker ideal for those looking for more than just a forex broker.
Saxo offers three trading accounts including classic, platinum and VIP. The most popular trading account is the Classic account which has a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000. This account has entry prices that beat other leading forex brokers when it comes to spreads as shown below.
Breaking down the three accounts further:
As mentioned above, the minimum funding required of the classic account is $10,000. While a core feature of the account is the low spreads, the other elements are:
This account is designed for advanced traders, which is why the requirement for funding this account is $200,000 minimum deposit. This account type advertises tighter spreads and commissions. Other core features include:
The VIP account is one of the most exclusive trading accounts offered by a forex broker and stockbroker industry. With a funding requirement of at least $1,000,000, this account type is geared towards the high-net-worth individual (HNWI). These premium clients receive VIP spreads and fees as well as features including:
Across the three accounts offered Saxo has low spreads compared against leading retail brokers such as IG Markets. The more you’re willing to deposit, the lower the spreads will be, but even the classic is competitive. Saxo also focuses on simplicity with trading costs with no volume-based commissions and minimum commission fee.
Saxo Capital Markets Australia offers two of their own propriety forex trading platforms. Each has distinct advantages over each other, with one designed more for mobility across mobile and tablet while the other is designed for trading power. These have won many awards, including the ADVFN platform award.
This platform has won Saxo Capital Markets awards based on reliability, execution speeds, and functionality across devices. It’s web-based with full functionality across desktop, mobile app and tablet devices with:
Below shows six additional features Saxotrader Go offers FX traders. Features like quick close, margin breakdown and cancel all orders are unique to Saxo. Historical reports can also be downloaded for tax and bookkeeping purposes.
This professional-grade fox trading platform is designed for expert traders who use multiple screens when trading. It works both on Mac and Windows and while it also has apps for tablet and mobile devices (iOS and Android) it’s made for PC. There is no web-based version with features including:
Our Saxo Capital Markets Australia review found it was strong in this category but lost points for the lack of mainstream options such as MT4 and cTrader. Both Saxo trading platforms don’t require subscription costs with the PRO platform recommended on desktops with multiple screens, while the GO account is for everyday traders.
CFD trading and currency trading require leverage due to the relatively small movements daily. For example, a currency pair such as the AUD/USD rarely changes by more than 0.5% a day. This means margin trading is required, which allows a multiple of the original deposit to be traded. In the case of Saxo Capital Markets, the leverage rate is as follows:
This is low compared to other leading forex brokers as shown below.
To explain leverage further, in a scenario where the minimum Saxo classic account is made of $10,000, the trader can effectively trade $300,000 worth of currency on forex markets at a 30:1 leverage. If this trader placed these funds on the AUD/USD and a movement of just 0.2% occurred, they would make a profit/loss of $600 (10% of their deposit).
While higher leverage increases exposure to markets and increases risks of CFDs and forex trading, it can be a core requirement of a trader. This is especially true when using automated trading, which can require micro-moments to enter and exit the market. Other expert traders want exposure to the market to maximise returns during key trading periods. These traders may want to consider a forex broker like Pepperstone that have leverage up to 500:1.
Our devoted team of investment and business professionals believe that a full Saxo Capital Markets review must include the full spectrum of the online service offered by the Danish broker. This is why our team of investing professionals took a snapshot of Saxo’s margin requirements for both professional traders and retail traders as shown below.
While our Saxo Capital Markets Australia review found that leverage was relatively low, this doesn’t mean that trading doesn’t have risks involved. In fact, any leveraged product such as CFD trading has risks, which is why risk management tools are recommended. Below will go through the four core risk management tools and what Saxo offers.
Stop-loss orders allow a trader to determine the amount they are willing to make or lose on a trade. This is then converted to a buy/sell level which will be triggered automatically when achieved. This allows the trader not to have to manually calculate exit/entry points and watch the market actively. The big issue of stop-loss orders is they are not guaranteed and in extreme volatility, the software may not be able to trigger the exit point. This can lead to losses exceeding the amount set on the stop-loss order.
A guaranteed stop-loss order is exactly the same amount as above, but the forex broker guarantees the exit level. This means that you can’t lose more than the amount set providing peace of mind. The issue of a guaranteed stop-loss is they may require an additional trading fee. Saxo does not offer this feature.
In extreme volatility, the currency pairs and CFDs markets can move fast. With no guaranteed stop-loss orders, Saxo losses may exceed expectations. These losses can even exceed the deposit made to Saxo. When this occurs, Saxo states that the funds will need to be repaid to avoid a negative balance. Interest will be charged at market ask rates plus 8% when delays occur in repayment. Some Australian forex brokers don’t allow traders to go into negative balance, even if they cover the costs. This is called negative balance protection and should be considered if your risk tolerance is low.
Note* Due to the new ESMA regulations, Saxo Bank offers negative balance protection for retail clients, however, professional traders will remain unprotected from losses than can exceed the initial deposit.
Many traders look to trade small amounts and require a low minimum deposit by their forex broker. Saxo Capital Markets accounts don’t offer this with the classic account starting at $10,000. The $1,000,000 VIP account is one of the highest minimum funding accounts of any retail forex brokers.
If you’re happy to have funds locked in an account, then funding requirements won’t be an issue. But if you don’t like funds tied up in any account, then you should consider other forex brokers who have a minimum deposit as low as $50.
Saxo Capital Markets is a subsidiary company of Saxo Bank A/S, an international Fintech company. Saxo Bank A/S is a world-leading online trading provider with offices in major financial hubs from across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and 15 main offices that include Switzerland, UK, Paris, Hong Kong or Dubai, the Danish company can serve professional traders and retail investors from more than 180 countries.
Our team of experts at Compare Forex Brokers found that Saxo Bank has a rich history that sets apart the Danish company from other respected forex brokers. Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank Group is more than a simple retail forex broker. Saxo Bank is a fully regulated European Bank that can act as your bank as well as an online broker.
Home.Saxo clients can trade under the umbrella of the world’s top financial regulators. Retail investors can start trading and invest in the financial markets knowing that Saxo Bank complies with the high standards imposed by the local Danish regulatory agency the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) as well as 12 other global regulatory bodies, including:
Saxo Bank gives its clients access to world-class education material that caters to beginner traders as well as professional traders. Saxo Bank’s courses are designed to help beginner currency traders start trading. What’s unique about Saxo offering is its quizzes, which can assist traders to track their progress.
The educational and market research resources found on Saxo Bank website also includes:
Additionally, SaxoStrats offers forex traders the chance to follow a team of Saxo Bank experts that will supply you with actionable insights via a podcast service.
In terms of the deposit and withdrawal methods, Saxo Bank offers only a limited number of payment options. In our Saxo Capital Markets review, we only found that forex traders can make a deposit or withdraw funds from the Saxo Bank account via the following methods for transferring money:
Additionally, Saxo Bank supports a limited range of funding currencies. Forex traders can deposit funds using USD, GBP and EUR. By comparison to other online brokers, Pepperstone can offer multi-currency deposit solution that includes 10 different base currencies.
The most popular trading platform among retail traders, the MetaTrader 4 platform is not supported by Saxo Capital Markets. Forex traders who are accustomed to do their technical analysis with one of the most user-friendly platforms in the FX space can be disappointed to not find the MT4 among the trading platforms offered by Saxo Bank.
Forex traders need to be aware of the inactivity fee charged by Saxo Bank. Our Saxo Capital Markets review found that an inactivity fee is levied on all Saxo Bank accounts that have been inactive for a prolonged period. Saxo Bank charges an inactivity fee of $100 or the equivalent amount in the account currency if there are no trades executed for a period of 180 days.
Yes, Saxo Markets is considered a safe brokerage trading firm by all industry standards. Saxo Bank is headquartered in Copenhagen and regulated by the local financial authority FSA, but as a global leading provider of online trading services, it also abides by the rules imposed by top tier-one regulators like FCA, ASIC or FINMA.
Compare the best UK Forex brokers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) here: Top 10 FCA Regulated Forex Brokers.
GBP 500 is the minimum deposit at Saxo Capital Markets. The minimum funding varies based on account tiers and jurisdiction. For example, Australian-based traders have a minimum deposit policy of AUD 3,000. At Saxo, funding is supported in 18 different currencies while your money is kept safe in segregated trust accounts and protected by different compensation schemes.
You can also check the Best ASIC Regulated Forex Brokers For Australian Traders if you fall under this jurisdiction.
At Saxo Markets, clients can withdraw money via debit/credit cards or bank transfers. Saxo Capital Markets processes all withdrawals the next business day without any additional withdrawal fee.
Overall, our Saxo Capital Markets review concludes that the Denmark-based forex broker offers all the trading tools and a wide range of financial products to accommodate the needs of all types of traders. The only major disadvantage is that Saxo Capital Markets requires a high minimum deposit of $10,000 to start trading CFDs.
Saxo is recommended for anyone looking for an all-in-one trading solution. You can buy and sell both domestic and international shares as well as trading currency pairs and CFDs with their award-winning trading platform. They also offer low spreads and fees, making them a low fee share and trading solution. You should only consider a different forex broker if you require high leverage, risk management tools, or require a low minimum deposit.
Justin Grossbard has been investing for the past 20 years and writing for the past 10. He co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014 after working with the foreign exchange trading industry for several years. He also founded a number of FinTech and digital startups including Innovate Online and SMS Comparison. Justin holds a Masters Degree and an Honours in Commerce from Monash University. He and his wife Paula live in Melbourne, Australia with his son and Siberian cat. In his spare time, he watches Australian Rules Football and invests on global markets.
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