Page Summary
This guide helps users to find the best trading platforms in UAE for long-term investing. Investing for the long run gained in popularity in UAE as it supports various financial goals, including retirement saving, passive income generation, or growth of wealth. With the increasing number of online brokers in the UAE offering long-term investment options, choosing the most suitable platform for individual financial goals can be challenging.
Proper research, comparison, and evaluation of different brokers can help investors to avoid selecting a platform with high fees, limited investment features, a low range of assets, limited regulation, or a bad reputation.
This guide assesses 43 online brokers for users to compare, review and find the ideal platform for their needs. To help them make an informed decision, a list of the best trading platforms for long term investing is shared below.
Top 5 Long-Term Investing Trading Platforms in UAE
- Interactive Brokers – Best for Long-Term Investing in Stocks and ETFs
- Sarwa – Best for Beginners
- Saxo Bank – Top for Professionals
- Charles Schwab – Ideal for Mutual Funds
- TradeStation – Best for Research and Education
Best Brokers in UAE For Long-Term Investing Reviewed
Online brokers with the highest rated platforms in UAE for long term investing are reviewed below.
1. Interactive Brokers – Best for Long-Term Investing in Stocks and ETFs
Min Deposit: 0 ($2000 for margin account)
Fees: 4.9
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees:
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
Interactive Brokers is our top-rated broker for long-term investing in stocks and ETFs because it offers access to 17,500 stocks, 110 ETFs, 45,000 mutual funds, and thousands of bonds. They also provide access to penny and OTC stocks listed on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board and long term investment recommendations from IBKR’s dealing desk.
Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) platform allows users to scan the markets for long term investment opportunities using IBKR GlobalAnalyst. This is a great feature for long term investors of all levels.
Interactive Brokers does not charge any commissions on stocks and ETFs. Investors only pay fixed fees from $0,25 to $0,85 on options contracts.
Interactive Brokers’ Key Features for Long-Term Investors:
- Wide Range of Available Assets – access to 17,500 stocks, 110 ETFs, 45,000 mutual funds and thousands of bonds.
- Penny Stocks and OTC Stocks – Access to thousands of penny stocks and OTC stocks listed on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
- Broker-Assisted Trading – The IBKR Stock and Option Order Desk and the IBKR Corporate Bond Order Desk provide help facilitating trades and find price improvement or additional liquidity for large trades.
- TWS Trading Platform – offers limitless customization options and trading features
- Advanced Analytical and Market Research Tools – allow users to scan the markets for opportunities with or to rebalance their portfolio accordingly.
| Minimum Deposit | $100 |
| Available Financial Instruments | Stocks, Options, Futures, ETFs, Warrants, SSFs, Forex, Metals, Indices, Mutual Funds, Fixed Income products |
| Trading Fees | Commission-free US stocks and ETF trading, Either fixed at $0,85 per contract or tiered from $0,25 to $0,85 per contract, based on monthly trading volume options and futures trading fees, between 0,08 and 0,20 basis points, based on monthly trading volume on forex pairs. |
| Trading Platform | Trader Workstation, IBKR EventTrader, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, IBKR GlobalTrader, IMPACT |
| Account Types | Individual, Joint, Trust, IRA, UGMA/UTMA Accounts |
| Type of Broker | Market Maker |
| Regulatory Bodies | US SEC and CFTC |
| Deposit Methods | Bank wire transfer, ACH transfer, transfer from another broker, check |
| Maximum Leverage Ratio | 2:1 |
Pros
- Broad range of different financial instruments and asset classes available
- Great proprietary ‘Trader Workstation’ trading platform with many advanced trading tools and over 100 different order types
- Excellent research and educational tools available
Cons
- No Islamic accounts available
- Some research tools are not free
- Very complex fee structure
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
2. Sarwa – Best Long-Term Investing Broker for Beginners
Sarwa is a top choice for beginner long-term investors because they offer access to personalized long-term investment portfolios, free financial advisory services and commission free stocks and ETFs.
Sarwas list of long-term investment portfolios include a Conventional, Halal, Socially Responsible, Conventional Crypto, and Socially Responsible Crypto portfolio. All of the pre defined portfolios can be traded on different risk exposure levels.
Sarwa additionally offers a self-directed trading option that enables users to trade with stocks, cryptos and ETFs on their own. While there are no commissions charged on stock and ETF trades, Sarwa charges competitive trading fees of 0,75% on cryptocurrencies.
Sarwa also offers personalized financial planning, investment, tax planning and risk management services. Users can visit Sarwa’a physical offices in Dubai or Abu Dhabi in person or get in touch with them online.
Sarwa’s Key Features for Long-Term Investors:
- Broad Range of Available Assets – access to stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies
- Proprietary Trading Platform – offers simple and intuitive trading features for long term investors
- Full-Service Broker – users have access to personalized financial planning, investment and wealth management, tax planning, and risk management services.
| Minimum Deposit | $1 |
| Available Financial Instruments | 4,000+ US stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies |
| Trading Fees | Commission-free stock and ETF trading, 0,75% crypto trading, 0,50% to 0,85% yearly Sarwa Invest Service fees, depending on account balance |
| Trading Platform | Proprietary desktop and mobile trading platforms |
| Account Types | Starter, Standard, Premium, Platinum |
| Type of Broker | Direct market Access (DMA) |
| Regulatory Bodies | FSRA, ADGM |
| Deposit Methods | Bank wire transfer |
| Maximum Leverage Ratio | 1:1 |
Pros
- You can physically visit one of Sarwa’s offices in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and receive face-to-face financial advice
- Commission-free stock and ETF trading
- Minimize your risks and maximize your returns with the different available investment portfolios
Cons
- Doesn’t offer high-quality research and educational tools
- Limited choice of available assets compared to other brokers
- Crypto portfolios have only 5% exposure to Bitcoin and other digital assets
3. Saxo Bank – Best for Professionals
Min Deposit: $2000
Fees: 4.7
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees:
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
SaxoInvestor trading platform is Saxo Banks flagship platform for long term investors featuring curated stock lists, trending investment themes, expert insights and managed portfolios. This makes Saxo Bank a top broker for professional and institutional long term investors.
Investors receive curated live market research and in-depth macro analysis directly and can choose to invest via their relationship manager or dedicated sales manager. Users that prefer to invest on their own can make use of top-tier analysis provided for free or implement research from BlackRock, MorningStar, Nasdaq, and BrownAdvisory.
Saxo Bank allows long term investors to buy, trade or hold stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, futures and advanced financial instruments. Users can also make use of automated trading through Expert Advisors, trading scripts, or other forms of automated trading software via Saxo’s available APIs.
The minimum deposit at Saxo Bank to open an account is $2,000. They offer a special Islamic swap-free account available for those who wish to invest according to Sharia law.
Saxo Bank Key Features for Long-Term Investors:
- Wide Range of Available Assets – access to 22,000 stocks, more than 3,000 ETFs from 30+ exchanges, bonds from 26 countries in 21 currencies, 9,000+ CFDs, 3,000+ energy, metals.
- SaxoInvestor, SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO – access to the full specter of different trading tool and features required for long term investing.
- Broker-Assisted Trading – all users get access to a relationship manager and dedicated sales trader which help with live market commentary, risk management, and post-trade support.
Trading Room & Managed Portfolios – access to trading insights from in-house strategists and managed investment portfolios.
| Minimum Deposit | $2,000 |
| Available Financial Instruments | 9 Crypto FX pairs, 190 FX pairs, 9,000+ CFDs, 22,000+ stocks, 300+ futures, 40+ FX vanilla options, 3,000+ options, 3,000+ ETFs, bonds from 26 countries in 21 currencies |
| Trading Fees | $1 on US stocks and ETFs, $1,25 per options or futures contract, $0 mutual funds, 0,05% on government bonds. Managed investment portfolios cost an average of 0,98% management fees per annum |
| Trading Platform | SaxoInvestor, SaxoTraderGO, SaxoTraderPRO, SAXO-API |
| Account Types | Saxo Account, Joint Account, Corporate Account, Professional Account, Demo Account, Islamic Account |
| Type of Broker | ECN and Direct Market Access Broker |
| Regulatory Bodies | DFSA, ADGM, ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSA, MAS, FINMA, AMF, NBB |
| Deposit Methods | Debit card, bank wire transfer, stock transfer from another broker |
| Maximum Leverage Ratio | 50:1 |
Pros
- Great proprietary SaxoInvestor platform with lots of professional features
- Regulated all over the world, including in the UAE by the DFSA and ADGM
- Zero commission trading on mutual funds and competitive fees on other assets
Cons
- High minimum deposit required to open account
- High non-trading fees
- Complex fee structure
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
4. Charles Schwab – Best Mutual Funds Long-TermTrading Platform
With access to over 7,100 no-transaction fee mutual funds and thousands of index funds, regular stocks and ETFs, Charlse Schwab is the top choice for long term trading with mutual funds. They also charge low expense ratios of 0,4% on passively managed and 0,69% on actively managed mutual funds.
Charles Schwab fully customizable SmartEdge® platform allows long term investors to easily spot new opportunities with the help of built-in fundamental and technical tools, custom screeners, and watchlists. They also offer a personalized Portfolio Builder, which helps users to create their own long term investment portfolio based on their financial goals.
There is no minimum deposit required to open a trading account with Charles Schwab.
Charles Schwab Key Features for Long-Term Investors:
- Broad Range of Available Assets – Invest in thousands of global stocks, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds through Charles Schwab.
- Penny Stocks and OTC Stocks – Trade and invest in Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) and Pink Sheet securities through Charles Schwab’s desktop and mobile trading platforms at a fixed fee of $4,95 per trade.
- SmartEdge® Trading Platform – This fully customizable trading platform helps you find opportunities with custom screeners, watchlists, and high/low tools and lets you research each trade using built-in fundamental and technical tools plus advanced charting. Additionally, the trading platform allows you to quickly build, edit, and place trade orders with the All-in-One Trade Ticket® and monitor orders, positions, and buying power at a glance.
- Broker-Assisted Trading – Do you prefer investing via a dealing desk rather than an online platform? No problem. Simply call 0800-626-4600 to place broker-assisted trades at a low, competitive service charge of $25.
- Trading Ideas – Find favorable investment opportunities through Charles Schwab’s daily financial blog, investing insights magazine, podcast, or Schwab Live Daily.
| Minimum Deposit | $0 for an investment account and $25,000 for a margin account |
| Available Financial Instruments | Stocks, ETFs, options, OTC equities, mutual funds, futures, futures options, new issue CDs, forex pairs, treasuries, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agencies, STRIPS, commercial paper, mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, unit investment trusts, REITs |
| Trading Fees | Commission-free stocks and ETF trading, mutual funds up to $74,95 per purchase, $1 per bond with a $10 minimum, $0,65 per options contract, $6,95 per OTC equity order, $2,25 per futures or futures options contract |
| Trading Platform | SmartEdge® Trading Platform, Schwab Mobile App |
| Account Types | Brokerage & Trading Account, Retirement Account, Small Business Retirement Account, Checking & Savings Account, Robo & Dedicated Advice Account, Trust & Estate Account, Global Account, Brokerage Account + Specialized Platforms and Support for Trading, Schwab One® Brokerage Account |
| Type of Broker | Broker-dealer |
| Regulatory Bodies | SEC and FINRA |
| Deposit Methods | Bank wire transfer, direct deposit, automatic investment plan, Schwab Bank Bill Pay, check, Schwab Mobile Deposit, transfer between Schwab accounts, transfer from another broker |
| Maximum Leverage Ratio | 2:1 |
Pros
- Great choice of different trading instruments
- Very good proprietary SmartEdge® Trading Platform
- Zero commission trading on stocks and ETFs, very competitive fees on Bonds and mutual funds
Cons
- High minimum deposit for non-US clients
- High withdrawal fees of $50
- High penny stock and OTC stock trading fees of $6,95 per trade
5. TradeStation – Best Brokers for Research and Education
TradeStation offers an extensive research department that provides users with valuable stock market insights and historical data that goes back as far as 1920. Additionaly users get access to dynamic hot lists and detailed analysis of top buys & sells allowing users to follow trends of professional investorurs. This makes TradeStation a top broker for long term investors looking for great research and education tools.
TradeStation does not charge any commission on stock and ETF trades and a low fees of $0,60 to $1,50 per contract per side on options and futures. The minimum deposit at TradeStation to open a margin account is $2,000 and $5,000 to open a futures trading account.
TradeStation Key Features for Long-Term Investors:
- Great Choice of Different Trading Instruments – Invest in thousands of stocks, 2,000+ ETFs, options, futures, futures options, cryptocurrencies, penny stocks, and 2,000+ mutual funds with TradeStation.
- Low, Competitive Trading Fees – Commission-free equities and ETF trading, between $0,60 and $1,50 per contract, per side options, and futures trading, and from $2 + 0,025% crypto trading.
- Professional Proprietary Trading Platforms – TradeStation’s award-winning trading platforms help you design, test, optimize, monitor, and automate your investments and trades and feature dynamic market-scanning tools, fully customizable charting, fast and reliable order execution, and advanced order management. One of these trading platforms is specialized for options and futures, called FuturesPlus.
- High-Quality Trade Ideas – TradeStation provides you with historical stock, futures, and index data that goes back as far as 1920, so you can back-test and evaluate trade ideas.
- Algorithmic Trading – Build your own equities, futures, or crypto trading API in C#, C++, Python, PHP, or Ruby or deploy Expert Advisors, trading scripts, or other forms of automated trading software
| Minimum Deposit | $5,000 for futures accounts, $2,000 for margin accounts |
| Available Financial Instruments | Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, futures options, crypto, IPOs, mutual funds, bonds |
| Trading Fees | Commission-free stocks and ETFs, $1,50 per contract, per side when TradeStation Select member |
| Trading Platform | Web-based platform & mobile app (FuturesPlus) |
| Account Types | Demo, individual, joint, retirement, entity |
| Type of Broker | Broker dealer |
| Regulatory Bodies | SEC, CFTC, and FINRA |
| Deposit Methods | Wire transfer |
| Maximum Leverage Ratio | 4:1 |
Pros
- Great choice of different financial instruments to invest in
- Competitive trading fees; zero commission stock and ETF trading
- Very professional proprietary trading platform for both desktop and mobile usage
Cons
- Not compatible with MetaTrader 4/5, cTrader, or any other external trading platform
- Charges fees for some market research tools
- No Islamic accounts available
How To Find The Ideal Brokers and Platforms for Long-Term Investing in UAE?
Criteria that need to be checked for choosing the ideal platforms for long term investing are listed below.
- Long-term Investment Vehicles – availability of stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, or cryptocurrencies.
- Trading Fees – competitive trading fees and good overall trading conditions.
- Broker-Assisted Trading Availability – availability of broker-assisted trading
- Range of Trading Platform Features – availability of watch lists, economic calendars, technical analysis tools such as indicators and chart drawing toolkits.
- Research and Education Material – fundamental analysis research tools in the form of historical price data and professional analytical insights.
- Customer Support
- Availability for United Arab Emirates clients
Top Brokers For Long Term Investing Compared
| Broker | Long-term Investment Services | Available Assets | Investment Tools | Historical Stock Price Data | Economic Calendars | Comprehensive Watch Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | Portfolio management (Interactive Advisors),Retirement planning and investment portfolios | Stocks and ETFs, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Futures, REITs, Equities, Forex | Portfolio Analyst, Risk Navigator, Traders’ Academy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sarwa | Robo-advisory, wealth management and investment portfolios | Stocks and ETFs, REITs, Cryptocurrencies | Automated investment management system, portfolio performance and futures projections | Not publicly available | No | No |
| Saxo Bank | Portfolio management and other long-term investment services | Stocks, ETFs, bonds, forex, futures, options, mutual funds, REITs, commodities, cryptos | Stock Screener, Real time News updates and Research | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charles Schwab | Full-service broker, managed portfolios, retirement planning services | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, options, futures, forex, cryptocurrencies | StreetSmart Edge, advanced charting and analysis tools, Portfolio Checkup, Research & Insights | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TradeStation | Portfolio management | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, options, futures, and cryptocurrencies | RadarScreen, TradeStation Analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What Is Long Term Investing?
Long-term investing is an investment strategy of buying and holding investments for a period of 10 years or longer. Long-term investors tend to take on higher risk for the potential to earn higher returns over time.
What Are The Most Common Long Term Investing Strategies in UAE?
The most common long-term investing strategies in UAE include: buy-and-hold, passive, active, and growth investing. Below we break down each one of them in more detail:
- Growth Investing – is a long term investment strategy where investors aggressively invest in assets (growth stocks), which typically grow faster in value than the rest of the market.
- Active Investing – requires a hands-on approach where the investor constantly rebalances his or her portfolio to reach the highest yields possible.
- Passive Investing – is a long term investment strategy where the investor buys and holds an asset for a longer period of time.
- Buy & Hold – investors buy certain assets and hold on to them for a long period of time, no matter whether the market goes up or down.
Advantages of Long Term Investing
Long-term investing has many advantages compared to short-term trading, such as reduced costs, tax advantages, and compound interest. Below, we will outline these advantages in detail.
- Reduced Costs – Long-term investing comes with fewer commissions and trading fees compared to short-term trading.
- Tax Advantages – Long-term investors can make use of tax advantages such as IRAs and 401Ks in the USA. In other countries, there are similar tax benefits, and in the UAE there is no capital gains tax at all.
- Compound Interest – Long-term investors benefit from compound interest because they can reinvest their dividends and capital gains to buy more equities.
- Risk/Reward Ratio – Long-term investors can use investing techniques such as dollar-cost averaging to reduce their average investment per share and increase their risk versus reward ratio.
Difference between long term investing and day trading
The difference between long term investing and day trading is in the number of trades the trader opens in a defined time period. While long term traders open and hold positions for a longer time period (10 plus years), day traders open and close positions on a daily basis.
Which assets are best suited for long term investing
The most commonly used financial instruments for long-term investing are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs.
Conclusion
With the variety of reliable, as well as unreliable brokers in UAE offering different services and conditions, it is hard to find the ideal option for individual investment goals. Researching and evaluating of providers can be stressful and requires time and knowledge.
This guide does the hard work for you by comparing and evaluating the top choices for different long-term investment goals. The results of our analysis of the best trading platforms for long term investing are wrapped up in the table below.
| RANK | BROKER | PLATFORM SCORE | BEST FOR | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Interactive Brokers | 4,9/5 | Stocks and ETFs | Official website |
| #2 | Sarwa | 4,2/5 | Beginners | Official website |
| #3 | Saxo Bank | 4,9/5 | Professionals | Official website |
| #4 | Charles Schwab | 4,1/5 | Mutual Funds | Official website |
| #5 | TradeStation | 4,9/5 | Research and Education | Official website |
Disclaimer
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
Stefan Grasic (Dipl.-Jur) is the owner of Business24-7 and has considerable experience in the financial and investment niche, but also enjoys writing articles for the general readership. Stefan is an active stock, CFD, crypto and general investment researcher, advising blockchain companies such as Blockbird, GoCrypto, Hive Terminal at their start up level. Stefan began trading in 2010 as a college student. Money was tight,…