Trading has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. This popularity is why we‘ve taken a closer look at the leading social trading platform: eToro.
This broker offers a reliable platform to suit the needs of the online trading community. Their goal is to achieve awareness based on premium trading activities, so they offer access to useful trading tools.
Copy trading at eToro allows traders to copy successful trading strategies from registered accounts in their network. Everything is done in real-time with little to no effort.
The Basics Of Copy Trading
Copy trading is the best solution for beginner traders, but it can help experienced ones, too. If you want to trade and don’t have the experience or time to do so, you can improve your skills by copying successful accounts.
eToro has a long track record in copy trading, and since 2010 around many traders have used its CopyTrader system with an excellent success rate.
Copy trading means that your account is connected to the account of the trader you want to observe. You can include metrics you’re interested in, and the system will automatically copy the trader’s settings into your account.
The benefit of copy trading is that you can set up a limit for your capital. Mostly, stop loss levels, entry levels, and exit levels are also copied into your account, but you can change those.
Another benefit of copy trading with eToro is that you can disable this functionality and start trading as soon as you gain the necessary skills and knowledge.
eToro stands out among competitor brokers due to the powerful social trading features and user-friendly platform.
How Does Copy Trading Function?
Copy trading is an asset for novice traders since it allows them to observe and copy a trader’s investments. The principle is straightforward: you select a trader (or more), submit the amount to invest, and copy the actions.
This function is built-in platforms to allow an average trader to copy the market behavior of another trader. So, you can copy, become a leader, or both. Keep in mind that a leader receives financial bonuses depending on the number of copies he has.
Copy trading lets you receive additional money depending on your strategies and trading decisions. It is an enviable position since not all traders can become leaders for copy trading. It takes a lot of experience and knowledge to generate profits from this.
A copier follows the lead of a leader and can copy up to 100 traders. It can help you generate revenue, even though you don’t fully understand the leader’s strategies.
Another advantage of copy trading is that you can check the decision-making history of top traders and get a deeper understanding of their analysis. This history is an excellent way to train your mind to work as theirs.
About Mirror Trading
The first type of copy trading is mirror trading. It lets a trader observe the results and characteristics of several strategies available on the platform.
The trader can select the profit goals, trading approach, risk tolerance, and capital tolerance level. Overall, it reflects all the trading strategy actions, and the deal is assigned and copied automatically.
Mirror trading enables beginner traders to navigate the forex or stock market to trade without technical analysis or further studies on trading fundamentals.
The difference between a mirror and copy trading is that the latter resembles computerized trading. Copy trading depends on intuition, knowledge, and the human factor of experienced traders.
Since we have volatile market trends, it can be wise to use mirror trading to your advantage. It can assist you in getting better trading results with fewer risks on your portfolio.
About Copy Portfolios
Copy Portfolios speed up the process of selecting a trader to copy. It lets you choose from several portfolios that bring together professional traders, positions, strategies, and investments.
There are two portfolios you can opt for – Market Copy Portfolios and Trader Copy Portfolios. Here’s how these work:
- If you click on the Copy Portfolios button in the navigation bar, you’ll access a page featuring the Market Portfolios and Top Trader Portfolios.
- Clicking on either one will take you to a detailed page where you can click the Invest button.
- You can set here the amount you’re funding and the ratio of Copy Stop Loss.
- Clicking the Invest button will execute the investment.
Trading with eToro will get you access to the Top Trader Copy Portfolios selections. These are meant to offer an equal weighting of investments to a selection of top-performing and active traders across the platform.
- GainsQTR is the first Top Trader Copy Portfolio with an impressive selection of 50 traders. The eToro algorithm offers the possibility to achieve a positive trading performance during the next quarter.
- Active Traders is the second option you have. It enables you to observe traders’ selection suggested by the eToro algorithm based on their results and probability to get the best reward/risk ratio in the next quarter.
The Market Copy Portfolio is distinct from the Top Trader Copy Portfolio since it depends on a particular market sector position.
eToro provides investment products in market sectors, similar to pension funds or banks.
Insights On Choosing A Trader To Copy
Selecting a trader to copy requires some due diligence. That means you should research and observe them over time. It is highly recommended to avoid making hasty decisions. Overall, you can copy up to 100 traders at a time and decide when to stop doing so. This is excellent for testing distinct profiles to see which are the best for you.
An advantage of social trading is that you can reach out and discuss key aspects with traders. If you’re studying a trader’s activity, you can chat with him and request some insights on his actions.
When it comes to determining which trader is profitable and which isn’t, you can check their earnings percentage. This percentage is established by calculating the difference between their investment capital and their total profits. Observe this ranking for a couple of weeks before making a decision.
The copy trading features at eToro are useful and attractive. It can help you copy top performing traders without the need to analyze market trends, news, and price movements.
Key Aspects For Hidden Fees At eToro
There are many key aspects to keep in mind when choosing a trading platform, such as eToro:
- the experience a broker has with day trading
- the customer support available
- the regulations in case of disputes or losses
- the timeframe for deposits and withdrawals
- the international presence in several counties
- the access to a multi-cultural customer support staff
Based on these features, we shared a comparison table to help you decide which the best trading broker is in 2020. We analyzed eToro compared to the top brokers in 2020 that offer the best features and platforms for traders.
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote | AvaTrade | ForexMart | Phoenix Markets | EZInvest | ETX Capital |
| Regulation | FCA, CySEC, ASIC, MiFID | ASIC, FSA, CySEC | ASIC, DFSA, FCA, SCB | CySEC, MiFID | FCA, ASIC, DFSA | FCA | FSA, FSB, BVI, ASIC | CySEC | CySEC | CySEC | FCA |
| Min. Deposit | 200 | 200 | 200 | 100 | No | 1000 | 250 | 1 | 500 | 500 | 100 |
| Funding | Bank Transfer Credit Card PayPal | Bank Transfer Credit Card PayPal | Bank Transfer Credit Card PayPal | Bank Transfer Credit Card | Bank Transfer Credit Card | Bank Transfer Credit Card | Bank Transfer Credit Card PayPal | Bank Transfer Credit Card | Bank Transfer Credit Card | Credit Card | Bank Transfer Credit Card |
| Used By | 12,000,000+ | 60,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 300,000+ | 200,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Advantages | STP available Low Min. Deposit Negative Balance Protection | Scalping & Hedging Available Low Min. Deposit Negative Balance Protection | Scalping & Hedging Available STP Low Min. Deposit Negative Balance Protection | Scalping & Hedging Available STP Low Min. Deposit | Scalping & Hedging Available STP Low Min. Deposit | Scalping & Hedging Available | Scalping & Hedging Available Low Min. Deposit | Scalping & Hedging Available STP Low Min. Deposit Negative Balance Protection | Scalping Available STP | Scalping Available STP | Hedging Available Low Min. Deposit Guaranteed Stop Loss |
| Accounts | Demo Account Standard Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Mini Account Standard Account Zero Spread Account Raw Spread Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Mini Account Standard Account ECN Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Micro Account Mini Account Standard Account ECN Account Managed Account | Demo Account Micro Account Mini Account Standard Account ECN Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Mini Account Standard Account | Demo Account Micro Account Mini Account Standard Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Standard Account ECN Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Standard Account ECN Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Standard Account ECN Account Islamic Account | Demo Account Mini Account Micro Account Standard Account |
| Spreads | Var. Spreads | Var. Spreads | Var. Spreads | Var. Spreads | Var. Spreads | Fixed Spreads | Fixed & Var. Spreads | Var. Spreads | Fixed Spreads | Fixed Spreads | Fixed & Var. Spreads |
| Platforms | Mobile Apps Web Trader | MT5 MT4 ZuluTrade Web Trader Mirror Trader cTrader MAC | MT5 MT4 Web Trader ZuluTrade Mac Mobile Apps | MT4 Mac Mirror Trader Web Trader Mobile Apps | MT4 MAC ZuluTrade Web Trader Mobile Apps | MT5 MT4 Web Trader ZuluTrade | MT4 Mirror Trader Mac ZuluTrade Web Trader Mobile Apps | Web Desktop MT4 | Mac Android iPhone iPad MT4 | Mac Android iPhone iPad MT4 | MT4 Mirror Trader Max Binary Tablet Mobile Apps |
| Support | Live Chat Email Support | Email Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Phone Support Email Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Phone Support Email Support |
| Risk | Up to 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Up to 79.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits | Up to 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Your capital is at risk | Your capital is at risk | Your capital is at risk | Losses can be higher than deposits |
| Excluded Countries | AN, VG, NI, PR, GT, HN, PY, US, SV, LB, AW, AI, AG, BS, BM, BB, FJ, GD, KZ, MV, MH, BT, MM, HT, TT, LK, UZ, TJ, TM, VI, SG, NP, WS, TW, BN, PK, CI, DJ, GM, LR, SL, TG, NA, SO, TN, RW, BW, ZM, UG, LY, TZ, GH, ET, ZW, SD, CD, GN, RS, MK, MD, AL, BY, IL, TR, SY, JP, CA, BE, KP, IR | NA, SN, GN, KG, KR, GH, AG, NG, GM, AO, NE, LR, BO, ML, CG, TZ, LY, CU, ZW, LR, CI, YE, LS, KH, TG, IQ, MM, SY, IR, BW, SL, GN, AF | US, JP, SY, IQ, IR, KR, BR | EC, JP, DZ, SY, AU, US, PR, SD, KR, MM, LY, IR, IQ, CU, CI, AF | JP, US | US | SG, CA, US, TR, NZ, KP, BR, BE | Cell | IL, SY, TR, LA, AF, YE, VU, UG, IQ, ET, BA, US, KP, JP, IR, CA, BE | IL, SY, TR, LA, AF, YE, VU, UG, IQ, ET, BA, US, KP, JP, IR, CA, BE | BE, SG, CA, US |
eToro Copy Trading: Essential Factors To Consider
eToro can be a volatile market that can pose serious challenges, even for experienced traders. Besides the online educational resources, you can use several other tools to understand the unique benefits of eToro markets better.
Overall, eToro is considered an industry leader, thanks to its focus on innovation.
#1 Track Record
The first thing you want to study when selecting a trading broker is its longevity or track record in the market. It is a crucial element in your trading strategy that can help you avoid significant financial loss. eToro is the leading copy trading broker with 12 years of experience on the market and headquarters in Cyprus and the United Kingdom.
eToro has several regulations, being supervised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The main competitor of eToro is IC Markets. This broker was established in 2007, having a long track record and its main headquarters in Australia. IC Markets is monitored by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote |
| Regulation | FCA, CySEC, ASIC, MiFID | ASIC, FSA, CySEC | ASIC, DFSA, FCA, SCB | CySEC, MiFID | FCA, ASIC, DFSA | FCA |
| Used By | 12,000,000+ | 60,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 10,000+ | 300,000+ |
| Risk | Up to 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Up to 79.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits |
| Negative Balance Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Guaranteed Stop Los | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Headquarters | Cyprus UK | Australia | Australia | Cyprus | Australia | Switzerland |
| Year Founded | 2006 | 2007 | 2010 | 2009 | 2007 | 1999 |
#2 Industry
Another factor to consider when choosing a trading broker is whether it is at the forefront of innovation. eToro offers more than 1000 trading instruments, an online and mobile platform, and a user-friendly interface for all their services.
Beyond that, eToro supports several third-party trading platforms, allowing its clients to use distinct markets worldwide. Thanks to its innovation and ability to seek ways to keep their competitive advantage, it is a world-leader broker.
IC Markets, the main competitor of eToro, provides only 232 instruments and segregates clients’ funds according to law.
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote |
| Instruments | 2000 | 232 | 100 | 130 | 100 | 100 |
| Platforms | Web Trader Mobile Apps | MT4 MT5 ZuluTrade MirrorTrade Web Trader cTrader Mac | MT4 MT5 ZuluTrade WebTrader cTrader Mac Mobile Apps | MT4 Mac Mirror Trader Web Trader Mobile Apps | MT4 ZuluTrade Mac WebTrader Mobile Apps | MT4 MT5 ZuluTrade WebTrader cTrader Mobile Apps |
| Excluded Countries | AN, VG, NI, PR, GT, HN, PY, US, SV, LB, AW, AI, AG, BS, BM, BB, FJ, GD, KZ, MV, MH, BT, MM, HT, TT, LK, UZ, TJ, TM, VI, SG, NP, WS, TW, BN, PK, CI, DJ, GM, LR, SL, TG, NA, SO, TN, RW, BW, ZM, UG, LY, TZ, GH, ET, ZW, SD, CD, GN, RS, MK, MD, AL, BY, IL, TR, SY, JP, CA, BE, KP, IR | NA, SN, GN, KG, KR, GH, AG, NG, GM, AO, NE, LR, BO, ML, CG, TZ, LY, CU, ZW, LR, CI, YE, LS, KH, TG, IQ, MM, SY, IR, BW, SL, GN, AF | US, JP, SY, IQ, IR, KR, BR | EC, JP, DZ, SY, AU, US, PR, SD, KR, MM, LY, IR, IQ, CU, CI, AF | JP, US | US |
| Forex Pairs | 50 | 65 | 70 | 45 | 100 | 150 |
| Major Forex Pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exotic Forex Pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrencies | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Commodities | 0 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 7 |
| Metals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Energies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Agricultural | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Stocks | 957 | 100 | 60 | 60 | 1000 | 0 |
| UK Shares | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| US Shares | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| German Shares | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Japanese Shares | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
#3 Fees And Commissions
Trading fees and commissions must be transparent. The top-rated trading broker is eToro due to the competitive offers for commodities, stocks, CFDs, forex, indices, social trading, and cryptocurrency. This broker has a minimum deposit of $200.
Another leading trading broker is IC Markets because it offers CFDs, spread betting, forex, share dealing, and cryptocurrencies. IC Markets has a minimum deposit of $200.
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote |
| Min. Deposit | 200 | 200 | 200 | 100 | 0 | 1000 |
| Withdrawal Fee | Yes | No | No | Varies | Varies | No |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Deposit Fee | No | Varies | No | Varies | Varies | No |
| CFD Commission | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
#4 Withdrawal And Funding
Convenient withdrawal and funding methods are fundamental for the best trading experience.
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote |
| Bank Transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Cards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Skrill | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Payoneer | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Neteller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
#5 Customer Support
Customer support is essential when it comes to trading. Dealing with brokers and investing can often require several interactions with customer service. These interactions may take the form of training, installation, upgrading, troubleshooting, or even cancelation of service.
eToro offers reliable customer assistance via phone, email, and live chat. This service is also available in several languages like English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French.
IC Markets is well recommended for its reliable customer support, available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Afrikaans, Polish, Dutch, Danish, German, and several other languages.
Both trading brokers let you reach support by phone, email, or chat.
| Cell | eToro | IC Markets | Pepperstone | FxPrimus | AxiTrader | Swissquote |
| Support | Live Chat Email Support | Email Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support | Email Support Phone Support | Live Chat Email Support Phone Support |
| Languages | English German Spanish French Italian | English Japanese Chinese Polish Danish Dutch Afrikans German etc. | English Spanish Chinese Polish Japanese Vietnamese Korean Arabic | English Spanish Indonesian Vietnamese Thai Chinese Malaysian Hungarian | English Spanish German Chinese Japanese Russian Romanian Arabic | English Italian German French Spanish Russian Arabic Chinese |
| Risk | Up to 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Up to 79.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits | Losses can be higher than deposits |
#6 Resources
Educational resources can help you gain in-depth knowledge about trading and hidden fees. Both eToro and IC Markets do their best to provide top insights and news to their clients.
So, before choosing a trading broker, you should check to see whether it offers access to comprehensive trading resources. These might include education, analysis, and risk-management tools.
#7 Regulations
A broker regulated by leading authorities comes with a lower risk. These regulations will protect clients and ensure the broker offers qualitative services. Also, the broker regulation will minimize fraud and financial harm.
| eToro | |
|---|---|
| Funding | Bank Transfer Credit Card PayPal |
| Customer Support | Live Chat Email Support |
| Platforms | Web Trader Mobile Apps |
| Accounts | Standard Account VIP Account Islamic Account |
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. 75% 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.
Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.
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.
