Saxo Markets: The Best Investing Platform for Active Traders?

Known for its international focus and lower trading commissions, Saxo Markets has been operating in Singapore since 2006. In fact, even financial institutions and professional traders count amongst some of Saxo’s global clientele.

If you’re looking for an investment platform and are wondering if Saxo Markets is the right broker for you, read on because we’ll be looking into:

• What is Saxo Markets?   
• Is it safe and reliable?
• Saxo trading platforms and available markets
• Fees, commissions and account minimums
• How easy is it to sign up and fund the account?
• How’s the user experience?
• Who should use Saxo Markets?

What is Saxo Markets?

Saxo Markets is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank, a fully licensed Danish investment bank and a pioneer in fintech.

If numbers matter to you, here are a few indicators of how established this investment bank is:

• Manages over 95 billion USD in client assets
• Executes 188,000 trades daily
• Serves 810,000 clients across 170 countries worldwide

Saxo Markets offers several product categories:

Is It Safe and Reliable?

Like every broker in Singapore, Saxo Markets holds a Capital Markets Services licence under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It’s also fully regulated and licensed in 15 jurisdictions, including Denmark, the UK, and Singapore.

Saxo operates with a custodian model, which means the broker holds client assets on their behalf. (This is normal for brokerages that allow users to buy foreign assets.)

Trading Platforms and Available Markets

Saxo offers three trading platforms:

• SaxoInvestor – for the typical retail investor. This has a simpler and friendlier user interface and gives you access to Saxo’s cash products (i.e. you’re not borrowing on margin to buy stocks).
• SaxoTraderGO – for low or medium-volume active traders. It includes enhanced trade tickets, fundamental and technical analysis tools, and access to options, futures, and other leveraged products.
• SaxoTraderPRO – for high-volume active traders. This is a fully-customisable platform with high-performance tools for in-depth market analysis.

So, Who Should Use What?

If you’re just starting out with investing and don’t plan on making it a full-time gig, SaxoInvestor will suffice. This beginner-friendly platform includes a new feature called Investment Themes, which gives you a bit of inspiration on trends to dig into — ESG and cybersecurity for example.

SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO have a lot more built-in tools for more seasoned traders. Between the two, SaxoTraderGO is the more popular choice for retail investors. SaxoTraderPRO is mainly for institutional traders. 

Markets You can Access Through Saxo

As a Saxo Markets account user, you can choose to trade with over 37 of the world’s major stock exchanges in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including:

1. NASDAQ
2. NYSE
3. TSXV
4. LSE
5. SGX
6. HKSE
7. ASX
8. SSE

Fees, Commissions, and Account Minimums

Let’s not forget that trading fees eat into your returns. Here’s a list of costs to be aware of:

How Easy Is It to Sign Up and Fund the Account?

Setting up an account on Saxo Markets is easy with Singpass MyInfo.

Once your account is approved, you can access all investment platforms — SaxoInvestor, SaxoTraderGO, and SaxoTraderPRO.  Note that SaxoInvestor does not require minimum funding, but SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO need a minimum initial deposit of S$3,000.

Here are a few ways to fund the account:

• Deposit SGD via FAST, PayNow, and MEPs
• Deposit other currencies via Telegraphic Transfer, Onshore Inter-Bank Transfer (Malaysian Ringgit), credit and debit card, and HSBC Singapore Account Holders (online or over-the-counter)

How’s the Saxo Markets User Experience?

There are a few common views about Saxo Markets.

On the positive side, users love the friendly interface, trading platform features, and seamless access to exchanges across the world with real-time data.  The low fee structure and the wide range of asset classes also earn compliments from many.

The downside is that Saxo seems to lack customer service. There are many angry reviews citing a range of problems stemming from the lack of customer service.  There were also complaints of missing funds and problems with withdrawals.

An overall rating of 2.6 is very low for a global player like Saxo.  As such, new users may want to do their due diligence before signing up for an account.

Who Should Use Saxo Markets?

Overall, we think Saxo Markets is suitable for:

• Advanced traders or investors who require a comprehensive set of online tools for trading, charting, and analysis
• Long-term investors and active, high-volume traders who can earn enough points to waive the monthly service fee
• Investors who want access to many markets and a wide range of asset classes

Conversely, Saxo Markets may not be a good idea for new investors who need extensive guidance. Moomoo or Tiger Trade may be better platforms for beginners.

If you’re considering Saxo Markets, there are a few promotions you may want to note:

1. You can enjoy SGD88 extra commission credit and the Gold plan for free until 31 March 2022, which gives you SGD15 commission credit per month, lower transaction fees, and free real-time data on US, EU, UK, and CH stocks.
2. You earn points for activities like adding funds or investing in different products.  If you earn enough points (5,000 to 145,000 points), the monthly service fee for the paid tiers will be waived.

You can get as much as SGD750 when you refer a friend who makes a qualifying deposit.