Saxo Bank Review

So a few months have passed since my last review, but rest assured I haven't been slacking. In fact, I've been so busy that I simply didn't have the time to do any reviews, due to a number of "situations" in my private life and in business. Of course, I wasn't too busy to trade, and have been doing quite well, riding the waves of economic "recovery" (although I realize it is only a temporary reprieve, there is no reason not to profit from it if you can).

One of the reasons I have been very successful over the past few months, besides the fact that I'm a brilliant trader :) is that I have been trading with one of the best brokers in the business - Saxo Bank. As I always say, there are traders of many different shapes and sizes, as there are brokers, so I'm not saying Saxo Bank is ideal for EVERYONE - it isn't - but I found that it suited me and my trading style very well. It is like those kids' toys where the kid tries to fit the triangle block into the triangle slot and the square block into the square slot. You can't ask "which is the best slot?" The correct question to ask is "which slot best suits the type of block I'm holding in my hand?" If you understand that, then you will understand that the trading conditions offered by some brokers may be better suited to some trader types, while not others.

In any case, this is not a post about the generalities of what suits which trader - I presume my readers to all be big boys/girls that can figure that out on their own. What I need to be talking about here specifically, is how Saxo Bank helped my trading attain a new level of success.

So I opened an account at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore and deposited a fair amount of money into my account. Saxo Bank has been a major player in the forex world for some time now, and I didn't feel the least bit queasy about sending them a larger sum than I would some shady offshore bucket shop. Besides that, they also don't do small accounts, so it was necessary if I wanted to give them a try. The question with big, reputable brokers (that also happen to be fully regulated European banks) such as Saxo is not so much about "can I trust them with my money?" but rather "is a big faceless bank going to provide me with the type of service I want?"

I found the answer to that question to be a big, resounding YES. Saxo Bank's trading platform (Saxo Trader) is a very well designed application, which offers traders the highest level of functionality with a fairly short learning curve. Also on offer are a web trading platform (Saxo Web Trader) and a mobile trading platform (very creatively named Saxo Mobile Trader). Feel free to open a demo account and check it out - highly recommended.

One other thing many traders will like about Saxo is the mind-boggling number of instruments that are available to trade. Check this out:

1. More than 155 spot forex pairs
2. Forex Forward Outrights
3. OTC Forex Options for over 40 pairs (from short dated to one year expiries)
   
4. More than 6,000 (!) CFDs including commodities
5. Over 11,000 (!!) stocks from 23 exchanges
   
6. More than 24 index-tracking CFDs
7. Spot gold and silver as well as options
8. Over 450 futures from 15 exchanges
9. Wide range of corporate, sovereign and government bonds

So one thing is for sure, you'll never run out of things to trade.

Saxo Trader also offers complex order types and sophisticated reporting features for professional traders, and customer support is always available from the platform or by other methods - and by customer support, I mean direct contact with the dealers, not with a room full of snot-nosed kids that hate you.

Furthermore, Saxo Bank is a true innovator in the industry, constantly pushing the envelope with new advances in technology, such as the Saxo Equity Platform.

Sound too good to be true? Well it is. As always, there is a downside. Whether this downside is a deal breaker for you or not is your decision. The fact that Saxo Bank is a fully regulated bank comes with strings attached - there are rules to follow. Many, many rules. Add to that the fact that so many instruments can be traded from so many different sources, and the result is that the trading conditions get complicated. Commissions, spreads, rollovers, margin requirements, interest on net free equity... and the list goes on - it's all complicated. Saxo Bank's target market is the experienced, educated, professional trader. As such, most of their clients can deal with these complexities. Whether the inconvenience offsets the benefits is your decision.

PROS:
Fully regulated European bank;
Thousands of instruments to trade;
Very smart, award-winning platforms;
Top-notch customer service;
Great liquidity;

CONS:
Complicated trading conditions;
Small account holders are not welcome ($2,500 minimum for Mini accounts);

Quick Facts:
Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark;
Achieved European bank status in 2001;
Offices in London, Geneva, Zurich, Milan, Prague, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo and Beijing;

It should be noted that smaller investors can take advantage of Finexo, a Saxo Bank IB that lowers the bar for new deposits.

Feel free to open a demo account at Saxo Bank to check out their platform.