Below is a list of brokers that I have experience trading and investing with. I do not recommend any specific broker. Please always do your own research when it comes to brokers you send your hard earned cash to for trading and investing.
Table of Contents
Forex and CFDs
SimpleFX
This is the broker I use for trading Forex and CFDs. This is a so called off-shore broker. This means you trade outside of any regulatory oversight. In my opinion this is not necessarily a bad thing. Regulators try to protect you, but also limit your options, and they stifle innovation.
Website
If you checkout the SimpleFX website, you will see all the possibilities the broker has to offer.
SimpleFX (referral link)
Offering
I mostly trade Forex. When I focus on that I see that the broker offers the following:
- small spreads
- high leverage
- account that can be denominated in BTC, other crypto currencies, stable coins, or regular fiat (needs KYC)
- the ability to trade without KYC. All you need is an email address and crypto currency.
High leverage
The high leverage allows me to only deposit a small amount. This reduces the counter-party risk. Let me explain. Let’s say that at a regulated broker I would trade a 5000 USD account with 30x leverage. if I would risk 1% per trade, this would mean I would risk 50 USD per trade. SimpleFX allows for up to 1000x leverage on forex pairs. So if I would use 300x leverage, I would only need to deposit 500 USD to be able to trade the same way as I would at the regulated broker. This way I would only have to deposit 10% of the money I will be trading with. So my risk management will be based on 5000 USD while in the account I only need 500 USD.
I actually think this is less risky than depending on a deposit guarantee scheme.
Webtrader and MT4
Besides the standard Metatrader (4) trading platform and mobile app experience, SimpleFX offers one of the best webtraders and mobile applications I have used. The webtrader and mobile app integrates Tradingview charts giving the trader a fantastic charting experience.
SimpleFX Webtrader (referral link)
These are the mean features on the webtrader:
- Tradingview chart
- Economic calendar
- News
- Bloomberg TV
- Trading ideas
Trading Ideas
Inside the webtrader I can share my trading ideas. And I do. Simply login to the webtrader. In the right sidepanel scroll down to the trading ideas. There you can filter the ideas by username. My username ‘Dave Tromp’.
Or you can click below link and see my trading ideas.
Crypto
I currently use the following exchanges for buying and trading crypto currencies:
- Finst
- Bitvavo
- Bybit
- Apex
Finst
Finst is a new low cost European crypto exchange. I like the exchange for the following features:
- low transaction fees
- low withdrawal fees
- daily auto invest with optional auto withdrawal
For more feature please check out the Finst website.
Finst (referral link)
It is not (yet) possible to place pending orders on Finst. If you need this feature, then check out the next brokers.
Bitvavo
Bitvavo is also a European low cost crypto exchange. Bitvavo also offers an auto invest feature.
Bitvavo has a normal interface and an advanced interface. The advanced interface offers Tradingview charts and the possibility to place limit and stop orders.
Bitvavo (referral link)
Unfortunately, the platform does not (yet) offer the possibility to place take profit and stop loss orders. So just simple spot trading will work, but no advanced trading strategies are possible here. For more advanced order types, let’s check out the next broker.
Bybit
Bybit is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world. The platform offers many different services, such as:
- buy crypto with fiat
- spot trading
- margin trading
- derivatives: perpetual futures, inverse futures
- demo trading
- metatrader4
- earning interest on your holdings
- crypto loans
- staking
- NFTs
- Bybit card
Bybit (referral code: WMGYBB)
Not all the mentioned services are available to traders in all jurisdictions. For instance: I live in The Netherlands and for me it is not possible to trade futures on Bybit. And soon this will be the case for most European citizens thanks to our well intended regulators.
Apex
If you cannot trade futures on Bybit or other centralized exchanges, then Apex may be a solution for you.
Apex (referral link)
Apex is a decentralized exchange (DEX) for trading perpetual crypto futures. It uses the orderbook model for matching the trades. This gives trading on Apax a similar trading experience as on centralized future exchanges.
You can ‘deposit’ USDC, or USDT and trade USDC-, or USDT-based contracts respectively.
When you deposit funds, these funds are locked in a smart-contract on the Ethereum blockchain to b used as trading margin. This means that there is no central entity that holds your funds. Depositing, and withdrawing is done directly from and to your wallet.
The major benefits of this are:
- No KYC needed
- No account needed. Your wallet is your account
- You are in control of your funds
OKX
OKX (referral link)
OKX is one of the larger crypto exchanges. I like the platform as it is very clean and simple.
Stocks and ETFs
Trading212
If you want to invest in stocks and ETFs, then please have look at this broker. I auto invest here on a monthly basis in a couple of ETFs in a set division. This is called a pie.
Trading212 has the following benefits:
- commission free investing
- buy stocks instantly
- auto invest with pies
- buy for as little as 1 euro with fractional shares
- earn interest on your portfolio
- hold 13 global currencies
- earn interest on available cash
Do you want to get free shares worth up to €100?
Join Trading 212 Invest with my link, and we will both get free shares.
https://www.trading212.com/invite/16aAIRKdcO