Etoro is one of the most established and popular brokers in the country and the world. It brings several key advantages over its competitors that may convince many investors to open an account with the company. As it happens, choosing a broker is a very complex topic in which it is important to consider your own requirements.

The main advantages

Czech localization - for the younger generation this may seem like a trifle, but for many people Czech support and application localization is essential. Whether from a usage perspective or simply for a good feeling.

Fractional shares - Fractional shares are one of the most essential features of the broker for retail investors. Few beginners want to immediately buy, say, an entire share of Tesla, which is now worth, say, $300 (and over $1000 before the split). So he can put just $100 on the platform and buy a third of that stock. By analogy, this can be applied to most assets and amounts.

I find this very beneficial for the DCA method for example. That is, a relatively passive strategy where the investor sends the same amount regularly (say monthly) and buys and repurchases stocks/ETFs/whatever else. But that would be wrong to do without fractional shares, because one would have to "suck up" the entire price of one share. If the stock was then cheaper, he would probably have a chunk of his monthly investment taken over. He would hardly be able to buy exactly 5 shares of $20 each every time with a regular investment of $100 a month without any leftovers.

"Fee-free purchase" - I'd probably put this one in quotes a bit. Free doesn't buy a chicken, and that goes double for financial institutions. The broker doesn't really charge fees for buying or selling shares. But they have to live on something. It takes this tax for seemingly fee-free operation in the form of a higher spread. However, when calculated, these are not drastically high amounts. Another fee is $5 per withdrawal. A full list of fees can be found here.

Social Features - The size of the social platform where investors can, for example, share their purchase immediately is one of eToro's biggest draws. A separate menu tab gives you the option to navigate to this section. Here you will find several interesting options. These include the ability to view or directly copy smart portfolios that are focused on specific sectors, geographies or trends. In principle, something like ETFs. However, I would recommend studying the terms and conditions of these features Thoroughly. For example, often these are CFDs - i.e. "contracts" between the investor and the broker and not a true purchase of the underlying asset. It is therefore necessary to study each such product separately and perhaps stay with classic stocks or ETFs.

You can also keep an eye on the most active assets, sharp price fluctuations, newly added assets or perhaps the tickers most often mentioned by users. The most interesting feature, however, is probably the CopyTrader function. It allows you to copy the portfolio of the user who enabled this option in exactly the same way. This is an interesting feature and may entice many newcomers who are afraid to, for example, make their first investment on their own. For more experienced investors, however, it may not be entirely interesting.

Analysis - I find the analysis tab for each individual asset to be absolutely brilliant, where you can quickly see aggregate data, analysts' opinion, insiders, other users and hedge fund managers. Of course, this is never a substitute for in-depth analysis, which can take dozens of hours. But for a first assessment, it's absolutely great and beautifully clear and compact.

Demo account - I'll admit that this is one thing I'm not entirely interested in. But for a beginner who is about to make his very first investment, for example, this is a great tool. On the demo account you can get a feel for the platform, the controls, try out your first investment. Of course, it's never like with real money.

Disadvantages?

Every coin has a flip and a face. I consider the biggest disadvantage of eTor for Czech investors to be the lack of form W-8BEN, which prevents double taxation of dividends. You sign the form, but you are still taxed more on dividends. I've been hearing on the internet for about 3 years now that apparently this should be in the solution... but still nothing happens.

I guess another downside may be the lack of some titles. You can't buy Czech stocks here. But a huge number of classic favourite stocks from all over the world absolutely no problem.

Watch out also for ETFs and some other instruments that can sometimes be a form of CFD. You are not then buying the underlying asset written on the exchange in your name, but a contract with a broker. This then replicates the performance and any other attributes as the underlying asset it is written on. However, different rules regarding taxes may apply and there could also be offsets regarding its transfer in the event of a broker problem. You can tell that an asset is a CFD by the small lettering next to the thumbnail. Alternatively, it will then mention that it is a CFD trade when you buy it. When buying a real asset, you will see the message "You are buying the underlying asset".

One (albeit slightly older review, so beware - some values may already be different) review in which you will also find out other information that I may have missed here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j54WrLEgDA&t=804s

Minimum deposit

One of the values that changes quite frequently with eTor is the minimum deposit amount. It is currently (hopefully😁 ) still at $50. A full list of minimum deposit amounts by investor country is here:

Conclusion

Personally, I find eToro to be a fairly solid, established and usable broker. However, it is important to keep in mind that you need to consider your requirements, which may clash with the features of this particular broker. I still consider the biggest problem to be the lack of a W8-BEN form, which would certainly make it easier for long-term dividend investors to use this broker.

The platform on pc and mobile app is exemplary. Clear, clear, sleek. Fractional shares are a nice bonus.

Did I miss something? Ask in the comments! That's what this review is for. I'll try to answer everything I can!

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Disclaimer: This is in no way an investment recommendation. This is purely my summary and analysis based on data from the internet and a few other analyses. Investing in the financial markets is risky and everyone should invest based on their own decisions. I am just an amateur sharing my opinions.