Plus500 Review UK

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% 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.

There is no phone line available for customer support, but considering the instant response times on live chat and WhatsApp, I can’t see many traders grieving the phone option. Customer support is available 24/7. Overall I found the service to be outstanding.

It’s important to note that the minimum deposit is only applicable for debit/credit cards and electronic wallets. Should you wish to use bank transfer to deposit money, then the minimum deposit is raised to £500.

There is a professional account available, however, this is by application only and you will need to meet certain criteria such as sufficient trading activity and a minimum portfolio of over £500,000.

How to open an account

• Complete the online registration with personal details
• Provide proof of identity such as a driving licence or passport
• Provide proof of residency such as bank statement or utility bill

Traders are at liberty to try their hand at trading using the free, unlimited demo account while they wait for their real money accounts to be verified. Users can configure their demo account balance to their desired amount without having to contact customer support and without clearing the account history.

This is an update to my original Plus500 review, to incorporate a new trading analytical feature, ‘Insights’, that Plus500 has introduced. I have gone into Insights in more detail below.

Because Plus500 have their own proprietary platform, they do not offer MetaTrader 4, which may mean traders looking for the advanced functionality and customisation options that MT4 offers need to look at other trading platforms instead.

Plus500 features I like:

• Guaranteed stop
• Trailing stop
• Stop limit and stop-loss price levels
• Traders sentiment
• Price alerts
• Insights
• Watchlists

Security

Security on Webtrader is fully comprehensive with two-step login as well as Google and Facebook authentication for added convenience.

Search functions

Plus500 offers more than adequate search functions in order to make finding any asset a breeze. Products are all categorised on the left-hand side of the platform interface and a search bar allows you to type in the product name.

Placing orders

There are five order types available at Plus500 including:

Market – This allows traders to indicate that their trade request be executed at the market rate.

Limit – This allows for traders to determine the expiration time of an order as well as predetermine the entry point below, or above the prevailing market rate, depending on whether it’s a buy or sell.

Stop – an order to buy or sell once the price reaches a predetermined point.

Trailing stop – an order designed to lock in profits or limit losses as a trade moves favourably.

Guaranteed stop – This ensures your position is always closed at your pre-selected price. This is only available on some markets and it is worth noting that it comes with an increase in spread. Guaranteed stops are not available for existing trades.

Alerts and notifications

Plus500 offers excellent alert and notification functionality, including the ability to receive alerts via email, SMS and push notifications. Alerts can be set to notify you when an asset reaches a certain price level or changes in price by a percentage amount. You can also choose to be alerted when the Traders Sentiment reaches a certain level.

Portfolio and fee reports

These reports are completely transparent and allow traders to stay abreast of how much they are paying in overnight fees as well as the composition of their current portfolio.

Charting

The technical analysis charts offer more than 100 technical indicators that can be applied to multiple time frames including tick charts and weekly charts. Traders can use 9 charts simultaneously as part of a recent update.

Scalping

Scalping is not permitted by Plus500. They define scalping as “a trading strategy based on the notion that client transactions are opened and closed within two minutes in order to accumulate quick profits from small price changes.” If you plan to frequently open and close trades within two minutes, you may find your account blocked and closed with Plus500.

If you like the web platform for Plus500, then you will almost certainly be a fan of the mobile app. The layout and functionality are almost identical with all the same order types and notifications.

This version is also available for smartwatches, making it possible to act on alerts as they happen.

The mobile app has biometric identification available for convenience as well as a two-step login for extra security.

The charting tools here are almost certainly going to provide you with everything you need. With over 119 technical indicators, great editing tools, the ability to view more than one chart at once and the ability to save the charts, this is a very comprehensive offering.

In addition, traders can find useful data at News and Market Insights.

As mentioned, the economic calendar is well-designed and easy to use, and there is some market analysis that is prepared in-house at Plus500, but the platform really lacks a newsletter, which many traders find crucial, especially when trading forex.

The only other research tool worth a mention is the Traders’ Sentiment tool, which illustrates the number of buyers and sellers on the platform for any given asset. There is also a live statistics feature that allows traders to access useful information about the price of an asset.

Plus500 has taken steps recently to improve their education offering with the extensive Trading Academy, which offers a variety of educational products including eBooks, video traders guides, and FAQs.

While you might find a more comprehensive education offering, including live sessions, on other trading platforms, Plus500 has certainly taken steps to improve their trading academy.

The fact that Plus500’s demo account is unlimited is a real bonus and is not something offered by many other trading platforms. It allows for a hands-on approach to learning the ropes without any risk to personal funds.

Plus500 is regulated by the following authorities:

• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – Reference number: 509909
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• Israel Securities Authority (ISA)
• Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA)
• Dubai Financial Services Authority
• Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority

UK residents are further protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which provides up to £85,000 compensation should anything happen to your funds as a result of the platform becoming insolvent.

In addition to this, Plus500 keeps all client funds in a segregated bank account and provides negative balance protection.

Remember that despite these safety precautions and the risk management tools offered by Plus500, there is a very real possibility of losing some or all of your money when trading CFDs.

The fees and charges at Plus500 can be complicated to understand at first, so I have attempted to address each fee with an explanation.

Fees are subject to regular changes so it’s best to check Plus500’s website for the most up-to-date fees.

Outline of fees

Online brokers like Plus500 charge fees in the following different ways:

Trading fees – The fees that you pay when you actually do a trade, i.e. buying / selling Amazon stock or an ETF, for example. You will pay either a commission, a spread, forex fees, or financing rate. Some or all of these fees will apply:

• Spread – The difference between the buy price and the sell price.
• Overnight funding – This is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
• Guaranteed stop order – One of the most useful risk management tools, used to guarantee the stop loss level

Non-trading fees – These are effectively operational fees for maintaining your account and typically include:

• Depositing or withdrawing money.
• Inactivity from not trading for a specific time period.

Plus500 trading fees

Guaranteed Stop Order

Choosing to use this feature guarantees that your position closes at a specific requested rate, but it will be subject to a wider spread.

Please see the Plus500 website for more details.

Plus500 spread

Plus500’s commission is based on the spread (the difference) between the buy and sell price. The spread is calculated by subtracting the sell price from the buy price of the instrument.

You can see the information on the spread on the Plus500 website or trading platform in the “details” link, located next to the instrument name.

Overnight funding

The overnight funding fee amount is either added to or subtracted from your account when holding a position after a certain time.

Details, including the time these fees apply from, and the percentage you will be charged, can be found in the ‘Details’ link next to the instrument’s name on the main screen of the trading platform.

Plus500 non-trading fees

Plus500 deposit & withdrawal fees

Plus500 does not charge a deposit or withdrawal fee.

Plus500 inactivity fee

The inactivity fee at Plus500 is $10 per month after 3 months of inactivity, i.e. if you don’t log into your account for 3 months. This would make Plus500 inappropriate for buy-and-hold investors.

Currency conversion fee

Plus500’s currency conversion fee is 0.7% for trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the one you have chosen when setting up your account.

Useful information

This section contains useful information to make your experience at Plus500 as seamless as possible.

How do I contact Plus500?

You can contact Plus500 via email, online chat, and WhatsApp, the details for which can be found in the FAQ section of the website or by clicking the floating ‘contact us’ button on the right-hand side of the web pages.

How do I withdraw money from my Plus500 savings account?

Withdrawing your money from Plus500 is fairly straightforward. Simply follow these steps:

1. Click the menu symbol in the top left-hand corner
2. Select ‘Withdraw’
3. Choose your preferred withdrawal method
4. Enter the amount you would like to withdraw
5. Click ‘Open a Withdrawal’

How do I close my account at Plus500?

Remember that Plus500 charge an inactivity fee, so if you no longer wish to trade through your Plus500 account, you should close it completely by following these steps:

1. Go to https://www.plus500.com/Help/ContactUs
2. Enter the name on your account
3. Enter the email address associated with the account
4. Select ‘Other issues’ in the ‘Type of query field’
5. Write ‘Account closure request’ in the subject
6. State your reason for wanting to close your account
7. Click ‘send’ to confirm the account closure