Saxo Bank review: read this before you start

Pros and cons of using Saxo Bank

Read on to get the full low-down of Saxo.

The story of Saxo

The story of Saxo begins with its founding in Copenhagen (Denmark) in 1992. The company was established with a vision to make global financial markets more accessible to a wide audience. By 1998, Saxo Group had launched one of the first online trading platforms in Europe, offering professional-grade tools and easy access to global financial markets for anyone interested in investing.

They've now grown massively across the globe. They serve over 1m customers and has over €100bn under management. You can pretty much open an account from anywhere. In 2018, they purchased the popular online broker BinckBank for €428m. All BinckBank customers were automatically switched over to the Saxo Bank platform for trading.

Saxo Bank gives you access to a large set of stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds as well as more sophisticated instruments for traders across 50 different exchanges.

Fees

Fee structure

It's free to create an account. And you'll pay only a transaction fee whenever you buy or sell something. In 2024, Saxo introduced a cheaper pricing for many types of securities. For instance, US-listed ETFs can be purchased for only a $1 commission.

There are three different profiles: Bronze, Silver and Gold. This makes it a little confusing but their pricing is very competitive. Essentially, the more you trade, the less you pay.

Let's take a look at an example if you run an order from Belgium in the Bronze category:

Learn more about their pricing on their website.

Currency conversion fee

Saxo Bank charges a fee if you don't have an account in the currency of transaction. For example, if you're buying a US stock, they'll automatically convert your euros into US dollars and charge the conversion fee. In Belgium, the currency conversion fee is set quite low at 0.25%, whether you're Bronze, Silver or Gold.

€75 fee per outgoing transfer

Another point of attention with Saxo is their fee for outgoing transfers. If you want to transfer your ETFs and stocks to another broker, Saxo charges €75 per ETF or stock (that is, per line). So if you hold 5 ETFs and 5 stocks and want to move them over to another broker, you will have to pay €750! Of course, this is a way to lock you in.

In that case, you have two options. You can either sell your assets on Saxo and buy them again through your new broker. The sum of the transaction costs and transaction tax (TOB) might be lower than the outgoing transfer fee.

A second option is to contact your new broker and see if they can cover the cost. Some brokers are willing to make that gesture to get you as a customer.

Fees for ETFs

Buying €1,000 worth of IWDA with the Belgian version of Saxo Bank will cost €2.00 in transaction fees. This makes Saxo Bank one of the cheapest options out there:

Convenience of Saxo

As Saxo Bank is very established, they help a lot of investors around Europe with their taxes. That's why we chose them as one of the best brokers in Belgium for beginners.

Targeted for traders

Saxo Bank supports so many different types of orders. You can run complicated orders like limit, market, stop, stop limit, market if touched, limit if touched, trail, relative, etc...This means it's a powerful broker, but it also makes it a lot more complex in use. It's clear that Saxo Bank targets the experienced trader rather than the beginning investor. It's similar to trading platforms such as eToro and MEXEM.

Automated savings plans

Saxo users in Belgium can set up an ETF savings plan through AutoInvest. For a flat fee of €2 per month, Saxo will automatically purchase your selected ETFs on the 5th of every month (or the next banking day if the 5th is a holiday or in the weekend). There’s no additional trading commission, and you can invest as little or as much as you want as there is no minimum amount required. You can choose up to 10 ETFs per plan and even run multiple plans via separate sub-accounts. Once your recurring transfer is in place, your investments are executed (provided you have sufficient money to cover the purchases) with Saxo handling all Belgian taxes as part of the service.

AutoInvest's feature is useful but has two downsides. First, it doesn't buy fractional shares. So if you invest €100 every month but the ETF trades at €80, you're left with €20 in cash. It's worse if the price of the ETF is higher than your monthly amount. In that case, the purchase won't work.

Secondly, you are responsible for ensuring you have enough cash on your Saxo account to make the monthly investments.

Fractional shares

Similar to many brokers, Saxo Bank does not offer fractional shares. You're forced to buy whole units of shares. Combined with the high fees, it becomes very impractical to invest on a monthly basis when using Saxo Bank. You almost have to resort to consolidating your monthly investments into large and infrequent contributions, like every quarter or six months. The only caveat is that if you can do "fractional trading" on all Crypto FX pairs and CFD indices. However this is more suited for advanced traders.

Interest on invested cash

Saxo Bank sometimes offers interest on cash for some of their more high-net worth customers. This is the cash which remains uninvested in your balance. However, double-check where you're based and what the local Saxo Bank offer is as it varies between countries. Also, we've recently heard that this offer has dropped significantly and it changes depending on the amount you deposit.

Customer support

You can tell that Saxo Bank is a large company. They have a very detailed help desk and you can ask them questions directly by email or through the phone. They responded to our questions by email fairly quickly.

🇧🇪 TOB ("beurstaks" / "taxe boursière")

There’s a tax on the transaction every time you buy or sell a security in Belgium. The rules concerning the tax rate are complicated, also for ETFs. Depending on the characteristics of the ETF, the transaction tax varies between 0.12% and 1.32%.

Fortunately Saxo Bank, handles the declaration for you. But you still need to choose the right ETFs.

🇧🇪 Dividend tax

Fortunately Saxo Bank helps you with the dividend tax. In Belgium, any dividend you perceive is taxed at 30%. Accumulating funds, which directly reinvest dividends, are a way around this tax. On the other hand, distributing funds distribute their dividends, which means they're taxable.

🇧🇪 Reynders tax

For ETFs that consist of at least 10% bonds, there is a 30% tax on the profits made when selling. For example, if you bought a bond ETF at €100 and end up selling it later for €130, your net profit will only be €21. The other €9 will go to the Belgian state through this tax.

Fortunately Saxo Bank handles this for you.

🇧🇪 Does Saxo Bank require declaring the account to the NBB?

No. As Saxo Bank offers accounts directly in Belgium (from their acquisition of BinckBank which was registered in Belgium), you don't need to declare your account to the Belgian National Bank.

🇮🇹 Tax regime

As an Italian investor, you can choose to operate under the administered or declaratory tax regime. This is very helpful, especially if you don't want to make the declarations yourself.

Setting up an account

Let's dig into the details of setting up your Saxo Bank account for the first-time.

Saxo Bank uses itsme

Creating an account with Saxo Bank is quite smooth. If you're resident in Belgium, you can set one up using itsme.

Accounts take a few days to be approved

In Belgium it's quite fast if you use itsme. In other European markets, it can take a few days to be approved as a Saxo Bank user.

Create an account on the web and mobile

Besides a web platform, Saxo Bank is accessible through their Saxo Trader Go mobile app for both iOS and Android. From our experience, it's a bit faster to use the app rather than going through the web portal.

Ease of use: 2/5

As it's a trading app, Saxo Bank shows many details that aren't very relevant to most investors, especially for buy-and-hold index investors. It can get quite confusing and slightly daunting when using their app. That's why we've rated it a 2 out of 5!

Does Saxo Bank offer children accounts?

Unfortunately Saxo Bank does not offer children accounts. The investments will have to be in your name.

Does Saxo Bank offer joint accounts?

Yes, you can set up a joint account on Saxo Bank. This is helpful if you wish to invest alongside your partner.

Does Saxo Bank offer business accounts?

Yes, you can create a company account.

Is Saxo Bank safe?

As we’re dealing with our long-term savings, safety and trust is vital.

Who is the regulator?

This is an interesting one as they adhere to 15 different jurisdictions with many in the European Union. The primary regulator for Saxo Bank is the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) as it's headquartered in Denmark.

When Saxo Bank purchased BinckBank, they operated under a Dutch banking licence and regulated by the AFM and DNB - the Dutch regulators - and continue to do so. Again, it depends on where you'll be signing up for your Saxo Bank account.

Have they had any issues with the regulator?

Saxo Bank have had a few issues with various regulators since they started. One significant case was following the Swiss National Bank's decision to unpeg the Swiss Franc from the euro in 2015. This event led to Saxo Bank changing the filing price of orders executed on CHF currency pairs during low liquidity moments, which led to additional loses for some clients. The Danish regulator (DFSA) issued two reprimands to Saxo Bank for failing to provide adequate information to clients about limitations and difficulties in executing orders.

How much of your assets are protected by the investor protection scheme?

Your assets are protected up to €20,000.

Is your cash protected by the deposit guarantee scheme?

Yes, if you have a cash balance on your Saxo Bank account, it's protected up to €100,000.

Does Saxo Bank do securities lending?

Saxo Bank participates in securities lending. If you own stocks that are in demand in the securities lending market, Saxo Bank will borrow these stocks, deposit collateral into your account, and then lend the shares out to other investors. However, you have to opt-in for this service. You can find all the details on their website.‍

Because you have to explicitly opt-in to securities lending, we found the system very transparent, similar to MEXEM. In contrast, brokers like BUX or DEGIRO are not as transparent and can always lend out your shares.

Does Saxo Bank do payment for order flow?

Saxo Bank does not do payment for order flow. PFOF is a notable source of income for many new brokers, including Trade Republic. This practice involves routing your orders to certain market makers, who then pay the broker for the right of executing these orders. PFOF can work at your detriment, as brokers may prioritise payment over executing the best possible trade for you.

Saxo Bank vs other brokers

We have also compared Saxo Bank with other brokers:

• Saxo Bank vs DEGIRO‍
• Saxo Bank vs eToro
• Saxo Bank vs LYNX
• Saxo Bank vs Bolero
• Guide to the best broker in Belgium 🇧🇪

Curvo: investing made simpler

We created Curvo because we experienced these exact frustrations with brokers like Saxo Bank. When we tried to start investing ourselves, we spent countless hours researching ETFs, calculating fees, and figuring out the tax implications of our choices. It was overwhelming, and we realised why most of our friends never got started with investing.

With Curvo, you don't need to worry about choosing from thousands of ETFs or navigating complex fee structures. We build a diversified portfolio for you based on your goals and risk tolerance, automate your monthly investments, and handle all the tax optimisation. You can start with as little as €50 per month, and our pricing is transparent: one simple annual fee between 0.6% and 1%. While this might cost more than managing everything yourself through a broker, it frees up your time to focus on what matters most to you while your money grows in the background.

We believe that investing is an important tool for our generation to improve our financial well-being and to prepare for our future. We are building Curvo to fulfil that vision, by making good investing easy and accessible to all:

• Portfolio built for you: Answer a short questionnaire about your goals and timeline, and we'll create the best portfolio for your situation. No more wondering which ETFs to choose.
• Automated monthly investing: Set up a monthly contribution from €50 and your money gets invested automatically. Fractional shares and direct debit are two things that Curvo does better than Saxo Bank.
• All your money works: Fractional shares mean every euro you invest is put to work, not sitting idle.
• Tax-optimised: Our portfolios aren't subject to Belgian transaction tax (TOB), saving you 0.12% to 1.32% on every transaction.
• Sustainable investments: We follow one principle: don’t invest in companies that we consider destructive to the planet. So we exclude companies from destructive sectors like fossil fuels, weapons, and tobacco.‍
• See your future: Visualise how your investments will grow and explore how different contribution amounts affect your long-term wealth.

Learn more on how Curvo compares to investing through a broker.

Conclusion

Saxo Bank offers a robust trading platform with competitive fees and excellent tax handling for European investors. However, its complexity and trader-focused interface can overwhelm beginners who simply want to invest in ETFs regularly. The lack of fractional shares also makes monthly investing less practical, as you'll often have cash sitting idle in your account.

If you're comfortable navigating complex platforms and prefer having access to advanced trading features, Saxo Bank could work well for you. But if you're looking for a simpler approach to long-term investing, you might want to explore alternatives like Curvo, that prioritise ease of use and automated investing over trading capabilities.