SquaredFinancial Review 2023 - The Good and the Bad
By Stefano Treviso, Updated on: Aug 22 2023.
SquaredFinancial in a Nutshell
| 💡 Score | 2.3 out of 5. |
| 🏛 Regulators | CySec, FSAS. |
| 💳 Minimum Deposit ($) | 250 |
| 💰 Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, Bank Transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Instatransfer. |
| 💵 Base Currencies | 5 - EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, ZAR. |
| 📚 Assets Offered | 🔹 Stocks 🔹 Stock CFDs 🔹 Currency CFDs 🔹 Commodities CFDs 🔹 Indices CFDs 🔹 ETF CFDs 🔹 Crypto CFDs 🔹 Future CFDs |
| 💪 Retail Leverage | 1:30 |
| 💪 Pro Leverage | 1:500 |
| ✍ Custom Leverage | No |
| 🎲 Deleveraged Trading | Yes |
| 🎓 Demo Account | Yes |
| 💰 Commissions | Yes, depending on account type or assets. For account types:
For particular assets there are commissions on all accounts, specifically in shares as follows:
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Compare SquaredFinancial
Vs.
SquaredFinancial in 60 seconds
- Competitive asset offering with more than 10,000+ instruments.
- Commissions on U.S shares of $0.06 per share with a minimum of $2.
- Spreads from 0 Pips on their SquaredElite account with a minimum deposit of 5,000 €.
SquaredFinancial is a global brokerage firm founded in 2005 and headquartered in Cyprus that specialises in providing real stocks along with CFDs on all major asset classes paired with MT4 & MT5 platforms.
SquaredFinancial Full Review
Here’s what we’ll talk about during our review:
- Is SquaredFinancial Safe?
- SquaredFinancial Minimum Deposit and Withdrawal
- SquaredFinancial Account Types
- SquaredFinancial Trading Fees
- SquaredFinancial Available Assets
- SquaredFinancial Trading Platforms
- SquaredFinancial Research and Analysis Tools
- SquaredFinancial Educational Tools
- Verdict
Is SquaredFinancial Safe?
SquaredFinancial is a reliable and safe broker that holds the following financial licenses:
- CySec (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission)
- FSAS (Financial Services Authority Seychelles)
As you can see from the above list, SquaredFinancial holds two financial licenses: which definitely is below their competitors standard but to balance this point, SquaredFinancial has been operating since 2005 and we had the chance to personally meet some of their team members.
Financial
Licenses
Regulation
Regulated
Top-tier Licenses
0
Other Licenses
2
Provided by
TheTradingBible.com
In order for SquaredFinancial to increase their reputation they must acquire new regulatory licenses from the most reputable regulators in the world such as: FCA, ASIC, BaFin and they must also continue improving their services offered.
SquaredFinancial Minimum Deposit and Withdrawal
SquaredFinancial’s minimum deposit varies as follow:
- 250€ for their SquaredPro account
- 5,000€ for their SquaredElite account.
The below are SquaredFinancial’s deposit and withdrawal methods:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Bank Transfer
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Instatransfer
Bear in mind that payment methods could have a small variation or geographical restriction so it's always good to check directly in the deposit page.
Base Currencies
SquaredFinancial supports the following account base currencies:
- Euro
- United States Dollar
- Great British Pound
- Swiss Franc
We’re looking forward to SquaredFinancial increasing their base currencies offering to attract international traders from new markets.
Deposit and Withdrawal Process
SquaredFinancial is a multi whitelabel platform broker. This translates in them having custom platforms built by independent companies such as MetaQuotes (MetaTrader 4 & 5). Most of the brokers offering this system have a huge pitfall: there is no funding experience integrated from within the platform.
Here’s where Squaredfinancial saved the day with a very clever integration. Login in to the client area, depositing, trading, withdrawing is a seamless experience straight away from the web client area.
Here, any user can access the left panel for all the basic features or click on webtrader to enter directly their MT4 or 5 platform without opening a new window or using a separate login. Definitely we appreciate the very convenient process.
SquaredFinancial Account Types
Most brokers in Europe offer traditionally since 2018 a retail account and a professional account distinguished by the leverage factor, negative balance protection and some other features.
On top of that, SquaredFinancial has their own custom account types, SquaredPro and SquaredElite, here’s how they compare:
| SquaredPro | SquaredElite | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissions | None | $5 per lot |
| Spreads | From 1.2 Pips | From 0 Pips |
| Minimum Deposit | 250 € | 5,000 € |
Depending on your trading capital, considering a SquaredElite account to access 10,000 instruments with low share trading and FX commissions is definitely worth it if you’re able to afford the minimum deposit of 5,000 €.
SquaredFinancial Trading Fees
SquaredFinancial charges spread, overnight fees and commissions depending on the account type or asset.
Spreads
SquaredFinancial is definitely trying to compete with major brokerage firms in terms of spreads, let’s compare their offering against similar competitors that also specialise in shares:
| Asset | SquaredFinancial | Markets.com | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD Spread | Dynamic - From 0 to 1.2 Pips | Dynamic - From 0.7 Pips | Dynamic - From 0.8 Pips |
| SP500 Spread | Dynamic - From 150 Pips | Dynamic - From 100 Pips | Dynamic - From 70 Pips |
| Gold Spread | Dynamic - From 110 Pips | Dynamic - From 50 Pips | Dynamic - From 30 Pips |
| TSLA Spread | Dynamic - Market Spread | Dynamic - From $1.81 | Dynamic - From $5.2 |
| XLK Spread | Dynamic - Market Spread | Dynamic - From $0.31 | Dynamic - From 7 Pips |
| BTC Spread | Dynamic - From $250 | Dynamic - From $104.10 | Dynamic - From $136 |
SquaredFinancial is definitely crafting an interesting offer for high volume traders. If you consider the fact that the SquaredElite account requires a minimum deposit of 5,000 € but the trader can enjoy EUR/USD spreads from 0, there is definitely a great benefit for any high volume or professional trader.
Commissions & Fees
Nowadays there are a lot of brokers flexing the term “No Commissions” but what people fail to see is that depending on the offer, commissions can be either a good or a bad thing. In the case of SquaredFinancial, they’re definitely a good one. Here’s an example:
- If a broker marks up the spread of Apple shares to a sum of $3, then buying 10 shares will equal a transaction cost of $30.
- If a broker doesn’t mark up the spread and uses the market one and charges commission, that same cost can end up being $2 in-and-out plus a few cents. And that’s the case of SquaredFinancial.
| SquaredFinancial | Markets.com | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commissions | Yes, depending on account type or assets. For account types:
For particular assets there are commissions on all accounts, specifically in shares as follows:
| No comissions on CFDs. For share dealing, the first 3 months are commission free, then the structure is:
| None |
SquaredFinancial’s top selling point is definitely their low share trading commission structure yet, they still need to come up with a more reduced price per share to match similar competitors in the range.
Another great selling point is that they do not charge, deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees.
SquaredFinancial Available Assets
SquaredFinancial is clearly a stock trading and investing broker. Their offering is definitely above most of their competitors when it comes to shares.
| Asset | SquaredFinancial | Markets.com | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocks | 8000 | 7008 | 0 |
| Stock CFDs | 8000 | 2008 | 2000 |
| Currency Pairs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Currency Pair CFDs | 40 | 67 | 70 |
| Commodities | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Commodities CFDs | 5 | 28 | 25 |
| Indices | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indices CFDs | 15 | 40 | 26 |
| ETFs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ETF CFDs | 1000 | 466 | 95 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cryptocurrency CFDs | 25 | 25 | 14 |
| Bonds | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bond CFDs | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Options | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Option CFDs | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Futures | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Future CFDs | 16 | 0 | 0 |
While their share offering is excellent, when it comes to other asset classes they are way below their competitors. This means that SquaredFinancial is a great choice for those interested in stock trading, for other assets it is better to look for different choices.
SquaredFinancial Trading Platforms
SquaredFinancial took an interesting approach when it comes to product offering. They decided to go with the worldwide known platforms built by MetaQuotes and instead of investing millions in developing their own, they decided to invest their time in crafting a competitive asset offering with 10,000+ assets. Currently, SquaredFinancial offers the following trading platforms:
- MetaTrader 4 (Web, mobile)
- MetaTrader 5 (Web, mobile)
Here’s an overview of how SquaredFinancial platform looks on their web version:
In the case of their mobile or desktop platforms, there’s no need to go in depth on them as they’re simply the standard versions of MetaTrader 4 or 5 which any user can download from the official MetaTrader’s website.
Our favourite feature of SquaredFinancial is definitely how they decided to integrate the webtrader inside their client area which in the end maximises the usability of their product offering.
SquaredFinancial Research and Analysis Tools
Despite having a great product offering and competitive accounts, SquaredFinancial is lacking when it comes to research and analysis tools.
There are no stock screener, asset filters or any tools designed to assist traders in their research process for picking assets to trade with the exception of:
- An economic calendar
- Trading calculators
SquaredFinancial Educational Tools
When it comes to educational resources, SquaredFinancial provides the following:
SquaredFinancial’s educational offering is definitely limited and shallow. We’re looking forward to seeing them create proper tools such as dictionaries, video tutorials or many more resources designed to assist new traders.
Verdict
SquaredFinancial overall rating is 2.3 out of 5.SquaredFinancial is a great choice for share investors or traders looking to benefit from their competitive commission structure with low minimums along with more than 8,000 real stocks or CFDs.
When it comes to other assets, they’re not yet playing at the same level as the majority of their competitors as they lack many more assets to offer in the classes of currencies, commodities, indices, etc. In conclusion:
- For experienced high volume traders able to afford the minimum deposit of 5,000 € to open a SquaredElite account, their offer is definitely worth it as the spreads starting from 0 with the $5 commission will offset any costs.
- For passive investors looking to buy real shares, their commissions on American shares of $0.06 per share with a minimum of $2 is definitely a game-changer along with 8,000 different shares to trade.
If you’re a low volume trader, a beginner, or unfamiliar with MetaTrader 4 or 5 platforms, there are easier choices of a broker for you out there. But if none of the previously mentioned boxes tick, then SquaredFinancial is definitely an interesting choice to consider.