Plus500 was founded in late 2008, in Israel. They are considered to be the champions of CFDs. The broker who just tuned 10 this year, has its headquarters in London, and is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Plus500 works only in CFDs or Contracts for Differences.
With CFDs, you never actually purchase stocks or currencies, but instead, you make an agreement with the owner for the differences in value. This presents a style of trading that requires a more creative strategy from a trader’s perspective.
Spreads, Commissions, and Leverages
For one of the bigger names in Forex brokerages, Plus500 has one of the best spread offerings in the industry. Despite having a commission-free model that calculates the commission for the brokerage into the spread, they still offer great spreads that change by account type and CFD product.
When it comes to leverages, Plus500 works on a fixed leverage of 300:1. This number can be changed to something lower with a short phone call. For newcomers, we recommend being cautious when trading on a leverage. Minimum leverage choice of 50:1 or no leverage trading would be a better choice for people trying to get their feet wet with Plus500.
Regulations and Security
Being listed in a Stock Exchange does come with the benefit of inspiring trust. Plus500 is regulated by: Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, and few smaller regulating bodies.
Banking
Depositing and withdrawing your money from your account quickly is crucial when trading. Plus500 lets you deposit money into your account through wire transfers, debit/credit cards (MasterCard or Visa), and eWallets (PayPal or Skrill). Wire transfers can take up to five days, so we recommend using cards or eWallets to fund your account almost instantly. There is a $100 minimum deposit requirement, but this can change depending on your location.
To withdraw money from your account, you can use the same method you chose for funding. Each one comes with a minimum withdrawal limit, eWallets require $50 USD as a minimum and wire transfers and card transactions have minimums set at $100 USD. All withdrawal request can take one to three days to process.
Accounts
Plus500 had a simple list of account offerings (Demo, Standard) that recently got an overhaul. After the latest update, the companies standard accounts were changed to ‘Gold Accounts’. These accounts allowed clients to take advantage of different units of trade size and a 5% discount on all overnight funding charges. Plus500, added a Professional Client Account (Pro Account), with higher leverage limits and negative balance protection available to all account holders. However, you do lose access to FOS or Financial Ombudsman Service. You must meet two of these criteria to qualify for a chance to gain a Pro Account. These requirements are:
- Sufficient Trade Activity: average of 10 transactions of grand scale per quarter.
- Financial Instrument portfolio of at least 500,000 Euros.
- Must have work experience in the financial sector for at least a year.
Trading Platforms
The proprietary trading platform is the only trading platform choice offered by Plus500. With a seamless ability to work across multiple devices, the platform leaves little to want for the popular options like MetaTrader 4 or 5.
This in-home platform offers a variety of technical analysis and charting tools. Access to education, using multiple charts at the same time while opening positions, and a modern design makes trading on this platform a favorable experience.