Best brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2020

To find the best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2020, we went ahead and did the research for you. We made interviews with newbies, without any trading experience. We tested 71 brokers and 5 made it to the top. They confirmed these top 5. And now without further ado...

The best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2020 are:

1. eToro is the best broker for beginners in Ecuador in 2020. Free stock and ETF trading . Seamless account opening. Social trading experience.
2. Saxo Bank is the runner-up. Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio.
3. Swissquote is placed number three. Access to many markets and products. No inactivity fee. Rock-solid background.
4. Firstrade is number four. Free stock, ETF, fund, and options trading. Solid research tools. Quality educational tools.
5. Zacks Trade made it to the best broker for the beginner list. Low fees. Extensive stock and ETF selection. Great customer service..

What makes a good broker for beginners? Two things above all: keep it simple and guide the client. The trading platform needs to be clean, and understandable. Fair fees are also important (learn more about brokerage fee here). Have great educational tools, like a demo account, provide webinars or courses. It must be easy to open an account and deposit.

Easy to list, but hard to figure it out. We are testing brokers along more than 100 criteria with real accounts and real money. We know what's up.

Not sure which broker? For a tailored recommendation, check out the broker finder tool. You can enter your country and it will show only the relevant brokers. Want more details? Compare brokers with this detailed comparison table.

And now, let's see the best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2020 one by one. Starting with the winner, eToro.

eToro is a well-known Israeli fintech startup, a social trading broker established in 2007.

eToro serves UK clients through an entity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australians through an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) regulated entity. All other customers are served by a Cypriot entity that is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

eToro is not listed on any stock exchange, does not disclose its annual report on its site and does not have a bank parent.

eToro is considered safe because its UK and Australian arms are regulated by top-tier financial authorities and it is a well-known fintech startup.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% 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.

Recommended for traders interested in social trading (i.e. copying other investors’ trades) & zero commission stock trading

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#1 eToro
Web trading platform

4.4

eToro offers a user-friendly and well-designed web trading platform. In addition, social trading is also available. On the other hand, the customizability is limited.

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#1 eToro
Fees

4.5

eToro offers free stock trading. On the negative side, forex trading fees are high and there is a fee charged for inactivity or withdrawal.

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#1 eToro
Education

2.5

eToro's education tools are limited, with only some medium-quality videos about investing available.

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#1 eToro
Account opening

5.0

Account opening at eToro is seamless and very fast.

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#1 eToro
Deposit and withdrawal

3.7

Depositing money is free and easy, with a lot of available options, including credit cards. However, there is a withdrawal fee and only USD accounts are available.

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#1 eToro
Verdict

eToro has zero-commission stock trading. Account opening is swift and seamless. It also has a lot of innovative features, like social trading and copying other (successful) traders.

It has some drawbacks, though. Forex fees are high and eToro only allows USD accounts, which means that conversion costs on deposits and withdrawals can be high in some cases. Live chat is hard to reach and their educational materials could be better.

Overall, we would recommend eToro for its social trading feature and zero-commission stock trading.

Risk disclaimer

eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers both investing in stocks and crypto assets, as well as trading CFD assets.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% 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.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading crypto assets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

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Saxo Bank is a Danish investment bank founded in 1992, providing online trading and investments. The company is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the Danish Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Saxo Bank is a global service provider. In the different regions, its subsidiaries are present in the form of separate legal entities. The services offered by each entity might change slightly especially in case of their fees and products available to trade. In this review, we tested Saxo Bank UK.

Saxo Bank is considered safe because it has a long track record, has a banking background, and is regulated by top-tier financial authorities.

Recommended for investors and traders looking for a great trading platform and solid research

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#2 Saxo Bank
Web trading platform

5.0

Saxo Bank's web trading platform is one of the best among online brokers. It's easy to use, but also provides features favored by professionals, such as an advanced order panel.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Fees

2.9

Saxo Bank has average trading and non-trading fees overall. The fees for forex, mutual funds and stock index CFDs are low, while they are average for real stocks, ETFs or stock CFDs. Bond, options and futures fees are high.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Education

4.5

If you want to improve your financial knowledge, Saxo Bank has a lot to offer. You can use a demo account, attend webinars or watch educational videos.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Account opening

2.5

Saxo's account opening is fully digital, user-friendly, and available in most of the world. On the other hand, the minimum deposit is high in certain countries, and account verification can take longer.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Deposit and withdrawal

4.8

Saxo provides multiple deposit and withdrawal options free of charge on a user-friendly interface.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Verdict

Saxo Bank is a great broker, providing a complex and good service.

Saxo offers a user-friendly and well-designed trading platform, backed by great research. The product portfolio covers all asset types and many international markets.

It has some drawbacks though. The fees for bonds, options and futures are high. There is also a high minimum deposit for certain countries. Lastly, there is no live chat or 24/7 customer support.

In general, Saxo Bank is one of the best online brokerage companies out there. By opening an account, you will get a broad, well-developed service constantly responding to the needs of clients.

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Swissquote is a Swiss investment bank established in 1996. It has two main trading arms: a Swiss unit for trading stocks, funds, options and futures and a company in the UK for CFDs and forex.

Formally, Swissquote Bank Ltd is based in Switzerland and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the country's financial regulator.

The other entity, Swissquote Ltd, is UK-based and offers CFDs and forex trading. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial authority.

Swissquote is considered safe because Swissquote Bank Ltd has a banking license, it is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, discloses detailed financials regularly and has a long track record.

In this review, we focus mainly on the Swiss entity, but also discuss services of the UK arm, especially in the case of CFD and forex trading. To make it clear which company we are talking about, we will refer to the Swiss entity as "Swissquote (CH)" and to the UK-based entity as "Swissquote Forex (UK)".

Recommended for affluent investors who value safety and are ok with higher fees

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#3 Swissquote
Web trading platform

4.3

The Swissquote (CH) eTrading platform has a lot of functions, so many that sometimes it can get complicated. Customizability is good and there is a clear overview of trading fees, but it's easy to get lost on the platform.

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#3 Swissquote
Fees

2.3

Swissquote charges no inactivity fee and you can trade an impressive selection of funds for favorable fees. On the other hand, trading fees are generally high, including stocks and ETFs fees, and there is a fee for withdrawing your money.

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#3 Swissquote
Education

5.0

Swissquote provides easy-to-understand and professional educational videos, ebooks, webinars and tutorials.

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#3 Swissquote
Account opening

4.0

Swissquote offers a fully digital account opening process, although we encountered wait times. There is no minimum deposit for trading accounts, but a high minimum for forex and robo-advisory accounts.

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#3 Swissquote
Deposit and withdrawal

4.1

Depositing at Swissquote is quick with credit/debit card and can be done in several base currencies. On the negative side, you can only withdraw money via bank transfer, and the Swiss entity charges fees.

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#3 Swissquote
Verdict

Swissquote is an investment bank with a rock-solid background:

• It is Swiss,
• it is listed on an exchange
• and it is a bank. 

It has two main entities, one in the UK and one in Switzerland. If you open an account at the London-based entity you can trade forex and CFDs, while the Swiss entity gives you access to assets ranging from stocks to options.

Swissquote offers a broad range of products across many markets. There are many stocks, mutual funds, and a lot of different other types of products, from bonds to cryptos.

However, nothing is free: Swissquote's trading fees are relatively high. 

All in all, Swissquote is a great stockbroker. As you can trade many products and no inactivity fee is charged, feel free to give it a try.

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Firstrade is a US discount stockbroker regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The company was founded in 1985 under the name of First Flushing Securities.

Firstrade is considered safe because it has a long track record and is regulated by top-tier regulators.

Recommended for beginners and investors looking for zero-commission trading, focusing on the us market

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#4 Firstrade
Web trading platform

4.3

During our testing, we found Firstrade's web platform is simple and easy to use. If you are a beginner, then you can easily navigate it. On the negative side, it lacks a two-step login and the customizability is limited.

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#4 Firstrade
Fees

4.5

Firstrade has low fees. It offers free stock, ETF, funds, and options trading. The non-trading fees are low too. However, the margin rates are high.

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#4 Firstrade
Education

3.5

Are you a beginner or you believe in life long learning? Then Firstrade is clearly a good match for you. They offer good quality educational articles, a useful glossary, a bunch of platform videos and useful webinars. However, a demo account is missing.

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#4 Firstrade
Account opening

4.4

The account opening is fully digital and user-friendly. Firstrade is available for US and some non-US customers. On the flip side during the test we experienced a slower account opening, that took almost 3 business days.

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#4 Firstrade
Deposit and withdrawal

1.8

We liked a lot Firstrade's user-friendly deposit and withdrawal process. There is no deposit fee and transferring money is easy. At the same time, there is still room for improvement. You can use only bank transfer and a high fee is charged for wire transfer withdrawals.

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#4 Firstrade
Verdict

Firstrade is one of the biggest discount US stockbrokers regulated by top-tier regulators.

It offers free stock, ETF, mutual funds, and options trading. It doesn't charge inactivity and account fees and there are a lot of quality research and educational tools you can use.

To provide an unbiased picture we have to mention some drawbacks though. Firstrade doesn't provide credit/debit cards and electronic wallets for transferring money. Are you interested only in U.S. market products? If yes, then you will be delighted. Otherwise, you might find insufficient that the product portfolio covers only the US market. The customer service is only 24/5 and you can't contact them via live chat. 

As there are low fees and no inactivity fee is charged, feel free to try Firstrade.

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Zacks Trade is a US-based discount broker and division of LMBZ Securities. LMBZ Securities was founded in 1978 and regulated by the top-tier SEC and FINRA.

LMBZ Securities' clearing and execution services are provided through Interactive Brokers, a global stockbroker regulated by many top-tier financial authorities globally.

If you've used Interactive Brokers' service, you might notice that many of Zacks Trade's services are the same. To summarize it:

• Zacks Trade has a different fee structure, product selection, educational tools, and customer support.
• The account opening, deposit/withdrawal, trading platforms, and research tools are the same as at Interactive Brokers.

Zacks Trade is considered safe because it has a long track record, discloses its financial statements annually (as a part of LBMZ Securities), and is regulated by top-tier regulators. 

Recommended for traders and investors looking for comprehensive research tools, wide product selection, and low fees

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#5 Zacks Trade
Web trading platform

4.5

Zacks Trade web platform is simple and easy to use even for beginners. On the negative side, it is not customizable.

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#5 Zacks Trade
Fees

4.3

Zacks Trade has both low trading fees and low non-trading fees. The stock, ETF, and bond fees are especially low and the stock margin rates are spectacular. However, mutual fund fees are quite high.

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#5 Zacks Trade
Education

2.5

Zacks Trade offers a demo account and videos on how to use their system. However, we missed some educational tools, such as general educational videos or webinars.

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#5 Zacks Trade
Account opening

2.8

Zacks Trade has a fully digital account opening and accepts clients from all over the world. You can start using your account by depositing less than $2,500, however, Zacks Trade recommends to deposit this amount. On the negative side, we found the process slow and hard to navigate.

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#5 Zacks Trade
Deposit and withdrawal

3.5

Zacks Trade has one free withdrawal per month for nearly all currencies offered. However, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets are not authorized to deposit or withdraw funds.

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#5 Zacks Trade
Verdict

Zacks Trade is a great US discount broker. Zacks Trade is a division of LMBZ Securities, which is regulated by the SEC and FINRA.

On the plus side, Zacks Trade has low fees, outstanding stock and ETF selections, and great customer service.

There are some drawbacks though, the desktop trading platform and research tools are complex. The account opening is complicated and slow. Lastly, we missed some useful educational tools.

As Zacks Trade provides a demo account and doesn't require any minimum deposit, feel free to try it.

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Now you know the best best brokers for beginners. Curious how we came up with this list? Let's go through two points. Are they safe? How did we compile the list?

Are these brokers safe?

You can be sure none of them is a scam. They are regulated by at least one top-tier regulator. Some of them are also listed on an exchange, and some have a banking background.

However, also brokerage companies can go down. Remember Lehman Brothers? In these cases, it is important to know what happens with your securities and cash. These are usually held in segregated accounts, so even in case of a broker bankruptcy, you are safe.

If everything goes very bad and for example, the broker steals your assets, then you have a last resort, the compensation fund of the country where the broker is regulated.

How did BrokerChooser pick the best brokers for beginners?

At BrokerChooser we test online brokers along more than 100 criteria, with a real account and real money. Not to overwhelm you we list the five most important criteria for brokers for beginners:

When you are a beginner the best way to start your journey is to learn.

Find below some very useful learning materials to start with.

If you are considering starting. Check our learning page, a lot of great materials. You can learn about the pros and cons of investing your money on your own or the difference between trading vs investing. Also go to the learn section if you want to figure out whether you can open a foreign account.

For beginner buy and hold investors we recommend to read the how to buy shares. Have a six-step approach on how to buy shares online.

For beginners who want to learn to trade, we can provide even more. Robert, a professional trader, wrote on how to become a trader. Most of the beginner traders start with forex. If you don't anything about this topic, start with the forex 101. The CFDs also have become very popular. They are very risky. Start learning about CFDs with this CFD greenhorn and continue with the pros and cons of CFD trading.

Cryptos were among the hottest topics in 2017. Also super risky. Tibor dug in into it and found out the safest ways to invest in Bitcoin. A very interesting read, highly recommended if you are considering cryptos.

When more experienced and starting to explore futures options, you should definitely check out Gery's article on the topic.

You saw the details, now let's zoom out. Here are the best brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2020:

eToro is our winner, the best broker for beginners in Ecuador in 2020. Free stock and ETF trading . Seamless account opening. Social trading experience

All are considered a great choice. Pick the winner, or any runner-up and take the next step in your investment journey. Let us know what you think in the comment section.

Still unsure? Use the broker finder and find the best broker for you or learn more about investing your money.