TradeStation Global Review 2019

TradeStation is a US broker, and it offers TradeStation Global for non-US clients through its UK subsidiary.

TradeStation Global is practically Interactive Brokers's service, not TradeStation's. You can reach IB's markets almost at IB's fees. You can trade on both IB's and TradeStation's desktop platform. The customer service is by TradeStation. This is like you buy a British Airways flight ticket and then the plane is operated by Delta.

Both Interactive Brokers and TradeStation are very reputable brokers. Both have stock exchange listed parents and are regulated by top-tier regulators.

TradeStation Global is considered safe because it is regulated by the top-tier FCA, the UK regulator.

Recommended for traders looking for low fees and a lot of products.

TradeStation Global pros and cons

TradeStation Global has low trading fees. You will get access to many products and in many regions. It also has a fast and relevant customer support.

TradeStation Global deposit and withdrawal can be improved. It is not user-friendly and you can use only bank transfer. The account opening is complicated and there is a $5,000 minimum account balance. The available web trading platform is not advanced.

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TradeStation Global review
Fees 4 stars

TradeStation Global has low trading fees and high non-trading fees. Its financing rates are very competitive as well. On the other hand, there are withdrawal and inactivity fees.

To get things rolling, let's go over some broker fee lingo. You need to keep an eye on trading fees, financing rates, and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. This can be commissions and spreads.
• Financing rates or overnight rates are charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than a day. Leveraged position means that you borrow money from the broker to trade.
• Non-trading fees are like withdrawal fee or inactivity fee.

We compare Tradestation Global fees with its peers, DEGIRO and Saxo Bank.

Let's start with the trading fees.

Trading fees

TradeStation Global trading fees are competitive for all asset classes except the mutual funds.

As TradeStation Global is introducing broker of Interactive Brokers, it offers IB fees plus a small markup. It is great.

Stock fees and ETF fees

TradeStation Global has very competitive stock trading fees. Only Degiro can compete with them.

TradeStation Global fee conditions are mostly a percentage of the traded volume. For US and Canadian stocks it is per traded number of shares.

Forex fees

TradeStation Global's forex fees are competitive. It is much less than Saxo. DEGIRO does not offer forex.

The forex commissions are calculated as the 0.006% of the traded volume. In addition, there is a minimum of $2 per trade.

Fund fees

The European mutual fund fees are competitive. On the other hand, US mutual funds have a high minimum fee. Saxo Bank does not provide mutual funds.

European fund fees are calculated as the 0.12% of the traded volume. The US mutual funds have a $25 minimum per trade. It is very high.

Bond fees

TradeStation Global bond fees are competitive. DEGIRO bond fees can only compete with them.

US bond fees are calculated as the 0.003%, while European bond fees are calculated as the 0.15% of the traded volume.

Options fees

TradeStation Global's options fees are competitive. They are more competitive than Saxo and lag a bit behind DEGIRO. 

The options fees are volume based, i.e. the number of contracts. E.g. US options have a $1.5 per contract fee.

Futures fees

TradeStation Global's futures fees are competitive. They are almost the same as DEGIRO's, but much better than Saxo's futures fees.

Similarly to the options, the futures fees are volume based, i.e. the number of contracts. E.g. US futures have a $1.75 per contract fee.

CFD fees

TradeStation Global CFD fees are very competitive. We compared the commissions of stock CFDs.

The stock CFD fees are calculated as a percentage of the traded volume, except for the US and Canada, where you are charged based on the number of shares traded.

Financing rates

If you want to trade on leverage and prefer to hold your positions long, financing costs can be significant.

TradeStation Global financing rates are very competitive compared to its peers. The financing rate is set differently for each asset types. To give you a few:

Non-trading fees

TradeStation Global has an ok non-trading fee structure. As a plus, there are no deposit fees. But, there are inactivity and withdrawal fees.

The inactivity fee is $10 monthly which is high, especially compared other brokers:

*The withdrawal fee is different by currencies:

TradeStation Global review
Account opening 2 stars

TradeStation Global account open is the same as Interactive Brokers. It is fully digital but slow and complicated. There is also $5,000 minimum required.

Can you open an account?

TradeStation Global as its name suggests is a global broker. It serves residents from ~200 countries. This includes all European countries and major non-European countries. There are some notable exceptions, they don't serve US, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong residents.

To check if your country is available, use the broker finder tool.

Minimum deposit

There is a $5,000 minimum deposit. It is one of the highest among the reviewed brokers. 

Account types

You can choose from many account types, including individual and corporate accounts.

You will also see IRA, UGMA/UTA as account type options. This is pretty redundant, as US customers cannot open an account and non-US clients cannot have an IRA account. Quite confusing. 

How to open your account

The account opening is fully online but overly complicated. For regulatory reasons, US brokers cannot open your account instantly. TradeStation's account opening is one of the fastest among US brokers. It usually takes 1-2 business days from registration to the account approval.

TradeStation Global is operated by Interactive Brokers. So, once you make the first step on TradeStation Global's page, you are redirected to Interactive Brokers. If you did not know this, you would be wondering what you are doing on Interactive Broker's page right after. This is because TradeStation Global acts as an "intoruducing broker", think like an agent. When you open an account you will have an Interactive Broker's account, and your funds will be with Interactive Brokers.

At first, you have to go through a 5-step registration process which takes roughly 30 minutes. We felt lost. It was complicated with confusing and unclear messages.

Five steps of TradeStation Global account open:

1. Register your email and password, confirm your email
2. Fill out your personal information, and set the account currency
3. Complete trading expertise survey
4. Accept the general disclosures
5. Verify your identity with passport / ID / driver's license. Verify your residency with a bank statement / utility bill / driver's license / credit card statement / other documents.

After the registration, you can use Interactive Brokers platform. After you deposit $5,000 you can get TradeStation's platform credentials too. We think it would be better if you could test the TradeStation platform before the minimum deposit. 

Interactive Broker customers can switch to TradeStation Global and access the TradeStation platform. All you need to do is select "Enable my IB account" instead of "Create an account".

TradeStation Global review
Deposit and withdrawal 2 stars

TradeStation Global deposit and withdrawal is the same as Interactive Brokers. There are many base currencies, and one free withdrawal per month. On the flip side, only bank transfer.

TradeStation Global offers its account base currencies, deposit and withdrawal through Interactive Brokers' Account Management site.

This means you will only find the relevant information on Interactive Brokers' website.

Account Base Currencies

TradeStation Global accounts offer 21 base currencies.

This is really wide if you compare it with DEGIRO's 9 base currencies. Only Saxo Bank can compete with its 32 base currency.

Why does this matter? Because if you fund your account in the same currency as your bank account, currency conversion fees won't be charged.

A convenient way to save on the currency conversion fees can be to open a multi-currency bank account. Revolut or Transferwise both offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. The account opening only takes a few minutes on your phone.

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Deposit fees and options

TradeStation Global deposit is free of charge.

However, deposit options are limited, as you can use only bank transfer. It is similar to DEGIRO and Saxo Bank.

It is not user-friendly. First, you have to submit a request at Account Management. After, you have to do the transaction through your bank. It would be better if the whole process was integrated into Account Management.

Bank transfer can take 2-3 business days to arrive. We tested it and it took 2 business days.

You can only deposit money from sources which are on your name.

Withdrawal fees and options

TradeStation Global applies withdrawal fee if it is more than one per month. The first one is free per month. After that withdrawal fee differs by currency, but it is generally around ~$10 per withdrawal. 

Similarly to deposit, you can use only bank transfer. It is in line with the competitors.

You can read that if you withdraw before the daily cut-off time, the money is sent instantly Than it is up to your bank when it arrives. We tested it and received money back in 2 business days.

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TradeStation Global review
Web trading platform 2 stars

For trading online, you can use only Interactive Brokers' web trading platform. It is good for execution and has very advanced order management. It is not user-friendly and standard functions are missing or underdeveloped.

When you trade at TradeStation, web platform is provided by Interactive Brokers. You can choose between the normal and the beta Webtrader. In this review, we tested the normal version since the beta is permanently subject to testing and changes in functionality.

The platform is available in many languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Slovenian, Chinese and Japanese. This can be changed within the platform.

Look and Feel

The platform looks really complicated and indeed, it is not user-friendly at all. If you are a beginner, we definitely do not recommend starting with this. It is obvious that this is not the core product of IB, they are optimizing their efforts for the desktop version.

The platform layout is highly customizable providing great flexibility in optimizing to your needs.

Quite surprisingly, a lot of quasi-basic functions are missing from IB Webtrader:

• no technical analysis
• no alerts
• no general news panel (only portfolio related)
• no fundamental data
• no possibility for research.

Login and Security

Beyond the normal online login system, you can protect your account with the so-called Secure Login System. This is a two-step authentication feature. You get by mail a plastic code card. It is certainly safe, however a bit outdated.

Search Functions

The search function is awful. You can search for the preferred product in two panels, on the search panel or the product panel.

On the search panel, you will hardly find what you looking for. For example, if you search for Amazon, you would expect to list Amazon on the NASDAQ at the first result. Instead, you will see German stock exchanges at the first places and Amazon in the middle.

The product panel is also not convenient as you have to write the symbol of the products. Therefore, you only find Amazon if you write AMZN.

Placing Orders

You have a great selection of order types, some of them are designed for advanced, professional traders:

• market
• limit
• stop
• stop limit
• market on close
• market on open
• limit on close
• trailing stop
• trailing stop limit
• discretionary
• bracket

If you are not familiar with the basic order types, read this overview.

The order terms also provide some specialties beyond the typical ones:

• day order
• good till canceled
• at the open
• immediate or cancel
• good till date/time
• good after date/time

Alerts and Notifications

You can set alerts and notifications, but it's not convenient at all. You have to log in the client portal where you have to set the alerts on the settings.

We think that it would be much easier if you can set alerts on the platform and not on a separate page. 

Portfolio and Fee reports

Portfolio and fee reports are transparent at IB. You can see your performance on the Account tab. It clearly shows what is your historical profit/loss balance and how much costs you paid.

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TradeStation Global review
Mobile trading platform 4 stars

Similarly to the web platform, you can use only Interactive Brokers' mobile trading platform. It has a lot of functions, even a chatbot. On the other side, it could be more user-friendly.

When you trade at TradeStation Global, the mobile platform is provided by Interactive Brokers. It is available both for IoS and Android. In this review, we tested on Android.

The available languages are the same as at the web trading platform.

Look and Feel

The mobile trading app handier compared to the web platform. On the other hand, both its look and user-friendliness lag behind the competitor mobile platforms. 

Login and Security

If you have a mobile phone with a fingerprint sensor, the app requires fingerprint authentication, a convenient and safe solution.

Search Functions

The search button is on the top, easy to reach. It is more user-friendly than its web platform equivalent.

After finding the asset you are looking for, you can choose from the asset types of the same underlying. For example, if you search for Apple, you can choose between Apple stock, futures, options, warrants and CFDs.

Next, you will be on the information and trading window:

• asset market information 
• an interactive chart with technical indicators
• related news
• some fundamental information
• summary of the latest analyst’s report
• the buy and sell buttons that transfer you to the order panel

Placing Orders

Just like the web trading platform, the order panel is highly advanced with lots of exotic order types. In fact, it has the same order types and terms.

Special feature - Chatbot

The most innovative and exciting function within the app is the chatbot. It is also available on the desktop platform, but not on the web platform.

You can use chatbot if you want to execute an order or close a position very quickly or you need basic information very fast.

The chatbot understands the basic commands, like “apple price” or “buy 1 apple share”. On top of this, you can also search for company fundamentals, like dividend yields or PE ratios. Some of the functions like the chart are also live within the chatbot.

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TradeStation Global review
Desktop trading platform 3 stars

TradeStation Global desktop platform has a good customizability and order types. However, the platform is not user-friendly and it is hard to get a clear fee report.

You can choose between two desktop trading platforms:

• TradeStation's own platform. Unfortunately, only the older version (9.5)
• Interactive Brokers' own platform, the TWS

In this review, we tested TradeStation's platform and not the Interactive Brokers platform. The platform is only available in English. 

You can use TradeStation 9.5 and not the most recent TradeStation 10 which is only for TradeStation clients, and not for TradeStation Global clients. TradeStation 10 is much nicer than the old 9.5.

Look and feel

TradeStation Global desktop trading platform suits daily traders, and professional traders. It can be customized well and has a wide range of tools. If you are a first-timer or long-term investor, you will struggle to use its features. It is not intuitive and has an outdated design. 

Login and security

Similarly to the web trading platform, you can set a two-step login.

Search function

The search function is hard to use as each tab uses a different search feature.

Placing orders

TradeStation Global scores very well on placing orders. There are a lot of order types, including very sophisticated ones, like the OSO or OCO. You can place orders in many ways. At the order bar, at the advanced order bar, through charts and you can also use a matrix visualisation.

Alerts and Notifications

We were unable to figure out how to set price alerts. This is due to the application's complexity and old design. 

Portfolio and fee report

We could not find a way to download, access, or print a fee report or account statements. 

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TradeStation Global review
Markets and products 5 stars

TradeStation Global has a great product offer. You can reach many markets and trade with all product types.

TradeStation Global offers products which are available at Interactive Brokers. It is great as IB has many-many products.

TradeStation Global offers all product types from stocks to options. It also does a great job in markets you can access. Its stock, ETF, and bond coverage is exceptional. Only FX currency pairs and CFDs are not the highest.

Stock and ETF

TradeStation Global will give you access to more stock markets than its competitors. This includes the major stock markets, like NYSE or LSE, but also minor ones, like the Polish or the Mexican markets. Also, a wide range of penny stocks are available.

Beside stocks, you can trade with more than 20,000 ETFs. This is also a much deeper offer than other brokers.

Forex

TradeStation Global provides more than 100 currency pairs. This offer is really wide, only the Saxo Bank can compete with it. DEGIRO does not offer forex.

Fund

There ~200 fund provider which is great. You will find funds from the biggest fund providers like BlackRock or Vanguard and from smaller ones too. DEGIRO lags much behind it, while Saxo does not offer it.

Bond

TradeStation Global gives you access to more than 100,000 bonds. You can see how deep this bond coverage is in comparison with Saxo and DEGIRO. The bonds cover both government and corporate bonds.

Options

Just like at the other products, TradeStation Global has an extremely good option offer. You will find the biggest option markets, like CBOE or CME, but you can also reach to the smaller markets, like Korea Stock Exchange or Mexican Derivatives Exchange.

Futures

TradeStation Global performs well in future product offer as you can access to 36 markets. This is also more than the average at competitor brokers. Similarly to options, you will find both the major and minor markets.

CFD

Unlike the other asset types, TradeStation Global has an average offer. You can only trade with stock and stock index CFD, and within these types the offer is mid-range.

Crypto

At TradeStation Global you can trade with Bitcoin and Ether ETNs and Bitcoin Futures

• Bitcoin and Ether ETNs are traded on the Swedish stock exchange. 
• Bitcoin futures are available on the CME and CBOE futures exchanges

If you want to know more about crypto investing, we recommend our crypto blogpost.

TradeStation Global review
Research 3 stars

TradeStation Global research tools are mid-range. You can read quality news and use a good charting. However, there are no recommendations and there is only limited fundamental data.

You can research both on TradeStation's platform or Interactive Broker's platform. There are different research tools available at each platform. In this review, we tested TradeStation platform's research tools. You will not be able to use TradeStation's market and fundamental data, but only IB's. 

Recommendations

We couldn't find recommendations.

Fundamental data

There are only basic fundamental data, e.g. the company's foundation or P/E ratio. If you need more in-depth fundamental data, use Interactive Broker's research tools which are also available for TradeStation Global clients.

Charting

We were satisfied with the chart function. You can use over 170 technical indicators and you can save the charts. The chart trading function is also available. 

On the other hand, it is not user-friendly. Some function is a hard master. E.g. the zoom function works unlike any other app we tested.

News feed

You will find news snippets. They are imported from news sites, and they are not written by TradeStation.

You can view the news in product categorization. However, we found that there were often no news results for popular companies. E.g. we searched for big companies like Exxon Mobil, and Google, but there was no result.

Other research tools you will enjoy

TradeStation has a great watchlist, called Radar Screen. You can customize it to infinity, using more than 300 data points and also checking charts. 

The EasyLanguage allows you to customize indicators if the 170 indicators would not be enough.

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TradeStation Global review
Customer service 4 stars

TradeStation Global has a great telephone and email support. On the flip side, there is no live chat and you can't contact them during the weekends.

TradeStation Global operates a customer service which you can contact. Additionally, you can also contact Interactive Brokers' customer service.

• phone
• email

We were satisfied with the phone support. The agent was connected within a minute and we got relevant answers.

Email support is also great. We wrote altogether four letters and the replies were always fast, more times within an hour. Furthermore, the answers were helpful and contained all information.

We missed the chat function and the 24/7 availability. 

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TradeStation Global review
Education 0 stars

TradeStation Global does not offer education.

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TradeStation Global review
Safety

TradeStation Global, the introducing broker is regulated by the top-tier FCA. You will be the client of Interactive Brokers. Both TradeStation's parent and IB are regulated by top tier regulators and are listed companies.

TradeStation Global is the brand, it is provided by the UK TradeStation International Ltd., a subsidiary of TradeStation US. Is TradeStation Global safe? To be certain, it is best to check two things: how you are protected if something goes south and what the background of the broker is.

How you are protected

TradeStation Global is an introducing broker of Interactive Brokers. Think like an agent. In case TradeStation Global defaults, your assets would be with Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers is regulated by the UK FCA.

This matters because you get the UK investor protection amount, called FSCS. It is £50,000 per account. The provided amount is higher than most European investor protection schemes. 

You will get negative balance protection for CFDs through Interactive Brokers.

Background

TradeStation Global is the brand offered by TradeStation International Ltd. TradeStation International Ltd. is owned by TradeStation, a US broker, established in 1982. TradeStation International is around since 2004. It started to offer TradeStation Global in 2018. Interactive Brokers, which provides the service, is around since 1978. The longer the track record, the better. It means the company was able to manage financially through tough times. Both IB and TradeStation have long track records.

Being regulated by the FCA and having strong parent companies are all great signs for TradeStation Global's safety.

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TradeStation Global review
Bottom line

TradeStation Global has low trading fees and financing rate, a lot of products on a lot of markets, and a great customer support. The TradeStation Global desktop platform has great tools, like a charting tool with a lot of indicators, a highly customizable watchlist (Radar Screen), and visualized order placing (Matrix).

On the other hand, the deposit and withdrawal are not user-friendly and you can use only bank transfer. The account opening is complicated and there is a $5,000 minimum account balance. Lastly, the web trading platform is under-developed and not user-friendly. 

Feel free to try TradeStation if you prefer low fees and a lot of products. 

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