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Plus500, a trademark of Plus500 Ltd, is a company who’s principal activity is offering online trading in contracts for difference, known as (CFDs), delivered through a proprietary trading platform via the web and other electronic channels.
Founded in 2008, the Israel-based company operates via several subsidiaries throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and is registered with the relevant regulatory authorities. Like many CFD brokers, Plus500 does not accept U.S. traders. The company does offer a new platform, TradeSniper, for trading futures. This platform is available to U.S. traders.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Plus500 Ltd (PLUS.L) is a publicly traded company that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a member of the FTSE 250. Plus500UK Ltd., a U.K.-based company with its offices located in the City of London, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA #509909). Plus500 Ltd., the parent company, is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.
The broker offers clients in more than 50 countries access to a comprehensive product line of CFDs on many instruments including forex, stock indices, individual shares, commodities, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies (availability subject to regulation). Plus500 is also the first broker to introduce a Bitcoin CFD in 2013. Moreover, the broker offers access to options CFDs trading on many markets. These allow you to speculate on the future price of the underlying reference instrument and differ from regular options in that they are cash settled.
WebTrader, Plus500’s proprietary platform, offers a streamlined trading experience that is stable and easy to access from multiple devices and systems (Windows PCs, web browsers, smartphones, and tablets).
WebTrader has a simple and easy-to-use interface that lets you create watchlists, analyze charts, as well as place and monitor trades. The technical analysis charts offer many technical indicators that you can apply to many different time frames, from tick charts to weekly charts. However, unlike many of its competitors, Plus500 does not offer the immensely popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform, a platform alternative that would provide more functionality and customization options for clients.
The most appealing feature of Plus500’s WebTrader and other versions of their platform is that it’s easy to use with layouts that will feel familiar to experienced traders. Clients can choose from more than 2,000 instruments, analyze their selection on a customizable technical analysis chart, and place their trade in just a few clicks, all within the same window. Unfortunately, Plus500 is a closed system. Advanced traders who rely on incorporating third-party analytical and automation tools in their trading process will be disappointed as none of these tools can be integrated directly.
As is the norm in the brokerage industry, Plus500 generates its revenues principally from customer trades that “cross” the bid/ask spread, which are competitive within the industry. The company does not charge commissions on any client transactions. The spread is stable with trade size, but obviously is paid on each unit.
Additionally, the broker also generates revenues by charging premiums, effectively a financing charge, on positions held overnight by clients, which may be subject to currency conversion charges if they trade in a currency other than the account’s base currency. Furthermore, there are fees for “guaranteed stop loss orders” (GSLO), and inactivity fees kick in after an account has no login activity for three months.
Traders can qualify for a “professional” account, which offers higher leverage, but the costs are the same. Investors with a professional account may increase their maximum leverage to as high as 1:300 for some instruments.
One of Plus500’s selling points is that it does not subject client accounts to ancillary fees. There are no charges for normal withdrawals or terminating an account. The minimum amount of money need to trade varies with the underlying instrument. Funding options include Visa or MasterCard debit/credit cards, e-wallets (PayPal or Skrill), and bank funds transfers.
Although location and language details are not fully disclosed on its website, Plus500 now offers a Live Chat function to go along with existing 24/7 WhatsApp chat and email support. The most glaring omission is the lack of a telephone number, even for sales inquiries. Prospective and current clients must submit inquiries through chat messages or an email ticketing system that is available 24/7. Despite the inability to communicate with a live representative via telephone, Investopedia received responses to each of the chats and emails submitted within a few minutes, which is a comparatively prompt response time. No in-person service at local branches exists.
We tested the email service. Their response to our request for average spread information on EUR/USD and USD/JPY was a bit strange in that they were not willing to disclose this. Plus500 states that its revenue is derived from the spread which would imply that this data would be collected and should be disclosed to prospective clients as other competitors do. The email response was a follows:
“Unfortunately, we are not able to provide the data you are requesting. In any case, these two FX pairs are offered with a dynamic spread, which follows the market spread and is added on top of it, as it is the main compensation for our services.”
The company acts as principal and hedges its exposure with its parent company to eliminate market risk and to ensure it is not exposed to material losses. While Plus500 does not provide additional deposit insurance, it is registered with the relevant regulatory authorities throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region:
In accordance with the U.K. FCA’s client money rules, Plus500 is required to take steps to ensure client funds are not commingled with corporate funds, thereby safeguarding client money and assets in the event that the company becomes insolvent, by holding those funds in segregated accounts at regulated banks.
If Plus500 defaults, any shortfall of funds up to £85,000 may be compensated for under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Plus500 also offers negative balance protection, which is mandated under ESMA rules that went into effect in 2018, ensuring that clients cannot lose more than they have put into their accounts.
Guaranteed stop loss orders can be used on some instruments depending on market conditions but they are subject to a wider spread.
There is a timer that will log the user out of both the web-based and mobile applications if they are not being used.
Please note that by investing in and/or trading financial instruments, commodities and any other assets, you are taking a high degree of risk and you can lose all your deposited money. You should engage in any such activity only if you are fully aware of the relevant risks. BrokerSelect does not provide investment or any other advice, for further information please read our General Terms and Conditions.