Saxo Bank Review 2024

This review is focused on Saxo’s personal banking products in the UK. Account details and annual percentage rates are accurate as of February 2024. 

Saxo Bank: a round up

Saxo offers more than 71,000 investing products to choose from. This includes over 23,500 stocks, 7,000 ETFs and 5,900 government and corporate bonds. 

There is no minimum funding requirement to get started with Saxo, which potentially makes the platform more appealing to investors with smaller portfolios to manage. In January 2024, Saxo scrapped its platform and custody fees.

Saxo offers a wide range of educational resources that offer market insight and explainers about the platform to help investors get the most out of their experience. 

Note: all investing is speculative, your capital is at risk and you could lose some, or all, of your money. 

What plans are available?

Saxo offers the following three tiers:

• Classic: digital service and support (no funding minimum)
• Platinum: priority support (minimum funding of £200,000)
• VIP: offers ‘best’ prices, priority support and one-to-one ‘expert’ meet-ups (minimum funding of £1 million required)

When opening a Saxo account, the initial deposit amount determines which tier customers are placed in. However, it’s possible to qualify for an upgrade by earning reward points which investors can collect each time they make a trade through the platform. After 12 months of trading, the tier is automatically adjusted to reflect the number of reward points a customer has earned.

What products are available?

• Share dealing account
• Individual Savings Account (ISA)
• Self Invested Personal Pension

What are the investment choices?

Saxo offers a range of investments including more than:

• 23,500 stocks from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific
• 5,900 government and corporate bonds
• 7,000 ETFs
• 5,100 funds

What else does Saxo Bank offer?

• Ready-made portfolios: a choice of seven ready-made portfolios selected and managed by Saxo’s in-house team in partnership with asset managers including BlackRock and Morningstar. Investors can select from defensive to maximum growth portfolios that cater to low, medium and high risk appetites

• Education: offers a range of educational resources including extensive market analysis and investment commentary. Investors can also access interactive resources such as video guides and podcasts on different investing topics. Saxo also offers live events and webinars with investing experts covering technical analysis of market trends and opportunities

• Apps: Saxo’s investing app is available on both Android and iOS devices

• Trading platforms: investors can also use TradingView and Dynamic Trend third-party platforms

• Trade management and analytics tools:  investors can use tools such as Excel, MultiCharts, and Updata to manage and analyse their portfolios

• Security: Saxo is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Saxo uses third-party banks and custodians to hold customers’ funds, which protects customers’ money in the event that it goes into liquidation. 

What about fees and charges?

How does Saxo rank on customer service?

Saxo Group has a 3.8 star rating (out of five) based on 5,160 reviews on Trustpilot (as of February 2024.)

Positive reviews highlighted the platform’s ease of use and friendly customer service. Negative reviews of the platform shared difficulties withdrawing funds and accessing webinars.

Who might choose Saxo Bank?

Saxo offers trading tools that could suit more experienced investors. Those who are new to investing may need to allow themselves more time to become familiar with them. Saxo offers guides and resources which explain how to use and get the most out of the platform. 

There’s also plenty of research, market analysis, and events to help both beginners, as well as those who are more experienced to investing, make informed decisions about their investments.  

Saxo offers a wide range of investments available which may also suit investors looking for a diverse selection of investment options. A scrapping of custody and platform fees should also make the platform more competitive in the wider market place.

How do I open an account?

Most applications are approved digitally, some within minutes, however, the process may take longer if additional security checks are required.

Saxo will ask you to upload one of the following documents as proof of your name and address:

• credit card statement, bank statement, utility bill from within the last 6 months

• your latest tax statement issued within the last year. 

How do I fund a Saxo account?

The initial funding of your Saxo account can only be completed via bank or wire transfer. Once an account has been set up, you can then top up using a debit card. It’s worth noting that you can only fund an individual savings account, or ISA, using a bank transfer. 

How do I transfer investments into a Saxo account?

Customers can transfer existing shares, funds and ETFs held in general trading accounts, ISAs and SIPPs into an equivalent Saxo account through the online platform. 

Note that transfer requests can take between six and 10 weeks to process and, in some cases, longer. 

Prior to making a transfer, check if the existing provider charges an exit fee for moving investments to a new firm. Similarly, for pensions, it’s important to check whether any key benefits or guarantees may be transferred. 

How do I withdraw money from my Saxo account?

Customers are required to add a nominated bank account to be able to withdraw money from Saxo. Withdrawals made before 2pm will be processed the following business day. This may take longer, however, if issues arise with the transfer or details are incorrect. 

Is Saxo safe?

Saxo is regulated by the FCA, meaning that its systems and policies meet the industry standard.

Investments come with ‘trust status’ which means that client investments, including cash, are ring-fenced from the firm’s creditors if Saxo ever becomes insolvent. This also means that customers’ money cannot be used for the company’s daily operations. 

Customer funds are also protected under the  Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This covers up to £85,000 of investor funds per person, per banking group should Saxo go bust. 

It’s worth noting that FSCS protection does not apply to fluctuations in the value of underlying investments, meaning that your investments are not covered against the risk that their value decreases.