If it is only a question of management costs, every free share deposit account is necessarily the same. Consequently, other factors have to be taken into account when deciding which free online custody account is actually better. We explain!
1. custody fee and negative interest rate
Only some banks and brokers currently charge a fee for the securities held in the custody account. This is based on the current market value and is less than 0.5%.
Negative interest on cash deposits, on the other hand, is widespread. 0.5 % on the credit balance in the clearing account from a value of EUR 25,000 or EUR 100,000 is common. https://exness-ar.com/login/, for example, does not charge interest on credit balances.
2 Order costs
New brokers such as Smartbroker are particularly convincing here, as they do not charge any order fees on a specific stock exchange or for a minimum investment amount. Otherwise, order fees for share trading range from EUR 3.50 to EUR 10 and for savings plan executions from 0 to 2.5% of the savings rate. In addition, all banks and brokers also offer promotional securities that can be saved in at a discount or free of charge.
3. trading options
The choice of stock exchanges and trading partners for over-the-counter direct trading is also critical. Especially if foreign securities are to be traded, a connection to international stock exchanges is necessary. However, particularly low-cost online brokers do not offer this for cost reasons. Trading in cryptocurrencies is also rarely supported; many only offer a handful of ETFs on bitcoin.
4. trading software and real-time prices
The cheaper an online custody account is, the fewer functions it usually offers. If you need professional trading software or real-time prices for special market segments, you will find them mainly at branch and direct banks.
5 Additional services
In addition to a trading app or stock app, these also include learning opportunities in the form of tutorials and webinars, a 24-hour hotline, a demo account/watchlist or access to a news portal.
These securities account fees apply
Free of charge does not mean free of charge. Many banks and brokers offer online securities accounts without management fees. But these are only part of a whole range of possible costs that can arise when trading securities via an online securities account. We briefly present the most important ones:
1. custody fees and negative interest rates
As already mentioned above, some custody account providers charge fees on the securities held in custody or the deposited credit balance. Negative interest is usually charged on amounts exceeding about EUR 100,000. The custody fee, on the other hand - if it is charged - is always calculated on the basis of the current market value and is between 0.1 and 0.5%.
2. trading costs
These include the broker-side order costs, but also the stock exchange fees and the front-end load of fund providers. Depending on the broker, exchange, asset class and investment volume, the trading costs per transaction can range from 0 to several hundred euros. This also includes the adjustment, pausing or cancellation of orders. These are free of charge with almost all custody account providers.