Multi-asset investing platform eToro is bringing commission-free stocks trading to Asia Pacific for all stocks on its platform that are traded on Nasdaq and NYSE, the firm announced on Monday.
Effective immediately, this move follows its roll-out in Europe in May 2019, making eToro the first platform to offer commission-free stocks and fractional shares globally. Stocks traded on Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges are among the platform's most popular stocks, representing 82 percent of all stocks traded on eToro globally, the company said in the announcement.
Described as a «social trading network,» eToro serves 13 million users in 100 countries worldwide. Using the platform, users can trade stocks, FX, commodities, indices, exchange-traded funds and crypto. They can also post-trading strategies for other traders to follow, or copy the portfolios and approaches of successful traders.
Competition Among Platforms
Stiff competition among trading platforms has seen brokerage firms go zero-commission on trades in recent years. In 2019, Charles Schwab announced it would eliminate commissions for retail and financial advisor clients, a move that was quickly matched by TD Ameritrade and Fidelity.
(Jasper Lee, managing director of eToro Asia)
«Online brokers reducing their fees to zero is the way things going. While it hasn't quite caught on in Asia Pacific at the moment, I believe it is going to be the trend,» Jasper Lee, managing director of eToro Asia, told finews.asia in an interview ahead of the announcement.
«We want to enable trading in a simple way. Aligning our commission-free model removes one of the main barriers to entry for most investors – costs,» Lee said.
Rapid Growth
Founded in 2007, the company expanded to Asia Pacific four years ago. The market is now one of its fastest-growing. «Our growth in Asia really picked up when we started localizing our offering in the region. We've seen a huge jump in the number of users here,» Lee said.
In the first four months of 2020, the platform saw 400 percent growth in the number of users from APAC investing for the first time, compared to the same period last year, according to the company.
Focus on Education
Lee said eToro is focusing its efforts in Asia on education and localizing its services for the platform to grow further.
«The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted our focus towards more online seminars and online education tools for users in Asia Pacific,» he said.
