eToro is a privately-owned company with over 30 million customers. Accounts include a trading account and ISA (through a partnership with Moneyfarm).
Its demo account provides a good selection of investments, with over 3,400 shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), available directly and through contracts for difference (CFDs). Investors can also trade in cryptocurrencies, commodities, foreign currency and indices.
The demo account is user-friendly and provides live positions for each investment in the portfolio. Advanced trading tools include stop losses, trailing stop losses and take profit orders. Investors also have the option of adding leverage to their trades, with overnight fees for open positions shown.
In terms of research, investors can see the current ‘sentiment’ for each investment, showing the percentage of investors that have a buy position. They also have access to price charts, along with key ratios. However, the analysis and news sections are only available to investors with funded accounts.
One of the drawbacks is that trades are carried out in US dollars, including UK shares denominated in pounds sterling (meaning that investments are subject to foreign exchange movements). It also has a more limited selection of shares relative to some accounts.
Overall, eToro’s demo account is an excellent all-rounder, offering the highest virtual funds with no time limit, along with in-depth research and advanced trading tools.
