What Is Freedom 24?
Freedom 24 was founded in 2008 and is a part of the publicly traded company Freedom Holdings Corp (FRHC).
Collectively, they offer investment services all over the world but are most prominent in the US, Russian and Kazakstan markets.
With influence far and wide, the companies snapshot is impressive with:
- Over 75 offices in 7 countries
- $523m in group assets
- $142m in equity
- 2000 employees with 10+ years of experience in finance
Freedom 24 specifically, was designed as an online portal in which investors could access a range of financial instruments in the American, European and Asian markets.
So how does Freedom 24 separate itself from big competitors like Trading 212 that also offer similar instruments?
They allow users to invest in US IPOs and are one of very few European companies able to do so.
IPOs, short for Initial Public Offers, were historically reserved for institutions and wealthy investors who wanted to invest in the first shares issued by the business.
However, we live in a world today in which the financial markets are somewhat more democratised- allowing average investors like me and you to invest in IPOs with as little as $2,000.
Why is this so important?
Buying the initial shares of a company can be highly profitable.
According to Freedom 24, IPOs that they have listed on their site in the past 3 months have produced an average return of 64% after the lockup period has expired.
Now, of course, all investments carry risk and prior returns are not indicative of future gains.
However, it’s undeniable that this is one of the site’s main attractions.
How Does Freedom 24 Work?
In order to use Freedom 24, all you need to do is sign up online– a process that takes as little as 10 minutes.
Once you’ve signed up and deposited, you’ll have access to an array of financial instruments.
At the time of writing, Freedom 24 offers over 1,000,000 instruments including:
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Futures
- Options
- IPOs
When you find, for example, a stock you would like to invest in you simply ‘add it to cart’ using the icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Features
- Invest in European, US, Russian and Hong Kong stock exchanges– Access a wide variety of markets at the touch of a button
- IPO reminders- Recieve reminders when companies are issuing their initial public offerings
- Invest Ideas- Insightful articles written by professionals on potential investment ideas
- News Hub- Posts that keep you up to date with the latest company news
Is Freedom 24 Safe?
Freedom 24 is fully compliant with MiFID II, a regulatory framework that ensures the highest level of investor protection possible.
Freedom 24 is regulated by:
- CySEC– Cyprus securities and exchange commission
- BaFin– Financial regulatory authority of Germany
- SEC– Enforces security laws and prevents market manipulation tactics
According to Creditsafe, the company is rated as an A, which means very low risk.
Fees
Freedom 24 have 4 tariffs available that each has their own set of fees, let’s take a look at each one side by side.
| Promotion | Smart | Fix | Super | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee/month | € 0 /month | € 0 /month | € 10 /month | € 200 /month |
| Stocks and ETFs, USA / Europe / Asia Commission per share + minimum per order | 0 $/€ 0 $/€ | 0.02 $/€ 2 $/€ | 0.012 $/€ 1.2 $/€ | 0.008 $/€ 1.2 $/€ |
| Stocks and ETFs, Russia/Ukraine Stocks and bonds Minimum per trade | 0% 0% | 0.08% 0.2 $ | 0.04% 0.2 $ | 0.03% 0.2 $ |
| FORTS Activation Per contract | 0 € 0 ₽ | 20 € 5 ₽ | 20 € 5 ₽ | 20 € 5 ₽ |
| USA Stock Options Fee per trade + Per contract | N/A N/A | 7.95 $ 1 $ | 7.95 $ 1 $ | 7.95 $ 1 $ |
| Margin lending | 12% | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| SMS notification | N/A | 0.05 € | 0.03 € | 0.00 € |
Below you’ll also find additional fees.
Withdrawal via bank transfer- €7
Depository commission for debiting/crediting securities:
Crediting securities- $0
Debuting securities- $60
Storage of securities is free of charge
Participation in IPOs:
The commission per trade depends on the value of the assets on the client’s brokerage account at the end of the working day preceding the date of the IPO.
Less than $20,000: 5% of the trade amount
From $20,000 to $49,999: 4% from the trade amount
From $50,000: 3% of the transaction amount
Sales commission 0.5% of the transaction amount
OTC trading:
Brokerage comission- 0.12% of trade volume
Depository commission for the transaction:
Depository commission- $30 per settled trade
So as you can see, Freedom 24 has a few different types of fees you can be charged for, however, with planning you can avoid many.
Freedom 24 Reviews
According to Trustpilot, Freedom 24 is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars.
However, this score of ‘great’ is made up of only 137 Freedom 24 reviews.
82% rated them 5 stars, with 7% rating them at a 1-star rating.
Positive Freedom 24 reviews include remarks like:
- Very easy to use
- Quick verification process
- Wide variety of investment products
Negative Freedom 24 reviews note things like:
- Troubles withdrawing funds
- Customer service issues
Verdict
Freedom 24 is an interesting alternative to some of the big-name brokers in Europe like Etoro.
It offers a wide range of instruments in markets that aren’t commonly accessible in the western world, like Russia and Hong Kong.
And let’s not forget its main attraction, the chance to invest in the initial public offerings of US companies.
However, this site does come at a price- in the form of little fees that can soon add up if you’re not careful.
So if you’re not willing to do a little planning I would look into some of the other brokers out there.
On the other hand, if you’re a forward-thinking investor looking to take advantage of markets across the globe, Freedom 24 is worth considering.
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