eToro Eliminates Stamp Duty on UK Shares, Launches Direct Investing

Clients of eToro can now invest directly in shares through the platform, according to an official company announcement. On a practical level, this means that investors can hold shares, cryptocurrencies, ETFS, and “thousands of other financial assets” in the same portfolio. In the past, eToro users were limited to invest in shares via a ‘contract for difference’ (CFD); now they can own the underlying assets themselves.

Nowhere gives the option to hold #crypto alongside stocks – until now that is. From today you have the power to invest in the assets you want to own, courtesy of eToro pic.twitter.com/lJPkf3aHxb

Time to buy the dip?

— eToro (@eToro) June 13, 2018

Additionally, eToro has announced that it will be absorbing stamp duty on the purchase of UK shares, and will not charge ticket or management fees to any user buy shares uk through eToro. The platform isn’t completely feeless, however; according to the announcement, “fees are included in the spread which is just 0.09% per side.”

eToro Wants to “Make it Easy to Invest”

Yoni Assia, founder and CEO of eToro, said that the decision to cut costs for users is part of an effort to “make it easy to invest”–and to make eToro the go-to investment platform.

“Price really matters and we think ticket and management fees are exactly the kind of old world practices that put many people off investing. That’s why we’re not charging them, and absorbing stamp duty to boot,” he said.
“[We are] rethinking some of the outdated practices investors might be used to from other investment providers. It also means we’ll continue to expand the range of assets we make available to our 10 million users.”

eToro has been working to expand its offering of assets over the past ten years. “Thousands” of shares are available across Europe, Asia, and the US; so far, ten cryptocurrencies are available on eToro. More coins will reportedly be added throughout this year.

eToro launched its cryptocurrency offering in the United States just last month. While Assia is well aware that the competition to gain crypto users in the US is fierce, Fortune reported that “he predicted the company’s unusual social media features would help it gain a foothold.”