Trade Republic, the Berlin-based digital investment platform, offers investors in Ireland access to over 9,000 stocks and ETFs through a smartphone app. With a focus on transparency and low fees, Trade Republic is becoming a popular choice for Irish investors looking for an affordable and accessible trading platform.
Trade Republic also pay interest on any cash held in your account. (You don’t have to trade shares if you don’t want to.)
Low Fees and No Commission
Trade Republic charges a flat fee of €1 per trade.
However , there are no buying fees when you set up a savings plan. See below for more details on savings plans at Trade Republic.
You don’t pay any custody fees for the administration and safekeeping of securities at Trade Republic.
There are no fees for the payment of dividends.
Depositing funds at Trade Republic by bank transfer is also free.
Customers can also deposit money using a credit card , Google Pay or Apple Pay with no fees on the first deposit – but with a 0.7% fee on all subsequent deposits. So it’s best to use a bank transfer after your first deposit.
Interest on Cash
Any cash you hold on account at Trade Republic earns interest. At the moment (Aug 2023) the interest rate is 2%.
Lightyear is another investment platform that pays interest on any uninvested cash in EUR, GBP & USD Their current interest rates are shown below:-
| Lightyear Interest Rates | |
|---|---|
| Currency | Interest Rate |
| Euro | 3.25% |
| GBP | 4.5% |
| USD | 4.5% |
See how the interest rates at Trade Republic and Lightyear compare to other savings institutions here: Deposit Interest Rates Compared
Stocks Available at Trade Republic.
You can trade more than 6,500 international stocks at Trade Republic . The list of stocks includes almost all stocks from the German market as well as a good selection from other European countries, the USA , Asia ,UK and Ireland .
There are also more than 2000 ETFs available to trade at Trade Republic
Savings Plans
Trade Republic offers automated savings plans with no buying charges.
It is easy to set up one or more savings plans with a set amount to be invested at regular intervals into your chosen stocks/ETFs. You can choose to buy weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. You can choose a single stock or ETF or multiples. The amount can be changed or the savings plan cancelled at any time – there is no minimum investment term
Savings plans are free by default, with a minimum investment of €1. There is just a €1 fee when you sell.
Trade Republic offers a large selection of free ETF and stock savings plans. Vanguard, Invesco, Ishares, Xtracker VanEck and other well-known ETF issuers are now available on the platform.
Not all shares and ETFs can be included in savings plans – but as of June 2023, over 2,500 stocks and 1970 ETFs were available to buy as part of a savings plan.
You can open an account at Trade Republic here.
Warning: Investing in stocks and shares involves the risk of loss because shares can fall in value as well as rise.
Security and Regulation
All Stock and ETF orders of Trade Republic customers are routed through Lang & Schwarz Exchange, an electronic trading system operated at Hamburg Stock Exchange.
Trade Republic are supervised by the Federal Bank of Germany and BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority).
Customer stocks / ETFs are held in a custody account and are not covered by the deposit guarantee scheme, they are your property instead.
Trade Republic work with bank partners such as Citibank, J.P. Morgan SE Deutsche Bank and Solaris SE,to securely hold your cash deposits.
When we set up an account at Trade Republic to test things out – our cash was held with Citibank.
Deposits at Citibank Europe are covered by the Irish Bank Guarantee. All the other banks fall under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme
Investing in the stock markets carries risk: the value of investments can go up as well as down and you may receive back less than your original investment. Individual investors should make their own decisions or seek independent advice.
By offering such low fees, Trade Republic is making it easier for people to invest their money in stocks and ETFs without incurring significant costs.
They are competing with the likes of Degiro and Etoro
See how their fees compare with these competitors as well as some of the traditional stockbrokers :
Share Trading Fees in Ireland Compared.
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