But does it live up to the hype? Is it really easy to make money simply by automatically copying top traders and investors? We looked at the reality behind the headlines in our in-depth eToro review Big time trading in stocks and shares has traditionally been the preserve of Wall Street traders but a combination of financial deregulation and the internet has brought stock market trading to the masses. The question most people want to know right from the start however is can you make money with eToro?

Imagine if you mixed Facebook with a stock trading platform and you get a pretty basic idea of what eToro is all about. Although RetailFX started life as one of the best Forex trading platformsit was eventually renamed eToro and now allows you to buy anything from Forex, stocks and shares to mutual funds with a user base of approximately 5 million traders worldwide. The reality is that you have to invest time in choosing your top traders carefully and then monitor them closely but by doing so, you can realistically expect steady returns on your investment — certainly a lot more than leaving it in the bank.

This applies to all trading and gambling platforms in the US like eToro that use spreads and you can read more about why it affects US users only in this Forbes article. There is still a dormant eToro USA site however which states that eToro is a registered broker in the USA and regulated by both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC and is a member of the National Futures Association NFA. It seems therefore that eToro plans to operate in the USA but legal obstacles mean it may not be for some time.

For US users, we recommend reading our guide to the best stock trading platforms which features many other services which are available in the USA.

We can guarantee you that eToro is definitely not a scam and because it operates worldwide, it is regulated by multiple agencies. Wherever you are located, eToro will be regulated by at least one financial authority in your region. In Europe for example, eToro is regulated by both CySEC in Cyprus and in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority FCA in the UK. It also complies and operates under the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive MiFID.

In Australia, eToro is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC. As such, eToro has to comply with strict financial regulations just like a bank does. Many complaints seem to over problems with payouts because users have not verified their address and phone number with eToro. The reason for this is that eToro has a vested interest in users making the money — the more money you make, the more money eToro makes from spreads see section on how eToro makes money below.

The only difference is the price of their spreads compared to other stock trading platforms. The bottom line is that eToro is legit but profit and loss is entirely down to how you use it. However, you should be aware that no trader no matter how good they are can predict the direction of the markets over the long-term, especially when it comes to something as volatile as Forex.

Even if a trader has millions of people copying them, it can all go horribly wrong in an instant.

Finally, there will always be traders out there looking to make an easy buck. This means that statistically, they may appear successful but behind the numbers they are hiding trades that are either incredibly risky or that could blow up at any minute. We look at how to avoid copying scam traders later on in this eToro review. However, you can sign-up and use a demo account absolutely free with no investment of real money.

There are also no commissions on penguin gold money maker 2010 or deposits although there are withdrawal fees for withdrawing profits from your eToro account. One earn money with etoro curious thing we found about eToro is that nowhere on the website does it show you how to sign-up for a demo account. Almost all trading platforms offer a demo or paper trading account so that you can practice with pretend or fake currency before taking the plunge.

To sign-up for an eToro accountgo to the eToro home page and fill in the sign-up form with your name, create a username, create a password and enter your telephone number. If other traders copy you, you also earn a share of their profits in what eToro calls the Popular Investor program.

Your phone number is used to verify your account if you intend to trade for real. This is good in terms of peace of mind that eToro is a reputable financial organization but it does add the extra hassle of needing to scan and send in some form of ID. Information required in the profile includes your address which is not displayed publiclytrading experience, attitude towards risk, financial status and finally, phone verification via SMS or call.

You can transfer money into your eToro account via several different methods including wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, WebMoney and MoneyBookers.

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You can do whatever you want with this and not lose a penny of real money which is where the fun really starts. For most people who have opened an eToro account, the CopyTrader system is the biggest attraction and starting point. Just copy the top traders and watch the dollars roll in right? There are some serious pitfalls and things to be aware of before you trust another trader.

The main thing is to be very careful which traders you choose to copy. We also highlight a few essential identification requirements that are necessary before you can even start trading on eToro. The criteria you choose for the traders you choose to copy is the most crucial aspect of making money on eToro.

There are several different parameters and settings you can configure here. Most of them are self-explanatory relating to how active the traders are. This simply means that they are using their real name and photo in their eToro profile.

There are some good traders who prefer not to use their real name or photos who still make good money. The important thing you should be looking for is their performance, rather than theur identity. The cool thing about CopyTrader is that if you choose who to copy wisely and start making serious money, you will also be recognized as a Popular Investor and attract other users to copy you. The most interesting view is the Portfolio view which shows how your money is performing earn money with etoro real-time.

Stock market portfolio neopets gives a clear overview of which of your CopyTraders and investments are performing the best. CopyFunds are a new feature of eToro that bring the Copy Trader concept with Mutual Funds investing. Mutual Funds are a collection of stocks that spread the risk of investment.

So for example, the BigTech CopyFund includes investments in Microsoft, Google, Apple etc. If one company performs badly but others perform better than it balances out the risk of investing in just one company. This is quite an exciting development in eToro as mutual funds are generally one of the most reliable investments you can make over the long-term. Harnessing the copy trading power of eToro with the earning potential of mutual funds is therefore potentially highly profitable indeed.

In our tests, we found that CopyFunds were extremely profitable compared to copying individual traders but they were also more volatile. Like most mutual funds, CopyFunds are a meant to be a long-term investment that you leave alone over time to grow and you will notice a lot of volatility on a daily basis.

For experienced traders, eToro will also feel quite basic and limited, especially when it comes to technical analysis. There are no advanced services such as DMA, STP, ECN or VPS for example. If you actively monitor the CopyTrader and CopyFund system however and use it cautiously, eToro is a far better idea than jumping into the stock market for the first time and trying to trade on your own.

To get an idea of how eToro compares to other stock trading platform and what other options are out there, we recommend reading our guide to the best stock trading platform.

eToro Money Making Guide | The Cash Diaries

Finally, it should go without saying that you should never invest more in eToro than you can afford to lose. Financial markets can be very volatile turning suddenly or unexpectedly and even the best traders lose money. You need a strong stomach to ride out the peaks and troughs of trading and you can even end up losing everything you invested if the market turns on you.

One way you can protect yourself from this is by using stop-outs so that your trades are stopped once the market falls below a certain value. Another is to approach trading, like all investments, with a long term view.

Traders rarely make big gains over the short haul but are rewarded for persevering over the long term. However, the best advice of all is to only risk capital than you can afford to lose. We would never recommend using eToro as your main source of income. MacHow2 is devoted to helping you get the most of of your Mac. We're passionate about all things Mac and OS X whether it's helping users with software recommendations or solving technical problems on Mac.

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How to invest in the stock market using eToro - Save the Student

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