Degiro

DEGIRO is a European brokerage company, based in Amsterdam. It was founded in 2008 by a group of five former employees of Binck Bank to service the professional market.[1] In 2013, DEGIRO started offering its stockbrokerage services to retail investors, giving them online access to security exchanges worldwide.[2] Investors can buy and sell such securities as common and preferred stocks, fixed income (bonds), options, mutual funds, warrants and ETFs via an electronic trading platform or by phone.

DEGIRO B.V.
TypePrivate Limited Company
IndustryFinancial Services
Founded2008
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
ServicesStockbroker
Electronic trading platform
Websitewww.degirogroup.com, www.degiro.co.uk

History

DEGIRO was established in 2008. On 23 September 2013,[3] DEGIRO launched its services for retail clients in the Netherlands. In 2014 and 2015 DEGIRO then expanded to offer its platform across other European countries.

On 22 September 2014, Euronext announced its partnership with DEGIRO[4] regarding the distribution of retail services of Euronext. Upon publishing the third quarter results for 2014, the partnership was seen as a plan for Euronext to compete more effectively on the Dutch retail segment.[5]

The company launched its English-language platform in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2015.[6] The countries they now offer services to are Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Czech republic, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland and Ireland.

In December 2019, flatex AG (a German online broker) announced to acquire 100% of DEGIRO, but keep the existing DEGIRO brand.[7] In July 2020, they closed the "transaction of acquiring 100% of DEGIRO shares".[8]

Regulatory

DEGIRO is supervised by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)[9] and under prudential supervision of the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). It is also registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).[10]

Trading platforms

Degiro supplies its clients with a browser-based HTML trading platform developed in-house, for desktop and mobile devices. It features free real-time streaming prices on certain European stocks, as well as five levels order book. The platform supports combined orders (spread portfolio compilation), and the company has announced plans for fractional investing (investing in fractions of products).

Awards

In the Netherlands, DEGIRO earned the first place in a 2015 survey for the cheapest broker in Financieel Dagblad.[11] In 2014, VEB[12] considered DEGIRO to be the cheapest broker for investments in shares, bonds, options and turbos and in the same year, Beleggers Belangen[13] elected the company as the #1 Dutch broker in regard to costs, trade opportunities, convenience and service. Consumentenbond, a Dutch non-profit organization which promotes consumer protection considered DEGIRO to be the cheapest Dutch broker. DEGIRO also won the Golden Bull Award in 2015, where Dutch brokers are judged in different categories, such as trading opportunities, commission fees, terms and conditions and investment tools.[14]

Internationally, DEGIRO has been awarded by Privata Affärer[15] in Sweden and by Finanztreff[16] in Germany, due to the low trading prices for retail clients.

Critics

While the broker received various awards, there also have been critical reactions. The process of internalization of customer's orders against DeGiro's own hedge fund HiQ Market Neutral fund was subject of investigative press.[17] Clients were denied execution of passive orders, because the internalizer jumped in front of them.[18]

References
  1. "About DEGIRO – The first Pan European broker". www.degirogroup.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. Clinch, Matt (15 June 2015). "Is this the end of 'rip-off' stockbroker fees?". CNBC.
  3. "DeGiro stunt met brokertarieven" (in Dutch). IEX. 23 September 2013.
  4. "Euronext to Partner with Degiro on Dutch Retail Investor Services". 22 September 2014.
  5. "Euronext Publishes Third Quarter 2014 Results". Reuters. 6 November 2014.
  6. "Cheapest-ever broker lets you trade shares for less than £2". Telegraph. 11 June 2015.
  7. https://www.flatex.com/fileadmin/fintech_relaunch/Public/pdf/news/2020/pm/flatex_-_Regulatory_DNO_Approval_EN.pdf
  8. https://www.flatex.com/fileadmin/fintech_relaunch/Public/pdf/news/2020/pm/flatex_-_DEGIRO_closing_EN.pdf
  9. "AFM Degiro". 1 August 2019.
  10. "FCA Degiro". 1 August 2019.
  11. "Onlinebrokers staken hun prijzenslag(Dutch)". 13 March 2015.
  12. "Brokeronderzoek2014; de onderzoeksresultaten (Dutch)". 21 March 2014.
  13. "Brokeronderzoek: we have a winner". 4 December 2014.
  14. "Best Broker 2015 Award".
  15. "Här är sju Årets Bank-pristagare till (Swedish)". 22 December 2014.
  16. "Geldanlage & Altersvorsorge: Rechner, Vergleiche & News". www.finanztreff.de. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  17. Amsterdamtrader.com, How DeGiro Screws Clients, 20 October 2015
  18. "DEGIRO Reviews | Customer Service Reviews of DEGIRO". Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  • Media related to Degiro at Wikimedia Commons
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