Review of Skilling Broker
Trading with Skilling – A New Broker Quickly Growing
We review a new brokerage quickly building its services and user base. Skilling is an emerging European-based online broker. Although the broker is not ideal for every trader, there are some significant upsides to their services.
The Skilling Mission
Skilling is an online broker that provides services to users in multiple European countries. The company is headquartered in Cyprus and also has offices in both Malta and Spain. The Skilling mission is noted to be making the markets “simple, accessible, and transparent” to traders of all levels. Although the company was founded recently in 2016, it has quickly been growing.
In the start of 2019, the company extended its services to users from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, and Germany. The team has also quickly grown to over 35 employees. The company is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The broker supports the following currencies:
EUR
USD
GBP
NOK
SEK
Skilling provides its services in a number of different languages to cater to its European user base. Languages supported include German, Norwegian, Swedish, and Spanish.
Skilling Broker Account Types
Skilling has two tiers of account – standard and premium. Premium accounts require at least €5,000 as a minimum deposit. The premium accounts benefit from lower spreads in products as well as lower ongoing fees for positions which remain open. As per usual standards of regulated brokerage businesses, all clients funds regardless of account type are kept in segregated accounts.
Trading Markets & Products
Skilling provides access to a number of markets through contract for difference (CFD) products which track the price of the different markets. CFDs allow a trader to speculate on the price movements in a market without having to own the actual underlying instrument. The markets catered for include equities, commodities, forex, indices, and even cryptocurrencies. The following table gives an indication of the span of markets which Skilling makes accessible to traders.
| Market (provided through CFD products) | Number |
|---|---|
| Forex | 73 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 10 |
| Indices | 17 |
| Commodities | 5 |
| Equities | >700 |
While the market is currently more limited when compared to other brokers which have been operating for longer, the markets provided have been quickly expanding over the brief history of the company. The products provided are over-the-counter in nature. Traders using the service deal directly with Skilling as a dealer. This means that Skilling determines the pricing and the prices may deviate sometimes from the underlying instrument they are intended to track. The opening hours for the above-listed markets vary and can be found on the Skilling website.
The cryptocurrency markets offered include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, Ethereum, Litecoin and 5 more popular cryptos. With cryptocurrencies still at an emerging stage as an asset class, it is a big advantage to traders that Skilling has ten products available to speculate on this new market. Most other brokers have far less and sometimes no products tracking the prices of this new asset class.
The biggest market available on Skilling is equities. Equities are available from the US, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Norway, and Sweden with over 700 instruments in total. The equity markets offered from Skilling is also quickly growing. Skilling extended the services it offers to several new markets at the start of 2019 and this is expected to extend to even more countries in the coming years.
Skilling Trading Platforms and Features
Skilling has their own proprietary trading platform for users. The trading platforms are available through the web browser. Customers have noted that the mobile is just as good as the web version if not better. This is a big plus for those traders that try to squeeze some market speculation hours in while on the go or in the office.
One big limitation with the trading platform is only market orders can be executed. This can be a big drawback for professional traders and users who wish to carefully pick their entry points. Users of the trading platform can leverage positions with the maximum margin ratio being 1:30. Technical analysis tools are available with over 70 indicators at the disposal of users. The trading platform also has research integrated into the dashboard so users can gain insights from third-party providers.
What are the Skilling fees?
Skilling mainly charges their customers through the spread in the markets they offer. Only two markets are charged a commission and these charges only apply to premium accounts. These two markets are forex which charges a 0.035% commission on nominal value and also precious metals which charge a 0.006% commission on nominal value traded. These commission fees apply to both the opening and the closing of trades.
There are also ongoing fees charged for positions which remain open. These are called swapped points and vary based on market conditions. This means traders need to continuously monitor the website if they wish to be updated with these. However, the equation by which these swap rates are calculated is clearly disclosed on the website. Pro premium accounts benefit from lower fees in this regard and also have access to lower spreads in the products which they trade.
What else does Skilling do?
Skilling has a comprehensive area dedicated to educating users and potential users on terminology related to the market as well as how to use their platform and tools. Skilling Academy takes users through the key elements to understand about markets and also analysis tools. With an important part of trading being able to gain an edge over the markets using analysis, these resources can be useful for traders looking to strengthen their analytical skills.
Skilling also offers a demo account which allows users to try their platform before opening a funded account. This demo account also allows users to assess whether they are profitable before trading with real money. Demo accounts are funded with $10,000 in virtual money.
Why trade with Skilling?
Although Skilling is a relatively new brokerage business, it has a lot to offer users and is quickly growing. Given the early stage that the business is in, there are both upsides and downsides for potential users. Customers will have a lot of support from the business given that the user base is still growing. Users can also set up a standard account for relatively little when compared with other major brokerages. Some online brokerages have significant barriers to entry with extremely high minimum deposits. While there are some downsides to the trading platform, traders can always make use of the demo account to see if the service is a match for their requirements.