eToro, the trading and investing platform, has over 33 million customers worldwide, with a tenth residing in the UK. To improve the trading experience for this segment, eToro is adding more than 1,000 UK stocks to its platform after enhancing its access to London Stock Exchange market data.
3.8 million registered UK eToro users will now be able to trade smaller stocks alongside the 400-plus UK companies they already have access to. The additional stocks will be added to the platform in a phased approach over the coming months.
In the past year, eToro launched its first ISA product through its Canary Wharf-based UK arm of the business, partnering with Moneyfarm. In March, the trading and investment platform also began a gradual rollout allowing users in the UK to invest directly from their ‘GBP eToro Money’ accounts. All of this is aligned with the company’s focus on localising its offering to meet UK consumers’ demand.
As well as giving users access to data on many more stocks, the deal with the London Stock Exchange will also see eToro users benefit from higher-quality pricing data, enhancing the trading experience on the platform.
Commenting on the news, Dan Moczulski, UK managing director at eToro said: “Since we launched in the UK more than 10 years ago, we’ve been embraced by the UK’s rapidly growing retail investor community. Our new relationship with the London Stock Exchange allows us to enrich the equity investing experience for our UK users, with more than twice as many UK stocks now on offer.
“For a long time we’ve offered leading global market coverage but we are now adding more depth in local markets. As we continue to enhance the local trading and investing experience for our users around the world, relationships with exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange will be crucial. We are really excited to be working even more closely with them and look forward to building on this relationship with more joint initiatives.”
UK investment trends
eToro analysed data from its latest Retail Investor Beat, which includes responses from 1,000 UK-based retail investors. It shows that locally-listed equities are the second most held asset class (determined by exposure in their portfolio) amongst this group, only being surpassed by cash (82 per cent).
The report also reveals that UK retail investors are more likely to back the UK market over other global stock markets to deliver the strongest returns over the long term (i.e more than five years), with 22 per cent doing so, followed by the US (19 per cent) and emerging markets (16 per cent).
Geoff Hammond, head of market data, the London Stock Exchange said: “We are delighted that eToro has chosen London Stock Exchange data to power their trading and investing platform, delivering better outcomes for eToro users looking to invest in UK-listed companies. We continue to invest in our market data products to ensure investors have access to the best information available when investing in our markets.”
