Saxo Bank

An award-winning Danish online trading platform.

Photograph: Saxo Bank FB page

Text: Mariano Anthony Davies

Saxo is a leading online trading platform that connects investors and traders to global financial markets. As a fully regulated and licensed independent provider, its clients have secure access to more than 71,000 financial instruments.

Its journey began in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1992 with a clear vision: to make the global financial markets accessible for more people. In 1998, it launched one of the first online trading platforms in Europe, providing professional-grade tools and easy access to global financial markets for anyone who wanted to invest.

SaxoTraderPRO & SaxoTraderGO

Saxo’s award-winning flagship desktop platform is SaxoTraderPRO, which resembles SaxoTraderGO – look, feel and functionality are similar. However, the PRO platform offers a larger selection of professional trading features. For example, PRO supports up to six monitors, streaming Level 2 order books, streaming time and sales, and algorithmic orders. Furthermore, additional data subscriptions are required to use tools like the streaming Level 2 order book, which is a standard industry practice. Charting on SaxoTraderPRO is equally powerful as the web version. Subtle touches are seamlessly incorporated, such as the count-down timers, which display the time remaining in each candle.

The only minor drawback when comparing PRO to GO is that many of the research features that load by default in GO must be added manually using the “add module” tab. It is also worth noting that additional data subscriptions are required to use tools like the streaming Level 2 order book, though this is a standard industry practice. The desktop version of SaxoTraderPRO is immersive, especially when going full-screen on a large monitor.

The Tool provides a universal platform experience across devices, which is why it has been praised for its ease of use. The user experience across platforms and devices is consistent, and customised charts and watch lists automatically save and sync with the mobile app.

All in all, Saxo’s close attention to detail can be seen throughout its proprietary platforms. For example, in SaxoTraderGO, the trade ticket comes with advanced options such as the ability to switch between forex CFDs, futures, forwards, or forex options. Furthermore, the Quick Trade option allows you to set price tolerance for slippage when you need immediate fills.

For risk-management purposes, there is an Account Value Shield feature that lets you specify the maximum risk across your account balance. If triggered, this feature will attempt to close all open positions (except for bonds and mutual funds) – combined with at least thirteen advanced algorithmic order types available for various supported markets.

"Saxo Bank continues to trade with its headquarters in Denmark and, to date, has more than 72 nationalities employed in subsidiary offices in 15 countries."

Independent market research

According to independent market research, Saxo Bank appears to be obsessed with helping its clients to make money. That conclusion has been reached when perusing the state-of-the-art research from Saxo’s in-house team, browsing the extensive trading ideas that are available on its website and various platforms, or engaging with the content available from Saxo’s various top-tier third-party providers. Saxo earned Best in Class honours in a Research Category in 2024 and remains a top choice for traders looking for in-depth forex research.

For the client, Saxo seems to provide diverse research offerings across its websites and platforms in various formats (video, articles, podcasts, and headlines). It provides in-house content, such as the daily updates published by its own analysts in Saxo’s Market Analysis section, as well as third-party content, such as the news headlines that stream from sources like Dow Jones, NewsEdge, and RanSquawk.

Independent research has concluded that Saxo Bank does an outstanding job of centralising its research within the SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO platforms. Third-party trading signals and analysis are provided by Autochartist, which is nicely integrated into the software. It seems easy to discover relevant content, as its research articles are categorised by asset class or geopolitical themes. When viewing the EUR/USD pair, for example, you will see related news and trading ideas.

Video research is seamlessly integrated into the Saxo Bank website and its proprietary platforms. The video content itself is high-quality and includes playlists on YouTube. However, it’s worth mentioning that many of Saxo’s videos are unlisted and thus not easy to find or identify. Saxo’s focus seems to be on its websites and trading platforms rather than its YouTube channel. This approach seems to provide a much cleaner customer experience and prevent the need to bounce between YouTube and a trading platform.

The Saxo Research Team delivers quarterly outlooks and annual forecast reports, which are available in PDF and include accompanying videos. These reports are excellent for traders and investors seeking to take a theme-based position based on quality research.

Saxo Bank continues to trade with its headquarters in Denmark and, to date, has more than 72 nationalities employed in subsidiary offices in 15 countries.