We’ve put together a series of reviews on stock market trading platforms. We’ve asked professional Muslims to review the stock trading platform they use. Each review has been done in an interview style.
London-based Trading 212 is one of the newer trading platforms. Since 2016 they've been the UK’s #1 trading app and are popular in mainland Europe, too.Their app has been downloaded more than 14,000,000 times, which makes it one of the most popular trading apps in the world.
Our thanks goes to Abu Humayra for his review of Trading 212. Abu Humayra works as an Analyst at a 'Big Four' accounting firm in London. Although new to the world of stocks, his work with blue-chip companies gives him a great insight into different industries. Importantly, he believes that investing in the stock market in a Shariah complaint way is a great way to gain passive income. When Abu Humayra isn’t trading, he’s busy creating perfumes and expanding his perfumery ingredients collection.
1) How and why did you get into trading?
It was something I had in the back of my mind for a while as it's probably one of the only actual forms of truly passive income streams available. I just took the step to sign up to a trading platform and got started now.
2) Why do you use Trading 212 over another trading platform?
I chose Trading 212 as my brother and friend also use it and they had nothing negative to say about it. However, the main reason was because of the 0% fees and commission, therefore making it completely free to buy and sell stocks without any limits.
3) When did you sign up to Trading 212?
January 2021.
4) How did you find the sign-up process?
The sign-up process was very straightforward. You can use a referral link from someone you know to download the app and answer the mandatory ID questions, then do the usual selfie and proof of ID document upload. These get verified in a day or so.
5) What are the three best things about Trading 212?
No fees or commission taken to buy or sell stocks
Switch between your real money and a demo account with £50k in one tap
Easy to use interface on desktop version and mobile app, option of opening an ISA stocks and Shares account in one tap if you have a normal stock trading account (or vice versa).
6) What are the three worst things about Trading 212 platform?
The only negative I can think of is although funding the account is instant, withdrawals back to your bank account take up to 3 days.
7) How reliable is your trading platform ?
Very reliable and popular, highly rated and FCA regulated.
8) What is Trading 212's customer service like?
So far I've only emailed one query, no issues with response time.
9) Do you have any trading tips for fellow investors?
With a platform like Trading 212 as it’s free to buy and sell stocks, one can fall into the trap of day trading. But you’ll quickly realise that it is a risky strategy.
I am new to stock trading, but I already know that to make a good return I have some learning to do. I would say that if you are in profit, especially with penny stocks, do take some profits out rather than only holding as they are volatile. To see consistent returns you have to hold for the longer term.
10) Does Trading 212 help you be shariah compliant in any way?
No, but after doing a common sense check about which industry the company is operating in, I check the Shariah compliance on the 'Zoya' app although I need to learn the various thresholds myself and be able to screen them without relying on this app as that is the best approach to take.
11) Would you recommend Trading 212 to anyone else?
If you are not also considering a Muslim focused platform such as Wahed or Simply Ethical, I can’t see any reasons why you wouldn’t go with Trading 212 as a casual trader. It is completely free to use (minus the 0.7% fee you get charged after you deposit more than £2000) and one of the most popular for a reason.
[If you'd like to compare this review with others, there's a whole section on trading platform reviews - check it out]
Kommentarer