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.
The name 'X-O' is a shortened name, which stands for 'execution only'. The service is aimed at people who know exactly what shares they want and are seeking to place trades for a relatively low price. Before the advent of fee-free trading platforms, X-O was one of the cheapest around in the UK. Any research on stocks will need to be done elsewhere as X-O does not provide any market information.
This is the paragraph where we normally thank the contributor. But this interview was done with our founder, Abdul Aziz. It'd be a bit awkward to thank him for content for his own blog site. So let's just crack on with the interview-review.
1) How and why did you get into trading?
I got into trading because I wanted to supplement my income from my job. I started investing a while back, so I’m not doing it for the first time. I enjoy it and like improving as a trader.
2) Why do you use X-O over another trading platform?
The main reason was the cost. At the time, XO was one of the cheapest and offered a ‘no string attached’ service; you didn't have to lock yourself into some sort of contract, you didn’t have to make a certain amount of trades to unlock a cheaper execution price later down the line. It was just a flat rate which cost £6 to buy a stock and £6 to sell a stock - irrespective of the quantity of stock.
3) When did you sign up to a trading platform?
May 2020
4) How did you find the sign up process?
The signup process wasn't too difficult. There were some personal documents that I had to send over to make sure that everything was legitimate. All the documents I sent over to XO was through email. XO was quite responsive and emailed back quite quickly to confirm everything.
5) What are the three best things about the trading platform?
When I was shopping for a share dealing platform, X-O was one of the cheapest
They have a responsive customer service
They send me a letter if there are any major changes - just in case I haven’t checked the website
6) What are the three worst things about this trading platform?
X-O does not have an app. It has a clunky website, which is not very user friendly
The website does not have information about the markets, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown (which is necessary to get market intelligence)
X-O charges £6 per trade. Nowadays, there are many platforms that do not charge a dealing fee (though will charge a ‘spread’).
7) How reliable is the platform?
X-O is a very reliable trading platform , I have never had a problem using it . I use multiple platforms and I’ve had lots of problems with other trading platforms (for example, sometimes the trades don’t go through, sometimes they go through but at a different price whereas XO holds the price for 15 seconds so you know exactly what price you’re buying or selling for.
8) What is the trading platform customer service like?
Pretty good. I called up during lockdown once. Had no problems getting through.
9) Do you have any trading tips for fellow investors?
Yes I do. Don't go all in - buy shares in batches. Also don't get too greedy.
10) When did you sign up to a trading platform?
May 2020.
11) Does the platform in any way help you be shariah compliant?
No. You have to do your own research for that. I personally use three or four different websites to triangulate the information I need to make it shariah compliant..
12) Would you recommend this X to anyone else?
No not really. Not that there's anything wrong with XO , but you really need to know what you’re doing on that platform. It's not beginner friendly at all. Also, nowadays there are commission-free platforms, which may be a better option.
Comments