What makes Skilling a Good Choice for Trading Online?
Skilling is a reputable broker that offers CFDs. Its website is easy to navigate and is available in multiple languages. One of the issues highlighted by some clients, was Skilling’s lack of support for the MT4 platform, which is why it is great to finally see Skilling offering that option as well as also Tradingview partnership.
The company prides itself in offering a wide variety of trading instruments and is active in markets across the globe. It is also highly regulated by Cyprus authorities, where the company is headquartered, providing a high level of protection for individual retail investors. Skilling also has offices in Spain and Malta.
Pros of trading with Skilling:
- User-friendly platform that offers a great experience for novice traders
- Emphasis on investor protection and cybersecurity
- Licensed and regulated in Cyprus
Is Skilling Safe?
If you are considering Skilling as your online broker for trading, then rest assured you’re your money is in good hands. Skilling is headquartered in Nicosia and has received appropriate authorisation by the Cyprus SEC (Securities and Exchanges Commission). Its license number is no. 357/18. The Cyprus SEC (CySEC) regulates brokers, including Skilling. This means that like other competitors regulated by the CySEC, Skilling must at all times be able to provide a minimum capital of €730,000 in order to carry out its operations.
It also keeps all of its clients’ funds in segregated bank account across Tier 1 banks. This means that this money is not used by Skilling to drive its daily operations, and that traders will still have access to them even if the company becomes insolvent. Furthermore, Skilling is also required by law to offer further protection to retail investors, including negative balance protection as well as funds to compensate individual investors that can reach €20,000 under the Investor Compensation Fund scheme that applies to all investment firms in Cyprus. The ICF guarantees these funds in the case that Skilling goes bankrupt.
The brand is reputable and there are no reports of any wrongdoing in the past. In fact, the company is under Scandinavian ownership, as it was founded by Andre Lavold, Henrik Pearsson Ekdahl and Mikael Riese Harstad, all active in the tech sector. It was previously known as Finovel Cyprus before rebranding as Skilling. When it comes to cybersecurity, Skilling seems to be taking matters seriously. It operates on a secure platform, complete with SSL certificate for the trading transactions that take place on it. This provides an added layer of security via encryption that helps keep the personal and financial details of individual traders safe, along with their money.
Skilling offers trading across more than 800 instruments on its forex and CFD trading platforms. It provides the option to trade across foreign currency, shares, commodities and indices.
Forex
Skilling offers traders a wide variety of 73 currency pairs to invest in. These include all major forex pairs, as well as several minor ones. Skilling offers competitive spreads in GBP/USD at 0.7 pips (price interest points, i.e. price fluctuation within a specific exchange rate), EUR/USD at 0.4 pips, and EUR/GBP at 1.1 pips. It also offers other major combinations such as EUR/JPY, USD/AUD, and USD/CAD, as well as more exotic pairs including USD/CHF, USD/BRL and USD/TRY.
Shares
Skilling also allows clients to trade on shares, including:
- Viacom
- UniCreditSpA
- Taiwan Semiconductor
- Lufthansa
- Spotify
- Dropbox
- Activision Blizzard
- Under Armour
- Office Depot
- CVR Energy
- Carrefour
- Puma
- Legrand
- Alibaba
- Amgen
- JPMorgan Chase
- Boeing
- PepsiCO
- LVMH
- 3M
- Nike
- ThyssenKrupp
- Indices
- Skilling allows trades on indices, including the following:
- S&P 500
- Japan 225
- NASDAQ 100
- DOWJONES 30
- China A50
- UK100
- EU Stocks 50
- Germany 30
Commodities
Skilling has carefully selected a few commodities that are available to prospective traders. These are:
- Gold
- Silver
- Oil WTI
- Natural Gas
- Oil Brent
Opening a Skilling Account
As per its website, Skilling is permitted to provide its services within the European Union or European Economic Area due to European Passporting Rights, as the company’s headquarters are in Cyprus.
What are the Different Types of Accounts available?
Customers at Skilling can opt for a demo account or two types of accounts, which is enough to suit the needs of both expert/professional traders along with beginners:
A Demo Account, which is a great way for novices to get some practice. The demo account holds virtual funds which expert traders can use to become familiar with the Skilling platform and newcomers can turn to in order to hone their skills before moving on to real money.
A Standard Account, which is available after an initial deposit of €100. This type of account does not charge commissions on trades and has spreads starting from 0.7 pips. Its leverage is at a maximum of 1:30 for retail customers and 1:200 for elective professionals. If you choose this type of account, you will have access to 73 forex pairs, 17 indices, 5 commodities and over 700 equities.
A Premium Account, which requires an initial deposit of €5,000. This type of account is obviously targeted at more seasoned traders. It gives holders access to at least 800 financial instruments and spreads as lows as 0.1 pips. The leverage caps remain the same, as does the variety and number of instruments available. Premium accounts are also charged a commission of roughly $35 per million.
How to Open an Account at Skilling
It is straightforward and easy to open an account with Skilling. The first step is to click on the link below and sign up by providing your personal details. After that, the next step if uploading your ID documents to verify your ID, which is part of regulatory requirements. Should you choose to do so, you can use BankID to verify that for you. The final step is loading your account with funds and start making trades.
Skilling Fees
Skilling is committed to eliminating deposit fees and is transparent about its charges. However, the cost of spreads can be considered slightly higher than other brokers.
Trading Fees
Skilling charges a commission only on forex pairs and Spot Metals on its Premium Account. These start at $35 per million or the equivalent at the account base currency. Commission charges are as follows:
- EUR/USD $35 per million
- GBP/USD $40 per million
- Rest FX $50 per million
- GOLD $60 per million
- SILVER $120 per million
Trading positions are also subject to swap charges at the end of each trading day as follows:
- Forex: Swap = (Pip Value * Swap Rate * Number of Nights) / 10
- Indices: Swap Long = (Units * Price) * (Markup + Libor) / 365 or Swap Short = (Units * Price) * (Markup – Libor) / 365 (Markup is 3.5% on the Buy and 3% on the Sell, while Markup for Premium accounts is 2.5%)
- Shares: Swap Long = (Units * Price) * (Markup + Libor) / 365 or Swap Short = (Units * Price) * (Markup – Libor) / 365 (Markup is 4% on the Buy and 3% on the Sell, while Markup for Premium accounts is 3.5% on the Buy and 2.5% on the Sell,).
Non-Trading Fees
Skilling does not charge for account deposits or withdrawals. However, based on the payment method used (i.e. Neteller, Skrill, etc.), clients might be charged by the payment platform provider.
Skilling Deposits & Withdrawals
Base Currencies
The payment methods used by Skilling accept deposits in the following currencies:
- USD
- EUR
- GBP
- NOK
- SEK
What is the minimum deposit at Skilling?
The minimum deposit at Skilling varies by account type. For a Standard Account, it is currently set at €100 while for a Premium Account it rises to €5,000.
Deposit Methods and Fees
Skilling does not charge fees for deposits. However, third party payment service providers might charge fees for processing payments. The following options are offered for deposits:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Skrill
- Neteller
- Trustly
- Klarna
- swish
Withdrawals methods and fees
Skilling does not charge fees for withdrawals. However, third party payment service providers might charge fees. The options offered are the same as the ones for deposits. The minimum withdrawal amount is €50 or the equivalent to the client’s account currency.
Customer support at Skilling
Skilling is available to clients via a multinational support team. According to the company’s website, they offer support across telephone numbers registered in Cyprus, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the UK, which leads us to assume that clients can reach them in at least the language spoken in these countries.
Method of contact & availability
- Live Chat is available Monday to Friday from 8 am until 10 pm CET
- Phone support is available Monday to Friday from 8 am until 5 pm CET
- Email support is available 24 hours as per the company’s website
Skilling Review – Conclusion
Skilling is a relatively new player on the broker market that aims to attract traders of CDFs. With a variety of platforms and two live account types to choose from, Skilling provides a flexible and secure environment for both novices and expert traders.