Saxo (Saxo Bank) Review

Overview

Saxo is one of the longest-running online trading firms in Europe. The business started in Copenhagen in 1992 and later grew into Saxo Bank A/S, a fully licensed Danish bank headquartered in Hellerup, just north of the Danish capital. Unlike most forex brokers, Saxo is a genuine multi-asset house: a single account can hold spot FX, FX options, CFDs, listed futures and options, stocks, ETFs and bonds. Review site ForexBrokers.com counts roughly 71,000 tradeable symbols, including around 190 currency pairs, which puts Saxo among the widest product ranges available to retail clients anywhere.

Ownership changed significantly in 2026. A unit of the Safra Group closed its purchase of a 70% stake in early 2026, buying out Geely and Mandatum, and Safra executive Daniel Belfer replaced co-founder Kim Fournais as CEO. Fournais moved to chair the board and kept his own stake of about 28%. For clients, the bank licence and the regulated local entities stay in place, but it is worth knowing who now controls the group.

Regulation and safety

The parent, Saxo Bank A/S, holds banking licence no. 1149 from the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority and received that licence in 2001. Around it sits a network of local subsidiaries. Saxo Capital Markets UK Ltd is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under FRN 551422, and further group companies are supervised in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and other markets. The entity you sign with depends on where you live, and that determines leverage limits, product availability and which compensation scheme applies. You can check the UK firm on the FCA register.

There is one significant negative to weigh. In January 2026 the Danish FSA fined Saxo Bank DKK 313 million (about USD 50 million) after an inspection of its anti-money-laundering controls. The regulator's findings concerned procedures and oversight, and reports noted it found no actual money laundering. Even so, it is one of the largest penalties a Danish bank has received in recent years. The fine does not change client asset segregation, but it is a governance issue that cautious investors should know about.

Fees and costs

Saxo earns most of its FX revenue from spreads rather than separate commissions. Pricing is tiered. Classic accounts get the standard rates, while Platinum and VIP clients, who qualify through larger balances, pay narrower spreads and lower financing mark-ups. On its UK forex page Saxo advertises EUR/USD from 0.7 pips and majors "from 0.6 pips". These are minimums, though, and independent measurements put typical Classic-tier EUR/USD spreads at about 1.0 to 1.1 pips.

Small traders should watch for a few extra charges. ForexBrokers.com reports a ticket fee of about USD 3 on FX trades below roughly EUR 50,000 in size, which makes micro-sized trading relatively expensive. Currency conversion carries a 0.25% charge, and some stock and ETF holdings pay custody fees. From 1 November 2025, tom/next financing mark-ups are 0.75% for Classic, 0.60% for Platinum and 0.50% for VIP.

Accounts and products

Saxo does not ask you to choose between "standard" and "raw" accounts as many CFD brokers do. Everyone trades the same products, and the pricing tier (Classic, Platinum or VIP) rises with your funding. Most regions have no minimum deposit, although CompareForexBrokers notes a USD 5,000 requirement for MENA clients served by Saxo Bank A/S. Depending on the country, you can open individual, joint and corporate accounts, plus UK wrappers such as ISAs and SIPPs. Professional status and portfolio-based margin are available to clients who qualify.

Retail leverage in the UK and EU follows ESMA-style caps, with initial margin of 3.33% on EUR/USD. Saxo also uses tiered margin, so the required margin rises as your position size grows. Saxo offers no Islamic swap-free account and no copy-trading service, and its crypto exposure is limited to a few CFD and ETP products.

Platforms and tools

Saxo has its own platforms and does not offer MetaTrader. SaxoInvestor is a simplified app for buy-and-hold investors. SaxoTrader, available on web, desktop and mobile, covers the full product range with advanced charting, option chains, algorithmic orders and risk tools. Drawings and layouts sync across devices. Clients can also connect a Saxo account to TradingView, and developers can use the OpenAPI or FIX connectivity. A demo account is available.

Research is a real strength. Saxo publishes in-house macro and strategy commentary, a regular podcast and quarterly outlooks, and third-party tools such as Autochartist are built in. The trade-offs: there is no guaranteed stop-loss, no OCO-style linked orders according to ForexBrokers.com, and no client sentiment data.

Deposits and withdrawals

Funding is fairly traditional. Bank transfer is the main method, and debit and credit cards are accepted in many regions. E-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill and Neteller are not supported, and neither are crypto deposits. Saxo does not charge for withdrawals, but cross-currency transfers into the account trigger the conversion charge. Because Saxo runs on a banking model, verifying a new account can take longer than at app-first brokers.

Who it suits

Saxo suits experienced traders and investors who want FX alongside stocks, bonds, futures and options in one regulated account, and who value research and professional-grade tools. Larger accounts benefit most, since Platinum and VIP pricing reduces costs noticeably. It is a weaker fit for beginners trading micro lots, MetaTrader users, people who want copy trading or swap-free accounts, and anyone who prefers to fund with e-wallets.

Verdict

Saxo combines a Danish banking licence, tier-1 local regulation and a very broad multi-asset platform. Its FX pricing is fair rather than the cheapest, and small-ticket charges penalise small trades. The 2026 AML fine and the change of control to the Safra Group are worth monitoring, but neither alters the basic structure of a long-established, heavily supervised bank. You can find more details on the official Saxo website.