Saxo slashes fees across product range in global pricing ‘overhaul’

Patrick Buncsi

17 January 2024

Europe-based investment firm Saxo Bank has announced a significant reduction in commission fees across its product range, most notably for customers trading US and UK stocks.

For its US and UK market offerings, Saxo has set its new commission rate of 0.08% for its classic tier, with minimum commissions set at US$1 (AU$1.50), down from the previous $US5 (AU$7.51).

For instance, a US$10,000 trade, which previously attracted a commission of US$5, would now have a fee of just US$1.

The new fee structure also applies to ETFs, ETPs, listed options (with commissions beginning at US$0.75 per lot) and futures (beginning at US$1 per lot), as well as to inactivity and platforms fees that have been removed.

Saxo’s VIP and Platinum client tiers, available to clients that execute a certain number of qualifying trades, have also been reduced to 0.05% and 0.03% commissions, respectively.

Saxo confirmed that a global rollout of its pricing overhaul will commence “in the coming months”.

Founder & chief executive of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais, said the firm was “proud… to be the leading prices among the major banks and brokers of the world”.

“Because in today’s investment landscape, the value Saxo offers to our clients is very much linked to our ability to provide cost-effective solutions together with our award-winning platforms, products, and services.”

He added that the firm’s scale, which now exceeds one million clients and more than US$100 billion in assets under management globally, has enabled it to significantly reduce its fees and prices.

With increasingly cut-throat competition among investment firms on client fees, Fournais said the “pricing overhaul is an important strategic move” for Saxo’s future, as it takes “another big step forward to create even more win-win with our clients”.

The Copenhagen-headquartered investment firm was last year appointed a Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA). In its first-ever rating report, received in early 2023, Saxo was awarded an investment grade rating from ratings house S&P.