Broker Review - Avanza
"Sweden's most satisfied customers 13 years in a row"
I’m going to write a few posts about different brokers that are available in Sweden over the coming weeks. Overall the choices are pretty decent in Sweden, however, most of the local platforms have fallen behind similar services that have popped up in the US and UK. Innovation has stalled and prices remain stubbornly high. Avanza recently hired a new CEO from Klarna so perhaps there’s some hope of improvements but we’ll have to wait and see.
Avanza is a Swedish stock broker that has been in business since 1999 and is one of the largest stock brokers in Sweden, with over 1.5 million customers. They offer a wide range of services, including stock trading, ETF trading, mutual fund trading, and savings accounts.
Disclaimer: I am a client of Avanza myself.
Pros of Avanza:
Lowish fees: Avanza has some of the lowest fees in the Swedish stock market.
Wide range of products and services: Avanza offers a wide range of products and services, including stock trading, ETF trading, mutual fund trading, savings accounts and even mortgages.
Easy-to-use platform: Avanza's platform is easy to use and navigate, even for beginners.
Nice mobile app
Good customer service: Avanza has a good reputation for customer service and that’s been my experience as well.
Cons of Avanza:
Limited research tools: Avanza's research tools are not as comprehensive as some other stock brokers.
No physical branches: Avanza does not have any physical branches, so all customer service is done online or over the phone. For many people these days this is more of a Pro than a Con. :D
Lack of any UK listed stocks.
No real ‘innovation’ in trading (ie - DRIPs, partial shares, options, etc).
Could add more traditional banking services to avoid having multiple accounts.
Overall, Avanza is a good stock broker for Swedish investors. It has low fees, a wide range of products and services, and an easy-to-use platform. However, its research tools are not as comprehensive as some other stock brokers and more features and developments would be nice.