Residence, Regulation, and Company Management Structure

E-trade financial corp. is registered in the UK, and is registered with the FSA; the office address is on the site although the management of the company is not.

Company's Market Position

It is impossible to understand from the site, whether a company is an ECN or a market maker.

The partners of the company are not mentioned, and other trading instruments, apparently, are hatched on the back the LSE.

The company offers a very wide spectrum of instruments: a large set of exchange rates, CFD's on actions and indexes, and futures. However, it is difficult to draw a conclusion from materials, on the site, whether a full spectrum of instruments can be traded from a single account, or if it is necessary to open different accounts to work on the different markets.

Information about the terms of trades is listed in a comfortable table, but some details have to be thought out. Nothing is said about any limits on the volume of trade, the size (or method of its calculation) of lots are not indicated.

There are streaming quotations. However, it's not clear how the futures and CFD's are quoted.

Payment for the transfer of next day positions is not obviously described.

For depositing/withdrawing of money into/from an account there are some methods offered: traditional bank order, debiting cards, cashier's check. The company's bank details are not mentioned on the site, and any questions can only solved only through explanations by e-mail or by phone.

As far as it is possible to determine from their site, the signing of a hard contract by a client; on the opening of trading account is not required. Accounts are predominantly opened over the Internet.

Types of Services Offered

Although there is no beginner's page, on the site, the company does offer a 20 day free trial account.

Any fundamental support, for traders, on the site is practically absent. A 10-day trial subscription (on pre-market reports), is offered – within the framework of the trial-account, an example of which can be got only after signing.

A site supports several languages, including Estonian. However, the switch of languages appears only on the pages of an account's opening, the main and information pages are in English only.

The Trading platform

The platform is a downloadable, executable, programme. The platform, is certainly, is certainly able to execute basic, informative, services such as: the translation of quotes, exposure/ execution of orders, watching of the state of positions and account. The availability of graphic and technical analysis is not mentioned.

The Site

The site is one of maximum brevity. The contents of pages are mainly advertisements, with much important information are left out – apparently, in order that an interested client will call or write a letter with a question.

Often there are mutual references between pages and there is the impression that the primary purpose of the site is to urge on a client to the quickest opening of trial account, because finding out substantial information by any other method is impossible.

Advantages

• The company is UK registered and is FSA regulated and there is front-office.
• The enormous set of trading tools is really striking.
• There is clear information on marginal requirements on most instruments.

• The absence of any fundamental and analytical support on the site.
• Selective and incomplete support of foreign languages.
• The absence much important information concerning real trading details.