A form of trading that the public has been embracing at a slow rate is ‘social trading’. However, with social media becoming more prominent as years go by, the adoption rate could potentially escalate. Many people are finding themselves to be more comfortable with the idea and as a result, it is “trendy.”

But what exactly is this type of trading? For that matter, what are some examples of the best platforms of this kind?

What is it?

Social trading is a unique form of investing in that it allows investors to observe trading behavior. Specifically, that of their peers and expert traders. They are able to follow their investment strategies by using copy trading or mirror trading. It basically means that people have the ability to share trading ideas with others on web-based platforms. Individual traders of stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies do not have to endure a brokerage or financial advisor to make trades. With social trading, they can enter a platform that functions in a peer-to-peer manner.

The great thing about social trading is that it requires little or no knowledge about financial markets. You don’t need to be an expert to participate. Because of this, the World Economic Forum describes it as an economical and intricate alternative to conventional wealth managers.

Social trading is one-of-a-kind in the world of finance for two reasons:

1. Traders who lack extensive market experience can carry out trades with confidence. They copy the actions of veteran traders with good success scores. Moreover, they can trade along with the pros, as well as learn about analyzing charts and observing market trends. They also don’t have to wait for a certain level of proficiency before engaging in trades.
2. For traders with more experience, they can share their knowledge. Moreover, they can reap the benefits of selling access to their trade predictions. With a social trading platform, they are able to gain access to a new global market of traders buying their predictions.

So, now that we know what social trading is, let us look into some notable platforms. These are ones that you should keep an eye on in the coming year(s).

1 – eToro

Social trading broker, eToro, is admittedly not the first platform to dig into this new field. Regardless of that fact, it is still the company that has done so much with the concept. More than anything, they have given shape, attention, and overall visibility to what we now know as ‘social trading’.

eToro – under the management of founder, Yoni Assia – is a popular global investor community. It is a multi-asset brokerage company that puts its focus primarily on providing financial and copy trading services. With this platform, users are able to effectively interact with each other. Much in the same way they would on any other social network, like Facebook. With the news feeds, users can both monitor and manually copy their favorite traders.

Alternatively, eToro‘s provides an interesting feature, which is the ‘Copy Trading’ option. With this, users can copy their favorite traders automatically in proportion. They can manage exposures and risks alike. As if that’s not enough, eToro also offers a free and unlimited demo account.

The minimum deposit ranges between $200 to $10,000. Really, it depends on the region you currently reside in. Other instruments include CFDs on stocks, commodities, ETFs, indices, and bonds. An additional instrument is cryptocurrency.

2 – ZuluTrade

ZuluTrade is a Greek fintech company that manages an online and mobile social and copy trading platform. Its launch was back in 2007 by Greek entrepreneur, Leon Yohai. This platform has a history of being at the forefront of this new sector. This is especially the case when it comes to Forex Social Trading. In recent years, it also made the introduction of the Binary Option Social Trading. Users have access to an array of social features as a means to interact with Signal Providers. With these features, they are able to read the comments that other investors leave.

The area in which ZuluTrade excels the most is with its own ‘Copy Trading’ function. It allows users to search thousands of Signal Providers with a professional and state-of-the-art search tool. With it, you can analyze their strategy in meticulous detail. On top of that, you are able to replicate their performance. You can do so by customizing and tweaking risk and money management. If you are still unsure about it, you can clear up your ideas with a free demo account.

The minimum deposit of this platform largely depends on the broker you are using. Likewise, other instruments also depend on the broker you are using.

3 – HedgeTrade

HedgeTrade is a new platform that has been in the works for years. Though still in its infancy, it has seen great success in the short amount of time it has been operating. So much so that its crypto token currently ranks at #22 on the CoinMarketCap.

This is a platform where the best traders in the world can share their knowledge with beginners. How it works is traders post predictions into a Blueprint that is smart contract-powered. Users can either purchase or unlock these Blueprints in order to access the information within. Traders receive a reward if the Blueprint turns out to be correct. Otherwise, the users will receive a full refund.

4 – Naga Trader (formerly SwipeStox)

Originally an app for smartphones, SwipeStox (aka. “Tinder of Trading”) quickly became one of the leading players in social trading. In 2017, the SwipeStox management team would move forward in extensive expansion. They were planning on a complete rebrand for all their services. As a result, SwipeStox turned into Naga Trader, a platform of the Naga Group AG.

Naga Trader provides social networking, social trading, and copy trading. What’s more, it offers innovative investment services, such as the NAGA CYBO, or the NAGA Portfolios. The NAGA group has an active presence in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. So much so that they would later create their own crypto coin: the Naga Coin (NGC). NGC can even be the base currency of your account. It comes with numerous economic advantages, especially at the trading level.

The minimum deposit is up to € 500. Other instruments on the platform include CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, futures, indices, cryptocurrency, and gaming items.

5 – Tradeo

Tradeo is a forex broker with an online trading platform that is chock full of social aspects. This includes the ability to directly view the orders and the signals of other traders on the chart. With the Tradeo trading platform, you are able to operate personally, though in a social manner. Alternatively, you can activate the ‘Copy Trading’ function on your favorite trader. Doing so will allow you to automatically replicate their performance. You can try pretty much anything with a realistic and, most importantly, with no time limit demo account.

The minimum deposit is up to $250. Other instruments on the platform include CFDs on commodities, metals, oil, gold, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrency.

6 – Darwinex

This platform may be a newcomer, but it is interesting nonetheless. The founders of the Darwinex company are the Spanish Juan, Javier Colón Bolea, and Miguel Angel Gonzalez.

The novelty Darwinex brings is the fact that the traders’ strategies are not visible. Instead, they are “hidden” within what a ‘Darwin’. Basically, the trader’s strategy transforms into a real asset that the investor can purchase and include in his/her portfolio. Afterward, the asset value increases, courtesy of earnings from the underlying strategy that the trader manages. The Darwins are under continuous monitoring by Darwinex itself. Moreover, the investor has access to complex and automatic risk control tools. It is appealing for those who see themselves as investors rather than traders.

The minimum deposit is up to € 500 or $500. Other instruments on the platform include CFDs on stock, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrency.

7 – Ayondo

Despite this platform’s infancy and that the social aspect is not fully developed, the Ayondo platform is still attractive. This is thanks to the payment system, in which traders receive compensation.

The more the traders safely operate and limit risk and drawdowns, the more Ayondo rewards them. They do so by way of boosting the value of their commissions. Basically, this system stimulates the durability of strategies and consequently, the security of investors. Specifically, those who make the choice to replicate them. An array of professional instruments to trade (ex. interest rates) and the easy-to-use platform definitely makes Ayondo a rising star.

The minimum deposit largely depends on the broker you are using. Other instruments include CFDs on commodities, oil, shares, ETFs, interest rates, stocks, indices, and bonds. An additional instrument is spread betting.

8 – FX Junction

FX Junction is a social trading platform that permits users to create their own profiles. What’s more, they can easily connect their MT4 or MT5 platforms. The focal point of FX Junction is the traders’ community; a place where they can exchange ideas and trading strategies.

Additionally, FX Junction offers users with a ‘Copy Trading’ system which replicates the signal providers’ performance. It is important to note that FX Junction is not a broker; it is cross-platform. Its connection system does not receive support from backers, but rather from MT4/5. So, you can keep your current broker, avoid the requirement of opening a new account and connect your metatrader platform.

The minimum deposit largely depends on the broker you are using. Likewise, other instruments also depend on the broker you are using.

9 – Myfxbook Autotrade

Following its 2011 opening, Myfxbook became popular for being one of the best communities for professional web traders. With this platform, traders can link their trading accounts under a single personal profile. Moreover, they are able to keep track of all their trading statistics in a professional manner.

Myfxbook provides a special auto-trading service: Myfxbook Autotrade. Myfxbook is not technically a broker, but instead, it is a cross-broker platform. Simply put, if you want to use the auto-trading service, you will have to open a new account. You can do so with one of the many supported brokers. Myfxbook Autotrade is technically more of a ‘mirror trading’ service. The strategies to copy from have to pass a list of requirements that will boost their security.

The minimum deposit is $1,000. Other instruments on the platform largely depend on the broker you are using.

10 – MyDigiTrade

MyDigiTrade is a copy trading platform that a group of independent traders created in 2010. When it comes to structuring, it shares a few similarities with ZuluTrade. With this platform, you can choose to open an account with one of the several supported brokers. Brokers that are among the best in the world, in fact. You can then connect it to the platform to benefit from the copy trading service. If you already own a trading account with a partner broker, then you can directly connect it in.

MyDigiTrade provides its users with good service for performance analysis. The money management tools allow for a decent level of control. Currently, the number of signal providers to copy from is only about 200, which is a low number. However, it will continue to grow over time.

The minimum deposit is $100. Other instruments on the platform include commodity futures, options, CFDs, and spread betting.

11 – Tradency Mirror Trader

This platform is one of the most notable pioneers of social trading, existing before ZuluTrade and eToro. Tradency was one of the original launchers of social trading, showing everybody the possibilities of users automatically copying other traders’ strategies. All without having to personally operate in the markets.

Tradency made the choice to not travel the road. Meaning that unlike other brokers, such as eToro and ZuluTrade, it is not technically a real social network. Tradency focuses primarily on mirror trading and the Mirror Trader platform. With this, users can access a variety of automatic strategies professional traders generate worldwide. Users can make the choice, after evaluating the performance, to replicate the signals into their own account. The only aspect that one could see as “social” is the possibility of showing and sharing each user’s strategy portfolio.

The minimum deposit of this platform largely depends on the broker you are using. Likewise, other instruments also depend on the broker you are using.