Plus500 Ltd is an international online CFD provider with its headquarters in Israel and subsidiaries in the UK, Australia, Singapore, and Cyprus.

The company was founded in 2008 by Gal Haber, Alon Gonen, Elad Ben-Izhak, Shlomi Weizmann, Omer Elazari and Shimon Sofer, six alumni of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Plus500 takes pride in being one of the most highly rated providers of CFDs in a variety of markets and there is a strong foundation which exists and places Plus500 in an advantageous position to deliver future growth.

Plus500 aims to provide a comprehensive offering to traders with varying needs and trading preferences while maintaining pricing transparency and focusing on innovation towards marketing initiatives in expanding its reach across the global trading community.

The initial CFD platform was based on a Windows OS and in 2010 Plus500 launched a web-based version of its online trading platform, allowing Mac and Linux users to trade online. A year later it launched its first app for iPad and iPhone users. It launched its Windows app in 2014.

Plus500 trading apps are supported in 32 languages, including English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, and traditional and simplified Chinese. Reports state that 40% of the transactions were made by either Smartphones or tablets.

LICENCES AND REGULATION

Plus500 operates according to some of the strictest guidelines and requirements imposed by regulatory entities as it is authorized and regulated by several of these entities in the respective countries in which it offers CFDs and various other underlying securities.

Plus500 is authorized and regulated by the following entities according to the respective locations:

• Plus500UK Ltd. – FCA under the license number #509909
• Plus500CY Ltd. – CySEC under the license number #250/14
• Plus500SG Pte Ltd. – MAS under the license number #CMS1006481-1 and IE Singapore under the license number #PLUS/CBL/2018
• Plus500AU Pty Ltd (ACN 153301681)
• ASIC in Australia along with AFSL under license number #417727
• FMA in New Zealand under the license number FSP486026
• AFSP, FSP in South Africa under license number #47546

Regulated CFD providers, such as Plus500, are required to keep client funds in segregated accounts as part of strict requirements to ensure compliance.

In addition, regulated brokers have to be a member of a reputable compensation scheme that offers eligible clients a certain amount as compensation should the broker become insolvent or should it be declared bankrupt.

Regulated brokers also have to ensure that clients are offered negative balance protection to ensure that any losses incurred do not exceed the initial deposit of the trader.

VISION & VALUES OF PLUS5OO

Since its inception, Plus500 has put significant emphasis on its technological edge and continuous innovation. It has established a strong foundation from which it is well positioned to deliver future growth.

Pluss500 understands the need to develop and deploy new and innovative financial instruments as part of its strategy to continue to build a loyal and engaged customer base.

The nature of its proprietary technology enables it to expand into new geographies without the need for a physical presence in those markets, which in turn limits the capital expenditure required to increase its geographic reach.

The company’s vision is being the no. 1 global CFD provider while continuing to lead in technology and innovation and attracting new and existing customers. Shareholders who purchase company shares can be assured of the company’s continuous growth.

MARKET PERFORMANCE OF PLUS5OO

Pluss500 Ltd trades on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company is listed under the stock symbol “PLUS”.

Plus500 shares rose 19.4% to 682.2 pence in August 2019, making it the top performer in the FTSE 250 midcap index. The company plans to buy back of up to US Dollar 50 million (£ 41.4 million) of its shares and revise its distribution policy to return 60% of net profit to shareholders, with half of that through dividends.

The company’s net profit more than halved to US Dollar 51.6 million for the six months ended June 30, partly reflecting low levels of volatility as investors held back their positions during the heated U.S.-China trade spat and ongoing Brexit uncertainty.

HISTORY AND MILESTONES

Plus500 forms part of the Plus500 Group which was founded in 2008 and shortly after its inception, launched its PC-based online trading platform followed by the broker offering CFDs on shares without commission in 2009.

Users were able to trade online from as early as 2010 when Plus500 launched a web based version of the trading platform, which provided access to users of computers running on Mac, Linux software in addition to various smartphone users.

ETFs became a part of Plus500’s offering in 2011 and the ability to trade on mobile devices was expanded to both iPhone and iPad followed by that of Android devices in 2012.

As early as 2012, Plus500 became the best CFD trading company in the world and by 2014, the market valuation of Plus500 Ltd. reached US Dollar 1,000,000,000 USD.

In 2016, CFDs on Options were added to Plus500’s financial instruments that could be traded and during the same year, traders were able to trade by making use of Web Trader which is compatible with both desktops and mobile devices.

During 2019, Plus500 made a wide range of advanced charting features available for use by traders through which they could conduct comprehensive technical analysis. The offering included a variety of technical indicators along with drawing tools.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

In 2011, the Plus500 trading app was rated the highest on Apple’s App Store and although there is no indication on the website pertaining to awards that Plus500 may have won in its time of operation, it is highly rated and recognized worldwide.

Plus500 sponsored Club Atletico de Madrid as the 2013 to 2014 “La Liga” champions in addition to the 2016 to 2018 Champions League finalists.

There was also a significant sponsorship deal which the Plus500 Group signed with the “Plus500 Brumbies” during the 2017 Super Rugby Australian Conference Champions and this partnership carried over to 2019 as well.

BONUSES, REWARDS AND PROMOTIONS

Plus500 offers two bonus schemes which includes the following:

• Rebates, and
• Trader Points

Rebates reward traders according to their trading activity in addition to the terms and conditions set out for this bonus scheme. Twelve days after a trader has made their first deposit into their trading account, they are automatically added to the rebates program.

For every trade that is executed, the trader accumulates rebates which can be collected at the end of every week.

Trader points are accumulated by traders every time that a trading position is opened, and trading points are collected based on the difference between buy and sell rates of the particular instrument.

ACCOUNT TYPES OFFERED

Plus500 only offers traders with the option of opening a Standard Trading Account known as a Real Money Account, which provides traders with access to all asset classes, financial instruments, and markets that they wish to trade.

In addition, Plus500 also offers traders with the option of opening a demo account which can be used by traders to practice trading, explore Plus500’s offering or to put their trade strategies to the test in a risk free environment.

LEVERAGE AND MARGIN

The company currently offers its portfolio of over 2000 instruments.

The maximum leverage level made available to traders depends on factors which mainly pertain to the trader’s area of jurisdiction as certain regulations have been imposed due to the high risk involved with trading leverage products.

In addition, the leverage offered will also depend on the financial instrument that the trader wishes to trade.

In line with regulatory requirements, traders can expect the following leverage depending on their country of residence:

• European clients – maximum leverage of 1:30 as per FCA and CySEC regulations
• MAS – maximum leverage of up to 1:5
• Clients of Plus500 which are not EU/UK citizens have the opportunity to trade with leverage up to 1:300

Plus500’s margins are defined according to each financial instrument as each has its own – this will also differ according to the leverage that the trader uses. The higher the leverage, the lower the margin and vice versa.

COMMISSIONS AND SPREADS

Plus500 does not charge any separate or additional commissions per trade, all these fees are included in the spreads which is how Plus500 is compensated for its services.

By making use of the Buy/Sell spread, otherwise known as the Bid/Ask spread, when a trader opens a position, traders essentially pay the spread which is incorporated into the quoted rates provided by Plus500.

Traders need to be aware of the fact that Plus500 has additional fees which include:

• Overnight funding – which is subtracted from the trader’s account in the event that a position is held for longer than a day, or otherwise specified depending on the financial instrument and when the trading day on it ends.
• Currency conversion fee – this fee is charged for all trades which occur on instruments and it is denominated in a currency should the base currency of the account be different to the currency of the instrument.
• Inactivity fee – should the trader’s account be inactive for a consecutive period of three months, a fee of US Dollar 10 will be deducted and charged every month after as long as there is noticeable activity on the account.

NON-TRADING FEES

Plus500 has the following non-trading fees:

• Minimum initial deposit of US Dollar 100 when using debit/credit cards and US Dollar 500 when using bank transfers.
• Withdrawal fees of US Dollar 10 per withdrawal after the first five free withdrawals for the month has been exceeded.
• Traders are charged US Dollar 10 should their trading account be inactive for a consecutive amount of three months in addition to US Dollar 10 per month after should there be a lack of login and trading activity on the account.

DEPOSIT AND WITHDRAWAL

Traders have the option of using either Debit/Credit cards (Visa or MasterCard), electronic wallets such as PayPal or Skrill and bank transfers through which funds can be deposited into the trader’s account.

Traders should note that the minimum initial fee is US Dollar 100 when using debit/credit cards and US Dollar 500 when making use of a bank transfer to fund the trading account. Plus500 offers traders the option of making deposits in 10 different base currencies.

In addition, third-party payments are not allowed due to strict rules pertaining to anti-fraud and money laundering regulations and any third-party payments will be returned to its source.

Plus500 does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees, but there are certain conditions pertaining to withdrawal of funds that traders need to acknowledge.

Traders will be able to withdraw funds from their account for free five times in a month as long as the minimum amount being withdrawn is US Dollar 100 for bank transfer and US Dollar 50 for PayPal or more. Should the amount be less than this, there is a fee of US Dollar 10 per transaction.

In addition, there is a fixed US Dollar 6 fee should the trader use bank transfer as the method through which withdrawals are made from the trading account.

To request a withdrawal, the trader must login to their account and select the ‘Withdraw Funds’ options from the menu, enter the withdrawal amount along with choosing the preferred method and complete the request along with additional requirements.