Just2trade Review

Just2Ttrade is a deep discount broker renowned for its simplicity and inexpensive fees. In this Just2Trade review, we will take a look at everything on offer, and assess whether or not this broker is worth registering with.

You may have heard negative things about Just2Trade, but given that it is under new management, we felt it was due a fair, updated review.

Have things gotten better? Is it worth it to sign up or are you better off elsewhere? Let’s find out.

Brief Overview

Just2Trade has made its name as a deep discount online broker. This makes it excellent for active traders, who can take advantage of the super low fees and commissions to realize savings.

Just2Trade was recently acquired by WhoTrades, and things have taken a dramatic turn for the positive since in almost every way.

It’s basically an entirely different platform now, so if you have considered it before and passed, make sure to check out what is on offer now.

Who Should Consider It

​There are 4 main trader groups who might get an advantage of using Just2Trade:

  • Casual Traders – Just2Trade is not really a professional level trading platform. It lacks the advanced, in-depth tools and features that many pro-level platforms offer. For this reason, it is probably better suited to casual traders.
  • Active Traders – Due to the extremely low fees offered, Just2Trade is ideal for active traders.
  • Knowledgeable Traders – While not suitable for advanced traders, it likewise is not suitable for total beginners. There is a serious lack of any educational resources and you will largely have to know what to do from A-Z to make use of it.
  • Traders Seeking Discounts – This is mainly a brokerage for traders seeking low fees and commissions.

Likes & Dislikes

No financial services product is perfect. There are things we like about Just2Trade and things we do not.

Likes

  • Low-Cost Commissions – This is perhaps what we like best about this platform. The commissions are some of the lowest you will find anywhere online.
  • Demo Tutorial – There’s a very useful walk-through of how to use the web platform.
  • Suitable for Some International Investors – European traders can also join.
  • Third Party Integrations – SterlingTrader Pro, OEC Trader, MetaTrader 5: there are more than plenty integrations to make up for the lack of tools.

Dislikes

  • High Entry Requirements – You will need a minimum of $2,500 to get started.
  • Lack of Tools/Support – There is very little in the way of tools, support, and extra features.
  • Poor Customer Service – There are many complaints about the lack of professionalism and generally poor customer support. This is a big negative as this is a crucial element of any world-class trading platform.
  • Liquidation Minimums – If your account balance falls below $500, your account will be liquidated. On top of this, you may be charged a liquidation fee.
  • Per-Share Plan Fees – If you opt to trade using a per-share plan you will be charged at least $333 per month.

Investment Offerings

In Just2Trade, the following securities are available:

  • Stocks – You access global stock markets from the UK to Japan.
  • ETFs – You can trade a wide range of ETFs at low commissions on US exchanges.
  • Options – There are lots of options chains available.
  • Mutual Funds – Fixed income assets are also available, mutual funds included.
  • OTC Stocks – You can trade outside the exchanges too, but we don’t recommend doing so unless you know what you are doing.

This is a decent range of securities but nowhere near as broad as what we have seen on offer elsewhere. Forex traders, in particular, will miss out.

Just2Trade is best for regular stock traders and options traders. ETF and mutual funds traders seeking low fees will also benefit from using the platform.

Fees

There are two types of fee structure at Just2Trade, known as the per-share plan and the per trade plan. You could think of the first as a subscription, whereas the latter is a pay-as-you-go type of deal.

These fees are based on the per-trade plan:

  • Stocks – Stocks are traded at $2.50 per trade.
  • Options – Options are traded at $2.50 + 0.50 per contract.
  • Futures – Futures trade from as low as $2.50 per contract.
  • ETFs – Again, $2.50 per contract is the ETF trading price.
  • Mutual Funds – $12.50 per contract, which is significantly lower than many other rival brokerages charge. Remember that this does not include any fees the mutual fund may charge.
  • Broker Assisted Trades – No matter what the security, broker assisted trades will cost $20 plus applicable commissions.

The fees for the per-share trading plan are advertised at much lower rates per trade (for example $0.001 per trade for shares), and this plan has been designed for highly active traders, but there is a $333 minimum monthly fee. If you fail to accumulate fees worth at least this, you will be debited the difference.

Platform

Usability

Just2Trade is what we would call a ‘classic’ platform, meaning it is typical of trading platforms online.

When you first log in you will see your watchlist, which you can customize later, a list of your open position on the right, relevant charts at the bottom, and in the bottom right-hand side you will see your order form, giving you the ability to execute trades quickly and easily.

You will also notice a number of tabs along the top including account, options, charts, cash transfer, and statements. These are pretty self-explanatory, but the options and charts should be of particular interest while either planning or making trades.

If you want to get familiar with using the platform before you actually start trading with real money, there is a nice demo account which gives you access to most of the features the live platform offers.

One of the big positives of the Just2Trade platform is it allows lots of third party integration including SterlingTrader Pro, OEC Trader, MetaTrader 5, and others, which may go some way to making up for its own lack of tools.

The way Just2Trade is set up is intuitively easy to understand and it is going to appeal to everyone from beginner (not recommended) to intermediate traders.

It’s easy to use, but definitely lacking in many of the advanced features that high-level, experienced traders will want. On the other hand, that’s exactly what the third party integrations are there for.

Design

As far as user-friendliness goes, it would be difficult to criticize. Everything is laid out on easy to locate tabs and it is very well organized. It also avoids that ‘overwhelmed’ feeling which we sometimes get when logging into platforms.

The overall design is very dark with a black and dark blue colour scheme, but you can switch this into a light mode if you wish. We have to admit, we don’t like the light mode and the dark suits just fine!

It’s a nice design. It won’t blow your mind, but it won’t annoy/upset/overwhelm you either.

Customization Options

Just2Trade is very customizable, with a drag and drop style that allows you to make it your own.

If you don’t like or need a specific window, you can cut it. Likewise, if you do need to add something, you can do so by clicking the ‘add widget’ button in the ‘edit layout’ field.

There’s nothing new here that we haven’t seen elsewhere in terms of customization, but there is still enough to mean you can switch this platform up to make it how you want it.

Mobile

There is also a mobile trading platform available and it is arguably better than its desktop counterpart.

The mobile platform gives you full access to all of the features such as charts and live trading, and it is very convenient to use.

It is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and you can also log in directly via the a mobile browser.

We give this a big thumbs up. It’s one of the best parts of the Just2Trade package.

Unique Features

While there is very little that is unique about Just2Trade in terms of tools and features, one thing we thought worth mentioning is that it makes use of the WhoTrades community.

This allows you to follow the strategies of traders who are more experienced and advanced than you, which you can both learn from and emulate to make money.

As you develop your own strategies you can actually share them and find out from other traders how they stand up to scrutiny.

This is great for reflective learning and you should make use of this feature when you feel ‘ready’ to test the waters.

Trading

Process

Placing orders is remarkably simple, and not that different from any other platform.

All you need to is click the security in question and complete the order ticket. This will give you the bid/ask price, will allow you to control a few variables such as the quantity you want to order and stop limit, and then you will have to confirm it, and voila, you’re done.

You can also place options order on the options chains tab. We recommend you do so if you see an opportunity. It’s built in for a reason.

Order Filling

As well as placing orders as outlined above, you can see all of your open order and positions in the ‘account’ tab. You can open and close the orders here.

Remember that even in the ‘stock’ tab when you first log in you will be able to see your open positions and can close them from there if needed.

You don’t need to navigate to the account tab to do so, but it is a good place to see a summary of all of your positions.

Charting

The charts are not bad, but they also aren’t the most advanced or customizable we have seen. You can bring up both candlesticks and line charts and can alter the timeframes and size of the candles, for example.

The charts also allow you to edit them with various symbols such as arrows and thumbs up.

These could serve as reminders to take certain actions when thresholds have been reached, but we found these quite unnecessary, to be honest.

You can also bring up some technical analysis indicators on the charts to help you make better trading decisions.

All in all, much like the rest of the platform, the charts aren’t bad but aren’t out of this world either. They could be better and could be worse.

Research

There is next to nothing available at Just2Trade to help you with research other than charts and a news ticker.

Compared to some of the advanced research tools available elsewhere, this will be quite disappointing and leaves beginners out in the wilderness with no map.

You will have to do your own independent research using third party tools, and this is one of the reasons we do not recommend Just2Trade for complete beginners.

Educational Materials

There is very little in the way of educational materials or learning aids at Just2Trade. It is fairly obvious that this platform might not be targeted to beginners, even though there are a few webinars and videos beginners might be able to make use of.

There is an excellent FAQ section which will help answer most of the questions you might have regarding the site, services, and features of Just2Trade, but as for learning to trade itself, you will need to bring your own experience and knowledge with you.

Support

This is where Just2Trade really lets itself down, and there are many complaints about dire customer service from existing and previous customers.

It can’t be overstated that top-level customer service is a basic requirement when considering a trading platform.

If you have technical issues when you either want to trade or have open trades you can not close, and there is an unhelpful or incompetent team serving you, this could be costly indeed.

The options for getting in touch are e-mail, live chat, and the FAQ section, but the level of service might not always be great, even though things might have changed since Just2Trade was bought over by WhoTrades. Take this as a warning – don’t get your hopes too high regards customer support.

Just2Trade Review Final Verdict

Just2Trade is a mixed bag. With a simple, relatively easy to use platform and low fees, it is attractive to traders who know what they are doing and are looking for discounts.

But with some extra fees, few tools and educational materials, and some complaints about customer service for it to be coincidence, there are some concerns.

Just2Trade might be the broker for you – their relatively flexible platform might be perfect for your trading needs, so definitely take that under consideration.