Trading 212

Who owns Trading 212?
Trading 212 is privately owned by its founders, Ivan Ashminov and Borislav Nedialkov. The company is not publicly traded and has not taken external investment.

Is Trading 212 regulated?
Yes, Trading 212 is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and by the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in Bulgaria.

How does Trading 212 make money if trading is free?
Trading 212 generates revenue through currency conversion fees, CFD spreads, interest on uninvested cash, and premium subscription features. Stock and ETF trading is commission-free, but these other revenue streams support the business.

Is Trading 212 safe?
Trading 212 is regulated by the FCA and FSC. UK customers' assets are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000. However, CFD trading carries significant risk.

How many users does Trading 212 have?
Trading 212 reports approximately 4.5 million users with funded accounts as of 2025.

Trading 212 was founded in 2004 by Ivan Ashminov and Borislav Nedialkov in Sofia, Bulgaria. The company initially operated as a traditional online brokerage, providing access to stocks, forex, and other financial instruments.

In 2016, Trading 212 launched its commission-free stock trading service in the UK, becoming one of the first European brokerages to eliminate trading commissions. This was a significant innovation at the time, as most brokerages charged per-trade fees of several pounds or euros. The commission-free model was later popularized in the US by Robinhood and subsequently adopted by most major brokerages.

Trading 212 expanded its platform capabilities throughout the late 2010s, introducing fractional shares (allowing users to invest small amounts in high-priced stocks), stocks and shares ISA accounts (a UK tax-efficient investment wrapper), and cash ISA accounts.

The company experienced significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as retail investor interest surged globally. Trading 212 temporarily paused new account registrations in early 2021 due to overwhelming demand, citing the need to manage its regulatory capital requirements.

Trading 212 expanded its geographic reach beyond the UK and EU, adding support for users in additional markets. By 2025, the platform had approximately 4.5 million funded accounts.

In 2024, Trading 212 launched its cash ISA product, which offered competitive interest rates and attracted significant deposits from UK savers. The product helped Trading 212 expand beyond its core trading audience to a broader base of savers and investors.

Trading 212 faced criticism in early 2021 when it temporarily suspended new account registrations during the GameStop trading frenzy. The company cited regulatory capital requirements as the reason, but some users and commentators questioned whether the suspension was related to the volatile trading conditions.

As a regulated financial services firm, Trading 212 is subject to ongoing FCA and FSC oversight. The company has faced scrutiny regarding its CFD products, which carry significant risk for retail investors. Trading 212 is required to display risk warnings on its CFD products, noting that a majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.