(If you want a quick guide for beginners how to start investing in the Philippine stock market, you can download your free ebook here.)
If you want to invest or trade US stocks and ETF (Exchange-Traded Funds) in the Philippines with little capital, you can do it now with Gotrade mobile app.
This is a good option for those who simply want to try it out even with as low as 1USD and buy shares of US companies in as fast as 10 minutes.
I tried to open an account and it was very easy indeed.
And that’s actually their business promise: “That you invest with ease.”
In fact, in less than 10 minutes after downloading the app, I was able to place my buy order for a stock of APPLE using 1 USD only. 😃
(I got free $6 too upon sign-up completion.)
Table of Contents
What are the features of GoTrade
You buy actual shares
Unlike other US stock trading apps, Gotrade doesn’t have CFDs (contract for difference) which are more risky than buying actual shares.
With Gotrade, you will be buying actual shares traded directly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ.
(This is practically the same as buying Philippine stocks with COL Financial).
Fractional Shares
Gotrade also offers Fractional share trading.
This is what allows you to buy any stock for a minimum of $1.
Other US trading brokers apps have been doing this so this isn’t really new.
However Gotrade makes it even better because the minimum fund you can use to buy stocks is $1 only.
For example, if the price of an APPLE stock is $124, you can still buy it even with your extra $1.
In that case, you get around 1/124 = 0.008 fractional share of APPLE.
That’s what happened in my actual buy order below.
You also get to see how much you’ve gained in any stock position you have.
Below is as of June 24 2021 where I made 12.80% profit so far on my $1 invested fund.
Imagine if I had invested much bigger! 😃
Commission-Free Trading💰
Another good thing is all trades on Gotrade are commission-free so this helps you maximize your returns.
High commissions is actually one challenge of trading locally in the Philippine stock market.
In addition to the commission-free feature, there’s also no price spread being applied in Gotrade.
Its main income comes from foreign currency exchange (forex) rate difference during your funding.
Is Gotrade for you?
If you’re already using mainstream US brokers like TD Ameritrade or Interactive Brokers (IBKR ), this probably isn’t for you.
This is perhaps for people who may be looking at investing in US stocks and feeder funds (ETF) who are casual traders and have little capital, as Gotrade offers these assets with fractional shares and easy-to-use mobile app access.
Gotrade Fees
Cost-wise, Gotrade is transparent with its fees.
You will see a lot of side notes during navigation explaining the fees if any.
As mentioned, there’s no commission charged and stock price spread.
Support seems good as well in the short time I’ve used the app.
Gotrade Funding
Upon account approval/activation, subsequent funding can be made via wire transfer, or via online fund transfer from Philippine-based local banks BPI and Unionbank account thru Dragonpay. This is a plus too that allows a simple funding process with no need of opening US dollar bank account.
You can fund up to Php50,000 per funding (subject to your bank’s limits).
This is automatically converted to USD currency.
Gotrade Safety
As stated on its website: “Gotrade and its partners are regulated as securities broker dealers (LFSA, FINRA).. Your account is protected for up to USD 500,000 by the SIPC.”
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protects the clients of brokerage firms in the event the firm fails by offering insurance of the clients’ assets.
Download the Gotrade app (and get $6 by simply signing up)
If you’re interested to try it out, you can see it for yourself by downloading the Gotrade app from the Google play store or App store.
You only need to prepare the usual requirements – a photo ID bearing your name, nationality, and address (driver’s license, postal ID for example), or a valid passport with a billing statement under your name for the address. To avoid complications, make sure to have the same name and address on all your documents.
Good news – I was also able to receive an extra $6 upon completing their sign-up process. 😊
It’s still an ongoing promo as of this writing to encourage you to get started.
This of course can then be used to buy your first US stocks. 👌
Gotrade Token Code
At the present, Gotrade is operating on an invite-only basis.
But if you want to skip the waitlist, you can use this token code upon signing up: 318878.
(If that doesn’t work, send me a message here so I can share with you another code you can use.)
Gotrade Review
Overall, I’m quite impressed with how easy it is to use the app and get your first touch on US stocks.
The fact that you’re able to buy US stocks and not CFD’s with easy steps is its best selling point.
Using the app also gives that feel which makes trading US stocks very doable for many without the clutter information you need.
For those who had already some exposure to other broker apps, you may find the stock information available in Gotrade a bit more streamlined. The idea of stock “characteristics” is a bit new which I haven’t seen in many other platforms available. This allows you to easily check on other stocks which are related to a company you’re already familiar with.
The only caution on this app is it’s still relatively new in the market though and I hope more options and features be added soon without losing its simplicity. Send me feedback on what you think about it.
You can also sign-up here in case you to join our upcoming webinars using this platform.
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Hello sir, i want to try investing in stock market too, and im interested to try gotrade…can you tell me more how is it going?Thank you…
what other platform I can use to deposit money in my gotrade account
Hello there..thank you for the information. But do we get to withdraw our money online too just in case?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
yes, withdrawal from gotrade is online too. You simply give your bank account through the app.