The online broker flatex is a brand of flatex Bank AG, the company intended for active, well-informed traders who prefer to trade independently.
The company’s customers can buy and sell shares, certificates, bonds, funds and ETFs in exchange trading or in over-the-counter direct trading, where the company cooperates with 17 direct trading partners.
As an online brokerage company, flatex forwards all the client orders to flatex Bank AG, acting as a pure Straight Through Processing (STP) broker. Flatex Bank AG is a publicly traded company licensed in Germany, so clients are going to trade with a strictly regulated German bank.
Flatex gives access to its variety of financial instruments via flatex WebFiliale, flatex trader 2.0 and Guidants. The WebFinale is the web-based app that is also available for iOS and Android driven smartphones. The desktop version trader 2.0 covers all basic functions plus much more additional options. The most complicated terminal is Guidants. It gives everything the client needs for trading, including real time news, advanced charts and the opportunity to network with other users and experts. The Guidants app also works in a web browser or mobile application. There are also lots of high-quality educational tools.
There is no minimum deposit amount so customers can fund their account with as much as they want. On the other hand, relatively high fees apply when trading currencies, stocks and ETFs. The account opening is somehow complicated and takes a relatively long period, especially for non-German customers. Only one depositing option is available – bank transfers. Although most of the content is available in English, all legal documents are available in German only.
In general, this broker is aimed at German clients with more experience who are ready to use a more sophisticated platform. Despite the competitive spreads due to banking liquidity, there are fees for every trade. In addition, the lack of a MetaTrader platform will make most clients choose another, more accessible broker.