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So you have decided to invest your money in Germany which is why you’ve landed here. Everybody invests because the money that would otherwise sit idle in a bank will earn a high rate of return when you invest it, this will be really helpful for Expats in Germany.
In Germany you can invest your money in various financial instruments through many online brokers available. There are banks that offer trading accounts as well. To start investing, you must have 2 important things that is a Broker and Depot Account
Broker– As the medium between the exchange and you, the brokerage institution acts as the intermediary.
Depot Account – A depository account is an institution where you place your financial instruments, like stocks, ETFs, or funds, for safekeeping. In German, it is called a Wertpapierdepotkonto.
Today we will be looking into one specific trading platform called Scalable Capital and will be guiding you with opening a depot account as well.
Scalable Capital
It is a digital trading platform where you can buy or sell ETFs, stocks, funds and so on. The best part about this platform is one can buy and sell shares at just 99 cents with their free broker plan. They also a free savings plan and have over 1300 ETFs.
You can start your savings plan with a minimum amount of 1 euros per month and the minimum order volume is 250 euros when trading through gettex.
Another advantage to this platform is it is German based which means the taxes will be deducted directly at the source. They have 3 plans:
Free Broker Plan does not require monthly subscriptions, which is a huge advantage. You can trade ETFs, Stocks and even set up a free savings plan, with a minimum savings amount of 1 Euro/month. There is no transaction fees for setting up a ETF & Stocks Savings Plan.
With PRIME Broker Plan, you can trade stocks and ETFs without paying any additional transaction fees when the order volume is more than 250 Euros. This applies to all ETFs you invest in under this plan. Under this plan you will have to pay for the complete year.
At a subscription rate of 4.99 Euros per month, Prime Broker Flex offers all the features of the PRIME Broker plan. The Prime Broker flex plan requires monthly payment and this can be cancelled at any month during the year.
Related Blog
Read this Blog on the Taxes on Stocks in Germany
Eligibility Criteria - Opening a depot account
The following are the requirements to open a depot account with scalable capital:
- Must be 18 years old or more
- In the USA, you are not taxable
- You do not reside in Switzerland.
- A SEPA-based credit institution holds your current account.
Step by Step Process – Open a Depot account in Scalable Capital?
Step-1: Visit Scalable Capital Sign Up Page
Once you land on the homepage of the scalable capital website, in the top right hand corner you will notice an option called as Open Account/Kunde Werden.
Click on the option, you will go to next page where you will notice 2 options for you to choose from Broker or Vermogensverwaltung. Click on the broker option.
Step-3: Sign up – Register your Email ID
You will be redirected to a new page called the Depot eroffnen, enter your email ID in the given space and complete the verification process.
Once the Email is confirmed. You will now be able to view the 3 plans offered by them. Choose the plan of your choice.
Step-5: Fill your Personal Information
Fill all your Personal details like Name,Marital Status, DOB, Place of Birth, Country, Nationality, Address and your IBAN Number. One needs to make the first deposit, this can be as little as sufficient which is 1 Euro. Click on Agree Terms and Conditions.
Step-6: Verification process
Now you will have to verify yourself with the Postident procedure which allows Deutsche Post employees to identify a person’s identity securely.
Once your verification is done you’re all set to go! Now you can start trading with the help of the gettex platform.
I hope this blog helped you understand the process of opening a depot account in scalable capital. Check out our youtube video HERE to understand it better.
