How we test and review brokers
StockTradeMastery compares brokers and investment products for beginners in the Netherlands. This page explains how we do that: which criteria we assess, which sources we use, how often we update our pages, and how we stay independent. That way you can judge for yourself how much weight to give our comparisons.
Important upfront: we do not provide personal investment advice. We describe facts and objective differences so you can make a well-informed choice yourself. Investing involves risk — you can lose (part of) your deposit.
What we assess brokers on
We assess every broker against five objective criteria. We do not express a preference for your situation; we lay out the differences factually.
- Costs — per-order transaction fees, currency conversion costs, the cost of ETF savings plans, and any inactivity or withdrawal fees. We use concrete examples in euros.
- Safety & regulation — which regulator the broker falls under (AFM, EFSA, BaFin, CySEC), licence numbers, and how your deposit is protected (investor compensation, segregated client funds).
- Ease of use for beginners — how clear the platform is, whether there is a Dutch-language app and tax statement, and how onboarding and verification work.
- Product range — which stocks, ETFs and savings plans are available, fractional investing, and whether these are real securities or leveraged products (CFDs).
- Transparency — how clear the broker itself is about costs and risks. Hidden fees or misleading claims count against a broker.
Where we label a broker «best for» a particular use profile (for example «best for ETF savings plans»), that is always tied to a concrete, verifiable feature — not to our personal preference.
Which sources we use
We base our figures on primary sources and re-check them regularly:
- The brokers’ own official pricing and document pages;
- Regulators and registers: the Dutch AFM, the Estonian EFSA, the German BaFin and the Cypriot CySEC;
- Official government sources for tax and regulation, such as the Dutch Belastingdienst and central government;
- ETF providers’ product documentation (TER, ISIN, fund size, index composition).
If we cannot confirm a figure at the source, we do not state it as fact. We do not invent fees.
How often we update
Broker fees and tax rules change. That is why we:
- review our broker and ETF pages for accuracy every quarter;
- update a page immediately when a broker changes a fee or a regulator issues new rules;
- track ongoing legislation (such as the Dutch Real Return Act for Box 3) and update the relevant pages after each milestone.
Each page shows when it was last updated at the bottom.
Independence & how we make money
StockTradeMastery is free to read. We earn through affiliate links: if you open an account with a broker via a link on our site, we sometimes receive a fee from that broker. This costs you nothing extra.
Importantly: an affiliate partnership does not determine how we rate a broker. We also include brokers we have no partnership with (such as DEGIRO), precisely because they matter for the comparison. We name the downsides of brokers we do partner with too. Which links are affiliate links is set out in our disclaimer.
What we do not do
- We give no personal investment advice and never say which broker or investment is «the right one» for your situation.
- We make no promises about returns. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
- We do not promote products that are unsuitable for beginners as if they were beginner-friendly. We describe CFDs and other leveraged products for what they are: risky, leveraged instruments.
Unsure about your personal situation? Consult a certified financial or tax adviser.