Page Summary
This guide helps users to find the best trading platforms in UAE for bonds. Bonds are popular investment in UAE as they provide fix income and can be used for hedging or generating passive income. With the wide range of online brokers in UAE (safe and scam) that offer bonds, it can be hard to choose the ideal option for individual investment goals.
Informed decision making requires users to research, review and compare information on different brokers to avoid selecting platforms that lack in risk management tools, range of bonds, competitive commissions or regulation.
This guide assesses 30 online brokers in the UAE that offer trading with bonds. To help investors make an informed decision and find the best trading platforms in UAE for bonds, online brokers are ranked, reviewed and compared based on: range of bonds and other assets, trading fees, trading platforms & tools, deposit & withdrawals, customer support and regulation.
Top 4 Trading Platforms in UAE for Bonds
- Interactive Brokers – Best Overall Platform For Bonds
- Charles Schwab – Broker With the Lowest Fee Platforms For Bonds
- Saxo Bank – Top Trading Platform For Professional Bond Traders
- TradeStation – Ideal Trading Platform For Futures
Best Bonds Trading Platforms in UAE Reviewed
The top 4 trading platforms in UAE for bonds are reviewed below.
1. Interactive Brokers – Best Overall Platform For Bonds
Min Deposit: $0
Fees: 4.9
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees:
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
Interactive Brokers is an American brokerage firm, founded in 1978. They have a global bond marketplace with over 1 million bonds and a vast selection of fixed-income securities.
Interactive Broker charges 0,2 basis points for the first $1 million of face value and 0,01 basis points for higher face values on treasury bills, notes, and bonds. They charge 10 basis points for the first $10k of face value and 2,5 basis points on higher face values on corporate bonds. Municipal bonds are charged with a commission of 5 basis points for the first $10k of face value plus 1,25 basis points for higher face values.
Bond trading platforms available at Interactive Brokers are listed below.
- IBKR GlobalTrader
- Client Portal
- IBKR Mobile
- Trader Workstation (TWS)
- IBKR EventTrader
- MPACT mobile app
All platforms have a bond search tool that allows users to compare available bonds, maturities, and yields. They also allow users to trade directly with other IBKR clients.
Interactive Brokers offers a variety of bond research tools including Moody’s Ratings of municipal bonds. Users also have access to portfolio management, order management, and post-trade allocation tools.
Interactive Brokers doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement to open a trading account. Deposit and withdrawal options are limited to direct ACH transfers, bank wire transfers, and cash checks.
The Interactive Brokers customer support is available via email, live chat, and by phone.
Interactive Brokers Key Features for Bond Trading:
- Vast Range of Bonds Financial Instruments – access to over a million global bonds.
- Low Commissions on Bonds – low commissions starting at 0,2 basis points and no mark-ups or built-in spreads.
- In-House Bonds Marketplace – the IBKR Bonds Marketplace allows users to trade bonds directly with other investors.
- Wide Variety of Market Research and Analysis Tools – Including IBKR GlobalAnalyst, PortfolioAnalyst, Investor’s Marketplace, Interactive Advisors, and Traders’ Insight.
- Broad Selection of Educational Material – IBKR Campus, Traders’ Academy with IBKR Podcasts, webinars, the IBKR Quant Blog, the Student Trading Lab, and the Traders’ Glossary.
Pros
- Best market coverage in the industry (100k+ assets on different instruments)
- Access to 16,500 shares and 8,000 stocks as CFDs
- Professional trading platform suitable for different types of traders
- Intuitive and easy to use mobile trading app
- Industry leading fee structure
- Compatible features for casual and professional traders
- Responsive customer support
Cons
- Few deposit and withdrawal options
- Research and education materials missing
All trading involves risk. More than 80% of investors lose in spread bet and CFD trading. As these complex instruments allow for the use of leverage, there is a high risk of losing more money than you have deposited. Before attempting to participate in spread bets and CFDs, consider how well you understand them and if you can afford to lose your money.
2. Charles Schwab – Lowest Fee Platform For Bonds in UAE
Charles Schwab is an American online brokerage firm, founded in 1971. It provides users access to over 60,000 bonds from more than 200 dealers. Bonds available at Charles Schwab include treasury bonds, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, agency bonds, and mortgage-backed securities.
Charles Schwab charges no commissions on new issued bonds. Secondary trades are charged with an online fee of $1/bond.
The broker charges a commission of $10 minimum and $250 maximum per order on corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agencies, and zero-coupon treasuries.
Bonds trading platforms available on Charles Schwab are listed below.
- StreetSmart Edge
- Schwab Mobile trading app
Both trading platforms provide access to a variety of education and research tools including real-time pricing data, quotes, news, and dynamic charting tools.
Charles Schwab doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement to open a trading account.
Charles Schwab’s customer support is available 24/7 in English by email and phone.
Charles Schwab Key Features for Bond Investors:
- Great Selection of Available Bonds – access to over 60,000 bonds from 200+ different dealers.
- Low Bond Trading Fees – $0 for newly issued bonds and $1 per secondary market bond
- Best Price Guarantee – Charles Schwab guarantees users the lowest-priced bonds, which maximizes their yields.
- Advice Solutions and Financial Planning – access to automated investing (with guidance), wealth advisory, and financial planning solutions.
- Broad Selection of Educational Material – include investing insights, perspectives, retirement knowledge database, podcasts, and physical magazines.
- Highly Regulated – Charles Schwab is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is a member of the NYSE, Finra, and SIPC.
Pros
- Offers thousands of no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds
- Commissionless stock and ETF trading
- Excellent research tools and education
Cons
- Not aimed at beginners
- No cryptocurrency trading available
- Expensive managed accounts and financial advice
3. Saxo Bank – Best Professionals Trading Platform
Min Deposit: $5000
Fees: 4.7
Assets available: 4.9
Total Fees:
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Saxo Bank is a Danish investment firm, founded in 1992. It provides users access to 4,800+ government and corporate bonds from 40 of the largest bond liquidity providers.
Saxo Bank charges 0,05% in commission per trade with a $10,000 minimum trade size on bonds. The broker allows traders’ investments to be used as collateral for other trading activities with the broker.
| Rating Definition | Collateral Percentage |
| Highest Rating (AAA) | 95% |
| Very High Quality (AA) | 90% |
| High Quality (A) | 80% |
Saxo Bank offers a variety of research and analysis tools for bonds including global research on bonds, investment inspiration, live market updates, expert analysis, podcasts, and webinars.
Saxo Bank’s minimum deposit requirement is $2,000. Deposits and withdrawals are available through debit cards, bank wire transfers and stock transfer from another broker.
Saxo Bank’s customer support is available via email, phone, and live chat in English and Arabic.
Saxo Bank Key Features for Bond Investors:
- Wide Variety of International Bonds – access to 4,800+ international bonds, including US Government bonds, APAC Dual Currency bonds, and EUROTLX International bonds.
- Access to Offline Bonds – Over 3,000 bonds can be traded offline through Saxo’s bond desk.
- Low Fees – Saxo Bank charges competitive fees starting at 0,05% per bond trade with a minimum value of $10k.
- Bonds as Margin Collateral – Saxo Bank allows a percentage of the investment in bonds to be used as collateral for leveraged trading activities.
- Managed Portfolios – Saxo Bank’s experts can manage the bond portfolios of clients if they don’t want to manage their own.
- Broad Selection of Educational Material – include webinars, and videos recorded by market experts, the Market Call Podcast and SaxoStrats’ articles.
- Highly Regulated – Saxo Bank is regulated by top tier financial regulators including FSA, FCA, MAS, FINMA, AMF, FSMA, ASIC, DFSA, and ADGM.
Pros
- Industry leading market coverage
- Excellent Trading Features with SaxoTraderGo
- Advanced order type and account protection features
- Intuitive and easy to use mobile trading app
- Great education and research materials
- Competitive fee structure for active traders
Cons
- $10,000 minimum deposit for UAE users
- High time investment to set up
- Only for advanced traders
69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
4. TradeStation – Best Futures Trading Platform
Min Deposit: $0 ($2000 – Margin account; $25000 – Day Trading account; $5000 – Futures account)
Fees: 4.8
Assets available: 5.0
Total Fees:
TradeStation is an American brokerage firm, founded in 1982. They offer access to a wide range of financial instruments including 2,000 mutual funds and bonds.
Tradestation’s trading platform has a variety of research and analysis tools for bonds including a deep historical market price database for all U.S. and Eurex bonds. Users can backtest their futures trading strategies and build their own custom indicators.
Tradestation trading fees range between $0,25 and $0,75 per contract per side.
TradeStation doesn’t have a minimum deposit required. Deposits and withdrawals are available through bank wire transfer only.
TradeStation’s customer support is available via email, phone, and live chat.
TradeStation Key Features for Bond Investors:
- Wide Variety of Trading Instruments – Users have access to thousands of bonds, stocks, ETFs, options, futures, futures options, cryptocurrencies, and mutual funds.
- Competitive Fees – $0,25 and $0,75 per contract per side.
- Managed Portfolios – Users can have TradeStation’s experts manage their mutual funds and bond portfolios for them.
- Broad Selection of Educational Material – include TradeStation events, the trading Master Class, and Support Forum.
- Highly Regulated – TradeStation is regulated by the SEC and is a member of both the CFTC and FINRA. Additionally, it is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Eurex, and multiple other exchanges.
Pros
- Great choice of trading instruments offered
- Great mobile trading platform
- Very professional trading platform
Cons
- Research and education section could be better
Tips To Find The Ideal Trading Platforms in UAE For Bonds
Criteria that help users select the best Trading Platform in UAE for bonds are listed below.
- Availability Of Bonds – Brokers that offer a wide range of primary and secondary market bonds should be preferred. The most commonly tradable bonds include government bonds, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and other fixed-income securities.
- Fees and Commission – Brokers charge fees (in basis points) and commissions (in %) on bond trades. Brokers with lower overall fees should be preferred.
- Research and Analysis Tools – These tools help traders make more informed investment decisions and increase their chances of profit. Research and analysis tools to be considered include bond ratings, market news, technical analysis tools and fundamental analysis tools.
- Platforms and Tools – Broker offers different platforms and tools for trading with bonds. Personal preferences, trading styles, and language should be considered when choosing the right broker.
The Top Brokers in UAE For Bonds Compared
Key features of online brokers with the highest rated platforms for bonds are compared in the table below.
| Broker | IBKR | Charles Schwab | Saxo bank | TradeStation |
| Shares | 83 Markets | 4 Markets | 50 Markets | 5 Markets |
| Bonds | 1,000,000+ | 60,000 | 4,800 | 630 |
| Options | 34 Markets | 8 Markets | 20 Markets | 10 Markets |
| Futures | 32 Markets | 8 Markets | 28 Markets | 11 Markets |
| Bonds Fees & Commissions | Treasury bills, notes, and bonds: 0.2 BP <$1m, 0.1 BP $1m+, Corporate bonds: 10 BP <$10k, 2.5 BP $10k+, Municipal bonds: 5.0 BP <$10k, 1.25 BP $10k+. | No commissions on newly issued bonds, online fee of $1/bond on secondary market bonds min. $10, max $250. | 0,05% in commission per trade min. $10k | Depends per bond type. For more info, check out: https://www.tradestation.com/trading-products/mutual-funds/ |
| Trading Tools for Bonds | Moody’s Ratings of municipal bonds, portfolio management, order management, and post-trade allocation tools, bond search tool | Automatically shows the bonds with the lowest fees from over 200 international dealers | Traders can use their bonds as collateral for margin trading | deep historical market price database for all U.S. and Eurex bonds |
| Third Party Integrations | Addepar, Addika, Advent, Advyzon, AlphaDesk, OpenFinance, TrustFort, TradingView, and many others | DNA Behaviours, Panoramix, Wealthbox | OpenAPI for Excel, Dynamic Trend, TradingView, MultiCharts, Updata | TradingView, VectorVest, Bookmap |
| Regulators | US SEC, CFTC | FINRA, US SEC, CFTC | FCA, FSA, MAS, FINMA, AMF, AFM, FSMA, ASIC, DFSA, ADGM | CFTC, FINRA, NFA, SEC |
| Experience | Intermediate to Professional | Beginer to Professional | Intermediate to Professional | Beginer to Professional |
| Trading Style | Scalping, Day Trading, Swing Trading, Investing | Scalping, Day Trading, Swing Trading, Investing | Scalping, Day Trading, Swing Trading, Investing | Scalping, Day Trading, Swing Trading, Investing |
What Are Bonds?
Bonds are debt securities representing a loan made by an investor to a borrower.
The borrower can be a company or a government. Traders or investors who buy bonds, lend money to the company or government entity. In return they receive interest payments and the repayment of the principal at maturity.
Bonds are always issued with a fixed interest rate which is called the coupon rate and is paid out to investors periodically over the maturity length (duration) of the bond. The time span until a bond matures (maturity length) can vary from a few months to multiple years.
What Types of Bonds Are Available in the UAE?
Bonds available in the UAE include corporate bonds, government bonds, and sukuk (Islamic bonds).
Is Bonds Trading Considered Halal?
Trading with bonds is considered halal if it meets two criteria: the bonds are structured according to Sharia law and do not involve interest payments or investment in haram activities.
What Are The Advantages of Trading With Bonds in UAE
Advantages of trading with bonds in the UAE are listed below.
- Fixed income – Bonds provide a fixed income stream. This makes them popular investments for investors who want to generate a steady income.
- Diversification – Bonds help investors diversify their portfolio by providing an investment option that is less volatile compared to stocks. This helps reduce overall portfolio risk.
- Risk management – Bonds are great risk management tools. They provide a hedge against potential losses of other assets within an investment portfolio.
- Predictable returns – The fixed interest rate on bonds provides investors with predictable returns. This makes it easier for them to meet future cash flow requirements.
When Investors Should Trade With Bonds?
Types of investors that should invest in bonds are listed below.
- Income-orientated investors – Bonds are an excellent choice for investors looking for regular income and that want to generate a steady cash flow.
- Retirees – Bonds are great investment vehicles for retirees who want to benefit from a reliable income source to supplement their retirement savings.
- Risk-averse investors – Bonds are great investment assets for investors who don’t like to take significant risks, and want to minimise the losses in their investment portfolio.
- Long-term investors – Bonds are a good choice for long-term investors that want to preserve their capital and generate an income over longer timeframes.
What Is A Bond Yield?
A bond yield represents the return an investor earns from a bond. In simple terms, it is the return on the capital invested by the investor.
Definition of Bond Yields
A bond is a loan to a government or private entity (issuer) over a fixed period. The interest on a bond is called a coupon rate, and bond investors receive it regularly over time until the bond matures and they get back their original money.
Bond yield is the promised return on investment an investor gets when they hold a bond for the stipulated time period. It is basically a measure of the annualized return rate if investors hold a bond till its maturity date.
Conclusion
There is a great number of international brokers in UAE offering access to bonds on different terms, which makes it hard to find the perfect match for individual needs. Researching and analyzing offers can be stressful and requires time and knowledge.
This guide does the hard work for you by evaluating the top choices for different types of traders and trading goals. The results of our analysis of online brokers in UAE with the best trading platforms for bonds are wrapped up in the table below.
| RANK | BROKER | PLATFORM SCORE | BEST FOR | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Interactive Brokers | 4,9/5 | Overall | Official website |
| #2 | Charles Schwab | 4,9/5 | Lowest fees | Official website |
| #3 | Saxo Bank | 4,9/5 | Professional bond traders | Official website |
| #4 | TradeStation | 4,5/5 | Futures | Official website |
FAQ
Are bonds legal in the UAE?
Yes, bonds are regulated in the UAE by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and are therefore legal.
What are the types of bonds available in the UAE?
The types of bonds available in the UAE include government bonds, corporate bonds, Sukuk bonds, UAE sovereign wealth funds and international bonds.
How are profits made with bonds investments taxed in the UAE?
The UAE tax system does not apply a tax on income or capital gains achieved with bonds trading or investing.
Are bonds a good investment for beginners?
Yes, bonds can be a good investment for beginners because of their stability, deverzification capabilities, and steady income generation.
Disclaimer
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Stefan Grasic is the owner of Business24-7 and has considerable experience in the financial and investment niche, but also enjoys writing articles for the general readership. Stefan is an active stock, CFD, crypto and general investment researcher, advising blockchain companies such as Blockbird, GoCrypto, Hive Terminal at their start up level.