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I want to invest a small amount of money (about 1k to 5k) at the moment.

My personal bank (AIB) offers some investment products. I suppose my main goal is to avoid inflation and big fees. At the moment my savings account has only tiny interest and the yearly fees on my chequing account mean that I actually lose money every year by having my money in a bank!

What are the pros and cons of using my personal bank service vs just investing on an internet platform like eToro?

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    I advised my son to invest in funds at an Established Low Cost Broker. and would definitely advise him against purchasing individual stocks from an upstart fintech app. Being in the US, and because I invest there, it was "mutual funds" at Vanguard; there must be similar brokerages with offices in Ireland.
    – RonJohn
    Jul 16, 2021 at 19:10
  • And definitely not your bank; they're definitely too expensive.
    – RonJohn
    Jul 16, 2021 at 19:10
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    @RonJohn That definitely depends on the bank.
    – glglgl
    Jul 16, 2021 at 21:08
  • Cons: Risk. Pros: Reward. You will practically* never lose (nominal) money in a savings account. But the stock market could crash in half tomorrow, are you okay with that possibility?
    – user253751
    Jul 19, 2021 at 10:38
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    @RonJohn when I used etoro a year ago upon making a purchase on the platform (depositing) it was in dollars - an international purchase. It's an American platform. Likewise on withdrawal.
    – tedioustortoise
    Jul 20, 2021 at 14:05

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To my knowledge, when trading over eToro you are not buying actual shares but CFDs (contract for difference, a derivative). This adds counterparty risk: if eToro (or another party actually selling the CFDs) defaults you will have to wait for liquidation and will only get a small fraction of your money back. In contrast, if you buy actual shares or fund units, these are kept separate from your broker. Should your broker default, you can transfer your shares to another broker.

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