Trade Republic undercuts Germany's 1% pension cost cap with fee-free account. Tuesday, 13/10/2026 | 06:54 GMT-7 by Tanya Chepkova * The account will offer government subsidies and tax-deferred investment growth, with selected ETFs also available without fund costs. * For Trade Republic, the account provides a route to attract customer assets that could remain on its platform for decades. Trade Republic plans to launch a free retirement investment account in Germany in January 2027, using the country's pension reform to compete on price for savings that could remain on its platform for decades. The Berlin-based neobroker said it would charge no custody or regular savings-plan execution fees. It also plans to remove fund costs from several dozen selected ETFs supplied by BlackRock, DWS and Vanguard. Eligible customers could receive government support of up to €540 per year, plus up to €300 annually for each child. People who open an account before turning 25 may also qualify for a one-time €200 starter bonus. The final amount will depend on the customer's contributions and personal circumstances. Reform opens pension savings to market investing. Germany's reform creates a new type of subsidised retirement account designed to lower costs and give savers greater investment choice. The standard version will carry a 1% cost ceiling, while Trade Republic plans to go further by waiving custody and regular savings-plan execution fees. Selected ETFs will also be offered without fund costs "over the long term." The new accounts will allow customers to invest subsidised contributions in equity funds and ETFs without the capital guarantee required under the previous system. This provides greater exposure to potential market returns, but also means the value of retirement savings can fall. Investment gains will accumulate without current taxation during the saving period, while qualifying contributions may receive government allowances and tax deductions. Other brokers move into pension accounts. Trade Republic is one of several European brokers expanding into retirement savings. In Germany, Scalable Capital has announced both a standard pension account and a self-directed version. Account administration and savings plans will be free, while the fund costs of selected ETFs from BlackRock, DWS, Vanguard and Scalable will be reimbursed and reinvested. Outside Germany, Trading 212 recently secured FCA approval to offer self-invested personal pensions in the UK. The British and German products operate under different tax and regulatory systems, but both add tax-advantaged retirement savings to platforms built primarily around retail investing. For Trade Republic, the pension account continues its expansion beyond transactional brokerage into longer-term savings and banking services. The company has also introduced current accounts in markets including Greece. Germany enacted the reform in May, and the new products are due to become available from 1 January 2027. The full scope of its fee-free offer will become clearer when the company publishes the eligible ETF list, the duration of the fund-cost waiver and the detailed terms before launch. Tanya Chepkova is a News Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 16 years of experience in financial journalism, covering forex, crypto, and digital asset markets. Her work spans daily industry reporting and data-driven, long-form explainers focused on market structure, trading models, and regulatory shifts. Before joining Finance Magnates, she led the editorial team of a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet for six years. Her reporting combines analytical depth with clear storytelling, with particular attention to how structural changes in trading, stablecoin infrastructure, and emerging products such as prediction markets reshape the broader financial ecosystem. She covers global developments and provides additional insight into CIS markets. Areas of Coverage: Crypto and digital asset markets Prediction markets Stablecoins and cross-border payments Industry analysis and long-form explainers * 541 Articles * 4 Followers

Trade Republic profit jumps sevenfold in final full year with German PFOF. Monday, 12/10/2026 | 10:05 GMT-7 by Tanya Chepkova * Trade Republic's profit jumped to €232.7 million in the final full financial year before Germany's PFOF exemption expired. * Commission income rose 132% to €732.6 million, while a slower increase in costs reduced the cost-to-income ratio from 83% to 62%. Trade Republic's annual profit rose almost sevenfold to €232.7 million as commission income more than doubled. The figures provide the final full-year benchmark before Germany's payment-for-order-flow exemption expired. According to Trade Republic's newly filed financial statements for the year ended September 2025, commission income rose because of higher trading volumes and a broader product range. Costs also rose, but much more slowly than revenue, driving a sharp improvement in profitability. Profit reaches €232.7 million. Commission income rose 132% to €732.6 million, while interest income declined slightly as lower rates offset growth in interest-bearing cash reserves and bank balances. Operating costs also increased, but more slowly than income. Administrative expenses rose 87% to €419.8 million, including higher spending on marketing, technology and outsourced services. Consequently, the cost-to-income ratio improved to 62% from 83%. | Financial measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | Change | | Net profit | €232.7m | €34.8m | +569% | | Commission income | €732.6m | €315.6m | +132% | | Interest income | €21.0m | €23.0m | -8% | | Administrative expenses | €419.8m | €224.6m | +87% | | Equity | €799.3m | €566.5m | +41% | The results preceded a €1.2 billion secondary share transaction that valued Trade Republic at €12.5 billion. The transaction involved existing shares and did not provide new capital to the company, which reported more than 10 million customers and €150 billion in client assets. The commission engine behind the profit. Trade Republic's non-financial report describes the execution model operating during the period: all trades were conducted through LS Exchange, while customers generally paid a fixed €1 third-party-cost fee. Savings-plan executions were free. The financial statements show that commission income covered execution-related subsidies, customer fees, payment services and other commission items. Those subsidies included rebates received for routing securities orders to trading partners. PFOF rebates formed part of Trade Republic's commission income during the period, but the financial statements do not disclose their value. It is therefore impossible to determine how much of the increase from €315.6 million to €732.6 million came from routing payments. Trade Republic attributed the wider increase to higher trading volumes, an expanded product range and continued international growth. The post-pfof test begins. After Germany's PFOF exemption expired on 30 June 2026, Trade Republic introduced two execution options. Under the standard Best Price model, the company selects the execution venue based on prices available across the relevant exchanges and charges €1 per order. Clients who want to choose the venue themselves can use Direct Price. This option provides access to 30 exchanges and costs €2 per order. Finance Magnates previously examined the new structure. Despite the approaching ban, management said in the report that it expected another significant absolute increase in commission income during the following financial year and had adapted its strategy accordingly. Separately, Trade Republic Business III GmbH received approval to operate a multilateral trading facility on 23 January 2026. The accounts do not explain its intended role or connect it to the new execution model. The next accounts will provide the first evidence of how the new model performs, although only the final three months of that financial year fall after the German PFOF exemption expired. Tanya Chepkova is a News Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 16 years of experience in financial journalism, covering forex, crypto, and digital asset markets. Her work spans daily industry reporting and data-driven, long-form explainers focused on market structure, trading models, and regulatory shifts. Before joining Finance Magnates, she led the editorial team of a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet for six years. Her reporting combines analytical depth with clear storytelling, with particular attention to how structural changes in trading, stablecoin infrastructure, and emerging products such as prediction markets reshape the broader financial ecosystem. She covers global developments and provides additional insight into CIS markets. Areas of Coverage: Crypto and digital asset markets Prediction markets Stablecoins and cross-border payments Industry analysis and long-form explainers * 539 Articles * 4 Followers