Weekend Reading - Government Bond ETFs Highest Yields since 2004, Broker Landscape in Europe & SAXO 2026 Review

Most comparison sites lump brokers together, as they don’t have an in-depth knowledge of how investors think about counterparty exposure and products. Most of the websites are also conflicted, often promoting brokers with the highest-earning commissions. We take a more professional angle. How would an institutional investor categorise them?

Discover Banker on Wheels Broker Classification System developed internally by our team based on our professional experience.

It’s our conceptual blueprint for navigating the European brokerage landscape, though remember, not all brokers fit neatly into the 5 boxes.

Over the past couple of years, Saxo has transformed itself from a trading-first platform into one of Europe's most compelling for long-term investors. In 2024 and 2025 it rolled out a new pricing. Custody fees have been removed across core European countries. Trading commissions are now among the lowest available, sometimes even beating Interactive Brokers.

It also launched the SaxoInvestor interface which gives passive ETF investors a cleaner, simpler experience than IBKR's platform. Tax wrappers, and tax reporting are rolling out across markets like France, Italy, or Belgium. In Switzerland cost-free ETF savings plans are now available. Most importantly - hence our updated review - in 2025, Swiss bank J. Safra Sarasin Group acquired a 71% controlling stake, purchasing it from the previous Chinese majority owner. For European investors, this matters.

SAXO is very attractive to investors in their core markets - Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, or Singapore. It is a great diversification option for High Net Worth Investors in other countries too like UAE or Saudi Arabia, as HNW Investors typically pay private bank a higher custody fee, that SAXO charges in some non-core markets.

Traditional portfolios may be far more fragile than they appear beneath the surface. Equity concentration is at record highs, stock and bond diversification has weakened, and investors are being paid historically little for taking risk. The report explores whether the classic 60/40 portfolio still works in a world shaped by inflation uncertainty, AI-driven concentration, and tighter risk premiums, while also examining the growing role of private markets, real assets, and alternative sources of diversification.