Is Webull safe – It is Risky To Invest on Webull in 2022 ?

Is Webull Safe - Is Webull secure enough to trade with in 2022 and beyond

Is Webull Safe in 2022 ? Webull is one of the newest online brokers, founded in 2017 and debuted in May 2018 with just a mobile app. Stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies are all available at Webull.

This smaller collection of assets aims the younger and more self-directed clients.

Meanwhile, the more conscious investors cannot help wondering :Is Webull Safe to Invest with in 2022 ?

Is Webull Safe | What Is Webull

Webull Financial LLC provides a commission-free electronic trading platform for stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, margins, and cryptocurrencies, accessible by mobile app and desktop computer.

Who Owns Webull?

Wang Anquan owns Webull’s parent business, Fumi Technology.

He controls roughly 35% of the organization.

Xiaomi ranks second with roughly 14 percent, followed by Noah Holdings Ltd. with around 9%.

So far, Anthony Denier’s ownership share has remained unknown.

How does Webull Make Money?

Webull is a FinTech startup that allows customers to trade financial commodities like stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without paying a fee.

Payments for order flow, short selling fees, subscription fees, interest paid on margin, and earnings gained by investing funds on balance are all ways that Webull generates money.

Webull does not charge any kind of commission.

But even no-commission platforms, must generate money in some way.

Here’s how Webull goes about it:

Payment for order flow

This is a contentious but frequent technique in which trading applications generate money. They do so by routing clients’ orders to high-speed traders.

Stock Loans

Some investors engage in a technique known as short-selling.

It involves betting on a company’s stock price falling.

Webull generates money by lending investors’ shares to short-sellers.

They then sell the borrowed shares to third-party investors in the hopes of repurchasing them at a lower price later.

Interest on Free Credit Balances

A free credit balance is the amount of money that a broker has to pay you on-demand.

This includes the money you deposit in an account or dividends.

Brokerages profit from the idle cash in your account by lending it to other parties.

They collect the interest on it.

Margin Interest

Users who have at least $2,000 may create a margin account.

It allows them to borrow money to purchase stocks.

Customers get more purchasing power, but they also take more risk.

The amount of the margin loan decides the margin rate.

Webull charges interest every month.

A debit amount of up to $25,000, for example, has an annual margin rate of 6.99%.

Webull Growing Popularity

Webull is touching new heights of popularity in the stock market.

The criticism against Robinhood Markets’ trading limits may be sending users to Webull Financial, one of the brokerage’s fastest-growing competitors.

New account signups were 1,548 % greater than the seven-day norm, according to the Chinese-owned brokerage.

The company’s trading app, which had a previous standing at 60th.

Hence, it is now the second-most popular free iPhone app in the United States, behind only Robinhood.

Google Trends Stats Worldwide Search

Before the year 2021, the Google trends for Webull were not so encouraging.

However, over the course of last 12 months, there has been amazing fluctuations particularly in the month of January.

We can expect the same in the January 2022.

So, let’s look forward to it.

Is Webull Safe?- Webull worldwide trends over the past 12 months
Webull worldwide trends over the past 12 months

Google Trends stats USA

Similar to what we discussed for the worldwide trends, the Webull trends in the USA have been really promising.

We can hope to expect some bigger things in the coming year!

Is Webull Safe? - Webull Search Trends in USA
Webull trends 2021

Compare Webull Popularity to Nemesis Robinhood

Millions of users have flocked to Webull and Robinhood, two of the most popular investing apps, for their ability to swiftly trade and monitor stocks, options, and cryptocurrencies.

In several critical areas, Webull compares well with Robinhood, if not outperforms it.

Moreover, Webull provides helpful charts, better customer assistance, and still gets the job with no fees.

Looking at the Google trends Search for the two millennials trading platforms, Robinhood is 6 to 7 times more popular that Webull as depicted on the chart below.

Is Webull Safe?- Webull vs Robinhood Web searches from 2018 to 2021 - Robinhood is 7times more popular in searches than Webull
Webull vs Robinhood Web Searches by Google Trends

Robinhood is fantastic for no-cost trading, an innovative mobile app, and fractional shares, whereas Robinhood is great for no-cost trading, a slick mobile app, and fractional shares.

Although the cryptocurrency market is open 24 hours a day.

Webull’s extended hours trading function allows users to trade conventional assets such as stocks and ETFs from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. or 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The stock market’s typical hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

This feature is making Webull more popular than Robinhood.

Is Webull a Legit Trading Platform

All of the key financial regulators regard Webull to be a legit trading platform.

In general, any brokerage’s safety may be determined by the level of protection you have as an investor and the broker’s history. And on these counts, Webull is unmistakable.

Is it Safe to give Webull your SSN?

When you are creating your Webull account for the first time, you will be asked your physical residence.

Then short after, you will be required to provide your Social Security Number (SSN).

Many people are surprised by this request and feel quite uncomfortable.

Giving your SSN to a trading platform is a requirement because Webull like many other trading platforms must reports your earnings at the end of the year to the Internal Revenue Service.

The SSN collected that Webull collects are part of a huge data base of personal information.

This information needs to be secured enough to avoid any breach on people personal info.

How is Webull Regulated in the USA?

Webull is a licensed broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). 

The SIPC, since 1970, is a non-profit, nationally required, and member-funded organization that has guaranteed funds placed with US-registered brokerages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States has launched its official website to safeguard investors and ensure fair, orderly, and efficient markets by preventing fraud, manipulation, excessive speculation, and insider trading.

Is Webull Safe - Is Webull secure enough  to trade with in 2022 and beyond

However, Webull customers may invest in over 5,000 US-listed stocks, ETFs, and other assets without paying a fee.

Investors may use the app to access trading services encompassing market data from over 100 exchanges in 90 countries.

Everything is there: stocks, bonds, commodities, foreign exchange, options trading, and cryptocurrencies.

Webull Regulations in other countries?

In the USA, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulate Webull.

However, outside the USA i.e. in China and Hong Kong, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commissions (SFC) are undertaking its regulation.

Which other countries have access to the platform today?

At present, other than the USA there are very few countries in the world that have access to Webull.

These few countries are China and Hong Kong, Korea, India, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil, and The Philippines.

So, it is very clear that Webull operates in different countries in the world, and it may become operational in some other countries also. 

How do different regulators control Webull?

Webull is regulated by federal securities regulations that guarantee that all investors are treated fairly. The SEC zealously enforces all federal securities laws and holds everyone responsible for any violation.

On the other hand, FINRA’s purpose also includes investor protection.

As a government-authorized non-profit, they protect the integrity of the financial markets by monitoring all brokerage firms in the United States.

However, every business that distributes securities products and the securities of their advertising is licensed and tested by FINRA. FINRA analyzes billions of market events every day.

Is Webull Secure Enough to Invest with?

When choosing an online trading platform, look into what financial authorities control the site to ensure its reputation.

As you can see, many top-tier organizations are behind the regulation of Webull.

This guarantees that it complies with all US, UK, and international laws ensuring the protection of investors.

Webull is Reliable
Webull is Reliable

How are stock investors protected? 

Webull is a member of the SIPC – Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

It means that clients have a cover-up of $500,000 ($250,000 in cash) if the brokerage goes out of business. It is also relevant in the case of loss of assets.

The brokerage’s clearing business, Apex Clearing, has extra insurance coverage that covers securities and cashes up to a total amount of $150 million.

This is subject to maximum restrictions of $37.5 million in securities and $900,000 in cash for each client.

However, bear in mind that this coverage won’t prevent you from just losing money in the market, which is why investing sensibly is so crucial. 

How are Crypto investors protected? 

An account with Apex Crypto is a must-have to trade cryptocurrencies. Apex Crypto is not a broker-dealer that has the registration with the SEC.

It handles Webull’s crypto trading and custody.

Moreover, Apex Crypto performs the transaction and maintains the coin money when you purchase a cryptocurrency on Webull. 

While Apex Crypto seems to offer secure crypto storage, there are a few points to keep in mind: 

  • Its bitcoin assets are not covered by insurance.
  • Its risk statement states that in the case of technical issues, it may not have enough financial coverage to compensate for bitcoin losses.

What Can You Do to Keep Your Webull Account Safe

While Webull does its part in keeping your account and personal information protected, you can help as well by following the safety tips below:

Here are a few tips:

• Ignore suspicious calls, texts or emails that request personal information or payment. Webull will never ask you for your passwords and will never call you to seek personal information.

• Ignore and report any calls, texts or emails that ask you to transfer money. Webull will never request that you wire money to any Webull account.

• Be sure you know who an email or text message is from before you click on a link or open an attachment. Hover over links to reveal the website’s URL and see where the link really goes. Do not click on links that don’t match the sender or don’t match what you expect to see.

• Pay close attention to the email address and sender’s name, which may be off by just a character or two if it’s a phishing attempt. Webull will only contact you from verified Webull domains: Webull.com or Webull-us.com. Other domains, like webullxa.com, are fraudulent and you should not engage with them.

• Be careful of suspicious calls, texts or emails that imply a sense of urgency or ask you to act quickly.

• Only download apps from legitimate app stores (like the Apple App Store, Google Play App Store).

• Enable two-factor authorization and review your trusted devices in order to protect access to your account.

• More information is also available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams

What Do Users Say About Webull?

Webull is ideal for the trader or aggressive investor who does not want assistance.

It also appeals to individuals who wish to trade since there are no additional expenses.

There is no account minimum, competitive margin rates, and zero fees on stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies.

Is Webull trusted by Investors?

Since its inception in 2017, Webull has seen consistent development.

Not only has it survived the COVID-19-facilitated 2020 crisis, but it has also managed to grow its service offering during that period.

Webull has allowed its traders to utilize cryptocurrencies as trading instruments from the end of November 2020.

Who is Webull Target demographic?

Webull’s most significant target demographic, millennials, were reflected in the mobile-first launch.

Webull serves the newer and more active traders.

In addition, Webull welcomes people who take interest in a platform that offers a wide variety of free services, such as no account minimums, commission-free stock/ETF, and options trading and numerous cryptocurrencies.

Moreover, customers of Webull receive a lot of bang for their buck: a beautiful platform with a lot of valuable tools and features, as well as attractive profit rates.

Is Webull Really Free?

Webull does not charge commissions on any transactions, including the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the trading of options.

Robinhood popularized commission-free trading, which is now the industry standard, even among major brokerages like Charles Schwab and Fidelity.

According to Webull’s website, regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) may still charge extremely tiny fees, such as $0.02 per transaction.

Is Webull Good For Beginners?

Webull is an excellent broker for newcomers.

First and foremost, their online platform is ideal for any newcomer, as it offers a wide range of order types, good customizability (workspace, charts), and is ultimately user-friendly.

Also, with two-step authentication, the Webull mobile platform is secure.

However, many newbies to trading are afraid of expenses, so the no-fee for options, ETFs, and equities is a massive plus for them.

A simple account registration procedure is another reason why this platform is a good location for new traders to start.

There is no minimum deposit, you can enjoy Webull Instant Deposit and everything is entirely digital and very quick.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This article provided arguments to answer the question : Is Webull Safe for new investors in 2022?

Depending on your investment type, you can feel secure to invest with Webull as many regulations are in place to protect your money.

As for cryptocurrencies product, Webull current clearing firm Apex Crypto does not provide the security to the many traders who embark in this new endeavor.

Until time will tell how people will feel about that part of Webull not knowing what may happen t their money should some awry happens down the road.