What you actually own when you buy through Trading 212
A price comparison stops at the commission. This page starts after it: whether the trade leaves you holding a security or a contract, whose name that security is registered in, and what the document Trading 212 EU GmbH (Germany, BaFin 10109603) publishes says becomes of it if the firm fails.
Which entity and which product this covers
Applies to Trading 212 EU GmbH, the entity Trading 212's own help centre names as "the sole provider of the custody services" after migrating client assets out of Trading 212 Markets Ltd. The nominee and omnibus wording quoted below is from the Invest terms issued by Trading 212 Markets Ltd (Cyprus, CySEC 398/21) and predates that migration; the German entity's own custody terms were not obtained in this check, so treat the mechanism as described rather than as re-confirmed for the new custodian. CFDs are a separate contract under which no underlying instrument changes hands on either side. The nominee company is never named, and the CFD terms do not state in as many words who acts as counterparty. Trading 212 also runs a UK entity under FCA supervision, which these documents do not cover.
Do you own real shares when you buy through Trading 212?
A real security — but not one registered in your name. Trading 212 EU GmbH (Germany, BaFin 10109603) holds client investments through a nominee or custodian, pooled in an omnibus account together with other clients. You are the beneficial owner: the shares are yours rather than the firm's, but they are not separately identifiable as yours in the register.
“Whenever your Investments are registered in the name of a Nominee Company nominated by us, that Nominee Company will hold them on trust for you. This means that you are the beneficial owner of the Investments. Your Investments will be registered in the same name as those of other clients (pooled together with other clients’ Investments in an omnibus co-mingled custody account, like with like).”
What happens to your holdings if Trading 212 fails?
Here is what Trading 212 EU GmbH (Germany, BaFin 10109603) says in its own document, in its own words — including the part that qualifies it.
“If we or the Nominee Company used by us were to become insolvent, there may be delays in identifying individual assets, and possibly an increased risk of loss if there should be a shortfall because additional time may be needed to identify the assets held for specific clients.”
The counterweight in the same document
“In the event of an unreconciled shortfall caused by the default of a custodian, you may share proportionately in that shortfall.”
Does Trading 212 sell CFDs on shares, and what changes if it does?
Alongside real shares, Trading 212 also sells contracts for difference on equities. That is a different product with a different answer: no underlying instrument changes hands on either side, and the position is an agreement with Trading 212 EU GmbH (Germany, BaFin 10109603) rather than something you hold.
“Buying CFDs on a stock does not make you a shareholder in the respective company. You shall not have voting rights or liquidation rights. When trading with CFDs, you and we explicitly agree that neither of us shall physically acquire the base instrument purchased by the CFD.”
Can a loss at Trading 212 follow you past your balance?
Not as a retail client of Trading 212 Markets Ltd (Cyprus, CySEC 398/21) — negative balance protection caps your loss at the account balance. That protection is tied to retail classification: if you ask to be reclassified as a professional client, it goes away. One qualification: Trading 212 Markets Ltd grants this protection to retail CFD clients specifically; the source document is its CFD Terms, which do not cover anything held outside CFD trading.
Verified 2026-09-08 · Source document
Frequently asked questions
Do you own real shares when you buy through Trading 212?
What happens to your holdings if Trading 212 fails?
Does Trading 212 sell CFDs on shares, and what changes if it does?
Can a loss at Trading 212 follow you past your balance?
How we verified this review
Every fact below is verified against primary sources. We refresh on a schedule and on reader feedback.