Andreas Weiss
CapTrader is currently one of the most attractive brokers on the German market. Especially with the Family Account is far ahead of the competition here.
Reason enough for us to answer all your questions about the family portfolio in an interview with CapTrader Managing Director Andreas Weiß!
Eichhorn Coaching: Hello Andreas and thank you very much for today's interview!
Andreas Weiss: With pleasure!
Let's start right away: there is a lot of confusion at the moment. CapTrader's previous "Family and Friends" portfolio no longer exists. Instead, you now offer a "Family Depot". What's the difference?
The first difference is that we have removed the "Friends". It used to be possible to open an administrator account for family members and friends and trade on their behalf. However, this is no longer possible. The family custody account is actually a family custody account, which means that one person can open such an account and trade for up to five actual family members.
In addition, the total number of accounts is limited to 15. You can therefore create several accounts per person as usual and use different strategies here, for example - one account could perhaps only be used for Stocks another can only be used for Options ...
This is still possible; however, the number is limited to a maximum of 15 accounts for 5 family members.
As you have already mentioned, there is a person at the top of the family custody account who is in charge of the account, with the respective sub-accounts underneath. Can you give us some more information about this "master account" or "F account" above?
A so-called "Financial Adviser" account is created when the account is opened. In the next step, however, you confirm that you are not really a Financial Adviser - this would be a financial advisor. The difference in our structure: For a financial advisor, for example, in the context of our Managed Accountsfees or management fees are incurred. However, this is not possible with a family custody account, as there are no such costs here. Instead, a natural person, the so-called trader, opens this regular account. This is also indicated accordingly when filling out the account application.
Will the course fees for the sub-accounts also be deducted from this F account/master account later?
Exactly! The fees are deducted from the F account. Subscriptions for Real-Time data and similar also run via this account.
On the subject of family members: What is a family member according to your definition, how deep do you go into detail here?
On the one hand, we recognize the relationship by the same surname. However, family members who do not have the same name can of course still use a family custody account. In these cases, we have to request further documents to ensure that we are not just acting on behalf of friends, but on behalf of our own family.
A frequently asked question from our community concerns the topic of trading GmbHs. There may also be constellations in which such a GmbH could become part of the family custody account as a separate sub-account. Is that possible?
Yes, it is possible to keep your own trading GmbH as a sub-account in the family custody account. However, the holder of the F account must have a significant stake in the GmbH! It is also possible to register a GmbH held in the name of a family member as a sub-account. In this case, however, it is necessary for the person concerned to hold at least 80 percent of the GmbH.
So the classic trading GmbH with 50 or more percent is not a problem?
Exactly, that shouldn't be a problem.
By far the most frequently asked question from our community: Can I integrate an existing account into the CapTrader family portfolio?
No, unfortunately this is not possible. A new account must be opened under this F-account/family account structure.
Another tip from us at this point: It always makes sense to think about a suitable structure at the beginning. Especially if you are just starting a new GmbH, such a family account with CapTrader could be a good idea. Because opening a "regular" GmbH account, with all the necessary documents, is no fun ... so it's better to think about a structure in advance.
Yes, exactly. We are also happy to help here! You can also contact CapTrader before opening an account. We will then look together at which structure is best for the respective customer and of course help with opening an account!
Do I actually have to have a sub-account? Could I also register a master account in my name and leave it as a sub-account?
Yes, that works too. You open your family account with CapTrader at the beginning anyway. The other sub-accounts can then follow in the next steps if the account structure is to be expanded.
Minimum age for the family custody account: what is the situation here?
The minimum age is 18. In this case, however, the family custody account with CapTrader is set up as a "cash account". This means that margin trading, for example in options trading, is not possible. However, anyone who is at least 21 years old meets the requirements and can also open such a margin account.
Do the family members have to be resident in Germany?
No! The family members only need to be resident in the EU because the entire account structure is also based in the EU. For non-EU citizens, a detour via the UK would be possible, where we open accounts for Swiss customers, for example.
As already discussed, fees for market data, for example, are deducted from the F account. A company pays a little more for such data. If I have a trading GmbH as a sub-account, will these higher fees also be deducted from the main account?
First of all, a sub-account does not have to subscribe to market data. It is sufficient if the trading person, i.e. the F account, owns the market data. If this is a natural person, the tariffs for "professional market data" do not apply either!
If a customer opens a family custody account and then holds a number of companies as sub-accounts, the picture is different. CapTrader would inquire and ask for clarification if the family custody account is used in this way. It is possible that an attempt is being made to circumvent the professional status of a GmbH.
In some cases, professional status even makes sense, for example when we think of US ETFs ...
Yes, but when it comes to the professional status of a client, a distinction is made: On the one hand, there is the view of the stock exchanges or interactive brokers, in whose eyes you are quite quickly considered a "professional client" and are then also charged correspondingly different fees. On the other hand, for trading specific products, such as the US ETFs mentioned above, a number of other requirements must be met and evidence provided.
Let's move on to the last question: How do I open a family portfolio with CapTrader?
This is very easy to do via the application that you can submit on can be found on our website. Here you can click through quickly and easily. Of course, you can also give us a quick call in advance; we will then be happy to go through all the important points with the interested parties or help with the creation of the family depot.
Thank you Andreas for this interview!
