Trade Republic launches government and corporate bond trading

Investment app Trade Republic is adding 500 government and corporate bonds to its lineup of investment options.

Trade Republic claims the launch is a Europe-first, democratising access to direct bond investing which previously could only be accessed via banks and financial advisers.

"Especially in the current environment, bonds are an important asset class to benefit from high interest rates over the long term,” Christian Hecker, co-founder of Trade Republic said.

As well as introducing the asset, Trade Republic is also starting trading with a minimum of just €1, and with a third-party fee of €1 per trade.

“We are the first broker in Europe to open up this asset class to retail investors. Until today, investors had to rely on expensive banks or advisors to access the bond market. With this new offering, we are taking another step to make the capital market accessible for more people."

As well as bond trading, Trade Republic is also doubling the interest it pays on uninvested cash to 4 per cent as of 1 October, up from the 2 per cent it currently pays.