Risk CFD outcomes depend on leverage as much as on the direction you pick.
Investagrams does not quote a fixed spread on its trading product. InvestaTrade, the brokerage arm, charges commission instead: 0.25% plus 12% VAT, with no PHP 20 minimum, on PSE-listed equities. Charting on the analytics side covers global markets, crypto and forex data, but that data is informational only.
Why There Is No Fixed Spread
A fixed spread is a markup a dealer bakes into the buy and sell price, and it stays constant regardless of liquidity. That model belongs to forex and CFD dealers. It does not fit an agency equity brokerage, which is what InvestaTrade is.
Investagrams is an analytics platform. Trades are cleared through Investors Securities, Inc., a PSE Trading Participant and SEC-licensed broker that has held its seat since 1969. When you buy on InvestaTrade, your order goes to the exchange order book, not against a dealing desk quoting you a price.
A fixed spread is a cost paid implicitly, at the moment of execution, and it widens when the market is thin. A commission is explicit and visible on your contract note. For a buy-and-hold PSE equity investor, the second model is easier to audit.
What You Actually Pay
The commission line is only part of the bill. Philippine equity trades carry exchange and clearing fees, plus a sales tax on the sell side.
| Charge | Rate | When applied |
|---|---|---|
| InvestaTrade commission | 0.25% + 12% VAT | Buy and sell |
| PSE fee | 0.005% | Buy and sell |
| SCCP fee | 0.01% | Buy and sell |
| Sales tax | 0.6% | Sell only |
A round trip on PHP 100,000 of stock lands near PHP 620-650 once VAT and the statutory fees are added. That figure is arithmetic from the published schedule.
There is no minimum commission of PHP 20, which matters for trades in PHP 5,000-10,000 clips. On brokers that do apply the floor, small trades can carry an effective rate well above 0.25%.
What "Spread" Means Here
The word shows up in the Investagrams product in one place only: the analytics layer. Charts cover global markets, crypto and forex data, and on those instruments a bid/ask gap is visible. That gap is informational - a third-party feed, not a price that can be traded inside InvestaTrade.
The platform's forex charts are not a tradable spread. Investagrams offers no retail forex and no CFD dealing, and margin is limited to what the PSE cash market permits. The chart is a reference tool for context.
A fixed-spread FX or CFD account is a different product category, and the comparison belongs with brokers that quote those instruments.
The Fixed Spread Alternative
A fixed spread means the dealer absorbs volatility. That guarantee has to be paid for somewhere. Brokers offering a genuinely fixed spread on majors tend to have wider average pricing than their variable-spread competitors, or they apply slippage and requotes precisely when the market moves hardest.
What separates a durable fixed-spread offering from a fragile one comes down to a short list:
- Regulatory standing of the entity you actually sign with, not the group's flagship licence
- Client fund segregation, confirmed in the account agreement rather than the marketing page
- The spread schedule itself, including any carve-outs for news events and rollover
- Execution policy on the order type you use most
- A track record long enough to have survived at least one volatility shock
For Filipino clients, the entity question is not academic. The SEC does not currently issue local retail forex or CFD dealer licences, so most residents who trade those instruments do so with offshore-regulated brokers. The BSP historically framed retail FX leverage around a 1:25 maximum for locally offered products under Circular No. 969 (2017), while offshore brokers commonly extend 1:100 to 1:500+ to Filipino clients. Reform proposals to tighten CFD leverage toward 1:20-1:30 have been discussed but are not confirmed enacted as of this review. Current thresholds can be verified at bsp.gov.ph.
When comparing fixed-spread brokers, weight FCA, ASIC or CySEC supervision, segregated client money, and a long public record above a tenth of a pip on the quote.
Where the Costs Bite
| Scenario | What changes | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Frequent small trades | 0.25% applies per side | Costs compound fast below PHP 20k clips |
| Sell-side exits | 0.6% sales tax added | Round-trip cost is asymmetric |
| PHP-USD conversion | ~1-3% spread/fees | Applies only if funding via offshore rails |
| Withdrawal timing | 1-3 business days typical | Standard for the market, not instant |
The PHP-USD line matters only if money is routed offshore, which is a separate decision from trading on InvestaTrade. For domestic PSE trades, funding is in PHP through bank transfer, online banking or e-wallets via the partner broker's channels. There is no minimum deposit and no maintaining balance.
Forex and CFD profits are treated as ordinary income in the Philippines, not as a separate capital-gains regime. Realised net gains go under "Other Taxable Income" on the annual return, and net losses may be claimed as itemized deductions. Resident individuals face TRAIN-law progressive rates: 0% up to PHP 250,000, bracketed up to 35% above PHP 8,000,000. Resident citizens are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents pay a flat 25% on Philippine-sourced income. The authority is the BIR, and the rates are current as of this review.
The balance
The InvestaTrade cost structure suits regular PSE equity positions. The commission model is transparent and has no minimum. Live data, market depth and broker transaction visibility sit in the same app used for charts, and the regulatory chain - Investagrams as analytics provider, Investors Securities, Inc. as the SEC-licensed PSE participant - is verifiable. For a Filipino investor building a domestic equity position, that is a coherent setup at a fair price.
It does not serve any trading style that depends on a quoted spread. There is no FX, no CFD, no leverage beyond what the PSE cash market allows, and no Islamic or swap-free account. A strategy that needs those requires a different venue.
Works for:Filipino investors trading PSE-listed equities who want explicit, auditable costs, no minimum deposit, and a platform that combines charting and execution. The 0.25% commission with no PHP 20 floor is competitive for position sizes that would be penalised elsewhere.
Falls short for:anyone whose strategy requires a fixed spread, FX or CFD exposure, or leverage above PSE cash-market levels. Those traders should compare brokers with FCA, ASIC or CySEC supervision, documented client-fund segregation, and a fixed-spread schedule that has survived a real volatility event - and check the entity they are actually contracting with, not the group brand.
Questions
Does Investagrams charge a fixed spread?
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No. InvestaTrade charges commission at 0.25% plus 12% VAT, with no PHP 20 minimum, on PSE-listed equities. Spreads appear only in the analytics charts, which cover global markets, crypto and forex data for reference.
What is the total cost of a round trip on PSE stocks?
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Commission of 0.25% plus 12% VAT on both sides, plus PSE fee 0.005% and SCCP fee 0.01% on both sides, plus 0.6% sales tax on the sell. On PHP 100,000 that works out to roughly PHP 620-650 for a full round trip.
Is there a minimum commission per trade?
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No. InvestaTrade charges no PHP 20 minimum, which keeps the effective rate close to 0.25% on smaller clips. Brokers that apply a floor can push the effective cost well above that on trades under PHP 20,000.