Published on: 2026-08-07
Updated on: 2026-08-07
Three paid EBC partners explain how commission and overnight swaps affect the result of a trade, and what changes when those costs are set to zero for a limited period.
Disclosure: The traders quoted in this article are paid partners of EBC Financial Group. Their comments reflect their own trading experience and views.
Before Ezequiel Fey decides whether a day of trading was profitable, he accounts for every commission paid.
“When I make several trades, I include commissions in the actual result of each one,” he said. “A small charge may not look like much on its own, but repeated opening and closing costs can accumulate and affect the overall performance of the strategy. Before deciding whether a day was profitable, I look at the result after commissions.”
Fey is a paid EBC partner and educator with six years of trading experience. His approach reflects how trading charges work in practice. A trader may pay commission when opening a position and again when closing it. When several positions are traded during the same day or week, those deductions accumulate.
EBC’s current US stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) offer sets commission and overnight swaps to zero on eligible trades for a limited period. This removes two items from the cost calculation, although it does not change the position’s exposure to the market or the risk of an adverse price move.
Under the standard pricing, commission is charged at USD 0.02 per lot or share when a position is opened, with the same charge applied when it is closed. The exact unit depends on the instrument.
For the US stock or ETF example , commission is calculated at USD 0.02 per share.
Opening and closing a position of 10 shares would result in:
USD 0.20 in opening commission.
USD 0.20 in closing commission.
USD 0.40 in total commission.
In this example, each charge is modest. The effect becomes more noticeable when the same calculation is repeated across several positions.
A group of trades that show a positive result before commission will produce a lower net result once every opening and closing charge has been included. This is why Fey reviews his results after costs rather than looking only at the movement in market prices.
Commission is linked to opening and closing a trade. An overnight swap applies when a position remains open after the daily rollover.
The amount depends on the instrument, the value of the position, the applicable swap rate, and the number of nights it remains open.
Laura Vanesa Rodriguez Parra, a paid EBC partner and full-time trader with three years of trading experience, only keeps positions open overnight on selected occasions.
“I only leave positions open overnight occasionally, and the swap charge forms part of that decision,” she said. “If I am holding an ETF for two or three days while waiting for it to reach my target, removing the overnight charge means one less deduction to include in the calculation.”
Removing the charge changes one part of the holding decision. Whether the position remains open should still depend on whether the original trading view remains valid and whether the exposure continues to fit the trader’s risk parameters.
The example below uses a long position that would normally incur a negative swap. During the campaign, swap is neither charged nor credited. This means that short positions that would normally receive a positive swap credit will not receive it during the offer period.
Consider a hypothetical long position with the following details:
10 shares
A share price of USD 100
A total position value of USD 1,000
A holding period of two nights
Opening commission of USD 0.02 per share
Closing commission of USD 0.02 per share
An annual long swap rate of negative 5.9%
A 360-day swap calculation basis
The opening commission would be:
10 shares × USD 0.02 = USD 0.20
The closing commission would also be:
10 shares × USD 0.02 = USD 0.20
The daily overnight swap would be:
USD 1,000 × 5.9% × 1/360 = USD 0.1639
For two nights, the swap charge would be approximately:
2 × USD 0.1639 = USD 0.33
| Charge | Standard Pricing | During the Offer |
|---|---|---|
| Opening commission | USD $0.20 | USD $0.00 |
| Closing commission | USD $0.20 | USD $0.00 |
| Swap for 2 nights | USD $0.33 | USD $0.00 |
| Total commission & swap charges | USD $0.73 | USD $0.00 |
The difference in this example is USD 0.73.
This hypothetical comparison uses a USD 1,000 long position held for two nights, with commission calculated per share. It covers only commission and overnight swap charges. Spreads, market movements, and other trading considerations still apply.
On one position, the USD 0.73 difference is modest. Its cumulative effect becomes clearer when commission is repeated across several entries and exits, or when positions remain open for several nights.
The amount should not be treated as additional profit. The position may still gain or lose value with the market. In this example, the offer simply means that USD 0.73 in commission and overnight swap charges are not deducted.
Removing commission and the applicable overnight swap changes the cost attached to a qualifying trade. It does not explain why the trade should be opened.
Manuel Arias, a paid EBC partner and founder of the financial education platform Million Minds, said zero commission and zero swaps would never be enough on their own to justify a position.
“I still consider where the idea would be invalidated, how much I am prepared to risk, whether the potential move compensates for that risk, and factors such as the spread, liquidity, volatility, and upcoming economic events,” he said.
“Sometimes the better decision is to reduce my exposure or stay out of the trade.”
A position may move against a trader by an amount far greater than the commission or overnight charge that has been removed. Spreads, slippage where applicable, leverage, position size, and changing market conditions may all affect the final result.
Traders still need to consider why they are entering, where the original view would no longer be valid, how much they are prepared to risk, and whether scheduled announcements could affect the position.
The waived charges are known in advance. The market movement is not.
EBC’s zero commission and zero swaps offer on eligible US stocks and ETFs runs from 12 June to 11 September 2026.
The offer is subject to a maximum of 50 shares per buy or sell order. Per-instrument position limits, eligibility requirements, and other conditions also apply.
During the offer period, swap is set to zero. No negative swap is charged, while any positive swap that would normally be credited is also set to zero. The treatment of a position may also depend on when it is opened and closed in relation to the offer period.
Traders should review the complete terms before opening a position and confirm which products and account conditions qualify.
Commission and overnight swaps are only two parts of the wider trading calculation. For eligible long positions that would otherwise incur an overnight charge, the offer removes that charge alongside opening and closing commission. The decision to enter, hold, or close a position still depends on the trader’s market view and approach to risk.
