Opening a PEA in 2026 no longer has much to do with the dusty image of an investment reserved for insiders. At BoursoBank, everything is done online, from the mobile application or the customer area on computer and tablet, without an appointment, without paper and without discussion with an advisor. In a few minutes, the envelope is created. Then the real question remains: what do we do with it? BoursoBank is observing this renewed interest in the stock market very closely. “BoursoBank, initially, is an online broker”recalls Xavier Prin, marketing and communications director of the online bank.
The establishment claims a historic place in this market, born at the end of the 1990s, with the objective of “democratize access to the stock market”. Since the health crisis, the appetite of individuals has not weakened, quite the contrary. “We had a year of Covid which was a record year for us in terms of opening a stock market account”explains Xavier Prin. And the movement continued: “Last year, we opened nearly 300,000 stock market accounts. This is a new record. And half of these accounts opened were by young people aged 18 to 30” he specifies.
BoursoBank: opening of PEA in a few minutes
To open a PEA at BoursoBank, you must first be a customer of the bank. Opening a bank account can be done in just a few minutes. Once this step has been completed, the creation of the PEA is indeed very rapid. “To open a PEA, it’s free, in a few clicks and it takes 3 minutes flat”assures Xavier Prin.
During our test, the journey was indeed fluid: the interface guided the user step by step, the screens were clear, and the subscription was done without excessive jargon. The strong point is there: ergonomics. BoursoBank has designed its interface to make access to the PEA less intimidating. But this simplicity of openness should not make us forget the complexity of stock market investment. Opening the envelope is one thing; building your portfolio is another
Free management or programmed PEA
Once the PEA is opened, two main options are available to the saver. The first is to manage your investments yourself. In this case, the user accesses actions, funds, UCITS or ETF eligible for the PEA, and freely chooses its supports.
The second option, more accessible for beginners, is the scheduled PEA proposed by BoursoBank. “To meet the needs of clients who wish to save but who have neither the time nor the skills to manage their investments on a daily basis, we offer a programmed PEA or programmed savings plan in the PEA envelope”details Xavier Prin, who specifies that BoursoBank is “the only ones to do so in a PEA envelope”.
The principle: choose investment themes, such as the geographical area, the world, Europe, France or the sector of activity such as luxury or health, then program a monthly payment from 10 euros. “You schedule an automatic payment every month on the lines you have chosen”he explains.
The interest is twofold: invest gradually and avoid investing everything at the wrong time. “One of the golden rules, beyond diversification, is to invest gradually over time. When you put 10 euros every month, it limits the risks,” insists Xavier Prin.
ETFs, the gateway for new investors
This success of the PEA can also be explained by the growing popularity of ETFs, these listed funds which replicate a stock market index. Their main advantage: they allow you to invest in a diversified basket of values, with fees that are often lower than those of traditional funds. “ An ETF is structurally diversifiedsince when you buy an index, there is the entire basket of underlying values”recalls Xavier Prin. For a beginner, this is often simpler than choosing a particular stock.
But the marketing director of BoursoBank also calls for not looking only at fees. “The justice of the peace is the net performance of costs”he emphasizes. Understand that an inexpensive product is only interesting if it delivers, over time, satisfactory performance after deducting costs.
Fees to monitor to compare offers between players
This is one of the most important points for savers: fees. On a PEA, you have to look at any account maintenance fees, brokerage fees, but also the actual order execution price. At BoursoBank, there are no opening fees or account maintenance fees on the PEA. Brokerage fees then vary depending on the formula chosen.
With the Discovery offer, an order of less than 500 euros costs, for example, 1.99 euros. On the Trader formula, fees can be as low as 0.12% of the order amount.“The fees paid when you buy a financial product are broken down into two, there are the costs brokerage on the one hand and the price at which you buy the stock »explains the expert. According to him, some models have very low or no brokerage fees, but can be less transparent and take a margin on the execution price.
BoursoBank highlights the execution of orders on shares listed on the Euronext regulated market. “The courses are known, transparent. You have a selling price, a buying price”details Xavier Prin. The bank also offers BoursoMarkets, an offer allowing you to purchase certain products without brokerage fees. “There are BoursoBank clients who have a PEA who do not pay brokerage fees on purchase”he says, specifying that this concerns in particular products issued by players such as Amundi, BlackRock, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, Oddo, Sycomore,
A very practical tool, but which does not exempt you from being informed
At the end of the test, the observation is quite clear: BoursoBank succeeds in making opening a PEA simple and quick. The application and customer area are fluid, the path is clear, and the possibility of setting up a scheduled investment from 10 euros per month constitutes a real asset for first-time investors. But the PEA remains a stock market product. It includes un risk of capital loss and requires a minimum understanding of the supports chosen, the fees applied and the investment horizon. On this point, BoursoBank relies heavily on the autonomy of its customers.
“You are completely autonomous in the management of your PEA. You are free, but you are not alone »summarizes Xavier Prin. The bank provides educational content, quotes, news, guides, technical and fundamental analyses, video webinars, educational sheets, and BoursoCampus to support users. However, its model remains very clear: everything is done online. “People need to be ready to do everything digitally and from their phone”assumes Xavier Prin.
