CommSec $600 free brokerage offer for new customers opening a new CommSec Trading Account & Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA)
https://www.commsec.com.au/homeoffer?icid=90002-public-home-…
https://www2.comsec.com.au/private/onlineapplication/Start/t…
Beware, I have notice over the last few years this offer usually comes along right before a fall in the ASX.
The contrarianism is strong with this one :)
This offer is always on for new customers, Westpac and nab also have offers for free brokerage for new customers.
Just a heads up that the Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA) is a great free bank account.
The interest is hopeless but no fees, unlimited transactions, free cheque book and a wide ATM network. It can of course be linked to UBank. If you are paying for your transaction account, don't.
Any OzBargainer paying for a transaction account should be shot on sight.
Part of the terms are:
"Your first 10 equity trades will be free, up to a total brokerage value of $600 (including GST). This offer does not apply to CommSec Share Packs, International trades, Exchange Traded Options, Margin Lending and CommSec CFDs."
So brokerage is up to (and possibly more than) $60 per trade (and I see from $19.95 / trade), for shares only. This might be good for someone who doesn't trade much at all (like a few times a year), but it's worth shopping around.
You can get share trading for ~$1 / trade with Interactive Brokers (office is Sydney) and your account is held in AUD, and you have access to most world markets. The platform is not nearly as polished for retail traders but brokerage adds up very quickly (which is kind of obvious when they want to give you $600).
That's just my thoughts anyway.
have to deposit $10k with IB
You really shouldn't be dabbling in shares with less than $10k anyway.
That's true, but if you're depositing any less than that with Commsec you'll be losing a large % in fees for each trade after the first 3 months of $600 of free trades is finished. Lowering your costs is one of the best ways to increase your odds of actually making money over the long term (especially with more active traders).
Imagine depositing $1k and paying $19.95 per trade - making money under those conditions isn't going to be easy.
Hey mate. I get what you are saying. But, ib needs an upfront deposit of 10k compared to say cmc markets. Ib fixed rate is 6aud and yes its the cheapest. I use cmc which costs 11aud and if you are an infrequent trader then it does not matter much. As for comsec, their charges are exhorbitant to say the least
@stockastics: Just wanted to check which instrument you are trading for $6AUD fixed rate with IB? I can't recall any time I have paid that much in brokerage for anything using them (but I don't trade Australian shares much if at all).
@stockastics: Sorry to bombard, but I use Mbtrading for us trading..interactive does not provide a margin account so can't sell naked options which is a bummer. Mbtrading is $1/option and awesome software/app/interface
@stockastics: Ah I see, the $6 / trade commission is for Australian shares (almost never trade this).
I have an MB account as well, but be careful applying for one with them. There are 6 levels of trading you can get approved for and they do not tell you what you are approved for until your account is setup and you try and trade that instrument. In this case I went to trade a naked option and they admitted they didn't approve me for level 6, and it is at their discretion, so naked options are still out for me.
My personal opinion of their platform is that it has been very buggy (seems better the last ~6 months) and is missing some basic features (you can't adjust the limit price on a pending order for a spread strategy - you have to cancel it and manaully re-enter your order), but is still decent for cheap commissions (I use it only for option spread strategies).
If / when IB get margin accounts back for individuals I will be a very happy camper (should know more on when to expect this very soon). If IB get margin back my MB account will be closing after Jan 2016 option expiry.
@locutus_of_bris: I use MB trading mobile app and find it very useful. I actually applied for a margin account with MB and they approved it without any hassles and minimal documentation. They also have a 24 hour help chat which I have used. Saying that, If IB gets margin trading, I will switch ;). The ASX has barely any options on offer and doesnt have much liquidity either. We could discuss some spread strategies if you want to PM me. Cheers
How does Interactive Brokers compare to the mainstream online brokers like commsec or westpac?
COmmsec and westpac are expensive. Commsec does provide some research and charts etc.. But if you want to save money, go with either IB or CMC Markets..
I thought nab was pretty competitive too with $15 per trade under 5k and 20 free trades for 45 days intro offer…
How easy is it to transfer to IB or CMC from a mainstream broker if you start with say Commsec or nabtrade for free trades, then move over to CMC?
Off market transfer $55 per holding
is this the one? checked a few brokers and all charge a similar amount for this service
Bear in mind that the free trades expire after 3 months.
just checked IB out. They charge a monthly fee if you do not trade enough.
They want a minimum of USD$10 per month from you (USD$20 per month if equity balance less than USD$2000) and if they do not get it from brokerage from your trades they will get it charging you fees.
Did I understand it correctly?
Brokerage is 0.08% of trade value (minimum AUD$6)
Westpac is 0.11% of trade value (minimum AUD$19.95)
Assuming that your trade is $25,000 the difference in brokerage $7.5 (or $3 for each $10,000)
Also compare exchange data fees for each broker - some rebate you for active trading, some might not. The data fees for the ASX are also very high compared to US exchanges (can be >$40 a month), but that might be built into some of the brokers with the higher per trade commissions.
In short, check all the fees you might encounter, not just basic commission (so data, inactivity etc).
I know this tread is a bit old now, but it looks to me that for infrequent traders Westpac is a good option with 0.11% trades if settled on the Integrated cash management Account (no fees) and they also allow you to use the equity balance of the shares you already have in your portfolio to place buy orders without having the cash sitting in the account. You can then transfer the cash (BPay) within the next 2 days for settlement (T+3 settlement). Or you can sell again the shares within T+3 and get the balance if you made a gain or come up with the difference if you made a loss.
0.11% but minimum fee is $19.95
nab is 0.11% with 14.95 minimum
just sayin
True, but if your trades are over $18000 that does not matter.
Just wanted to check if someone had a much better alternative…for trades over $20-25k
IB is cheap but if you do not trade much you pay fees
Offer extended until the 31st of July.
Thanks for sharing. Now I just need a good book or udemy course or something to help me get trading.