I was looking to start looking into investing into some stocks online. Of course I want to start small and test the waters.
Any recommendations on which broker to use?
I am looking at IG.com as they have the lowest fee per trade but am not sure if that is the only thing to look for. Anyone have any experience with them?
Could really use some good advance. Thanks in advance!
Thanks. $500 minimum seems like a lot isnt it.
Could you please tell me what you liked about them when signing up? Thanks!
not really when you have to pay $11 per trade its best to trade with larger amounts
No, it's a very small amount. You want to purchase shares in lots of $3k or more.
I recommend to spend min $5000 for a share. So $500 minimum is ok.
$11 brokerage fee is super cheap. Pretty sure commsec way more expensive $20?
$500 is the minimum marketable parcel size on the ASX. Unless you are a robot.
Sometimes I wonder if I am one..haha..will keep in mind thanks!
Was a couple of years since I signed up. Only just got round to doing my first trade. Sent off a few copies of ID via email if I remember correctly. Was straighforward but may have changed since.
As mentioned below, its not very cost effective trading in smaller amounts for obvious reasons but I have a a hunch on a share trading at 8c at the moment so thought I would give it a go.
You need to get used to mentioning the stock ticker in the hope others will buy in too!
FMS if you're interested, do the research yourself, price doubled in the last week or so. Not going to reason why haha.. Some good and bad reviews on them.
Your profile says you are in Dallas TX.
If so, you may need to look more closely at the requirements/conditions of the Broker.
For example, CommSec says:
If you are currently living overseas, you may be able to trade with us if you are CHESS (Clearing House Electronic Sub-register System) sponsored with CommSec and have an Australian bank account linked for the settlement of your trades. Some restrictions apply to applicants from different jurisdictions depending on various legal and regulatory requirements.
Do you have a TFN?
Sorry I have since moved to Melbourne. I am here in Australia and have a TFN.
Lemme update my location.
Oh, no worries.
Welcome.
If you find a place in Melbourne that measures up to Texan BBQ let me know.
Thx!
Commsec is the best, flat fee of $19.95 brokerage for trades up to $10,000.
I traded with Igmarkets for many years.
All I can say is they do have a terrific trading platform, low prices, easy deposits etc. Your money will be returned on request no hassle.
But, as claimed by many people past. This industry are effectively sharks -> most amateur traders lose their money. I didn't but the deceptive odds don't allow you to earn enough to make it worth the incredible effort necessary.
That was just me, so you may be better at this than I.
Summary, IG is a convenient amazing place to trade, but you are likely better off to get a better job and earn that way IMO.
Added: One bad thing about IG exclusively is they do not give margin calls. They just close trades.
I've been using IG, no hassles. If I was going to buy shares as a long term investment, i'd probably go with CMC Market or CommSec. IG allows you to easily trade currencies, indexes, oil, all sorts. It also allows you to short stocks.
Good luck with trading. …i'm afraid you're going to need it!
Thank you..Let me try my luck :)
Never heard of IG but they're brokerage seems slightly cheaper than CMC at $8/0.1% per trade compared to CMC which is $11/0.1% per trade. I'm currently with CMC but only make ETF purchases once or twice a year so might look at switching to IG. Has anyone heard of Interactive Brokers? They seem to charge 0.08% per trade.
If you trade a lot the cheapest is Interactive Brokers, but they have a monthly fee of $10US (which will pay for part of your monthly brokerage fee if you make trades that month).
I looked at IG and Interactive Brokers, but from what I've read, the share holdings are not held by you directly, but are held in trust on your behalf by those brokers. I'm willing to pay slightly extra to know that the shares are directly held in my name at the registry.
Yep i'm also a bit unsure about how who actually owns the shares. So with that, and if it's a long term investment, I'd rather go with Commsec or CMC where the shares you buy, you own.
just buy through IB then transfer your shares to where ever you want.
I will try to explain. When you buy a stock, commodity or other CFD from IG, or another such company. No one owns the share, as you effectively are just opening a legal contract to gamble against IG.
They may or may not hedge your bet on the underlying market, that does not affect you. If they go broke suddenly, you own nothing but a dead contract with IG.
What you guys have said is right. If you buy the real shares at commsec etc, you are safe if the trading company folds for example. It is the best choice long term. But still there are many advantages/different risks to CFD's for short term trading.
HTH. Probably not ;-)
That's true for CFDs, but IG now offer actual share trading, and you do end up the beneficial owner of the shares you purchase. The difference between IG and other brokers is that with IG, you aren't the legal owner of the shares - they're held in trust for you by Citicorp. Even if Citicorp went bust, theoretically you should keep your shares, but that's just an extra level of complication that some people aren't willing to take on.
Hmm some interesting points have been brought up. Especially around legally owning the shares purchased. Even I would like to be the owner of my own shares and in that respect, CommSec seems to be the right choice.
Question: If I buy shares through IG, I can sell them at a later stage and make a profit right(assuming the prices went up) ?
From what I understand, IG's model of having a trustee hold the shares for you is actually the more common approach worldwide. You can absolutely sell them as you wish. If you don't like that model though, CommSec isn't your only choice - there are lots of other brokers which offer cheaper brokerage (e.g. CMC Markets).
I've just done my first trade through CMC Markets. Minimum $500 trade and cost about $11 for the trade. Went very smoothly considering I've never traded online before.