Hi guys, I am looking to get into investing in shares and options but there are so many brokerage options out there that I am not really sure which one to go with. I have about $7000 available to invest, and I am planning on investing for the long term, not day trading, so the number of trades would be minimal. At this point, I'm considering IG and CMC markets because they have the lowest trading fees (that I could find), and I don't think that a stockbroker is really necessary since I wouldn't use his/her service that often to justify the extra costs.
So, to the ozbargainers out there, do any of you currently use a similar service that you can preach for or any recommendations? I appreciate the help. Thanks
Online Stockbroker Recommendations?
alee112 on 14/02/2019 - 20:52
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Adding to OP’s post, in the news I hv heard about the collapse of Opes Prime, BBY, Halifax. How safe our investment if stockbrokers collapse?
Stock brokers facilitate the sale. Your investment to tied to the fortunes of the company that you purchase the shares in. Not the broker.
If the comparison is between CMC and IG markets, then I believe CMC offers a greater level of protection (however, you should read the T&Cs to confirm for yourself).
CMC makes it more clear that they facilitate the sale, and the shares you buy are held under your CHESS number (i.e. ownership is clearer, and you can more easily transfer between brokers).
If you buy shares using IG, IG holds those shares in trust for you, and the shares are not registered in your name. While technically the trust structure would offer protection, I believe (can't find links at the moment) that this did not help in some fund manager collapses. The relevant clause in their T&Cs is:
(12) Instruments purchased by us on your behalf or transferred to us will be registered in the name of a nominee company or our name or a sub-custodian. We will be responsible and liable for our nominee to the same extent as for our own acts, including losses arising from fraud, wilful default or negligence.
Wouldn't trade fees not matter much, if you are investing long term . There have been deals where you get to trade for free initially.
Maybe take up one of these such offers, then leave it for the long term.Oh cool, haven't heard about those before so I might look into them. I was thinking that I'll keep adding to my portfolio every other time I get my paycheck (so combine the money left over from 2 paychecks) and put those off into shares. So theoretically, I would still make about 12 trades a year. But to your point, yes, it probably wouldn't matter too much in the context of things.
nabtrade seem to have regular offers for free trades/research. The last offer you just missed expired last month. Maybe figure out what you want to invest in and then wait for another nabtrade deal?
I signed up last month and am quite happy with the platform, though I haven't tried the others. May look into it once my free trades are finished.
Oh what a shame. Is this offered by other companies or just nabtrade?
SelfWealth is only $9.50 per trade. And you get 10 free trades for 30 days by using the referral: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/selfwealth.com.au
Have you tried using it before? What was the experience like?
Yes I signed up last year and bought some EFT for long term hold. The site looks nice and tidy, not hard to get around and get the job done. There are some parts of the site that look useful for someone trading regularly, but a bit over my head, LOL. They also have an app with the essential functionalities (ie. not everything from the site).
I'm using it. Moved from CMC Markets. I find it nice because they have a very simple UI and low fees.
The only thing I didn't like is that market research is only on the premium membership, which I cannot justify forking out (for now).
Vanguard index fund.
One thing to note on CMC Markets basic (free) package is that market quotes are delayed by 20 minutes and several other basic share trading necessities are hobbled. To get what I would consider the minimum basic needs are $10/month.
Selfwealth / stake