I have been looking to regularly invest $5k or so every couple of months in ASX. so trying to find the cheapest Online Broker, any recommendations?
I have found Selfwealth to be one of the cheapest at $9.50 per trade and CMC market has similar fee as well. Any pros & cons of these cheaper brokers?
Cheapest Online Broker for ASX?
![](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/g/38.jpg)
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I also use SelfWealth.
I am not really in to their "avatar-ish" type environment, I prefer a more professional feel, but that could just be me. However, the main thing is that they are very well priced, and they are CHESS sponsored.
The other thing is that I don't think they allow investments in other exchanges, only the ASX. Probably fine for most people.In 2020 they plan to offer international shares too. I'd guess late in 2020 though.
Selfwealth is less flexible compared to let's say CommSec and I hate their ranking/comparison and stuff like that on my portfolio. A good cheap option if you have something planned.
I'm happy with CMC, but it's the only one I've used. Based on above Selfwealth is cheaper and has some introductory offers so looks like the better choice at the moment.
Thanks peeps, Selfwealth it is then, used someone's referral link (random) from OzB.
For transactions under $9,500, wouldn't IG ($8 or 0.1%) or Saxo Capital Markets ($6.99 or 0.1%) be cheaper?
https://www.finder.com.au/cheap-stock-brokerage-in-australia
Yes, they would be cheaper, but as they don't do CHESS sponsored, if they go under, your shares go under with them. Selfwealth offers CHESS sponsorship, so the shares are in your name (if Selfwealth goes under, your shares are still owned by you so you'll just need a new broker).
Yeah, both IG and Saxo Capital Markets do read better on a paper, any fine print that isn't covered on Finder? Anyone using them? Can shed some light?
In the case of IG.
Inactivity fees, they hold the shares in custody rather than you owning them through the chess system on the ASX. They can decide to stop allowing people to own any share at any time and you would be forced to sell (I think it happened with cannabis companies).
Unless you are day trading I don’t really see why people obsess so much over their brokerage fees. I use CommSec because I can trade up to 25k without needing money in my account & it integrates well with commbank. If they cost $5 more does it really matter on a 5k trade? And will it really matter long term?
Fair point too.
It adds up if we're making regular purchases as soon as we have $x saved up.
Eg. I can purchase $1000 worth of an ETF and pay $9.50 at SW, 0.095% fee right there. Vs paying $20, It'd be 2%.2% is too high for me, so I'd end up hoarding the cash until I have $2,000 saved up instead, meaning I'd miss out on valuable time in the market.
CommSec is $10 for trades up to $1000, so your difference would be 50c. And yes if you aren’t investing a lot of money it will make more of a difference (ie between 1-2k)
BTW, I am not a CommSec salesman or affiliated, I just see that a lot of people sing Self Wealths praises when other platforms are also quite good, they just might cost slightly more in brokerage. My point was more that brokerage costs aren’t everything.
This is ozbargain. paying $10.50 extra to buy $2000 worth of shares doesn't exactly fit. I guess they're very competitive for $990 purchases but is buying in that quantity a good deal anyway.
remember, SelfWealth is still $9.95 even if you buy A$100,000.00 worth of shares. Considering everyone on ozbargain is on 200k+ p.a. after tax and typically invest in high-yielding red BMW, the savings quickly adds up. Hence, the popularity.
Lol yes I know. Everyone is on $100k+ here. I can understand if you’re buying a couple of thousand worth of shares. Anything over that I really don’t see $10 as a big deal, but each to their own. I only buy every few months and I like having it connected with netbank so happy to pay the extra
Don't forget to consider OpenTrader too - we have a flat $5.00 brokerage fee for trades up to $5000, and we're CHESS sponsored.
I have been using Selfwealth for the last 12 months (after I was referred by a friend who also uses Selfwealth so I got 10 complimentary trades for my first month), and I've found it a good no frills broker. I was drawn to the $9.50 for each trade too, especially for any size order which is great if you have large trades as it is a flat fee but it's a price still competitive for smaller trades too. As a new user you also get access to a 90 day trial of the Premium content which tracks you against the rest of the community; it's interesting but not something I was not eager to pay for.
For me, Selfwealth is particularly useful if you want to make long term investments of large parcels of shares. The user interface when it comes to making orders is as intuitive enough as the other brokers I use.
Only downside is that you need to wait a day or 2 for funds to transfer across to the selfwealth account (via bank transfer).
Overall, sounds like it might suit you as it looks like you are looking to buy and hold?
Someone else hopefully can fill us in on CMC…