Cheapest Broker for Trading on the ASX

[jnoodle]

Hi,

This is my first post on Share Trader.

I'm a kiwi living in australia, and I have been investing in the asx for a few years now. I have a nz family trust and I'm wanting to start investing some capital from that trust in the ASX. I plan on moving back to nz next year, so I'm guessing that creating a broking account from australia will be easier than from nz, although I could be wrong.

I'm currently using Bell Direct, which costs the greater of $15au or 0.1% for trades. I'd like to stay with Bell Direct, but unfortunately can't as all trustees need to have an australian address. I plan to keep my current Bell Direct account for my existing non-trust portfolio, so I can use their website for research etc. I have looked into directbroking.co..nz, but they seem expensive at the greater of $29 or 0.3% for each trade. So all i'm really looking for is the cheapest way to buy and sell on the ASX from NZ?

If anyone could please advise me on what options i have and any similar experiences they have had I would be most grateful.

[trackers]

Hi jnoodle, the cheapest by far is InteractiveBrokers at $7 a trade.. But they're a p.i.t.a to fund (wire transfer or transfer share holdings) and use.

The rest that I've looked into need an Australian bank account to settle into, which is more than tricky for a non-resident...I agree that $30 a trade is not fun, which is what I currently pay (I've made just under 200 trades this year sigh)

[mamos]

$10AUD a trade up to $10k

[float]

Hey trackers, you might know....

Do the tax implications of using an Australian broker exceed the benefits from lower brokerage rates?

Had a quick look to see what would be the incurred taxes from whom (AUS, NZ), but had trouble finding an answer.

They are a hell of alot cheaper!

[float]

After further research,

Aparently NZ - AUS have a tax treaty to stop double taxation, I am guessing we pay the australian goverment tax on income & be untaxed this end...

Aussie Tax Website had this for non residents
Tax rates 2010–11

Taxable income
$0 – $37,000
29c for each $1

$37,001 – $80,000
$10,730 plus 30c for each $1 over $37,000

$80,001 – $180,000
$23,630 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000

$180,001 and over
$60,630 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

Does that sound about right?

Why you are paying a premium trackers? (if you dont mind me asking, otherwise tell me to @#!@% off ya $%!^@bugger %$^) haha

Float

[trackers]

Hey float, sounds right about the taxation. I only use the expensive NZ based brokers because the good InteractiveBrokers platform needs to be allowed through a firewall, and this is impossible for where I do some of my trading...

I am hoping at some stage to get an oz bank account and use someone like commsec (which is who ASB uses, but they clip the ticket lol). Who do you use?

[float]

have an account with directbroking, i am in the process of getting a multi currency acc with them. Might use that for my buy and hold shares.

I will probably choose a broker that has a phone friendly website to access...
Cheers float

[bermuda]

I use Direct Broking. They are good, safe and reliable. They have introduced multi currency accounts which help reduce currency swaps. And if you have a query there is always someone willing to help out on an 0800 free call.

[Macleod]

Im currently using Direct Broking, but have been getting very frustrated of late. It just seems that lately its taking longer and longer before your buy/sells are actually placed. Maybe there is some manual interaction required and over time their customer base has expanded and they just dont have the staff to deal with it anymore? I dont know, but the other day I waited more than 10 minutes for my sell to go through by which time the SP had dropped well past that price and I then had to wait again for it to be edited.

Maybe Im just too demanding expecting things to happen quickly, but it never used to be an issue. Losing $500 here and there because of slow response to your orders can very quickly kill your profit.

Can anyone suggest a broker that is reliably fast? I would rather pay an extra $50 a month fee or higher per order fee than continually losing larger ammounts of money due to unresponsiveness.

[Cannibal]

Yep - I have the same issue with DB. My order took nearly 20 minutes to be placed and then only after I phoned them to complain. It is not always that way but once is too often. Very expensive!

[JBmurc]

Hi,

This is my first post on Share Trader.

I'm a kiwi living in australia, and I have been investing in the asx for a few years now. I have a nz family trust and I'm wanting to start investing some capital from that trust in the ASX. I plan on moving back to nz next year, so I'm guessing that creating a broking account from australia will be easier than from nz, although I could be wrong.

I'm currently using Bell Direct, which costs the greater of $15au or 0.1% for trades. I'd like to stay with Bell Direct, but unfortunately can't as all trustees need to have an australian address. I plan to keep my current Bell Direct account for my existing non-trust portfolio, so I can use their website for research etc. I have looked into directbroking.co..nz, but they seem expensive at the greater of $29 or 0.3% for each trade. So all i'm really looking for is the cheapest way to buy and sell on the ASX from NZ?

If anyone could please advise me on what options i have and any similar experiences they have had I would be most grateful.

I use E*trade not the cheapest but I find very good platform think they charge 32.50-27.50 depending on the amount of trades per month
have looked at other platforms but most of the local NZ aren't in the same league

[AliceSaville]

re: order delays when trading with Direct Broking

Macleod and Cannibal,

Thanks for your comments - and I apologise for the inconveniences you have experienced lately.

I am very keen to establish the situation around these delays and to ensure that you do not get "caught out" again.

Please feel free to contact me to provide additional information that will assist with my investigation (stock, order date, time of day etc).

I can be contacted on 0800 805 777 or by email at alice.saville@directbroking.co.nz

Kind regards and thanks for your time,
Alice

[gazprom1]

re: order delays when trading with Direct Broking

Macleod and Cannibal,

Thanks for your comments - and I apologise for the inconveniences you have experienced lately.

I am very keen to establish the situation around these delays and to ensure that you do not get "caught out" again.

Please feel free to contact me to provide additional information that will assist with my investigation (stock, order date, time of day etc).

I can be contacted on 0800 805 777 or by email at alice.saville@directbroking.co.nz

Kind regards and thanks for your time,
Alice

I use Direct Broking and find them excellent. I have probably had 10 trades this week with no delays whatsoever. Historically they have been very good apart from the odd time.

Happy to continue to use!!

Gazprom

[jnoodle]

Thank you all for the replies. It sounds like direct broking is probably going to be the easiest, although the delay in placing orders is a little worrying.

I don't plan on trading until Feb 2011, so i'll continue my research til then. Will post if i discover anything better.