ASX Online Brokerages

[Huskeez]

I plan on moving to Australia within a couple oths, and will keep my ASB securties account open over here to trade on the NZX, can anyone recommend a good online brokerage in Australia to trade on the ASX? I have a bank account with Commonwealth bank which uses the platform "Commsecc" which looks pretty impressive!But would be interested to hear in any others that people may have used? Cheers :)

[Huang Chung]

I don't use any of them, but I seem to notice more complaints about etrade on Hot Copper than any other platform.

A mate uses Westpac, and he seems pretty happy with it.

[Huskeez]

I don't use any of them, but I seem to notice more complaints about etrade on Hot Copper than any other platform.A mate uses Westpac, and he seems pretty happy with it.Cheers Huang ;)

[mark100]

I find Commsec is very adequate for my needs and I trade a fair bit. Their trading platform as opposed to just their webpage is IRESS based and it is generally reliable although it can suffer the odd bug after Java or IRESS upgrades. Commsec are good to their long term frequent traders but maybe not so for just the infrequent trader. For example they gave me 100% of my requested allocation in the recent Virtus Health IPO when most instos got 1/7 of their requested amount. I've also done well out of a number of their previous IPOs.

KW, IB sound good value. I must take a look.

[Huskeez]

I have a Comsec account, and for the Aussie market its pretty good. However, brokerage is quite steep, which is okay if you are not trading very often, or just want to be limited to the AU market. I also have an account with Interactive Brokers - these guys give you direct access to international markets, forex dealing, and their brokerage is dirt cheap ($6 compared to $20 on Comsec, $10 compared to $30 etc). Quite handy - for instance I bought $50k of US dollars through the forex feature, which I can now use to buy shares on the US markets. I could do the same for the UK, Japanese, Hong Kong markets etc. No issue with multi currency bank accounts or additional fees for buying on international markets. Barron's voted them the #1 online broker. Their platform is so full featured and complex, it makes the Comsec one look positively archaic. Downside is that you have to pay for ASX live data (or do as I do and simply get live quote data from another broker). If you tend to hold large cash positions over time, then an important consideration is the interest rate on your broker linked cash account. This may dictate your choice of broker, or you can simply keep transfering funds in and out of that cash account (I prefer not to, but this limits me to 1% interest on my money from Commbank).Thanks for the feed back KW, Interactive brokers sound awesome!, the currency advantages and access to forex all off the same platform open up a whole new ball game! I tend to hold stocks for 1 - 3 months (Price action depending) so my brokerage costs arent too excessive. Do interactive brokers allow options trading/commodities?,And yes, what ever platform i end up using over there strictly for the ASX :)... but... haha such ease of access to international markets could be tempting... hmmmmmThanks KW

[Huskeez]

I find Commsec is very adequate for my needs and I trade a fair bit. Their trading platform as opposed to just their webpage is IRESS based and it is generally reliable although it can suffer the odd bug after Java or IRESS upgrades. Commsec are good to their long term frequent traders but maybe not so for just the infrequent trader. For example they gave me 100% of my requested allocation in the recent Virtus Health IPO when most instos got 1/7 of their requested amount. I've also done well out of a number of their previous IPOs.KW, IB sound good value. I must take a look.Hey mark, are commsec's quotes delayed like asb securities in NZ (20 minutes unless you go directly to the companys page), or are they live streaming eg, live updates on watchlists, stock charts etc

[mark100]

As KW has said, the commsec webpage gives up to date quotes and depth but you need to hit the refresh button for updates. The trading platform, CommsecIRESS is in real time. The cost is around $80 per month for CommsecIRESS but it's free for the month if you do >8 trades in that month.
Yeah is TA is your thing don't expect commsec to be of much help. I use Incredible Charts but I'm not a pure TA based trader, I only use TA as a guide after doing fundamental research.

[Dej]

Looking to change platforms and come across this thread. KW you seem most informed about the IB platform, can you trade on NZX using this platform or is it strictly 'the rest of the financial world'?