ETrade, NAB or Commsec - which one?

[motion]

Hi Guys,

Just new to all of this and wanted to ask which one of these would be the best to join and use for someone who wants something to suite a beginner.

I have joined the ASX share game but also wanted to register with one of these companies to give it a go as well.

I want something easy to use, no ongoing cost if not used and up today.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Craig

[somebodyhere]

commsec for small trades, cheapest brokerage at $19.95 for orders below $10,000
no monthly fee even if not used
to get this low brokerage, you need to open a commonwealth bank account (CDIA) which has no monthly fee as well.

with etrade, if you don't use it and u dont currently hold sufficient shares ($10k or something), you'll either get charged or only have delayed quotes (you can choose which one). also brokerage is higher for small trades. but once you do big trades like around $30k, it's actually a bit cheaper than commsec

with etrade u get to access Fat Prophets, with commsec you can view news headlines (like from SMH, AFR, etc) for a particular company.

none of them would be up today, u need a few days to start trading (but you can login & look at stuff right away, just not buy/sell). best to apply online since that should avoid delays.

[kennas]

I'm with E Trade and IG Markets.

Since the new ETrade website has been repaired and up and running I can recommend it. It's pretty functional, and Power Etrade through webiress, if you are thinking about day trading, is a must IMO.

[nizar]

Morrisons is $22 for upto $50,000.
Customer service is top notch. A person answers the phone.
Technical support, no worries your talking to them within 10seconds.
http://www.morrisonsecurities.com.au/

Netwealth i heard is $18 for upto $5k.
https://www.netwealth.com.au/trading_engine/p029_direct.asp?src=ourproducts

[nioka]

Both Commsec and NAB "mucked" me around a lot. Now trade with Westpac, who occasionally are Pestpac but generally good. Most trades are $29.95 but doing min 6 trades in 3 months gets access to "Premium research" which I find useful. (Research is available free from msn or through the ASX site but their quotes are 20min delayed). I trade using a savings account with them.
I find them helpful on the phone too.

[somebodyhere]

Morrisons is $22 for upto $50,000.
Customer service is top notch. A person answers the phone.
Technical support, no worries your talking to them within 10seconds.
http://www.morrisonsecurities.com.au/

Netwealth i heard is $18 for upto $5k.
https://www.netwealth.com.au/trading_engine/p029_direct.asp?src=ourproducts
is morrison pretty much up & running everytime?
what about on 28 feb last time?

also it says
"Please note that these commissions are for CHESS sponsored accounts only and are charged per order per day."
does that mean if my order is only partially fulfilled and it carries over to the next day, i get charged twice the brokerage?

thanks.

[nizar]

is morrison pretty much up & running everytime?
what about on 28 feb last time?

also it says
"Please note that these commissions are for CHESS sponsored accounts only and are charged per order per day."
does that mean if my order is only partially fulfilled and it carries over to the next day, i get charged twice the brokerage?

thanks.

While everybody else was complaining, my platform and orders were processed just as fast as on any other day (on the 28th)

I was with westpac, and i remember one monday they took a half day off and decided to open up at 2pm, completely unacceptable 4me :banghead:

Not sure about your order charged twice dilemma, it has never happened to me, i never leave partially filled orders overnite.

[somebodyhere]

also, for starters, you might want to take advantage of free brokerage offers from commsec and etrade
if i were you, i would probably open commsec, use up the free trades, then open etrade and use up the free trades, then go with one of them afterwards (or another broker).

the commsec one is on http://www.commsec.com.au/Public/SpecialOffers/FreeBrokerage/FreeBrokerage.aspx, u get 12 free trades until 30 June.

the etrade one is on https://invest.etrade.com.au/cms/viewcmsarea.aspx?key=Bulletin%20-%20%2055, up to 10 trades and the free trades must be done within the first 2 months.

note that the free trades doesnt apply automatically. u either have to sign up through a certain link, or write some keyword on your application form.
also even tho it says for new accounts opened before 30 April etc, its almost guaranteed that they'll have the exact same promotion after that too.

also, when i did the asx game last yr, i got some free trades offer from westpac as well

[The Y-man]

.... through webiress....

Pardon my complete ignorance, but could someone explain what this is? Much appreciated.

Cheers,

The Y-man

[Peakey]

Pardon my complete ignorance, but could someone explain what this is? Much appreciated.

Cheers,

The Y-man

Webiress....... Etrade offer active traders a product called PowerEtrade (also offer another product called EtradePro), Power is just webiress rebadged. It's a dynamic platform, meaning you'll see prices change on the screen live..... whereas if you just use the standard web site, you'll have to refresh the page manually to see the updated prices.

[Dr Doom]

WebIress demo

http://www.iress.com.au/information/info_w_pd.asp

[The Y-man]

Thanks Peaky and Dr Doom.


Cheers,

The Y-man

[thidoan]

i am currently with westpac :)

brokerage fee is abit high, but its not too bad.

[somebodyhere]

Morrisons is $22 for upto $50,000.
Customer service is top notch. A person answers the phone.
Technical support, no worries your talking to them within 10seconds.
http://www.morrisonsecurities.com.au/

Netwealth i heard is $18 for upto $5k.
https://www.netwealth.com.au/trading_engine/p029_direct.asp?src=ourproducts
it says that the cheaper brokerage for Morrisons is only if you have "Morrison Securities Trust Account". What is it exactly? Do you complete a separate application form?
Is there any monthly/joining fees for either the online trading and the "Morrison Securities Trust Account"?

Also, it says "For access to htmlIRESS, a minimum balance of $5000 must be maintained in the trading account". Do you need to maintain it every single day? Can you still buy/sell without htmlIRESS and webIRESS?

[nizar]

it says that the cheaper brokerage for Morrisons is only if you have "Morrison Securities Trust Account". What is it exactly? Do you complete a separate application form?
Is there any monthly/joining fees for either the online trading and the "Morrison Securities Trust Account"?

Also, it says "For access to htmlIRESS, a minimum balance of $5000 must be maintained in the trading account". Do you need to maintain it every single day? Can you still buy/sell without htmlIRESS and webIRESS?

Morrison Securities Trust Account is just an account where they keep your money.

You can still add to, withdraw and monitor it at any time.
No monthly fees or joining fee, though there is a $100/month for webIress but thats waived if you make >10 trades/month.

Not sure about the 5k minimum, my account has always been above that. Just give them a call.

[somebodyhere]

ok thanks.
this will be handy once i start trading >10k

[motion]

Thanks Guys for all the feedback, I'm only starting out with 5k so I will have a look at the recommended ones.

I would also like to know about CDF's is anyone using Cmcmarkets or someone one like this ?

I'm not sure if I should start trading in shares or CDF's first.

Thanks

[canaussieuck]

Thanks Guys for all the feedback, I'm only starting out with 5k so I will have a look at the recommended ones.

I would also like to know about CDF's is anyone using Cmcmarkets or someone one like this ?

I'm not sure if I should start trading in shares or CDF's first.

Thanks

You should read the CFD thread, its eye opening. You would want to be good at managing risk, disciplined, and have a good trading plan before getting into CFD's.

CFD's can seriously erode your capital in a hurry.

Cheers,

[motion]

You should read the CFD thread, its eye opening. You would want to be good at managing risk, disciplined, and have a good trading plan before getting into CFD's.

CFD's can seriously erode your capital in a hurry.

Cheers,


Thanks for this =:) Think I will stick to shares first... =:)

[nizar]

Thanks Guys for all the feedback, I'm only starting out with 5k so I will have a look at the recommended ones.

I would also like to know about CDF's is anyone using Cmcmarkets or someone one like this ?

I'm not sure if I should start trading in shares or CDF's first.

Thanks

Iv been trading for about 18 months. I started with a bit more than 5k, and iv never even THOUGHT about using CFDs.

Definately shares first.

[motion]

Hi,

I just noticed my bank = bankwest has trading has anyone used bankwest at all ?


I just found they are backed by Sanford. Here are there prices ?



Information Service Charges

Service Type Service Charges
Premium Services Account $9.95 per month


Share Trading Charges

Brokerage Rate
Online Trades
Transactions $25,000 or under $27
Transactions over $25,000 0.109%
Phone Trades
Transactions $45,000 or under $49
Transactions over $45,000 0.109%




Other Costs

Service Price
Emailing of Contract Notes Free
Postage of Contract Notes $1.65 per Contract Note
Order Amendments Free
Order Cancellations Free
Off Market Transfers $55 per stock or managed fund
Fail Fees
(Failure to settle sale trade within the required time) $55 or 0.11% per day
SRN (Issuer Sponsored Shares)
registry request $16.50
Stop Payment on Cheques $16.50
Dishonoured Cheques $16.50
International Funds Transfer $27.50
Urgent Funds Transfer $10.00


Thanks

[Mouse]

Hi,

Etrade also has an education centre for beginners, I'm not sure if you have to be registered as a client or not. I'm currently going through the technical analysis tutorials and finding them helpful.

cheers
Mouse

[DionM]

I use Sanford.

Happy with their service. A touch pricier for trading than other places, but their servers are always available and prompt service.

You don't have to pay $9.95, that gives you live data + access to their research. There is basic trading account that has no monthly fee, with 20min delayed prices (though of course live when you place an order).

[resourceboom]

I use netwealth now, very happy. still have an old comsec, but only 1 stock left. :cool:

[motion]

I use netwealth now, very happy. still have an old comsec, but only 1 stock left. :cool:


Hi thanks for this .. have not heard of netwealth yet... do u find there programs good ? and how do u find there prices ?

thanks

[motion]

also, for starters, you might want to take advantage of free brokerage offers from commsec and etrade
if i were you, i would probably open commsec, use up the free trades, then open etrade and use up the free trades, then go with one of them afterwards (or another broker).

the commsec one is on http://www.commsec.com.au/Public/SpecialOffers/FreeBrokerage/FreeBrokerage.aspx, u get 12 free trades until 30 June.

the etrade one is on https://invest.etrade.com.au/cms/viewcmsarea.aspx?key=Bulletin%20-%20%2055, up to 10 trades and the free trades must be done within the first 2 months.

note that the free trades doesnt apply automatically. u either have to sign up through a certain link, or write some keyword on your application form.
also even tho it says for new accounts opened before 30 April etc, its almost guaranteed that they'll have the exact same promotion after that too.

also, when i did the asx game last yr, i got some free trades offer from westpac as well


Thanks for this info. Can some one please tell me what "Chess Sponsored " mean ?

Thanks

[crash82au]

Chess is the system that registers shares on the ASX - as far as I know. So the ASX basically is promoting etrade.

I would try etrade for starters. Me being a novice to the market found it a very easy to use. Brokerage well when you start making money you could shop around and find better deals. I considered switching banks from national to anz to speed up funds transfers in to etrade's trade account but still researching better brokerage deals on trades <$10k.

It's a highly competitive game so the companies that do offer a trading platform are fairly close knit in terms of prices. Some of the private brokers are quite expensive, stick with the large banks or well known trading platforms and I don't think it will be a big issue.

Thats just my 2c. Steer clear of Westpac if you can help it. From what I have seen on these forums and other peoples personal opinions they seem a bit further down the ladder on performance for value wise(never tried them, can only go on what I have read and the downtimes Westpac's trading platform seems to suffer).

[greggy]

Late last year I moved over from Comsec to ETrade. Despite some initial hic cups, I have found the transition to be quite easy. The ETrade website has been recently improved. The customer service centre is more helpful. Prior to moving to ETrade, I contacted Comsec with my concerns about poor service. They told me that if I wasn't happy that I should swap brokers. Having joined up on the day that Comsec opened up for business quite a few years ago, I felt it was a sad way to end my relationship with them.

[The Y-man]

Thanks for this info. Can some one please tell me what "Chess Sponsored " mean ?

Thanks

CHESS is essentially the electronic system that has replaced the "traditional" share certificate.

You can find out more on:
http://www.asx.com.au/investor/shares/how/chess_faq.htm

Cheers,

The Y-man

[somebodyhere]

Thanks for this info. Can some one please tell me what "Chess Sponsored " mean ?

Thanks
"CHESS sponsored by ETrade" basically means you do the trade (buy or sell) through ETrade, not through another broker or directly through the company (BHP, SUN, etc).

I might be wrong with my definition, but you don't need to worry about it. It doesn't mean much.

[salpal]

Hi Everybody - thought I should let you know of an experience I have had with e-trade.

My account is set to real time however I just use the basic site not power or pro. So I click refresh a lot to get the data right at that time - if that makes sense.
I have received an e-mail from customer service

"Dear E*TRADE Customer,

We have recently noticed that you have been obtaining an unusually high volume
of live quotes from the E*TRADE website. Whilst we are happy to provide
real-time market infomation to our customers to support their trading and
investment needs, your current level of activity is inconsistent with the normal
use of our website and is having an impact on the services that we provide,
which may include the speed in which we are able to process customer orders.

In the interest of maintaining our high quality of service and to ensure that we
can continue to provide all customers with access to this information, we
request that you limit your requests for live data. Ongoing excessive use of
our real-time market information will result in your access to E*TRADE services
being removed.
You may be interested to know that E*TRADE offers two dynamic data platforms,
E*TRADE PRO and POWER E*TRADE, which offer live streaming quotes, dynamic course
of trades, and charting. Further details about E*TRADE PRO and POWER E*TRADE
are available at www.etrade.com.au.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call our Customer
Assistance Team on 1300 658 355, Monday to Friday 8am-7pm AEST or email us at

wow
I was a bit taken by it all - there is no conditions on how many times you can click the refresh key - so I rang and told them off - threatening to close account etc - They should put it in there account conditions that you can only click the refresh but or refresh page at the most about 4 times a minute anymore and your busted!!!
Not happy Jan :mad:

[>Apocalypto<]

Hi Guys,

Just new to all of this and wanted to ask which one of these would be the best to join and use for someone who wants something to suite a beginner.

I have joined the ASX share game but also wanted to register with one of these companies to give it a go as well.

I want something easy to use, no ongoing cost if not used and up today.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Craig

Craig Sanford Securities are great offer options and CFD's as well when your ready

www.sanford.com.au

[somebodyhere]

Hi Everybody - thought I should let you know of an experience I have had with e-trade.
..blablabla..

lol that's unexpected. if u dont want to pay for the auto-refresh flatform and don't want to keep refreshing, best thing to do is to download QuoteTracker (http://www.quotetracker.com/), make another free share trading account (such as with westpac or commsec), then link that to quotetracker. the reason u need another trading account is because two 'people' (QuoteTracker and you) cant login at the same time.

[salpal]

Thanks for that somebodyhere :)

[somebodyhere]

Just a note, sometimes the software is a bit buggy, particularly if you try to backfill historical data (of a share you've never backfilled before) outside the trading hours. You should know when that happens because the prices are just too weird or you get no graph at all.
And sometimes your share can disappear, you need to re-sort it alphabetically again.

[greggy]

Hi Everybody - thought I should let you know of an experience I have had with e-trade.

My account is set to real time however I just use the basic site not power or pro. So I click refresh a lot to get the data right at that time - if that makes sense.
I have received an e-mail from customer service

"Dear E*TRADE Customer,

We have recently noticed that you have been obtaining an unusually high volume
of live quotes from the E*TRADE website. Whilst we are happy to provide
real-time market infomation to our customers to support their trading and
investment needs, your current level of activity is inconsistent with the normal
use of our website and is having an impact on the services that we provide,
which may include the speed in which we are able to process customer orders.

In the interest of maintaining our high quality of service and to ensure that we
can continue to provide all customers with access to this information, we
request that you limit your requests for live data. Ongoing excessive use of
our real-time market information will result in your access to E*TRADE services
being removed.
You may be interested to know that E*TRADE offers two dynamic data platforms,
E*TRADE PRO and POWER E*TRADE, which offer live streaming quotes, dynamic course
of trades, and charting. Further details about E*TRADE PRO and POWER E*TRADE
are available at www.etrade.com.au.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call our Customer
Assistance Team on 1300 658 355, Monday to Friday 8am-7pm AEST or email us at

wow
I was a bit taken by it all - there is no conditions on how many times you can click the refresh key - so I rang and told them off - threatening to close account etc - They should put it in there account conditions that you can only click the refresh but or refresh page at the most about 4 times a minute anymore and your busted!!!
Not happy Jan :mad:
ETrade certainly took an idiotic stand on the issue. If I had been in your position I would have told ETrade to get stuffed and takern my business elsewhere. To be threatened with possible account closure is highly offensive.

[niknah]

I was a bit taken by it all - there is no conditions on how many times you can click the refresh key - so I rang and told them off - threatening to close account etc - They should put it in there account conditions that you can only click the refresh but or refresh page at the most about 4 times a minute anymore and your busted!!!
Not happy Jan :mad:

If you get quotes alot, download quotetracker and get a westpac account(just use it for quotes if you don't want to trade with it).

quotetracker will automatically reload for you and westpac will let you get quotes of several different shares with one click so it works fastest with the software.

[salpal]

Thanks all for your help the thing is - I work and can't download power/pro trade software - the job I have at the moment is just a bum on the seat in case the phone calls which it does on average lets see - once a day, so its boring!!! I will try power etrade once I have some time off at home - till then its refresh refresh refresh - however I am still reeling over there e-mail to me - so will close account when I have come back from overseas - I'll state again there is nothing in the account details that says that you can not refresh your page over and over. Etrade very stupid... customer service, if they had explained it better to me there would not be a problem I would as has been suggested just open another share account - and refreshed there!! sharing the load - as I have already said at work I can not download programs etc.
Thanks again

[Uranium]

hello,

On the subject of etrade does anyone know why they dont allow you to trade shares under .50 cents.

Dom
:)

[Uranium]

We do not accept At Market orders for securities that are priced $0.50 or less, as there is the potential for the security price to move significantly in a short time. This could lead to your account being placed in a negative cash position.


Can anyone explain this to me please.

Thanks

Dom

[Glenhaven]

New to me. They obviously feel that "at market orders" which simply buy the quantity at the best available price, for low value stock is a risk. The risk being if the price rises quickly then you may pay significantly more than you expect from the time you begin placing the order to the time your order hits the market.

They will of course accept orders if you specify a specific maximum price. This is not really an issue for most traders.

I never put orders on at market anyway so I would not be impacted.

[shares]

Hi Guys,

Just new to all of this and wanted to ask which one of these would be the best to join and use for someone who wants something to suite a beginner.

I have joined the ASX share game but also wanted to register with one of these companies to give it a go as well.

I want something easy to use, no ongoing cost if not used and up today.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Craig

I am relatively new to this whole stockmarket business and i have a COMSEC account which I find extremely easy to use and navigate through. And best of all - you don't have to pay any money if you don't use it :)

[Chorlton]

Thanks Guys for all the feedback, I'm only starting out with 5k so I will have a look at the recommended ones.

I would also like to know about CDF's is anyone using Cmcmarkets or someone one like this ?

I'm not sure if I should start trading in shares or CDF's first.

Thanks

Hi Motion,

I've just recently registered on this site and was just reading some general threads when I came across this one.

Hope you don't mind me interupting this thread, but if you are new to trading in general can I suggest that you make sure that you are 100% confident on your Money Management and importantly what Risk:Reward you will adhere to BEFORE you begin trading.

The reason I say this is that $5k is not the greatest amount of money IMO to trade with and should you be unlucky and end up with an initial run of losses this pot of money could very quickly disappear.

If, however, you are confortable with your money strategy, then I wish you all the best and apologies once again for interupting this thread.

Kind Regards,

Chorlton

[Rainmaker]

Hey folks, just a few questions about CommSec:

1.If I transfer some issuer sponsored shares (<$10k) over to a CommSec account with the intention of selling them, is that counted as a "one off trade" with $66 in brokerage?

2.When you open up your Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA), this should appear in NetBank so you can easily transfer from other Commonwealth accounts to the CDIA?

3. Finally, with regards to "Up front" Conditional Orders and "On execution" Conditional Orders - does this imply they charge an extra amount for having stop losses or limits?