Advice Needed for VERY First Broker

[torsim]

Hi all,

I am looking for advice for picking out my first broker. I am aware they all do pretty much the same thing while some offer some nifty features and what not. The thing is I am relatively new fish in a rather large pond. I am nothing but a young padawan, I need to find my Yoda.

What I am looking for...
* Since I am just starting out I am looking at investing around $5k
* Non-Advisory Broker (I am will be making or losing my own money)
* Relatively easy platform to navigate
* Not required, but handy to have a mobile platform
* Vareity of Charting options and whatnot (may take more a technical approach)
* Idealy free conditional orders... is this possible?

At the moment I am looking at CMC markets and possibly Comsec. I took a look at Bell Direct but I don't feel I will be trading enough, at least at this stage, to make it a worthwhile option.

Opinions please.

Please don't tell me to DYOR. I am looking for help, otherwise I would not have made the thread!

 

[Gringotts Bank]

Looking at your list of wants, CMC stock broking will give you the best fit.

Second best fit would be Bell Direct.

For free charting, try Incredible Charts. These are not live charts unless you subscribe, but I assume you won't be day trading.

 

[ROE]

I would go with comsec for retail investors, they usually have $600 free trading for joining up
so with that much money you can buy all your shares for FREE with 5K

http://www.comsec.com.au/notebook/whycommsec.htm

their interface is reasonable, has mobile apps for iphone/android etc...
you can also use comsec as your banking account ...deposit all your money in there get high interest
and they give you a debit card to use all free of fees

 

[lenny]

torsim

I have accounts with Comsuc and CMC stockbroking and i would recommend CMC stockbroking.

When i last did the broker thing Bell directs CMA wasn't with a bank so it didn't qualify for the government guarantee, which means if Bell direct goes belly up you lose your cash so i don't recommend them.

CMC is the cheapest and the best.

Good luck

 

[stu192]

I have accounts with commsec, CMC and Bell. You can always open more than one broking account (you just have multiple HIN's), and see what works best.

- I like commsec because you get free live data
- I think Bell has the best platform, and fastest trade execution
- CMC is cheapest, but I found it's trade execution slow.

So could open all three and take a look around (it's free to join them all).


Stu

 

[torsim]

Thanks for all the replies, I took what everyone said on board and decided to open an account with CMC. I may change brookers down the track but right now I am fairly happy with the choice. Just waiting for everything to be verified before I can make that daunting first trade.

 

[johenmo]

I use IB - cheapest around as far as I know but you would need more $ as a minimum - was 10K US when I opened my account. No problems so far. I have Comsec but they are 3x the cost which affects a small account. do the sums and DYOR.

 

[supermatt]

just reading through the IB documents and trying to find where funds are kept and account security.

Customer securities accounts at Interactive Brokers are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") for a maximum coverage of $500,000 (with a cash sublimit of $250,000) and under Interactive Brokers' excess SIPC policy with certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London for up to an additional $30 million (with a cash sublimit of $900,000) subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million. Futures, and options on futures are not covered. As with all securities firms, this coverage provides protection against failure of a broker-dealer, not against loss of market value of securities.

What does this mean for an australian? is your money safe with them vs a bell direct? I understand with bell if they go under your funds are not safe and can potentially lose it all?

Thanks

 

[torsim]

For those looking for a new broker, it seems CommSec has increased their Introductory Offer from $600 to $825 free brokerage. Only catch is that you have to sign up before June 30th and it is forr internet trade only.

 

[Trembling Hand]

IB is NOT for your first time trader/investor. :bad:

 

[boofis]

IB is NOT for your first time trader/investor. :bad:

What's the reasoning behind that TH?

 

[supermatt]

I realise IB isnt for the entry level, my question was people who are with IB generally have large accounts. Do you feel your money is 100% safe there. Vs a cheap online broker such as bell, CMC etc. I thought it was a related topic as cheap brokerage doesn't always mean a fun time.

 

[Trembling Hand]

What's the reasoning behind that TH?

There is a minimum activity charge every month. As well as a pretty complex interface. Its just not for someone who wants to place a few trades per year.

 

[boofis]

There is a minimum activity charge every month. As well as a pretty complex interface. Its just not for someone who wants to place a few trades per year.

Roger that, makes sense. Have just found it exponentially better than comsec and westpac since moving over, but prob would've been overwhelmed in the very beginning true.

 

[lenny]

just reading through the IB documents and trying to find where funds are kept and account security.

What does this mean for an australian? is your money safe with them vs a bell direct? I understand with bell if they go under your funds are not safe and can potentially lose it all?
Thanks

Mat

Any Aussie broker who uses their CMA through a Aussie bank will be covered by the gov guarantee (I think up to 1 mill).

Which at the time ruled out Bell direct not sure if they have changed their CMA since( I suggest a read of their product disclosure).

I was interested in a IB account but the thing that turned me off them was that they don't offer a HIN, i.e the shares are not held in your name which also would be a risk if they went under, never found out whether their CMA is covered by the gov guarantee though.

For me CMC ticked most of the boxes.

 

[supermatt]

Mat

Any Aussie broker who uses their CMA through a Aussie bank will be covered by the gov guarantee (I think up to 1 mill).

Which at the time ruled out Bell direct not sure if they have changed their CMA since( I suggest a read of their product disclosure).

I was interested in a IB account but the thing that turned me off them was that they don't offer a HIN, i.e the shares are not held in your name which also would be a risk if they went under, never found out whether their CMA is covered by the gov guarantee though.

For me CMC ticked most of the boxes.

Thanks mate I shall do some research through various PDS and the government guarentee

 

[art27]

torsim

I have accounts with Comsuc and CMC stockbroking and i would recommend CMC stockbroking.

When i last did the broker thing Bell directs CMA wasn't with a bank so it didn't qualify for the government guarantee, which means if Bell direct goes belly up you lose your cash so i don't recommend them.

CMC is the cheapest and the best.

Good luck

Just looking around for a online broker that has free conditional orders, reasonable rates and deposits are covered by the Goverment Guarantee. I looked at CMC. There deposits are through Bankwest but deposits do not appear to be covered by the goverment. It states

"Please note that funds on deposit with Bankwest are not protected by the ASX National Guarantee Fund."

I like Bell Direct but I feel uncomfortable with the depositor risk.



Are there any suggestions. HSBC seem to use Bell Direct and funds are held within HSBC.

 

[art27]

I contacted CMC via email to query this. They emailed me back today.


Thank you for contacting CMC Markets Stockbroking.

I can confirm that the 2 statements below relate to 2 different schemes or Guarantees.

The Government Guarantee is aimed at protecting funds held in Bank accounts that are covered by the Guarantee. Currently Bank West is covered by this scheme and as such your funds would be as well.

The ASX National Guarantee fund is a different scheme aimed at protecting Clients Stock Holdings held in companies. So naturally this would not cover funds held in a bank account.

I have since opened an account with them. Cheap brokerage, Guaranteed bank funds, Chess sponsored and a really good trading platform ticked all the boxes for me. Bell Direct ticked all of the above but your funds are not government guaranteed.

 

[mike942008]

COMSEC for sure, no one even comes close! Many factors considered, however, reliability being the primary.

 

[FIGJAM]

I've looked at COMSEC but they look real expensive to trade with or do I just not understand their price structure?

Currently I trade with OptionsXpress but I want to change as I want to trade in the American and Australian markets.

Cheers,