Which Broker?

[chandra2009]

Hi,

I am new to trading,,, and really confused to choose a proper broker

which one ????

cheers

 

[Averagejoe101]

Trading platform/Broker question

Hello all!

Very new to the trading world and trying to learn as much as i can. Have not started yet but have been saving quiet a fair amount to start trading. My short term goal is to make a little bit of extra income and learn about this world. My long time goal is to go into part-time/full-time trading if i am good enough. The next few months will involve research, watching shares im interested in and lots and lots of reading. When i feel ready (after my wedding in August) i will take the dive and start trading.

For the next 2 years all i really want to do is make a small profit and learn like crazy.

I have been looking at lots of online brokers and wanted to know others opinions. I was told to use commsec from the beginning but after some research have found its probably one of the worst in the long run. As eventually i want to day trade/short term trade i need a cheaper brokerage fee.

I really like the look of CMC Markets, has anyone had experience with this system? Anyone have a better online broker they use?

 

[Averagejoe101]

No-one?

 

[Lone Wolf]

Re: Trading platform/Broker question

I have been looking at lots of online brokers and wanted to know others opinions. I was told to use commsec from the beginning but after some research have found its probably one of the worst in the long run. As eventually i want to day trade/short term trade i need a cheaper brokerage fee.

I really like the look of CMC Markets, has anyone had experience with this system? Anyone have a better online broker they use?

I use CMC Markets stockbrokering and haven't had any problems.

I haven't used any other Australian brokers so I can't comment. But I thought CMC's record keeping was a bit of a let down when it came to tax time. I thought I'd click a button and get my financial year results including dividends, but it's not quite that easy.

CMC pay pretty much no interest on cash. But lower brokerage fees can more than make up for that if trade frequently.

If you eventually want to trade short term then you can eventually change brokers. You aren't locked into the first one you choose.

I believe Interactive Brokers offer the cheapest brokerage. But if you're just starting out I wouldn't worry about it. There are some drawbacks to IB and the setup process is much more involved.

 

[Averagejoe101]

Thats good to hear from someone who uses it. I was either going with CMC or Commsec, but i have been told Commsec aren't good anymore. Is that correct?

As you said it doesn't matter i can always change later. People have said NAB is good also?

 

[Craton]

Hi Averagejoe101

The best way is to check the features that a s/broker offers and compare to others.

 

[steven01]

Commsec are fine but expensive V IG and CMC.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Thats good to hear from someone who uses it. I was either going with CMC or Commsec, but i have been told Commsec aren't good anymore. Is that correct?

As you said it doesn't matter i can always change later. People have said NAB is good also?

I've only used CMC and Interactive Brokers, so I can't comment on the others. But it depends on what you mean by "is it good?" Due to the excessive brokerage costs, I personally consider places like Commsec or NAB to be very bad. Commsec also charges extra for conditional orders whereas CMC provide it for free. However, if you only place 10 trades a year and hold forever, then it doesn't really matter.

Read the fine print of each broker before you sign. Some things to consider:
- Where is your cash held when not invested? (i.e. if the broker goes under, is your money safe?)
- What interest do you get on cash and does this actually matter to you?
- When you purchase shares, are they actually purchased in your name? So if the broker goes under it makes no difference to you. (As opposed to a buying a CFD where you don't actually own anything)
- What trading options do they provide? Conditional orders, margin lending, options trading, futures etc. What do you actually need from your broker?
- Cost of trading (commissions, data fees, conditional order fees)
- Some people like NAB or Commsec because they have an account with the bank and it's very easy to transfer money in and out. Does this matter to you?
- Fine print. Read the fine print. e.g. If you have no cash and sell a stock, when can you use the proceeds from that sale to make another buy?

I'm making it sound harder than it really is. In my opinion they all pretty much do the same job. As long as my cash is in a bank account in my name, my trades are executed at the price I expected and my shares are held in my name then I'll go for the cheapest option. But if you really like Commsec, decide how much it's worth to you. If the benefits outweigh the cost in your opinion then go for it.

If you don't have a proven trading strategy you'll probably lose all your money either way so it hardly matters.

 

[So_Cynical]

The best way is to check the features that a s/broker offers and compare to others.

The search function on this forum combined with an attention span of over 10 minutes works well.

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16972&p=791776&viewfull=1#post791776

 

[Touchedup]

Hi all

Not sure if I have this correct but isn't MB trading $4.95 flat rate compared to the $6 for IB for ASX making MB more favourable?

Splitting hairs maybe...

TU

 

[Averagejoe101]

I've only used CMC and Interactive Brokers, so I can't comment on the others. But it depends on what you mean by "is it good?" Due to the excessive brokerage costs, I personally consider places like Commsec or NAB to be very bad. Commsec also charges extra for conditional orders whereas CMC provide it for free. However, if you only place 10 trades a year and hold forever, then it doesn't really matter.

Read the fine print of each broker before you sign. Some things to consider:
- Where is your cash held when not invested? (i.e. if the broker goes under, is your money safe?)
- What interest do you get on cash and does this actually matter to you?
- When you purchase shares, are they actually purchased in your name? So if the broker goes under it makes no difference to you. (As opposed to a buying a CFD where you don't actually own anything)
- What trading options do they provide? Conditional orders, margin lending, options trading, futures etc. What do you actually need from your broker?
- Cost of trading (commissions, data fees, conditional order fees)
- Some people like NAB or Commsec because they have an account with the bank and it's very easy to transfer money in and out. Does this matter to you?
- Fine print. Read the fine print. e.g. If you have no cash and sell a stock, when can you use the proceeds from that sale to make another buy?

I'm making it sound harder than it really is. In my opinion they all pretty much do the same job. As long as my cash is in a bank account in my name, my trades are executed at the price I expected and my shares are held in my name then I'll go for the cheapest option. But if you really like Commsec, decide how much it's worth to you. If the benefits outweigh the cost in your opinion then go for it.

If you don't have a proven trading strategy you'll probably lose all your money either way so it hardly matters.

NO! This is EXACTLY what i was after. Some of those points ARE important to me. Especially the varied options. That is something i have overlooked a little. I see that as being one of the most important.

To start with it will probably be blue chip so i can learn without big risk. Then venture out more when i am comfortable. Day trading is looking less and less like its something i would like to work towards.

So right now i just want a solid trading platform, getting a good picture of what i need/am after.

 

[Bort]

I was part of a group trading cfd's when cmc first came to Australia. Several instances of fills not being close to the physical market. This was a number of years ago now. I have also been filled way off the mark at gft. Moral of the story, if you aren't trading the physical equity, check your prices.

Broker depends what you want. If you want to go cheap and get the illusion of support then many online will do. If you want some service from a big name you'll need to pay for it and it's unlikely you'll be dealing with someone who actually trades. If you was something in between you can go with a company who also provides courses. You'll probably pay abit more than online but much less than full service.

Most people here would just tell you to go online but you wont get any support placing orders on what/where to trade. You either need to be prepared to blow an account because you don't know that you are short instead of long or have no idea or risk, how much a market moves or that stocks go into halt and lose 10% of their value in the space of a day or you can pay up for a bit of help.

 

[vicbims]

Which one to choose?

Hi mate,
i start trading and i have few brokers that call this last days... i wanted to know if you know them its xm, netotrade and nakitrade
do you know them?
thx