The first decision every investor makes is choosing their broker. This page covers everything you need to know about your options and features some recommendations based on different types of investors.
On this page we cover the following topics:
- Definition: What is a broker?
- Different types of brokers
- All the details you need to know
- Recommendations for different investors
What is a broker?
A person or company that buys and sells shares on your behalf. As retail investors, when we want to buy shares we do not contact someone that owns the shares and make a deal with them. Instead we place an order through an intermediary, who then execute the order on our behalf. This intermediary is called a broker.
There are a variety of different types of brokers that we outline on this page. Whichever type you choose, they all take your order to buy or sell shares and then match that order with someone looking to take the other side of your trade (i.e. sell shares to you, or buy shares off you).
The different types of brokers
Full service
Are part-broker, part-advisor. They are most hands on, but also most expensive option.
Online only
Focused on making accessing the share market easy and at the lowest possible cost.
Banks
Offered by all major banks, they are the middle ground offering good service and resources but with a little more cost than online only brokers.
Microinvesting
Designed for beginner investors, these brokers allow people to invest with just a few dollars.
All the details you need to know
| Platform | Brokerage & fees | Minimum investment | Markets | Research | Key features | Watch out for… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commbank | $10.00 (Up to and including $1,000) $19.95 (Over $1,000 up to $10,000 (inclusive)) $29.95 (Over $10,000 up to $25,000 (inclusive)) North America USD $19.95 up to $5000USD Europe USD $39.95 or 0.4% + stamp duty 50bps | $500 | Aus & 25 international | Yes – investment banks; Morningstar | Options, warrants, margin Loans, fixed Income Conditional orders Trade without settlement | Must settle in CDIA for broker rates |
| Westpac | $19.95 or 0.11% North America USD $19.95 for trades up to USD $5,000 UK USD$57.95 or 0.65%, whichever is greater Europe USD$115.00 or 0.90%, whichever is greater | $500 | Aus & 25 international | Yes – investment banks; Morningstar Advanced Research packages available | Options, warrants, margin loans, fixed income, advanced charting | Must have Westpac cash investment account. Crazy account keeping fees for inactivity on intl |
| NAB | $14.95 up to $5000 $19.95 $5000 – $20,000 International $14.95 up to $5000 | $500 | Aus & 25 international | Yes – investment banks; Morningstar | mFunds, options, warrants margin Loans, fixed income, advanced charting Subscriptions – premium charting, alerts IRESS Trader integration | |
| Bank Of Melbourne – Directshares | 1st Trade $19.95 up to $5000 2nd trade $19.95 up to $18,000 | $500 | Aus & international | Yes – investment banks; Morningstar | Free alerts | |
| Suncorp Share Trade | $21.95 up to $10,000 USA $24.95 up to $5000 Intl $69 or 0.69% Foreign Exchange 0.6% | $500 | Aus & 11 markets | With Suncorp Share Trading, you will have access to Dow Jones newswires, Morningstar and ASX Company announcements. | mFunds, warrants $41.25/month – dynmaic data | Custody fees |
| IG | 3+ (previous month) $5 0-2 trades $8 International Free (instant currency conversion) Forex 0.7% spread $50 subscription fee, quarterly | $500 | Aus, US, UK, Germany, Ireland | Yes – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; Reiuters, In-house analysts | Award winning trading platform | CFDs! |
| CMC | Less than 11 trades oer month $11 or 0.1% 11-30 trades $9.90 or 0.8% International (US, Canada) $19.95 $0-$5000 $29.95 $5000-$10,000 Other $59.95 | $500 | Aus & International | Yes | Frequent trader program, shares, options, mFunds, CFDs | CFDs! |
| Bell Direct | First 10 trades p/m $15 up to $10,000 $10 live data p/m (free after 5 trades per month) WebIRESS $79 p/m | $500 | ASX only | Broker research | Daily trading ideas, advanced charting, free conditional orders, mFunds, exchange traded bonds, interest rate securities | |
| Saxo Markets | Custodian $6.99 CHESS $14.90 US USD $9.90 UK GBP 8 0.12% custody fee FX 0.3% | 36 exchanges | ||||
| SelfWealth | $9.50 | $500 | Australia | No | Social platform – follow other investors; align portfolios; see where you rank It’s listed! | |
| Stake | 0% brokerage $0 month – unlimited free trades (market orders only) $9 month – free trades; advanced orders; $19 month – trade on unsettled; analyst level data ($30k portolfio) First funding: $5 to complete W-*Ben FX – 0.7% 2% fund with card | $10 | US | No | Fractional shares News feed | Custodian |
| eToro | 0% commission – US Other stocks are offered as derivatives and bear commission | $50 | US markets – 0% commission (aussie investors) International markets | News & analysis | Fractional shares, social platform, follow traders, copycat portfolios | Leverage |
| Vanguard Personal Investor | Pay $0 brokerage on Vanguard’s ASX-listed ETFs and $19.95 or 0.15% (GST inclusive), whichever is greater, on other ASX transactions. Account Fee: 0.20% p.a. capped at $600 p.a. per account Interest Rate Charge: 0.50% p.a.1 of the balance of your Cash Account | $5000 managed funds, then no minimum $500 ETFS | ||||
| CommSec Pocket | $2 up $1000 0.20% above $1000 | $50 | Mixed expsoure through ETFs | No | 7 options to choose: Aussie200, Aussie Dividends, Global 100, Emerging Markets, Health Wise, Sustainability, Tech Savvy | – ETFs only – Watch out for brokerage as a percentage |
| Raiz | $2.50 per month less than $10,000 | $5 | ||||
| Spaceship | $0 on $0-$5000 0.1% above $5000 (spaceship universe portfolio) |