Australian brokers are well known for their diversities in service and portfolio ranges; some of them operate as a discount broker or active broker. At the same time, some of them provide full-fledged trading platforms like MT4 or MT5 etc.
Now before we start our journey towards best Australian brokers, let us first get a brief look of the Australian stock markets.
The Australian stock exchange is named as ASX, and it is among the top 12 largest brokers by market capitalisation.
Due to technological development and the outreach of the Internet, it has become easy for trading entities online on a real-time basis.
Latest online platform and plethora of stockbrokers make it difficult for an ordinary trader to identify the best for his needs according to facilities provided by them like trading platform, spreads, leverages, market capitalisation, brokerage, tradable instruments etc.
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Best Australian Brokers 2020 to Choose
So in this article, we have researched and found out the best five brokers in Australia to provide aid to your trading practices:
- HFTrading;
- eToro
- SwissQuote
- SaxoBank
- CMC Markets
Check them out below.
1.HFTrading – A Leading CFD Financial Platform
HF Trading was established in 2019, only allowing its account opening process with a minimum deposit of $250.
It is headquarters in New Zealand, and it provides its services in Australia too. Although it is new, it is gaining momentum among its investors because of its MetaTrader 4 platform, its tight spreads and its leverages up to 400.
Highlights of this broker are listed below: –
- Working Platform– It offers its services through MT4 over the counter via computers and mobiles whether it may be iOS or an android.
- Available tradable instruments– It provides all types of tradable instruments like 350+ CFDs, cryptocurrencies, commodities, forex, shares, indices and metals with the help of its three account types as silver, gold and platinum.
- Authorization– it is tabularised by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Pros of using HFTrading–
- Free educational resources are available.
- Regulated by ASIC and FMA.
- Latest trading platform MT4
- A demo account is available.
Cons of using HFTrading–
- Does not provide an economic calendar and earning calendar.
- Video tutorials are significantly less.
- Limited resources are available for research of traders.
- They do not accept US clients.
Conclusion:- These five brokers are suitable for all types of brokers raring to grow wings and want to fly in an array of commercial markets for investments and making a profitable income. HFTrading broker stands out from the lot due to its services, a number of assets and instruments. It has more than two regulating bodies, which is not common and builds the confidence of a trader, who wants to trade with it.
The broker is ranked among the top in our top 5 brokers in Australia list. It is because of their ease of accessing their platforms even for the beginners.
The best thing in eToro is that it does not charge anything on stocks and ETF trades; however, on CFDs, it charges significantly.
The headquarter of this broker is situated in Israel. It is licensed to operate in Australia and the UK. The regulating authority for both the countries is the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), respectively.
Highlights of this broker are listed below: –
- Operating platform – They provide a very user-friendly platform. eToro platform employs a social media like user interface where a trader can communicate with its fellow trader and also, he can copy the strategies of good performing traders.
He can get advice by top performers on choosing the most profitable instrument.
- Available tradable instruments: – They offer a range of tradable instruments like ETF, stocks, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, commodities and indices.
One can easily choose his niche and start trading.
- Brokerage on ETFs and stocks rage and commission charges – As described earlier, eToro does not charge anything on ETFs, and individual stocks but it charge variable spread for every trade that one place as the spread is the difference between the charges a buyer is willing to pay and the money that a seller receive on delivery of his entity.
So, one should choose that tradable instrument which has less spread.
- Authorization– This broker has earned trust by working in Australia and the UK. In both of the country, it is regulated by their central exchange regulators like in Australia it is regulated by Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and in the UK it is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
- Pros of using eToro–
- Opening an account with eToro feels like opening a social media account; hence it is a very simple process.
- Variety of tradable instruments are available like ETF, shares, financial derivatives, currency pairs etc.
- Their social media like the platform is quite helpful for new traders as they can copy the top-performing player’s portfolio and manage accordingly.
- A plethora of education material is available to get the acquaintance of trading and investment; they include videos and books.
- It provides margin trading up to 400 times.
- They offer pro-charts for in-depth analysis of the market.
Cons of using eToro–
- The education material is concentrated on how to use the platform rather than on how to trade in different instruments.
- There are minimum deposit and withdrawal fee associated in these accounts.
3.SwissQuote – Trade Markets with the Swiss Leader in Online Banking
This broker provides specialised services to the clients who have a high net worth. It mainly deals in asset managing or investing for the long term. SwissQuote is favourable among those who have a lot of assets and need plans for investing. This broker is backed by an Investment Bank SwissQuote SA hence its capital support is magnificent.
Although its headquarters is located in Switzerland yet it provides its services globally from the Middle East to Europe, Malta to Asia and Australia etc.
Highlights of this broker are listed below: –
- Working Platform – They are famous for their specialised services and seek those customers who can pay them more than market prices for managing their assets and investments.
This broker works in offshore banking and Robo-Advisory services that is software for providing an automatic method of wealth management solutions.
- Available tradable instruments — – This broker consists of its two branches one branch is located in Switzerland and provides facilities to trade in stocks, funds, options, and futures and the other branch is located in the UK offers only CFD and forex trades.
- Brokerage and commission charges – They charge zero dollars for the Expat accounts, i.e. the basic accounts while the charges on the corporate account and trust accounts are very high like USD 1200 and USD 2000 respectively.
Now for every ETF and stock trade, they charge a 0.25% fee while on bonds their charges go a little higher with 0.30% fee.
Trade commission on foreign currency, options and futures also vary depending on the country or the region one trade from. For example, they charge zero dollars for their clients from the UK and Switzerland.
- Authorization– It is regularised by the UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority); hence clients can make their trades with a peace of mind.
Pros of using SwissQuote–
- As this broker is backed up by an investment bank hence its credibility in the market is maximum.
- Its online platform can be accessed in many different languages.
- There is a relief for inactive traders as it does not charge anything on inactivity.
- They offer demo accounts for beginners.
- They provide a full library of e-learning stuff related to trading and investing.
- Specialised services are available like Robo-advisory and portfolio management.
Cons of using SwissQuote–
- They only operate on weekdays. And that too during office hours.
- Their user interface may seem to be a little bit confusing for beginners.
- They charge a good fee for accessing their research materials.
- They provide spreads that are above marker and their commission is a lot more than ordinary market rates.
4.SaxoBank – Stock Broker Australia
This broker is considered best for professional brokers. As this trader is also backed up by Saxo Bank, hence it has proven itself a safe custodian of an investor’s money.
The broker was established in 1992 and has achieved its trust value among Australian customers. It works in 15 different country languages and holds a client’s capital that is more than $ 17 billion.
Highlights of this broker are listed below: –
Highlights of this broker are listed below:
- Working Platform – Talking about its working platform than it has a vast experience of the finance industry and hence it Is suitable for the brokers who have more concerns about the safety of their money stacked.
This broker is in good books of clients regarding their trading platforms available for their clients. And the management of money is well regulated with the help of various orders like stop-loss etc.
They also provide a lot of featured tools like charts, orders, and statistical tools to analyze the market fluctuations.
- Available tradable instruments — – They offer 19000 plus stocks and CFDs. They also provide a wide range of leveraged products from a range starting from forex to commodities and cryptocurrencies.
- Brokerage and commission charges – The minimum deposit amount required to open an account with them is USD $ 3000 which can look far more expensive than its competitor but on the other hand, it provides safety to your money.
The per transaction charges are also high up to $6.99 for each transaction, and the costs are somewhat country-specific too. Like they charge $3 for us clients who trade in ETFs and for their Australian clients they charge %6.99 for dealing in Australian stocks.
- Authorization– It is regulated by ASIC.
Pros of using SaxoBank–
- Twenty-five years of working experience in the finance industry.
- Authorised by ASIC
- They do not charge a withdrawal fee.
- Their trading interface is good and user friendly.
- Trading in international shares is available at different prices.
- A demo account is available.
- eLearning repository is available for its clients.
- A large number of tradable instruments are present.
Cons of using SaxoBank–
- This broker charges the inactivity fee.
- Their minimum deposit fee is higher than the market average.
- Their identity check process takes a long time before account opening.
5.CMC Markets – Forex Trading Australia
CMC market is run by its two subsidiaries named as CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd and CMC Market stockbroking Limited. Both of them is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
This broker provides its Australian clients with best online tools at an affordable price like charts and learning repositories.
It is a versatile broker as it provides the facility to trade internationally for its Australian clients on different tradable instruments whether it may vary by ETO or shares or commodities and indices etc.
Highlights of this broker are listed below: –
- Working Platform– with the advanced technology they work for both ASX and in international markets too.
- Available tradable instruments– Their tradable instruments range is very good as they provide a lot of tradable entities whether it may be forex, stocks, ETO, CFDs, indices or commodities. One can easily choose one or more than one product to trade in to increase its portfolio.
- Brokerage and commission charges– This trader is best for casual traders as they trade less than ten times a month; hence their per trade cost ranges from 0.1 dollars per trade to $11 per trade.
- Authorization– It is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Pros of using CMC Markets–
- A brokerage fee is less compared to its competitors.
- The user interface of the platform is much appreciated.
- They charge very low for traders who trade casually.
- This is the number one CFD spread betting broker in Australia.
Cons of using CMC Markets–
- This broker charges the inactivity fee.
- Customer support is lacking.