Share Trading Accounts Australia

eTrade Share Trading Australia

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E*TRADE Australia is the online stockbroking subsidiary of ANZ, licensed from its US parent E*TRADE, one of the pioneers of online trading.

 

Established in Australia in 1998, E*TRADE has attempted to position itself in the market as the premier online brokerage provider, not only for affluent investors, but also for smaller stakeholders.

Rather than purchasing shares through a traditional broker, at traditional broker's fees, E*TRADE claims to offer the investor the opportunity to enter the market directly, at any time of the day or night. In addition, they claim to provide one of Australia's most comprehensive stock analysis databases, with independent analyst recommendations, historical trends, company profiles and up to date market announcements.

They also offer a Market Depth tool showing the volume and top 10 price points of potential buyers and sellers, and a fully automated portfolio management system, whereby any changes to your portfolio are instantly updated.

A Smart Alerts system allows customers to set their share requirements based on price, volume and index levels, and when their nominated stock reaches the set conditions, an email or SMS alert is sent to inform them straight away.

E*TRADE's interactive charts allow customers to track and compare a share's performance, and their online education centre provides advice, online tutorials and investment software for both novice and experienced traders alike.

The customisable interface options Power E*TRADE and E*TRADE Pro allow customers to tailor their desktop to however they wish to view their trading information, and customise trading tools to suit their requirements. Customers who trade 10 times a month or more are given free access to both Power E*TRADE and E*TRADE Pro.

One of E*TRADE's most saleable functions, however, is its Conditional Orders facility. This allows a client to instruct the site to monitor a particular stock on their behalf, and in the event of the stock reaching a predefined target, a Buy or Sell order is automatically triggered. E*TRADE claims the function is one of the most advanced automated trading systems on the market, affording active, time-poor traders maximum investment opportunities, as well as helping less experienced traders gain confidence.

E*TRADE offers Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels of Conditional Orders to suit the trader's level of experience, and these levels can be changed at any time. Each Conditional Order remains active for three months, after which time, if it hasn't been triggered, the customer can log on and reset the specifications.

E*TRADE's brokerage fees begin at $21.95 per trade when trading 21 times or more per month, and hit $32.95 per trade when trading less than 10 times per month. No joining fees apply, with customers only being charged per trade.

E*TRADE is an ideal online platform for the active investor who is generally making more than 21 trades per month. Its range of sophisticated market analysis tools and software lends itself to the knowledgeable, confident trader who is looking to get the maximum return from his/her broad portfolio.

Reasons why you might choose this broker include:

•    Sophisticated market charting tools and comprehensive, real time market news updates.
•    Automated trading functions such as Conditional Orders, which mean you don’t have to be tied to the computer 24/7.
•    Low brokerage fees for active traders.
•    Customisable desktop features that allow you to view market information your way.

eTrade Share Trading Account Setup Offer

A maximum of 1,000 points per calendar month can be earnt by providing your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to E*TRADE prior to trading.

One of the most frequent criticisms of E*TRADE, however, is its standard of customer service. Being essentially a deep discount brokerage as opposed to a full service brokerage, the level of 'hand holding' for the customer is limited, being largely restricted to the help materials that it offers online. Its customer service call centre is repeatedly singled out for criticism on many of the online e-trader blog sites as being slow and unhelpful.

There have also been questions raised about the site's level of security. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is currently investigating four suspicious transactions through E*TRADE which went undetected by the site's systems, and appear to have been designed to force up the price of Allco Finance Group warrants. E*TRADE was fined $50,000 in May this year after 20,000 Allco warrants were traded at prices about 20 per cent above the market rate. These trades, however, occurred before ANZ's buyout of the online broker, and the bank subsequently commissioned a risk management review of the site which was completed in January this year.

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