Bank of Melbourne directshares Online Broking

What things should I consider about the Bank of Melbourne directshares online share trading account?

Directshares are most suitable for those who;

• Want to manage directly their account and their investments
• Want to learn how to trade using the free and detailed guides available in the Macquarie Education Centre
• Do not want account-keeping fees
• Eligible new customers can get $50 waived from broker fees for up to ten trades, when opening an account by 31 December 2017
• Have a bank account with St.George Bank, BankSA or Bank of Melbourne, that can be used to settle their trades

What are the features of this share trading account?

The Bank of Melbourne directShares online broking account has the following features;

Trading tools available

The Bank of Melbourne directshares online broking account gives customers full access to a wide range of trading tools and information. If you are newbie, you can access a range of independent investment tips from independent research companies such as Morningstar, FatProphets and the Intelligent Investor or financial news from the ASX, Finance News Networks and Dow Jones International News.

You can also check a list of the most traded stocks among directshares clients, or access the Education Centre with its trading guides and daily and weekly analyses. If you are an experienced or professional trader, you can invest via the easy-to-use directshares Power platform, or check the sector analysis and stock valuation tools. You can also use the same tools as newbies and you can even receive a free summary report on your account's income and realised CGT for tax purposes.

The trading platform

The online trading platform is user-friendly and intuitive: you can control your funds and your account and see which investments are profitable.

Range of investments

If you open a directshares online broking account, you can invest in shares, options, ETFs, IPOs, SMSFs and warrants.

Competitive trading fees

One of the biggest costs of share trading is the trading fee, but the Bank of Melbourne directshares account allows you to trade for as little as $19.95 per trade. This low trading fee applies to a first trade of up to a value of $5,000 and subsequent trades of up to a value of $18,000 throughout any given month. Trades totalling higher values for the first trade per calendar month may attract slightly higher brokerage fees (please see table below).

However, as long as your first trade of the month is kept below a total value of $5,000, you could benefit from discounted brokerage fees on all subsequent trades for that month (please see table below).

If a customer places a buy order for $4,500 as the first trading transaction for the month, the trading fee will be $19.95. After this point, if the same customer places a sell order for $6,900, as this is the second trade for that same calendar month, the brokerage fee will also be $19.95 for that trade.

What's the application process like?

To open your directshares trading account you need to follow these steps:

• Open an eligible deposit account with the Bank of Melbourne
• Complete your identification for your new deposit account.
• Open your directshares trading account online.