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Bell Direct online share trading platform review

Name: Bell Direct Share Trading
Brand: Bell Direct

Bell Direct places orders onto the ASX in under a second, so you can take advantage of trading opportunities quicker.

Finder's rating: 4/5

★★★★★

Bell Direct offers an award-winning online share trading platform you can use to trade shares and more on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Bell Direct charges tiered brokerage fees, meaning the more you trade the less you’ll pay.

Alison Banney

Last Updated Dec 23, 2020

AUD $15

Standard brokerage fee

ASX

Available markets

Phone, Email, Live chat

Support

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Details

Details

Type of broker	Online only
ASX products	Shares Exchange traded options IPOs/floats
Available markets	ASX
Standard brokerage	AUD $15
Support	Phone Email Live chat

Alison Banney

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Alison Banney is the banking and investments editor at Finder. She has written about finance for over 8 years, with her work featured on sites including Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Dynamic Business. She has previously worked at Westpac, and has written for several other major banks including BCU, Greater Bank and Gateway Credit Union. Alison has a Bachelor of Communications from Newcastle University, with a double major in Journalism and Public Relations. She has ASIC RG146 compliance certificates for Financial Advice, Securities and Managed Investments and Superannuation. Outside of Finder, you’ll likely find her somewhere near the ocean.

What awards has Bell Direct won?

Investment Trends - highest overall client satisfaction 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

What can I trade with Bell Direct?

ASX-listed equities
ETFs (exchange traded funds)
Warrants
Interest rate securities
Options
Managed funds via mFund
XTBs (exchange traded bonds)
IPOs

Key features of Bell Direct share trading

Fees	★★★★★ 4/5
Trading tools	★★★★★ 3.3/5
Research and education	★★★★★ 5/5
Available securities	★★★★★ 3/5
Customer support	★★★★★ 4/5

To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read the methodology here.

Margin Lending

Increase your investment power by opening a margin lending account. You can borrow against the value of your existing portfolio without selling off assets, which is a tax effective way to access the equity in your investments and increase your investment power.

SMSF-friendly

Implement your self-managed super fund (SMSF) investment strategy using the Bell Direct online trading platform.

Broker research from Bell Potter

Get free access to the minds of the brokers at Bell Financial Group, key measures from Morningstar, ASX company announcements, live business news from Dow Jones Newswires and webcasts of ASX company announcements.

Trading tips

Get suggestions on bear and bull trades from Bell Direct everyday in your email inbox.

Easy tax reporting

Bell Direct provides a convenient end of year report which provides details about your account and transactions for the financial year as well as estimated dividends.

Mobile-friendly

Bell Direct offers a mobile optimised web based trading platform so you can make trades anywhere using your smartphone.

Free conditional orders

You can place advanced orders for trades to execute when your trigger conditions are met.

Bell Cash Trust

You can link a Bell Cash Trust to your trading account and automatically settle any proceeds from your trades directly to that account. Transfer funds into the account via BPAY, Electronic Funds Transfer or via cheque and have them ready to trade with when you need them. Funds are available at-call and even earn interest when not in use. There's no minimum deposit amount.

One second trades

Bell Direct guarantees eligible market-to-limit orders are placed onto the ASX within one second otherwise your trade is free.

Bell Direct premium service levels

The above features including email alerts, conditional orders, broker research, one-second guarantee and comprehensive tax reports are all free with a Bell Direct trading account. Depending on your trading requirements, Bell Direct also offers the following premium services.

Service level	Features	Cost
Platinum live streaming	Live streaming of prices, so you don't need to constantly refresh your page.	$27.50 a month
Integrated WebIRESS	Access a constant stream of live market data with WebIRESS, including real-time quotes, market depth and trades.	$79 a month

What support and information is available with Bell Direct?

Bell Direct offers a range of educational services to help you stay informed with what’s happening in the market. The list includes demos on how to use their tools and insights into the market about different industries.

There are a range of blogs and videos to help you learn, whatever your learning style is. Bell Direct TV gives you insights, updates and trading demonstrations, including daily market wraps and interviews with expert traders and CEOs.

You can get in touch with Bell Direct on the phone, fax, email or through postal address. It’s contact center is available 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday (Eastern Standard Time).

Fees charged by Bell Direct

BellDirect offers a straightforward fee schedule for trades conducted online. The more you trade, the less you pay in brokerage.

Number of trades	Fees
Your first 10 trades per month	From $15 / trade
Your 11th to 30th trades per month	From $13 / trade
Your 31st trade and over per month	From $10 / trade
mFund trades (managed funds)	from $30 / trade

What are the pros and cons of using Bell Direct for my next trade?

Pros

One-second trade guarantee on eligible market-to-limit orders
Tiered brokerage fees. The more you trade the cheaper it gets
Free conditional orders
Free research papers and reports from the affiliated Bell Potter Securities financial advisory team, as well as email alerts

Cons

Phone orders are expensive
Can't trade international equities

How do you open an account with Bell Direct?

You can apply online to take advantage of the award-winning Bell Direct online share trading platform. You must be 18 years or older, have an Australian residential address, a valid email address, mobile phone number and bank account to apply.

Once you’ve registered your details, you’ll need to verify your identity to complete the registration process. You can do this by sending a photo of your driver’s licence or passport and bank statement or utility bill to the email address provided to you during the application. Once Bell Direct receives all your information, your account will be opened within three business days.

FAQs

- Making a deposit. You can make a deposit to your trading account by bank transfer or by BPAY. The BPAY biller code is provided upon application. You only need your BSB and account number to carry out a bank transfer. If you make a transfer before the end of business, your money will be available in your account the next business day.
- Making a withdrawal. To make a withdrawal, submit a funds transfer request form within the online platform. There are no restrictions about when you can and can’t make a withdrawal. Your available balance factors in any pending orders at the time you want to make a withdrawal. Submit a request to withdraw funds before 2.30PM (AEST) on a business day – the transaction will be processed the same day and the funds will be made available in an account of your choosing on the next business day. The cut off time is 12.30PM on ASX shortened trading days.

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6 Comments

Michelle
March 20, 2020

How much a month for inactive account if I buy shares and just leave them sit for a couple years and do not buy and sell after initial buying?

finder Customer Care

Charisse
March 20, 2020

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for freaching out to Finder.

Bell Direct does not have any account maintenance fees. This means if you buy shares through Bell Direct, you will be charged a brokerage for that purchase which depends on your order value and trading frequency but will be charged nothing if you leave them sitting idle in your trading account later.

As of now, Bell Direct has not set any limit for how long an account can be inactive.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Charisse

Damien
April 2, 2019

I would like to setup a small share trading portfolio for my son (aged 15)

Nikki
April 3, 2019

Hi Damien,

Thanks for getting in touch with Finder! It’s great to know that you’re setting this for your son. However as it says on our page, the minimum age to set up a trading portfolio, he must be 18 years old and over.

Hope this clarifies!

Best,
Nikki

cressyfalcon
November 21, 2018

1. Is there a free trial or can the function be used for 1 month paid use only to see if it is suitable?
2. Can data be entered via Exetel or a software direct for testing purposes myself?

finder Customer Care

Charisse
November 30, 2018

Hi Cressyfalcon,

Thanks for reaching out to Finder.

Unfortunately, Bell Direct does not offer any free trial account or service.

If you are still looking to compare share trading platforms, you can use our comparison table to help you find the platform that suits you. Some of the share trading platforms on this list may offer free trial accounts so they may be worth checking. When you are ready, press the “Go to site” button to sign up or speak to a representative.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Charisse

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