Stake gives Australians access to more than 3000 US stocks with $0 brokerage.
Stake is a desktop and mobile trading app that enables Australians to easily trade US stocks. It provides access to more than 3000 US stocks and ETFs, including some of the biggest global companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon. The US market is currently valued at over $30 trillion and growing rapidly.
The platform is exclusively for US stocks and doesn’t provide access to ASX-listed shares. Read on to learn more about Stake.
About the author
Alison Banney is the Banking and Investment Editor at Finder. Alison has a Bachelor of Communications from Newcastle University, an ASIC RG146 Certification for financial advice and an ASIC RG146 Certification in Securities and Managed Investments..
What can I trade with Stake?
You can access more than 3000 US stocks and ETFs via Stake. Stake currently does not allow users to trade derivatives, like CFDs or options.
Features of Stake’s platform and app
Access some of the world’s biggest brands
Stake offers Australians easy access to major international brands like Apple, Tesla, Facebook and Google.
$0 brokerage
Stake doesn’t charge any brokerage fees when you buy or sell stocks.
User-friendly platform with an online shopping feel
Stake’s platform is user-friendly and more like an online shopping site or a social media platform than a trading platform.
Advanced filtering options
Users can apply a range of advanced filters when looking for stocks to trade. For example, you can filter by stocks that are trending, most up, most down, most traded or most watched. You can also filter by a range of categories including food, travel and technology or even the size of the company.
Discover related stocks
When you select a stock to look at, the platform also suggests a range of related stocks based on what others are trading. This is a helpful tool to discover some less well-known stocks.
News and analysis
Access the latest news and analysis for each individual stock from various sources across the Internet. Plus, access Stake’s own blog and stock commentary too.
Charts
Use the charts to see how a stock has performed over the past day, week, month, three months, year or three years. The charts are conveniently colour coded too, so you can easily see when a stock is trending down (red).
Advanced order types
You can choose to buy or sell at market as well as place a limit or stop order.
Gift shares
You can gift shares to your friends and family in the form of an online voucher. You don’t need an account to gift shares.
What fees does Stake charge?
Stake does not charge any brokerage fees when you buy and sell stocks. Instead, Stake makes money on the currency exchange when you fund your account and when you withdraw your money.
Before you can trade with Stake, you'll need to add funds to your account. Stake charge you to transfer your Australian dollars to US dollars and vice versa. For every AUD$100 you transfer, Stake charges US$0.70. However, as Stake points out on the website, these foreign currency transfer fees are applied by other brokers, including many major banks, to international trades. With other brokers, this fee may be applied each time you trade, whereas with Stake, you're only charged the fee when you transfer funds.
There are some other charges to be aware of. The minimum transfer amount from AUD to USD is technically AUD$500, but there's a AUD$5 fee for transfers below AUD$2500. Additionally, if you add funds to your account using a credit or debit card, you'll be charged 2% on top of both the transfer fee (US$0.70 per AUD$100) and the low-dollar transfer fee (AUD$5). You can avoid the low-dollar transfer fee of AUD$5 if you transfer funds using POLi.
Pros and cons of using Stake
Pros
- $0 brokerage when you buy and sell stocks
- Easy access to more than 3000 US stocks and ETFs
- User-friendly platform and app
- Advanced filtering options to discover stocks and ETFs
Cons
- AUD$5 low-dollar transfer fee when you transfer amounts less than $2500 (unless you use POLi)
How to get started with Stake
You can create an account with Stake online in minutes and have your account funded and ready to go that same day.
Click “get started” on Stake’s site and follow the prompts to enter your personal details including name, residential address and contact details. Create an account by selecting a username and creating a unique password. You’ll need to verify your ID throughout the process, so make sure you have your driver's licence and/or Medicare card handy.
