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How to transfer shares online

The way you transfer your shares will depend on whether they're issuer or CHESS sponsored.

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If you want to transfer shares to another person, company or bank account, you can do this through an off-market or online transfer. The option you choose will depends on how your shares are registered and where the shares are being transferred from and to.

To transfer your shares to another trading platform, you need to complete a Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) sponsorship form that will allow you to transfer your existing holdings from a certain issuer or broker to another sponsoring participant.

CHESS is the computer system used by the ASX to record shareholdings and manage share transaction settlements.

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Data updated regularly
Name Product Standard brokerage fee Inactivity fee Markets International
eToro (global stocks)
eToro (global stocks)
US$0
US$10 per month if there’s been no login for 12 months
Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Zero brokerage share trading on US, Hong Kong and European stocks with trades as low as $50.
Note: This broker offers CFDs which are volatile investment products and most clients lose money trading CFDs with this provider.
Join the world’s biggest social trading network when you trade stocks, commodities and currencies from the one account.
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IG Share Trading
IG Share Trading
$8
$50 per quarter if you make fewer than three trades in that period
ASX shares, Global shares
Yes
$0 brokerage for US and global shares plus get an active trader discount of $5 commission on Australian shares.
Enjoy some of the lowest brokerage fees on the market when trading Australian shares, international shares, plus get access to 24-hour customer support.
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ThinkMarkets Share Trading
ThinkMarkets Share Trading
$8
No
ASX shares
No
$8 flat fee brokerage for CHESS Sponsored ASX stocks (HIN ownership), plus free live stock price data on an easy to use mobile app.
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Superhero share trading
Superhero share trading
$5
No
ASX shares, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Earn up to 15,000 Qantas frequent flyer points when you transfer an exisiting balance or trade. Offer valid for all new and existing Superhero members until 28 February.
Pay zero brokerage on US stocks and all ETFs and just $5 (flat fee) to trade Australian shares from your mobile or desktop.
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GO Markets Share Trading
GO Markets Share Trading
$7.70
No
ASX shares, Forex, CFDs, ETFs
No
Pay zero brokerage on your first 20 trades and $7.70 after that on over 2,500 ASX listed shares from either your desktop or mobile.
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Opentrader Share Trading
Opentrader Share Trading
$5
No
ASX shares, Options trading, ETFs, Warrants
No
Gain access to chess sponsored shares for as little as $5 per trade.
Get free live data, advanced charting and even gain experience before trading through fantasy portfolios when you sign up with OpenTrader.
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Saxo Capital Markets (Classic account)
Saxo Capital Markets (Classic account)
$5
No
ASX shares, Global shares, ETFs
Yes
Access 19,000+ stocks on 40+ exchanges worldwide
Low fees for Australian and global share trading, no inactivity fees, low currency conversion fee and optimised for mobile.
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HSBC Online Share Trading
HSBC Online Share Trading
$19.95
No
ASX shares, mFunds, ETFs, Bonds
No
Limited-time offer: Join HSBC’s online trading account before 28 February 2022 and HSBC will reimburse you up to $100 on your first 5 trades. Also traders who transfer $50k+ will get a $200 bonus(T&Cs apply).
Make trades online with brokerage fees starting from just $19.95 with an HSBC Online Share Trading account. Plus gain access to complimentary expert research, trading ideas and tools.
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SelfWealth (Basic account)
SelfWealth (Basic account)
$9.5
No
ASX shares, US shares
Yes
Trade ASX and US shares for a flat fee of $9.50, regardless of the trade size.
New customers receive free access to Community Insights with SelfWealth Premium for the first 90 days. Follow other investors and benchmark your portfolio performance.
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Bell Direct Share Trading
Bell Direct Share Trading
$15
No
ASX shares, mFunds, ETFs
No
Invest in Australian shares, options and managed funds from the one account with no inactivity fee.
Bell Direct offers a one-second placement guarantee on market-to-limit ASX orders or your trade is free, plus enjoy extensive free research reports from top financial experts.
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Important: Share trading can be financially risky and the value of your investment can go down as well as up. Standard brokerage is the cost to purchase $1,000 or less of equities without any qualifications or special eligibility. Where both CHESS sponsored and custodian shares are offered, we display the cheapest option.

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How are your shares registered?

Essentially, your share transfer will depend on how your shares are sponsored. They will either be issuer sponsored, CHESS sponsored or custodian.

Issuer-sponsored holdings are those that you may have purchased as a new issue, earned through a demutualisation, been allocated by your company, inherited from a family member or transformed from broker sponsorship. Your ownership is recorded by the registration company that initially issued the shares.

CHESS-sponsored holdings, on the other hand, are those registered via a stock broker on the ASX's registry (called CHESS). These are usually given an HIN (Holder Identification Number) by the broker. These shares likely purchased through a broker.

Custodian shares are held on your behalf, either by a broker or other financial institution. Your ownership of the shares is managed by that broker. These are also likely to have been purchased through a broker.

How to transfer shares online: the Big Four

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Westpac

Online
  1. Download a CHESS Sponsorship and Broker to Broker Transfer Form from Westpac’s website.
  2. Fill out your details and the old and new brokers’ details – make sure that these details are correct and match the ones in the old broker. Then sign the Declaration & Sign/s section. Note: For broker-sponsored shares, you will have an HIN instead of a Securityholder Reference Number (SRN) allocated to your shares, which starts with an "X".
  3. Print out the form and complete any outstanding information.
  4. Email it to online@wespac.com.au.

You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Fax
  1. Download a CHESS Sponsorship and Broker-to-Broker Transfer Form from Westpac’s website.
  2. Fill out your details and the old and new brokers’ details – make sure that these details are correct and match the ones in the old broker. Then sign the Declaration & Sign/s section. Note: For broker-sponsored shares, you will have an HIN instead of a Securityholder Reference Number (SRN) allocated to your shares, which starts with an "X".
  3. Print out the form and complete any outstanding information.
  4. Fax the form on 1300 130 493.

This type of transfer is free of cost. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Post

Post the completed CHESS form to:

Westpac Securities
Reply Paid 85157
AUSTRALIA SQUARE NSW 1214

Otherwise, you can transfer shares through an off-market transaction. This is also referred to as a standard transfer.

Transfer shares from another broker’s CHESS sponsored account

Here are the steps to a your shares to a Westpac Securities CHESS sponsored account.

  1. Complete the Standard Transfer Form from Westpac’s website.
  2. Fill out all required details. You can refer to the second page of the form for guidelines.
  3. Send the completed form to Westpac Securities:
    Westpac Securities
    Reply Paid 85157
    Australia Square NSW 1214

This post transfer costs $50 per transfer. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Case study: CommBank

If you want to transfer shares held with a stockbroker firm to CommBank for business purposes, you will need to fill out a Broker-to-Broker Transfer Form. To do this, you must first ensure that the firm you have chosen to stock your shares is eligible for share transfer.

Here are the steps to follow to transfer shares to Commonwealth Bank:

  1. Log into your CommSec account.
  2. Navigate to Support > Forms & Brochures: Shares > CHESS Sponsorship and Broker-to-Broker Request Form.
  3. Download the CHESS sponsorship form from the bank’s website.
  4. Complete the form and make sure that all the registration details of your old firm match the ones of the new firm.
  5. Choose whether you need your HIN or some of your holdings to be transferred to CommSec.
  6. After agreeing with the terms and conditions on the form, sign and post the form to the bank’s postal address:
    CommSec - Conversions
    Locked Bag 22
    Australia Square
    NSW 1215

Normally you would wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

CommBank

Online
  1. Create or sign in to your CommSec account.
  2. Download the CHESS sponsorship form from Commonwealth Bank’s website.
  3. Nominate whether you would like your HIN or some of your nominated shares to be transferred to CommSec then sign the “Agreement” section.
  4. Email the completed form to shares@commsec.com.au.

You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Post

Post the completed CHESS form to:

CommSec
Locked Bag 22
Australian Square NSW 1215

Otherwise, you can transfer shares through off-market transaction. This is also referred to as a standard transfer.

Transfer shares from another broker’s CHESS sponsored account

Here are the steps to transfer your shares to a CommSec CHESS sponsored account.

  1. Complete the Off Market Transfer Form from CommSec’s website.
  2. Fill out all required details. You can refer to the first two pages of the form for guidelines.
  3. Send the completed form to:
    CommSec
    Locked Bag 22
    Australian Square NSW 1215

This post transfer costs $54 per transfer. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

ANZ

Online
  1. Download the Broker to Broker Transfer Form from ANZ Securities.
  2. Fill out your details as well as the holdings details, then complete and sign the Declaration Section.
  3. Email the form to requests@anzshareinvesting.com

This type of transfer is free of cost. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Fax
  1. Download the Broker-to-Broker Transfer Form from ANZ Securities.
  2. Fill out and complete the form before signing the Declaration Section.
  3. Fax the form on 1300 553 589.

This type of transfer is free of cost. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Post

Post the completed fBroker to Broker Transfer form to:

ANZ Share Investing
Reply Paid 1346
Royal Exchange NSW 1224

Otherwise, you can transfer shares through an off-market transaction. This is also referred to as a standard transfer.

Transfer shares from another broker’s CHESS sponsored account

Here are the steps to transfer shares to an ANZ Securities CHESS sponsored account.

  1. Complete the Off Market Transfer Form from ANZ Securities or download the form.
  2. Fill out all required details in the form.
  3. Send the completed form to Westpac Securities:
    ANZ Share Investing
    Reply Paid 1346
    Royal Exchange NSW 1224

There is a post transfer fee of $55 for each transfer. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

NAB

Online
  1. Log into nabtrade.
  2. Navigate to Admin > Permissions > Broker Sponsored > Apply > Submit to download the Broker to Broker Transfer Request Form.
  3. Complete all information on the form.
  4. Send the form to enquiries@nabtrade.com.au

This transfer is free of cost. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Fax
  1. Log into nabtrade.
  2. Navigate to Admin > Permissions > Broker Sponsored > Apply > Submit to download the pdf form of Broker to Broker Transfer Request.
  3. Complete all information on the form.
  4. Fax the completed form on 1300 368 758.

This transfer is free of cost. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

Post

Post the completed Broker to Broker Transfer Request to:

nabtrade
GPO Box 4545
Melbourne VIC 3001

Otherwise, you can transfer shares through an off-market transaction. This is also referred to as a standard transfer.

Transfer shares from another broker’s CHESS sponsored account

Here are the steps to transfer shares to a nabtrade CHESS sponsored account.

  1. Complete the Off Market Transfer Form from nabtrade’s website or download.
  2. Fill out all required details. You can refer to the third page of the form for guidelines.
  3. Send the completed form to:
    nabtrade
    GPO Box 4545
    Melbourne VIC 3001

There is a post transfer fee of $55 for each transfer. You will have to wait two to three days after the form is received until the shares you nominated are transferred successfully.

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