CMC Markets vs. Bell Direct - New online trading a/c

[Happy2be]

Hi Folks

Still waiting to hear from all of you who said they would let everyone know how they went after they had signed up and traded with CMC and/or Bell.

I for one am very keen to hear the results.(cause I want to try them too or avoid them altogether)

 

[adriverb]

Hi Folks

Still waiting to hear from all of you who said they would let everyone know how they went after they had signed up and traded with CMC and/or Bell.

I for one am very keen to hear the results.(cause I want to try them too or avoid them altogether)

Same here - can anyone comment yet?

Also can anyone elaborate on the differences between brokers on how conditional orders are handled?

Cheers.

 

[shyguy]

keen to know this too as i am swaying between belldirect and cmc markets...

 

[SaberX]

keen to know this too as i am swaying between belldirect and cmc markets...

Sorry for the slow reply! Gosh I forgot totally about this thread - considering I started it... haha

Ok , so I did end up going with Bell, and my thoughts:

To be honest I kept my westpac online investing account so I use that for live quotes on my watchlist, then shift back to bell to trade orders.I honestly think there's no added difficulty in doing this and rather than paying for live quotes I would just do this. But then again I already had a westpac account. If you didn't I would say $10 a month is pretty insignificant... but that's something you'll have to decide yourself.

TO be honest I don't know what I can say about bell versus CMC. I haven't used CMC butI think i'll open an account to have a look around. With Bell Direct, I honestly can't fault it. I haven't used conditional orders or any of those more sophisticated tools merely as I've never used them before, I'll def look into them soon. As far as normal trading goes it's jsut bread and butter. Login, put your trade in and wollah. It responds and updates near instantly for me given my hotmail gets an email notification almost instantly if I put in a new trade, cancel one , or amend one.

So really for cheaper brokerage I don't see why you wouldn't use it. YOu just put in basic buy/sells and you're paying cheaper.. so I can't see why you'd use $25-30 brokers. Maybe the 'functions' pay for themselves to some. But I think now adays you'll find most of the charting/functionalities everywhere on the world wide web. Although outdated at times, compared to Westpac (when you don't pay for services) Bell gives you access to southern cross research and bell small cap research reports on companies. The 'bell intel' section also provides stock standard things like changes in director's interest, unusual volume etc, and charting tools (which I haven't used but others here seem to not talk highly of it). I didn't notice these sort of research reports in westpac (i was on free however) so it's a big plus.

So yeah if it's buy/sell functionality there is nothing absolutely wrong with Bell. if that's your concern and your paying $20-30 for brokerage then gosh, just go switch already . Of course the problem is you must only trade with cash in the account. With westpac the T+ 3 debiting from an external bank account meant I sometimes overbought and had less cash than what i'd bought,I'd usually cover it by selling before the time period to settle it (3 days) debited my bank account.

So bell is good in that you can only trade what's in your cash account. IMHO though this is sometimes annoying becuase if you put a buy order in, unlike westpac you cannot have two in. Quite simply if you have $5000 in cash and put a buy order in for $5,000 then essentially you have $0, and you cannot leave another order in and see which of the two you pickup. So with westpac (not sure about other brokers) this was good because you could pick up whichever of the two stocks hit first. With bell i find i'm choosing between a few stocks I want to try and that way i lose out becuase i'm joining the queue at the back of the line shoudl I change my mind and go with another stock.

Keep in mind taht you put money into the cash account, and purchases/sells are done through a trust account so essentially the money is transferring in/out of the cash account to the trust account to settle this. So basically it just results in one confusing statement if you asked me lol. Still whether it's unsettled and in your trust account or cash account, you can still trade with it.

transfers in/out of bell altogether from your bank account to add in funds or draw out tak eabout one business day if you meet today's cut off transfer time.

My only concern left though, as someone said we are a CHESS sponsored holder of shares with Bell, e.g. we own them. So I rest easy if that is true. However, the bank account and the government guarantee still worries me.

Although I do not understand how CMC is different given Bell's cash maangement account is essentially It hink... a westpac account is it not? Someone correct me if I"m wrong. Whereas CMC's is just bankwest?

I am not sure if a difference in legality and fine print means that CMC's essentially still puts you as owner of the bank account and therefore eligible for the bank deposit guarantee. I do know that at the time I joined , Bell's FAQ did mention you were not covered. So yeah.. if anyone has any opinion on this still? I don't want to imagine it *touchwood* but I feel fairly secure that bell wont' go under. That said perhaps I should split into two brokers when I have more money.

Then again that servse as a detriment as sometimes you need more money in one to buy, when it's in the other.

Can anyone comment on CMC's services further? which would be more financially secure - CMC versus Bell? As bell direct isn't covered by bell potter share services (parent) are they?

 

[SaberX]

apologies - seems i ranted on abit too much. guess that makes up for my months of absence lol.

 

[art27]

Ive been reading a lot of the brokers threads on here this morning. I'm mainly looking for a broker that offers a government guarantee on your deposits that are held with them, free conditional orders and good rates. There seems to be a great deal of confusion when it comes to the government depositor guarantee.

Bell Direct state on their website

" The Direct Cash Account is not a Bank Account and is not covered by the recently announced Government Guarantee. Investors risk losing some or all of their principal investment."

CMC state this on their website

"Please note that funds on deposit with Bankwest are not protected by the ASX National Guarantee Fund."

Mods - Am I allowed to include a link?

Many people have stated that the CMC Bankwest account is safe but it does not seem that this is the case. Maybe the Government protection would apply to CMC? After all it seems that you have to go through them to make a withdrawal so essentially the account is in there name? You can not access it via BankWest?

Can anyone with first hand experience clear this up?

I have been with Bell Direct for about 12 months on a limited basis but I withdrew my funds from them last week after growing concerns about the security of funds sitting in the cash management account. My understanding is that once a share is purchased via Chess using your HIN then you legally own the share (Correct me if this is not the case)

However when it comes to sell a portion of your portfolio you may have funds sitting in the cash management account for a period of time. These funds are not guaranteed.
I have to say that Bell Directs platform is very good. Their customer service is also great but I find that the risk of loss of funds is unacceptable.

I have also looked at IB and read many of the threads on here. It sounds like an accounting nightmare when it comes to imputation credits on dividends. Stocks are also not purchased via Chess.

Can anyone clear some of this up for myself and any others that are reading these threads. Are there any other options out there that offer free conditional orders, Great rates and DO include the Government Guarantee for your funds.

 

[art27]

Noticed this as a part of the CMC Markets Cash account PDS. Seems to contradict what it says elsewhere on the site. Has anyone been able to clear this up?

http://www.cmcmarkets.com.au/sites/...les/22122011_cmc_markets_cash_account_v47.pdf
CMC Markets Cash Account
The Product Schedule and the Cash Account Terms and Conditions comprise the Bank's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Cash Account. You should read the PDS carefully and retain it for future reference.

5. FINANCIAL CLAIMS SCHEME
The Financial Claims Scheme under the Banking Act 1959 applies to this deposit account. The Financial Claims scheme is free and automatically covers the total aggregated balance of all your deposit accounts (including your separate equal share in any joint deposit account) with an Authorised Deposit Institution (“Bank”) up to and including $1m. The Government has recently announced that a new cap of $250,000 will apply from 1 February 2012. Information about the
Financial Claims Scheme can be obtained from the APRA website at www.apra.gov.au and the APRA hotline on 1300 55 88 49.

Is there a difference between the above and this statement?
"Please note that funds on deposit with Bankwest are not protected by the ASX National Guarantee Fund."
http://www.cmcmarkets.com.au/sites/public.au/files/primary-page/cmc_s10_028_0612_asx_cash_acc.pdf

 

[skc]

Noticed this as a part of the CMC Markets Cash account PDS. Seems to contradict what it says elsewhere on the site. Has anyone been able to clear this up?

http://www.cmcmarkets.com.au/sites/...les/22122011_cmc_markets_cash_account_v47.pdf
CMC Markets Cash Account
The Product Schedule and the Cash Account Terms and Conditions comprise the Bank's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Cash Account. You should read the PDS carefully and retain it for future reference.

5. FINANCIAL CLAIMS SCHEME
The Financial Claims Scheme under the Banking Act 1959 applies to this deposit account. The Financial Claims scheme is free and automatically covers the total aggregated balance of all your deposit accounts (including your separate equal share in any joint deposit account) with an Authorised Deposit Institution (“Bank”) up to and including $1m. The Government has recently announced that a new cap of $250,000 will apply from 1 February 2012. Information about the
Financial Claims Scheme can be obtained from the APRA website at www.apra.gov.au and the APRA hotline on 1300 55 88 49.

Is there a difference between the above and this statement?
"Please note that funds on deposit with Bankwest are not protected by the ASX National Guarantee Fund."
http://www.cmcmarkets.com.au/sites/public.au/files/primary-page/cmc_s10_028_0612_asx_cash_acc.pdf

There are two separate things. One's provided by the Federal Government for bank accounts, the other by ASX re clearing and settlement of stock etc. http://www.segc.com.au/

 

[art27]

Thanks for that SHC.

I contacted CMC prior to your reply. They emailed me back today.


Thank you for contacting CMC Markets Stockbroking.

I can confirm that the 2 statements below relate to 2 different schemes or Guarantees.

The Government Guarantee is aimed at protecting funds held in Bank accounts that are covered by the Guarantee. Currently Bank West is covered by this scheme and as such your funds would be as well.

The ASX National Guarantee fund is a different scheme aimed at protecting Clients Stock Holdings held in companies. So naturally this would not cover funds held in a bank account.

I have since opened an account with them. Cheap brokerage, Guaranteed bank funds, Chess sponsored and a really good trading platform ticked all the boxes for me. Bell Direct ticked all of the above but your funds are not government guaranteed.

 

[Modest]

I can't seem to find Volume on the CMC Markets platform they don't show Volume?!

 

[Trembling Hand]

I can't seem to find Volume on the CMC Markets platform they don't show Volume?!

Thats cuz you are probably looking at the CFD platform?

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Hi all,

Just joined the forum, first post.

Apologies for digging up an old thread, but it's exactly what I'm currently looking into.

So I'm a first time investor, with very little knowledge, and no experience.

I'm keen to get started, and through some research have managed to narrow down my options to either CMC or Bell Direct as my online broker choice.
At this early stage, I'm only really interested in stocks, no forex, or cfds or anything fancy...just want to start simple/slow.

I'm leaning towards Bell Direct currently mainly because of the simplicity of setting up an account. They also seem to have better info, research and reports than CMC.
On the other hand, I do like the lower broker fee's of CMC, but there history/track record aren't as clean and don't seem to have as good info/research available...is this a correct assessment?

Anyway, I'm still on the fence, and seeing as the majority of comments in this thread are now 4+ years old, I thought I would ask if it's all still relevant?

Now that it's (mid+) 2015, would you recommend CMC or Bell Direct (or someone else I haven't yet considered)?

Cheers

 

[So_Cynical]

would you recommend CMC or Bell Direct (or someone else I haven't yet considered)?

HSBC use the Bell platform and charge an extra dollar for brokerage, upside is that funds are kept in HSBC accounts and can be transferred instantly, Bell require that the settlement account has funds to cover orders as they are placed.

http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/sharetrading

Not sure if it works the same way with Bell and Bankwest.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

HSBC use the Bell platform and charge an extra dollar for brokerage, upside is that funds are kept in HSBC accounts and can be transferred instantly, Bell require that the settlement account has funds to cover orders as they are placed.

http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/sharetrading

Not sure if it works the same way with Bell and Bankwest.

Thanks!
I'm not too fussed about moving money to the Bell holding account. I plan to have almost all of what I transfer over invested, so there won't normally be much in the holding account to worry about.

Cheers

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Any other opinions?
I'm leaning towards Bell. I had a good chat with someone from there main page, so it seems they put a good emphasis on support.

I think the seemingly better info and research available from Bell is probably a good idea for me as a new investor also.

What do others think?

Cheers

 

[elisamaree]

I would also like to know the current thoughts of CMC vs Bell??

 

[Cowardlyduck]

I went with Bell Direct, and have been finding it pretty good as a beginner investor.

So far so good. The only thing lacking that I'm yet to find an answer to is how to reinvest dividends.


Cheers

 

[So_Cynical]

I went with Bell Direct, and have been finding it pretty good as a beginner investor.

So far so good. The only thing lacking that I'm yet to find an answer to is how to reinvest dividends.


Cheers

Dividend reinvestment is done via the registry agent, Computershare, Link, Advanced and the other one.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I would also like to know the current thoughts of CMC vs Bell??

One thing to consider is where your cash funds are being stored.

With CMC you need to open an account with Bankwest and your cash sits in there. If CMC goes under they can't touch the money in your cash account.

Years ago when I looked at Bell, client funds were held in a trust account. My understanding is that if Bell ever collapsed there's no guarantee that you'd get all your cash back. I'm no expert in this area, it's just what I've read on this forum over the years.

Your share holdings will be safe so long as you get a chess statement. ie. you personally own the shares, not the broker holding them in your name.

As always, read the fine print. I have a CMC account, but I have no experience with Bell. From the brief look I just had, the user interface seems better with Bell. CMC has been fine for me, no issues. Except that I personally feel their tax reporting could be more user friendly.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Dividend reinvestment is done via the registry agent, Computershare, Link, Advanced and the other one.

Thanks....does that mean I need to set something up independent of Bell Direct? Sorry, I'm quite new to this so just have no idea how to go about doing it at this stage.

Cheers