SelfWealth Trading

sebfox said:

Hi

I am interested to know the views of anyone using the SelfWealth trading platform.

I am aware that it’s a bit limited there is no stop-loss feature for example, but it does offer flat fee brokerage which is very appealing.

So for example a $100,000 share trade with Commsec would cost $120 to buy and $120 to sell. Compared to $9.50 buy and $9.50 sell with SelfWealth. Having low trading costs makes it a lot quicker to get in and out of positions on smaller rises or falls in the stocks value.

Thanks

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Hi Sebfox
Have been trading with SelfWealth for about six months. Using SelfWealth is a bit like using social media, all the members have an alias and an Icon, you can see each others portfolio of shares (not cash balances) everyone is ranked for risk and performance (top 10%, bottom 50% etc), you can follow other members and align your portfolio with them or a selected group of traders/investors. Yes all trades are for a flat fee of $9.50 (regardless of size). The trading platform is very basic, its in the form of a website or a newly introduced phone app (for Android and Apple). The platform only supports limit and at market orders, no other conditional orders are supported, the data is delayed 20 min, but they do have a "Stock Analysis" portal with charts and forecasts provided by Thomson Reuters (nothing fantastic but OK for free). The platform is very slow (sometimes a couple of minutes to put on a trade) so no algo rapid trade stuff possible here. But the very low brokerage can as you imagine make for some very interesting trading strategies, with a movement of less than a cent covering brokerage on a parcel of 2000 shares. Oh they only trade ASX/Chi-X equities (no FOREX, CFD's, Options etc). But a big advantage is that if you buy and then sell the shares your funds are immediately available for another trade (you still have to wait T+2 to withdraw the funds). One drawback is that your funds are totally controlled by third parties, so when you want to withdraw funds you must use the SelfWealth platform IE you don't have direct access to the bank account even though they are actually kept in an ANZ account. I have learn t to deal with the shortcomings, they have a good helpdesk, overall I'm pretty happy with SelfWealth, but I use other parties for my datafeed and charting. SelfWealth have a demo login so you can give it a try. Hope this helps

wfdTamar said:

So to those of you that have a downer on what I'm doing, what's your return on your investments? How are youz doing?

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That's a very apt response. My results of the past few years are certainly nothing to be proud of.

However, I do happen to share a number of the sentiments that have been expressed in this thread.

Every trader is fully entitled to be discerning about what feedback to accept or reject, and I commend you on having demonstrated the resolve to do exactly that.

I do wish you well, and much as I like to be right, I would be more than happy for you to prove myself and your other detractors wrong.

But then to quote another active poster on this forum :

"It's not about being right! It's about being profitable!"

By all means go forth and prosper, but if perchance, certain unsavoury predictions prove valid, I am sure that the wisdom of the above quote will not escape the attention of those actively seeking to improve their overall performance.

Edit: Just realised that my post is odefinitely off topic for this thread, but kinda liked the sound of my own keystrokes on this one!

Why not just trade with IB
All of the above and every market on the planet
And $6 each way regardless of quantity


Doesn't have the user rankings.

tech/a said:

Why not just trade with IB
All of the above and every market on the planet
And $6 each way regardless of quantity


Doesn't have the user rankings.

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Hi tech/a
What instruments are you trading on IB to get a flat $6 brokerage regardless of quantity? I have an IB account and only trade ASX stocks, for those trades I pay $6 for a trade below $7500 then an additional .008% for trades of greater value. But the main drawback of IB I have found is that you cant cycle your cash on additional trades through the day, whereas SelfWealth and a couple of other brokers allow you to trade the same cash again as soon as you have sold the shares. Oh but I love IB's Trader Workstation software, it is probably the best free (well almost free) trading program.

DAX
ASX Stock
FTSE

tech/a said:

Why not just trade with IB
All of the above and every market on the planet
And $6 each way regardless of quantity


Doesn't have the user rankings.

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tech/a said:

DAX
ASX Stock
FTSE

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For 100K worth of ASX equities IB commission is $80 each way and you will not have direct chess holding of the stock. $6 is simply the minimum charged if the trade amount is less than $7,500.

The flat $9.50 for upto $100k looks interesting, certainly cheapest retail offering for chess sponsored ASX equity. Let's hope it stirs up some competative responses from the big bank supported brokers.

Might have to have a look

I've never noticed
Max trade on a single stock is around
$30k

tech/a said:

Might have to have a look

I've never noticed
Max trade on a single stock is around
$30k

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Ah for low value trades IB is fantastic, I use IB for stocks below $2. But when trading higher value stocks I use other brokers, SelfWealth being one of them.

Nothing like a bit of competition to stir things up....about time..!!

Triathlete said:

Nothing like a bit of competition to stir things up....about time..!!

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This mob isn't the only ones offering flat brokerage on the asx. Commsec have a $33 flat to $250,000 offering and also AMSCOT to mention just two.

sinic said:

This mob isn't the only ones offering flat brokerage on the asx. Commsec have a $33 flat to $250,000 offering and also AMSCOT to mention just two.

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Besides if you are only doing large packets of STW short term you might as well do SPI futures with IB for $5 commission per contract. (2500 STW = 1 SPI contract )

sinic said:

This mob isn't the only ones offering flat brokerage on the asx. Commsec have a $33 flat to $250,000 offering and also AMSCOT to mention just two.

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Hi Sinic
I have a ComSec account (although I haven't used it for years) I'm not aware of a "$33 flat to $250,000" brokerage rate, is it a new thing, can you post a link to it.

I also have an Amscot account, while they do offer order bulking rate at $33 to $75K then 0.044% of trade value. They also offer a rate of $9.90 or 0.077% of the trade (whichever is the greater). I have never heard of Amscot offering a fixed brokerage regardless of order value, unless again its a new thing, I have known them to change the rates without informing me, e.g. last year they changed the bulking rates, I only found out when I noticed the amount of brokerage on the contract notes was higher than expected.

SelfWealth is a very different beast, they really do have just one brokerage fee $9.50 with no added percentage, I have actually executed a number of trades through them for parcels greater than $150K and the brokerage has always been $9.50. I have back tested the brokerage charged by other brokers against the SelfWealth rate and the savings have proved to be several orders of magnitude less with SelfWealth.

But all of this is about horses for courses, it depends on your trading style as to which broker is the best for you.

I'm always willing to look at different brokers to see how they compare (as I assume most traders are), so if anyone knows a broker who gives truly flat rate or a good bulking rate please post a link.

Commsec Internet Share Trading rates as at 1 June 2017

$19.95 (Up to $10,000)
$29.95 (Between $10,000 and $25,000)
0.12% (Over $25,000)

So short term trading on larger amounts with brokerage costs 0.12% quite often for me represents 25% to 35% of the profit and makes your loss bigger on the downside as well.

So I am also looking for a fixed fee broker. The SelfWealth platform is quite limited. No stop loss for example.

wfdTamar said:

Let me explain my situation - up till couple of years ago, I had lived a very frugal life (still do) on a very modest income. Never earned much more than $40,000 and only anywhere near that for the previous 10-15 years or so. I can live on very little (like well under $20,000). I have no dependants, own outright a very modest house in Tassie (has an outside dunny). Being half Scottish and a quarter Jewish I am a born tightwad and canny shopper

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Hello wfdTamar I found this website as I'm currently interested is SelfWealth and it's reviews and came across your post. I'm quite keen to set myself up and start trading online, as I'm over my shift work and want to rely on 'being my own boss' have a better quality of life too. I read your story, and I am too at good at saving money, bought my own house at a young age, did it the old fashioned way of working hard and saving up for things without getting into debt. I would like some of your advice on how to get started, I have already a substantial amount of money to start off with that I've saved up. If its not too much trouble if you could message me. I'm located in Brisbane.

Thanks

wfdTamar said:

I had to google leverage. Yes, I'm not using any leverage. This is all my own money. I understand that using leverage puts you at greater risk if the share goes down, but I'm not. Jeez, if necessary I could hold on till it went down to $1 a share (no way is it). I thought he didn't read my posts properly. Hasn't got a clue what I'm doing. Annoying. The rest of you I can talk with fine. Not him. I'm over him. Can you tell?

Go away now tech/a there's a good fella. Go bother someone else.

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Well said wfdTamar ... tech/a was off his beam and you handled his arrogance beautifully.

My financial profile is very similar to yours and I have been contemplating moving $30k from online banking (earning 3.05%) into STW (50%), VGAD (25%) & VGS (25%). What attracted me initially to your post was the discussion about SelfWealth, which I am also considering going into, but with some reservations as to whether the Premium membership is overkill for my needs. Would you mind speaking to me via PM?

I hope your cancer treatment is not knocking you about too much and that it is achieving its intended purpose. Regards, Kracca.

Johny5 said:

. One drawback is that your funds are totally controlled by third parties, so when you want to withdraw funds you must use the SelfWealth platform IE you don't have direct access to the bank account even though they are actually kept in an ANZ account.

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Hi Johny5 that's really useful info, I joined this forum to find out others experiences of Self Wealth. how does that actually work if you want to access your money? And I'm wondering why the model would be set up like this? And what would happen if self wealth were to go belly up?

I too am looking to make small profits on daily fluctuations in blue chips I'd be happy to hold for years...wfdTamar you're an inspiration ... I like your approach and honesty and I also think some on this forum are clearly resentful. Hope all goes well in your cancer treatment.

Hi. Haven't answered anyone for a while. Managed chemo ok, but it did make me tired. Still got a stem cell transplant to go which apparently is worse.

I had been going pretty well investing until the beginning of May when I got caught out and the stock went down a few %. I was holding and have been since, so I saw the value drop quite a bit, but it's since regained a lot now. Had a dividend in the meantime so all is going according to my crackpot theory. Since I'm a bit more under the weather I'm not fussed, but I do miss those $10,000 gain weeks. Just need to be patient. Of course I could at any time just start trading again at a lower value and still make money but I can't be bothered for a while.

Another thing I've done is set up a SMSF (Self Managed Super Fund) with Esuperfund.com.au so that I can move a decent amount of my money into that and still trade it with Selfwealth. That way I only pay 15% tax instead of standard income tax rates which could have been quite high given how I was going. The only drawback is any money I put in that is locked away until I get to 'preservation age' (not that far away for me).

Kracca - The Premium part of Selfwealth does not interest me - it costs $9.50 per month and is the stuff that Johny5 described. I don't care what other people are doing. It may be of use to those with no idea and who want a bit more guidance. You get a trial when you join up so you can decide if it's useful to you. However I found it might just add to the confusion of the whole share investing concept if you've never had anything to do with shares. By the time you've got your head around the basics of the share market the trial is up. Could be a good idea to try a simulated trading platform before risking real money - particularly if you intend frequent trading. I think the ASX has one.

One thing I'll say though is having money in the bank (that you won't need immediate access to) is a complete waste of earning potential. 3% is about as good as you could expect in a bank currently and that's a pitiful amount isn't it? You can easily get more than that just from dividends, even without considering trading to improve your return. It's only a problem if you might want to use the money when your stock(s) have gone down in value.

Ginia - If you want your money, you sell however much of your stock you need to, wait for the trade(s) to clear/settle (the T+2 days - which can mean 3 business days), then from the Selfwealth site you transfer money from there back to your personal bank account (it functionally similar to an online banking transfer). For smaller amounts that can be overnight, but I have had hold ups with larger amounts and had to contact Selfwealth support - who are very good. However I do wish this was seamless. It might have simply been I wanted to transfer before the trades had settled.

I was wondering what would happen if Selfwealth folded. They have been going for quite a few years now, but it's hard to tell how big they are or how successful.

I have been assured that my money is secure. I was concerned about that. Apparently it is in an ANZ account in your name in a sub account of Selfwealth. It is government guaranteed just like any normal bank account (though this only covers $250,000!). It would be very nice to have that spelled out in layman terms though in the PDS or in a FAQ on the site. The shares are in your name and CHESS registered (just like any other big broker).

e.d.suarez - anyone that can buy a house at a young age does not need my dodgy investment advice. If you want to use Selfwealth just join. If you want to be active trading you'll need a better source of data so you can join another broker for that (I see that you're already at that stage). I don't know who is good for that - I just use my Trade (ANZ), but I now have a Comsecc one too. As for what stocks to trade in - well I chose ETF's for the broad spread of companies. It's kind of like having your money in a managed fund but you do the trading - best of both worlds. You can pick what type of ETF (which nation, field of investment).

I don't understand
You speak of $10000 gains yet your
Concerned about a brokerage of $80
V around $ 10

I've always found the big players ( in any field ) don't bend down
To pick the peanuts up off the floor.

It was $9.50 vs $900 and that was how I got to be making $10000.

Oh!