Stake to add ASX trading

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June 22 2021
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The menu of a handful of retail trading apps that offer access to both the Wall Street and Australian stock exchanges just got a little bit longer.

Stake has announced that they’ll begin trading stocks and ETFs listed on the ASX later this year.

The company said that the decision to move from offering easy investment US-listed stocks like Tesla and Apple to local giants like Qantas and Telstra has been driven by customer demand.

“We’ll continue to break barriers, now with the ASX, and enrich the investing experience through a better product, pricing model and UX,” said Stake CEO Matt Leibowitz.

In a statement, Stake confirmed it will launch its ASX offering sometime in the fourth quarter of 2021, following a limited beta for existing customers.

Chi-X stocks are also being added to the menu for app-based investors, though the company has not announced any formal timeline for when that will roll out.

“The new generation are after opportunities everywhere. They want flexibility, choice and control. Our mission is to continue to unlock this for them and launching ASX is a huge step on this journey, especially for our customers in Australia,” Mr Leibowitz said.

While operators like IG Markets and eToro do offer consumers the ability to invest in both ASX and US-listed shares via a single platform, many Australian retail trading apps still offer one rather than the other.

Amassing 340,000 customers since its launch in 2017, Stake has thrived amid claims that it makes it less costly and complex for Australians to invest in foreign companies through a rich app experience and a unique pricing model.

In addition to Australia, Stake now operates in the UK, Brazil and New Zealand. The app is also available on both Android and iOS.

However, it appears that the company’s ASX offering won’t necessarily rely on the exact same brokerage-free pricing model that customers get when trading US stocks with Stake.

“Expect to be able to invest in Aussie equities with a better product, pricing model and UX,” the company said in a statement.

Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham recently warned that while trading in foreign exchange and other leveraged markets by retail clients has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a lot of the hype around such platforms leans on the inexperience of unwary retail clients.

According to him, “What most retail clients fail to understand, however, is that when they trade with a broker who is a market maker (where they make the market), they decide on the spread between the bid and ask price.”

“Typically, this spread is much larger than a broker who mirrors the underlying asset. What this means is that the profits you could make amount to a lot less, and your losses are much larger when trading with a market maker. So, while it may be commission-free, you are paying one way or another.”

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

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