Which Asset Class are you looking for?
Top FX Brokers
The foreign exchange market, or forex for short, is the largest financial market in the world. It involves the buying and selling of currencies from different countries, to make a profit from the fluctuations in their exchange rates.
Many forex brokers are available, each with their own set of features and services. These brokers provide access to the forex market through trading platforms that allow traders to buy and sell currencies and other financial instruments.
To present the top 3 brokers, we will use various criteria such as the quality of their trading platform, the range of available trading instruments, their fees and commissions, their customer support and educational resources, and their regulatory compliance.
FX PLATFORM #3
Rakuten Securities is backed by the global expertise of Rakuten Securities, Inc. With its head office in Tokyo, Rakuten Securities, Inc. is the 4th largest FX broker in the world, servicing over 2.2 million clients since 1999. Rakuten Securities does not charge commissions, and spreads are fixed on currency pairs.
FX PLATFORM #2
AvaTrade is an extraordinary FX online brokerage. With one of the vastest offerings in terms of currency pairs (+50) and the characteristics every good FX Broker should have (Low Spreads and excellent trade execution), it has several unique features that make it an excellent alternative for traders in Aruba.
First, its account opening and depositing processes are fast, simple, and hustle-free. This is important since some online brokers operating with clients in Aruba are painful to deal with in these areas.
Second, it is a multi-regulated company with brokerage licenses in some of the strictest jurisdictions: Europe, Australia, Japan, British Virgin Islands, UAE and South Africa.
Third, it offers a unique tool for FX Options trading called AvaOptions, allowing you to approach your FX Trading differently and uniquely, adding Call and Put instruments to your Forex risk management.
Last but not least, AvaTrade offers an insurance service called AvaProtect, which protects your trades against losses for a chosen time frame in exchange for a fee paid at the time of purchase.
FX PLATFORM #1
Pepperstone is an FX Trading Platform founded in 2010 in Melbourne. The app serves over 300,000 accounts from clients based in more than 150 countries, Australia being it's base and main market.
Pepperstone processes an average of USD 125.5 billion in Trading orders per day, which implies that it is one of the largest FX brokers globally.
Top Crypto Trading Apps in Australia
Cryptocurrencies are mined or purchased from exchanges. Their skyrocketing value of them has made them popular as trading instruments. Also, to a limited extent, they are used for cross-border transfers.
Cryptos have taken over (by surprise) the financial world. As a result, everybody is talking about them, both for good and bad reasons. There's an innumerable amount of new cryptos launched every week to tackle or solve a problem in particular (Like cross-border payments, tokens used for purchases in the metaverse, etc.). You even get meme coins launched with the sole objective of making a trading profit (A shady strategy called pump and dump). So, you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. This list displays the top crypto trading platforms available in Australia. We show here 3 platforms that we have used, deposited money, traded and withdrawn successfully.
Important: Investing in cryptocurrencies, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and other Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is highly risky and speculative, and the markets can be highly volatile. Consult with a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. This article is not a recommendation by Asinko or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies, nor can the accuracy or timeliness of the information be guaranteed.
CRYPTO APP #3
StormGain takes a different approach to the other crypto trading platforms. They offer a trading platform via cryptocurrency futures contracts. So, with StormGain, you do not own the crypto tokens, but instead, you aim to make a profit based on the crypto's price volatility.
If your goal is to trade and you do not care about owning cryptocurrencies, this platform might be a good alternative since it is based and quoted in Tether (USDT).
CRYPTO APP #2
eToro offers both real crypto assets as well as crypto assets as OTC Derivatives.
Real crypto assets are unregulated & highly speculative. Being unregulated, there is no consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
Leveraged positions and short positions are OTC Derivatives, which are regulated financial products. OTC Derivatives are considered risky financial products, speculative and include leverage. Not suitable for all investors. Capital at risk. See PDS and TMD. eToro AUS Capital Ltd ACN 612 791 803 AFSL 491139.
CRYPTO APP #1
Binance is the #1 Crypto trading platform globally, with the highest cryptocurrency offering and trading volumes. Although it has a rather steep learning curve, it supports advanced users and provides international traders with hundreds of crypto trading, staking and DeFi alternatives.
No competitor can beat Binance's low cost in the crypto space. Low fees, comprehensive charting options, and hundreds of cryptocurrencies make Binance a must-try alternative.
Top Stock Broker Platforms in Australia
US Stocks like Apple, Tesla or even seniors like Ford and McDonalds. UK Stocks like BP, Rolls-Royce or Tesco. European Stocks, Japanese Stocks and Australian Stocks. International Stocks are one of the main gateways to start investing; everyone wants a share of the brands they like and use. Although some investors in Australia focus on local stocks (and debt instruments) only, most use a global portfolio. The online stockbrokers and trading platforms have granted access to the international markets to the general public easily and understandably. We bring you three of the best alternatives available locally.
STOCKBROKER #3
An innumerable dose of trading, research and e-learning tools, an easy-to-use web trading tool, low requirements to set up an account, and an unbeatable regulation level make AvaTrade one of the top stock trading apps.
Although it is not the one offering the vastest number of CFDs on stocks, you may trade +600 of the most renowned companies trading at the New York, Nasdaq, London, and European Exchanges.STOCKBROKER #2
IC Markets allows you to trade over 1800+ large-cap Stocks CFDs across the ASX, NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges with superior execution and tight pricing on the MetaTrader 5 platform. Also, you can trade global macro themes with their selection of US Exchange-listed CFDs, including a range of emerging markets Indices.
STOCKBROKER #1
From Tech to Energy, New York to Singapore, eToro grants traders real-time access to stocks from 17 exchanges worldwide at 0% commission (applies when investing in non-leveraged, BUY stock positions). You may also invest in fractional shares, a portion of an equity stock smaller than one total share. Fractional shares enable you to purchase stocks based on the dollar amount you want to invest, allowing you to diversify an investment portfolio without much money.
Over a decade ago, eToro set out to open financial markets to everyone. Today, more than 20 million registered users have simple, affordable access to stock investment in an easy-to-use platform.
eToro is regulated by the FCA of the UK, ASIC from Australia and CySec in the European Union, and industry-leading security protocols protect your funds.
eToro Service ARSN 637 489 466 Capital at risk. See PDS (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/terms-conditions/) and TMD (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/regulation-license/aus-risk-warning/).ETFS
At eToro, buying and selling ETFs is very straightforward. Moreover, it requires a low minimum investment, making it accessible for beginners.
eToro offers many available ETFs that focus on different asset classes, including stock indices, thematic ETFs, commodities, inverse and leveraged ETFs. In total, you'll find more than 300 ETFs.
eToro Service ARSN 637 489 466 Capital at risk. See PDS (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/terms-conditions/) and TMD (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/regulation-license/aus-risk-warning/).COMMODITIES
PAYMENT GATEWAYS
Do you need a payment provider to transact in different currencies?
Wise is an online account that facilitates sending money, receiving payments, and moving money across borders. Wise allows you to hold 53 different currencies and make local transfers in 10. It works worldwide and enables you to withdraw cash at ATMs if you have their MasterCard card. In addition to being free, you can check the exchange rate before sending money abroad, and there are no hidden fees. Furthermore, it is a safe app, as the FCA and FinCEN regulate it. Also, if you need to solve payments with your company, it offers a practical solution for companies to pay invoices, suppliers, and employees in 80 countries.
COPYTRADING
eToro is the world's leading Social Broker. It works as a social network: there are popular investors, a news feed and a private messaging system. You can see in each investor profile how many copiers they have, what specific assets they are investing in, and their historical earnings. To choose the trader and the strategy you wish to follow and copy, you can filter by profit, risk rating, and country of origin, among other criteria. Remember that all trades are executed proportionally, and the platform does not charge additional fees for Copy Trading.
eToro AUS Capital Limited ACN 612 791 803 AFSL 491139. Social trading. eToro does not approve or endorse any of the trading accounts customers may choose to copy or follow. Assets held in your name. Capital at risk. See PDS (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/terms-conditions/) and TMD (https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/regulation-license/aus-risk-warning/).
Conclusions on our List of Top Trading Brokers
Many websites that write about trading and financial instruments topics will recommend "The Best Online Broker", and it will probably be the platform that pays them the best commissions. Moreover, they will do it in a way that looks professional. But, on the contrary, we remark that there is no "Best Broker" that covers all the needs of a trader because, should there be a "perfect trading platform", it would have to have the following:
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0 commissions,
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0 spreads,
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Outstanding order execution,
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A Great Visual interface,
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Complete access to every financial market.
Unfortunately, no online trading app offers all of these features simultaneously. However, many aspects make them stand out in specific aspects/markets. This article lists 3 Brokers per asset class (Forex, stocks, crypto, etc.) and why it can be recommendable over the others available, specifically for local traders. Why do we present just three options? We believe that when trading instruments of each asset class, there are not 100 infallible brokers available; some stand out above others. Also, you will find that some apps appear more than once because they are the top option on several.
ASINKO receives a commission from specific online platforms for referring clients, but it does not charge a commission to you nor from all the ones we present here. Notwithstanding this, if we consider that a platform has to be in the Top 3, we will do so whether we promote them or not. Please note that the lists presented here are part of our professional opinion: there is a possibility that this does not fit 100% of all traders' needs. In other words, try them before depositing money.
Frequently Asked Questions
You probably went into Google searching for the best online brokers available in Australia. You are interested and wish to trade a particular asset class like Forex, International Stocks or Cryptos, or maybe a specific asset like Apple Stocks, Oil instruments or the latest DeFi Cryptocurrency.
Although you already know the asset or asset class you want to trade, Google isn't inside your mind (yet). So, Google couldn't figure out whether you wished to trade Forex, US stocks, or buy investment fund units, and it brought you here. This article is long, but it has the basics of what you need to know about the best investment and trading platforms. So, let's talk about Australia's top online trading apps, divided by asset class.
BEST TRADING APPS