Direct Broking Review
Our review of Direct Broking share trading platform highlights brokerage fees, FX margin fees, live data limitations, ASX and foreign trading and suggests alternative platforms for NZX and overseas trading
Updated 9 January 2021
Summary of Direct Broking
Related Guides
- The platform facilities anyone to trade on NZX for a fixed fee of $29.90 or 0.20% of the trade value, whichever is the greater. You can also trade on the ASX with fees from A$29.00 per trade.
- Live data is limited to frequent investors: if you make a transaction every 3 months you'll benefit the most by getting access to live sales and depth data
- Direct Broking offers the cheapest online broker fees for any trade over $15,000 (currently the only competitor is ASB Securities, who charges 50% more), but if you're investing in the ASX there are far cheaper alternatives which save significantly on broker fees and FX margins. If you're primarily a trader of foreign investments, Direct Broking is probably not for you as the fees you'll pay will exceed any specialised overseas-trading platform competitor.
- If you're a small investor, the minimum fee of $29.90 may not offer value for money - Sharesies and ASB Securities both offer sharemarket investments which minimize fees for investors starting out with a share portfolio.
Related Guides
- Want to compare Direct Broking with ASB Securities, Sharesies, Hatch and other platforms? Read our Comparing Sharesies vs Investnow vs Hatch and more guide.
- Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
- Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
- Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
Our Review
Direct Broking is one of New Zealand's best-known online share brokerage platforms, offering instant do-it-yourself trading. The user experience delivers an easy-to-navigate and buy/sell trading through a desktop or mobile browser. Fees start at $29.90 per trade (with a cap of 0.20% of the transaction volume). ASX fees start are fixed at A$29.00 for a trade up to A$30,000 plus 0.30% portion of the trade value exceeding the A$30,000 cap.
Direct Broking offers free email-based resources such as market updates and phone-based brokerage covering trading in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and the UK.
ANZ offers market-leading fees for NZX trades over $15,000 and regular share investors will appreciate unrestricted access to live market data and a 0.20% capped commission on larger trades.
Direct Broking is one of New Zealand's best-known online share brokerage platforms, offering instant do-it-yourself trading. The user experience delivers an easy-to-navigate and buy/sell trading through a desktop or mobile browser. Fees start at $29.90 per trade (with a cap of 0.20% of the transaction volume). ASX fees start are fixed at A$29.00 for a trade up to A$30,000 plus 0.30% portion of the trade value exceeding the A$30,000 cap.
Direct Broking offers free email-based resources such as market updates and phone-based brokerage covering trading in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and the UK.
ANZ offers market-leading fees for NZX trades over $15,000 and regular share investors will appreciate unrestricted access to live market data and a 0.20% capped commission on larger trades.
Direct Broking: Quick Facts
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The Basics
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Direct Broking is best for
- Frequent share investors (trading at least once every 90 days) wanting to buy in real-time and avoid dealing with brokers
- Beginner investors looking for low brokerage fees for specific share purchases
- Research and data - the platform offers up to 90 days of live NZX data following one trade as well as in-house market reporting
Direct Broking at a Glance:
- Account minimum: $500 for brokerage accounts (suggested amount to abide by NZX minimum holding rules)
- NZX Share trading costs: $29.90 on trades up to $15,000, 0.20% on trades above $15,000.
- Australia online trades commission: A$29 per trade up to A$30,000, 0.3% on any portion above A$30,000)
- Account fees (annual, inactivity etc): No annual or inactivity fee
- Trading platform specs: Accessed via browser - currently no app available.
- Access to research and data: Free but limited to periodic market summaries
- Customer support: Phone (available Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 6:00pm and email)
Where Direct Broking Shines
Direct Broking is the premier price buster when compared to ASB Securites, with three key differences:
For share investors yet to trade or who are inactive (i.e. not trading more than once within a 3 month period), account holders can benefit from the free features - creating a watchlist of shares, viewing a portfolio with live prices and reading company announcements (such as annual reports and press releases). All of the data is fed by the NZX.
Want to compare Direct Broking with ASB Securities, Sharesies, Hatch and other platforms? Read our Comparing Sharesies vs Investnow vs Hatch and more guide.
Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
- 1.25% interest rate on cash balances (ASB Securities offers 0.00% for deposits up to $249,999)
- 0.20% brokerage fee for NZX trades above $15,000 (ASB Securities charges 0.30%, a 50% premium)
- Transparent FX fees - the exchange rate used by Direct Broking is a midpoint rate with a currency conversion margin of an amount up to 1.50% of the overseas currency amount. Direct Broking states that the midpoint rate is a market rate, derived from wholesale buy and sell rates compiled by a third party.
For share investors yet to trade or who are inactive (i.e. not trading more than once within a 3 month period), account holders can benefit from the free features - creating a watchlist of shares, viewing a portfolio with live prices and reading company announcements (such as annual reports and press releases). All of the data is fed by the NZX.
Want to compare Direct Broking with ASB Securities, Sharesies, Hatch and other platforms? Read our Comparing Sharesies vs Investnow vs Hatch and more guide.
Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
Direct Broking live depth market data example
Where Direct Broking Falls Short
Small investments incur meaty fees
- Direct Broking charges a minimum of $29.90 on a trade, meaning investors will only get value for money and scale on larger transactions.
- If the value of the trade is above $1,000, the fee will be $29.90. This adds ~$60 in fees to a ~$1,000 investment (or ~6% of the transaction) and isn't very cost effective.
Restricted access to market data
No Broker Research and/or New Issue Perks
Direct Broking does not employ analysts who do in-depth research on companies. By using the platform, you'll need to do your own research such as reading annual reports and keeping up to date with market announcements. Furthermore, a normal broker is more likely than Direct Broking to offer access to new issues as they tend to be more involved in the IPO process; new securities available from Direct Broking are more likely to be fixed interest bonds despite the offer on their website to register for IPO share placements.
- Direct Broking restricts access to live data, which indicates a share's trading data and depth of bids, to customers who have at least traded once in a 3 month period.
- The general idea is that restricting of data prevents freeloading – the NZX charges Direct Broking every time a user requests market information even if no trades are made. NZX data is a significant cost to Direct Broking,. Rather than incurring costs for non-investing customers to use the data, Direct Broking only offers the market data to their most active clients who are generally more in need of the information.
- If a user hasn't placed a trade in 3 months, Direct Broking cuts of live data, including depth and delayed depth.
- However, live market data and market depth is always available in the ‘place an order’ process during market hours - share investors will have access to the latest stock pricing information to help with making trading decisions.
No Broker Research and/or New Issue Perks
Direct Broking does not employ analysts who do in-depth research on companies. By using the platform, you'll need to do your own research such as reading annual reports and keeping up to date with market announcements. Furthermore, a normal broker is more likely than Direct Broking to offer access to new issues as they tend to be more involved in the IPO process; new securities available from Direct Broking are more likely to be fixed interest bonds despite the offer on their website to register for IPO share placements.
Direct Broking: The Bottom Line
Direct Broking offers a user-friendly online share trading platform from the comfort of a desktop computer with phone and email support on hand. Active share investors can benefit from unlimited live share data and depth supplied by the NZX. With best-in-the-market fees for NZX trades and clear FX fees for overseas purchases, we regard it as the best in the market and superior to ASB Securities.
Related guides:
Related guides:
- Want to compare Direct Broking with ASB Securities, Sharesies, Hatch and other platforms? Read our Comparing Sharesies vs Investnow vs Hatch and more guide.
- Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
- Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
- Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
Direct Broking: Alternatives for Small Trades & Overseas Trades
Small Trades
If you are trading in small amounts (i.e. less than $1,000), you'll still be paying 6% in total brokerage fees when you buy and sell. There are many other investment options which get you invest in the NZX with minimal fees - we recommend reading our guides to Sharesies, InvestNow and SmartShares. These are suitable alternatives to invest in the market while you build up funds to make an investment large enough to absorb the fees charged by Direct Broking.
Overseas Trades
Despite a transparent 1.5% commission structure on a mid-point FX rate, if you regularly trade outside of New Zealand it may be more cost effective to open up a foreign currency account with another share broker. The process is easy - you simply make an initial FX transaction to fund the share trading account. You can then trade using the foreign currency (i.e. AUD) in the market (i.e. ASX) while avoiding trading FX fees and "margins".
For example, Interactive Brokers' trade fee is 0.08% of the total value (minimum $6 fee). Their fees are cheaper on any trade compared to Direct Broking. You can fund the account with your pick of the best NZD FX rates, avoiding the Direct Broking FX margin ongoing as sold investments sit in their currency and don't get converted back to NZD unlike ASB Securities.
An example of three AUD trades and the fees generated is presented in the table below.
If you are trading in small amounts (i.e. less than $1,000), you'll still be paying 6% in total brokerage fees when you buy and sell. There are many other investment options which get you invest in the NZX with minimal fees - we recommend reading our guides to Sharesies, InvestNow and SmartShares. These are suitable alternatives to invest in the market while you build up funds to make an investment large enough to absorb the fees charged by Direct Broking.
Overseas Trades
Despite a transparent 1.5% commission structure on a mid-point FX rate, if you regularly trade outside of New Zealand it may be more cost effective to open up a foreign currency account with another share broker. The process is easy - you simply make an initial FX transaction to fund the share trading account. You can then trade using the foreign currency (i.e. AUD) in the market (i.e. ASX) while avoiding trading FX fees and "margins".
For example, Interactive Brokers' trade fee is 0.08% of the total value (minimum $6 fee). Their fees are cheaper on any trade compared to Direct Broking. You can fund the account with your pick of the best NZD FX rates, avoiding the Direct Broking FX margin ongoing as sold investments sit in their currency and don't get converted back to NZD unlike ASB Securities.
An example of three AUD trades and the fees generated is presented in the table below.
Trade Value |
Direct Broking Brokerage Fee |
Interactive Brokers Brokerage Fee |
1.5% FX Margin** |
Difference |
$7,500 |
$29* |
$6 |
$11 |
$34 |
$25,000 |
$29 |
$20 |
$38 |
$47 |
$50,000 |
$89 |
$40 |
$75 |
$124 |
*Minimum brokerage is A$29 for AUD trades
**1.5% margin fee on the best NZD:AUD market midpoint FX rate
**1.5% margin fee on the best NZD:AUD market midpoint FX rate
6 Direct Broking Must Knows
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The interest rate on money in your account is 1.25%You'll probably get a better interest rate on a current account offered by any other New Zealand bank, but 1.25% is better than 0% which is what ASB Securities offers. If you're not an active trader, it may be wise to keep the money outside of an Direct Broking account.
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Dividends get paid back into your Direct Broking accountIf you've received an overseas dividend, it will be translated back into NZD with an FX margin applied (1.50%). You can't wait until the exchange rate is better - as soon as it pays Direct Broking translates it into NZD and it hits your account. It's the same for share sales - any investments you sell in a foreign currency will be translated back into NZD, less the FX margin.
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You'll need a Cash Management Trust ('CMT') bank account to tradeTo trade, you need to open a CMT and deposit money. All funds are held by Jarden Securities Limited in a Cash Management Trust account, which is held by ANZ.
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You won't be able to trade if the website is downBut you will be able to trade via the phone service, although the fee is higher. Direct Broking users have reported issues with the website's uptime in the past, but the ability to do a trade within your account via their phone service is a backup option. And if the website is indeed down, you can challenge them on the fee to do it over the phone in that instance.
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If you're planning to trade outside of the NZX, there are better platformsAs mentioned above, Interactive Brokers' trade fee is 0.08% of the total value (minimum $6 fee). Their fees are a fraction of what Direct Broking charges for the same trade. Any overseas dividends and share sale payments are deposited into your trading account, so you can pick when you want to move the money back in to NZD.
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ANZ Securities has changed its name to Direct BrokingThis page has been updated with reference to the new brand. There aren't any changes to the way Direct Broking as a platform operates after the re-branding.
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Want to compare Direct Broking with ASB Securities, Sharesies, Hatch and other platforms? Read our Comparing Sharesies vs Investnow vs Hatch and more guide.
Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
Do you trade with Direct Broking and have something you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear from you - contact our team with your experiences.
Worried about what happens to your investments if Direct Broking collapsed or shut down? Our easy to read custodian guide explains what you need to know.
Want to know how to trade or invest in the NZX? Our NZX in a Nutshell guide explains what you need to know.
Want to compare ETFs with shares? Our dedicated ETFs vs Shares guide has you covered.
Do you trade with Direct Broking and have something you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear from you - contact our team with your experiences.
