What are CHESS sponsored shares?
‘CHESS’ stands for Clearing House Electronic Subregister System. What this means is that it’s a computer system that facilitates the buying and selling of shares on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
CHESS-sponsored shares are recorded on this computer system to keep track of who owns the shares directly.
CHESS sponsored vs issuer sponsored shares
When investing in shares on the ASX, you'll come across two main registration methods: CHESS-sponsored and issuer sponsored holdings.
What are CHESS-sponsored shares?
CHESS-sponsored shares, managed through the ASX's Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, provide investors with a unique Holder Identification Number (HIN) that acts as a single identifier for all their shareholdings.
The major advantage of CHESS sponsorship is its portability – if you switch brokers, you can easily transfer your entire portfolio by simply providing your HIN during the sign-up process.
What are issuer-sponsored shares?
Issuer-sponsored shares are those which you haven’t bought through a stockbroker. So, issuer-sponsored shares will instead be registered through a different share registry than the ASX’s CHESS.
Issuer-sponsored shares come with a Security Reference Number (SRN), which is similar to the aforementioned HIN, except that you’ll have a unique SRN for each shareholding.
How do you know if shares are CHESS sponsored?
Your ASX shares will likely be CHESS sponsored if you purchased them through a stockbroker or major trading platform, and they are registered to your HIN. You can verify this by checking your holding statements, which will display your HIN (starting with an 'X' followed by numbers). Most established Australian brokers operate under the CHESS system.
It's important to note that some share trading platforms aren't CHESS-sponsored but instead operate under a custodian model, where the platform holds the shares on your behalf. This is common with micro-investing apps and some commission-free trading platforms.
What are the benefits of CHESS sponsored shares?
Looking to get started in share trading or find a new online broker? Compare share trading accounts with Mozo to get an instant overview of the share accounts on offer, including brokerage fees, monthly fees, and key features.
Want to see some of the best share trading accounts on offer? Check out the Mozo Experts Choice Share Trading Awards for 2024 to see which accounts the Mozo experts and our editorial team rated this year.
Share account comparisons on Mozo
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Share Investing
Standard
Small trade brokerage
Monthly fee
$0.00$0.00CMC Markets Invest makes it easy to trade with a handy web and mobile platform, competitive pricing and thousands of securities. Buy Australian and US shares from $0 brokerage (T&Cs apply - see website for full details).
Share Investing
CMC Markets Invest makes it easy to trade with a handy web and mobile platform, competitive pricing and thousands of securities. Buy Australian and US shares from $0 brokerage (T&Cs apply - see website for full details).
- Monthly fee
- $0.00
- Monthly fee waiver
- -
- Special offers
- -
- Brokerage details
- $0 for trades up to $1,000. Greater of $11 and 0.1% for trades over $1,000.
- Settle from any bank account
- Settlement account offered
- ANZ Cash Account
- CHESS ownership available
- Share pack
- Independent broker reports
- International markets
- Options
- Warrants
- IPOs
- Live data
- Market depth data
- Real time charting
- Other restrictions
- -
Read reviews and learn more about share accounts
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Share Trading
Small trade brokerage
Monthly fee
$3.00$0.00Trade more than 22,000 shares, ETFs and options across the Australian, US and Hong Kong markets on the moomoo Australia platform. And only pay from A$3 for local CHESS-sponsored trades and US$0.99 for all US trades. Other fees apply. Earn up to 6.8% p.a. introductory rate for 30 days, applicable to up to AU$80,000 on uninvested cash, and get 10 free stocks with eligible deposits (T&Cs apply)
Share Trading
Trade more than 22,000 shares, ETFs and options across the Australian, US and Hong Kong markets on the moomoo Australia platform. And only pay from A$3 for local CHESS-sponsored trades and US$0.99 for all US trades. Other fees apply. Earn up to 6.8% p.a. introductory rate for 30 days, applicable to up to AU$80,000 on uninvested cash, and get 10 free stocks with eligible deposits (T&Cs apply)
- Monthly fee
- $0.00
- Monthly fee waiver
- -
- Special offers
- Ongoing free access to real-time US market data.
- Brokerage details
- ASX trades are 0.03% the transaction amount, minimum $3.00 per order. US trades from $0.99 USD, other fees apply.
- Settle from any bank account
- Settlement account offered
- Customer funds held in segregated trust accounts with HSBC.
- CHESS ownership available
- Share pack
- Independent broker reports
- International markets
- Options
- Warrants
- IPOs
- Live data
- Market depth data
- Real time charting
- Other restrictions
- Additional regulatory pass-through fees apply for US trades. Options are available for US markets only.
Read reviews and learn more about share accounts
Share Trading
Small trade brokerage
Monthly fee
$7.70$0.00Buy and sell with a low $7.70 flat fee per trade and access to all ASX Shares and ETFs to invest in with GO Markets. Enjoy dedicated local customer support, a regulated Australian company for trading ASX Shares and ETFs. Plus, enjoy $0 Brokerage on your next 15 trades! (T&Cs apply).
Share Trading
Buy and sell with a low $7.70 flat fee per trade and access to all ASX Shares and ETFs to invest in with GO Markets. Enjoy dedicated local customer support, a regulated Australian company for trading ASX Shares and ETFs. Plus, enjoy $0 Brokerage on your next 15 trades! (T&Cs apply).
- Monthly fee
- $0.00
- Monthly fee waiver
- -
- Special offers
- -
- Brokerage details
- $7.70 brokerage for trades under $100,000, then 0.05%.
- Settle from any bank account
- Settlement account offered
- Macquarie Cash Management Account
- CHESS ownership available
- Share pack
- Independent broker reports
- International markets
- Options
- Warrants
- IPOs
- Live data
- Market depth data
- Real time charting
- Other restrictions
- -
Read reviews and learn more about share accounts
Share Trading
Small trade brokerage
Monthly fee
-$0.005000+ stocks and 19 exchanges all on the eToro app. Invest in ETFs with $0 commission and stocks with just US$2 per trade. Join the world’s leading social trading platform, trusted by 30+ million users worldwide.
Share Trading
5000+ stocks and 19 exchanges all on the eToro app. Invest in ETFs with $0 commission and stocks with just US$2 per trade. Join the world’s leading social trading platform, trusted by 30+ million users worldwide.
- Monthly fee
- $0.00
- Monthly fee waiver
- -
- Special offers
- -
- Brokerage details
- $2 USD brokerage fee for stock trades, 0.5% fee is applied to all funds paid into or taken out of the USD settlement account
- Settle from any bank account
- Settlement account offered
- Customer funds are held in a Trust Account managed by JP Morgan Chase and Co
- CHESS ownership available
- Share pack
- Independent broker reports
- International markets
- Options
- Warrants
- IPOs
- Live data
- Market depth data
- Real time charting
- Other restrictions
- $5 USD withdrawal fee applies and a $10 monthly inactivity fee is charged after 12 months with no login activity.
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Tiger Account
Small trade brokerage
Monthly fee
$2.99$0.00Tiger Brokers is an online broker listed on NASDAQ. It offers access to US, ASX & HK stocks, ETFs and US options trading.
Tiger Account
Tiger Brokers is an online broker listed on NASDAQ. It offers access to US, ASX & HK stocks, ETFs and US options trading.
- Monthly fee
- $0.00
- Monthly fee waiver
- -
- Special offers
- Mozo special offer for new users only: Get 4 free trades (brokerage waived up to 2 USD for US stock trades, up to 3 AUD for AUS stock trades) and no FX fee on exchanges up to AUD 2,000 every month. T&Cs apply – for full details, go to the Tiger Brokers website.
- Brokerage details
- 0.03% of trade value, $2.99 minimum brokerage.
- Settle from any bank account
- Settlement account offered
- no
- CHESS ownership available
- Share pack
- Independent broker reports
- International markets
- Options
- Warrants
- IPOs
- Live data
- Market depth data
- Real time charting
- Other restrictions
- -
Read reviews and learn more about share accounts
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