Westpac Share Trading

Key features

Westpac Share Trading is a feature-rich platform that has plenty to offer both casual and active investors. If you’re looking to trade Australian shares, you’ll have access to over 2,200 companies listed on the ASX. If international shares are more to your liking, you’ll find you can invest in over 30 international exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Exchange.

As for brokerage costs, Westpac charges a sliding scale depending on how much your trade is. The current scale is: 

• $4.95 for trades below $1000
• $9.95 for trades between $1000 - $3000
• $19.95 for trades between $3000 - $10,000
• $29.95 for trades between $10,000 - $28,000
• Over $28,000 - 0.11% commission. 

Trades are processed fairly quickly and you can expect to have access to your money in no more than 2 days.

There are three packages available: Investor (which is automatically available to all users), Advanced and Professional. If you subscribe to the Advanced package, you’ll receive, among other things, S&P/ASX 200 recommendations and expanded company research. And if you subscribe to the Professional package, you’ll get access to the Trader Pro (WebIRESS) professional trading platform.

There are also a number of tools available to help you navigate the world of shares, including daily updates on market activity, economic reports, and investment ideas. For $20 a month, you can also get access to Morningstar Premium Research, which provides first-rate insights and financial tools to help you make more informed decisions.

Traders will also appreciate the Westpac Share Trading App, which comes with a suite of handy features. Not only will you be able to easily trade shares from your phone, you can create Watchlists, access charts and news, and view live market indices. The automated alert service also gives you updates on market activity as they happen in real-time, letting you take advantage of opportunities while you’re on the go.

And if you ever have any queries or problems, you can contact Westpac via email or call them between the hours of 8am and 7pm, Monday to Friday. On the weekends, you’re on your own, unfortunately.

If Westpac Share Trading sounds right for you, you’ll need to provide a copy of at least one form of identification, as well as your Tax File Number, though this can be provided at a later date. The process is online, completely secure, and should only take 5 to 10 minutes.

Who is it good for

Serious share traders who want access to global markets will find they’re quite accommodated for by the Westpac Share Trading platform.

Any catches

There's a tiered system when it comes to brokerage costs so if you are going to be trading frequently, this might be a consideration as there are other online share trading platforms that have fixed brokerage. 

And as always, there’s a degree of risk in share trading, and there’s never a guarantee you’ll make a profit.