NZ Investing Platforms Compared

I wanted to once and for all figure out what the cheapest investing platform is in New Zealand so I decided to compare Sharesies, InvestNow, Hatch, Stake, ASB Securites and Jarden Direct. You will soon see that it is not as easy to compare them to each other since they all offer slightly different services and the type of investing you do determines which platform will be the best option for you.

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Sharesies

Sharesies Pricing

Products: NZ, AU and US Stocks, Managed Funds and ETFs.
Subscription fees: None
Transaction fees: 0.5% on all trades for the part of the order under $3000 and then 0.1% for the part of the order above $3000.
Exchange Fees: 0.4% both ways (between NZD, AUD and USD)

InvestNow

If you scroll down on the FAQs you will see a question regarding InvestNow's fees: InvestNow Fees

Products: NZ Managed Funds and ETFs
Subscription Fees: None
Transaction Fees: None
Exchange Fees: Only offers products in NZD

Hatch

Hatch Pricing

Products: US Stocks and ETFs
Subscription fees: $1.50 USD one-off and then $0.50/year for US tax filling.
Transaction Fees: $3 USD flat fee per transaction for the first 300 shares and then $0.01 USD per share after that
Exchange Fees: 0.5% both ways (from NZD to USD and from USD to NZD)

Stake

Stake Pricing

Products: US Stocks, Managed Funds and ETFs
Subscription fees: $5 one-off for US tax filling. SEC Fee: $0.221 per US$10,000 of sale proceeds. TAF Fee: $0.000119 per share with a per-transaction cap of $5.95
Transaction Fees: None
Exchange Fees: 1% both ways (from NZD to USD and from USD to NZD with a minimum of $2 USD) and $2 USD additional withdrawal fee with a minimum withdrawal amount of $10

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers Pricing and FX fees

Products: Most country Stocks, Managed Funds and ETFs
Subscription fees: None
Transaction Fees: (Tiered pricing)
- US Stocks: USD 0.0035 per share (min USD $0.35 and max 1%)
- AU Stocks: 0.08% (min AUD $5)
Exchange Fees: 0.002% (min USD $2)

ASB Securities

ASB Securities Fees
ASB Securities Exchange Fees (scroll to bottom)

Products: NZ and AU Stocks, Managed Funds and ETFs
Subscription fees: None
Transaction Fees:
- $15 per transaction up to $1000
- $30 per transaction from above $1000 up to $10,000
- 0.3% above $10,000 (for NZ trades)
- 0.3% per transaction for Australian trades (minimum of $30 AUD)
Exchange Fees: Minimum charge: $10 and Maximum charge: 1% both ways for any currency

Jarden Direct

Jarden Direct Pricing

Products: NZ and AU Stocks, Managed Funds and ETFs
Subscription fees: None
Transaction Fees:
- $29.90 NZD flat fee + 0.2% for the portion above $15,000 for NZ Trades
- $29.00 AUD flat fee + 0.3% for the portion over $30,000 for AU trades
Exchange Fees: Up to 1.50% both ways

Fees Calculator

This will calculate the total amount of fees paid over the lifetime of the investment. This includes FX fees, withdrawal fees and brokerage fees for each trade (in an out). For each country, the currency is assumed to be in that country's currency (exchanged at the current market rate) before applying the FX fee. For example X NZD becomes Y USD at the current exchange rate and then the % FX fee is deducted from Y.

Country:

No. Shares: (For Hatch pricing when > 300 shares)

No. Transactions: (Reduces exchange fees per transaction)

Is ETF? (InvestNow only offers fee-free ETFs)

Transaction Amount

Conclusions

So after all that if you want a simple guide on which platform to choose for your investing scenario, have a look at my recommendations below:

For NZ Investing:

NZ ETFs: InvestNow
NZ Stocks: Sharesies

For AU Investing:

Transaction amounts < $800 use Sharesies to start
In all other cases and once you are comfortable trading stocks: Interactive Brokers

For US Investing:

Transaction amounts < $250 use Sharesies to start
In all other cases and once you are comfortable trading stocks: Interactive Brokers

My referral codes

If you have successfully used my guide to choose the right investing platform for you and you want to support me in some way, feel free to use my referral codes below:

Sharesies: https://sharesies.nz/r/PPR7D3 (we both get $5)
Stake: https://hellostake.com/referral-program?referrer=liaml539 (we both get a free stock)
Hatch: https://app.hatchinvest.nz/share/xsexnpbk (we both get a $10 NZD top up when you deposit your first $100).