Perth-based niche financial services player Marketech Pty Ltd has launched a zero brokerage online trading platform for the Contracts for Difference Market, which is due to be launched next month by the Australian Securities Exchange.
Perth-based niche financial services player Marketech Pty Ltd has launched a zero brokerage online trading platform for the Contracts for Difference Market, which is due to be launched next month by the Australian Securities Exchange.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Competition is set to intensify in Australia's rapidly growing retail investment market for Contracts for Difference (CFDs) with the launch today of a zero brokerage online CFD trading platform by Perth-based Marketech Pty Ltd.
"The time, the technology, and the sophistication of investors is now right to offer zero brokerage to the estimated 50,000 people who currently use or trade CFDs in Australia," Marketech Chief Executive Officer, Mr James Martin, said today.
"With trader numbers set to explode, offering zero brokerage on the Top 500 stocks, with Direct Market Access CFDs on every ASX listed company also, is an important evolution in Australia's equities marketplace," Mr Martin said.
"I believe this will help investors take advantage of the various hedging and investment strategies offered by CFDs," he said.
CFDs are a type of derivative that trade in a similar fashion to shares. They provide leverage for an investor to take an investment position depending on their view of the likelihood of a short or medium term rise or fall in an underlying stock.
Australia's CFD trading volumes are currently estimated to be growing at around 100 % per annum.
The ASX is due to next month to become the first Exchange in the world to offer CFD trading although on an extremely limited scale of shares, currencies, indices and commodities.
Marketech formally launched its CFD product today, culminating two years of software development and market research.
"The Marketech trading platform has been designed to the highest levels of speed and stability possible, using the latest technology housed in a state-of-the-art data warehouse facility for maximum security and availability," Mr Martin said.
"CFDs investors will recognise the added value of Direct Market Access CFDs as Marketech will assign every order placed, directly into the underlying market.
"This, coupled with free live streaming data and Marketech's free proprietary trading platform, provides a compelling competitive edge against the sector's more entrenched CFD providers."
Mr Martin said there was a time when investors were required to trade with two platforms - one to trade CFDs on the top 'blue chip' stocks and the second for trading shares outside of this group.
"Marketech offers CFDs across every ASX-listed company within one trading platform," he said.
"We provide zero brokerage on the Top 500 stocks and competitive brokerage rates for all remaining listed companies, therefore providing an industry leading solution for novice and professional investors alike."
Full details of margin, interest rate, brokerage, levies and relevant Product Disclosure Statements are available from the Marketech website www.marketech.com.au.
