A perfect time to go online

Perth-based information and technology specialists Marketech has launched a zero brokerage online contracts for difference (CFD) trading platform for the retail investment market.

Marketech chief executive officer James Martin said with Australia’s CFD trading volumes currently at all time highs, growing at 100 per cent each year, it was a perfect time to offer zero brokerage to the estimated 50,000 people who currently trade CFDs in Australia.

“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,” Martin said.

“I believe this will help investors take advantage of the various hedging and investment strategies offered by CFDs.”

Next month, the Australian Securities Exchange will offer CFD trading to Australian investors, although on a limited scale of shares, currencies, indices and commodities, making the ASX the world’s first exchange to do so.

Two year’s in development, Marketech’s trading platform will directly assign every order placed into the underlying market and will offer CFDs across every ASX-listed company on the one platform.

According to Martin this is unique, as in the past investors were required to trade with two platforms, one for blue chip stocks and a second for all others.

“This coupled with free live streaming data and Marketech’s free propriety trading platform provides a compelling competitive edge against the sector’s more entrenched CFD providers,” he said.