What can I trade via the Internet?
All exchange traded securities. These include ordinary shares and warrants listed on the ASX.
What is the minimum value of shares that I can buy?
The ASX requires a minimum parcel of $500 to be traded if you do not currently hold that particular security. Once you possess $500 worth of an individual security you may purchase any value of shares you wish.
Do I have to trade in round lots?
In Australia, you can trade any quantity you please as long as it's a whole number. For example, you can buy 1 share, 10,000 shares, 10,321 shares and so on.
To what extent can I buy and sell shares online through CMC Markets Stockbroking?
An order of any size will be accepted as long as it is either covered by cleared funds in your Cash Account (for buy orders) or covered by CHESS Sponsored Holdings (for sell orders). When you sell shares online, the funds from the sale are available for purchases immediately after the trade is completed.
What is Straight Through processing?
Straight Through Processing (STP) is where your order is sent directly to the ASX market, without any human intervention. Some online brokers use a system whereby your order is sent to a dealer who then has to approve or reject it and manually enter it into the market. Obviously in times of market turbulence, this could cause significant delays in getting the order on the market. CMC Markets Stockbroking's computer system approves or rejects the order and places it directly on the market.
In some cases, however, orders will be required to be approved by a dealer before they are sent to the market. This will generally happen when the order price is too far from the market, or there has been little trading activity in the stock. This system protects you by ensuring that an order which may have been entered incorrectly is prevented from trading (for example, if you had placed a price of $10.00 instead of $1.00.)
How fast are orders entered?
During market hours, the system can have an order on the market within seconds of receiving it. Note: Internet conditions such as the speed of your computer, your modem, your connection to your ISP, your ISP's connection to the Internet itself, will all play a part in determining how long it takes for an order to reach the system.
How do I pay for my shares?
You must have sufficient cleared funds available in your Cash Account prior to placing your order.
Can I send orders via e-mail?
Orders sent by e-mail will not be accepted.
Can I place an 'at market order' online?
Yes. You can easily place an order at the current best market price by choosing the "Copy best buy/sell price" in the trading windows. Placing an at-market orders does not guarantee that your order will trade.
What is a limit order?
A limit order is when a trader places a set maximum price on a buy instruction or a set minimum price on a sell order. If the market doesn't reach the set price, the order will not be executed.
When will my order expire?
Orders can be submitted with a specific expiry date up to 8 months in the future, or can be marked as “Good Till Cancelled”, in which case the order will not expire unless the stock is purged by the ASX, which may happen when the stock goes ex-dividend, for example).
If an expiry date falls on a Public Holiday or weekend, the order will be purged on the evening of the previous trading day.
Can I amend or cancel my orders, and will I be charged extra?
Any order that has not been filled can be amended or cancelled at any time. You will not be charged for any amendment or cancellation. Note that if you amend an order to a higher quantity, the order may “split” into two separate orders, in which case each would attract a brokerage charge.
What is a split order
All orders on the market at the same price level are queued in the order in which they were received. If you amend the quantity of an order to a greater quantity, and there are orders behind your original order in the queue, the amendment will create a second order at the end of the queue for the increased quantity. This is called splitting the order, and is an automated process within the ASX’s market systems.
Why was I charged brokerage twice on a split order?
The ASX market treats split orders as entirely separate orders. For this reason, standard brokerage charges will apply to both orders.
Why can I sometimes increase the quantity but I do not create two orders?
If there are no orders behind your original order in the queue, the amendment is submitted in such a way that the original order is not split. But, if there are orders behind your original order, creating a split order can not be avoided.
How can I avoid splitting an order?
There are two ways to avoid splitting the order – firstly, increasing the quantity but also changing the price will avoid splitting the order as this will move the whole new quantity to the end of the queue for the new price level. If you would prefer not to change your price, you can cancel the original order and submit a new order for the new quantity. Note, however, that if the original order has already partially traded, then brokerage would still apply to both the old and new orders.
What happens to my shares once I have bought them?
Online share traders with CMC Markets Stockbroking must be broker sponsored with CHESS. Your shares will be entered into your portfolio and will be available for you to trade them in the future. The share will also be registered with CHESS under your Holder Identification Number (HIN) and a statement will be sent to your registered address. See the CHESS section below for more information about CHESS.
How will I be notified of an order's progress or any problems?
CMC Markets Stockbroking have built a sophisticated messaging system that advises you at each step of an order's progress - from placement on the market, through partial fills and through to a final fill. The messaging system also will advise if an order is rejected, and provide a reason for the rejection. The messaging system can be accessed by choosing View Messages from the left-hand menu.
If you choose to be notified by e-mail of trading events, then you will also be e-mailed at each stage. You can turn this notification on or off by choosing Preferences from under the left-hand menu, and then changing the current setting.
Will I still receive Trading Confirmations
Yes. Trading confirmations will be forwarded via email or post for each trade. Confirmations can also be viewed and downloaded from the Confirmations page.
How long is the settlement term?
For most ASX securities, settlement in T+3 days (i.e. three trading days from the date the trade was completed.)
How do I receive my proceeds from share sales?
Proceeds from online share sales will be credited to your Cash Account.
If I sell my shares can I use the funds immediately to buy more shares?
Yes, but the funds are not available to withdraw until the sale is settled.
Why is a BUYER offering more than a SELLER is asking?
The market is in PRE-OPEN, which means that buyers can overbid sellers in order to have their bid at the top of the market. When the market opens, all the bids are compared and a formula is run by the ASX system to allocate those shares that are overlapping, until a 'normal' market is established (i.e. buyer price below seller).
Why was my order rejected?
The most common reason for an order to be rejected is an invalid quantity or price value. The minimum purchase quantity is $500 and the price must be a valid price step. Check the help panel in the buy and sell windows for correct price steps.
Another common reason orders are rejected because an incorrect price has been entered (E.g.: $1000 instead of $10).
Orders may also be rejected or forwarded to a Designated Trading Representative for compliance reasons. CMC Markets Stockbroking has obligations under ASX Business Rules and Corporations Law to prevent false and misleading trading and help facilitate an orderly market. Every order submitted is checked against certain criteria to ensure obligations are met. Some of these criteria are: checks to see whether the client has 2 or more orders in a stock and whether these orders are trying to raise, lower or maintain a stock price; orders that materially affect the market and do not reflect the current trading history of that stock.
When can I place orders?
Orders can be placed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Orders placed outside of market hours are queued and sent to the market on the next trading day at 7am. Orders placed between 7am and 4:15 pm on trading days are sent directly to the market. The market trading hours are generally between 10:00am and 4:15pm, although these hours do change from time to time.
The status of my order says ‘Waiting’ - What does that mean?
A status of ‘Waiting’ indicates the order has been received outside of market hours and is waiting for the market to open before being sent to the market.
The status of my order says 'With Broker' - What does that mean?
An order with a status of 'With Broker' means your order has been brought to the attention of one of the DTR's for approval.
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