Shares

What are shares?

Shares, or equities, represent part ownership of a business. Share owners hope to profit by participating in a company’s performance in the form of dividends, or through capital growth as the value of your shares increases.

Why invest in shares?

With thousands of companies listed on the ASX, you can choose shares from any industry sector, from large, well-known companies down to companies just starting out.

Share trading at CMC Markets Stockbroking

Ordinary shares are the most commonly traded security. The platform has extensive market information on all shares, and independent research on the top 200 shares. You can also trade the more specialised equity instruments such as preference shares, company options, rights issues etc.

Want to learn more about Shares?

To learn more about Shares, we suggest you read the ASX’s Getting Started in Shares guide.

Options

What are options?

An Option is a contract between two parties giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a parcel of shares at a set price, on or before a predetermined date.

Why invest in options?

Investors choose to invest in options for a number of reasons, including:

• Building a leveraged exposure to an underlying share
• Protecting (hedging) the value of an existing share portfolio from falling prices

Want to learn more about Options?

To learn more about Options, we suggest you read the ASX’s Understanding Options Trading guide.

Warrants

What are warrants?

A Warrant is a security that is issued by a bank or other institution and traded on the ASX. Warrants are linked to an underlying asset, such as shares, and provide investors with an alternative way to gain exposure to this underlying asset.

There are a number of different types of Warrants which will suit different trading strategies. The two main styles of warrants are Investment Warrants and Trading Warrants.

Why invest in warrants?

Investors choose to invest in warrants for a number of reasons, including:

• Building a leveraged exposure to an underlying share
• Protecting (hedging) the value of an existing share portfolio

Want to learn more about Warrants?

To learn more about Warrants, we suggest you read the ASX’s Understanding Trading and Investment Warrants guide.

Interest Rate Securities

What are interest rate securities?

An Interest Rate Security (IRS) is a security that pays a floating or fixed rate of return. This can be in the form of interest or dividends. The issuer of the IRS promises to pay the holder a specified rate of interest during the life of the security and then repay the face value at the maturity date.

Why invest in IRSs?

Investors may choose to invest in IRSs to gain exposure to a steady and reliable income stream.

What sort of IRSs are traded on the ASX?

A number of IRSs are traded on the ASX including:

• Bonds
• Floating-rate notes
• Convertible notes

Interest Rate Security trading at CMC Markets Stockbroking

CMC Markets Stockbroking trade in interest rate securities both over the phone and online. The platform includes market information showing prices for all interest rate securities issued by a company.