Online broker Bell Direct has launched an online platform for advisers to trade equities directly on behalf of their clients.
Designed and built in-house by the company over the past 18 months, Desktop Broker will compete in a similar market to the eTrade Pro platform and CommSec’s Adviser Trading centre.
The platform Desktop Broker is aimed at capitalising on a growing trend by consumers to switch out of managed funds into direct equities, according to Bell Direct chief executive Arnie Selvarajah.
“A lot of clients are thinking of switching out of managed funds to direct equities, according to the research we have seen,” he said.
“There’s going to be substantial client demand for financial planners to help their clients with direct equity, and Desktop Broker will allow them to be proactive in doing so.”
The new platform is targeted at advisers who are already trading equities on behalf of clients, he said, as its technology benefits will be “most apparent to them”.
Selvarajah describes the Desktop Broker as a “next generation” online platform that delivers a “high level of usability” for advisers.
“It has all of the normal things you would expect to have on a normal trading platform, but we’ve gone a bit further in providing functionality that helps advisers to service their clients,” he said.
These features include a “bulk ordering capability” that allows advisers to see who owns which shares among their client base, and then to place a trade for all of those clients in one step.
There’s also a “dial-up brokerage capability for advisers, offering them complete flexibility in controlling their margin when dealing with their client”.
“They can charge a different rate per client across their whole business or they can even adjust their rates on a per trade basis, among other benefits.”
Yet another in-built facility allows an adviser’s clients to access the platform to look (but not trade) at their portfolio at the complete discretion of the adviser.
It can also improve cash flows for advisers by ensuring commissions are paid to them faster, as well as providing a real time view of commissions earned for the month to date, according to Selvarajah.
