LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that Copenhagen-based multi asset broker Saxo Bank has inked a new partnership with Australian online cash equities broker OpenMarkets.
We expect the parties to make a formal announcement shortly.
OpenMarkets is one of Australia’s fastest-growing online stockbrokers. The agreement is a reciprocal one, which will see OpenMarkets and Saxo Bank, via its ASIC licensed Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd unit, provide each other with technology solutions to build upon their respective market leading offerings. The partnership will allow OpenMarkets clients to have access to Saxo’s extensive list of global equities with multi-currency settlement, while Saxo’s clients will now be able to invest in Australian shares through a Holder Identification Number (HIN) structure.
Ben Smoker, Saxo Bank Australia
According to Saxo Capital Markets Australia CEO Ben Smoker:
This represents the collaboration of two Fintech powerhouses in the online broking industry in Australia. We are providing the international equities trading engine and technology to OpenMarkets, giving them access to over 19,000 global stocks across 36 different exchanges.
For OpenMarkets, the alliance with Saxo allows it to become a truly global trading platform, bypassing significant development time and expense to provide its clients with a broader range of trading options. According to the parties, this includes the ability to:
- Buy and sell exchange-listed securities in global markets, including US, UK and the major European and Asian markets;
- View all assets in one portfolio screen;
- Trade through a single platform, where Australian equities are still maintained on HIN;
- Settle all trades (Australian and international) via the client’s one linked cash account;
- Consolidate all transactions and holding data, and feed this data to SMSF and portfolio administration reporting platforms.
Conversely, the integration with OpenMarkets allows Saxo to increase trading activity for global shares through its international equities platform.
On the customer side, Saxo will be able to meet market demand for settlement of Australian equities into HIN from a multi-asset platform. This means that Saxo’s clients will be able to hold Australian stocks through the HIN structure provided by the ASX’s Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS), alongside other assets within Saxo’s trading platform.
The alliance between OpenMarkets and Saxo also breaks a historical model in the Australian broking industry, where HIN-based stockbrokers for Australian share trading and custodian-based brokers for international shares have always been segregated.
Saxo and OpenMarkets are effectively bridging this gap by providing the first integrated solution for the Australian market.
OpenMarkets CEO Andrea Marani said:
This is an alliance between two like-minded technology brokers that have complementary services and share a win-win philosophy towards third party integration. Our partnership with Saxo will result in us being able to offer trading in global securities from one cross-collateralised cash account and we will do this at competitive brokerage and FX rates.
This global markets trading offering, coupled with our range of reporting platform data feeds, will go a long way towards meeting the demand we are seeing from the SMSF market looking for global investment diversification.
Mr. Smoker added:
Thanks to our new partner, Saxo will be the first broker to offer a HIN solution on a singular, consolidated multi-asset trading platform. This differentiates us from other multi-asset brokers who also offer access to local shares, but do not have HIN.