ASB Securities Review: Online Share Trading from a Bank — What You Get and What You Pay

ASB Securities is the online brokerage arm of ASB Bank, offering NZX, ASX, and US market access through a single login that links to your ASB bank account. Settlement is instant — no waiting for funds to clear. Commission on NZX trades is NZ$15 per trade for online execution, with reduced rates for larger volumes. ASX trades cost roughly NZ$20 to NZ$25. US trades are approximately NZ$25 to NZ$30.

The convenience factor is real. If you bank with ASB, opening a Securities account takes minutes. Funds move instantly between your transaction account and your trading account. Trade confirmations appear in the same internet banking interface you use for everyday banking.

The Market Range

ASB Securities offers trading on the NZX, ASX, and major US exchanges. The NZX range covers every stock listed on the main board plus NZX-listed ETFs and bonds. ASX access includes Australian shares and ASX-listed ETFs. US access covers NYSE and NASDAQ-listed stocks and ETFs. Corporate actions — dividends, rights issues, capital returns — are handled automatically by the platform, with notifications sent to your Securities inbox.

What you cannot do through ASB Securities is trade options, futures, or foreign exchange as standalone instruments. It is a share trading platform, not a derivatives or forex platform. For most retail investors buying and selling shares and ETFs, this is not a limitation. For anyone wanting options strategies or currency trading, a specialist platform is necessary.

The Trade-Off

The commission is higher than the specialist platforms. At NZ$15 per NZX trade, ASB Securities costs three times Sharesies' capped NZ$25 fee for a NZ$5,000 NZX buy, but Sharesies' fee structure is percentage-based so a NZ$100,000 NZX buy costs the same NZ$25 cap while ASB Securities' NZ$15 is actually cheaper at that scale. The fees cross over depending on trade size and frequency.

No fractional shares. No managed funds from third-party managers. US trades are more expensive than Hatch or Stake. The interface is the bank's internet banking look and feel — functional but not inspiring.

The settlement advantage is worth highlighting. Because ASB Securities links directly to your ASB transaction account, there is no waiting period for funds to clear. You sell a share and the proceeds are available immediately. On platforms like Sharesies, settlement takes one to two business days. For an active trader, that convenience saves time and avoids the cash management friction of keeping a separate trading account topped up.

Where It Fits

For an ASB customer who trades NZX shares a few times a year and values having everything in one place, ASB Securities works well. For anyone trading regularly, internationally, or cost-consciously, a specialist platform is better.

The comparison to other bank brokerages matters. ASB Securities is comparable to Westpac Online Investing and ANZ Share Investing in pricing — all three charge roughly NZ$15 per NZX trade for online execution. None offer the low-cost model of the newer platforms. The difference is that ASB has the most seamless integration with its parent bank's account system, which is a genuine advantage for existing ASB customers weighing convenience against cost.

For an investor building a portfolio primarily of NZX shares and holding for the long term, the NZ$15 per trade is a small cost spread over years of holding. If you make two trades per year into NZX blue-chip stocks, the annual brokerage cost is NZ$30 on a portfolio that may be worth NZ$50,000 or more. The 0.06% annual cost is negligible. The convenience of having your trading platform inside your main banking app is a genuine quality-of-life improvement worth paying a small premium for.

Foreign Exchange for US Trades

US trades through ASB Securities involve a foreign exchange conversion from NZD to USD and back. The FX spread is not published upfront — you see the rate at trade time — but it is generally wider than the specialist US trading platforms that compete on FX as their core offering. If you trade US shares regularly through ASB Securities, the FX cost is worth checking on a small test trade before committing to larger amounts. The FX spread is a percentage cost on every buy and sell, so it compounds with each trade.

One strategy is to use ASB Securities for NZX and ASX trading where the NZD conversion is not needed, and use a specialist US platform like Hatch or Stake for US shares. This gives you the best of both worlds — instant settlement and bank integration for local shares, and lower FX costs for US exposure. The trade-off is managing two separate accounts and login credentials.

Security and Reliability

As a bank-owned brokerage, ASB Securities benefits from the same security infrastructure as ASB's internet banking — two-factor authentication, fraud monitoring, and transaction alerts are all standard. The platform has been operating for over twenty years and has a strong reliability record. For investors who prioritise security and stability over cutting-edge features, the bank brokerage model has genuine advantages over the newer fintech platforms.