)
After delaying a planned expansion into New Zealand last year due to a short-lived merger, Sydney-based investment platform Superhero has ramped up its growth plans by launching its low-cost brokerage services across the Tasman.
Superhero, which last year grew the number of investors using its platform by 70,000 to more than 240,000, has announced that Kiwi investors will have access to its services from today.
The platform’s $5 flat trading fee for Australian shares and zero commission for US stocks has drawn comparisons with US share platform Robinhood Markets Inc, which offers commission-free trades.
Superhero, which was founded in 2018 by young entrepreneurs John Winters and Wayne Baskin, says it will offer New Zealand investors some of the lowest brokerage and foreign exchange fees for Australian and US trades with the same fees structure as its Australian platform, plus a 0.5 per cent foreign exchange fee on transactions. Australian traders pay a 0.7 per cent FX fee for US transactions.
Trades for now will be limited to Australian and US equities, with New Zealand stocks to be included in the next few months.
Superhero CEO John Winters says he is incredibly proud and excited to be launching Superhero in New Zealand today.
“We know that New Zealand is a population of incredibly engaged investors and we can’t wait to support them in growing their wealth," he says.
“Since launching in late 2020, Superhero’s focus has been value and providing better options than what the incumbents have offered investors – and we’re excited to do the same in New Zealand.
“Our goal is to give investors in New Zealand the opportunity to invest without prohibitive costs or complicated pricing models.”
The full suite of Superhero services is available to New Zealand clients of the platform, including comprehensive portfolio reporting features for tax purposes, real-time currency transfers and access to Superhero’s referral program.
“It’s very important to us that our investors in New Zealand have the same great experience as our Aussie investors,” Baskin, the Superhero CTO, says.
“It’s part of the reason we’ve invested so strongly in our technology, to ensure we’re building a platform that we can add features to meet the needs of modern investors.
“For us at Superhero, our goal is to grant all Australians and New Zealanders access to investing opportunities, regardless of age, status, income or circumstance. We want to keep costs down and provide a user-friendly platform on which investors can grow their wealth.”
Superhero had previously planned to expand into New Zealand in 2022 but the company put that on the backburner amid the turmoil of a merger that wasn’t working for them.
The short-lived $1.5 billion merger with Brisbane-based crypto trading platform Swyftx announced last June was wound back in December amid a tough crypto trading environment.
The overarching goal of the merger was to create a singular platform for Australians to manage their investments, from equities, superannuation and digital currencies.
Superhero introduced Superhero Super in 2021 to give Australians the ability to invest their super in their chosen shares and exchange traded funds. However, the platform tells Business News Australia that it has no immediate plans for a similar product for New Zealand.
Get our daily business news
Sign up to our free email news updates.
)
)
)
)
)
