Share Trading comparison
easyMarkets vs Vanguard Personal Investor
easyMarkets and Vanguard Personal Investor are not really competing for the same investor. easyMarkets is a CFD and options broker for leveraged speculation on forex, indices and commodities — it doesn't support ASX shares at all. Vanguard Personal Investor is a low-cost ASX broker and managed-fund platform built for long-term, buy-and-hold investing in Vanguard products. The biggest practical difference: one is for trading derivatives, the other for building a portfolio of real ASX-listed assets.
Choose
easyMarkets
if…
- ›You want to trade CFDs, forex or options with leverage — easyMarkets supports these; Vanguard does not.
- ›You want to trade after hours or overnight, not just standard ASX trading hours.
- ›You want a demo account to practise strategies before risking real money.
- ›You want to deposit via crypto, Skrill or Neteller, not just bank transfers and BPAY.
- ›You're comfortable with a custodial model and inactivity fees (A$25) for a derivatives-focused account.
Choose
Vanguard Personal Investor
if…
- ›You want to buy and hold ASX shares or ETFs — Vanguard offers $0 brokerage on Vanguard ETFs and $9 flat on other ASX stocks.
- ›You want to invest in Vanguard managed funds alongside ETFs in one platform.
- ›You want auto-invest / dollar-cost averaging with multiple schedule options — easyMarkets has no DCA feature.
- ›You need an Australian tax statement, distribution breakdown and CGT report to simplify your tax return.
- ›You want a joint account, trust account, SMSF or kids account — Vanguard supports all of these; easyMarkets does not.
Where they differ
| Fact | easyMarkets | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| Brokerage on ASX trades | N/A (no ASX trading) | $0 on Vanguard ETF buys; $9 flat on other ASX shares |
| CHESS sponsorship | Not applicable (CFD broker) | Custodian model (no individual HIN) |
| Minimum initial deposit | A$25 | A$200 |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | Yes (multiple schedule options) |
Verdict
Pick easyMarkets for leveraged derivatives trading; pick Vanguard Personal Investor for low-cost, long-term ASX investing.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | easyMarkets | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | — | custodian |
| Individual HIN | — | No |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | No | Yes |
| SMSF account | No | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | No | Yes |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | No | Yes |
| US shares supported | No | No |
| US ETFs supported | No | No |
| Other markets supported | ||
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | No |
| Options trading | Yes | No |
| CFDs supported | Yes | No |
| Managed funds | No | Yes |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | No | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| Holds USD account | Yes | — |
| FX currency switch trick | No | — |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Corporate action fees | — | Participation in voluntary corporate actions (rights issues, SPPs, takeovers) is NOT available through Vanguard Personal Investor for ETFs or direct shares - investors cannot participate. Mandatory corporate actions (e.g. dividends) flow through automatically. No corporate action fees disclosed. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $0 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | — | 0% |
| ASX free trade conditions | — | $0 brokerage on all buys of Vanguard ETFs (Vanguard managed funds incur no brokerage at all). $0 brokerage on Vanguard ETFs/funds purchased via Auto Invest. Sells of Vanguard ETFs incur $9 flat. ASX direct (non-Vanguard) shares: $9 flat both ways. |
| Monthly platform fee | $0/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $0/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $25 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | — | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | easyMarkets Pty Ltd | Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd |
| AFSL number | 246,566 | 227,263 |
| Year founded | 2,003 | 2,020 |
| Parent / ownership | Blue Capital Markets Ltd (private, Cyprus-headquartered easyMarkets group) | The Vanguard Group, Inc. (US) - mutual structure owned by US-domiciled Vanguard fund investors |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $25 | $200 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $0 | $1 |
| Deposit methods | Credit/Debit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), Bank Wire Transfer, BPAY, Skrill, Neteller, POLi, Crypto (BTC, ETH, USDT) | BPAY, Direct credit (EFT), Direct debit |
| Settlement period | — | T+2 (ASX) |
| Withdrawal time | 1 business day to process; 3-10 business days for funds to arrive depending on method | Up to 3 business days from processing date (processed same day if requested before 4pm AET) |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | No |
| Demo account | Yes | No |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | No |
| 2FA support | SMS + authenticator | SMS |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat | Phone, Secure message (in-app) |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/5 (Monday to Friday, around the clock during market hours) | Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AET (phone) |
| Education content | structured courses | structured |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | Yes |
| CGT calculator / report | No | Yes |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | No |
| Conditional orders | Yes | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | Yes |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | multiple |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | No |