Keen to Switch Brokerages? Here’re 4 Reasons Why CMC Invest is Worth Your While

Alevin K Chan

Alevin K Chan

Last updated 20 August, 2024

CMC Invest is a new trading platform that is part of the 30-year veteran CMC Markets group. Here’s what you can expect from the app, and why it will change how you invest.

CMC Invest is a newly launched trading platform built on a 30-year foundation of trading excellence in APAC, UK, Europe and CA. The CMC Markets group is an award-winning financial services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is fully licensed around the world, being regulated by FCA (U.K), IIROC (Canada), BaFin (Germany) and of course, MAS (Singapore), among others.

Ok, but why are we telling you all this? Well, because when investing through a brokerage, it is always good to know who you’re dealing with exactly. This way, you can take CMC Invest’s “new” status as a mark of innovation and advancement, instead of something to be wary of. 

And now that all that is out of the way, let’s dive into the juicy details of what CMC Invest has to offer. 

Table of Content


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🪙SingSaver Cash Quest🪙: Get 5x chances to win S$50,000 when you apply for participating Online Brokerage Accounts. Applying for multiple products means more Cash Quest Chances! Plus, download the SingSaver App and log in with the same email used during product application to earn 20 additional chances! Valid till 22 December 2024. T&Cs apply.

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SingSaver Exclusive Offer: Open a CMC Invest account and receive S$20 cash via PayNow. Fund a min. of S$3,000 into your CMC Invest account and make 8 "buy" trades by the end of the promotion period to be eligible for 1x Palantir Technology share (NYSE:PLTR) and 1x Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) share worth S$123 (value as of 31 October 2024). Promo is stackable with CMC Welcome Offer. Valid till 6 January 2025. T&Cs apply.

CMC Welcome Offer: Receive 2x  Mart International Group Limited shares (worth S$31 as of 3 Dec 2024) when you apply for a CMC Invest Account, fund S$500 and make 2 buy trades. Valid till 31 January 2025. T&Cs apply.


#1. Affordable investing with low fees and transparent pricing

Many brokerages claim to offer low fees and affordable pricing, but how many of them really do? Commonly, brokerages advertise “zero-commission” trading only to charge a high bid-ask spread, which eats into your trading returns. There may also be a raft of other charges for everything from platform maintenance to account inactivity to deposit and withdrawal fees. 

CMC Invest takes a refreshingly different approach. The platform lowers the cost of investing by doing away with fees for platform usage, settlements, account inactivity and deposits and withdrawals. It also keeps trading commissions and currency conversion fees to a minimum. 

On top of that, CMC Invest gives you between two to 20 free trades per month – meaning these trades have their commissions waived off for the lowest possible trading cost. 


#2. Trade across 15 international markets on one platform 

CMC Invest gives you seamless access to stocks and ETFs from 15 different markets around the world, which means you can trade the best local and global stocks from just a single platform. 

These are the markets available to you: USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

With such a wide-ranging selection, you can conveniently build a diversified portfolio aligned with your investing strategy and objectives. 

Additionally, CMC Invest comes with ESG Risk Ratings by Sustainalytics, which highlights a company’s exposure to industry-specific environmental, sustainability and governance risks. This facilitates investors in choosing stocks that are aligned with their personal values and preferences. 


#3. Made for investors for all experience levels 

CMC Invest isn’t just “new” in name. It also adheres to the latest design principles aimed at catering to every investor, regardless of their experience level. 

Let’s start with the user interface, which is clean, intuitive and fits well on all platforms, from desktop computers to tablets and mobile phones. The layout makes it easy to see and track your trades, research and analyse equities and funds, and understand how your positions are faring. 

Further bolstering your trading experience is a variety of essential tools, including market and limits orders, stocks screeners, and a fully-detailed economic calendar that helps you keep track of important dates such as earnings calls and other critical events. 

Additionally, the platform integrates TradingView, probably the most popular charting platform among adherents of technical analysis. You can utilise over 100 charting tools, indicators and measurement to help you look for price trends and determine opportunities to make the trades you want.


#4. Up to five free trades every month

Earlier, we said that CMC Invest gives you between two to 20 free trades each month. Let’s break it down further and see how that makes a difference to your returns over time.

Each month, you are entitled to two free trades for SG stocks, and five free trades each for UK, US, HK and CA tickers. You’ll also enjoy zero charges on deposits, withdrawals, inwards transfers, inactivity, platform, settlement and custody. 

CMC Invest offers rock-bottom trading commissions: 0.05% (minimum S$3) for SG stocks, 0.04% (minimum US$4 per trade) for US stocks, and 0.06% (minimum GBP 6) for UK stocks per trade. In addition, CMC Invest waives off your transaction and trading tax for all HK stocks.

Let’s try to see how much CMC Invest can help you save.

So, let’s assume that you make an average of 10 trades every month with US stocks. Now, trading commissions are charged on every trade; this means that at 0.04% (minimum of USD 4) per trade, you’d be paying US$ 4000 in trading commissions in a year. 

However, since you have five free trades every month for US stocks, this effectively brings down your trading commissions by half to US$200. 

This is substantial savings, which you enjoy on top of all the other zero-cost fees we mentioned earlier.

In fact, Seedly has done an excellent analysis comparing the costs of popular brokerages in Singapore. In a hypothetical scenario involving an investment of S$12,000, CMC Invest came up as the clear winner, with a total cost around 50% lower than the next competitor. 

Of course, ultimately, how much you’d pay in commissions differs according to your level of usage. A passive investor who trades just a few times a month would not spend as much on commissions as a trader pursuing more active strategies. 

No matter what, any investors would still want to go for the best deal they can find, because why pay higher fees than absolutely necessary?


CMC Invest Promotions 

CMC Invest ticks many boxes, and the platform’s low-fee offering is certainly well worth checking out. 

To further sweeten the deal, CMC is offering the following sign-up perks.

  • Welcome offer: get up to S$282 worth of Grab and Tesla stocks when you fund and trade with CMC Invest. Available for new clients who make the number of trades by 31 October 2024
  • Switch to CMC Invest and transfer your stock portfolio and get up to S$400 cash rebate

The shares given will depend on the highest tier you qualify for.

So, if you’ve been looking for a more affordable way to trade local and internal stocks on one powerful, well-designed platform, give CMC Invest a spin. It might just become your new favourite trading platform.

SINGSAVE_SUPERSAVER_AUG-CAMPAIGN_IN-BLOG-ARTICLE_800x250

🪙SingSaver Cash Quest🪙: Get 5x chances to win S$50,000 when you apply for participating Online Brokerage Accounts. Applying for multiple products means more Cash Quest Chances! Plus, download the SingSaver App and log in with the same email used during product application to earn 20 additional chances! Valid till 22 December 2024. T&Cs apply.

CMC-INVEST_9OCT-30NOV_IN BLOG ARTICLE_800x250

SingSaver Exclusive Offer: Open a CMC Invest account and receive S$20 cash via PayNow. Fund a min. of S$3,000 into your CMC Invest account and make 8 "buy" trades by the end of the promotion period to be eligible for 1x Palantir Technology share (NYSE:PLTR) and 1x Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) share worth S$123 (value as of 31 October 2024). Promo is stackable with CMC Welcome Offer. Valid till 6 January 2025. T&Cs apply.

CMC Welcome Offer: Receive 2x  Mart International Group Limited shares (worth S$31 as of 3 Dec 2024) when you apply for a CMC Invest Account, fund S$500 and make 2 buy trades. Valid till 31 January 2025. T&Cs apply.

 

This article was written in partnership with CMC Invest.


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Disclaimer: © CMC Markets Singapore Invest Pte. Ltd.. Co. Reg. No./UEN 202217639M ("CMC Invest"). Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (CMSL No: 101320). Refer to CMC Invest website www.cmcinvest.sg for our Terms and Conditions, Risk Disclosures, Privacy Statement and other important information. SingSaver is our paid affiliate marketing partner. 

CMC Invest provides an execution-only service only. All forms of trading and investments carry risks and may not suit everyone. Losses can exceed initial investment so do ensure you have regard to your own personal needs, financial circumstances and risk tolerance, and understand the risks involved prior to dealing in any investment products. Where in doubt, seek independent professional financial advice.  This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Alevin loves helping people make good money decisions. He briefly flirted with being a Financial Advisor, but quickly realised writing about personal finance is the better way to go.

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