Share Trading comparison
Bell Direct vs Totality Wealth
The biggest difference between Bell Direct and Totality Wealth comes down to ownership structure. Bell Direct is a CHESS-sponsored broker backed by the ASX-listed Bell Financial Group, meaning you get a HIN and direct ownership of ASX holdings. Totality Wealth operates a mixed custody model and is majority-owned by South Africa's DMA, offering a much wider range of international markets but no Australian tax reporting.
Choose
Bell Direct
if…
- ›You want CHESS sponsorship and your own HIN for direct ASX share ownership
- ›You need a full Australian tax statement with CGT reports and distribution breakdowns
- ›You want to trade IPOs and invest in managed funds alongside shares
- ›You want zero-commission US trades with fractional US share investing
- ›You're opening a kids or minor account
Choose
Totality Wealth
if…
- ›You trade frequently on ASX and want the lowest brokerage — $3 minimum vs Bell Direct's $5
- ›You want access to 17+ international markets including Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and Singapore
- ›You prefer paying zero market data fees — Totality includes it free, Bell Direct charges $27.50/month
- ›You want flexible deposits including credit card, PayPal and Wise
- ›You want a demo account to test the platform before committing
Where they differ
| Fact | Bell Direct | Totality Wealth |
|---|---|---|
| ASX brokerage minimum | $5 | $3 |
| CHESS sponsorship | Full CHESS (individual HIN) | Mixed model (HIN available) |
| Market data fees | $27.50/month | $0/month |
| International markets | ASX and US only | 17+ markets globally |
| Australian tax reporting | Full tax statement, CGT report, distribution breakdown | No Australian tax statement or CGT report |
Verdict
Pick Bell Direct for CHESS-sponsored, tax-friendly Australian investing; pick Totality Wealth for cheaper trades and global market access.
Cost calculator
What would Bell Direct vs Totality Wealth actually cost you?
Punch in your trade size and frequency. We'll do the full brokerage + FX + fees maths.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Bell Direct | Totality Wealth |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | chess | mixed |
| Individual HIN | Yes | Yes |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | Yes | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | Yes | Yes |
| SMSF account | Yes | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | Yes | No |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | Yes | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | Yes | Yes |
| US shares supported | Yes | Yes |
| US ETFs supported | Yes | Yes |
| Other markets supported | US, GB, HK, JP, DE, FR, CA, SG, CH, NL, IT, ES, BE, AT, DK, SE, NO, FI | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | Yes | No |
| Options trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs supported | No | Yes |
| Managed funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds supported | Yes | Yes |
| IPO access | Yes | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 60% | 0.45% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | — | 0.45% |
| Holds USD account | Yes | Yes |
| FX currency switch trick | — | No |
| Market data fees | $27.5/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Phone trade surcharge | $60 | — |
| Corporate action fees | Fail fee $110 or 0.11% daily for unsettled trades; corporate action handling generally pass-through via CHESS sponsorship | Custodian processes corporate actions; proxy voting subscription EUR 30/year + EUR 5 per vote; new instrument requests USD 200 for Platinum / free for VIP legacy tiers; reporting fee USD 50 for Classic email reports. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | $5 | $3 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | 10% | 0.08% |
| ASX brokerage threshold | $25,000 | $3,750 |
| US brokerage minimum | US$0 | US$1 |
| US brokerage percentage | — | 0.08% |
| Monthly platform fee | — | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | — | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | — | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | — | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | $55 | $50 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Third Party Platform Pty Limited (trading as Bell Direct) | Totality Wealth Limited (formerly Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd) |
| AFSL number | 314,341 | 280,372 |
| Year founded | 2,007 | 2,012 |
| Parent / ownership | Bell Financial Group Limited (ASX: BFG) | DMA (Johannesburg, South Africa) 80.1% / Saxo Bank A/S (Denmark) 19.9% |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | public | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $500 | $0 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | — | $0 |
| Deposit methods | BPAY, Bank transfer (EFT), Direct credit | bank_transfer, BPAY, credit_card, debit_card, PayPal, Wise |
| Settlement period | T+2 (ASX), T+1 (US) | T+2 ASX, T+1 US |
| Withdrawal time | 1-2 business days | 1-3 business days |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | Yes |
| Demo account | — | Yes |
| Free real-time market data | No | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | SMS | app |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, online forms | phone, email, live_chat |
| Support hours (AU time) | Business hours, AET (typically Mon-Fri market hours) | Mon-Fri 08:30-17:30 Sydney time |
| Education content | basic articles | extensive |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | Yes | No |
| Distribution component breakdown | Yes | No |
| CGT calculator / report | Yes | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | Yes | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | — | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | Yes | Yes |
| After-hours / overnight trading | — | No |