Share Trading comparison
CMC Invest vs Vanguard Personal Investor
The biggest practical difference between CMC Invest and Vanguard Personal Investor is that CMC is a CHESS-sponsored broker giving you your own HIN, while Vanguard holds everything in custody. That distinction matters for how you own your shares. The other major split is access: CMC lets you trade US and international stocks for free, whereas Vanguard is purely ASX-listed investments — and makes its real money by keeping you inside the Vanguard ecosystem.
Choose
CMC Invest
if…
- ›You want to own ASX shares under your own HIN with full CHESS sponsorship
- ›You plan to trade US stocks (and stocks from 14 other global markets) at zero brokerage
- ›You want $0 brokerage on ASX buys up to $1,000 per security per day
- ›You need options trading, stop-loss orders, or conditional order types
- ›You want a desktop trading platform alongside the mobile apps
Choose
Vanguard Personal Investor
if…
- ›You want completely free ASX trades on Vanguard ETFs and managed funds — no brokerage, no platform fee
- ›You want to set up a multi-asset auto-invest plan that buys across multiple Vanguard funds in one go
- ›You're happy to hold investments in a custodian model and don't need your own HIN
- ›You want a lower minimum to start ($200 vs CMC's $500) and can deposit as little as $1 thereafter
- ›You're building a long-term portfolio around Vanguard managed funds and ETFs and want zero trading costs on buys
Where they differ
| Fact | CMC Invest | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| CHESS sponsorship | CHESS-sponsored — you get your own HIN | Custodian model — no individual HIN |
| ASX brokerage | $0 on first ASX buy per security per day up to $1,000; otherwise $11 or 0.1% | $0 on all Vanguard ETF/fund buys; $9 flat on non-Vanguard ASX trades |
| US & international shares | Yes — US, UK, Canada, Japan, Europe, Hong Kong, NZ and more at $0 brokerage | Not supported |
| Auto-invest sophistication | Single asset level (one stock or ETF at a time) | Multiple level (can auto-invest across several Vanguard funds in one plan) |
| Inactivity fee | $15 if no trading activity | $0 |
Verdict
Pick CMC for CHESS ownership and global trading; pick Vanguard for zero-cost Vanguard ETF investing with multi-fund auto-invest.
Cost calculator
What would CMC Invest vs Vanguard Personal Investor 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 | CMC Invest | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | chess | custodian |
| Individual HIN | Yes | No |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | Yes | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | Yes | Yes |
| SMSF account | Yes | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | Yes | Yes |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | Yes | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | Yes | Yes |
| US shares supported | Yes | No |
| US ETFs supported | Yes | No |
| Other markets supported | United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | No |
| Options trading | Yes | No |
| CFDs supported | No | No |
| Managed funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | Yes | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 0.6% | — |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 0.6% | — |
| Holds USD account | No | — |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Phone trade surcharge | $59.95 | — |
| 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 | $11 | $0 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | 0.1% | 0% |
| ASX brokerage threshold | $1,000 | — |
| ASX free trade conditions | $0 brokerage on first ASX buy order per security per day for trades up to $1,000 (excludes margin loan settled trades and sells) | $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. |
| US brokerage minimum | US$0 | — |
| US brokerage percentage | 0% | — |
| Monthly platform fee | $0/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $0/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $15 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | $0 | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | CMC Markets Stockbroking Limited | Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd |
| AFSL number | 246,381 | 227,263 |
| Year founded | 1,989 | 2,020 |
| Parent / ownership | CMC Markets plc (LSE: CMCX) | The Vanguard Group, Inc. (US) - mutual structure owned by US-domiciled Vanguard fund investors |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | public | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $500 | $200 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $0 | $1 |
| Deposit methods | PayID, Bank transfer (EFT), BPAY | BPAY, Direct credit (EFT), Direct debit |
| Settlement period | T+2 for ASX; T+1 for US | T+2 (ASX) |
| Withdrawal time | 1-2 business days | 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 | No | No |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | No |
| 2FA support | authenticator app | SMS |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat | Phone, Secure message (in-app) |
| Support hours (AU time) | Monday-Friday, business hours AET (approx 8am-6pm) | Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AET (phone) |
| Education content | structured courses | structured |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | Yes | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| CGT calculator / report | Yes | Yes |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | Yes | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | No |
| Conditional orders | Yes | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest sophistication | single asset | multiple |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | Yes | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | No | No |