Share Trading comparison
Plus500 vs Totality Wealth
Plus500 and Totality Wealth sit on opposite sides of the investing spectrum. Plus500 is a pure CFD provider — you never own the underlying asset, and it doesn't offer real ASX or US shares at all. Totality Wealth (formerly Saxo Capital Markets) is a full-service broker that gives you real shares, CHESS sponsorship on ASX trades, and access to 17 global markets. The biggest practical difference: one is a leveraged derivatives platform, the other is a proper share broker.
Choose
Plus500
if…
- ›You want to trade CFDs with leverage on indices, commodities, crypto and forex — not buy actual shares
- ›You need a demo account and 24/7 customer support across live chat, email and WhatsApp
- ›You want zero monthly, annual or market data fees, plus free real-time data and structured educational courses
- ›You plan to trade after hours or overnight and don't care about CHESS sponsorship or holding a HIN
- ›You're comfortable with a custodial model where you never own the underlying asset and dividend adjustments are credited automatically
Choose
Totality Wealth
if…
- ›You want to buy and hold real ASX and US shares and ETFs under your own HIN via CHESS sponsorship
- ›You need a multi-currency USD account and low FX spreads (0.0045%) for international trading
- ›You want access to 17 global markets including Hong Kong, Japan, UK and Europe — not just CFDs
- ›You need trust, SMSF, joint and company account structures, plus DRP and Sharesight integration
- ›You prefer a desktop trading platform with app-based 2FA and phone support, even if it's limited to business hours
Where they differ
| Fact | Plus500 | Totality Wealth |
|---|---|---|
| Real shares offered | No — CFDs only | Yes — ASX, US and 17 other markets |
| CHESS sponsorship | Custodian model — no individual HIN | Mixed model — individual HIN available |
| ASX brokerage | Not applicable (no real ASX shares) | $3 min or 0.08% (whichever applies) |
| Inactivity fee | $10 | $0 |
| Account types | Individual and company only | Individual, joint, company, trust and SMSF |
Verdict
Choose Plus500 for leveraged CFD trading; choose Totality Wealth if you want a real broker with CHESS-sponsored shares and global market access.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Plus500 | Totality Wealth |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | — | mixed |
| Individual HIN | — | Yes |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | No | Yes |
| SMSF account | No | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | No | No |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | No | Yes |
| US shares supported | No | Yes |
| US ETFs supported | No | 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) | No | No |
| Options trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs supported | Yes | Yes |
| Managed funds | No | No |
| Bonds supported | No | Yes |
| IPO access | No | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 70% | 0.45% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | — | 0.45% |
| Holds USD account | No | Yes |
| FX currency switch trick | — | No |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Corporate action fees | Not applicable — Plus500 only offers CFDs, so users do not participate in real corporate actions (rights issues, SPPs, takeovers). Dividend adjustments on share CFDs are credited/debited to positions automatically. | 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 | — | $3 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | — | 0.08% |
| ASX brokerage threshold | — | $3,750 |
| US brokerage minimum | — | US$1 |
| US brokerage percentage | — | 0.08% |
| Monthly platform fee | $0/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $0/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $10 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | — | $50 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Plus500AU Pty Ltd | Totality Wealth Limited (formerly Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd) |
| AFSL number | 417,727 | 280,372 |
| Year founded | 2,008 | 2,012 |
| Parent / ownership | Plus500 Ltd (UK/Israel, LSE-listed parent) | 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 | $100 | $0 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | — | $0 |
| Deposit methods | BPAY, Bank transfer, Credit/debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay | bank_transfer, BPAY, credit_card, debit_card, PayPal, Wise |
| Settlement period | — | T+2 ASX, T+1 US |
| Withdrawal time | Typically 1-3 business days; same payment method as deposit (card, bank, e-wallet). | 1-3 business days |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | No | Yes |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | SMS only | app |
| Customer support channels | Live chat, Email, WhatsApp, Contact form | phone, email, live_chat |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 live chat, email and WhatsApp support | Mon-Fri 08:30-17:30 Sydney time |
| Education content | structured courses | extensive |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | No |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | No |
| CGT calculator / report | No | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | Yes |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | No |