Financial services guide

Openmarkets may arrange for execution, clearing and settlement services in securities on international markets for clients with an entity which holds the appropriate authorisation to do so in that market (international broker).

When the international broker provides you these services, it will be acting as your agent, as instructed by your Intermediary (who is also your primary agent) on your behalf.

Openmarkets provides the Client the connectivity to the international broker for the provision of services as outlined above. For this purpose, you will not be trading under a trading account of Openmarkets for the purposes of international transactions, but rather a trading account that you have established with the international broker.

International securities traded on your behalf will be traded by the international broker. You must agree to the international broker’s terms and conditions, financial services guide and any other disclosure documents required by the international broker and your Intermediary.

Openmarkets has contractually agreed to settle international transactions with the international broker on your behalf and will, where applicable, arrange for the international broker to clear and settle transactions in international securities it has executed on your behalf. We have agreed to contractually carry the settlement obligations in respect of these transactions with the international broker. You will owe your corresponding settlement obligations in respect of those transactions directly to Openmarkets (notwithstanding if you provided instructions to us through an Intermediary as contemplated by the Client Agreement). Openmarkets may also settle your international transactions not executed on a securities exchange (e.g. primary market transactions or off-market transactions).

Openmarkets therefore requires you to also agree to general terms and conditions under its Client Agreement prior to placing orders with the international broker.

Nominee services

Openmarkets may arrange for its wholly owned subsidiary, Openmarkets Nominees Pty Ltd ACN 603 716 089 (Openmarkets Nominees) and/or another entity to provide nominee and other custody services for Clients.

Where we provide nominee services, the financial products held by us on your behalf may be held in the same account in which the nominee company holds securities for other persons.

Technology services 

Openmarkets acts as your agent in relation to the execution of your orders. If your instructions are communicated to us by an Intermediary, we are not acting as agent for the Intermediary in executing the order. In clearing a transaction, we act as agent for the client for whom the transaction was executed, however, we have settlement obligations to ASX Clear as principal.

When we arrange for the provision of international securities trading services to you in accordance with this agreement, we act as agent for you. To provide these services to you, Openmarkets has entered into agreements with an international broker and will owe obligations in relation to any transaction directly to the international broker. It is then your contract with Openmarkets which enables us to ultimately call upon you to satisfy these obligations.

We will notify you of the identity of the international broker or any custodian or asset holder appointed by us for the purpose of holding international securities by posting details of the international broker, custodian or asset holder on its website and any changes or additions to such persons from time to time.

We act as your agent when arranging for Openmarkets Nominees and/or another entity to provide nominee and other custody services to you. Openmarkets Nominees as agent of Openmarkets, or the other entity, will act as nominee or trustee for you in providing the service.

Openmarkets acts as principal in providing CHESS sponsorship services to clients.

There may be certain activities which we will perform as agent for another person (such as the dispatch by us of confirmations to clients as agent for an Intermediary that arranged for the execution of the transaction).

Openmarkets financial advisers are representatives of Openmarkets and as such, Openmarkets is responsible for all financial product advice that each adviser is acting on and providing to their Clients.

You will receive our Client Agreement which will contain more information relating to the execution and clearing services provided by Openmarkets and the terms and conditions of those services where we are to execute and clear transactions on an exchange for you.

If Openmarkets is to act as your CHESS sponsoring participant, you will need to enter into a sponsorship agreement with Openmarkets as part of the Client Agreement. You will also be provided with a summary of our Best Execution Policy, which explains how we handle and execute your orders.

If we facilitate the use of a particular financial product from a third-party provider, we will supply that provider’s PDS if required. A PDS outlines everything you need to know about that product including benefits, costs, terms and conditions, as well as any risks associated with holding that product.

We may provide other documents or information to you, including electronically, from time to time about our services or which we are required to give you (for example, our Privacy Policy).

An authorised representative of Openmarkets may offer you personal advice, taking into account your financial needs, objectives, and situation.

We will ask you to complete a client profile questionnaire if they intend on providing you personal advice.

Personal advice means financial product advice that considers one or more of your objectives, financial situation and needs.

It is not mandatory for you to provide the authorised representative with this information, but please note that if you do not provide complete details of your financial situation, objectives, and particular needs, we may have to limit the advice we provide.

We will furnish you with a Statement of Advice (SOA) if we offer personal advice that includes the following:

• the advice provided;

• the basis on which the advice is given;

• information relating to fees, commissions and other benefits and any relationships, associations; or

• interests that may influence the advice you receive.

In case you receive regular personal advice from us and have previously obtained a full SOA, we may not provide you with a new one each time, given that your circumstances and the basis for the advice are not significantly different from when the initial SOA was provided.

However, in such situations, we will maintain a Record of Advice (ROA) outlining the advice given.

You can request a copy of the ROA within seven (7) years of receiving the personal advice by writing to us at the address specified in this guide.

We may not always provide personal advice, and in some cases, we may provide general advice that does not consider your personal circumstances or execute transactions according to your directions. We may also provide market updates, research reports, and other general advice, in which situations we will not give you an SOA or ROA.

As a direct client of Openmarkets, you will receive a unique, secure login to access your account on our Openmarkets trading platform where you will be able to place orders and transact on the ASX, Cboe and NSX markets.

You can also give us instructions via phone. The method by which we will accept your instructions will be subject to our terms and conditions as outlined in the Client Agreement, which can be found on our website.

Openmarkets does not accept email, SMS, post or fax orders.

If you are a Client that is operating under a wholesale agreement with us, such as a financial adviser or planner, then you will need to contact your Intermediary to execute orders using our services (and not Openmarkets directly).

Before becoming a Client, it is essential to understand that trading or investment in any market has risks. While securities and derivatives may offer the potential for gains, the risk of loss in share market trading can also be substantial.

The value of a security or derivative may rise and fall considerably depending on what other people are prepared to pay for a share at the time of a transaction. Such price volatility will depend on many factors, including information about the company, market sentiment, opinions about the country the security or derivative traded in, the prospects for the industry and many other factors. Sometimes companies go bankrupt, and investors may lose the entire value of their investment in it. This brief statement does not disclose all the risks and other significant aspects involved in trading or investing in financial markets. You should carefully consider whether share or derivative trading or investment suits your needs, taking into account your own specific circumstances.

When you trade in international securities these may be held by Openmarkets in an omnibus account. This means that securities which Openmarkets holds for you may be held in the same account as securities of other Clients and not separately. If there is an irreconcilable shortfall following the default of Openmarkets or the international broker or custodian, you may share in that shortfall proportionately with others whose assets are held in the omnibus account.

Openmarkets may charge you a fee for providing you with CHESS sponsorship services. You will be advised in writing of the fee (if any) to be charged by us before you agree to receive sponsorship services from Openmarkets.

Openmarkets may also charge the Intermediary fees relating to the provision of sponsorship services to you.

We may charge you (or your Intermediary) a fee for providing nominee or custody services. The fees that we charge the Intermediary may include fees relating to the provision of nominee, custody and/or sponsorship services to you.

Where Openmarkets arranges for you to use trading software products as outlined in Section 12, Openmarkets will incur the licence costs directly with the provider and pass them onto you. The licence fee charged to you may vary from the amount of the licence Openmarkets pays to the third-party provider of the software. You may request particulars any variance in these fees within a reasonable time after you are given this FSG and before any financial service is provided to you.

18. Advice professional fees

20. Representatives' remuneration 

21. Referrals 

Safeguards

The privacy of your personal information is important to us and any information we collect from you will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, available on our website. This policy details how we comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act regarding the handling of your personal information.

We maintain professional indemnity insurance for compensation which satisfies the requirements of the Corporations Act. Openmarkets has insurance arrangements for compensating a retail client for loss or damage suffered because of breaches by Openmarkets (or by our representatives or employees) of obligations under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act, including losses caused by negligence, fraud, dishonesty or other misconduct, or for an award of compensation made in favour of that Client by our external dispute resolution service.

Our reputation, honesty and high standard of client service are important to us. So that we act with integrity, we have a complaints procedure designed to make sure all concerns are treated seriously and that any complaint is addressed promptly and fairly.

If our level of service should fail to meet with expectations, we’d like to hear about it. Any complaint about your dealings with Openmarkets or associated products or services should be communicated to our Complaints Officer

Our ethos is about being open and receptive to our Clients’ needs, concerns, suggestions and ideas. We welcome the opportunity to engage with you directly. Should you wish to provide us with feedback, please contact our Client Services team using the contact details above.

Openmarkets will charge the Intermediary fees for executing and clearing transactions and for providing settlement and related services to Clients. The fees that we charge the Intermediary may be a fixed monthly fee, a fee per trade, a fee per service and/or other fees.

You may be charged the fees set out in the table below. If a fee or charge applies, Openmarkets may charge the fee or charge to the Intermediary who may pass the fee or charge onto you. Openmarkets may facilitate the Intermediary making this charge to you (for example, by debiting your linked cash management account on their behalf) but any fee or charge debited is made by the Intermediary and not Openmarkets.

The Intermediary will also charge you brokerage or commission and/or other fees agreed with you in respect of the services that it provides to you. Information concerning such brokerage, commission and fees, may be obtained from the Intermediary.

All fees and charges are inclusive of GST unless otherwise stated.

Other fees and charges will apply for additional services as outlined below.