SA's best brokers
Rand Swiss put in another stellar performance in this year’s Top Securities Brokers survey, which combines client ratings from an online survey with a Krutham assessment of brokers’ responses to a questionnaire.
The firm is the Top Overall Broker, proving itself as an exceptionally strong contender, having also won this award in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
“Our focus is unchanged: to be the best broker possible for our clients. Every day we put the clients’ needs above our own. I still do not believe anyone else in the market works as hard for their clients as the team at Rand Swiss,” says director Gary Booysen.
Herenya Capital Advisors moves up from fifth position last year to take second place, while PSG Wealth takes third position. Rand Swiss also took this year’s Top Full-Service Broker Award, beating PSG and Herenya — two competitive contenders — which took second and third place respectively.
Herenya is the Top Self-Service Broker of the Year, edging out last year’s winner, Rand Swiss, while PSG and Trive Investments, a newcomer to the survey, tie for third.
Winning the People’s Choice Award is significant because it is based solely on client ratings, and this year Herenya scoops the prestigious accolade. Rand Swiss secures second place, while Trive is in third place.
In our two other main awards, Herenya is the Top CFD Provider and Rand Swiss the Most Improved Broker. IG is in second position in both these award categories.
Winners of the archetype awards, which identify the firms that cater best to particular client segments, are: young investor — Rand Swiss; lump-sum investor — Rand Swiss; traditional investor — Herenya; active trader — Herenya; executive — PSG; and social investor — Sanlam Private Wealth.
What they’re good at
We assess each broker on core measures, and the top performers are listed in these tables.
There are many elements to being a great broker. Some focus on niche areas while others cater to clients across all archetypes. In this section we list excellent brokers on four different measures to help readers recognise the ones that would suit them.
Client support, including research and educational tools
The range as well as the quality of educational support and research provided by brokers pretty much across the market is extraordinary. Clients are well catered for in South Africa. From basic trading concepts to the more sophisticated derivatives-linked investment options, investors can access training on just about any type of trading and investment concept online or at numerous live events that are offered by brokers.
Value for money
Krutham uses the information submitted by the brokers on the total cost of performing a single equity, ETF and CFD buy execution of five amounts (R11,000, R51,000, R101,000, R501,000 and R1,001,000). We give a higher weighting to costs for brokerage fees on equities trading but also look at charges for trading of CFDs, including the cost of leverage. We also include monthly admin costs.
Responsiveness and transparency
Transparency levels are generally excellent across the industry. Clients rate their brokers on transparency on fees and responsiveness to queries, among other factors.
Available instruments and trading tools
We assess this category using information garnered from the brokers’ submissions as well as our own investigations into their offerings. The tools assessed, among others, are: direct market access; ability to view market depth; live prices; charting; stop-loss orders; and limit orders. The range of investible instruments on offer are also assessed.
Which broker is right for you?
Different firms have different areas of strength while clients have unique needs. The archetype rankings are designed to match client needs with the most suitable brokers. The results are determined purely by client rankings and we present the top firms in each archetype category. In some instances, firms were not eligible due to insufficient client participation.
Young Investor: under 35, saving regularly from income.
Largely self-directed, such clients will interact mostly online, requiring some educational guidance and low-cost trading for relatively small monthly investments.
Lump-sum investor: Recipient of large sum payout to be invested in a broker account. Such clients have received a large sum to invest, for example, from an inheritance or retirement savings.
Traditional investor: older than 35, contributing regularly to a portfolio. Typically mid-career investors who have surplus income that they regularly invest on the stock market.
Executive: a client with complex equity structuring requirements. Executive clients often have complex needs such as large, concentrated equity exposures, requiring financial engineering skills as well as financial advice.
Active trader: day-trading as main source of income. These clients largely use index futures, CFDs or single-stock futures to trade. The priority is efficient execution and low trading costs.
Social investor: stokvels, credit unions, group saving schemes. Stokvels and other group saving schemes are well established in SA and they are increasingly moving into mainstream investing.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.