Buy & trade Australian shares
From Artemis Resources to Zenith Minerals... our guide to investing in the Australian market
Please remember, investment value can go up or down and you could get back less than you invest. The value of international investments may be affected by currency fluctuations which might reduce their value in sterling.
About the Australian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) was formed by the merging of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. Today it is one of the largest exchange groups by market capitalisation.
The main market index - the S&P/ASX 200 - is used as a benchmark for Australian share performance and is formed of the 200 largest companies on the ASX. The largest companies include BHP, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking, Telstra, Rio Tinto, the National Australia Bank and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
The ASX is open Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm local time (GMT +10hrs).
How to buy Australian shares with ii
To buy Australian shares with ii, you will need to first open an account.
From your account, simply select ‘trade now’ and ‘international’ to search for the shares you want to invest in. You will be prompted at this point to sign Exchange Agreements – this lets you access live international share pricing.
Most popular Australian shares
Below is a preview of the most purchased shares by ii customers over recent months.
Most purchased shares in H2 2023
Source: interactive investor. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” between 1 July and 31 December 2023.
Fees and charges
- Our subscription plans start from £4.99 a month, which includes our Stocks and Shares ISA and Trading Account
- If you are on our £11.99 a month Investor plan, we give you a £3.99 free trade credit every month – which can be used the cost of buying and selling towards international shares.
- Additional non-US international trades cost £9.99.
- Frequent traders can get reduced rates on non-US international shares with our Super Investor service plan.
- There is a foreign exchange fee of 1.5% when you trade in pounds. This is reduced for transactions over £25,000. You can avoid paying this fee every time you trade by holding foreign currency in your account. Learn more
News and insights
Please remember: The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The value of international investments may be affected by currency fluctuations which might reduce their value in sterling. We may receive two elements of commission in relation to international dealing - Trading Commission and our FX Charge. Please see our rates and charges for full details of the relevant costs. Foreign markets will involve different risks from the UK markets. In some cases the risks will be greater.