Webull prepares to wage 'price war' in fight for financial advisers
After an aggressive entry into Australian retail broking, the US$5 billion share trading platform is now hunting bigger game.
After bringing rock-bottom commissions to retail investors, US financial services provider Webull is gearing up to challenge third party brokers in Australia as the USD5 billion Nasdaq-listed group looks to add financial advisers to its books.
In an interview, local chief executive Rob Talevski revealed Webull is just weeks away from launching a white label broker product in Australia to help advisers trade financial markets more cheaply, hoping to disrupt what it says has been a cosy oligopoly in the intermediary space.
“This is just another area that has been screaming out for new competitors,” he told Capital Brief. “There are a significant number of independent financial dealer groups in Australia, and while they all need trade execution support, many have been under serviced by a sector managed by a small number of brokers that have not innovated in decades.”
Financial advisers oversee an estimated $1.94 trillion worth of assets in Australia according to data from IBISWorld. The wholesale broking industry servicing them is currently dominated by just a handful of players – the biggest of which is AUSIEX with a third of the market.
