Stake is an Australian-founded platform that launched in New Zealand in 2020. Its key differentiator is a USD wallet — you fund the account in USD and trade US shares without a per-trade currency conversion. For investors who frequently buy and sell US shares, this removes repeated FX friction.
What it offers: A USD wallet: fund once in USD, then trade US shares with no per-trade FX conversion. Limitations: The 1% deposit FX fee is higher than competitors' per-conversion fees, which matters most for infrequent investors. No NZX access. Not NZ-owned.
Stake at a Glance
| Founded | 2017 (Australia); NZ launch 2020 |
| FMA licensed | ✅ Yes (Financial Service Provider) |
| Markets | NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX (US only) |
| Platform fee | $0 (standard plan) |
| Transaction fee | USD $3 per trade (or 0.01% of order value for orders of USD $30,000 or more) |
| FX fee (deposit) | 1% (minimum USD $2), NZD → USD |
| FX fee (trading) | $0 — trades settle in USD within your wallet |
| NZX shares | ❌ No |
| ASX shares | ❌ No |
| Managed funds | ❌ No |
| Auto-invest | ✅ Recurring orders |
| Fractional shares | ✅ Yes |
| Minimum | USD $10 |
The USD Wallet — Stake’s Key Feature
Most NZ platforms convert your NZD to USD every time you buy a US share, and back to NZD when you sell. Each conversion costs roughly 0.35%–0.5% each way at Tiger Brokers, Hatch, or Sharesies.
Stake works differently:
- You convert NZD to USD once when you deposit (1% fee, minimum USD $2)
- Your USD sits in your Stake wallet
- When you buy and sell US shares, no further conversion happens — it’s USD-in, USD-out
- You convert back to NZD when you withdraw (another 1%, minimum USD $2)
Result: If you buy and sell 10 US stocks over a year using money already sitting in your wallet, you pay FX once on the way in (and again only if/when you withdraw), not on every trade. The saving grows with the number of trades.
For a single conversion, the 1% deposit fee is higher than Tiger Brokers (~0.35%), Hatch (~0.5%), or Sharesies (0.5%), so the USD wallet only reduces costs as trading frequency rises.
Fees in Detail
Standard plan (free)
- USD $3 per trade (0.01% of order value instead, for orders of USD $30,000 or more)
- 1% FX fee (minimum USD $2) on NZD deposits/withdrawals
- No platform fee
Stake Black (premium, $15 NZD/month or $156 NZD/year)
- Full financial statements (multiple quarters) for US-listed companies
- Analyst buy/sell ratings and price targets from sell-side banks
- Instant buying power — reinvest proceeds from a sale before the trade settles
- Does not waive brokerage or FX fees — standard trading and FX charges still apply
Stake Black is a research/data subscription, not a fee-discount plan: it adds financial data and instant reinvestment for the subscription cost, without changing trading or FX fees.
What You Can Invest In
Stake is US-only. You get access to NYSE, Nasdaq, and AMEX listed stocks and ETFs — the same universe as Hatch or Sharesies’ US offering. No NZX, no ASX, no managed funds.
Fractional shares are available, so you can invest small amounts in expensive stocks.
FIF Tax Consideration
Like all direct US share holdings, Stake investments count toward your $50,000 FIF threshold. If your total overseas investment cost (across all platforms) exceeds $50,000, FIF applies and you’ll need to file a FIF return. Stake provides transaction history exports but doesn’t generate FIF reports — Sharesight handles this.
App and User Experience
Stake’s app is stock-focused, with real-time quotes, watchlists, and charts.
Customer support is primarily via in-app chat and email; the company is Australian, not NZ-based.
Safety
Stake is FMA-licensed in NZ (Financial Service Provider). US shares are held through a US broker-dealer with SIPC protection up to USD$500,000 per customer. Client funds are held separately from Stake’s operating accounts.
It is Australian-headquartered, with no NZ institutional owner (Hatch, by comparison, is part of the FNZ Group and is also backed by NZ investment and advisory group Jarden).
Stake vs Hatch vs Sharesies (US Stocks)
| Stake | Hatch | Sharesies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US brokerage | USD $3/trade (0.01% above USD $30k) | USD $3 flat (up to 300 shares) | 1.9% per trade, capped at USD $5 |
| FX model | 1% once per deposit/withdrawal (USD wallet) | 0.5% per conversion | 0.5% per conversion |
| FX cost (10 trades funded from one deposit) | ~1% total (one deposit only) | ~5% total (10 × 0.5%) | ~5% total (10 × 0.5%) |
| FX cost (1 buy + 1 sell, same year) | 2% (1% in + 1% out) | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| NZX | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| ASX | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| NZ-owned | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
In the table, Stake’s FX cost is lowest when many trades are funded from a single deposit. For a single buy and sell, Hatch’s and Sharesies’ 0.5% FX rate costs less than Stake’s 1%.
Features and Limitations
Features:
- No per-trade FX conversion once funds are in the USD wallet
- Existing USD can be used directly
- Australian-owned platform with an NZ FMA licence
Limitations:
- 1% deposit FX is high for a single infrequent purchase
- No NZX or ASX shares
- Not NZ-owned, and support is not NZ-based
Summary
Stake’s USD wallet removes the per-trade FX cost that makes platforms like Sharesies and Hatch more expensive for frequent buying and selling. For occasional purchases, Hatch and Sharesies, which charge 0.5% FX per conversion, cost less than Stake’s 1% deposit fee. Which costs less for you depends mainly on how often you trade.
Where to check the latest data
Rates, fees and returns change often. Before deciding, check current figures yourself:
- Sorted Smart Investor: compares fees, returns and risk levels of KiwiSaver and managed funds.
- Disclose register: holds each fund's product disclosure statement and quarterly fund updates.
- Financial Service Providers Register: shows whether a provider is registered to offer financial services in New Zealand.
- The provider's own website: has its current rates, fees and full terms; these change more often than any comparison page.