Macquarie Bank’s online trading business will transfer about 75,000 trading accounts to Bell Financial Group’s Bell Direct and Desktop Broker brands.
Bell Financial (ASX: BFG) said it had reached an agreement with Macquarie Bank under which the accounts would be transferred from Macquarie Online Trading with the process expected to be completed after 22 February 2025.
Bell said the transition was expected to be earnings accretive in the 2025 financial year (FY25).
Bell Financial Co-CEO Arnie Selvarajah said Macquarie Online Trading had used Bell’s technology platform to provide share trading services under its own brand since 2014.
“It strengthens our position in the market and will provide further opportunities to grow our Technology and Platforms business,” Selvarajah said in an ASX announcement.
Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services’ Head of Payments and Deposits Olivia McArdle said customers would continue to access their Macquarie Cash Management Account via the Bell Direct and Desktop Broker trading platform, and any accounts customers with Macquarie would not change.
Bell Direct, a provider of online retail broking and investment services, is part of Third Party Platform, a fully integrated open architecture platform which has 265,000 client accounts with A$33.9 billion in CHESS-sponsored holdings.
Macquarie Online Trading enables clients to trade financial products including shares, exchange-traded funds, options and managed funds.
Bell Financial (ASX: BFG) shares rose 3.5 cents, or 2.58%, to $1.39 after the announcement, capitalising the company at $445.8 million.