SPECIAL MENTION: MOST IMPROVED BROKER

TECHNOLOGY HAS brought about dramatic changes in the stockbroking industry. For 108 years, the JSE traded on the “open outcry” system with traders shouting orders, writing deals down on pink slips and calling prices to people on a catwalk who wrote the trades up on big blackboards. That system ended on June 7 1996 with the move to electronic trading, enabled by the internet. Since then, stockbrokers have had little respite from technological advances. To remain competitive, they’ve had to keep adapting, updating their systems and bringing in new offerings that the technological advances enabled. They’ve also had to keep improving to meet the rising demands of clients in a competitive industry, and many former “advice only” brokers now offer online execution services and vice versa. What’s impressed Intellidex in all the years we’ve been conducting this survey is how top-ranked ones, large or small, strive constantly to improve, particularly when it comes to the client experience. The Most Improved Broker award was introduced in 2018 to recognise the most recent improvements. Scores are determined by a combination of client feedback and responses to the questionnaire sent to the firms.

EasyEquities wins the award for the second consecutive year. Strong ratings by clients on this question combined with new features and improvements to existing ones ensures this firm retains it reputation for innovation. The full list of features introduced in the past year is too long to include here but notable ones are: a new ETF educational and analysis facility; an upgrade to its loyalty programme; the launch of Easy Properties, which enables clients to invest through fractional property investments; and Easy Australia, which provides access to the top 300 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as well as the top 60 ETFs. Sasfin Securities, ranked second, is one of those stockbrokers which has lived through all the changes mentioned above — it is 130 years old. An advice-only broker, it still invests heavily in improving online functionality. It has recently enabled online investing where clients can access voluntary, preretirement and post-retirement managed solutions as well as a goals-based financial needs analysis tool; education and research, a retirement calculator and analytical tools. It has also expanded its range of investment offerings.