Private company

Commonwealth Securities

Logo: commsec.com.au4

Australian online stockbroking firm

Commonwealth Securities Limited, or CommSec, is Australia's largest online stockbroking firm. It is a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank. Though its Internet trading platform constitutes the vast majority of its business, it also offers a telephone based brokerage service, and investment advisory services.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1995Founded1
  • Industryfinancial services1
  • HeadquartersSydney1
  • Websitewww.commsec.com.au
  • Legal formPublic Company limited by shares3
  • LEI549300FBHFW3O5LH5M183
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)3
  • Registered addressGround Floor, 2000 Sydney, Australia3
  • Registered withThe Australian Securities and Investment Commission, 067 254 3993

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Commonwealth Securities Limited, or CommSec, is Australia's largest online stockbroking firm. It is a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank.2

Corporate structure

Commonwealth Securities is part of a group headed by Commonwealth Bank. 29 entities, 10 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Commonwealth Bank Sydney, Australia
    • ASB Bank Auckland, New Zealand
      • BankDirect Subsidiary · New Zealand
      • ASB Securities Limited Subsidiary · Auckland, New Zealand
    • Commonwealth Securities Sydney, Australia
    • Bankwest Subsidiary · Perth
    • Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Europe) N.V. Subsidiary · 100% · Amsterdam, Netherlands
    • CBA EUROPE LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
    • CBA SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED Subsidiary · Bangalore, India
    • COLLECTIVE RESOURCING PTY LTD Subsidiary · Gold Coast, Australia
    • COMMBANK EUROPE LIMITED Subsidiary · Sliema, Malta
    • COMMONWEALTH AUSTRALIA SECURITIES LLC Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
    • Medallion Trust Series 2013-2 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2014-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2014-2 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2015-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2015-2 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2016-2 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2018-1P Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2019-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • Medallion Trust Series 2023-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • THE TRUSTEE FOR MEDALLION TRUST SERIES 2017 - 1P Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • THE TRUSTEE FOR MEDALLION TRUST SERIES 2017-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • THE TRUSTEE FOR MEDALLION TRUST SERIES 2017-2 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • THE TRUSTEE FOR MEDALLION TRUST SERIES 2018-1 Subsidiary · Sydney, Australia
    • TYME BANK LIMITED Subsidiary · Johannesburg, South Africa
    • Weum Gas Holding AB Subsidiary · Malmö, Sweden
    • ao da li ya ao zhou lian bang yin hang gong zhong gu fen you xian gong si shang hai fen hang (澳大利亚澳洲联邦银行公众股份有限公司上海分行) Branch · 上海市, China
    • and 2 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The brokerage arm started operations in 1995 and launched its share trading website in 1997.

CommSec initially offered only Australian equities trades, but has since expanded into derivative products, international equities, managed funds, self-managed super fund (SMSF) administration, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), margin lending and short-term deposits. The firm's large retail customer base has also allowed it to successfully market a number of initial public offering (IPO) fund raisings.

In 2008 CommSec became the first Australian brokerage firm to offer a brokerage website specifically designed for a portable-device. It created CommSec iPhone Edition for the Apple iPhone, the first home-grown iPhone application in Australia. In 2008 the broker disbanded its Share Shops (face-to-face operations) closing the front in the Commonwealth Bank branch in Pitt Street, Sydney, following the earlier closure of the Melbourne Share Shop in Collins Street.

Mergers and acquisitions

CommSec has retained and increased its already significant market share in retail broking through both CBA's acquisition of other banks and its own acquisition of other broking firms. CommSec now performs broking operations for Colonial First State, TD Waterhouse, AOT, Neville Ward Direct, Auckland Savings Bank (ASB), and IWL (Westpac Broking, Sanford and Avcol). The acquisition of IWL in 2007 gave CommSec significant market share in wholesale broking to complement its existing retail presence.

From Wikipedia’s article on CommSec, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Jan 15, 2020Parent Directly consolidated by Commonwealth Bank3
  2. 1995Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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