Different platforms offer different products. Have a think about whether you want to invest mostly in shares, bonds, managed funds, ETFs, or a mix of all of them. Also whether you want to invest in New Zealand only or overseas.
Shares
Depending on the platform, you may be able to buy shares in New Zealand companies as well as those offshore such as in Australia or the United States.
You may be able to buy fractionalised shares or full shares.
If you are registering to buy or sell full shares for the first time in New Zealand you may need to take some additional steps such as being assigned a Common Shareholder Number.
Please note: If you buy international shares there may be other requirements. For example, to trade in Australia you will need to be issued a Holder Identification Number (HIN). Make sure to check the requirements on the platform you are using.
Voting rights
Owning shares means you are also a company owner. This ordinarily gives you certain rights such as the right to vote on company matters. However, these rights may not be offered to fractionalised shareholders as you do not have whole shares in the company. If voting is important to you, check the platform to see what, if any, voting rights you have and in whose names the shares are issued. If the shares are not held in your name you may have no voting rights should the company put something to the vote of shareholders.
If you want to know more about investing in shares, see our shares page and Investor guide to shares.
Bonds
Bonds are a good way to spread the risk in your investment portfolio, as they generally offer more stable returns, and can be lower risk than growth assets such as shares, although it depends on the type of bond. For more information check out our bonds page and Investor guide to bonds.
Managed Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
These can be a good way to build an investing portfolio as they allow for easy diversification of your investments across a variety of asset classes. Consider whether the platforms offer you access to international as well as New Zealand ETFs and Managed Funds. For more information see our Exchange Traded Funds and Managed Funds pages as well as our Investor guide to managed funds.
Looking for something else? See Types of investments section.