Investors active in the Malaysian stock market are undoubtedly familiar with the two brokerage platforms "Rakuten Trade" and "M + Online."。

In the era when the Internet was not widespread, the choice of brokerage firms could only be selected from traditional investment banks, such as CIMB, Hong Leong Investment Bank, Kenanga Investment Bank, Affin Hwang Capital, etc.。

When opening an account, investors need to go to the investment bank counter in person, or through the stock broker (Broker) on behalf of the processing, and when trading, also need to place orders with the stock broker by telephone.。

With the networking of securities trading, applying for a trading account and trading stocks has become similar to online shopping, just turn on the computer, connect to the network, and open an account in ten minutes.。Once the account is approved for consolidation, the stock can be traded immediately。

In the "online" transformation of securities trading, the most famous online trading platforms among Malaysian brokerages include Rakuten Trade and M + Online。

The two brokerages also focus on online account opening, trading, access to gold and other operations, and trading commissions are relatively low.。So, for Malaysian equity investors, is it Rakuten Trade or M + Online?？

This article will provide a quick overview of the differences between the two online stock trading platforms, describing the types of trading accounts they offer, their advantages and disadvantages, and their security assessments.。Criteria for screening brokerage platforms will also be provided at the end of the article to help investors determine which brokerage platform is more suitable for them。

[This article is for personal experience sharing, for teaching, sharing and reference purposes only, non-professional investment advice, does not constitute any account opening advice。】

Which broker should I choose to open an account with a horse stock?？

Rakuten Trade and M + Online are getting mixed reviews on the web, exactly why？

Let's first look at the differences between the two brokerages.

Brokers	Rakuten Trade	M+ Online
CDS Trading Account	Nominee Account	Direct Account
Commission rate (handling fee)	0.1% / minimum RM1	0.08% / min RM8
Minimum amount of entry and exit payment	None	None
Stock transfer (transfer) expenses	RM10	RM10
US Stock Trading Services	✓	✓
Hong Kong Stock Trading Services	✓	✓
Other Features	Rakuten Trade (RT) Points scoring system, which can be used to pay trading commissions	None

Let's take an in-depth look at Rakuten Trade and M + Online's service content, commission calculations, strengths and weaknesses, and security assessments.。

Rakuten Trade: Malaysia's first fully networked trading platform

Rakuten Trade is the first fully networked trading platform in Malaysia by Rakuten Securities, Inc..Jointly established in 2017 with Kenanga Investment Bank Malaysia and holds a capital markets services licence issued by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) to legally engage in securities trading activities and advise investors.。

Rakuten Trade's main one-stop online stock trading service, from application for account opening, trading, deposit and withdrawal, portfolio management, etc., can be found in the Rakuten Trade web version and the exclusive mobile app iSPEED..on my。

Rakuten Trade officially launched its overseas stock trading service in January 2022 and is now open to trading in the U.S. and Hong Kong markets, providing users with more diversified securities trading services.。

The following is a brief summary of the highlights of Rakuten Trade:

Year of Establishment	Established in 2017
Trading Commission	RM1 minimum; RM100 maximum
Investment products	Malaysian equities, REITs REITs, US equities, US ETFs, Hong Kong equities
CDS Account	Nominee Account
Transaction Account Type	Cash Account Cash Upfront Account (recommended for novices) Allowance Account Contra Account Margin Account RakuMargin Account
Minimum deposit	No minimum deposit threshold
Other expenses	No additional charges for dividends and services related to corporate activities
Interface Language	英文

analysis of advantages and disadvantages

○ Advantages

1.The lowest transaction commission fee in Malaysia, no more than RM7000 for a single transaction, with the lowest commission of RM1。

2.There is no limit on the minimum amount of income and withdrawal, and the balance of the account enjoys 1% interest income per year.。

3.RT Point is available for each transaction and can be used to pay the transaction commission。

4.Provides additional investment features such as stock screeners, price alerts, and more。

5.One account can trade horse stocks, U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks.。

○ Shortcomings

1.Unable to apply for Initial Public Offering (IPO)。

2.Do not provide virtual accounts, can not experience the platform in advance, and then decide whether to deposit gold.。

M + Online: Traditional Brokerage Networking

M + Online, an investment platform owned by Malacca Securities, was founded in 1963 and has more than 50 years of experience in securities services and has partnered with Bursa Malaysia to legally offer regulated securities trading activities.。

Users can choose to open M + Silver (cash account), M + Gold or M + T7 account according to their investment needs.。M + Online offers as low as 0.05% or minimum RM8 commission discount to help users save up to 90% of transaction costs。

The following is a brief summary of the key information of M + Online:

Year of Establishment	Founded in 1963
Trading Commission	Minimum RM8
Investment products	Malaysia Equity, REITs Real Estate Trust
CDS Account	Direct Account
Transaction Account Type	Cash account M + Silver (recommended for novices) allowance account M + Gold M + T7
Minimum deposit	There is no minimum deposit threshold (Note: deposit via FPX requires at least RM1,000)
Other expenses	None
Interface Language	英文

* If the deposit is less than RM1,000, it is recommended to choose manual transfer (such as IBG, Instant Transfer, cash deposit machine CDM or transfer to the bank counter)。

analysis of advantages and disadvantages

○ Advantages

1.Competitive trading commission fee, minimum RM8

2.Account balance is entitled to 1 per year..35% to 1.85% interest income

3.Additional investment features, such as the real-time stock filter M + Wiz, price alerts, interactive charts (showing 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, hourly, daily, monthly and more than 15 indicators), etc.

4.Initial Public Offering (IPO)

○ Shortcomings

1.Only cash account M + Silver can be applied for online accounts, other accounts need to contact Malacca Securities stockbroker

2.Do not provide virtual accounts, can not experience the platform in advance, and then decide whether to deposit gold.

3.US stock trading services not supported

Account Type Comparison

In addition to the difference in commission fees, the biggest difference between the two online stock trading platforms, Rakuten Trade and M + Online, is that Rakuten Trade offers a CDS trading account for Nominee CDS, while M + Online offers Direct CDS.。

What is a CDS account?？

To invest in horse stocks, investors must open two accounts: Central Depository System (CDS) and stock trading accounts.。

The Central Depository System (CDS) is an electronic stock storage system that primarily records buy and sell transactions on the Bursa Malaysia.。The cost of opening a CDS central deposit account is RM10, and some brokerages, such as Rakuten Trade, have a waiver of account opening fees.。

There are two types of CDS central deposit accounts: Direct CDS Account and Nominee CDS Account.。

The two accounts differ in their investment function, as explained below.。

Direct CDS: shares in their own name, dividends remitted to personal bank accounts, can directly participate in the general meeting of shareholders, the company's financial results sent to individuals, can apply for IPO new shares.。

Direct Account belongs to the "own" trading account, if the company carries out dividend reinvestment plans, additional shares and other corporate activities, must be handled by itself.。

Nominee CDS: the stock is recorded in the name of the securities service provider, simply speaking, the brokerage firm holds the stock on your behalf, so the dividend will be remitted to the investment bank account first, and then transferred to you;。

The advantage of using Nominee Account is that all business-related activities are handled by the broker on behalf of the broker and only a fee is paid for the services。And Nominee Account commissions are generally lower than Direct Account, saving a lot of investment costs.。

Shares traded through Nominee Account, the real holder is the broker, the name of the account holder will be KENANGA NOMINEES (TEMPATAN / ASING) SDN BHD RAKUTEN TRADE SDN BHD FOR [CLIENT NAME]。

What is a trading account?？

That is, the account to be used in the actual investment transaction, provided by the brokerage firm.。After you open an account and deposit money, you can start buying and selling shares in the stock market.。

Novice account to note: different brokerage firms to provide different CDS central deposit account, generally on the account, investment banks, brokerage firms or trading platforms will directly open CDS central deposit account and stock trading account for users。It is recommended that when opening an account, confirm in advance what kind of CDS account the broker offers to avoid any unpleasant things (such as wanting to apply for new IPO shares but finding yourself holding Nominee Account)。

Commission Comparison

One of the most important concerns for investors in screening trading platforms is "what is the commission rate?"？"

Commission (Brokerage Fee commonly known as water money) is a fee incurred when trading stocks and is a fee charged by a brokerage firm to provide stock trading services.。As a result, commission rates vary from brokerage to brokerage.。

Rakuten Trade offers the lowest commission fee in Malaysia, no more than RM700 for a single transaction, with a commission of 1% of the transaction, and a minimum commission of RM1 per transaction; M + Online's commission fee is 0.05% or minimum RM8。

Let's make a detailed comparison of the cash account commission rate tables of the two trading platforms.。

Rakuten Trade vs M + Online commission comparison:

Single transaction volume (RM)	Rakuten Trade	M+ Online
< 700	Minimum RM1 (1% of trading volume)	0.08%
700 – 9,999.99	RM 9	0.08%
10,000 – 99,999.99	0.10%	0.08% (<RM50k)0.05% (>RM50k)
>99,999.99	RM100	0.05%

Note: Rakuten Trade minimum commission is RM1; M + Online minimum commission is RM8

Let's look at which trading platform has the best commission based on the actual trading volume!

Rakuten Trade vs M + Online commission comparison (with actual transaction amount):