Choose what best suits you
As I have written before, the purpose of this website is to provide you with some options to trade and invest through. Everyone has a different point at which their personality best fits on the investment spectrum (short-term to long-term). The options I provide on this website, also happen to trading platforms that I use myself. It is important for me to only refer people to investment platforms that I know and trust. The options I provide on fintechreferrals.com also go right across the investment spectrum. As someone who has managed a personal portfolio for 15 years, I find it useful to trade across the spectrum. But most people will fit a certain point on it that best suits them.
Sharesies and Hatch enable you to trade shares across the spectrum. Sharesies can be used for trading NZ, Aussie or US shares and ETFs. I would suggest that you invest in ETFs rather than trade them. ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds track a basket of shares, for example the US 500 or Total World Fund. Of course some shares can be good to trade in the short-term or invest in for the long-term. Hatch and Sharesies offer similar brokerage rates, although I predominantly trade through Hatch. The reason this is, is that they are my platform for investing in US securities, and they offer a greater variety of US
shares to trade in than Sharesies do. My trading in Aussie and NZ shares is done through ASB Securities. Also, for the size of investments I make in individual securities ($5,000 to $10,000), their brokerage rates are slightly better.
I have been trading in CMC Markets for a decade now. I don't trade with them now nearly as much as I used too. This is just due to me focusing more on making longer-term investments now. I will say that CMC are perfect for making short-term trades. And an added benefit of them is that you can trade a number of derivative products, like Options and Futures. All of this is done through a CFD (Contracts-for-difference) product. Which means that you do not own the underlying security, but are instead entering into a contract with CMC Markets to make the difference on the trade from the time you open your position, to the time you close it. At the end of the day though, that is all trading is. You have an investment horizon, and the purpose of trading is to make a profit on the time that you hold your position for. You also trade shares short, which means that you bet on them to go down. So alternatively, CMC Markets can be used to hedge the long positions you take on shares in your other accounts. Generally, CMC are good if you are interested in short-term trading, or taking speculative positions on certain situations in the market.
Finally, Paypal can of course be used to make online transactions. If you have ever heard of a 'digital wallet', Paypal enable you to operate one to seamlessly transact goods and services online. You are also able to trade cryptocurrency through Paypal. So if you have always wondered how you could trade Bitcoin, well Paypal is one of the platforms you can do that from.