What's next for AUSIEX

On 28 April 2020, Nomura Research Institute (NRI) entered into an agreement with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) to acquire Australian Investment Exchange Ltd (AUSIEX). AUSIEX is the wholesale arm of Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) and trades under the brand name CommSec Adviser Services. 

The acquisition includes the broking operations, licence and assets of AUSIEX. The broader CommSec retail broking business is not affected by the sale.

The acquisition does not include Cash (ACA) and Investment Lending products which will remain with CommBank. 

AUSIEX is the wholesale arm of CommSec and trades under the brand name CommSec Adviser Services. CommSec Adviser Services provides products and services to financial advisers, brokers, accountants and financial institutions offering trading, cash and lending to Australian investors.

​Nomura Research Institute (NRI) is an independent, well capitalised, respected provider of technology and operational services in the Japanese broking market, serving over 80% of institutional brokers, 50% of retail brokers and 80% of asset managers. 

NRI’s ambition is to be a market leader in Australia for wholesale broking services and portfolio administration.

You can find out more about NRI on their website at nri.com/en.

Nomura Research Institute (NRI) is the market leader in wholesale broking in Japan and have a significant global business. They see the long term value in the Australian market and have an ambition to be the market leader in Australia for wholesale broking services and portfolio administration. 

We are excited about the opportunity ahead as an independent Fintech business, focussed on delivering long-term value to our clients.

Nomura Research Institute (NRI) is currently the largest provider of technology, portfolio administration and trade services in Japan, serving over 80% of institutional brokers, 50% of retail brokers and 80% of asset managers.

The acquisition includes the broking operations, licence and assets of AUSIEX.

As previously announced, cash and lending products will remain with Commonwealth Bank Australia due to banking licence requirements. 

Late last year, Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) announced their intention for a long-term withdrawal of the CommBank Accelerator Cash Account (ACA). Those of you who currently use the ACA product will have received a notification of this change in November. As a reminder, CommSec will be grandfathering the ACA from 30 June 2021, with adviser access remaining until March 2022.

With this news there remains no short term changes to how you manage your clients’ ACA accounts. Furthermore, we would like to assure you that AUSIEX remains committed to providing access to cash settlement solutions that work seamlessly with your clients’ share trading accounts, and will continue to facilitate settlement to any third party bank account, as per the current experience. 

We are pleased to announce that over the comings months we will be working with Macquarie – a leading provider of adviser-focused cash management solutions – to provide an integrated settlement cash account for you and your clients. With details of our new arrangement with Macquarie being finalised, what you can expect is an integrated account opening process with cash balances on our trading website. Stay tuned for more details on how we’ll support you through the transition.

Investment Loan and CALIA+ information will continue to be available on the AUSIEX website after separation. As such, there will be very few differences in the way you manage client Investment Loans after separation. We’ll continue to keep you updated with any new information as it comes to hand.

Upon change of ownership, trading (the broking operations and licence) will move across with the new AUSIEX business.

A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to separate AUSIEX from CommBank and we’re excited to announce we will launch our new business on Monday 3 May. With planning and preparation well underway, our main priority is to create an efficient and seamless transition for our clients. Stay tuned for more updates over the coming weeks.

Throughout this process we want to assure you that trading will continue uninterrupted. Your login details and those of your clients will not change. Neither will your subscriptions or open orders you have in place. You'll continue to see historical trading activity and reporting.

As already announced, cash and lending products will remain with CommBank due to banking licence requirements. Once we separate from the Bank, support for these products will remain with CommSec, under the CommSec Adviser Services brand you’re already familiar with.

Although we’ll officially separate from CommBank on the 1 May, you can expect to see some changes to how you get in touch with us and how we communicate with you in the weeks leading up to our launch. 

For your trading products
From mid-April we will start to take on our new AUSIEX identity and separate our trading service and support team. The good news is our phone number – 1800 252 351 – will remain unchanged and you’ll mostly deal with the same experienced and passionate team.

For your cash and lending products
From mid-April the team remaining with CommSec will support you with your ACA and margin lending needs, under the CommSec Adviser Services brand. Again, you will deal with many of same people as today, however phone numbers will change. Further information, including new contact details, will be communicated well in advance of any changes happening. Until such time, you can continue to contact our Adviser Services team on 1800 252 351. 

AUSIEX and CommBank will continue to work closely with each other, leading up to and after the official launch of the new AUSIEX business. 

We’re committed to keeping you informed and supporting you as we move to a standalone business. In the second half of March, and in the weeks leading up to our launch on 3 May, we’ll be sending further updates with detailed information around the business transition, including what to expect. 

This dedicated microsite has also been set up to support you through the transition and we’ll continue to add further information and details. You can also contact your Business Development or Relationship Manager, or our Adviser Services team on 1800 252 351.

Nomura Research Institute (NRI) has long acknowledged the value of retaining and empowering local leadership and staff, recognising that the strength of our team is what sets us apart. 

NRI is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible, with the majority of staff transitioning to the new business. We’re committed to providing outstanding service and will be maintaining a presence in our state based offices.

For cash and lending products which will remain with CommBank, you’ll mostly deal with the same experienced and passionate team.

AUSIEX will be a standalone Australian business. As the sole shareholder Nomura Research Institute (NRI) will be appropriately represented on the board. The day-to-day running of the business will remain with the current leadership team, and our people will continue to be based in Australia.

Over time it is expected that AUSIEX will make use of NRI’s proven technology capability and expertise in global capital markets.

The CommSec Adviser Services name and brand will continue to be used by CommBank in relation to Cash (ACA) and Investment Lending products. This is to differentiate these products from CommSec’s retail offerings. Trading products and services currently offered under the CommSec Adviser Services brand will be offered under the new AUSIEX brand once the transaction is complete.

The day-to-day running of the business will remain with the current leadership team, and our people will continue to be based in Australia as they are today.

The CommSec retail business which services direct clients will remain with Commonwealth Bank Australia.

If you have any further questions please speak to your Business Development or Relationship Manager, or call our Adviser Services Team on 1800 252 351, between 8:30am-6:00pm (Sydney time), Monday to Friday.