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Stake (platform)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 9 min

Not to be confused with Stake (online casino).
Stakeshop Pty Ltd
Company typePrivately held company
Industry
  • Financial Services
FoundedJanuary 8, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-01-08) in Sydney, Australia
Founder
  • Matthew Leibowitz
  • Dan Silver
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
Key people
Services
Number of employees
136 (2025)
Websitehttps://hellostake.com/

Stake (Stakeshop Pty Ltd) is an online investing platform launched in 2017 in Sydney, Australia.[1] It gives retail investors in Australia access to 12,000+ U.S. and ASX-listed equities, as well as an income fund and SMSF administration services – all in a digital platform available on desktop and mobile app. In New Zealand, Stake customers can invest on Wall St. Stake is now Australia’s third-largest broker.[2]

History

[edit]

Stake was founded by Matt Leibowitz (ex‑Optiver)[3] and Dan Silver in Sydney to improve access to the U.S. share market from Australia. They registered the company in 2016, but launched the platform on 14 August 2017, with $0 brokerage on Wall St trades. Relying mainly on referrals, the startup gained traction as a low-cost broker for a new generation of retail investors.

In early 2021, thousands flocked to Stake looking to capitalise on the GameStop short squeeze. By 28 January, the surge in activity was causing tech outages.[4][5]

Days later, Stake’s broker-dealer in the U.S. – DriveWealth – significantly raised its capital requirements for buying $GME, forcing Stake to halt trading in Gamestop.[6] This drew criticism but would ultimately accelerate efforts to make the platform more robust for heavy traffic.

Later that year, Stake introduced CHESS-sponsored ASX trading with A $3 brokerage.[7] It also began offering Stake Super, a full-service administration solution for Australians looking to invest their own superannuation through a self-managed super fund (SMSF). Stake Super handles all the admin involved for a fixed annual fee.

The company raised approximately A$3.5m in 2019,[8] A$40m in 2021 and A$50m in early 2022 from investors including Tiger Global Management and DST Global.[9][10][11] By then, Stake had over A$2b in assets under management.[12]

Key leadership hires followed: Geoff Lloyd (former Perpetual/National Australia Bank) became Chairman in mid‑2023;[13] Jon Howie (BlackRock, Macquarie Group) joined as Chief Commercial Officer later in 2023.[14]

By early 2024, Howie replaced Matt Leibowitz as CEO to lead Stake’s expansion to cater for broader portfolio needs.[15] The first tangible step in this direction was the launch of Stake Accumulate, an income fund, in H1 2025.

Products and Services

[edit]
  • U.S.-listed stocks & ETFs: US$3 per trade (up to US$30k or 0.01% above US$30k), fractional shares, Extended Hours Trading (16 hours total per trading day).
  • ASX trading via CHESS sponsorship: A $3 per trade (up to A$30k or 0.01% above A$30k), holdings under investors’ own HIN.[16]
  • Stake Super (SMSF administration): Integrated self-managed super fund services, combining admin, accounting, taxation and auditing with Stake’s investing platform.[17]
  • Stake Accumulate: An income fund with a consistent target return that aims to return 2% p.a. above the RBA cash rate.[18]
  • Stake Black: A paid membership offering advanced features such as analyst ratings and price targets, full financial data on U.S. stocks, instant buying power on unsettled funds for U.S. trades, and market depth and course of sales for ASX trades.

Regulation and Security

[edit]

Stakeshop Pty Ltd (AR 1241398) acts under an Australian Financial Services Licence held by Stakeshop AFSL Pty Ltd (AFSL  548196). It is regulated by ASIC and offers investor protections; securities and cash are held in custodial arrangements via licensed entities.

For U.S. investing, Stake’s broker-partner DriveWealth, LLC is registered with the U.S. regulator FINRA and is a member of SIPC. This means securities are protected for up to US$500,000 (including US$250,000 for claims for cash).[19]

Vision, Mission and Onwards

[edit]

Stake’s vision is to “unleash the investor in everyone.” To work towards this, the company focuses on a mission to “break barriers between ambition and financial progress.”[20]

This stance on ambition is crystallised in the brand platform Onwards, launched by Stake in late 2024. It inspires people to embrace change and focus on what they can control to maintain financial momentum, particularly in an evolving economic landscape. Onwards positions investing as a path to wealth creation that’s independent of wage growth, the property market or any of the traditional income sources past generations could solely rely on.

Ambition Report

[edit]

Stake publishes an annual Ambition Report (previously Ambitious Investors Report), surveying thousands of retail investors in Australia and New Zealand to explore financial motivations, investing behaviour and economic sentiment.

The 2024 Ambition Report (2,000+ respondents) found trends such as investors delaying discretionary spending but maintaining long-term share holdings, and prioritising asset ownership over hustle culture in response to inflation and wage stagnation.[21]

Market Position and Adoption

[edit]

As of mid‑2025, Stake has over 750,000 registered users and A$5 billion in assets under administration across the ANZ region.

Stake’s mobile app has an average rating of 4.6 on the App Store (Apple) and 4.7 on Google Play Store.[22][23] Reviewers often highlight the user-friendly interface and ease of navigation as suitable for both beginners and experienced investors. Seamless switching between Wall St and the ASX is a frequently praised feature. Many also appreciate the simple brokerage fees and the ability to trade fractional U.S. shares.

While some users have reported issues with customer service responsiveness or limited trading tools in the free version (with more advanced features available on Stake Black), the overall sentiment leans towards Stake being a cost-effective, straightforward and reliable platform for navigating a wide range of global investment opportunities.

Awards and Recognition

[edit]
  • 2025 Canstar Online Share Trading Awards - ‘Most Satisfied Customers’[24]
  • 2025 WeMoney Investment Awards - ‘Investment Platform of the Year’[25]
  • 2025 WeMoney Investment Awards - ‘Best for Australian Investments’[26]
  • 2024/2025 WeMoney Investment Awards - ‘Best for SMSF’[27]
  • 2024 Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards - ‘Most Loved’ Share Trading Platform[28]
  • 2024 Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards - ‘Most Trusted Share Trading Platform[29]
  • 2024 AFR Boss Best Places to Work - #1 in Financial Services
  • 2023 Canstar Online Share Trading Awards - ‘Outstanding Value – Trader’
  • 2021 AFR Fast Starters - 7th fastest‑growing startup in Australia[30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Aussie company Stake lets you trade US shares from your phone – opening up Wall Street for your trading side hustle". Business Insider Australia. 2019-10-17. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ "Budget broker Stake snares 54,000 ASX traders". Australian Financial Review. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  3. ^ White, Louis (2018-10-30). "Stake's Founder Threw In A Highly Paid Job To Start An Investment App". GQ. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ^ Vickovich, Aleks (January 29, 2021). "Online broker Stake crashes amid Reddit trading frenzy". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Kruger, Colin (2021-01-31). "Stake scrambles to fix outage triggered by GameStop trade frenzy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  6. ^ Kruger, Colin (2021-02-02). "Local broker Stake forced to suspend GameStop trading". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  7. ^ Purcell, Kylie (2021-09-15). "Stake launches $3 ASX stock trades – is it the cheapest trading app? | Finder". finder.com.au. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. ^ Koehn, Emma (2019-08-04). "'Be your own hedge fund': Investment startup Stake raises $3.5m". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  9. ^ "Tiger Global-backed startup brings $2 brokerage to Australia". euronews. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  10. ^ Waters, Cara (2021-05-17). "Aussie trading app Stake rebounds after GameStop frenzy with $40m raising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  11. ^ "Australian fintech Stake raises a further $50 million as it gears up to launch crypto trading". SmartCompany. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  12. ^ "Stake shrugs off global rout with $90m funding round". Australian Financial Review. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  13. ^ "Ex-Perpetual, MLC boss appointed to chair neo-broker Stake". Australian Financial Review. 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  14. ^ FinTech, Australian (2023-08-16). "Stake appoints Jon Howie as Chief Commercial Officer to accelerate innovation for ambitious investors". Australian FinTech. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  15. ^ "Stake appoints new CEO as it scales to greater heights". Stake. 2024-01-12.
  16. ^ "CHESS-sponsored brokerage for ASX investing". Stake. 2021-12-01.
  17. ^ "Australia's most hassle-free SMSF". Stake. 2021-01-01.
  18. ^ "Earnings that stack up". Stake. 2025-05-16.
  19. ^ "Stake's partners". Stake. 2025-08-07.
  20. ^ "About Stake". Stake. 2025-05-30.
  21. ^ "Ambition Report". Stake. 2024-08-01.
  22. ^ "Stake – Invest & Build Wealth". Apple App Store. 2025-05-16.
  23. ^ "Stake – Invest & Build Wealth". Google Play Store. 2025-05-16.
  24. ^ "Canstar's 2025 Most Satisfied Customer Awards: Share Trading Platform". Canstar. 2025-07-17.
  25. ^ "WeMoney Investment Awards 2025 Winners". WeMoney. 2025-03-28.
  26. ^ "WeMoney Investment Awards 2025 Winners". WeMoney. 2025-03-28.
  27. ^ "WeMoney Investment Awards 2025 Winners". WeMoney. 2025-03-28.
  28. ^ "Finder Share Trading Platform Customer Satisfaction Awards 2025". Finder. 2024-09-11.
  29. ^ "Finder Share Trading Platform Customer Satisfaction Awards 2025". Finder. 2024-09-11.
  30. ^ "The fastest growing start-ups in Australia". Australian Financial Review. 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
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