Tens of thousands of young Aussies reach into their pockets to get sharemarket kicks

Disillusioned with his industry, former Perth stockbroker John Winters left his high-paying role in 2017 to bring the sharemarket to the masses.
Just six weeks into the launch of his trading platform Superhero, that decision seems to have paid off as tens of thousands of mostly young Australians flock to it.
Mr Winters has previously held positions at Macquarie Bank, Blackswan Equities, which is now part of Euroz and Shaw and Partners, and famously led the successful float of emerging fintech giant Zip Co.
Despite finding success in the stockbroking world, he would go home at night and question the industry, which prompted him to quit his job and link up with Booktopia boss Wayne Baskin to develop Superhero.
“It was a big risk. I think for me it was more of an ethical reason that aligned with my ambitions to build a business,” Mr Winters said.
“I have a fundamental issue with the way the stockbroking industry works in that brokers are typically remunerated as a percentage of volume and the more you trade the more you earn.
“There were times throughout my career, and Zip was a good example, it was in the client’s best interest not to do anything – but that’s not in the best interest of the broking firm.
“There was this conflict and it didn’t sit well with me.”
Superhero has managed to jump the regulatory hurdles and charges a flat fee of $5 per trade with a minimum investment of $100. Mr Winters said the platform’s focus was increasing accessibility to the stockmarket.
Backed by founders of both Afterpay and Zip Co, in the six weeks since the platform was launched Superhero has garnered 17,000 sign-ups.