Openmarkets considers itself compliant with its regulatory obligations, having closed all historical matters with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in 2025. The company now operates under a transformed leadership team and a redesigned compliance framework, supported by its ISO 27001 certification.
Following a comprehensive independent expert review, which began in 2023 and was accepted by ASIC in January 2025, Openmarkets has transitioned from legacy regulatory challenges to becoming a trusted B2B trading and wealth management technology provider.
This article explores the specific challenges identified, the remedial actions completed and the sophisticated technology that now defines Openmarkets’ standing in the Australian financial services industry.
What Is Openmarkets Australia Limited?
Openmarkets is an Australian-headquartered fintech and one of the nation’s largest stockbrokers, providing essential trading infrastructure in Australia. The company delivers end-to-end capabilities, including trade execution, clearing, settlement, custody and bespoke technology solutions.
In recent years, the company has undergone a deliberate pivot in its business direction. While Openmarkets’ earlier strategy was retail-focused, its new direction is as a dedicated B2B infrastructure partner. The company serves fintechs, such as brokerage apps needing APIs and market access, as well as established advice businesses and traders.
By moving away from the retail sector, Openmarkets has focused its resources on delivering best-in-class technology and service, positioning itself as a leading choice for financial services professionals who require high-performance technology.
ASIC and MDP Regulatory Matters Involving Openmarkets
The resolution these regulatory matters marks the end of a period of significant transformation for the company. Under a previous management team, ASIC’s routine surveillance identified suspicious trading by an Openmarkets client, which led to a deeper investigation into the company’s internal controls.
The Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) believed that Openmarkets had transgressed certain ASIC market integrity rules between 2017 and 2021. As outlined in ASIC release 23-184MR, these matters primarily concerned:
- Trade surveillance: A failure to appropriately calibrate the Nasdaq SMARTS post-trade surveillance system.
- Supervisory procedures: Insufficient frameworks to identify and report suspicious trading, such as same price orders placed by a client.
- Back-office transitions: Inadvertent trust account deficiencies that occurred during a system transition in 2021.
According to the MDP, “The MDP considered the majority of alleged contraventions were interconnected, as they related to Openmarkets’ failure to have a compliance framework in place that could deal with suspicious trading.” To resolve these issues, Openmarkets paid a penalty and voluntarily entered into an enforceable undertaking (EU) to appoint an independent expert.
As specified in the regulatory findings, “Compliance with the infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability, and Openmarkets is not taken to have contravened subsection 798H(1) of the Corporations Act.”
However, these challenges served as a catalyst for the company to rebuild its compliance framework, internal controls, management team and governance, effectively closing the book on its compliance legacy issues.
Openmarkets’ Completion of Remedial Action
In 2023, Openmarkets engaged Ashurst Risk Advisory as the independent expert to conduct a full review of its operations. This process involved a holistic audit and restructure of the firm’s operational and compliance protocols to ensure they met the highest institutional standards.
At the same time, Openmarkets also accepted an additional review into its operational and technological resilience. The remedial actions, as detailed in the summary report released in January 2025, included comprehensive upgrades to:
- General obligations: Strengthening the firm’s overall adherence to AFSL requirements and internal governance.
- Client onboarding: Implementing risk assessment protocols to ensure the integrity of the client base.
- Client monies: Strengthening back-office documentation and auditing of controls to better protect client assets.
- Trade surveillance: Strengthening back-office documentation and auditing of controls to help detect and prevent market manipulation in real-time.
All necessary actions were addressed and validated, with the final independent report confirming that Openmarkets’ controls and processes now meet the standards required for a market participant of its scale. This transformation was facilitated by a change in management, with Openmarkets now operating under a stand-out executive team with deep experience in regulated financial markets.
ASIC Confirmation and Openmarkets’ Current Position
With ASIC’s confirmation that all historical matters are satisfactorily resolved, Openmarkets has firmly established itself as a forward-looking B2B trading and wealth management technology provider. The business has successfully pivoted forward from its retail past to focus on institutional growth and technological innovation.
Openmarkets provides end-to-end brokerage services, trading infrastructure and wealth management technology and services that allow financial services firms to scale.
The company’s approach to compliance is not merely about following rules; it’s also about enabling growth. By providing clean data through the M2 Wealth license and proprietary technology, Openmarkets enables its clients’ businesses to focus on customers. Furthermore, the company is expanding its products and services with plans to introduce crypto trading and real-world assets (RWAs) tokenisation, backed by the same rigid compliance frameworks that govern its traditional market business.
Openmarkets: A New Benchmark for Compliance and Trust
Today, Openmarkets exemplifies best practices in trading and wealth tech compliance. As well as voluntarily undergoing a rigorous independent expert review and implementing recommendations ahead of schedule, the firm has transformed its leadership, technology and business direction to support industry growth.
This commitment to transparency and excellence sets a standard for how financial infrastructure should operate. For partners and stakeholders seeking a detailed overview of this transformation, you can read the independent expert report here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Openmarkets Regulated and Safe?
Yes. Openmarkets Australia Limited holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and is a market participant of the ASX, NSX and Cboe Australia. The firm is also ISO 27001 certified, indicating that its information security management system meets international standards.
What Was the Result of the Openmarkets ASIC Fine?
The historical matters involving ASIC and the MDP were formally resolved in 2025 following an independent expert review by Ashurst Risk Advisory. All remedial actions were completed.
How Does Openmarkets Now Manage Trade Surveillance and Compliance?
Openmarkets utilises a combination of industry-leading vendors to provide institutional-grade trade surveillance and advisor compliance.
Does Openmarkets Serve Retail Traders?
Openmarkets has pivoted to a B2B model. The firm provides trading infrastructure and brokerage services to fintechs, wealth management firms, professional traders and independent advisors.