jongo, all providors charge a flat % fee, .01% p.a. seems to be...

jongo, all providors charge a flat % fee, .01% p.a. seems to be the norm these days and as you say some market makers can take a few cents off you if you do not know what you are doing.
Direct market access with the likes of First Prudential is a slight advantage although if you are prepared to watch the market closely that advantage can be negligible. Actually in some instances with a market maker you can get more stock at a better price than DMA.

The big problem with First Prudential is that their margins on a lot of stocks are pretty silly when you get down below the top 50 or so. On some stocks I looked at they are quoting 25% margin against 10% margin from at least 2 of the other providors. Makes a big difference considering most of us are looking to get maximum leverage.