How To Buy Individual US Stocks?

[Day Tripper]

I currently have money invested in a range of funds through Smartshares but am wanting to purchase some individual US stocks. Is there a way to do this online? From what I can gather if I use ASB securities I need to place an order over the phone with a broker? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Also does anyone know how I would go about investing in the Nasdaq100 ETF?

Thanks

Scott

[MSJ]

Interactive Brokers online. Easy to open, W8 BEN form, and wire the transfer to them. You have to use their Forex platform to change money into USD in order to purchase USD stocks. Takes a bit of practise on their platform to get the hang of things, but they have lots of video tutorials to help you.
Check out Powershares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ).

[frostyboy]

One option is ASX etfs of the US market i.e https://www.betashares.com.au/fund/nasdaq-100-etf/

[aroknik]

Is there a tax advantage in doing it that way ? I'm tempted to buy some US tech stocks but the tax situation has always befuddled me a bit

[kiwichick]

I use TD Ameritrade. They have a flat fee of US$7.95 per trade, and also have a range of commission-free ETFs (though I haven't taken advantage of these myself as I prefer to buy individual stocks). Their system is easy to use and you have 60 days commission-free trading when you first open an account.

[Chanchay]

Kia Ora all, i know the US stock side of this forum is seldom viewed but I hoped to hear if anyone has any experience/opinion of stake.com.au

[voltage]

Chanchay, I have just looked at stake.com.au and also would be interested in any feedback from anyone using this site. No brokerage!

[Vagabond47]

Chanchay, I have just looked at stake.com.au and also would be interested in any feedback from anyone using this site. No brokerage!


Do you both have an Australian "Nexus" ?
https://stakeshop.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/35000016270-i-am-a-former-australian-resident
https://stakeshop.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/35000017500-do-i-need-to-be-an-australian-resident-

[voltage]

http://www.firstnzcapital.co.nz/ have taken over the discount brokerage offered by http://www.anzsecurities.co.nz/ This will go live within the next few months. I am waiting to see what they offer in relation to fees. I do buy individual US stock through a full broker and pay 1% brokerage and $50 custodial per year.

[Vagabond47]

I've just signed up with Trade station, relatively painless, USD$5 brokerage per transaction. Only $9 to wire money into their account with ANZ. Just waiting for my payment to be received and for them to fully open the account so I can get the software and get buying. Be aware of minimum transaction volume and account balance restrictions to avoid the monthly/yearly account fee.

[ratkin]

My experiences with buying individual US stocks is that for 99% of people it is probably not worth the hassle. There are enough decent potential investments in this part of the world, and tax etc can be a bit of a headache when dealing with US equities. Plus if you happen to die when holding them it is not so easy for your relatives to deal with.
Those wanting exposure to a range of quality US stocks would probably do better with an Australian listed fund such as MMF or ETF/smartshares

[Vagabond47]

Okay, so my money got credited and my account was fully opened at tradestation. A few more legal bits of e-paperwork had to be filled out and then the software downloaded, and installed. But first you have to choose your datafeed subscriptions. By default it comes with US$125/month of data feeds preselected. I'm not going to be trading, just buying so i turned most of them off and down to US$3/month, just realtime basic feeds for NYSE, NASDAQ and one other for $1/month each. Going to take a while to sort out how to use the app. certianly looks like it has all the bells and whistles for trading, charting, writing options etc.