Trading US Shares through ASB Securities or Direct Broking

[ENP]

Anyone do it?

I'm with ASB Securities and there was a bit of info about a custodial service on direct broking.

Is it difficult to do? Are there any special considerations that need to be taken into account? I'd buy in allotments of 10k or so, so the 1.2% brokerage wouldn't be a huge deal if I plan to hold onto it for the longer term.

[Fred114]

Check out this crowd.....https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php

Apparently they will let you have an account in US to trade in multiple markets......

[slimwin]

I just opened an account with optionsexpress.com.au. cheap trades and first five for free.only have cash there at moment. Keeping my powder dry right now.

[voltage]

slimwin how are the stock held in custodial? they look good.I think better via aussi that thru US

[slimwin]

A good question that i'll have to look into before I buy anything through them.

My other US account is through internaxx.lu (TD bank) and they held them so when I sold I placed sell orders through them. Custody fees were very small but I couldn't give you the exact %. The trade fees were quite high there but as I lived in Luxembourg and it operates bank anonymity laws it worked for me.


Optionsexpress is a part of Charles Schwab. JP Morgan holds the cash if that scares you!

[voltage]

Thanks Slimwin. Custodial in NZ is usually 0.5% per stock or $50 per stock per annum. etrade.com looks good but yo have holdings all over the place is a concern. Brokerage for me in NZ 1% min $60 US per trade. Is it worth all the bother if you trade 3-4 times a year to build up US shares in portfolio??

[ENP]

Yes but does anyone trade US markets through ASB securities or direct broking?

I'm not particularly interested in having an overseas based account as I want to keep it simple.

[Anonymous]

Hi ENP. I use ASB Sec for my few US holdings. I don't trade US markets often enough to warrant setting up elsewhere for cheaper bro. Everything works well enough and is simple. You have to transact over the phone rather than online obviously. Divi's get paid straight into my USD FCA. Its all very straight forward and simple.

[grach017]

Hey ENP did you have any luck deciding with whom to trade and hold US shares?

How have others invested in the US?

Looking at directbroking the custodial management fees seem to be a little high... minimum of $60NZD per year? Am I reading this correctly?
However on ASB securities the trade fee is a little high, but no holding fee?

[grach017]

Hey ENP did you have any luck deciding with whom to trade and hold US shares?

How have others invested in the US?

Looking at directbroking the custodial management fees seem to be a little high... minimum of $60NZD per year? Am I reading this correctly?
However on ASB securities the trade fee is a little high, but no holding fee?

[ratkin]

ASB fine if you want to build a long term portfolio , ie some big glablal names. There a tax form needs filling in though , cant remember name of it.
In the end decided it was all too much bother , and have instead loaded up on MFF in aus who hold a basket of top quality US stocks

[voltage]

ratlin, yes I have MFF but they do hold a lot of cash. They also have a unit trust which has a great selection of global brands. The trouble of buying stocks on the US stock exchange you really need to look a custodial services to hold them.

[ENP]

Hey ENP did you have any luck deciding with whom to trade and hold US shares?

How have others invested in the US?

Looking at directbroking the custodial management fees seem to be a little high... minimum of $60NZD per year? Am I reading this correctly?
However on ASB securities the trade fee is a little high, but no holding fee?

I just did the easy option and did a one off trade through ASB Securities over the phone. Was all very simple.

[Sauce]

I just did the easy option and did a one off trade through ASB Securities over the phone. Was all very simple.

Me too ENP.
I do strongly recommend using orbit remit for the FX transfer thought, big savings to be had there. Just ring them up and give them the details and provided by ASB and they sort the currency side out.saving a percent here and there is what its all about.
Cheers

[Fred114]

Me too ENP.
I do strongly recommend using orbit remit for the FX transfer thought, big savings to be had there. Just ring them up and give them the details and provided by ASB and they sort the currency side out.saving a percent here and there is what its all about.
Cheers

So transfer when big number (ie, 0.75 bigger than 0.81) from NZD to AUD, and on low number AUD to NZD......is this right?