Best way to buy US shares from NZ?

Hi all,

I want to buy US shares from NZ. What is the best way to do this? I have securities account with ASB, but it seems to only allow me to buy NZ shares. Any suggestion is appreciated in advanced. Thanks.

National Bank online share trading has US market access

Try National Bank...........

They have

New Zealand (NZX), Australian (ASX), US (NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ) and UK (LSE) stock exchanges, plus the New Zealand debt market (NZDX).

rgds - arco

First NZ Capital offers USD trading accounts as well with access to US markets and TSX as well which is nice.

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Originally Posted by JulianG

National Bank online share trading has US market access

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How much do they charge for US stocks?

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Originally Posted by Dr_Who

How much do they charge for US stocks?

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From memory I think it was 1% and about 1.5% for trades on the Canadian TSX-V. I have a US account with Charles Schwab and am looking to move my stuff back to NZ. First NZ seemed like the best overall package from what I could see.

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Originally Posted by arco

Try National Bank...........

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The problem using National Bank, or any of the other New Zealand Banks for that matter, is the cost of trading overseas markets.

For example for US markets National Bank charge
US$69.50 per trade for each trade, or 0.6% of the value of each trade, whichever is greater

If you can manage to arrange a US-based brokerage account, that's the best option. For instance E*Trade charge a flat US$12.99 per deal. Of course opening a new US account got much more difficult shortly after 9-11-2001, but it's worth making an effort.

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Originally Posted by onlinesid

Hi all,

I want to buy US shares from NZ. What is the best way to do this? I have securities account with ASB, but it seems to only allow me to buy NZ shares. Any suggestion is appreciated in advanced. Thanks.

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I used ASB many years ago, had to phone and tell them what I wanted to buy or sell, had a foreign currency account with them to save from exchange rate spreads on each transaction.

You need to use limit prices though, the Dow moved 300points in 20 minutes the other day. I have used Etrade for a while now, but I do trade a bit.
A NZ bank should be fine for long term buy and holds. Trade fees are high, I only pay $7.99US a trade with Etrade, no matter what amount the trade is worth.
Cheers

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Originally Posted by mike8

I only pay $7.99US a trade with Etrade, no matter what amount the trade is worth.

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That's a very attractive cost per deal - but it's only available if you execute more than 150 trades per quarter. Their regular fee of US$12.99 per deal, which doesn't have any volume qualification, is quite reasonable though, and certainly less than the fees charged by New Zealand banks.

E*TRADE US Commissions & Fees

I use ASB Securities for all US stocks including PK OTC NASDAQ and NYSE. their charge is high. Anything from US$50 - US$90 per trade. I wouldn't use them if I wasn't making any money. I also use Noble Trading, a US stockbroker for day trading.
I hold a US dollar account with ASB but if I want to transfer funds back to New Zealand dollars I have the ASB transfer though my Aussie US account and then back to New Zealand. A lot cheaper because I own a foreign exchange company. incidentally stem cell companies are the next big movers in the states because the 8 year ban on funding will be lifted soon by the new Administration

Graeme, does that charge also include the US agency fee?



(scouting around for competitive info :)

YEs ASB charge between 50 - 90 dollars US per trade. I have had no problems what so ever. They can put the order through to the US almost immediately. for long term buys that is good. The time zones are definitely a problem if trading. If share go down on their friday you have no way of selling because ASB securities don't open on Saturday. If you do use a US broker it takes 3 business days following the day of sale to receive proceeds from any sale. So.. if you want to day trade you need more money in your us account. The US is a good market to trade because there are more traders and in my opinion more opportunities. I sometimes trade mid to large cap stocks but mostly the small cap and penny stocks. Higher risk but more reward.

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Originally Posted by Deev8

That's a very attractive cost per deal - but it's only available if you execute more than 150 trades per quarter. Their regular fee of US$12.99 per deal, which doesn't have any volume qualification, is quite reasonable though, and certainly less than the fees charged by New Zealand banks.

E*TRADE US Commissions & Fees

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That is great, but how do I do transaction? Using Credit card? Paypal?

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Originally Posted by graeme50

I use ASB Securities for all US stocks including PK OTC NASDAQ and NYSE. their charge is high. Anything from US$50 - US$90 per trade. I wouldn't use them if I wasn't making any money. I also use Noble Trading, a US stockbroker for day trading.
I hold a US dollar account with ASB but if I want to transfer funds back to New Zealand dollars I have the ASB transfer though my Aussie US account and then back to New Zealand. A lot cheaper because I own a foreign exchange company. incidentally stem cell companies are the next big movers in the states because the 8 year ban on funding will be lifted soon by the new Administration

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Company name? :-D

Hi Graeme
The website say
"0.8% with a minimum of US $50.00 per trade plus Agency Fee 0.4% with a minimum of US 40.00 per trade".
Have you never been asked to pay the agency fee?
Julian