International Brokers

[cts]

Hi guys. First post.

I'm trying to find a broker that will give me access to Chinese, Indian, European and US Stocks, Bonds, (Sovereign and Corporate) Commodities and Forex.

I've looked and Interactive Brokers and TDameritrade. IB scares me with slippage and bad customer service issues. It seems that TDameritrade wont accept NZ accounts and I worry about the future capital protection of CFD providers. Any other suggestions?

Also how does one get around the NRI (Non Resident Indian) restriction for trading in India? Will I just have to set up a company with a silent Indian partner? Any Brokers that proxy this access for you?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers
CT

[Aaron]

Sorry cts I can't help but I do have a question. With Interactive brokers what do you mean by slippage and what are the bad customer service issues?

[cts]

Hi Aaron.

Here's a link for broker ratings and customer reviews. Consistent themes on the downside for I.B. are bad Customer Service and generally stealing on spreads. I even saw mention of the odd phantom trade with their rather buggy java based client. Obviously there are ways around that but it is rather concerning.

http://www.elitetrader.com/br/?action=view&R_FirmID=43

I'm really interested in how to trade equities, bonds and commodities from NZ with a single account with a solid, reliable brokerage that can proxy around the N.R.I. issue. May be it just doesn't exist yet.

[RRR]

I'm really interested in how to trade equities, bonds and commodities from NZ with a single account with a solid, reliable brokerage that can proxy around the N.R.I. issue. May be it just doesn't exist yet.[/QUOTE]

cts- Yes, you are correct. Retail foreign investor cannot invest directly in Indian equities-which is a shame. Institutional investors can access the market directly with approval from the Govt. Have you considered Indian ADRs and those listed UK, Singapore, HK etc. Can't be of help in finding the brokerage firm you are after.