investing in companies on NYSE

[XJSJohn]

Recommendations for the best online platform / broker for investing in companies listed on NYSE??

Not a big high roller but a few thousand pounds for a starter.


investments can go down as well as up, invest at your own risk etc etc

[cs174]

I use Hargreaves Landsdown (www.hl.co.uk)

Unless you have specific stocks in mind, take a look at the Vanguard US Equity fund or the Fidelity Index US fund. These have low charges of 0.1%

[XJSJohn]

Looks ideal, but seems I need to add another caveat, I am not UK resident.

Have sent them an email anyway to see if there is anything that they can do.

Cheers

[HenryJM]

Of course you need to be aware that unless usd is your currency you end up investing in the stock and the currency at the same time. You can find yourself losing or gaining regardless of how the shares perform.

[cs174]

XJSJohn said:

Looks ideal, but seems I need to add another caveat, I am not UK resident.

Have sent them an email anyway to see if there is anything that they can do.

Cheers

Do you have a UK address you can use for correspondence?

The other ones I looked at were Saxobank in Singapore and TD Direct Investing in Luxembourg.

[leemanning]

HenryJM said:

Of course you need to be aware that unless usd is your currency you end up investing in the stock and the currency at the same time. You can find yourself losing or gaining regardless of how the shares perform.

This is such a relevant point and it caught me out massively. For my US trades I was using Interactive Investor, which was quick and easy to setup. However, what I didn't factor in were the changes in exchange rate at the time of the trades. So on paper I had a healthy profit, however on trading it was much more modest due to the currency fluctuations I hadn't taken into account.

I now use the trading platform through my online bank at HSBC as I can credit the account with dollars whenever I wish and also withdraw whenever I wish. That way I can maximise the trade on the way in and on the way out to ensure I get best value. It's another step in the process when trading on other markets, but just be aware.

[XJSJohn]

Its one of the reasons i am suddenly looking at NYSE, i am paid in USD.

And nop, don't have a UK correspondence address, not even stepped food in the motherland for 7 years !!

Will have a look at that SG one suggested also.

Cheers folks.

[twinturboz]

Have a look at Interactive brokers should meet your criteria not too sure what the minumum ammount to open an account is though.
Cons are a steep learning curve with the platform and although the the commissions are super low they do charge for data.

[Sheepshanks]

XJSJohn said:

Looks ideal, but seems I need to add another caveat, I am not UK resident.

No idea if your location is an issue but I use Charles Schwab.

I don't do a lot of trading these days, but what's handy for me is I visit the US quite a bit and the account has a debit card which I can use against the cash balances. I think the minimum for opening an account is $10K now, but there are no account charges.

[evenflow]

Etoro might be worth a look too

[walm]

XJSJohn said:

Its one of the reasons i am suddenly looking at NYSE, i am paid in USD.

And nop, don't have a UK correspondence address, not even stepped food in the motherland for 7 years !!

Will have a look at that SG one suggested also.

Cheers folks.

Saying where you live would really help.
Each market has its own leaders for investment.
When I was in the US I used etrade but IIRC that needs a US bank account and address to set up (and probably a SSN too).

Regarding currency, what is more important than how you are paid is what your expenses are.
Say you live in Stockholm but get paid in USD then you should look to convert SEKUSD or even hedge it, in order to make sure you can cover what you need to with SEKs.

If you really live in a 100% USD world then exactly as you are looking it would make sense to go for dollar denominated savings.
Just make sure the companies involved are also USD related.
Don't go buying a UK based ADR.

[XJSJohn]

walm said:

Saying where you live would really help.

Bangkok .....