Online Stock Brokers

[dingdongrb]

Just curious if anyone has any suggestions for a good online stock brokerage?

I am wanting someone that is reasonable in costs where I can trade US stocks (NYSE & NASDAQ). Real time quotes and quick transactions are a plus. And they must allow international addresses (Thailand) to be used to set up the account.

I've done some searching on the internet already but I would like to hear feedback and suggestions from actual users, thanks.

[dingdongrb]

If a mod sees this post can you please move this to 'General' as I'm getting no responses here in the CM Forum... Thanks!

[Genericnic]

@dingdongrb

I have been using Scottrade for many years. I use a friend's address in the states (Scottrade knows I am living in Thailand). I have it set so that all notices, statements, and things they send me come online. Trading costs are $7 in and $7 out. They have good trading software that is free and works well. I do mostly day trading with them rather than investing but have done investing in the past. Been very happy with their service. The only thing I hate is that the U.S. markets open at 2030 and close at 0300 Thailand time. Good thing I am a night person.

David

[elektrified]

I can't recommend the firm I went with -- yet. It's too soon and I haven't formed an opinion yet. But I will tell you that your options are fairly limited here in C.M. (and to a certain extent in Bangkok - although less so) to find a firm that offers global trading and allows accounts to be held in Euros, Swiss Francs, etc. If you are American then you won't be able to trade on the London Stock Exchange or open a GBP account at all. If you want to trade on the NYSE & NASDAQ then you can, but you will be required to sign a U.S. tax form. Also there is a lengthy process where you will have to be checked out to make sure you have not been convicted of money laundering.

P.M. if you want the name of the broker here in C.M. Again, no recommendation yet, but I'll certainly pass the information on.

[elektrified]

@dingdongrb

I have been using Scottrade for many years. I use a friend's address in the states (Scottrade knows I am living in Thailand). I have it set so that all notices, statements, and things they send me come online. Trading costs are $7 in and $7 out. They have good trading software that is free and works well. I do mostly day trading with them rather than investing but have done investing in the past. Been very happy with their service. The only thing I hate is that the U.S. markets open at 2030 and close at 0300 Thailand time. Good thing I am a night person.

David

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP. I thought he was looking for a firm in Thailand; not USA.

[Genericnic]

@dingdongrb

I have been using Scottrade for many years. I use a friend's address in the states (Scottrade knows I am living in Thailand). I have it set so that all notices, statements, and things they send me come online. Trading costs are $7 in and $7 out. They have good trading software that is free and works well. I do mostly day trading with them rather than investing but have done investing in the past. Been very happy with their service. The only thing I hate is that the U.S. markets open at 2030 and close at 0300 Thailand time. Good thing I am a night person.

David

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP. I thought he was looking for a firm in Thailand; not USA.

@elektrified

The OP said, "And they must allow international addresses (Thailand) to be used to set up the account." I would think a firm in Thailand would not have a problem with a Thai address whereas a foreign, e.g. U.S. firm would. I could be wrong.

David

[elektrified]

@dingdongrb

I have been using Scottrade for many years. I use a friend's address in the states (Scottrade knows I am living in Thailand). I have it set so that all notices, statements, and things they send me come online. Trading costs are $7 in and $7 out. They have good trading software that is free and works well. I do mostly day trading with them rather than investing but have done investing in the past. Been very happy with their service. The only thing I hate is that the U.S. markets open at 2030 and close at 0300 Thailand time. Good thing I am a night person.

David

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP. I thought he was looking for a firm in Thailand; not USA.

@elektrified

The OP said, "And they must allow international addresses (Thailand) to be used to set up the account." I would think a firm in Thailand would not have a problem with a Thai address whereas a foreign, e.g. U.S. firm would. I could be wrong.

David

Cheers. You are right. I missed that.

[hellodolly]

Being as most of my money comes from Canada it goes into a Canadian Bank. I don't do it any more but for a while I had it set up where I could buy and sell stock through them on line and the money would come and go through my bank account.

Do not know about the states. I thought about it and have a account with Wells Fargo and I did not really look into it as they said I needed $5,000 to start with. That is more than I receive in a year there. And did not feel that strongly about it any how. I thought one of those mutual funds for a automatic $100 a month withdrawel. Don't need the money now but who knows what the future might hold.

I know in Canada I could buy off of the NYSE and Nazdec with my Toronto Dominion account. Same at CIBC

[onthedarkside]

If a mod sees this post can you please move this to 'General' as I'm getting no responses here in the CM Forum... Thanks!

Moved as requested.

[Ludacris]

To the OP, you didn't say what you're nationality is, but by far the easiest way is to open a brokerage account in your home country using your driver's license and home country address next time you go back.

The advantages of doing it this way are many:

No problem going through the non-resident identity verification process

Some brokerages don't open full accounts for non-residents (margin/options)

Easy transfer of funds between your home bank account and brokerage account

If you're American, I've had good experience with TD Ameritrade and their Think or Swim platform has been getting fantastic reviews.

American brokerages will not open accounts for Canadians, so if you're Canadian then definitely the best option is to open a trading account back home in Canada.

If going home is not an option:

Etrade has an office in Singapore

https://global.etrade.com/sg/en/home

TD also has an offshore investment bank but commissions are quite high.

http://www.internaxx.lu/en-gb/

Virtual Brokers

https://www.virtualbrokers.com/ is one brokerage that has no problems opening full accounts for non-residents, but they require a $25K initial deposit and I'm not sure what nationalities they deal with other than Canadians.

As for the identity verification process, some brokerages require just a personalized check to clear for residents, but for non-residents some brokers (ie. Virtual Brokers listed above) require a lawyer's notarization of your documents which will cost somewhere around $500US.

I would avoid Thai brokerages for trading international stocks. They're great for trading on the SET, but many international investments are deemed inappropriate for Thai's and will not be accesible through your Thai account, plus you will also have to pay global market commissions.

Hope this helps.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Ludacris

[Rancid]

Depends on your nationality to what is best. If you are not Ameriacan you can open a Schwab account through their Hong Kong branch as an expat nationality using Thailand as your residency, they are a bit pricey but legally there is no tax payable on profits (except dividends).

Interactive Brokers you can probably set up in your home country, cheaper but will obviously be liable for taxes on profits.

Do the math and see what suits of these and others mentioned.

[MrRealDeal]

Depends on your nationality to what is best. If you are not Ameriacan you can open a Schwab account through their Hong Kong branch as an expat nationality using Thailand as your residency, they are a bit pricey but legally there is no tax payable on profits (except dividends).

Interactive Brokers you can probably set up in your home country, cheaper but will obviously be liable for taxes on profits.

Do the math and see what suits of these and others mentioned.

Rancid thats not true Americans pay tax on overseas profits even at Schwab in Hong Kong ..... or at least by law are supposed to. Otherwise every wealthy person in the USA would have a hong kong account and pay no tax. Even profits on Cayman island accounts or Swiss accounts are taxable , it's just that they don't report it to the IRS so people can break the law and get away with it sometimes for a while.

Their are also a whole new set of Laws coming into effect mandating more reporting ect from overseas enteties that have American citizens as account holders.

If you don't believe me go to the Hong Kong site and search for "taxes" it will explain the tax policys here is a little from the site :

As a general rule, non-U.S. taxpayers (such as individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents) receiving U.S. source income are subject to U.S. withholding tax. As a clearing broker firm for Charles Schwab Hong Kong located in the United States, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab U.S.”) is required to withhold and remit funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for such non-U.S. persons on their U.S. source income

Brokerage firms located in the United States are required to report to the IRS once a year on IRS Form 1042-S all U.S. source income for each account at the firm. Payments to all foreign persons, including nonresident alien individuals, foreign entities and governments, may be subject to NRA withholding

Schwab in Hong Kong IS considered a brokerage firm located in the USA even though the Office is in Hong Kong ....... Like I said go to the site and read more.

Edited August 11, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[Rancid]

Depends on your nationality to what is best. If you are not Ameriacan you can open a Schwab account through their Hong Kong branch as an expat nationality using Thailand as your residency, they are a bit pricey but legally there is no tax payable on profits (except dividends).

Interactive Brokers you can probably set up in your home country, cheaper but will obviously be liable for taxes on profits.

Do the math and see what suits of these and others mentioned.

Rancid thats not true Americans pay tax on overseas profits even at Schwab in Hong Kong ..... or at least by law are supposed to. Otherwise every wealthy person in the USA would have a hong kong account and pay no tax. Even profits on Cayman island accounts or Swiss accounts are taxable , it's just that they don't report it to the IRS so people can break the law and get away with it sometimes for a while.

Their are also a whole new set of Laws coming into effect mandating more reporting ect from overseas enteties that have American citizens as account holders.

If you don't believe me go to the Hong Kong site and search for "taxes" it will explain the tax policys here is a little from the site :

As a general rule, non-U.S. taxpayers (such as individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents) receiving U.S. source income are subject to U.S. withholding tax. As a clearing broker firm for Charles Schwab Hong Kong located in the United States, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab U.S.”) is required to withhold and remit funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for such non-U.S. persons on their U.S. source income

Brokerage firms located in the United States are required to report to the IRS once a year on IRS Form 1042-S all U.S. source income for each account at the firm. Payments to all foreign persons, including nonresident alien individuals, foreign entities and governments, may be subject to NRA withholding

Schwab in Hong Kong IS considered a brokerage firm located in the USA even though the Office is in Hong Kong ....... Like I said go to the site and read more.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I have been known to ramble on, non-Americans like me that pay no tax. That is according to what I read and their numerous explanations to me, only dividends are liable to with holding tax. If that is incorrect then they have lied, also I am yet to be charged any taxes on profits to date, although I trade options but can't see what difference that would make. I did use my Yellow Book though to prove residency here though, finally another use. As I said I regard them as expensive but the no-tax is the deal maker, give them a call and check.

I have transferred money to their US account from here (I had a condo sale tax receipt) and have transferred funds back again with no problems. Not saying there aren't better choices, but only know this and IB.

[dingdongrb]

Just to let everyone know that I did a little searching and checking... I decided to go with Zecco.... So far no problems...

[ivan75]

I've been with International Brokers for almost a year now and can recommend their services. Good support and very professional so far. Message me if you have any questions, but guess you will find all you need at ibworldwide(dot)com.

[burgerking]

Hello,

Was trading with www.zecco.com they have now merged with Tradeking .(3weeks ago) $4.95 per trade, good broker . I have been using them for a long time when they were zecco,

i am not sure if they are allowing international account anymore, you'll have to go onto live chat starting at 8.00pm Thai time, and talk with them direct.

If your looking for more bells and whistles, then i recommend www.optionsexpress,com $9.95 per trade, much better charts,both have live quotes.

Best free live charts would have to be http://www.freestockcharts.com/

If you have anymore questions , just send me a PM

Happy to help out a fellow trader,,,,Good luck

[HeijoshinCool]

.

Edited January 2, 2013 by HeijoshinCool

[frankold]

@dingdongrb

I have been using Scottrade for many years. I use a friend's address in the states (Scottrade knows I am living in Thailand). I have it set so that all notices, statements, and things they send me come online. Trading costs are $7 in and $7 out. They have good trading software that is free and works well. I do mostly day trading with them rather than investing but have done investing in the past. Been very happy with their service. The only thing I hate is that the U.S. markets open at 2030 and close at 0300 Thailand time. Good thing I am a night person.

David

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP. I thought he was looking for a firm in Thailand; not USA.

Yes you did. He asked for details of an online broker that allowed international Thai addresses.

Muppet.

[Digitalbanana]

E-Trade (US) allows this, or at least for my account it does. It's a heritage account after they bought out my previous broker.

[MrRealDeal]

Depends on your nationality to what is best. If you are not Ameriacan you can open a Schwab account through their Hong Kong branch as an expat nationality using Thailand as your residency, they are a bit pricey but legally there is no tax payable on profits (except dividends).

Interactive Brokers you can probably set up in your home country, cheaper but will obviously be liable for taxes on profits.

Do the math and see what suits of these and others mentioned.

Rancid thats not true Americans pay tax on overseas profits even at Schwab in Hong Kong ..... or at least by law are supposed to. Otherwise every wealthy person in the USA would have a hong kong account and pay no tax. Even profits on Cayman island accounts or Swiss accounts are taxable , it's just that they don't report it to the IRS so people can break the law and get away with it sometimes for a while.

Their are also a whole new set of Laws coming into effect mandating more reporting ect from overseas enteties that have American citizens as account holders.

If you don't believe me go to the Hong Kong site and search for "taxes" it will explain the tax policys here is a little from the site :

As a general rule, non-U.S. taxpayers (such as individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents) receiving U.S. source income are subject to U.S. withholding tax. As a clearing broker firm for Charles Schwab Hong Kong located in the United States, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab U.S.”) is required to withhold and remit funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for such non-U.S. persons on their U.S. source income

Brokerage firms located in the United States are required to report to the IRS once a year on IRS Form 1042-S all U.S. source income for each account at the firm. Payments to all foreign persons, including nonresident alien individuals, foreign entities and governments, may be subject to NRA withholding

Schwab in Hong Kong IS considered a brokerage firm located in the USA even though the Office is in Hong Kong ....... Like I said go to the site and read more.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I have been known to ramble on, non-Americans like me that pay no tax. That is according to what I read and their numerous explanations to me, only dividends are liable to with holding tax. If that is incorrect then they have lied, also I am yet to be charged any taxes on profits to date, although I trade options but can't see what difference that would make. I did use my Yellow Book though to prove residency here though, finally another use. As I said I regard them as expensive but the no-tax is the deal maker, give them a call and check.

I have transferred money to their US account from here (I had a condo sale tax receipt) and have transferred funds back again with no problems. Not saying there aren't better choices, but only know this and IB.

I'm not sure how thats an advantage a US brokerage account doesnt withhold any tax on any profits , I think you are confusing them not "witholding" with you somehow not being liable to the IRS for your profits ..... you might not be paying them but your account doesn't make you not liable to pay them.

I know this from a previous post you made ..... I researched the entire matter and trust me a hong kong account doesn't mean you are not liable for cap gains to the IRS as a US citizen

ooops never mind I didnt notice you were not a US citizen ! LOL ..... sorry

Edited January 4, 2013 by MrRealDeal