# Advice on overseas APPL investing



## Avenell (19 March 2010)

Hello all,

First time posting here so please be gentle! I recently discovered that money sitting in a bank at 4% interest wasn't really going anywhere fast, so I went through RBS Morgan's to invest ~21k in the ASX top 200. Since that time I've discovered the wonders of Belldirect, and so use them now for subsequent share purchases.

When I went with RBS Morgan's, I was very tempted to buy Apple shares, but was told they traded on the NASDAQ and that I should stick with the ASX for now.

I'm sure this is very sage advice, but truth be told I've got myself to the point where for my own state of mind I just have to buy these shares, even if it's only ~1-3k worth. I have these dreadful visions of having junior on the knee and telling stories like "it was 1986 when I sold my Microsoft shares, got about $100 out of it" and sobbing. It will be most last and only "gut and emotion" driven purchase of shares.

Why I am asking here is if someone could give me a step by step guide to the cheapest way to actually purchase these shares. From what I understand it is possible for Australians to have US shares, but Belldirect only seems to let you trade on the ASX. If you could direct me to an online broker or even a FAQ on purchasing shares on overseas markets I'd really appreciate it. I've hunted and hunted on google and come up with very little.

If what I am doing is totally not worth it, I would really love to hear a list of the "downsides".

Thanks in advance for your help.

Avenell


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## skyQuake (19 March 2010)

Avenell said:


> Hello all,
> 
> First time posting here so please be gentle! I recently discovered that money sitting in a bank at 4% interest wasn't really going anywhere fast, so I went through RBS Morgan's to invest ~21k in the ASX top 200. Since that time I've discovered the wonders of Belldirect, and so use them now for subsequent share purchases.
> 
> ...




Driven that you _must_ but apple eh?

Quick! Short some apple!

but if you're really into it, Interactive Brokers is good. Though if you just want 1 parcel, have a look at etrade, I heard they've just started overseas trading.


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## bellenuit (19 March 2010)

If a one off trade, then CommSec or E-Trade would be the way to go.  Just find who is the cheapest. When I checked CommSec several years ago, I think their fee was $100 for US transactions.

If you want to actively trade US securities, then Interactive Brokers or TD Ameritrade. I use the latter. They are US $9.99 per trade. Can be a hassle setting the account up, but once established it is easy from then on.


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## Avenell (19 March 2010)

Thank you very much for the replies. I'll check out E-Trade and Ameritrade.

Follow up question. Is there anyway to get current market snapshots without paying to subscribe to a live-market feed? I probably would use current market data about once every 2-3 months. Is this possible to find without paying?

Cheers again for the help.

Avenell


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## bellenuit (19 March 2010)

Avenell said:


> Thank you very much for the replies. I'll check out E-Trade and Ameritrade.
> 
> Follow up question. Is there anyway to get current market snapshots without paying to subscribe to a live-market feed? I probably would use current market data about once every 2-3 months. Is this possible to find without paying?
> 
> ...




Google Finance will give you real time execution prices of US Securities. You can set up a portfolio so that you don't have to enter the stocks each time.

http://www.google.com/finance

Yahoo does something similar.  

There are other free websites that will give market depth info etc., but I haven't tried them as I get the info on Ameritrade. 

I use Google Finance to get the quick current prices if I don't want to log on to Ameritrade. I can remain permanently logged on to Google Finance without any security risk as it is not my trading account.


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## Avenell (20 March 2010)

Thank you bell.

I use google finance to keep track of my ASX stocks, but didn't realise that US quotes were realtime. I thought they were 20 min delayed like ASX quotes. I'll definately use that then.

Is there any way or place to get ASX realtime quotes without shelling out? I can get em for $10/mo with BellDirect, but given how little I need them most months I thought I'd ask the question.

Cheers for the answers so far. You guys have been very helpful.

Avenell


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## bellenuit (20 March 2010)

Avenell said:


> I use google finance to keep track of my ASX stocks, but didn't realise that US quotes were realtime. I thought they were 20 min delayed like ASX quotes. I'll definately use that then.




Yes, Google Finance gives realtime for US, but not Australian. I think Yahoo only offers delayed.


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