# Online brokerage for long term investor in international markets?



## elang (9 November 2007)

Hi everyone,

I'm in my early 20s and I am new to investing. I would like to start investing primarily in stocks. I'm interested in overseas stocks, particularly US stocks (for the moment) and Asian stocks (particularly China as I gain more experience). My strategy is to invest for long term rather than high volume day trading. I've trawled through the threads in this forum and found wealth of info and recommendations. But it seems like from what I read lots of people here are quite active traders. I was wondering if anyone can recommend which online brokerage is the best for someone like me - long term investment in US stocks (and if you would take the time to give me a few lines of explanation as to why, that would be greatly appreciated)?

Thanks heaps,
Al


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## Caliente (9 November 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*

Hi maite. I'm in my early twenties as well, and looking for an answer to the same question.

I think Commsec might be a decent option, although if you want to save money, perhaps you'd be better off trading international CFD's with a client like IG markets.

Make sure whatever you do u click through Joe Blows links. It supports the site, the unbiased beacon in a rampity world =)


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## SevenFX (9 November 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*

Hi eLang. Welcome,

While the link below isn't about investing on overseas specifically, this thread was started by another new member, and you may benefit by reading some of the discussion there..

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8787

p.s Yes Commsec do allow to buy US stock, but sure their not the cheapest when it comes to Overseas investment, where they prob are for local stock.
http://www.comsec.com.au/Public/InvestIn/InternationalShares.aspx

Hope it helps
Cheers
SevenFX


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## elang (9 November 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*

Thanks very much for your reply and helps. I have read that thread that you mentioned but couldn't find the answer I was looking for. I have been looking at using optionsXpress Australia to do my US stock trading. I know they specialise in options trading but they do offer stock trading brokerage services. Their commission is not the lowest but I think it's good value for someone like me (not an active trader). Also, there's no min balance fee, no open/close account fee, no acc maintenance fee, etc, which is also very convenient for me since I intend to hold my positions for a long time. For the more experienced traders out there, does my reasoning and choice make sense, would you guys agree or have any better suggestions? All suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Al


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## bvbfan (10 November 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*

Interactive Brokers probably going to be one of the cheapest options for trading US.

I don't use them but you could check their website and this thread


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## mtsaustralia (2 December 2007)

Hi guys, i am in my mid 20's, and trade extremely heavy volumes in multiple markets and currencies.

If you are looking to trade Aust, US, and China, i would definatley go for either interactive brokers or spectrumlive.  Interactive brokers would be my choice as it is cheaper, you can trade every market, in any currency (spectrum live too), and many many more advant's.

The main drawback of interactive brokers rather than something like optionsxpress is that it is very complex, so your knowledge level needs to be extensive!

Matt


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## Temjin (2 December 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*



bvbfan said:


> Interactive Brokers probably going to be one of the cheapest options for trading US.
> 
> I don't use them but you could check their website and this thread




Highly recommended. I use it for my family long term investment as well. I don't subscribe any data source as I have no need for real time data. (only need end of day closes)

Brokerage is extremely cheap, and I just realise that your positions in USD stocks are naturally hedged. Only your profits aren't. That is, when you buy USD donominated stocks, you are not converting your AUD to USD, but rather borrow USD to do so. 

mtsaustralia is right on the complex interface. Definitely not for the newbie.


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## RichKid (2 December 2007)

*Re: [Newbie] Any good online brokerage for long term investor in US and other intl ma*



Temjin said:


> Highly recommended. I use it for my family long term investment as well. I don't subscribe any data source as I have no need for real time data. (only need end of day closes)
> 
> Brokerage is extremely cheap, and I just realise that your positions in USD stocks are naturally hedged. Only your profits aren't. That is, when you buy USD donominated stocks, you are not converting your AUD to USD, but rather borrow USD to do so.
> 
> mtsaustralia is right on the complex interface. Definitely not for the newbie.




The only problem with IB and other brokers generally geared towards traders is that they have minimum monthly fees (US$10-$20) which are only rebated if you meet minimum conditions (see the thread on IB referred to in an earlier post in this thread)- that will easily eat up any saving you make via brokerage. For frequent traders like myself it's not an issue but it may be for you.

I would guess that Commsec is a good option (I use them for trading the ASX) but they may have limited overseas markets available, they also charge much more per trade than IB for overseas tnxns but if you are a buy and hold investor who has a low trade frequency a similar broker may be good (eg ETrade, Sandford Securities, Macquarie Prime or any other brokerage with an online trading ac service).

As for using CFD's for long term positions- not sure if that's a good option imho as you would have to pay interest on the total exposure, not just your initial borrowing, the larger your capital gain the greater your costs. If you're looking for leverage for the longer term trading it may be better to use a margin loan. 

There are a number of existing threads on the various topics discussed in this thread- the search tool in the toolbar at the top of this page will help you with your research. Also see the suggested threads at the foot of this page for similar topics.


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## yonnie (2 December 2007)

comsec is way too expensive.

another option for US shares is choicetrade.com

no monthly fees for the platform

no matter how high the value of your order, its always $5 per trade.
the platform is simple and the customer service is terrific.
you get an answer in a couple of hours.

I highly recommend them.


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