Investing in a USA Index fund

[Sir Burr]

I've had a look around for cheaper brokerage than Nabtrade

How about free for a few months. No idea if there is a catch...

https://www.nabtrade.com.au/landing...&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Campaign offer

 

[mjim]

Interesting discussion so many scenarios!
so we are talking about two diff things?
A) ASX listed ETF which track US index and are perhaps Currency hedged ( at a cost)
B) USA listed ETFs which track US index and are traded in US$ so you would have currency risk

so if Purchasing USA listed ETF's is it not same as buying USA listed shares? as far as execution is concerned
As far as Tax CGT is concerned...if somebody can explain what the treatment would be for AUS tax payer
If you open an account with a US based broker I think they ask you to sign some form for being a NON US resident for tax purposes making sure US tax is not withheld on dividends!

Also Somebody mentioned ".. will probably hold your investment longer than the broker will remain in business. Our Aussie CHESS system seems more reliable long term.
IS this true with AUS brokers or US brokers?
Because with US brokers would there also not be similar arrangements so the shares/etf are held on your name ( it again depends upon if you are using margin or not!)

So back to the ETFs to track US index... SPY and QQQ are popular and liquid
Broker: Options express both AUS and US regulated) or IB (10K min lower brokerage + data fees)
There are other popular brokers in USA like TOS but they won;t allow AUs residents to open a/c