Top 10 Best Online Stock Brokers for Non-US Residents
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| Top 10 Best Online Brokers for Non-US Residents |
There are no restrictions on foreign investment in the US and non-US resident individuals investing in the US are generally only subject to US tax on limited US source income and gains. Finding a broker may seem complicated, but there are actually a few brokers out there that are by far the best brokers for Non-US residents which allow people from many countries to register.
If you want to find out who are the best online brokers for non-us residents keep on reading so that you can be a part of the world of Non-US residents online trading soon enough!
Deciding On A Brokerage as a Foreign Investor
For example, if you are a UK citizen, you can open a brokerage account with Saxo Bank or Barclays to trade in the US stock market. As another example, if you’re in Malaysia, you can use CIMB Bank to invest in the US stock market.
There may be brokerage firms or other financial institutions that offer similar services in every country, so do your research.
Although some US-based brokers don’t allow foreign clients to open a trading account with them, a few do offer online services to clients in specific countries.
Some of the US brokers that serve international clients online include Firstrade, MBTrading, Zecco, TradeStation, TD Ameritrade, Sogotrade, and Just2Trade. Each of these has a list of countries they accept clients from. Before you choose any of them on the list, find out if it supports your own country of residence.
There are some brokers with an international presence. This means that they have offices in different parts of the world, even though they are headquartered in the US. The two brokers in this group are Charles Schwab and InteractiveBrokers. They have offices in the UK, some European countries, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.
Best Brokerages For Non-US Investors
Whether you are a foreigner living in the United States or a citizen of another country in the world, the U.S. stock market is the go-to destination for all investing opportunities. You will have to do research on individual brokerages based on your home country. Some of the options listed below may allow you to invest in US stocks as a non-US investor.
List of The Top 10 Best Online Stock Brokers for Non-US Residents
1. Interactive Brokers
2. TradeStation Global
3. CMC Markets
4. Swissquote
5. Saxo Bank
6. Zacks Trade
7. Firstrade
8. TD Ameritrade
9. Charles Schwab International (NYSE:SCHW)
10. LightSpeed
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What Are The Top 10 Best Online Stock Brokers for Non-US Residents?
1. Interactive Brokers
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| Photo: brokerreview |
Overall Rating: 4.75/5
Account Minimum: $0
Fees: Maximum $0.005 per share for Pro platform or 1% of trade value, $0 for IBKR Lite
It may be the top of our list right now, but the online broker has certainly taken a major reputational hit during the GameStop story as it also stopped allowing its users to purchase GameStop stock, while also raising margin requirements for certain stocks.
Interactive Brokers is in no danger of being unseated as our pick for the best online broker for international trading. Interactive Brokers dominates the scoring in this category simply by virtue of its access to 135 exchanges in 33 countries all accessible through a single account. On top of this, Interactive Broker gives you the ability to trade 23 currencies in 115 different pairs in addition to the broker’s robust order selection and trading tools.1 This breadth and depth combine to enable traders to set up positions across markets and asset classes in a way that no other broker can currently match.
2. TradeStation Global
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| Photo: openeurope |
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
Trading Fees: $0
Account Minimum: $0, TradeStation Select $2000
Tradable securities: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, cryptocurrency
Top Features: commission-free trades, platform trading tools, research data, education, crypto trading
The TradeStation platform offers international accounts to a variety of different foreign citizens. You can access multiple markets across the world using the TradeStation Global service.
Depending on which country you live in, TradeStation will require documentation such as a passport, driver's license, bank statement, or additional information to verify your identity.
TradeStation offers commission-free trading for stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs.
3. CMC Markets
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| Photo: leaprate |
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
Account Minimum: $0
Fees: Spread cost; Additional charge for guaranteed stops; Commissions; Overnight financing costs; Inactivity fees
CMC Markets (CMC), founded in 1989, is a well-established, publicly traded, and highly regarded U.K. forex broker that has successfully adapted to the ever-changing online brokerage landscape. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol, CMCX. It is recommended because it is an excellent fit for all types of traders, with a broad spectrum of product offerings and an accessible, top-feature platform that is Next Generation. Ideal for new traders, CMC Markets emphasizes customer services, research facilities, and various educational resources.
4. Swissquote
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| Photo: blogtien |
Overall Rating: 4.6/5
Account Minimum: $0
Fees: trading fees are generally high, including stocks and ETFs fees, and there is a fee for withdrawing your money, no inactivity fee, an impressive selection of funds for favorable fees
Unlike the brokers mentioned above, Swissquote is also an investment bank that was founded in 1996. The company is divided into two parts: a Swiss unit for trading stocks, futures, funds, and options, and a company operating in the UK for forex and CFDs. More than 330,000 clients across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have trusted Swissquote as now the broker has become one the most highly reputed brokers in the world.
Swissquote is considered safe because it has a banking license and is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and has a long track record. Although it takes $0 for a minimum account deposit, the broker generally charges relatively high fees, especially in stocks and ETFs fees. There is no inactivity fee, but you will be charged for withdrawals.
5. Saxo Bank
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| Photo: sanuytin |
Overall Rating: 4.6/5
Account Minimum: £500
Fees: Competitive FX spread costs; Host of additional costs
This brokerage has numerous different entities based on which region it is serving. The fees and services they offer vary based on what country you are in. This is a popular platform for forex trading as well.
They support 19 different currencies on the platform.
This brokerage gives you access to over 35,000 different financial instruments based on numerous different assets. They work with over 300 different financial intermediaries, and this allows them to offer investment services in over 120 different countries.
One common complaint about Saxo Bank is that they do have high minimum deposits required in most cases. They offer a variety of different investment vehicles including stocks, ETFs, forex, bonds, options, futures, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies.
6. Zacks Trade
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| Photo: Youtube |
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Account Minimum: $2500
Fees: $0.01 per share
Zack Trade is a US-based broker suitable for active traders looking for a human broker and trade in the foreign stock exchange. The company is a division of LBMZ Securities, which was established in 1978 and is regulated by top-tier US regulators SEC and FINRA. LBMZ Securities' services are mainly provided by Interactive Brokers, so as a result, you may find many features in Zack Trade that are similar to those of Interactive Brokers. Even so, Zacks Trade has its own fee policies, product selection, educational tools, and customer support.
As for now, the broker operates in 218 countries and allows over 90 international exchanges. Zacks Trade essentially offers three main trading platforms and access to 20 free research reports. There is no minimum deposit to open a trading account, but the broker recommends depositing at least $2,500 to start with. The trading fee itself is also quite low, only $0.01 per share and no inactivity or withdrawal fees.
7. Firstrade
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| Photo: techbullion |
Overall Rating: 4/5
Account Minimum: $0
Fees: $0 commissions for most stock, option, and ETF trades
Firstrade offers $0 stock, ETF, and options trades and is best known for its easy-to-use web platform, alongside its Chinese language services. While Firstrade offers Morningstar research and various tools, its overall offering struggles to stand out against household name brands who are also priced at $0.
For Chinese-speaking investors, Firstrade is terrific. Firstrade's support for Chinese-speaking customers goes beyond 24/7 customer service. The broker also offers a fully translated customer experience, and foreign customers can easily renew their Form W-8BEN certificates entirely online through the website.
While Firstrade's web platform is outdated by current web standards, its mobile app offers a clean experience thanks to a 2019 redesign, and the website remains easy to use.
Firstrade countries: Belgium, China, China, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Macao, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, United States. If you are a resident of any of these countries, you can open an account with Firstrade and invest in US stocks.
8. TD Ameritrade
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| Photo: topforexvn |
Overall Rating: 4.2/5
Account Minimum: $0
Fees: Free stock, ETF, and per-leg options trading commissions in the U.S., as of October 3rd, 2019. $0.65 per options contract
TD Ameritrade remains one of the largest online brokers and it has continued to advance based on its advantage with beginner investors. TD Ameritrade reaches out to customers and prospects with detailed and comprehensive outlines of its services constructed on a variety of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Once it grabs the customer's attention, TD Ameritrade offers customers a choice from their platforms, including its basic website, mobile apps, and thinkorswim, which is designed for derivatives-focused active traders. Education is a key component of TD Ameritrade's offerings.
9. Charles Schwab International (NYSE:SCHW)
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| Photo: businessinsider |
Overall Rating: 4/5
Account Minimum: $2500 for non-US residents
Fees: Free stock, ETF trading, $0.65 per options contract
With more than $6 trillion in client assets, Charles Schwab understands how to consistently deliver value to its customers. Highlights include $0 trades, excellent stock research, a diverse selection of trading tools, and an industry-leading offering of financial planning services.
At Schwab, stock and ETF trades are $0, and options trades are just $0.65 per contract. Even better for investors, Schwab is the only broker alongside Fidelity to list the price improvement received on eligible orders, which is important transparency for order execution quality.
Like other full-service brokers, Schwab delivers a complete suite of products and services. Charles Schwab provides everything from stocks (including fractional shares) and options trading to fixed income and retirement guidance. This includes every account type under the sun, including Individual, Joint, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Inherited IRA, Custodial IRA, 529 plans, charitable accounts, and even estate and trust accounts. The list goes on and on.
10. LightSpeed
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| Photo: investopedia |
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Investopedia
Account Minimum: $10,000 (web), $25,000 (software)
Fees: Max $4.50/stock trade, $0.65/options contract. No charge per leg
Lastly, there is Lightspeed, which is an online broker founded in 2000. It is considered suitable for frequent traders because the minimum deposit is quite high: $10,000 for the web-based platform and $25,000 for software. But even so, the trading cost is very low.
Lightspeed is a good bet for very frequent traders, as their account minimums are on the high side, but the cost of trading is very low. You will not find any planning tools or educational guidance for amateur traders on Lightspeed, but advanced traders can benefit highly from their available trading tools.
Apart from that, Lightspeed doesn't provide many educational materials for beginners, so the features are mainly for the benefit of advanced traders. Nevertheless, the broker is still worth checking out as it offers fast order execution and great customer service.
What makes the best trading platform?First of all, it needs to be user-friendly. It’s also important that it provides the following functionalities:
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