Local stock broker firms
So there you go. Check out this handy graph and keep an eye on the coloring. We should start with international brokers. A trading account is an online account that allows you to trade an invest on exchanges online.
International stock brokers for the rest of the world
The final section of this guide lists a few international stock brokers that may be of interest to investors in some of the less accessible markets. In general, these relate to markets that I am not personally involved in and know relatively little about the options for foreign investors.
The stock brokers have been suggested to me by people who are, but I have generally not had the opportunity to get full details of what they offer. If you can recommend stock brokers or share useful information on investing in these countries, please email me. Very important note: Some of these firms below operate out of well-regulated financial centres or are subsidiaries of major financial institutions. While I try not to include firms I believe to be suspect or suggest unregulated or lightly regulated firms where better regulated options are available, you should take considerable care and exercise due diligence in dealing with any firm in many of these markets.
Be aware that in some countries it could be easier to invest than bring your money back home. As with the rest of this guide, I do not endorse any particular firm and details below are provided only to assist your own research.
Most Asian markets are covered by international stock brokers in Hong Kong and Singapore and this is easiest solution for foreign investors. Vietnam is bureaucratic, requiring you to obtain an individual trading ID and open a local bank account. I understood that it was necessary to visit the country in person, but this site now says that it is not although I have not confirmed this.
Nonetheless, there are a number of brokerages offering services in English that will help you to navigate the process. Saigon Securities seems to be the most popular choice among foreigners. You can only have a single trading account open at any one time, so if you plan to shop around, make sure you do it before opening an account. Mongolia has been a buzzword lately on the basis of its mineral wealth.
But a number of local stock broking firms are set up to deal with English-speaking clients and the process is said to be relatively simple. Pakistan has no shortage of stock brokers offering online trading for Karachi none seem to offer the smaller Lahore and Islamabad exchanges online in the same account. Non-residents need a special convertible rupee account to make it easy to bring funds into and out of the country — a stock broker should help open this.
For Sri Lanka, the simplest solution is currently to use Phillip Securities see the Singapore international stock brokers list. However, its local division Asha Phillip Securities may be a good place to start if you still need a local account.
Swissquote is an expensive Europe-based alternative. The Laos stock exchange currently has two listed companies. It also has two stock brokers, one of which is a subsidiary of one of the listed companies. Banking group Acleda and Sonatra Securities are two firms that have already been licenced as brokerages. Until recently, the only foreign individuals who can trade shares listed in India were those of recent Indian ancestry. Most major Indian financial services group offer brokerage services to those who qualify, as does Interactive Brokers.
The rules were relaxed in early , but remain bureaucratic and no brokerage yet appears to promoting its services to foreign individuals. This guide will be updated when the situation changes.
Eastern Europe remains surprisingly awkward to trade. That reflects the fact that many of these markets have a very small number of listed companies and attract little interest from foreign retail investors. Few Western European international stock brokers offer anything further east than Austria on a low-cost basis for online trading. A few of the UK private client stock brokers may be able to offer some Eastern European countries, although minimum commissions will often be relatively high — try Charles Stanley and Daniel Stewart.
However, Saxo Bank has recently added Poland to its line-up , so the largest Eastern European market is finally available through a major international stock broker with low-cost online platform; it also offers the Czech Republic. It offers online stock trading for Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, as well as major Europe exchanges — including all the German regional markets — and the US. The latter does not seem to be available through any foreign brokers.
Instead, investors interested in stocks that trade only on this will need to look at opening an account with Fio banka which owns RM-SYSTEM — it has services in English and also offers trading on the Prague exchange, as well as Poland and Hungary.
Three Lithuanian firms may also be of interest. These are carried out through intermediaries and hence rates will not be cheap, but may be useful for investors looking to access these countries for occasional investments without needing to open an account in each. Finasta also offers a wide range of countries for online trading, although again through intermediaries with some trades being manually executed by brokers. Lastly, Finvesta provides limited information about its services and is probably geared towards wealthier clients and institutions.
Swissquote also offers a number of Eastern European markets, albeit at relatively high minimum commissions. For local accounts in specific Emerging European countries, an option for Poland might be CDM Pekao , which has English-speaking staff and offers online trading for Warsaw as well as selected other major markets in Europe and North America.
Turkey is the market most likely to interest foreign investors in this region. Locally, many Turkish banks offer online stock trading as part of their internet banking service.
Garanti Bank is usually recommended as the only Turkish bank that makes a real effort to cater to English speaking expats.
Non-residents have confirmed that they have been able to open accounts by visiting a branch in person, speaking only English — although success may depend on which branch and bank officer you try. Egypt should be available through UK private client stock broker Daniel Stewart. When looking for accounts in North Africa, those who can speak French may have more options. For Israel, Clal Finance and Israel Brokerage and Investments have online trading services and apparently accept foreign clients.
It is technically possible for foreign investors to buy shares in Iran, although doing so may be illegal in your home country it certainly will be for citizens and residents of the US. You need to obtain a trading permit from the Securities and Exchange Organisation before you can open a bank and brokerage account. I have no idea what the minimum account size for a foreigner would be, but given the bureaucracy involved, I imagine it might need to be relatively large.
Khobregan Saham seems to be the stock broker with the most English language content on its website, so would probably be a good firm to approach for more information. There are no stock brokers that I know of within Africa, or in major foreign financial centres, that offer a range of African markets and will deal with retail clients.
South Africa is available through some international stock brokers, although surprising few. Locally, commissions are remarkably high and Saxo Bank at least will probably work out cheaper. For those looking for an account within the country, three possibilities are Absa Share Trading , Standard Securities and Investec Securities Online all divisions of major banks.
The stock broking industry in Kenya is undergoing a major shake-up, with many older independent stock brokers being taken over by larger firms, including banks. There are a reasonable number of established local brokers.
Nigeria has an enormous number of stock brokers. Unfortunately, most of them have a reputation for dire customer service, including very slow trade execution. For other countries, I have received few recommendations, although an active private investor in Africa has suggested trying Stockbrokers Botswana and Stockbrokers Zambia for their respective countries.
South America is far simpler if you speak Spanish — or Portuguese in the case of Brazil, just to make things harder. Unlike many parts of the world, stock brokers and other firms do not typically advertise services in English, although they may have English speaking staff. Learning to read the relevant language well enough to navigate a web site and use an online trading platform will make life much easier. The region also suffers from excessive bureaucracy and restrictions on foreign investors.
Again, Brazil is especially awkward here, because the final beneficial owner of every transaction needs to be identified. But if you want to go direct, to cut costs or for other reasons, Agora will reportedly consider foreigners, although you may need to be able to speak Portuguese to use its services. Alpes provides some information in English geared towards individuals. According to one representative at HSBC Brasil , the firm will open accounts for English-speaking foreigners and allow them to trade stocks by phone and possibly online, although the service is only in Portuguese.
But she went on to warn that the bureaucracy involved is so great that few foreigners bother. European firm Swissquote is another possibility. Daniel Stewart also offers Chile, again with the same requirements for sizeable trades. Peru reportedly presents relatively few difficulties. Colombia is said to be difficult for non-resident individuals to open accounts. Interbolsa was reported to have English-speaking brokers who would try to help, but the firm went into liquidation in November due to funding problems; no alternative has yet been suggested.
Charles Schwab formerly offered a high-cost solution from outside the country, but seems to have suspended that due to the currency exchange issues. Locally, two firms to look at may be Bull Market Brokers and Rava.
Be aware that getting money into the country may be easier than getting it out again if the government tightens capital controls further. The local stock exchange will usually have information that includes a list of authorised stock brokers — this will typically be available on its website. Contacting each of these to ask if they accept foreign clients and can service an account in English will often be the most useful solution.
Many of these will include discussions about investing, including stock broker recommendations. If you decide to open an account in a far-flung market, be prudent. In many markets, there is a real risk that a rogue broker could steal your money or shares and you would have little or no prospect of recovering your losses. There is an enormous difference between opening an overseas account with a reputable financial institution in a well-regulated financial centre and wiring money to a brokerage in a frontier market.
In my view, the former is a reasonable thing for a moderately experienced investor interested in international investing to consider. The latter is for very experienced emerging market investors with a willingness to take high risks only. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy. Introduction UK brokers US brokers Hong Kong brokers Singapore brokers Other The final section of this guide lists a few international stock brokers that may be of interest to investors in some of the less accessible markets.
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THE DEATH OF THE STOCK BROKER
The final section of this guide lists a few international stock brokers that may be of interest to investors in some of the less accessible markets. In general, these relate to markets that I am not personally involved in and know relatively little about the options for foreign investors. The stock brokers have been suggested to me by people who are, but I have generally not had the opportunity to get full details of what they offer. If you can recommend stock brokers or share useful information on investing in these countries, please email me. Very important note: Some of these firms below operate out of well-regulated financial centres or are subsidiaries of major financial institutions.
How do I find a good stock broker?
Investors buy and sell shares through a stockbroker. Stockbrokers have to be approved by the UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority or their home regulator if they are based outside the UK , and they need to pass certain specific exams, proving they are qualified for the job. There are hundreds of stockbroking firms and individual stockbrokers in the UK, many of whom are members of the London Stock Exchange. Investors can find these brokers, including local and specialised firms, using the London Stock Exchange website. Different investors have different needs and stockbroking services fall into three broad categories, discretionary, advisory and execution only. Find a broker. Company profile. Portfolio and email alerts. Direct Market Access.
Investors, brokers, and other active participants of the stock market have already been using the latest achievements of the web and mobile technologies in their practice.
This week, Rowene in Oklahoma thinks it's time to dump her stock broker and find a new one -- but she's not sure how to go about it. In Ohio, Roger is trying to find out just how much the average American pays in federal state and local taxes. Finding a good broker is a lot like finding a good doctor. You need to spend a little time first to find out if you like them -— and trust them.
Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners
Blain Reinkensmeyer May 7th, The StockBrokers. Here's how we tested. If so, you will need an online broker account. Choosing an online stock broker is one of the most important decisions you will make as an investor. This guide aims to introduce online trading and break down the best online brokers available today. As a previous full-time trader turned hobby enthusiast, since , I have completed over 1, trades in my personal portfolio, finishing with a total 2, individual buys and sells. While the markets are anything but certain, you can feel confident StockBrokers. This outstanding all-round experience makes TD Ameritrade our top overall broker in Serving over 30 million customers, Fidelity is a winner for everyday investors. While Interactive Brokers is not well known for its casual investor offering, it leads the industry with low-cost trading for professionals. Through the Trader Workstation TWS platform, Interactive Brokers offers excellent tools and an extensive selection of tradeable securities. Better yet, for current banking customers, Merrill Edge's Preferred Rewards program offers the best rewards benefits across the industry. Here's our high-level takeaways for each broker.
How To Build a Trading Platform. 5 Things To Know Before You Start a Stock Market App Like E-Trade
Stockbrokers or stock brokers are professionals or firms that execute buy and sell orders on behalf of their clients , allowing them to invest in company stocks and other financial securities that would be otherwise impossible to invest in. There are many stock brokers registered on the stock exchanges and while some of them are individual brokers, the majority of them are professional firms that act as intermediaries between retail investors and the stock exchange. The best way to invest in the stock market is through respectable online brokerage firms that offer low pricing and access to a wide range of trading instruments and derivatives. The stock market is a collective term that describes all public markets and exchanges where the daily activities of buying and selling of shares take place. This is where publicly-held companies issue shares and where most of the trade that influences the global economy occurs.
