Buying US stockmarket shares

converse

What's the best way (website, online trading company etc) to buy and eventually sell US based shares like Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Google etc.

I'm after a good service, low fees, people who had a good experience etc?

Also what if you want to bind them into a self picked ISA? Are there good UK based companies which allow this?

purch

E Trade offers US stock trading for about a fiver a go....

https://uk.etrade.com/e/t/uk/landingpage

https://global.etrade.com/e/t/intl/page?nav=1&subnav=1&screen=1&language=en&country=uk&refid=028999

converse

Thanks purch, would you recommend those companies?

Any UK companies offering similar services, any other tips?

purch

I use E Trade for a large proportion of my trades

They always manage to better the 'screen quote' by a fair margin, so I assume they must go to numerous RSP's for prices (far more than some other brokers do) Any orders that I have placed into the Order Book through E Trade have been filled efficiently too.

isofa

Hargreaves and Lansdown offer share trading and self-pick share ISAs too, covering: LSE and AIM shares, DOW 30, Nasdaq 100, ; S&P 500 + 300 Euro top shares. The US ones you mention are all listed on NASDAQ.

Haven't used them personally yet, but quite fancy the idea of a ISA with some personally picked shares.

gt94sss2

converse wrote: »

Any UK companies offering similar services, any other tips?

To buy US shares, I use:

1) HSBC InvestDirect Plus though you need to open/have a (free) HSBC current account.

2) Selftrade who charge £12.50/trade and also have a referral scheme where you could get up to £80 for joining them (my own details are in post 295)

Both of the above also offer self select ISAs in which you can hold US shares.

I would not recommend Hargreaves Lansdown for shares as their prices tend to much higher than other brokers (unlike for investment funds for which they are very good)

Regards
Sunil

purch

but quite fancy the idea of a ISA with some personally picked shares.

The E Trade self select ISA will work out cheaper (and better)

E Trade charge a flat £ 2.50 a month whilst HL charge 0.5%, and the dealing costs are less £ 8.95 a trade (not to mention the much much better order/trading fills they give you)

converse

Thanks guys, what about Self Trade: www.selftrade.co.uk any good?

debbie42

I use Selftrade and am happy with them. £12.50 per trade, no inactivity or management fee, apart from for ISAs which have a £6.25 quarterly management fee, regardless of the value.

They did have a referral offer of £50 when I joined, so if that's still going you could save a few trade costs.

Frugality_2

I thought ISAs where just a UK thing?

debbie42

Frugality wrote: »

I thought ISAs where just a UK thing?

They are a UK tax wrapper, but you can have non-UK shares as long as they are listed on a "recognised stock exchange".