Uk Based But Would Like To Use Us Broker (cheaper)

[bertiboy]

Hello to 1 and all, new to this forum, been trading for a few years now.
Trying to cut my trading costs,so to my question.
I am using a UK based broker being a Brit and all!!

Would like to know the possibility of switching to a US broker as the prices quoted seem to be cheaper by far.

Is it possible for a Brit to open a US account for transferal of money and all?

Is this possible??

Appreciate any replies!!

Regards,

Robert.

 

[abottoml]

Sure. I use Interactive Brokers, but there are plenty of others.

 

[bertiboy]

Ta!

Sure. I use Interactive Brokers, but there are plenty of others.

Thanks,Having a look at TD AMERITRADE.
In the process of applying now.

Any info on how they operate? per chance.

Again thanks for the reply...

Robert

 

[Charlton]

Hello to 1 and all, new to this forum, been trading for a few years now.
Trying to cut my trading costs,so to my question.
I am using a UK based broker being a Brit and all!!

Would like to know the possibility of switching to a US broker as the prices quoted seem to be cheaper by far.

Is it possible for a Brit to open a US account for transferal of money and all?

Is this possible??

Appreciate any replies!!

Regards,

Robert.

I use 2 US brokers: Interactive Brokers and Tradestation. The former also has offices in Europe. For IB your broker account can be designated in any base currency you like and it can be changed on demand. For Tradestation the account is held in US $.

You do not need to open a separate US bank account. The broker will provide full instructions on how to transfer funds into your broker account.

The whole process is quite painless and transparent. As soon as your funds have been deposited you can start trading.

There are a few US regulations you have to follow. For example if your style of trading falls within the US definition of pattern day trading i.e. you make a certain number of trades that are opened and closed within the same session then you will be required to deposit at least $25,000.

http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/node/193

You will also need to fill out an IRS form to exempt you from paying tax in the US and to account for it instead in the UK. The broker will handle all that.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf

Once the formalities are out of the way the rest is transparent. Your broker will provide details of how to withdraw funds from your broker account to your bank account and that's it.

Charlton

 

[bertiboy]

Thanks Charlton will have a look there also.

Did have a brief look at IB before but thought Ameritrade looked the more user friendly of the two.

Will revisit the site.


Thanks,

Robert.

 

[Charlton]

Thanks Charlton will have a look there also.

Did have a brief look at IB before but thought Ameritrade looked the more user friendly of the two.

Will revisit the site.


Thanks,

Robert.

Robert

I have just had a look at the Ameritrade site and I would agree with you that their platform looks much more user friendly and seems to have some nice features. I don't know how they fare as a broker in other ways - you might want to do a search for reviews of them.

The links that I gave to you were merely to indicate that it is not too difficult to open an account with a US broker and to alert you to a couple of formalities - the day trading account requirements if you choose to day trade and the IRS form.

Another consideration is whether or not you want to link other software to the broker platform. IB is very good in that respect in having an API that links to a number of different charting and other software, but then it probably needs to be because their own charting software is not great.

Finally you should consider which markets, which instruments, range of order types etc each broker provides and whether they suit your strategy.

If you do choose Ameritrade it would be great if you did a review to say why you chose them and, also in a few months time, a further review to say how its working out in practice.

Charlton