Best european broker to trade US stocks with?

Discussion in 'Retail Brokers' started by vikingtrader, Feb 10, 2011.

  1. Hi,

    Need some guidance on European stock brokers that lets you trade on all US markets including the OTC & Pink sheets. Of course only online trading on the above mentioned is a must and with reasonable comission fees.

    Another requirement is a minimum open balance of approx $5k and without any daytrading restrictions like the "Pattern daytrader" rule used in US.

    I have done some quick searching on the web already but there is too many choosing from, one that seems good at first glance is Interactive Brokers UK. Anyone using this broker?

    Others i have come across:

    - Internaxx
    - TD Ameritrade UK
    - InvestorsEurope


    I should also mention that i live in Sweden.

    Any help & guidance would be much appreciated.
     
  2. Not sure about the differences between IB UK and IB USA. It would be great if someone has any input on that.

    So far I noticed that the margin it requires for trading US future options is much higher than TOS for instance.

    Everything else seems to be exactly like IB USA. Etrade is also available in Europe, but their commissions like most European brokers are high.

    If your account originates from Europe, your taxes are A LOT lower.
     
  3. Ok, do you know if there is any daytrading regulations like the Pattern Daytrader rule with IB UK?
     
  4. shfly

    shfly

  5. rani

    rani

    Yes, IB UK applies the same PDT rules as IB US even for non-US residents.
     
  6. luisHK

    luisHK


    Little experience only... One of their rep showed up on this forum after they were mentionned and disappeared right after his first post. Another rep in the same period contacted me many times and also disappeared instead of giving me the more competitive rates he had promised - after I mentionned using american discount brokers.

    It doesn't mean they are bad but I doubt you will find them competitive to IB or Etrade and such... Asked them what kind of margin they offer but never received a reply either.

    If you trade pink sheets Etrade should end up quite a bit cheaper than IB with their flat fee, but you should be stuck with the day traders limitations.

    There is also a broker registered somewhere in the Carribean that advertises on ET which doesn't have margin requirements and offers competitive rates to the US market, forgot the name but others here should have more info.
     
  7. dhpar

    dhpar

    have experience with both of them. no difference imo. there may be a different treatment of customers' funds if IB goes bankrupt but even that i doubt.
     
  8. They are based in Gibraltar, I think that says enough. Additionally, from what I remember about them, they had a handful of people, like 10ish, and are a full service brokerage outfit jobbing like all other f/s brokers. They also seem to have shotgun approach to i/net marketing. Given the propensity of power cuts and some internet cuts in Gibraltar, I personally would be concerned sending my orders through Gib. It sounds like you would be better served with IB or internaxx, or maybe the firm in Hong Kong - Boom securities.
     
  9. I contacted them myself and asked, InvestorsEurope that it. Unfortunately they don`t have all pinks avaliable for trading, just some. Not sure about their fees yet.
     
    #10     Feb 14, 2011