Hi! Based on probability on enacting 0.25% tax on trade transactions in US, I decided that 'warned is armed', so it's time to prepare for the worst. Currently I'm with Ameritrade, but they don't have international stocks trading ability. So far for me it looks like E*Trade has reasonable costs ($20-40 per trade) for trading international (besides domestic, of course). Now, I have 3 questions: 1) If I trade foreign (EU or Asian) stocks via US-based broker, will this 'possible' Tobin tax apply? I think no (by it's definition), but want to hear from someone who knows more. 2) Are there non-US based brokers that US-resident can open account in and trade online for comparable fee? 3) What good online brokers can you recommend for this type of activity? (They should have an API for automated trading). I know about IB (too expensive) and E*Trade (close to reality). Who else is out there? Preferable, broker should be able to trade both US and non-US stocks, so if (or when) dark times come, I can switch with lesser pain. Thank you! P.S. Yes, I know about Forex, but stocks are so much easier!
http://personal.fidelity.com/global/search/inquira/resultsindex.shtml?question=international account Unsure about API availablity.
From their fees description: "For foreign stocks not traded in the U.S., add $50 per trade". So at best they do $50 + $8 = $58 one way. About 2-3 times higher than ETrade for the same thing, unless you trade on HK or UK market - in that case, I don't know how (if) Fidelity absorbs 0.1% one-way Tobin tax, already enacted in those countries. They say nothing about it in their docs...