Is it possible to move shares across countries?

Discussion in 'Stocks' started by languinethesupercattrader, Mar 19, 2025.

  1. Hey,

    Are there any brokers that allow me to move my shares fairly seamlessly between exchanges in different countries? Lets say I own some MSFT.nyse and wanted to move it to mexico and get MSFT.mx.

    IBKR seems to allow it, but its a bit of a hassle and not sure if it's a one time thing for a customer, or if they would allow me to move shares back and forth regularly.
     
  2. deaddog

    deaddog

    If your broker deals with an exchange you should be able to open a trade in one currency and close it in another.
    I'm in Canada and most brokers deal with US and Canadian exchanges, IB deals with many.
     
  3. deltaf0rce

    deltaf0rce

    Yes. A high quality broker should let you own your positions on the exchange and currency in which you purchased them. It may require a certain balance and a certain department of the brokerage house - not all houses want to do this on the regular for clientele but it is absolutely possible. PM me if you have any questions.
     
    trader221 likes this.
  4. long

    long

    Is this a loophole that avoids the exit tax?
     
  5. deltaf0rce

    deltaf0rce

    I don’t see how - you have to update the address on your account
     
  6. I journal shares all the time between US and Canadian exchanges. A lot of companies are dual listed (for example ENB, CP, BB).
     
  7. Peter8519

    Peter8519

    Foreign shares listed in NYSE/NSDQ as ADR can be converted vice versa.
    Investing in ADRs, Foreign Ordinaries, & Canadian Stocks | Charles Schwab
    I think this kind of conversion is more for institutional.

    As for ordinary shares, it's stuck with the exchange where its listed. I am from Singapore and I trade US stocks through IBKR. I could transfer my US shares from IBKR to my local Philips Securities broker. My local broker will act as a custodian of my US shares. By the way, there is custodian fee for my US shares in the local account. In fact, I started with my local broker trading US shares and moved to IBKR because of low commission.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2025
  8. Hi Gary,

    Do you use IBKR? may I ask how often you journal shares, how fast the process is, and if there is any fee you need to pay?

    Thanks
     
  9. Hi, generally I use journaling to convert currency (USD to CAD or vice versa). Since I can do an actual FX trade on IB to convert currency I haven't had to use journaling on IB. I've used it on Canadian brokerage platforms like Questrade and CIBC Investors Edge. The minimum time it takes is based on settlement times which is now T+1. So the process can take 1 to 3 days depending on the broker. There is typically a nominal fee around $10 to perform the journal.
     
  10. Ah okay gotcha! The reason I'm curious was to see if there was potential for arbitrage between the 3 instruments. Obviously, it is hard to keep 2 instruments in line on different exchanges, but it becomes harder when there is also an FX difference. So I see some divergence crop up pretty regularly. I.e. Buy MSFT.Nyse, sell MSFT.canada, and convert proceeds to USD when exchange rate should price MSFT.canada lower, then journal the shares over to cover the short. Seems like it might be tedious and costly for retail.
     
    #10     Mar 21, 2025