Have anyone try to trade US stock via TD Ameritrade asia

[yccheok]

Hello all,

All the while, I trade US stocks via my Malaysia broking firm. However, cost is rather high especially comes to dividend.

• US government will take away 30% for dividend withholding tax.
  
• Broking firm want to charge to x% of processing fee.
  

Someone told me when he trades via TD Ameritrade (Not TD Ameritrade asia), the online broking firm doesn't charge him for any processing fee when receiving dividend. The best part, he is able to claim back 30% dividend withholding tax.

I was wondering, have anyone try to trade US stocks via TD Ameritrade asia? May I know what is your experience with it. Would you recommend TD Ameritrade asia based on your experience?

Thank you very much!
Cheok

[soros]

The US Government 30% withholding tax on dividends is not the broker's fault. You can received dividends from Hong Kong listed shares without any deduction of withholding tax.

Here is a review of TD Ameritrade :

http://www.stockbrokers.com/review/tdameritrade

[Debronic]

First off, I must say I am not an active trader. I have bought and sold some US ETFs before via TD Ameritrade though. My limited personal experience is that while the low brokerage fees is obviously a huge draw compared to using a local brokerage like OCBC, you also have to consider other factors such as forex cost and support. 

On a couple of occasions that I had the chance to compare the forex rates of TD vs OCBC, I realised that OCBC's were better and for a fairly sizeable amount to be transferred, this difference could mean that whatever savings that you derive from the brokerage fees of TD will be greatly diminished. And since TD does not operate a brick and mortar brokerage here, you will getting this reduced savings at the expense of doing away with physical brokerage support (a local hotline does not count) in the event that you need it. i.e. if you encounter issues with your trades, you will not be able to call up your broker to clarify like you do if you traded via a local brokerage. 

Of course, on the flip side, the local brokerages will charge you custodian fee for holding the US stocks in trust for you but it is usually a nominal amount something like a couple of dollars a month per counter.
 
That said, if you trade actively (I imagine most value buddies don't), then obviously the savings from brokerage fees will probably outweigh all other disadvantages. 

Just my 2cts worth.

[soros]

When you deal with foreign brokers, you need to know how to claim against the company if it becomes insolvent and closes suddenly.