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Fidelity

Fidelity has recently overhauled its international trading service to the point where it may be relatively useful. Previously, you needed a minimum balance of US$25,000 and over 120 trades per year or a balance of US$1,000,000, which made it extremely uncompetitive since any investor who met those conditions could do better elsewhere.

But with the international trading service now open to all account sizes, a large number of new markets added and reasonable fees for online trades in most, it now seems to be one of the most competitive providers available to US investors, at least in terms of range (Interactive Brokers is considerably cheaper, but covers fewer markets). However, be aware of the usual excessive FX conversion fee (up to 1%) – investors should try to work around this as much as possible by avoiding changing currencies within the account too frequently.

Markets available
Online tradingAustralia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan - Osaka, Japan - Tokyo, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA, USA OTCBB and Pink Sheets
Telephone tradingAs above
Dealing commissions and charges
Typical online~US$8-40
Online detailsAustralia A$32, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain €19, Canada C$19, Denmark DKK160, Hong Kong HK$250, Japan ¥3,000, Mexico MXN360, New Zealand NZD35, Norway NOK160, Poland PLN90, Singapore S$35, South Africa ZAR225, Sweden SEK180, Switzerland CHF25, UK £9, USA US$7.95
Typical telephone~US$30-100
Telephone detailsAustralia A$70, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain €50, Canada C$70, Denmark DKK420, Hong Kong HK$600, Japan ¥8,000, Mexico MXN960, New Zealand NZD90, Norway NOK400, Poland PLN235, Singapore S$90, South Africa ZAR600, Sweden SEK480, Switzerland CHF65, UK £30, USA US$32.95
Other fees and charges
Account fees and inactivity feesNone
Custody charges for stocksNone
Dividend chargesNone
Corporate action chargesNone
Currencies
Currency conversion chargesUp to 1% margin on interbank rates: Trades up to US$100,000 1%; US$100,000-250,000 0.75%; US$250,000-500,000 0.5%; US$500,000-1,000,000 0.3%; US$1,000,000+ 0.2%
Hold cash in foreign currenciesYes
Currencies allowedAUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, USD, ZAR
Other details
Tax-advantaged accountsIRA
Other products and servicesBonds, funds, metals, options
Minimum account sizeNone
Company locationUSA
Further information

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