Pros/Cons of using U.S. online trading accnts vs Irish stockbrokers/banks

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whatsmoney

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Hi

Can anyone advise on the pros/cons of using US online trading websites for share purchases eg. zecco.com, as opposed to for example the local NIB sharedealing service.

I am interested specifically in buying shares on the NYSE.

The US online accounts are considerably cheaper (free in some cases). What should an Irish national look out for if he was to go down this route to avail of the cheap service?

Seeing as I intend to buy US shares, I was thinking that this would be the best way to do it.

Is there much hassle in opening a zecco account, and when open is it a simple case of transferring money into it and then buying stock?
If I was to buy 10k USD of shares on the NYSE, how does it work regarding ownership of the shares, are they just held in zecco or once I see on my secco account that I own them, should this be enough to satisfy me that they are mine? I am new to share dealing, so the prospect of sending money to a company to buy shares for me is 'frightening'. How secure am I in knowing that it is all above board.
Does anyone have specific experience with zecco?


Thanks for any help.
 
There are a ton of posts on this in the financial best buys section. I suggest you look them up (to get a flavour of the pros and cons for either option)

in a nutshell (IMO) the regular irish brokerages are much more expensive and don't have any real value add.

The main thing to be careful of is that the broker you chose if you go for th online discount ones is that they are reputable , have a good track record etc. Chances are that you will have a custody account , where the brokerage actually own's the shares for you....thus if they go broke you don't get to keep the shares. (any brokerage worth it's salt should have insurance out to protect it's customers for this in any case....up to certain amounts). Equally , said brokerages that are worth their salt should be in no danger of going under!

Another thing to look out for is the base currency of your account and the shares you are investing in. The Dollar has being doing poorly over the last few years and shows no signs of getting better. You may invest in good companies that get great gains but that could all be wiped out when you try to convert those gains back to Euro!
 
Thanks folks.
Found the thread and good info in there, though so much of it it's almost
confusing. A lot to consider before making the decision.
 
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