![[Investing for Beginners] Introduction to US Stock and Securities Account Fee Comparison](https://d3pwh2ime6p0el.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/intro-to-us-stocks-en-768x402.jpg.webp)
Fee Comparison of Hong Kong’s most popular US Stock Accounts
HK Market
US Market
Robo Advisors
Futubull
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 15
Welcome Offer: Enjoy up to HK$1,800 welcome offer
Register a new account on or before 31st July 2024 by using Planto exclusive promo code “PLANTO” can enjoy the below rewards:
1. Planto exclusive offer : Enter promo code “PLANTO” BEFORE account opening can enjoy HK$200 cash coupons
2. Lifetime commission-free for HK stocks and US stock LV2 real-time streaming quotation services
3. Open an account, deposit a total of HK$10,000 or above into the Futu HK account.Maintain 60 days daily average asset* of HK$10,000 or above to receive : Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) - 1 share or HK$400 supermarket e-voucher
4. Open an account, deposit a total of HK$80,000 or above into the Futu HK account. Maintain 60 days daily average asset* of HK$80,000 or above to receive : Nvidia (NYSE:NVDA) – 1 share
Redemption procedures : Download Futu app; Register an account and go to Activity Centre; Enter “PLANTO” in redemption centre before account opening.
All rewards can be stacked. As of the closing price on 11 June 2024, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) stock price was US$77.97/share As of the closing price on 11 June 2024, Nvidia (NYSE: NVDA) stock price was US$125.2/share
Asset calculation method: Sum of the everyday assets/60 days; Including Cash/ Stocks/ Funds/ Options/ Futures
Investment involves risks. The fund price may move up or down. Investor should thoroughly study the funds' offering documents and other related documents (including risk disclosure statements).
Futubull
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 15.5
Welcome Offer: Enjoy up to HK$1,800 welcome offer
Register a new account on or before 31st July 2024 by using Planto exclusive promo code “PLANTO” can enjoy the below rewards:
1. Planto exclusive offer : Enter promo code “PLANTO” BEFORE account opening can enjoy HK$200 cash coupons
2. Lifetime commission-free for HK stocks and US stock LV2 real-time streaming quotation services
3. Open an account, deposit a total of HK$10,000 or above into the Futu HK account.Maintain 60 days daily average asset* of HK$10,000 or above to receive : Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) - 1 share or HK$400 supermarket e-voucher
4. Open an account, deposit a total of HK$80,000 or above into the Futu HK account. Maintain 60 days daily average asset* of HK$80,000 or above to receive : Nvidia (NYSE:NVDA) – 1 share
Redemption procedures : Download Futu app; Register an account and go to Activity Centre; Enter “PLANTO” in redemption centre before account opening.
All rewards can be stacked. As of the closing price on 11 June 2024, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) stock price was US$77.97/share As of the closing price on 11 June 2024, Nvidia (NYSE: NVDA) stock price was US$125.2/share
Asset calculation method: Sum of the everyday assets/60 days; Including Cash/ Stocks/ Funds/ Options/ Futures
Investment involves risks. The fund price may move up or down. Investor should thoroughly study the funds' offering documents and other related documents (including risk disclosure statements).
Webull
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 10
Welcome Offer: During the promotion period, new customers who apply via Planto, successfully open a Webull account, and complete some simple tasks can enjoy rewards valued up to HK$1,000:
- Successfully open an account, deposit HK$10,000, and retain it for 60 days to receive a HK$1,000 supermarket voucher. (Complete Planto reward redemption to receive the offer)
Terms and conditions apply.
Webull
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 0
Welcome Offer: During the promotion period, new customers who apply via Planto, successfully open a Webull account, and complete some simple tasks can enjoy rewards valued up to HK$1,000:
- Successfully open an account, deposit HK$10,000, and retain it for 60 days to receive a HK$1,000 supermarket voucher. (Complete Planto reward redemption to receive the offer)
Terms and conditions apply.
Tiger Brokers
Other Fee
0
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 0
Welcome Offer: Successfully open an account through Planto’s exclusive link then complete certain tasks until 31st July 2024 to enjoy up to HK$2,300 worth of reward:
- Exclusive HK$400 supermarket vouchers from Planto after depositing HK$10,000 , plus:
1. Time-limited Commission-Free Rewards*
- 0 Commission for HK stock trading (Lifetime)
- 0 Platform fee for HK stock trading (until 30th September 2024)
- NYSE Arca Level 2 Deep Quote streaming for US stocks (until 30th September 2024)
- 0 Commission for US stock option trading (until 30th September 2024)
- US Stock Option Lv1 Real-time Quotes (until 30th September 2024)
2. New clients account opening awards, fund more for 45 consecutive days to get more (please refer to T&Cs for detailed quolifications)
- Net deposit* HK$10,000 or US$1,500 or above : to activate HK$300 stock voucher (3x HK$100 vouchers) and 3-month free HK Stock Lv1 streaming quote
- Net deposit* HK$50,000 or above : to activate HK$600 stock vouchers (6x HK$100 vouchers)
- Net deposit* HK$100,000 or above : to activate HK$1,200 stock vouchers (12x HK$100 vouchers)
3. Complete 5 non-forex trades with each trade amounting to or exceeding HK$100 within 60 days after successful account opening (applicable to both Hong Kong and US stocks) : to activate HK$700 stock voucher (7x HK$100 vouchers)
* Net deposit = deposit amount - withdrawal amount, excluding the part of asset increase or decrease due to normal transactions.
^Daily cumulative net deposits = (from the account opening date) cumulative deposit amount - (from the account opening date) cumulative withdrawal amount, excluding asset fluctuations caused by normal trading activities
LONGBRIDGE
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 15
Welcome Offer: On or before 31 July 2024, apply via Planto, successfully open an account and deposit HK$10,000 to receive up to HK$2,000 worth of rewards:
Planto exclusive HK$200 supermarket coupon
Choose from one of the below 2 offers :
A. Up to HK$1,500
* Up to 41% APR for deposit (Limited to HK$20,000 maximum for 60 days to enjoy interest approximately HK$1,366) [Usual APR is 5% while new clients can enjoy extra 30%]
* Total worth of HK$200 stocks cash coupon (HK$100 x 2)
B. Total worth up to HK$1,800
* Total worth of HK$800 stocks cash coupon
* Total worth of HK$1,000 cash rebate (upon 15 tradings)
Terms and conditions
LONGBRIDGE
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 8
Welcome Offer: On or before 31 July 2024, apply via Planto, successfully open an account and deposit HK$10,000 to receive up to HK$2,000 worth of rewards:
Planto exclusive HK$200 supermarket coupon
Choose from one of the below 2 offers :
A. Up to HK$1,500
* Up to 41% APR for deposit (Limited to HK$20,000 maximum for 60 days to enjoy interest approximately HK$1,366) [Usual APR is 5% while new clients can enjoy extra 30%]
* Total worth of HK$200 stocks cash coupon (HK$100 x 2)
B. Total worth up to HK$1,800
* Total worth of HK$800 stocks cash coupon
* Total worth of HK$1,000 cash rebate (upon 15 tradings)
Terms and conditions
Saxo Hong Kong
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
0.05%
(min. HKD 18)
Welcome Offer: Enjoy up to 4.27%* on cash deposits amount US$10,000 or higher
*the interest rate figure is for reference, it could change with the market condition
Saxo Hong Kong
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
From HKD 0.039 / share
(min. from HKD 23)
Welcome Offer: Enjoy up to 4.27%* on cash deposits amount US$10,000 or higher
*the interest rate figure is for reference, it could change with the market condition
uSMART Securities
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
HKD 8
Welcome Offer: April special offer, Open an account with uSmart to earn:
• 2024 promotion : US$1.5 transaction fee per trade for US stock, 0 commission and platform fee for HK stock
• Real-time streaming quotation for HK stocks (Terms and conditions apply)• Lifetime free U.S. stock commission (only for standard accounts)
• HK$20 cash coupons X8
#For HK stocks, you can enjoy 0 commission and platform fee by trading the designated 16 ETF. For US stocks, you can enjoy US$1.5 transaction fee per trade when the value of each trading of main board stocks equals or higher than US$100.
Interactive Brokers
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
0.05% of Trade Value
Welcome Offer: Earn up to 4.83% annual interest rate on positive settled cash balance for accounts with total NAV of US$100,000 or higher. *Accounts with NAV of less than US$100,000 receive interest at rates proportional to the size of the account
**Interest rate if for reference only, it may change any time according to market condition
Interactive Brokers
Other Fee
N/A
Avg. Trade Cost
US$0.005 / share
(min. from US$0.35)
Welcome Offer: Earn up to 4.83% annual interest rate on positive settled cash balance for accounts with total NAV of US$100,000 or higher. *Accounts with NAV of less than US$100,000 receive interest at rates proportional to the size of the account
**Interest rate if for reference only, it may change any time according to market condition
Syfe
Account Funding Requirements
HKD 10,000
Fees
0.35%-0.65% AUM
Stashaway
Account Funding Requirements
HKD 10,000
Fees
0.2%-0.8% AUM
Welcome Offer: New customers who successfully open a StashAway account via Planto’s link can enjoy 3 months of free management for up to HK$50,000.
Aqumon
Account Funding Requirements
HKD 10,000
Fees
0.5%-0.8% AUM
The economic instability in Hong Kong has weighed on the city’s stock market. More Hong Kong investors are switching to higher-achieving US stocks among which ETFs are one of the most popular choices.
However, before opening a US stock account, there are a few rules that amateur investors must know. Read on learn the basics of the US stock market and have a fee comparison of the most commonly used US stock securities accounts in Hong Kong!
Buying US stocks is pretty easy in Hong Kong as most banks provide US stock accounts but the fees are MUCH lower if you buy it through securities firms or robo-advisors.
These transaction costs can add up really quickly, are easily avoidable and offer no value to an investor – so just pick the broker or company with the lowest costs (based on your trading habits).
Minimum fees to buy US Stocks
Hong Kong stocks’ minimum trading unit is a “lot”, the number of shares in each “lot” usually ranges from 100 to 2,000.
Let’s say you want to buy HSBC Holdings (0005) stocks. They have a minimum lot size of 400 shares. If each share costs HKD 58, the minimum account of money to buy a lot of HSBC Holdings (0005) would be over HKD 23,000 (400 shares x HKD 58 plus transaction fees).
In the US, however, the minimum trading unit of US stock is a “share”. Take Apple Inc. (AAPL) as an example, their stock price was around USD 220 (~HKD 1,716) in October 2019 so you could start investing with just HKD 1,716!
Because of this, generally, the minimum amount you need to invest into US stocks is much lower than Hong Kong stocks.
Like we said, it’s cheaper to start investing with a broker and you get a much better user experience.
How to start investing in 3 steps
1
Open an account
You can open an account with most brokers 100% online and it only takes about 10 minutes. In most cases, you will need your HKID and address proof and that's about it.
2
Transfer money in
Once your account is opened, you can transfer money through bank transfers or even FPS. You'll need to deposit HKD 10,000 if you want to verify your account online (but otherwise, you can visit them in person!). Your money will usually be received within the same day.
3
Start investing
Once the broker receives the money and your account is verified, you can start investing - that's literally it!
US Stock Exchange Fees and Taxes
Apart from commissions and platform fees charged by banks and securities firms, investors will also be charged by US regulatory authorities. Yet, it is still generally cheaper than buying Hong Kong stocks. The main fees are as follows:
| Charged Items | Fees (in USD) |
|---|---|
| SEC Fee* | Adjusted seasonally, commonly varies from 0.00213% to 0.00218% of the transaction amount |
| Trading Fee | $0.003 per share |
| Transaction Fee* | $0.000119 per share |
| Dividend Tax Rate | 30% |
*For sale trades only
Trading Hours for the US Stock Market
The trading hours of the US stock market are different in winter and summer times. In summer, the trading hours are from 9:30pm to 4am in Hong Kong time. They are one hour late in winter – from 10:30pm to 5am in Hong Kong time.
3 Major US Stock Indices
Similar to how we have the Hang Seng Index (HIS) in Hong Kong, there are 3 major US stock indices which indicate the overall market performance in the US.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – Founded in the 19th century, it measures 30 listed companies including Coca-Cola (KO), Boeing (BA) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS).
- NASDAQ Composite (NASDAQ) – Founded in 1971, its 100 constituent stocks are mainly from IT, Telecommunication and Biotech sectors, including Google (GOOG), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT)
- S&P 500 Index (S&P 500) – Founded in 1957, its constituent stocks are more diversified, measuring 500 listed companies including Facebook (FB), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and ExxonMobil (XOM)
Pros of US Stock
- They have lower entrance fees: The minimum trading unit of US stock is only a share! And the management fee is relatively cheap. You can start investing with less money.
- They offer more and better choices: Many of the world’s top companies chose to get listed in the US. You can easily find a quality stock of interest and there are more ETFs in the US too.
- You are exempt from profits tax: Americans are required to pay investment income tax but luckily Hong Kongers don’t have to! Just fill out the W-8BEN form (most securities firms will help you with this!) and declare you’re a foreigner when you open a US stock account and you’re exempt from the tax.
- They are highly regulated and transparent: The US regulatory authorities put a lot of effort into combating insider trading, market manipulation, financial fraud, etc. so its market transparency is high.
Cons of US Stock
- The time difference: The opening of the US stock market is at night in Hong Kong. It could be hard for Hongkongers to stay close to the market. If you’re following a long term strategy, then it’s not too big a deal though!
- The exchange rate: As US stocks are traded in USD, investors must pay attention to the currency conversion cost.
- More expensive monthly stock investment plans: Investors have to pay for administrative fees of about 5% of contribution in monthly stock investment plans which makes it very hard to justify! Although, since the entry cost for US stocks is much lower, you may not need a stock investment plan at all. You could just buy a few shares of various ETFs to get a diversified portfolio!
- High dividend tax rate: The US dividend tax is 30% which might weaken the returns on dividend investing.
(Banks and securities firms’ fees and service information are for reference only. Actual charges depend on in-time information provided by banks and securities firm.)
