Purchasing US Stocks in Malaysia: Your Guide to the US Market

The thing is, you are in Malaysia and you are missing a piece of that American pie in the stock market? You're not alone. The Malaysian population has been eager to utilize the opportunities of the US stocks with their iconic tech firms such as Apple and Tesla or even the newest hot IPOs. But what is that jump of KL to Wall Street? It is not as complicated as you may imagine. image First of all, you have to open a brokerage account in which you will be able to trade the US stocks. The choices are abundant nowadays and various foreign brokers have facilitated the access to the US market by Malaysians. Mutual funds such as Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade, and even certain domestic funds such as Rakuten Securities have access to the US stocks. Creating an account in one of these is not very difficult, few stocks us market forex web clicks and you are half way there. But first, you will have to present a couple of documents to make sure that you are who you say you are. Imagine it as an effort to establish your age when it comes to purchasing a ticket to a concert- no big deal, it takes a passport, utility bill or any form of document to show residence and you are free to attend. After your account has been established, you need to fill it up. And this is where it becomes interesting. The majority of brokers will accept the deposits in the form of MYR, although your investments will be made in the US currency, and hence you will have to consider the exchange rate. In some cases banks and other platforms can charge a small conversion fee and it is worth keeping an eye on that. When you are considering purchasing Apple or Microsoft, all you need to remember is that the exchange rate could add or deduct a couple of Ringgit here and there. Now is the fun part, which is to select the stocks to buy. You are inclined to study or perhaps investigate how those US companies have been performing. Regardless of whether it is a steady dividend-paying company such as Coca-Cola or a growth company such as Amazon, there is no lack of options. Brokers offer numerous free tools to make an analysis of the stocks and you can read about the financial news or track the trend on such websites like Yahoo Finance. You need not overdo the hype, though--there is a lot of hype out there. The second thing is after selecting a stock, now you will make the trade. This step is rather comparable with a purchase of a stock in a local market. type in the ticker symbol (such as TSLA in the case of Tesla), and choose the number of shares, and buy. Your US stock portfolio will be there on the dashboard of your broker. Easy peasy, right? Here however is a little secret, buy and forget. The US markets are dynamic and the world can turn in a short time. It is also important to monitor your investments and place stop-loss orders in case you wish to restrict your risks. In an ever-changing fast market, it is always safe to be on the safe side. And don’t forget about taxes. IRS is fond of collection and thus, when making profits on your US stocks they could grab a small portion of your income. Luckily, Malaysia and the US have a favorable tax treaty and you will not be taxed twice but it is always good to ask an expert in tax matters who may clarify on whether you are in the right country. Finally, and most importantly, in case you do not like to do everything by yourself, you can use an investment app where you can invest in fractional shares. This will enable you to purchase a section of a large corporation such as Google, though you might not have the amount of money to purchase a complete share. It is quite an inexpensive way to enter the market and not to break the bank. Purchasing American stocks in Malaysia? It's easier than ever. When you have the right broker, do a bit of research and with some ingenious planning, you can access opportunities previously inaccessible. So, what’s stopping you? The US stock market’s waiting!