E*Trade has become USA's first discount brokerage house to offer a global trading platform to investors. Using this platform, US based traders will be able to trade foreign-listed stocks online.
In the initial stages, only 1000 customers have been offered this platform. The customers will be able to buy stocks listed in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and UK.
By May, the platform will be available to all customers of E*Trade and as many as 42 markets will be available for trading.
For the last few years , US markets have underperformed many international markets and pressure has been building up on brokerage houses to offer international trading.
Earlier US investors had only one option for buying international stocks - ADRs. ADRs are only available
in few select stocks and are not as liquid as the underlying stocks.
A survey conducted by E*Trade last year had revealed that two-third of its investors were keen to trade in the international markets. Availability of an international platform means ,that now investors have a hedge against possible weakness of the dollar; as well as an opportunity to diversify their portfolio.
