Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate. & W! `) R, }: ?& LYour second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. ) R) B9 i7 i% o, {% A6 Q/ {Unless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way): k ~% m" m0 S+ D3 ?$ k% s
Which broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too.; ^% c& V: u- e1 T% X( i7 \
I am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again.: ` H8 k1 [7 A2 Y! l4 G' i
! q4 K! S' H* ^. S- H2 Q! {I have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade. 7 l+ S) e3 C; n$ gI trade US stocks a lot. What I do is to exchange enough USD at the first place, and trade directly in that US account. I don't think Questrade can do the 1st way u described, but i maybe wrong.- b6 ]4 P8 r6 Q
) q- U2 ]6 N/ q; N b. Z# W5 h' NKeep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.