Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate. . F0 w* C7 [6 AYour second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. , H" ^& M- W: i6 F5 j ]
Unless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way) # D+ B3 }# z% C6 g% WWhich broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too. 5 D& z( F2 Q" C% o/ TI am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again. ! T9 _; D- m- ~! z$ i1 } ) a4 h6 z0 `7 D: @I have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade. . @/ `/ Y V" F9 U! ^I 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. F* }5 U5 |5 V& [- J * u& c5 h, Y; `Keep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.