Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate.& D0 A4 ]- ~; y2 A5 G) k
Your second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. 8 ^1 E+ N4 U Z" Z" Z& b1 U4 u4 f) bUnless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way)4 _/ e8 R, Q m" [* a8 I6 Y5 b
Which broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too. " s0 C' m" d' Y/ i4 ~I am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again.6 g, k! E0 f* Y+ U
: j+ s7 k0 i# \I have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade.0 v8 F o( h" Q0 f. N7 s
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. - H) f G0 v- c" @ m- i* p+ K' T% D, w* ]8 M/ D2 A
Keep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.