Mutual funds handle all the currency-related processes like transfer, Fx conversion and remittance. They eliminate the need for you to worry about fluctuations in exchange rates.
Drawback – You also don’t have the option of selecting stocks as you wish. Additionally, mutual funds charge expense and management fees, which will lower your returns.
List of tie-up brokerage companies that allows US stocks investment
- 5Paisa & Vested Finance
- Angel Broking & Vested Finance
- Geojit Securities & Stockal Inc
- HDFC Securities & Stockal
- Kotak Securities & Interactive Brokers LLC
- ICICI Direct & Interactive Brokers LLC
There are few standalone brokerages (including fintech platforms and apps) that allow investment in US stocks from India like
- Stockal Inc
- Groww
- Vested Finance
- Winvesta
- INDmoney
Note – You can save account opening time if you already have a demat & trading account with any one of the Indian stockbrokers.
I already have an existing demat & trading account with 5Paisa. 5Paisa took 1 day to open a US investment account.
The US-based brokerage firm relies on the KYC done by your local broker which reduces account opening time. That is the only benefit I can see when you open a US investment account with tie-up brokers.
But then also you need to upload your KYC documents while account opening. The US investment account opening is simple and the process is similar to opening a demat & trading account in India.
The US account opening process will be more or less the same even if you choose to open a brokerage account with standalone brokers like Groww. But it may take an additional day or two for KYC completion.
You need to
#1. Use your existing 5Paisa ID & password to login into the 5Paisa-Vested Finance platform
#2. Provide basic details – like your mobile number. The rest of the details like name, email ID and DOB (date of birth) will be pulled from the database of your existing broker.
#3. Create risk profile – by selecting risk tolerance, investing experience, net worth and primary source of your income. You will also need to provide marital status and the country where you file tax returns.
#4. Upload KYC documents – Aadhar and PAN card.
#5. Choosing an investment plan – In the beginning, you can pick the basic plan. Later with experience, you can pick a higher plan.
Here you also need to pay the account opening fees at this point. 5paisa-Vested charged Rs. 399 for US stock account opening. But in general, the fees will vary from Rs. 0 to a few hundred rupees depending on your broker.
The account opening charges payment options are
- UPI like Google Pay, Phone Pe and Paytm,
- Cards – credit and debit cards of private and PSU banks
- Netbanking and Wallets
5Paisa-Vested took 1 day to create my US investment account.
The US investment account opening process may take 1-3 days of time at the broker’s end. The broker may even contact you over the phone or email if any additional information or documents are needed.
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In my experience, the US-based broker relies on your local stockbroker and you may receive a call to cross-check your identity.
