If you are a foreign investor outside the U.S. who wants to take advantage of Robinhood’s
commission-free trading, you are out of luck because the app-based broker is currently only
available to those residing in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia.
There is, however, one growing in popularity U.S. broker, that also offers discounted
trading and is open to most foreign investors. This article will go over
Zackstrade.
Who Qualifies for a Robinhood Account?
On their website, Robinhood indicates that you must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) in order to open an account (Taxpayer Identification Numbers are not sufficient). This means that you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a legal address within the 50 U.S. States or Puerto Rico. The only way for a non-US citizen to get an SSN, and therefore be able to open a Robinhood account, would be if you have a valid U.S. visa.
What is the Alternative to Robinhood?
For non-US investors that don’t meet the above qualifications to invest with Robinhood, we recommend
opening an account with
ZacksTrade (especially if you are an EU citizen).
ZacksTrade Website
Open ZacksTrade Account
ZacksTrade Overview
ZacksTrade supports trading in
stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, and bonds.
Commissions, Fees, and Minimum Deposit
Unlike Robinhood, ZacksTrade doesn’t have $0 commissions. Stock and ETF trades are
$0.01 per share ($1 minimum per trade), and for stocks priced below $1 the commission is the greater
of $3 or 1% of the trade.
Mutual fund commissions are a flat $27.50. Options trades are $1 for the first contract and $0.75
for each additional contract.
Bond commissions are $3 per bond ($1,000 face value) plus a percentage of the trade which varies based on the size and the type of bond (Municipal, Corporate, or Treasury). The percentage can be as low as 0.005% for trades over $1 million face value or as high as 0.10% for face values under $10,000.
While ZacksTrade doesn’t have any account maintenance fees, they do require a minimum account balance of $2,500. Other fees to be aware of is they will charge you a $10 monthly fee for real-time data unless you trade at least $30 in commission per month. Oddly, ZacksTrade only allows one free withdrawal per month, with all additional ACH withdrawals costing $1. Higher fees apply to withdrawals via check or wire transfer.
Trading Software, Tools and Education
ZacksTrade has a website that is used for managing your account but not for trading, that happens on their web browser, desktop, and mobile platforms. The web browser and desktop platforms offer the standard features you’d expect from all brokers, but charting is superior on the desktop app.
A plus of using ZacksTrade is that your account gets you free access to lots of education and research articles offered through the broker’s various partners, including Zacks Investment Research, Morningstar, and Seeking Alpha. Many of these partners are subscription-only, so free access through your Zacks account is a great deal.
Customer Service
ZacksTrade has an online chat feature; however we haven’t always been able to immediately get in touch with someone through this channel. On the bright side, Zacks also has dedicated phone support during business hours from 9am to 6pm EST Monday through Friday.
Robinhood For Foreign Citizens Summary
In conclusion, if you are a non-US investor (and don’t hold a U.S. visa) you cannot currently open
an account with Robinhood. ZacksTrade is a popular
U.S. broker with great tools that offers international accounts to citizens of most countries.
ZacksTrade Website
Open ZacksTrade Account
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