To trade U.S. stocks, the most important concern is commissions, and every investor wants to reduce costs when making investments。

Today, more and more brokerages offer commission-driven U.S. stock trading services。In addition to the established US brokerages Interactive Brokers and TD Ameritrade, a number of overseas brokerages, such as moomoo, Tiger Brokers and Webull, have emerged in recent years, all of which have provided more choices for Malaysian users.。

Even locally in Malaysia, there are securities firms that offer low commission U.S. stock trading services, such as FSMONE and Rakuten Trade。

Some brokerages even claim that users can trade U.S. stocks with a "zero commission."。

However, as long as the broker claims to be "0 commission," will it help investors save more costs?？

This article will examine whether the "zero commission" US stock trading service is the best choice for Malaysian investors, and use Rakuten Trade, moomoo and TD Ameritrade as examples to show other factors to consider in addition to commissions when choosing a broker.。

1. 0 Commission brokerage must be the most economical？

When choosing a brokerage firm, I believe everyone will be attracted by the "0 commission" because it saves huge investment costs.。

In fact, a broker that offers zero commission to trade U.S. stocks may not be the right place for you to use because it may not really help you save money。

Whether a 0-commission brokerage firm can recover the investment costs of trading U.S. stocks depends on two factors.

You are not a Malaysian working in Singapore.

Your trading habits.

Next, the author uses Rakuten Trade, the lowest commission broker in Malaysia, moomoo, an overseas commission broker, and TD Ameritrade, an established U.S. commission broker, to show you how these two factors can affect your cost investment。

2.Rakuten Trade, moomoo and TD Ameritrade

Before discussing whether the 0 commission US stock trading service saves money, you must be clear:

Rakuten Trade is regulated by the Malaysian Securities and Exchange Commission (SC), and deposits and withdrawals can be made through Malaysian bank transfers without incurring any transfer fees.

◇ moomoo is not recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Malaysia (SC), but is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States (SEC)。Deposits and withdrawals cannot be transferred directly through Malaysian banks and must be made through international remittances or Wise remittances, which will incur a fee.。

TD Ameritrade is not recognized by the Malaysian Securities and Exchange Commission (SC) and is even on the Alert List, but is regulated by the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).。Deposits and withdrawals cannot be transferred directly through Malaysian banks and must be made through international remittances, which will incur a fee.。

The following is a summary of the differences between the three brokerages.

	Rakuten Trade	moomoo	TD Ameritrade
Location	Malaysian Brokers	Singapore Brokers	American Brokers
0 Commission US Stock Trading	X	✓*	✓
Regulated by the Malaysian Securities and Futures Commission (SC)	✓	X	X
Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)	X	✓	✓
Regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)	X	✓	✓
Deposit method (* only for local users in Malaysia)	Local Bank Transfer	International wire transfer Wise remittance	international wire transfer
Whether there is a handling fee for deposit (* only for local users in Malaysia)	X	✓	✓

It is worth noting that moomoo is a lifetime commission, but USD 0 per transaction.99 platform fee is only free for 1 year。In other words, you will be charged a platform fee at the time of trading after 1 year of using moomoo.。However, within the scope of this discussion, the author presupposes that everyone has not used moomoo for a full year, so the cost of moomoo's platform is not taken into account。

Note: moomoo has resumed calling 0 per order in November 2022.$99 platform fee

3.For Malaysians working in Singapore, 0 commission can really save a lot of money!

Malaysians working in Singapore can naturally also hold a Singapore bank account and their salaries are remitted directly to the Singapore bank account.。

When you want to trade a moomoo or TD Ameritrade investment in U.S. stocks with a zero commission, you can remit funds directly from your Singapore account to your investment account。Therefore, the above chart in the "deposit method" and "whether the deposit process" fee "situation, has not applied to you.。

The following is a compilation of the use of Singapore bank accounts to deposit moomoo and TD Ameritrade.

	moomoo	TD Ameritrade
Deposit method (* only applicable to Singapore bank accounts)	DDA real-time deposit bank transfer	Bank transfer
Whether the deposit is subject to a handling fee (* only for Singapore bank accounts)	X	X (using DBS / POSB Bank) ✓ (using non-DBS / POSB banks)

From the table, we can see that there will be no charges for using the Singapore Bank deposit moomoo, and no charges for using the DBS / POSB Bank deposit TD Ameritrade.。

Add to that moomoo and TD Ameritrade that's a zero commission, and using them to invest in U.S. stocks can really minimize your investment costs.。So as a Malaysian working in Singapore, you decisively choose a U.S. stock broker with zero deposit fees and zero commissions.。

Some may ask:

"I don't work in Singapore, but I have a Singapore bank account, so should I also choose a 0 commission brokerage firm?"？Because my income is also zero cost。"

If your funds must be remitted from a Malaysian bank account to a Singapore bank account before you can deposit money, this process will still incur remittance fees, so the above does not apply to you。

Note: To use the 0 fee deposit TD Ameritrade, you must use the Singapore DBS / POSB bank deposit, if you use other Singapore bank deposits, you must also pay expensive wire transfer fees。

4.Malaysian working in Malaysia, 0 commission brokerage may not be right for you

For Malaysian users using Malaysian bank deposits, the "0 commission" seems to be a "visible, intangible" thing.。

Why do you say that?？Please see the chart below:

	Rakuten Trade	moomoo	TD Ameritrade
Account Opening Fee	RM 0	RM 0	RM 0
Charges incurred by the deposit RM 5000	RM 0	RM 31.74 (Wise remittance)	≈ USD 19 (international wire transfer)
Costs incurred in buying USD 1000 U.S. stocks	≈ 1.$88 + RM 6 *	0 USD	0 USD
Total cost	≈ RM 15	≈ RM 32	≈ RM 88

Note: Rakuten Trade's U.S. stock trading commission is 0% of the trading volume..1%, minimum USD 1 per transaction.88。Stamp duty is 1,000 per RM, involving RM 1.Stamp duty of 00。

If you choose to use moomoo or TD Ameritrade with 0 commission to trade shares, although you are saving on commission, you will be more costly because of the fees incurred by the deposit。

Note: moomoo has resumed calling 0 per order in November 2022.$99 platform fee。

The most economical way to get into gold moomoo is through Wise.。No matter how you save it, there will still be a fee when you send money through Wise.。Assuming that RM 5000 is to be credited, a Wise fee of approximately RM 32 will be incurred (due to the fact that a certain fee will be incurred) and the number of remitters will vary)。

If you trade stocks with TD Ameritrade, you can only use the international wire transfer (Telegraphic Transfer) method of deposit, where the fees incurred are even more frightening, regardless of the amount of deposit, a single charge of RM 88 will be incurred.。

Rakuten Trade, on the other hand, charges a minimum of USD 1 when trading shares worth USD 1000.88 commission and RM 6 stamp duty, but because there is no handling fee for transferring funds through local banks, the fees that will eventually be incurred are just RM 19.。

While we can see from the chart above that Rakuten Trade generates the lowest investment costs from opening an account, depositing money and buying U.S. stocks, should you choose Rakuten Trade immediately?？

And slow! You also need to consider your trading habits before making a choice!

The trading habit in the above chart is "save to buy funds first, only when the time comes to buy and observe the stock for a period of time," if the time has not arrived, you will not buy;。Such habits, Rakuten Trade is indeed a good choice。

Of course, different people have different investment strategies and different trading habits。Next, we will also look at your trading habits before choosing what kind of broker。

5.For you with a fixed deposit, 0 deposit fee or 0 commission is more important？

What is "fixed deposit stock"？

Suppose you deposit a small amount of money every month, buy some company's stock at a time, buy it and keep it there, and don't trade frequently because of stock market fluctuations, then you are an investor in regular fixed deposits.。

Should we now choose a 0 commission broker or a 0 deposit fee broker?？

Since TD Ameritrade's one-time deposit fee is so high that it is very unfriendly to investors who regularly deposit each month, the author uses only Rakuten Trade and moomoo as brokerage representatives for trading U.S. stocks with zero deposit fees and zero commissions, respectively, to show two simulations of regular fixed deposit stocks for your reference.

◇ Scenario 1: Buy USD 200 shares per month, buy only one company, make one trade

◇ Scenario 2: Buy USD 200 shares per month, buy two companies, trade twice

Rakuten Trade	Monthly deposit fee	Situation 1	Situation 2
January - Deposited to RM 1000	0	1.$88 + RM 1.50 ≈ RM 10.30	RM 10.30*2 = RM 20.60
February - Deposited to RM 1000	0	RM10.30	RM20.60
March - Deposited to RM 1000	0	RM10.30	RM20.60
April - Deposited to RM 1000	0	RM10.30	RM20.60
May - Deposited to RM 1000	0	RM10.30	RM20.60
June - Deposited to RM 1000	0	RM10.30	RM20.60
Total expenses incurred on the purchase of approximately USD 1200 shares		RM61.80	RM123.60

moomoo	Monthly deposit fee	Situation 1	Situation 2
January - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
February - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
March - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
April - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
May - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
June - Deposited to RM 1000	RM8.30	RM 0	RM 0
Total expenses incurred on the purchase of approximately USD 1200 shares	RM 49.80

Therefore, a small amount of money is deposited on a regular monthly basis, and investors who buy stocks are suitable for moomoo with relatively low deposit fees and zero commission trading.。

Note: moomoo has resumed calling 0 per order in November 2022.$99 platform fee, so at each transaction, you need to pay 0.$99 platform fee。However, the temporary fee is still lower than Rakuten Trade。

6.Short-term investors are suitable for using 0 brokerages.？

Generally, short-term investors buy stock A after entering the gold, sell it on the same day or a few days later, then buy stock B and sell it again, by buying low and selling high to get the difference in the middle.。

Short term investors are characterized by high number of trades, so 0 commission is more important for them。

In particular, the operation of line trading and more complex, the investment products involved are not only short-term stocks, a wide variety of trading strategies, so whether it is the number of gold, the number of transactions will vary depending on the situation, and a large number of gaps.。

Next, the author uses Rakuten Trade and moomoo as representatives of brokerage firms trading U.S. stocks with zero deposit fees and zero commissions, respectively, to briefly show a simulation of six trades by short-term trading investors for your reference.

	Rakuten Trade incurs charges	Moomoo incurs costs	Demaili Securities incurs charges
Deposit RM 5,000	0	RM 32	RM88
Make an additional USD 1,000 buy transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Make a USD 1,000 sell transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Make an additional USD 1,000 buy transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Make a USD 1,000 sell transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Make an additional USD 1,000 buy transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Make a USD 1,000 sell transaction	15 ringgit	RM 0	RM 0
Total cost	RM90	RM 32	RM88

If short-term investors use Rakuten Trade, they will incur transaction costs if they buy and sell once.。At this point, you'll need to use a 0 commission broker, otherwise your profits will decrease with the cost of each transaction。

Note: moomoo has resumed calling 0 per order in November 2022.$99 platform fee, so at each transaction, you need to pay 0.$99 platform fee。However, the temporary fee is still lower than Rakuten Trade。

7.Is the cost of investment only commissions and deposit fees?？

The cost of investment in this discussion includes commissions and fees incurred on receipts, but the cost of investment actually includes: fees for withdrawals, fees related to regulations, fees for other services and taxes。

Since many people do not withdraw money from brokerages, SSF does not take into account the cost of withdrawing money for the time being.。

In addition, regulatory fees such as Settlement Fee, SEC Compliance Fee and Trading Activity Fee are charged by third parties and must be paid by whichever broker is used.。As a result, these fees are not considered in the brokerage fee comparison。

Some brokerage firms may trade some service fees to investors, such as Corporate Action Fees (Corporate Action Fees), ADR Conversion Novice (ADR Conversion), etc.。

Finally, some countries impose a capital gains tax on investor capital, but the Malaysian government does not impose this tax.。In addition, when U.S. stocks pay dividends, foreign investors are subject to a 30% distribution tax (withholding tax), but no matter which brokerage you use, you are subject to tax deduction。

Of course, if you want to figure out in detail what your investment costs are, you can also calculate all of the items mentioned above。

8.In addition to commissions and deposit fees, some people will consider before choosing a brokerage....

Some choose to accumulate a large amount of money before investing in stocks, while others prefer to invest regularly every month to buy stocks。In the stock market, some investors choose to hold a few stocks for a long time and are determined not to sell them easily once they buy them, while others follow market trends, buy different stocks and sell them when prices rise to get the difference.。

Regarding the choice of brokerage firms, some people are very concerned about whether they are regulated by the Malaysian Securities and Exchange Commission (SC), while others are not too concerned about whether to use overseas brokerage firms。

Some people attach importance to the convenience of the immediate arrival of funds, the brokerage firm's service speed has a higher demand, while other investors are not very concerned about whether the funds will arrive within the legal time limit, as long as the funds can arrive on time.。

In terms of using brokerage software, some people want to be able to use professional watch software to get a more comprehensive understanding of market conditions, while others are only concerned about whether they can trade smoothly and are less demanding on the functionality of the software.。

In summary, when choosing a broker, you need to consider the following aspects.

◇ Investment costs (including commissions, deposit costs, withdrawal costs, etc.)

◇ Security legality (including regulatory license, fund custody, etc.)

◇ Deposit and withdrawal methods (whether it can be received immediately, whether it is troublesome to operate, etc.)

◇ Watch the disk software (whether it meets your needs)

◇ Account opening process (whether it is fast, whether it is troublesome)

Tradable financial goods (whether they meet their needs)

◇ Customer service (whether it can solve the problem quickly, whether it is professional, friendly, etc.)

◇ Other: brokerage offers, market research reports, investment knowledge and information, etc.

So, before choosing a broker, the most important thing is to understand what type of investor you are and what your needs are, and then see which broker is more suitable for you。

I hope this article can help everyone choose the right broker.。If you have any questions, you are also welcome to leave a message at the bottom of the article, we will try our best to help you answer。