Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate./ A1 i. ~. f" E0 D- O2 F
Your second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. + m2 ^6 F& L. T9 r0 t' eUnless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way) + v; E; y9 r. xWhich broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too. ) ~6 N, r4 g" n: | j; c e3 Y# EI am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again. 3 N( X3 X- a( j' A) o- Z; |7 p" s4 {' ]4 J( y7 [4 i
I have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade.* e C# h; K5 M: W5 n9 J$ ]
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 W& Q0 Q( M ; s/ e5 ^; m8 [2 `. ?Keep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.