Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate.; o: l7 \6 i! d& a
Your second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. - m* m) j/ T% o
Unless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way)/ w& p& F T! s! v1 {. G0 q3 G
Which broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too. ( p) a0 W" e* t" U; X& o& OI am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again. + ?0 a& P* l5 l) j 6 `# b( d* m% O- `1 ^) r, kI have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade.+ ` v( v: V6 K0 {/ H
I trade US stocks a lot. What I do is to exchange enough USD at the first place, and trade directly in that US account. I don't think Questrade can do the 1st way u described, but i maybe wrong. ' T/ H a$ {% I' E* X4 V0 Y' m9 i- T8 G( q% z
Keep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.