Canadian Investors: How to Buy U.S. Stocks With Zero Commissions or Currency-Conversion Fees

April 9, 2022 Articles & Reports HOME     MEDIA  

Source : The Motley Fool

Author : Tony Dong

CIBC and the NEO Exchange offer the easiest and most affordable ways for Canadian investors to buy U.S. stocks.

Buying popular U.S.-listed stocks, like Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, and Microsoft, isn’t always easy for Canadian investors. Because we generally get paid and invest in CAD, Canadians have quite a few hoops to jump through.

Up first is the currency-conversion fee. Most brokerages will charge anywhere from 1-2% on top of the spot foreign exchange rate to convert CAD to USD. This can add up over time to ding your returns.

Moreover, even if you use Norbert’s Gambit to exchange CAD-USD for cheap, you still have to pay commission, trading costs, and wait some amount of time for the trade to settle.

However, a cool new set of investment products from CIBC listed on the NEO Exchange makes investing in popular U.S. stocks very easy and affordable. Let’s take a look!

What is a CDR?

CIBC and the NEO Exchange teamed up to issue a series of Canadian Depository Receipts (CDRs). You can think of these CDRs as instruments that represent ownership of shares in various U.S. companies.

For example, buying an AMZN CDR would equal to ownership of a certain amount of AMZN shares. The specific number of shares that each CDR represents is called the “CDR ratio.” CDRs act like stocks — they trade on an exchange, pay out dividends, and even give voting rights to the shareholder!

Currently, the NEO Exchange has 23 popular, large-cap, blue-chip U.S. stocks listed as CDRs on its webpage. I expect many more to come, but the current roster represents some of the best-performing and hottest stocks on the market right now.

What are the benefits of CDRs?

For investors, the largest benefit is that CDRs trade in CAD. For example, an AAPL CDR can be bought and sold with CAD, whereas AAPL stock can only be bought with USD. This saves you the need to convert CAD to USD, which eliminates currency exchange costs.

Moreover, CDRs often trade at much lower prices compared to shares. If you can’t afford the US$1,017 current share price of TSLA, you can buy a CA$33.20 TSLA CDR instead, giving you exposure to the stock at a much more affordable price. This is especially suitable for investors with a smaller account.

CDRs are also highly liquid. As noted earlier, the underlying stocks they track are popular large-cap U.S. stocks contained in the S&P 500. This gives CDRs excellent liquidity and a good bid-ask spread, despite the lower volume traded of the CDR itself.

Compared to CAD-listed ETFs that hold U.S. stocks, CDRs do not have any management fees. However, like any other U.S. investment, CDRs are subject to a 15% foreign withholding tax on any dividends paid out. This is an unavoidable drag, unless you hold U.S.-listed stocks directly in an RRSP.

What are some of the risks of CDRs?

CDRs have the same risks as owning stocks — if the value of the underlying stock falls, the value of the CDR will fall as well. Before you invest in a CDR, make sure you do the appropriate due diligence on the underlying company’s fundamentals and audited financial statements.

Because CDRs trade in CAD but track underlying stocks that trade in USD, fluctuations in the CAD-USD exchange rate also need to be considered. A simple way to understand this relationship is as follows:

1. If the CAD strengthens, each CDR will represent a larger number of underlying shares.

2. If the CAD weakens, each CDR will represent a smaller number of underlying shares.

Because currency fluctuations will only affect the CDR ratio (and not the CDR’s price), the CDR is said to be “currency hedged.” Your returns will only reflect the performance of the underlying stock.

The Foolish takeaway

CDRs offer investors a capital-efficient and cost-saving method of investing in U.S. stocks. Couple this with a zero-commission brokerage, like Wealthsimple Trade, and you have a winning formula for buying U.S. stocks cheaply and easily!

This article was originally posted on The Motley Fool website.
READ THE ORIGINAL SOURCE 

Related Articles

The information contained on this website (the “Information”) has been prepared by CIBC World Markets Inc. (“CIBC WM”) or Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”), as applicable, is confidential and is intended only for the use of the individuals to whom it is presented. The Information may not be reproduced, disseminated, quoted from or referred to in whole or in part at any time, in any manner or for any purpose, without obtaining the prior written consent of CIBC WM in each specific instance.

The Information is not intended to constitute a “report, statement or opinion of an expert” for purposes of the securities legislation of any province or territory of Canada or otherwise. The Information is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase the investment products described herein. An investment in Canadian depositary receipts (“CDRs”) may not be suitable for all investors. Important information about these investments is contained in the Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement for each Series of CDRs (together, the “Prospectus”). The Prospectus will not be delivered to purchasers. Purchasers are directed to www.sedar.com or to the CDR Website to obtain copies of the Prospectus and related disclosure before purchasing CDRs. The Information is not a recommendation to purchase the investment products described on this website.

Certain of the Information was (i) obtained from public sources, including filings made with securities regulators, and/or (ii) calculated by CIBC WM or CIBC using publicly available data. Such information and any statistical data contained herein have been obtained from sources that CIBC believes to be reliable, but CIBC and its affiliates (including CIBC WM) and associates: (i) have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of any such information, (ii) make no representation regarding the accuracy or completeness of such information, and (iii) assume no responsibility or liability of any nature whatsoever for the completeness, adequacy or accuracy of such information.

Certain of the Information including Underlying Security Details and CDR Security Details have been sourced from third party sources including Refinitiv and Bloomberg. CIBC and its affiliates (including CIBC WM) and associates: (i) have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of any such information, (ii) make no representation regarding the accuracy or completeness of such information, and (iii) assume no responsibility or liability of any nature whatsoever for the completeness, adequacy or accuracy of such information.

CIBC and its affiliates expressly disclaim any liability or responsibility to you or to any other person for any general, direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses or damages (including, but not limited to, loss of profits or revenue or failure to realize expected profits or savings or the avoidance of any losses) arising out of or related to the Information or its use.

Each Series of CDRs shall relate to a single class of equity securities (the “Underlying Shares”) of an issuer incorporated outside of Canada (the “Underlying Issuer”). For each Series of CDRs, the Prospectus will provide additional information regarding such Series, including information regarding the Underlying Issuer and Underlying Shares for such Series. Neither CIBC nor any other person involved in the distribution of CDRs accepts any responsibility for any disclosure provided by any Underlying Issuer (including information herein or in the Prospectus that has been extracted from any Underlying Issuer’s publicly disseminated disclosure).

The issuance of each Series of CDRs is not a financing for the benefit of the Underlying Issuers or any insiders of the Underlying Issuers, nor will the Underlying Issuers receive any proceeds from the offering and sale of each Series of CDRs. The Underlying Issuers have not participated in the preparation of the Prospectus or the Information, do not take any responsibility or assume any liability with respect to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained therein and make no representation regarding the advisability of purchasing any Series of CDRs.

Any examples contained herein are included for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to predict actual results, which may differ substantially from those reflected herein. Any historical investment results or trends described herein are not indicative of future investment results or trends. There can be no assurance that any market or security will perform as well as, or in a manner similar to, past performance.

Any investment in CDRs presents risks. Prior to making any investment decision, investors should conduct such investigations as they deem necessary to determine if an investment in such CDRs is appropriate and suitable and should consult their financial, legal, accounting and tax advisers in order to determine the consequences of an investment in such financial products and the suitability of the investment product for their purposes and in their particular circumstances.

Certain risk factors are described in the Prospectus. An investment in CDRs is subject to various risks including but not limited to risks inherent to the holding of investments through a custodian under the Deposit Agreement as well as risks specific to each Underlying Issuer to which a Series of CDRs relates. Before deciding whether to invest in CDRs, purchasers should consider carefully the risks set out in and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus.

Prospective purchasers should also consider any categories of risks identified and discussed in the applicable Underlying Issuer’s publicly disseminated continuous disclosure documents. [Neither CIBC nor any other person involved in the distribution of CDRs accepts any responsibility for any disclosure provided by any Underlying Issuer (including information included herein or in any Prospectus Supplement that has been extracted from any Underlying Issuer’s publicly disseminated disclosure). Furthermore, neither CIBC nor any other person involved in the distribution of CDRs is providing any express or implied representations, warranties or opinions regarding investing in the Underlying Shares or the value thereof.

There is no guarantee that an investment in a CDR will earn a positive return. CDRs are not deposits that are insured under the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act or any other deposit insurance regime. The value of the CDRs may increase or decrease depending on market, economic, political, regulatory and other conditions affecting a CDR or the related Underlying Share. All prospective investors in CDRs should consider an investment in a CDR within the overall context of their investment policies. Investment policy considerations include, but are not limited to, setting objectives, defining risk/return constraints and considering time horizons.

The value of a CDR will vary according to, among other things, the value of the Underlying Shares held in the applicable custodial account for the Series of CDR. CIBC has no control over the factors that affect the value of Underlying Shares. The value of the Underlying Shares in respect of a Series of CDRs may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the applicable Underlying Issuer, the condition of equity and currency markets generally and other factors.

CIBC has applied or intends to apply to list each Series of CDRs on the securities exchange operated by the NEO Exchange Inc. and/or other Canadian securities exchanges. The listing of each Series of CDRs will be subject to CIBC fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the applicable securities exchanges. There is no assurance that CIBC will fulfil all of the listing requirements of the applicable Canadian securities exchanges, that the applicable Canadian securities exchanges will approve a listing application in respect of any Series of CDRs or that, if listed, an active public market for any Series of CDRs will develop or be sustained.

The offering of CDRs constitutes a public offering of these securities only in those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale and therein only by persons permitted to sell such securities. These securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act). No securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about these securities and it is an offence to claim otherwise.

CDRs of each Series will be offered and issued on a continuous basis by the Prospectus and there is no maximum number of CDRs (in the aggregate or with respect to a particular Series) that may be issued.

The CIBC Cube Design / The CIBC logo is a trademark of CIBC.