Trade with CAD account is the most common way to buy US stocks. Broker charge on conversion is included in real-time exchange rate. , M u1 R* w' e7 vYour second way is weird. Especially the charge $5/day, never heard of it. ) V2 w# _ M, v4 ~ |! G
Unless u already have USD, either way has little difference (u need to exchange CAD to USD in either way) , `% {$ H4 L! M" z6 l* c- iWhich broker are u using?
i'm using questrade too.# L( {0 m# k' Q- V
I am sure there is no such $5 per transaction or per day fee, u may wanna check it again. % T' K0 j [( p! L* r " A; a( ]0 m. h( {I have both CAD and USD account when I open the questrade. + e) `# ^! r2 p; W$ ~; wI 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. 4 O" w" a# ?' ]6 Y: Y/ U0 I' I7 X( l$ n& c# h/ E
Keep in mind that transaction cost is in the same currency of stock u buy/sell.