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International shares
Investing in international companies has never been easier. Enjoy access to over 10,000 global shares and exchange traded funds with nabtrade.

Reasons to invest in international shares with nabtrade

Trade in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Germany.

Enjoy one platform for all your international and domestic trades.

Take advantage of great brokerage and a competitive foreign exchange rate.

About international shares

Australia represents only around 2% of the global equity market, with much of it heavily concentrated in the banking and mining sectors. By investing internationally investors can achieve greater diversification and lower risk by accessing a broader range of sectors and some of world’s best known businesses.

Investing internationally may also allow investors to take advantage of companies exposed to emerging markets such as China and India, which feature favourable demographics and rapid income growth. Please consider the risks when investing in international markets such as political stability, economic factors and currency movements.

With nabtrade, investors can trade in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Germany.

 

Performance of international shares over time

Asset class 1 year 5 years 10 years 15 years
International shares2 15.73% 16.27% 4.81% 3.75%
Australian shares1 20.49% 11.10% 4.32% 8.31%
Australian bonds3 2.09% 5.05% 6.15% 6.06%
Australian listed property4 6.31% 16.87% 0.48% 6.26%
Cash5 1.94% 2.30% 2.65% 4.51%

Sources: FactSet. One-year returns are total returns from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. 5, 10 and 15 year returns are average annual compound returns to 31 March 2017. 1S&P/ASX Accumulation 200 Index. 2MSCI World Index NR (unhedged). 3Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+Y Index. 4S&P/ASX 300 A-REIT Accumulation Index. 5Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+Y Index.          

Benefits

Capital gains

If your shares increase in value you may be able to realise a capital gain.

Dividend income

Many companies pay regular dividends, allowing you to generate an income stream. 

Liquidity

You can generally transact in shares quickly and more cost-effectively than other investments such as property.

 

 

Risks

Volatility

While shares offer the potential for relatively high returns, share prices can fluctuate due to market forces. 

Liquidity risk

There may be instances where you’re unable to sell your shares due to very low trading volumes or if a company enters a trading halt.

Exchange rate fluctuations

Movements in exchange rates can result in the agreed exchange rate you lock in being more expensive or of less value to you compared to the exchange rate at the date of settlement of your order.

Pricing

  • Brokerage
  • Trade size
  • $5,000
  • $10,000
  • $20,000
  • $50,000

A foreign exchange fee applies to all executed international trades. See below.

Foreign exchange

A foreign exchange (FX) fee applies to all executed international trades. The exchange rate will depend on the Foreign Exchange market at the time the FX transaction executes.

The Foreign Exchange transaction is locked in once the trade gets booked in the relevant foreign market, which means you won’t need to perform your own currency transactions each time you trade. 

Please access and read the nabtrade Global Market Trading Product Disclosure Statement (PDF 692KB) and the nabtrade Financial Services Guide (PDF 602KB) for more information on our FX service and charges.

Popular international shares held by nabtrade clients

GOOG:NAS
AAPL:NAS
AMZN:NAS
VOD:LSE
FB:NAS
MSFT:NAS
BMW:ETR
LLOY:LSE
Note: Data shown has a 20 minute delay.

FAQs

 
Important information about international trading
 
Trade settlement periods

Next steps Get started with nabtrade

Every new nabtrade customer receives:

  • A domestic trading account
  • An international trading account
  • An integrated cash account

Additional service options include:

  • nabtrade High Interest Account
  • nabtrade IRESS Trader/ViewPoint
  • NAB investment lending solutions
  • Self Managed Super Fund setup and management services

Get started today

1. Apply online - Complete our online application form - you can select from an Individual, Joint, Company or SMSF/Trust account.

2. Add cash to your account - watch the tutorial.

3. Start trading

Funding options for international shares

There are two ways to fund your investment:

Add cash to your account

Every nabtrade account comes with a linked cash account.

Cash management

Borrow to invest

With a NAB Margin Loan you can borrow to invest in 700+ international shares.

Margin lending

How to place an international order

Tutorial

How to add cash to your account

Tutorial