We’ve expanded the securities you can trade on Alpaca with our Global Stocks launch via American depository receipts (ADRs)! You can now invest in whole and fractional shares of international stocks like Nintendo, Adidas, Heineken, and Volkswagen as easily as you would any other U.S. stock.
What are Global Stocks?
Global Stocks are our latest product offering that includes all of the American depositary receipts (ADRs) Alpaca supports. ADRs are securities that represent one or more shares of a foreign company and can be traded in U.S. stock exchanges or the over-the-counter (OTC) market with U.S. dollars.
Simplified Investing into Foreign Stocks
ADRs allow traders to invest in stocks outside the U.S. market without extra paperwork or currency exchange hassles.
Trade Stocks from Companies Around the World
Alpaca users can now diversify their portfolio or create trading strategies that include some of their favorite companies from Europe, Asia, and Australia. Developers can also build upon Trading API to create OAuth apps that are centered on global markets.
Embed Stocks from Companies Around the World
Developers building fintech apps with our Broker API product can expand their list of tradable assets to include securities from international companies. This new feature could help drive end-user engagement and interest in new customer segments.
Key Benefits
- Buy and sell over 700 ADRs (with more on the way!)
- Trade whole or fractional shares (fractionals are a $5 minimum)
- Access to companies in European, Asian, and Australian continents
- Test in a sandbox environment before deploying to production
- Simple and easy-to-use API integration with access to real-time stock market data
- Around the clock global support
For more information about tradable assets on Alpaca please view our Trading API and Broker API documentation.
Note: ADRs can only be traded during normal US market hours from 9:30am ET to 4:00pm ET.
Global Stocks Fees
ADR agents issuing these shares may charge annual custodial or pass-through fees that generally run $0.01 to $0.03 per share. These service fees are intended to compensate banks or agents for providing custodial services and management of the ADR program. Information on any such fees are available in our Brokerage Fee Schedule. These fees will appear on your Alpaca statement as "ADR fees." Effective March 15, 2022, Alpaca has begun assessing these ADR fees. Accounts will be charged the rate assessed by custodian bank or ADR agent with a minimum charge of $0.01.
American depositary receipts (ADRs) are negotiable securities issued by a bank that represent shares in a non-U.S. company. These can trade in the U.S. both on national exchanges and in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, are listed in U.S. dollars, and generally represent a number of non-U.S. shares to one ADR.
All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities, or other financial products. Please keep in mind that investing in foreign stocks may involve currency risk, country risk, and additional fees. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing.
Securities brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC (“Alpaca Securities”), member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc.
This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities, or open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Alpaca Securities LLC, is not registered (Alpaca Securities is registered only in the United States).
