(non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

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Topic Author
yayacoolsc
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:24 pm

(non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by yayacoolsc »

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, so please help and instruct me to the right info page if possible. Let me rephrase and summarize my questions below:

Background: non-us citizen/resident, and without SSN/ITIN
Goal: I want to open an US brokerage account to buy the CDs (note: not the normal banks which offer bad CD rates)
Question: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

So currently I had one "TD Ameritrade," which works nicely and I am surveying and want to find a 2nd US brokerage. Few US brokerage I chatted, they don't offer this service:
- Charles schwab : it offers international account, but you cannot buy the CDs
- Edge/Merrill Lynch: it doesn't offer for non-US citizen

So if anyone has any suggestion, please help.
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squirrel1963
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Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:12 am
Location: Portland OR area

Re: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by squirrel1963 »

If you are having issues in finding a broker which offers CDs to Intl investors, you may want to consider just buying treasury bills, as right now they offer a better yield than CDs. The downside is that if you have to sell before maturity you might lose money if interest rates go up again. Whereas if you sell CDs you will typically only lose the interest of the pat 3 months or so (you need to read the fine print).
LMP | Liability Matching Portfolio | safe portfolio: TIPS ladder + I-bonds + Treasuries | risky portfolio: US stocks / US REIT / International stocks
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typical.investor
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Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 3:17 am

Re: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by typical.investor »

yayacoolsc wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:35 pm Hello,

I'm new to this forum, so please help and instruct me to the right info page if possible. Let me rephrase and summarize my questions below:

Background: non-us citizen/resident, and without SSN/ITIN
Goal: I want to open an US brokerage account to buy the CDs (note: not the normal banks which offer bad CD rates)
Question: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

So currently I had one "TD Ameritrade," which works nicely and I am surveying and want to find a 2nd US brokerage. Few US brokerage I chatted, they don't offer this service:
- Charles schwab : it offers international account, but you cannot buy the CDs
- Edge/Merrill Lynch: it doesn't offer for non-US citizen

So if anyone has any suggestion, please help.
As a US Citizen, I wasn't able to find a broker selling them to non-US residents (meaning I couldn't buy them while overseas). I am surprise TD Ameritrade offers them.
Topic Author
yayacoolsc
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:24 pm

Re: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by yayacoolsc »

It's a legacy account from scottrade and bought by TD, not sure if they allow new account holders to do so.
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Hyperborea
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Location: Portugal

Re: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by Hyperborea »

squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:51 pm Whereas if you sell CDs you will typically only lose the interest of the pat 3 months or so (you need to read the fine print).
The OP is talking about brokered CDs which do fluctuate and when sold before maturity are done at market rates - not redeemed by the issuer. What you are talking about is retail CDs issued by a bank or credit union.
It’s not just that facts don’t seem to matter anymore. It’s that it doesn’t seem to matter that facts don’t matter.
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squirrel1963
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Location: Portland OR area

Re: (non-US-resident) What brokerage do you use to purchase US CDs

Post by squirrel1963 »

Hyperborea wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 7:04 pm
squirrel1963 wrote: Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:51 pm Whereas if you sell CDs you will typically only lose the interest of the pat 3 months or so (you need to read the fine print).
The OP is talking about brokered CDs which do fluctuate and when sold before maturity are done at market rates - not redeemed by the issuer. What you are talking about is retail CDs issued by a bank or credit union.
That's correct yes.
LMP | Liability Matching Portfolio | safe portfolio: TIPS ladder + I-bonds + Treasuries | risky portfolio: US stocks / US REIT / International stocks
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