How to Buy US Stocks: Step by Step

Buying a US stock from Türkiye looks like pressing a single button, but behind it there are five separate steps: choosing a broker, opening an account, converting money into dollars, placing an order and holding the shares. Each has its own cost and its own decision. This article walks through them in order; it doesn't recommend any particular firm.

1. Choose a Broker

There are two routes. The first is the foreign markets service of a broker licensed in Türkiye: you open the account at home, and the firm routes your order through a foreign correspondent broker behind the scenes. The second is opening an account directly with a broker abroad: your money leaves the country, and that firm is your counterparty.

The two differ in cost, protection framework and paperwork. The items that decide which one suits you are in a separate article: What to Look for in a Broker

2. Open the Account and Verify Your Identity

Every licensed firm has to verify who you are before opening an account. This is called KYC (know your customer): an ID, proof of address, sometimes questions about the source of your income and savings. Most firms also run a suitability test of your investing experience; access to products like options or margin depends on it.

A US stock needs one more form: W-8BEN. It declares that you are not a US taxpayer and that you are resident in Türkiye, and it sets the US tax withheld from your dividends. Foreign brokers have you sign it when opening the account; domestic brokers usually ask for the same form on behalf of their correspondent. More: W-8BEN and 1042-S

3. Send the Money and Convert It to Dollars

There are two ways to fund the account: convert to dollars at your bank and send them, or send lira and convert inside the broker. Either way, a currency spread is paid at conversion, and it never shows up on the statement as "commission."

If you wire money to a broker abroad, add the SWIFT fee and sometimes a cut taken by an intermediary bank. From the moment money leaves lira for dollars, the portfolio also carries a currency bet. More: Currency Risk

4. Place the Order

An order has three parts: the ticker (for example AAPL), the quantity (shares or a dollar amount) and the order type.

• A market order fills immediately at the best available price; it doesn't guarantee the price.
• A limit order fills only at your price or better; it doesn't guarantee a fill.

The regular session opens at 09:30 New York time; in Türkiye that falls at 16:30 or 17:30 depending on US daylight saving time. Spreads widen in the pre-market and after-hours sessions, and most brokers accept only limit orders there. More: Order Types

5. Settlement and Custody

When a trade executes, the shares aren't yours immediately; US settlement is T+1, completing the next business day. Before May 28, 2024, it took two business days.

After settlement, the shares are usually registered not in your name but in the broker's. This is called street name: the central depository's records show the broker, and the broker's own books show you. Buy through a domestic broker and the chain grows one link longer: you, the domestic broker, the foreign correspondent, the central depository. If one of the firms fails, this chain determines which protection framework applies.

Where You'll See It on This Site

Find the company you're looking for through the search box at the top or the Companies directory; its page shows the ticker, the price and the state of the session. The countdown on the home page shows the time left to the next open or close.