How to buy US stocks, step by step

1. Decide: ownership or exposure

A stockbroker buys the share and holds it for you. You get the dividend, the voting right, and a position that cannot lose more than you paid.

A CFD provider writes a contract that tracks the price. You get leverage and the ability to go short, but no ownership, a nightly financing charge, and the possibility of losing more than you expected. Both are legitimate products. They are not substitutes.

2. Check that the broker accepts you

Most US-domiciled brokerages will not open an account for a non-resident. Country eligibility is the first filter, ahead of fees or platform quality, because it removes most of the field before you compare anything else.

3. File the W-8BEN

If you are not a US person, this form is what claims your country's treaty rate on US dividend withholding. Without it the default rate is 30%. It expires and needs renewing, and most brokers handle it inside the account opening flow.

4. Fund the account in the cheapest currency path

For a small account, the currency conversion charge is usually a bigger cost than commission. A broker charging 0.5% to convert your deposit has taken more from you than a $5 commission ever will.

5. Place a limit order, not a market order

A market order accepts whatever price is available. In the pre-market and after-hours sessions, or in any thinly traded stock, that price can be far from the last print. A limit order caps what you pay.

6. Decide your size before you buy

The most common way retail investors lose money is not a bad pick — it is a position large enough that a normal drawdown forces them to sell at the bottom.