ICICIdirect.com launches overseas trading services

PFW Bureau / Oct 9

ICICIdirect.com, the online broking arm of ICICI Securities,  is the first to launch an overseas trading services which will allow the retail investors to trade in stocks across all US stock exchanges -- NYSE and NASDAQ.

After the launch, S Mukherji, managing director and CEO, ICICI Securities said that ICICIdirect.com has tied-up with Pension Financial Services Inc as its overseas partner. Pension is the fourth largest clearing and broker-dealer firm in the US handling more than 10,000 settlements daily and has over $ 6.8 billion in assets including customers assets.

“US market happens to be the largest market in world with a good liquidity and depth. The retail investors will have a good opportunity to invest in US market as 40% of the NYSE listed companies are non-US companies”, he said.

He said that the investors can have access to the bio-tech and internet companies of US as these sectors are under-represented in the domestic market.

ICICIdirect.com has introduced the overseas trading services following RBI liberalising remittance scheme that allows domestic investors to remit up to US $ 2 lakh per financial year for the investments in current and capital account transactions including in equities.

The new services will give opportunity to the retail investors to diversify their basket by investing in US market as the domestic market is already overvalued, the market analysts said.