In Hong Kong, there are no Central Depository (CDP) accounts like in Singapore. All brokerage accounts in Hong Kong are custodian accounts where the stocks are bought and held under the brokerage company.
While custodian accounts typically charge lower brokerage fees, there are many hidden charges when using custodian accounts such as:
- Custodian fee
- Account maintenance fee
- Trading fee
- Transfer fee
Money Smart lists 15 of the best online brokerage platforms in Hong Kong. I want to do a more detailed breakdown of their respective (hidden) charges so you can choose the best brokerage platform with peace of mind.
Tiger Brokers
You may have seen Tiger Brokers’ advertisement boasting 0% commission on Hong Kong stocks, but that is only valid for 365 days for new sign-ups. After 365 days, the commission is 0.03% of trade value or minimum HKD7/order, whichever is higher.
Meanwhile, here is the full breakdown of all the fees Tiger Brokers charges for using their platform:
Besides all these fees, there are also other service charges which are free for now:
Tiger Brokers presently holds brokerage licenses in Singapore, The U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. If you are investing in Hong Kong stocks through Tiger Brokers and the transaction goes through Singapore brokerage, Singapore government will levy a GST (Goods and Services Tax) at a rate of 8% on the above fees and charges.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Webull Securities
Webull Securities only supports trades in the US, Hong Kong and China markets. The 0% commission is only applicable for US stocks, and only for 183 days from date of account approval.
Webull charges 0.02% commission on Hong Kong trades, as well as HK$10/order trading platform fee.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers charges tiered commission fee depending on the monthly trade volume, from 0.05% – 0.015% of trade value.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Huatai Financial Holdings
Huatai Securities is a securities company in China. According to Huatai Hong Kong Stock Services Fees and Charges, there is no custodian fee.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Fosun Wealth
According to this Terms and Conditions, all transactions carried out from their trading app have lifetime 0% commission on all Hong Kong and US trades but there is a platform fee of HK$15/order.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Saxo
According to Saxo website, there is no platform fees, no custody fees and no inactivity fees.
Saxo charges a tiered commission fee based on whether you hold a Classic, Platinum or VIP account. The commission fee is 0.08% – 0.05% (minimum HKD18).
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Futu Securities
Futu Securities is an online brokerage platform that enables individual investors to trade U.S. and Hong Kong-listed stocks.
There is commission of 0.03% of transaction amount (minimum HK$3/order).
Platform fees is either fixed at HK$15/order or tiered HK$1 – KH$30 on accumulated monthly orders.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Valuable Capital
Valuable Capital is an investment service platform for Hong Kong and U.S. stocks.
I can’t find any information on the fees on Valuable Capital’s website so I ca’t confirm if the 0% commission for HK stocks is true and for how long.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
uSMART Securities
uSMART Securities mobile application is an advanced financial trading platform for global investors which supports trading of HK, US & A Stocks, and US Stock Options anytime.
uSMART Securities uses tiered commission 0.0025% – 0.08% (minimum KH$8/transaction), depending on total account asset. There is no platform fee.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
LONGBRIDGE Securities
Long Bridge Securities (HK) is an online one-stop overseas asset allocation. Longbridge covers 5 major securities markets including Singapore, Hong Kong and US.
Longbridge Securities charges 0.03% commission of trading amount (minimum HKD$3). Platform fee is either fixed at HKD$15/order or tiered based on monthly order volume.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Fulbright Securities
Fulbright Securities charges 0.15% commission (minimum HK$80) for online transactions and 0.20% for phone transactions (minimum HK$90).
There is no custody fee and no platform fees. Please refer to this table for reference (written in Chinese).
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
SoFi Hong Kong
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, SoFi is one of the largest and fastest growing fintech companies in the US. SoFi is now licensed in Hong Kong.
SoFi Hong Kong does not charge custody fee and there is no commission on Hong Kong and US stock trading.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
EBSI Direct
EBSI Direct charges 0.088% – 0.138% commission based on the monthly turnover. Phone orders are subject to a HKD20 surcharge per executed order.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Direct Spot
I can’t find the website for Direct Spot so we will just have to make do with the information I found on MoneySmart. According to this chart, the commission fee for Hong Kong stocks is 0.05% (minimum KH$30) for online transactions and 0.25% (minimum HK$200) for phone transactions.
Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.
Metaverse Securities
According to Metaverse Securities website, commission is 0.059% (minimum HK$39.9) for online transactions, o.15% (minimum HK$100) for phone transactions.
According to this chart, there is no custody fee and platform fee but there is an inactivity fee of HK$20 per month.
