$0 commissions for ADRs and Canadian stocks (mutual funds, trading, fees, dividends)

[cfa-ish]

I use BofA/ML for free trades (up to 100/month). The trades are free for ADRs. I don't know if/how I can buy Canadian stocks (listed on Toronto or other Canadian exchanges.)
Looking through the recent Schwab news, it seems they offer all this for free and unlimited trades.
(https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab...investors.html)

I am thinking of switching from BofA to Schwab. Any insights (positive or negative)?

I used to be Schwab customer back in the day (when trades were $54.95!) but now only have a small account with them; and it has only Schwab ETFs and mutual funds. So I am a bit apprehensive about shifting a large portfolio to them just for free trades in Canadian stocks. But a penny saved is a penny earned etc.

[Teak]

Yes, Schwab has removed commissions unless it is charged by an external fund family (like Dodge & Cox).

I own two ADRs and one Canadian-listed company through Schwab. They do subtract foreign taxes which means the dividends or distributions are reduced by the tax amount, but there are no sales charges, i.e., commissions or trading fees.

When I started investing in 1995, I went with Merrill Lynch which sold front-load mutual funds and charged $49.95 per trade. Second time I met with the broker, he tried to convince me to follow his new-fangled trading strategy which was to buy whenever a fund fell in price one day, and sell when it went up at least two days in a row. I wasn't too knowledgeable about investing at that time, but I did ask "Wouldn't that result in a lot of those $49.95 charges?" He changed the subject after that.

Two years later I switched to Schwab and have never looked back. Their commissions were lower than ML, around $14.95 at the time (vs. $49.95) and then dropped to $7.95 several years later, and then to $4.95. Now they sit at $0.00 along with several other fund families.

[Hal Roach]

I bought RDSA the other day and paid zero commission with Fidelity...