To trade our new MergeCo shares, we need a broker with a DTC number. A while back, for other US shares I own, I set up an account with Interactive Brokers and can recommend them.
The interface is more complex than Commsec (for example) - it's geared to more serious traders - but it's not difficult to do simple things. I was able to buy some shares, set a stop loss on them and convert USD back to AUD without trouble.
Buying and selling US shares is USD 0.005 (1/2c) per share, with a minimum of $1, regardless of the value of the shares. This won't be so great if MergeCo shares are still 12.5c after the deal, but obviously gets better if they go up, and works very well for the big tech stocks which are in the hundreds of dollars per share.
You can also trade on the ASX, with a fee of 0.08% of the transaction, i.e. $8 per $10k and a minimum of $6. I think this is cheaper than Commsec, but for simplicity I haven't moved my ASX shares over.
Depositing funds by BPay was straightforward. It said they may take six days to clear, but they money was in my account the same evening and I could trade with it.
Setting up a wire transfer to my Australian bank account was also straightforward - just BSB and Acct# - and cleared funds appear same day. You can actually set up a withdrawal as soon as you sell stocks, but it's held over til the sale is cleared - a few days.
The forex rates are the best I've found anywhere - you're basically trading directly on the forex market, with a tiny commission.
Some notes on signing up:
When signing up, at "choose account" - an investment account has a lower minimum deposit than a trading account (2k vs 10k) and no important restrictions (restrictions are on short selling, options trading, day trading, etc - if you're doing those things, you already know what you're doing and don't need my advice).
Do NOT choose "Agree" to the Wholesale Investor question. Later it will require a certificate from an accountant, and there's no way back to change your mind. I had to start the whole application over again.
I set my base currency as AUD. Buying US shares with only AUD in my account resulted in an automatic conversion to the required amount of USD when the order was filled, and there's a button to convert all funds back to AUD.
Most importantly, they are on DTC. Their DTC for position transfer is 0534.
Hope this is helpful to some.
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