We no longer check to see whether Telegraph. To see our content at its best we recommend upgrading if you wish to continue using IE or using another browser such as Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. London's stock market is home to hundreds of attractive businesses, be they global mammoths or growing start-ups — but not every industry or sector is comprehensively represented.

So if you want to buy shares in unique businesses such as Twitter, Novartis, BMW or Samsung, you are going to have to trade overseas. A clamour for overseas shares has meant most big stockbrokers have radically improved their services and cut their charges. But there are still some unexpected costs and quirks, such as whether or not your broker lets you put overseas shares inside your Isa.

Here's how to buy and hold overseas stocks in the most effective and least costly ways possible. Ten overseas shares to own for income. Why are British investors being forced to fill in US tax forms? Want to buy shares in Twitter? The cost of buying US shares in the UK. Buy overseas shares from your usual broker account, in pounds and pence. You want to buy shares in Facebook. If you've got an account with a mainstream broker, the chances are it will let you trade.

But you will pay a dealing fee plus a commission for the currency conversion, and this can be costly. At TD Direct there's no dealing fee, just a percentage commission, which for a deal of this size would be 2pc. Here's the cheaper — and generally more efficient — way to do it. Both Barclays and TD allow you to maintain dollar accounts and other niche brokers, such as Charles Schwab UK , also offer the service. TD goes further and offers accounts in numerous other currencies, but the dollar is the most useful and popular.

Many Asian and European companies are listed on US exchanges, as well as in their home markets, so for most British-based investors the ability to trade in dollars is enough.

Hargreaves doesn't offer accounts denominated in other currencies yet, so there you have to stick to dealing in sterling and paying the commission.

That's more like it. TD's costs fall for bigger trades. Where you use an account in another currency, such as the dollar, your trades all remain in that currency. So when you sell, you will have a dollar cash balance. How do you fund your dollar account? Not many people have dollar bank accounts and they are less popular as increased regulation pushes up the price. So the best — and most cost-effective — alternative is to use a specialist currency account from a foreign exchange firm such as Moneycorp.

The conversion costs are generally low Moneycorp claims to match institutional rates and you operate these accounts online, paying in sterling from your main bank account, switching to dollars and then funding your share dealing account. The British stock market has traditionally been very rewarding for investors who want dividend income, but companies in other markets, especially the US, are also excellent payers, and there are far more of them.

In a dollar account there are no charges for divi conversion, another good reason to opt for this route. Which US and European companies always raise their dividends?

The Isa accounts operated by Hargreaves and TD allow foreign stocks to be held in this way. With self-invested pensions, or Sipps, you can hold and trade in foreign currencies. So you can have part of your Sipp denominated in dollars if your broker such as TD offers the facility.

Halifax UK | How to buy shares | Sharedealing

Hargreaves Lansdown doesn't offer the service and Barclays, again poor in this respect, doesn't allow any overseas stocks within its pension accounts. The cheapest ways to invest in shares. Howard Marks, an Oxford University graduate turned drug smuggler, made millions. Now he eagerly awaits royalty cheques. Paul Daniels wasted too much on Ferraris but has made a fortune on his home - despite the flood. Following George Osborne's announcement of the Budget, The Telegraph looks at the numbers on the UK's economy and financial health.

George Osborne should simply abandon changes that will reduce incentives to save and create yet more uncertainty.

A light-hearted quiz about the gaping maw of financial misery that perpetually threatens to devour us all. Accessibility links Skip to article Skip to navigation. Saturday 17 June James Bartholomew The real reason stock markets plunged in January.

William Littlewood China in crisis? Another credit crunch in the West is far more likely. Andrew Oxlade Time to panic? No, follow the investment rulebook. James Anderson This is why I'm worried for investors in the FTSE Cheapest ways to buy overseas shares Want to buy shares in Facebook, Twitter, BMW or any other companies listed on overseas stock markets? Here's how British investors are increasingly keen to ibuy shares in overseas markets, particularly the US.

Ten years ago this would have been troublesome and costly. Today it's not difficult. Buy overseas shares from your usual broker account, in pounds and pence You want to buy shares in Facebook. When you sell, you pay the same charges again.

LSE & FTSE Share Prices, Buy Shares, Online Share Dealing - UK Share Prices & Stock Portfolio

These are very chunky costs. Set up an account in another currency Here's the cheaper — and generally more efficient — way to do it. Other must-know issues before you trade overseas 1. Dividends The British stock market has traditionally been very rewarding for investors who want dividend income, but companies in other markets, especially the US, are also excellent payers, and there are far more of them.

Isas and pensions A crucial question: Disappointingly, Barclays' systems do not allow any overseas stocks to be held within an Isa. The kitchen coup — how cash shifted the balance of power over household chores.

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