How to buy US stocks and ETFs from Estonia

This page lists the investment platforms whose own pages say they accept residents of Estonia, with their licences, fees and the deposit methods available here. We only count platforms that publish a list of the countries they accept: a company that does not say whom it accepts is left out, even if it might open an account for you. Being on the list is not a recommendation.

Some verified points for Estonia:

• Interactive Brokers names Estonia on its list of available countries and territories. Its pages do not say which of its companies opens accounts for residents of Estonia, so check the company named in your client agreement; one of them is Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, which Finantsinspektsioon lists among the providers of cross-border investment services in Estonia. IBKR charges no fee for bank transfer deposits (your bank may), and after two free withdrawals a calendar month it charges a fee per withdrawal.
• Lightyear names Estonia on its list of countries where personal accounts are available. In Europe its service is provided by Lightyear Europe AS, a company registered in Estonia and authorised and regulated as an investment firm by Finantsinspektsioon (activity licence 4.1-1/31). Finantsinspektsioon lists it among the licensed investment firms in Estonia, and the Guarantee Fund lists it among the participants in the Investor Protection Sectoral Fund.
• Finantsinspektsioon, the Estonian financial supervisor, says that “A licence is needed to operate as an investment firm, and this is issued by Finantsinspektsioon”, and that “Providers of cross-border investment services are also supervised by the supervision authority of their home country.” It suggests checking on its website “whether the firm has been given a licence or whether it has the right to provide cross-border services”, and warns that because fraudsters copy the names of legitimate firms, “it is not enough just to check the name of the market participant from the register”.

The Guarantee Fund (Tagatisfond) guarantees investments of up to €20,000 for clients of investment institutions registered in Estonia, also when such an institution provides cross-border investment services abroad, and for investors in Estonian branches of foreign investment institutions. Bank deposits are guaranteed separately “to a maximum of 100,000 euros per depositor in one credit institution”. Lightyear points out that “the funds held in your Lightyear account are not equivalent to a bank deposit” and are therefore not covered by the Deposit Guarantee Sectoral Fund, only by the investor protection fund up to €20,000. No investor compensation scheme pays for falling prices.

For US shares, the platform will ask you for Form W-8BEN. The IRS says most US-source income of a foreign person, dividends included, is taxed at 30% through a withholding tax unless a tax treaty or the tax code sets a lower rate. Estonia is on the IRS list of US income tax treaties, so a lower rate may apply. Estonia may tax the same dividend too, so ask the tax authority or a qualified tax adviser.