With its innovative service, Netflix has become a strong presence in the market in the last ten years. But its innovative idea and its success in the market precede its fame, dating back to the 90s. Since its initial public offering in 2002, buying Netflix shares has been a popular option for investors.
This article will teach you how to buy Netflix shares from South Africa through online brokers such as Interactive Brokers and Saxo Bank.
Overview of Netflix
Netflix, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Headquartered in California, the business began its activity by renting and selling DVDs. A couple of years later, in 1999, they introduced the concept of an online monthly subscription. In this model, customers would use Netflix’s website to choose the titles they wanted to watch, which would then be mailed to them. Since its early days, the company showed interest in developing an algorithm to predict the user’s movie preferences, and in 2007 it started offering streaming services.
Although Netflix is known today for its streaming services and its original productions, the company was always profitable. Since the beginning of the 2000s, its annual revenue increased compared to the year before. Due to this circumstance, buying a share of the company has become a popular investment among investors.
The shares (NFLX) are sold on the NASDAQ exchange, which operates between 09:30 and 16:00 Eastern Time (ET). If you want to know how to buy Netflix shares in South Africa, you check our guide below to start investing!
How To Buy Netflix Shares in South Africa
1. Choose an Online Broker
If you want to trade Netflix shares, you can use an online broker, which facilitates the purchase by allowing investors to buy and sell shares through a trading platform. Since there are plenty of options to choose from, which could overwhelm you, in the next topic we have prepared a list with two options where you can buy Netflix shares in South Africa.
2. Open a Brokerage Account
The first step to buying Netflix shares in South Africa is to open a brokerage account. Most online brokers will require that you fill in a form with personal and financial information. It is normally followed by an ID verification.
But before starting investing with real money, some online brokers offer the possibility of paper trading, which allows you to experiment with investments stress-free and without risking any money. It is a tool used by beginners to train their investments, but also by experienced traders to experiment with new trading strategies. Before investing, you can choose to open a demo account to test the features of the online broker that interests you the most. Interactive Brokers and Saxo Bank allow you to open a demo account to simulate investments.
Once you are familiar with the platform, it may be time to open a real investment account and buy Netflix shares.
3. Deposit Money
The only online broker in this list that requires a minimum deposit is Saxo Bank, which asks for $2000 for the initial deposit. On Interactive Brokers and Next Markets, you may deposit any amount you wish.
Interactive Brokers does not ask for a minimum deposit, but be aware because the same may not apply for withdrawals. Interactive Brokers has no minimum withdrawal, no fee for the first monthly withdrawal but an €8 fee for the subsequent ones. Finally, Saxo Bank has no fee and no minimum threshold for withdrawals.
4. Place a “Buy Order” on Netflix
If you have found an online broker that suits your needs, managed to open an investment account, and made the initial deposit, you are all set to buy Netflix shares in South Africa! All you have to do is find the Netflix share ‘NFLX’ within the broker you chose and place a buy order.
Best Brokers to Invest in Netflix from South Africa
#1 Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers at a glance
Founded in 1978, Interactive Brokers is one of the most reliable online brokers in the market, with a well-established and sophisticated trading platform. It is recommended for experienced investors and beginners, especially considering its mobile trading app IBKR GlobalTrader, which is ideal for novice investors. The broker is known for its reliability, versatility, and its wide variety of investment options, which include Netflix shares. If you want to know more about the broker, check our Interactive Brokers Review.
Interactive Brokers is supported worldwide, has low fees, and no minimum deposit. To fund your trading account or withdraw your investment, you will need to perform a wire/SEPA bank transfer. The broker is supervised by several top-tier regulators and offers stocks, ETFs, FX, bonds, commodities, and derivatives (options, futures, and CFDs). In a nutshell, Interactive Brokers is a reliable option for buying Netflix shares in South Africa.
#2 Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank at a glance
Saxo Bank is a company founded in 1992, headquartered in Denmark, that offers a highly sophisticated trading platform. The company provides a large offering of available products, supervision by several top-tier regulators, and three trading platforms with different levels of sophistication. On the other hand, there are high trading fees, a high minimum deposit depending on where you live, and an inactivity fee. You can use one of the platforms to buy Netflix shares in South Africa. However, you will need an initial deposit of $2000 to fund your account in that jurisdiction.
The company offers stocks, ETFs, CFDs, Options, Futures, Forex, Bonds, Funds, and highly sophisticated tools for advanced traders. The online broker is recommended if you have experience with trading and want to perform sophisticated investments and access advanced tools.
The bottom line
Choosing the correct broker for your investments is a daunting task. If you want to invest in Netflix shares in South Africa, we provided two diverse options for online brokers, each one with its advantages and downsides. Our task here is to help you make well-informed investments, but be aware that investments are risky, and it is up to you to perform due diligence to find out if you should invest in the asset or not. We hope that we succeeded with that task and that we answered your questions! Good luck with your investments, and if you still have any questions, please leave a comment below!
Other FAQs
Is it safe to invest in Netflix?
Netflix shares are considered volatile. This means that your investment may have high returns, but may also bring you higher losses as well. You can avoid this risk by diversifying your portfolio by buying non-correlated assets or investing in index funds or ETFs, which allow you to invest in multiple companies via one single financial instrument.
How can I avoid scams?
The best way to avoid losing your money to online scams is to use regulated investment platforms. This is one of the reasons why it is important to wisely choose your broker.
What is the difference between investing in stocks and CFDs?
By trading the CFD of the stock, you do not acquire its ownership. Instead, you are speculating on its price. You can leverage your position when trading CFDs, which is a risky strategy that can occur in massive losses.
Does Netflix distribute dividends?
Netflix’s strategy is to reinvest the profits in the company. It is not likely that the company will distribute dividends in the foreseeable future.
Gustavo has professional experience in banking law, commercial law, consumer's law and financial instruments law and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Law and Financial Markets
