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• Trading overseas may involve a variety of transaction fees, and taxes and commission costs can be much higher.
• Some countries impose controls that restrict or delay currency conversions for overseas traders, meaning it can take time to access your funds. Reporting, clearing, and settlement of trades may add additional time. You also may be required to place trades in round lots (standard trading amounts).
• Some countries may impose a cap on equity holdings by 'foreign investors' (any investor not resident in the foreign company’s country of domicile would be considered a 'foreign investor' in these instances), limiting the number of shares or percentage of outstanding stock the 'foreign investor' is permitted to invest in. Each country operates under its own rules, and these varying regulations may differ from U.S. financial laws and requirements.
• Research can be difficult since non-U.S. countries have different rules and regulations for reporting. Research reports may not be available in English.

• Securities trading in the local market tends to be relatively more liquid and have narrower spreads, resulting in possible better executions than the U.S. OTC market.
• Many non-U.S. companies that are not available as ADRs or foreign ordinaries on the U.S. OTC market can be bought on local foreign markets, providing investors with a potentially wider inventory of available international equities.
• You can generally place broker-assisted trades overseas in your Schwab One® International brokerage account in U.S. dollars, and many Canadian stocks can be traded in your account online.

• Foreign ordinaries in the OTC market may not be as liquid as the ones trading on a local market exchange, which can lead to greater volatility in the U.S. OTC foreign ordinary's price.
• Wider spreads can exist because of lower liquidity in the U.S. OTC market and the additional costs that may be incurred by market makers. Due to the wider spreads, foreign ordinaries can trade at a premium or a discount compared to the local market shares. 
• Trades may also be subject to a foreign transaction fee.
• U.S. OTC markets are subject to fewer regulations and reporting requirements, making it more difficult to research them.

• Foreign companies that do not offer ADRs have shares that can often be bought as foreign ordinaries via the U.S. OTC market, providing U.S. investors with access to more international companies.
• Trades are in U.S. dollars and take place during U.S. trading hours. Commissions, while usually higher than ADRs, are generally lower than buying foreign ordinaries directly through the local market.

• The institutions that issue ADRs may charge quarterly or annual 'ADR Pass-Through Fees,' which consist of custody fees and fees for processing dividends and corporate actions. These fees can add to your investment costs.
• Liquidity for some ADRs may be low, which may affect bid/ask spreads. Also, not every non-U.S. company has an ADR.
• While a rare occurrence, the bank offering the ADR may decide to terminate the ADR program for any number of reasons, including lack of interest. This could result in a requirement that the position either be liquidated or converted to the underlying foreign ordinary shares.
• Sponsored and Unsponsored ADRs: ADRs can be issued as unsponsored without any involvement or approval by the foreign company, or they can be issued as sponsored, where the underlying foreign company participates in the issuance of the ADR and also retains a controlling relationship. Only sponsored ADRs may be listed on a national exchange in the U.S., and they must meet certain qualifications; otherwise, they trade in the U.S. OTC market. Unsponsored ADRs only trade in the U.S. OTC market.

• The issuing financial institution will collect any dividend payments and convert them into U.S. dollars for you.
• ADRs listed on an exchange must file quarterly results because they are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are subject to U.S. accounting rules. This means investors potentially have access to more information than they would if they'd invested directly overseas.
• Depending on country and account type, applicable dividend withholding tax percentages may be lower than those applied to foreign ordinary shares.
• There are some listed ADRs that are marginable and may have options.

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