Hatch Invest Review: US Stock Investing from New Zealand — Still Worth the NZ$3 per Trade?

Hatch was the platform that made US stock investing accessible to ordinary New Zealanders. Before Hatch, buying Apple or Microsoft shares meant a phone call to a full-service broker, a NZ$50 to NZ$100 fee, and a multi-day settlement process. Hatch changed that to a NZ$3 flat fee per trade with a 0.5% currency conversion built in.

The model has not changed much since launch. NZ$3 per trade is still the headline. The foreign exchange spread on the NZD-to-USD conversion funds the business — 0.5% on the buy side and 0.5% on the sell side, meaning roughly 1% round trip.

The Costs in Practice

On a NZ$1,650 trade (roughly US$1,000): NZ$3 brokerage plus roughly NZ$8.30 in FX (0.5% of NZ$1,650) = NZ$11.30 total. On a NZ$5,000 trade: NZ$3 brokerage plus NZ$25 FX = NZ$28 total. The flat NZ$3 brokerage is cheap. The FX cost is where Hatch makes its money, and it scales linearly with trade size.

Compared to Sharesies on the same US$1,000 trade: Sharesies caps at US$5 brokerage plus 0.5% FX = roughly NZ$16.60. Hatch is roughly NZ$5 cheaper. Compared to Interactive Brokers: IB charges roughly US$0.35 for the same trade with FX at spot rates. Hatch is roughly NZ$11 more expensive. For small trades, Hatch is the middle option. For large trades, the gap to IB is significant.

The Platform

Hatch supports US shares and ETFs on the NYSE, NASDAQ, and CBOE exchanges. Fractional shares are available for the S&P 500 companies. Real-time pricing is available in-app. The interface is clean and straightforward, if not as polished as Sharesies.

Dividends are automatically converted back to NZD and deposited into your account. DRIP (dividend reinvestment) is available. Tax reporting is handled through an annual statement that covers your FIF obligations.

Limitations: no NZX or ASX trading, no options, no bonds. Hatch is a US-market-only platform. If you want a single account for all your investing, Hatch will not be that account.

The Long-Term Cost Picture

The 0.5% FX spread on each side of a trade — buying and selling — means the round-trip cost on a US$10,000 investment is roughly 0.5% to sell plus the original 0.5% to buy, depending on market conditions. That is about NZ$130 on a NZ$13,000 round trip. Over ten years with two trades per year, the FX cost alone is roughly NZ$2,600. The brokerage at NZ$3 per trade adds another NZ$60. The FX cost is the dominant expense, and there is no way to avoid it on the Hatch model except by buying less frequently and in larger amounts.

Dividend reinvestment is free, which helps. If you use DRIP for a portfolio of US ETFs, you buy the brokerage once and then hold for years. The FX cost is paid upfront and the annual cost of holding is effectively zero beyond the FX spread embedded in the dividend conversion. This makes Hatch a better platform for buy-and-hold ETF investors than for active stock traders.

Who It Suits

Hatch suits the NZ investor who specifically wants US shares or ETFs and trades in the NZ$1,000 to NZ$10,000 range. Below NZ$1,000, the NZ$3 minimum means Sharesies is cheaper on percentage terms. Above NZ$10,000, Interactive Brokers is cheaper. In the middle band, Hatch is the simplest option with a clean interface and predictable costs.

The Alternatives

The main competitor comparison for a US-focused NZ investor is whether to use Hatch, Stake, or Interactive Brokers. Stake Black at NZ$10 per month with zero commission per trade is cheaper than Hatch for anyone making more than three trades per month. Interactive Brokers at US$0.35 per trade with spot FX is cheaper for anyone trading more than roughly NZ$5,000 per month. Hatch occupies the middle ground — cheaper than Stake Standard for occasional traders, more expensive than Stake Black for active traders, and always more expensive than IB for larger volumes.

The platform decision also depends on whether you want to consolidate all investing in one place. Hatch does not offer NZX or ASX trading, so a Hatch user needs a separate account for NZ shares. Some investors prefer this separation — one platform for US, another for NZ. Others find it administratively irritating. If having a single login matters, Sharesies or a full-service broker may be a better fit despite the higher per-trade cost.

Getting Started with Hatch

Opening a Hatch account takes about fifteen minutes online. You need your passport or driver's licence for identity verification and a NZ bank account. Funding is via NZ bank transfer — the money converts to USD at Hatch's exchange rate. Trades settle on a T+2 basis. The first trade can feel slow because of the bank transfer time, but subsequent trades are faster since your cash account is already funded.

Hatch provides a monthly portfolio statement and an annual tax statement covering FIF obligations. The tax statement is clear and can be handed directly to your accountant. For New Zealand tax residents holding US shares above NZ$50,000 cost, the FIF rules apply and Hatch's annual statement simplifies the calculation significantly compared to managing it yourself.