Aug 4, 2026 · 20 min · 11 segments
When it comes to accessing international equity, Canadian investors have options. In this episode, special guest Stephanie Ng joins hosts Zayla Saunders and Hilly Cutler to unpack Canadian Depositary…
Stephanie NgGuest
Zayla SaundersHost
Hilly CutlerHost
So a CDR or a Canadian Depository Receipt is simply a financial instrument that represents a piece of a foreign company, but designed to make global investing easier and more accessible.

Now, CDRs are just a simple way for Canadians to invest in well-known global companies like the Japanese or Spanish stocks right here in Canada.

You created a CDR short skit about a year ago, and it is still by far my favorite video because it truly captures what a CDR is.

You're there to enjoy your meal, and then the server asks you to pay the bill in Japanese yen.

You simply just want to go enjoy the meal without having to worry about how much yen is doing, and that's exactly the idea behind CDRs.

Or imagine you're buying a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, and the salesperson tells you that you can only pay in euros.

I don't want to scramble and go to the bank to convert my money just to complete a purchase.

How should investors think about that relative to just buying the stock directly?

The experience of buying a CDR is actually very similar to buying a stock directly.

Now, the key difference is that instead of buying shares on a foreign exchange in another currency, you're buying a version of a stock that trades right here in Canada in Canadian dollars.

Now, if you were to buy the foreign stock directly, you can run into a few practical hurdles.

Things like foreign transaction fees, dealing with currency conversion, exposure to exchange rate swings, and even trading during different market hours or different time zones.

So a CDR or a Canadian Depository Receipt is simply a financial instrument that represents a piece of a foreign company, but designed to make global investing easier and more accessible.

Now, CDRs are just a simple way for Canadians to invest in well-known global companies like the Japanese or Spanish stocks right here in Canada.

You created a CDR short skit about a year ago, and it is still by far my favorite video because it truly captures what a CDR is.

You're there to enjoy your meal, and then the server asks you to pay the bill in Japanese yen.

You simply just want to go enjoy the meal without having to worry about how much yen is doing, and that's exactly the idea behind CDRs.

Or imagine you're buying a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, and the salesperson tells you that you can only pay in euros.

I don't want to scramble and go to the bank to convert my money just to complete a purchase.

How should investors think about that relative to just buying the stock directly?

The experience of buying a CDR is actually very similar to buying a stock directly.

Now, the key difference is that instead of buying shares on a foreign exchange in another currency, you're buying a version of a stock that trades right here in Canada in Canadian dollars.

Now, if you were to buy the foreign stock directly, you can run into a few practical hurdles.

Things like foreign transaction fees, dealing with currency conversion, exposure to exchange rate swings, and even trading during different market hours or different time zones.
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