Montevideo Stock Exchange

Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo

Uruguay does indeed have its own stock exchange, located in the Ciudad Vieja--the Old City--in Montevideo. The exchange itself handles only bonds and Uruguay companies. But if you ask at the Bolsa de Valores, they will give you a very long list of stock brokers in the city.

Or you can get the list from me.

We visited one broker on the list who also handled only bonds, but who underlined, on our list, the stock brokers that he knows and recommends who do handle stocks for their clients. A visit to one of them provided the following information.

Gaston Bengochea & CIA can buy shares for you in major markets of the world. They do work with Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, through Merrill Lynch--however you happen to feel about that at this point.

They can hold your account there in the name of the brokerage, or designated in your own name, as you prefer. Or they can set up a custodian account for you in their commercial bank here in Montevideo. They do not provide stock certificates but hold all stocks in electronic form, but they can sell your stock certificates if you are now holding them.

They also volunteered an alternative custodian in place of Merrill Lynch. It is the Julius Baer Group, a Swiss "boutique" bank that they have researched and recommend. Julius Baer requires a minimum of $500,000. A little rich for the blood of some of us but the option is there if you are interested and qualify.

Of course there are other Swiss banks that have a lower minimum and will buy stocks directly for you on many exchanges, if that is what you are after. However, if you are a U.S. citizen, some of the banks that we know of will buy shares of foreign companies for you (Canada, Brazil, Asia, etc.) but will not buy U.S. shares. I am sure they would like to but they feel that they avoid a lot of problems by just saying no.

If you have questions, please don´t hesitate to email us.

© Arlean Kelley 03/11/2009 All rights reserved.

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