foreign stock

Charles Schwab, a discount brokerage company, plans to launch a new service to allow customers to invest directly in foreign stock markets using local currencies.

Related services are already offered by other brokerages including E*Trade, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Zecco.

"The U.S. is becoming less important with the overall asset mix people are thinking about," says Schwab's Brian McDonald. Investors are "looking to grow global trading, and we want to make sure we're right there with them."