Buying British Stocks

• Investors can choose to go the most traditional route, which would be to call a regular stock broker or use an online brokerage account to purchase shares listed in London. Even discount brokers such as E*Trade allow U.S. investors to purchase shares of companies that trade in London.
  
  

The American Way

• Investors have another option that is cheaper than buying shares listed in London. Several of the biggest British companies also list their stocks in the U.S. as American depositary receipts. Examples include AstraZeneca, Barclays, BP and Vodafone.
  
  

Consider An ETF

• The rapid expansion of the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry has introduced dozens of country-specific ETFs to investors. The iShares MSCI U.K. Index Fund gives investors exposure to a basket of British stocks across a broad swath of industries.