The most intuitive way to participate in global markets is by buying shares of individual companies.

If you open a global brokerage account, you can purchase stocks listed on major international exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the NASDAQ (more on these exchanges and indices in Chapter 4). These exchanges host thousands of companies across a wide range of industries.

Some of these companies are already familiar to most investors. Think of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet, which we hear about all the time in the media and in general discussions.

Through a brokerage account, you can buy shares in these companies just as you would buy shares of Reliance or TCS in India.

When you own a stock directly, the ownership is in your brokerage account in your name. If the company pays a dividend, the payment is credited to your account. If you choose to sell, you can place an order on the exchange during market hours, and the trade is executed at the prevailing market price.

This form of investing offers the highest level of control. You decide which companies to own, how much to allocate to each, and when to buy or sell.

At the same time, direct stock investing also requires more involvement. Investors need to spend time understanding the businesses they are investing in, tracking company performance, and making decisions about when to adjust their portfolio.

Because of this, many investors combine individual stocks with other instruments such as ETFs or global funds that provide broader diversification.