NSE IX Global Access vs Rovia: which is right for Indian US stock investors?

NSE IX Global Access and Rovia are both legitimate routes for an Indian resident to own US equities under the LRS. They are built on completely different structural foundations — and that difference determines which one is right for you.

NSE IX Global Access operates out of GIFT City under IFSCA regulation. Your shares sit in an IFSC demat account — an Indian financial system asset, denominated in USD. Rovia is an SEC-registered investment adviser (RIA) that uses Alpaca Securities LLC (a US FINRA/SEC-regulated broker-dealer) as custodian. Your shares sit in a US brokerage account.

Same destination (US stocks owned by an Indian resident). Very different architecture.

Full disclosure: Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia. We have applied the same factual lens to both platforms in this comparison.

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Side-by-side

	NSE IX Global Access	Rovia
Regulator	IFSCA (GIFT City)	SEC (RIA) + FINRA (Alpaca)
Custody	IFSC demat account	Alpaca Securities LLC (US)
Stocks covered	50+ large-caps at launch	1,500+
Fractional shares	Yes, from $5	Yes
Brokerage	Not yet published	0.15%, capped $15/trade
FX / forex	Not yet published	Interbank + spread
Repatriation fee	Not yet published	Flat $5 outbound wire
RSU transfer (ACATS)	Not supported	Yes — from Fidelity, E*Trade, Morgan Stanley, Schwab
Vest-date SBI TT cost basis	No	Yes, per lot
Specific-lot sell	Not available	Yes
Schedule FA automation	Not available	Yes
Tax-loss harvesting report	Not available	Yes
KYC	30-second video	Standard
Account minimum	None stated	None
Estate-tax structure	IFSC demat (not US-situs)	US custodian (US-situs rules apply)

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The custody difference — and why it matters

When you buy Apple through Rovia, the shares sit at Alpaca Securities, a US broker-dealer. They are US-situs assets for estate-tax purposes. If you die holding more than $60,000 of US-situs assets, your estate faces US estate tax up to 40% with no India-US treaty relief.

When you buy Apple through NSE IX Global Access, the shares sit in an IFSC demat account at GIFT City. These are not held directly at a US custodian. The US estate-tax analysis for NRI holders of IFSC-demat shares is still evolving, but the structural separation from US custodianship means the standard $60,000 US estate-tax analysis may not apply in the same way. This is a genuine advantage for long-term large-position holders — but it requires individual legal advice for specific situations.

The inverse of this: shares held in US broker-dealer accounts (Rovia/Alpaca) have well-established legal protections under SIPC ($500,000 coverage per account) and mature US securities law. IFSC custodianship is newer; the legal and succession framework is still being established under Indian law.

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RSU holders: this is the deciding factor

NSE IX Global Access is a retail buying platform. It does not have RSU tooling.

If you receive RSUs at Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, or any other US employer, the shares vest in your employer's chosen platform — Fidelity, E*Trade (Morgan Stanley at Work), Schwab Equity Awards, or Morgan Stanley Stock Plan Connect. To invest those shares intelligently as an Indian resident, you need:

1. ACATS transfer capability from your employer platform
2. Vest-date SBI TTBR cost basis per lot (the INR value your employer used for perquisite calculation becomes your cost basis for Indian capital gains)
3. Specific-lot identification when you sell (so you can choose which lots to sell to optimise long-term vs short-term gains treatment)
4. Schedule FA automation using daily INR valuations
5. Form 67/44 preparation for any dividend foreign tax credits

Rovia provides all of this. NSE IX Global Access provides none of it.

For RSU holders, the choice is clear: use Rovia (or another platform with ACATS and INR tax reporting) for your vested equity. NSE IX may be useful for additional discretionary investing — subject to fee discovery.

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Stock coverage

At launch, NSE IX Global Access offers approximately 50 US large-cap stocks and ETFs. This covers the Mag-7, major indices (SPY, QQQ, VTI equivalents), and a handful of blue-chips. It does not yet cover:

• Mid-cap and small-cap US stocks
• Sector and thematic ETFs beyond the broadest indices
• US bonds, REITs, BDCs
• Stocks like Palantir, AppLovin, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, and other high-interest names

NSE IX has committed to expanding coverage over the coming months. Rovia's 1,500+ security universe is available today.

If your portfolio consists entirely of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, and a broad index ETF, NSE IX's current coverage is adequate. If you invest across a wider range of names or want thematic exposure, Rovia has more breadth.

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Fees

Rovia's fee schedule is published:

• Brokerage: 0.15% per trade, capped at $15
• Outbound wire (repatriation): flat $5
• Account maintenance: none
• Forex: interbank rate + spread (transparent at order time)

NSE IX Global Access has not yet published a full retail fee schedule at the time of writing. The GIFT City regulatory framework does not mandate fee transparency before launch, and distribution partners (Zerodha, Groww, Upstox) may charge different rates than the direct nseixga.com product. Check the current fee schedule at nseixga.com before committing.

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LRS and TCS — same for both

Both platforms operate under RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme. The $250,000 annual cap, the 20% TCS on remittances above ₹10 lakh per financial year (creditable against your total tax liability), and the ITR reporting requirements are identical regardless of which platform you use. Neither platform changes your Indian tax treatment on capital gains:

• LTCG (>24 months): 12.5% under Section 112
• STCG (≤24 months): your income slab rate
• Schedule FA disclosure: required for foreign assets on both platforms

The one area of active legal discussion: whether shares held in an IFSC demat account (NSE IX) constitute "foreign assets" for Schedule FA purposes in exactly the same way as shares held at a US custodian (Rovia). The consensus current position is yes — GIFT City is a special economic zone, not a domestic exchange, and IFSC demat holdings are still reportable. Confirm with your tax advisor.

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Who should use NSE IX Global Access

• You want the simplest possible onboarding (30-second video KYC)
• Your portfolio is the top 50 US large-caps and nothing else
• You prefer GIFT City / IFSCA regulatory oversight to a US custodian structure
• You want to wait for Zerodha/Groww integration in September 2026 and trade from your existing broker app
• Estate tax planning is a specific concern and you want advice on IFSC demat situs before taking a position

Who should use Rovia

• You are an RSU holder and need ACATS transfer + vest-date SBI TT cost basis + specific-lot tracking
• You invest in more than 50 stocks or want ETFs and fixed income beyond the broadest indices
• You want a published, transparent fee schedule before committing
• You want Schedule FA automation and Form 67 prep built into the platform
• You want US SIPC protection on your custodied assets

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For the full breakdown of how to invest in US stocks from India under the LRS — all platforms, routes, and tax implications — see how to invest in US stocks from India.