American Depository Receipts (ADRs) allow investors to buy shares of foreign companies. Buying an ADR is like buying a share of the foreign company, except the shares of the ADR are denominated and pay dividends in U.S. dollars instead of the currency of the foreign company’s country. A popular example is Royal Dutch Shell - the actual share trades on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange but an ADR can be bought on the NYSE under the ticker RDS.A.
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