What are the risks involved in buying a synthetic long (long call short put) and letting it expire compared to buying the underlying?

External question — Personal Finance Stack Exchange Author: Gabi Original post: https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/134065 License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Adaptation: HTML converted to plain text; contact email addresses removed. As an EU resident, I am not allowed to purchase US-based ETFs. However, I am allowed to trade in options on such ETFs and exercise them. One way of obtaining the stocks I would want to purchase is by purchasing a synthetic (long call + short put at same strike and expiry) and letting it expire. Could you help me understand the risks and additional costs involved in doing this? I would like to compare them and their risks and costs to other alternatives: index futures, EU-based ETFs, CFDs (with my current broker), CFDs (with eToro)