*Official* Shiny Things club - Part 2

[vince123123]

Okay so I finally opened an IBKR account, funded with SGD and bought USD today. Only snag now is apparently I must wait 2 days before I can buy IWDA. Is that correct?

Someone mentioned that I could upgrade to a margin account so I can buy instantly. But anything to do with "margin" sounds scary. Is this something I should even be considering?

 

[Tiger9119]

Okay so I finally opened an IBKR account, funded with SGD and bought USD today. Only snag now is apparently I must wait 2 days before I can buy IWDA. Is that correct?

Someone mentioned that I could upgrade to a margin account so I can buy instantly. But anything to do with "margin" sounds scary. Is this something I should even be considering?

If I am not wrong, this "margin" is just like borrowing money from IBKR.
In my scenario, for example, if I have USD50k in my account, I can buy shares worth up to 100k. Just pay the interest for the amount you borrow. I did this many times.

 

[vince123123]

Yea but I read that margin accounts are dangerous...or am I wrong?

If I am not wrong, this "margin" is just like borrowing money from IBKR.
In my scenario, for example, if I have USD50k in my account, I can buy shares worth up to 100k. Just pay the interest for the amount you borrow. I did this many times.

 

[vince123123]

Oh boy seems like settlement will only be done on 7 November....

 

[Tiger9119]

Yea but I read that margin accounts are dangerous...or am I wrong?

I don't do margin trading, but I can borrow money from them, currently I borrow about 32K to buy stocks.

Maybe someone else can explain to you in details.

 

[Tiger9119]

Oh boy seems like settlement will only be done on 7 November....

I usually remit in USD to IBKR, it may cost more but the money will be in the account within a few working hours.

 

[Shiny Things]

Okay so I finally opened an IBKR account, funded with SGD and bought USD today. Only snag now is apparently I must wait 2 days before I can buy IWDA. Is that correct?

Yep.

Someone mentioned that I could upgrade to a margin account so I can buy instantly. But anything to do with "margin" sounds scary. Is this something I should even be considering?

Nah, there's no need. Margin is not an inherently scary thing, but it's not worth the extra headache for immediate settlement if you're not comfortable with it.

I usually remit in USD to IBKR, it may cost more but the money will be in the account within a few working hours.

I don't think this is a great idea. The cost of converting to USD outside of IBKR is going to be stratospheric, and (if you're not using some special way through Citi or something) you're going to be paying wire fees as well.

Just remit in SGD, and do the FX conversion within IBKR. Waiting a couple of business days for the FX trade to settle is not the end of the world.

 

[salmonella]

With cash account, IB makes sure you have available cash before your buy.

With margin account, IB makes sure you have available margin before your buy. Both the buy transaction and the forex are settled in a few days, and interest is payable if you don't have the cash to fund the buy at the point if settlement... But if you do the forex and buy on the same date, they should settle at the same date too... As long as you make sure that you have bought enough USD.

I did somehow end up with negative $1.xx USD for a few weeks when I didnt check diligently. The interest on this amount is negligible though.

One of the members does things in reverse to avoid this issue. Ie, he does the juy transaction, checks the total cost of it and buys the corresponding USD:SGD then txfers in the right amount of SGD

 

[funkypunk]

Okay so I finally opened an IBKR account, funded with SGD and bought USD today. Only snag now is apparently I must wait 2 days before I can buy IWDA. Is that correct?

Someone mentioned that I could upgrade to a margin account so I can buy instantly. But anything to do with "margin" sounds scary. Is this something I should even be considering?

I do not think there is a "2 day" waiting period. From my experience I usually transfer sgd, convert to usd, and buy iwda on the same day. (Fwiw i usually do all these steps in the afternoon, 3pm onwards for eg). I believe in this case you happen to buy on a weekend or holiday (eg us bank holiday) which result in that clearing delay.

 

[limster]

I do not think there is a "2 day" waiting period. From my experience I usually transfer sgd, convert to usd, and buy iwda on the same day. (Fwiw i usually do all these steps in the afternoon, 3pm onwards for eg). I believe in this case you happen to buy on a weekend or holiday (eg us bank holiday) which result in that clearing delay.

for my very first purchase, i had the same waiting period for the funds to become available. after that no more waiting period.

 

[revhappy]

With cash account, IB makes sure you have available cash before your buy.

With margin account, IB makes sure you have available margin before your buy. Both the buy transaction and the forex are settled in a few days, and interest is payable if you don't have the cash to fund the buy at the point if settlement... But if you do the forex and buy on the same date, they should settle at the same date too... As long as you make sure that you have bought enough USD.

I did somehow end up with negative $1.xx USD for a few weeks when I didnt check diligently. The interest on this amount is negligible though.

One of the members does things in reverse to avoid this issue. Ie, he does the juy transaction, checks the total cost of it and buys the corresponding USD:SGD then txfers in the right amount of SGD

I am that member

The time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time HardwareZone Forums app

 

[kingsfall]

More like 5-12 months of salary as emergency funds (cash). This is NOT PART OF YOUR PORTFOLIO.



If you don't have dependents and you die, what's the money for?

If something happens and u have to pay for treatment. hospitalization only covers your stay. How u gonna pay for treatment? cash out your earliest bought stocks in your portfolio?

 

[Wonderer haha]

SC charges and 8th anniversary acquisition tax for IWDA in LSE

Hi guys,

Managed to open an account at Standard Chartered and planning to get some IWDA through London Exchange (secondary market). Understand that there are not capital gain tax, dividend withholding tax (other than those US dividend, anyway the fund itself is accumulating), and no inheritance/estate tax for Non-Irish or Non-UK. So would like to check that whether there are

1. Other charges/fee from Standard Chartered except with those commission charge, and maybe Forex spread? I do understand that unlike other Securities, there is no custody charge at Standard Chartered. So any other charges/fee?

2. Saw this at Vanguard prospectus at page 78 (similar statement was observed in Blackrock as well) regarding this eighth anniversary
acquisition tax. Does this apply to us (typical Singaporean)?

Thanks

 

[kingsfall]

A few things:

1) No, it really isn't. Income replacement is what your emergency fund is for.
2) Critical illness policies just give you a lump sum if you get some horrible disease, but that's not what you need; if you can't work, you need a stream of income replacement payments. So you buy a disability income policy, not a critical illness policy, and it works out a lot cheaper (I think? BBCW, keep me honest here.)


2a) And your medical insurance plan will cover your medical costs. If you have a medical insurance plan and a disability income plan, what exactly does the critical illness policy do?
3) Even then, you only need this sort of thing if you're the sole breadwinner, with a family to support, and your better half already can't work. If it would be the end of the world if you couldn't work, then sure, buy a disability income plan.

Critical illness plans are really poor value - the reason the insurance companies advertise them so hard is that they're hugely profitable for the insurance company! (Also it's really easy to scare people into buying them.)

A well-stocked emergency fund is enough for most people. Critical illness plans are a waste of money.

i mean you have medical plan to pay for your hospitalization cost. then disability plan to cover your income loss. what about treatment cost?

 

[bobobob]

i mean you have medical plan to pay for your hospitalization cost. then disability plan to cover your income loss. what about treatment cost?

Hospitalization plans usually cover pre and post hospitalization outpatient treatment as well. My plan covers me for 13 months before and after.

 

[BBCWatcher]

i mean you have medical plan to pay for your hospitalization cost. then disability plan to cover your income loss. what about treatment cost?

An Integrated Shield plan covers related outpatient care for periods of time that vary by plan, from a low of 90 days/90 days to a high of 13 months/13 months pre-/post-hospitalization. MediSave funds can be used for a variety of cancer treatments, including radiotherapy, radiosurgery, chemotherapy, MRIs, CT scans, bone marrow transplants, and immuno-suppressants. You can only use MediSave for qualified medical expenses (and Integrated Shield base plan premiums), and you're well rewarded if you top up MediSave, with tax relief and attractive interest. Choose subsidized wards and public institutions (notably the Singapore National Cancer Centre) to control costs. Finally, cash also always works, and you have that much more cash if you aren't wasting it on insurance of dubious value.

Insurance is really only properly for calamities that you cannot reasonably handle on your own that money would help ameliorate. Cancer can be a medical calamity, but it's not a financial one when considering all the above defenses (and also DII).

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

i mean you have medical plan to pay for your hospitalization cost. then disability plan to cover your income loss. what about treatment cost?

https://www.moh.gov.sg/cost-financing/healthcare-schemes-subsidies/medishield-life

 

[Shiny Things]

1. Other charges/fee from Standard Chartered except with those commission charge, and maybe Forex spread? I do understand that unlike other Securities, there is no custody charge at Standard Chartered. So any other charges/fee?

2. Saw this at Vanguard prospectus at page 78 (similar statement was observed in Blackrock as well) regarding this eighth anniversary
acquisition tax. Does this apply to us (typical Singaporean)?

Thanks

1) Here you go. Also, the UK government charges a 0.5% stamp duty on purchases (but not sales) of shares (but not ETFs). So if you buy $10k of IWDA, you don't pay stamp duty; but if you buy $10k of Barclays stock, you'll pay stamp duty.

2) Er, no. The only reference I can find to an eighth-anniversary tax is for Irish capital gains, which you are not subject to because you are not an Irish taxpayer.

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/ntuc-providend-tie-up-to-offer-low-cost-advisory

Over the next six to nine months, MoneyOwl also will roll out low-cost portfolio services. It will also offer will writing and comprehensive financial planning.

In terms of investments, MoneyOwl's portfolios will comprise sensible, diversified, non-market timing funds. There will be no sales charges and no trail fees. Trail fees are the portion of funds' annual management fees that are paid to distributors. The funds' total expense ratios (TER) will be under 0.4 per cent, compared to the average equity TER of retail funds in Singapore of well over 1.5 per cent. The annual wrap or portfolio fee is expected to be set at 0.65 per cent.

:thinking

 

[BlackRozeInc]

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/ntuc-providend-tie-up-to-offer-low-cost-advisory





:thinking

It'll be interesting to see what kind of funds they are offering.