Official Shiny Things thread—Part III

[cassowary18]

I agree that I can buy local stocks and bond ETFs in TWD such as the famous 0050 in Taiwan to build my own 3 fund portfolio. However, to trade IWDA, the best broker for someone in Taiwan would be IB, but the minimum commission will be a pain for someone that does not trade frequently and just buy and hold.

This is why I consider opening an account in SCB SG and see if a foreigner is eligible to do so, even if I have to fly there personally. My father is living in SG so perhaps after coronavirus ends I might visit.

We've discussed why buying Singapore stock and bond ETFs is a terrible idea; I'm not going to belabour the point. Even Singaporeans don't want to overweight Singapore too much (just see discussion upthread), much less a foreigner.

But even just buying IWDA with your SCB Singapore account is a terrible idea. You'll have to cross the NTD/SGD spread to convert your money to SGD, deposit your SGD in your SCB account, then cross the SGD/USD spread to convert your money to USD to buy IWDA. Then you have to pay SCB commission. Add all this up and you're probably better off using IB and paying the $10 minimum fee.

 

[cassowary18]

Hi I am new to investing. I chance upon this thread and really appreciate its existence.

Im looking to buy into IWDA etf say $150-200/month.

I have signed up with SCB online trading platform but am also open to any others, as long as it has the lowest charges + fees .

Any recommended platform?

At your investment amount SCB is probably the cheapest.

 

[hellvolhardzelinsky]

At your investment amount SCB is probably the cheapest.

is it still worth it? For example, you invest $200/month, every month you get charge 5% initial fee (around 10 USD)

 

[cassowary18]

is it still worth it? For example, you invest $200/month, every month you get charge 5% initial fee (around 10 USD)

Then don't invest every month lah. "Batch up" every few months and invest.

 

[rikukoh]

At your investment amount SCB is probably the cheapest.

Based on the portfolio cost simulation, it shows that IBKR is cheaper than SCB though, based on a monthly $500 simulation. Or am I doing something wrong here?

Cheers,
Riku

 

[rikukoh]

Hello,

Just wanted to check, what base currency should you use for your IBKR account? Is it SGD or USD?

And do I have to open another currency account with another bank?

Please enlighten me thanks!

Cheers,
Riku

 

[flowerpalms]

Base currency SGD, and no you do not need to open another currency account with another bank.

So what you do is you deposit in SGD to your IB account then convert to USD

Hello,

Just wanted to check, what base currency should you use for your IBKR account? Is it SGD or USD?

And do I have to open another currency account with another bank?

Please enlighten me thanks!

Cheers,
Riku

 

[tesarise]

Based on the portfolio cost simulation, it shows that IBKR is cheaper than SCB though, based on a monthly $500 simulation. Or am I doing something wrong here?

Cheers,
Riku

at that amount of monthly investment, the cost effective way is to "batch" (i.e save up) a few months before buying.

for this strategy, SCB is better as you dont need to pay on the months you "saving"

 

[rikukoh]

at that amount of monthly investment, the cost effective way is to "batch" (i.e save up) a few months before buying.

for this strategy, SCB is better as you dont need to pay on the months you "saving"

Base currency SGD, and no you do not need to open another currency account with another bank.

So what you do is you deposit in SGD to your IB account then convert to USD

Understood, thank you guys!

Cheers,
Riku

 

[kram62]

Hello,

Just wanted to check, what base currency should you use for your IBKR account? Is it SGD or USD?

And do I have to open another currency account with another bank?

Please enlighten me thanks!

Cheers,
Riku

You can choose either one. It mostly affects the default currency for reporting, and also decides from which cash account the monthly fees will be deducted.

In my case I chose USD because I only hold USD denominated assets in IBKR, and I don't want the USD.SGD rate fluctuations to constantly change the displayed values in the reports.

If you prefer to see almost everything in SGD then SGD as base currency is the best choice.

Make sure to always keep a little amount of cash in your base currency so as to avoid situations where the fees is deducted from zero balance which makes it negative.

 

[shadowsworn]

I have question regarding DRIP.

I was offered DRIP on Mapletree NAC Tr ex date 26 Feb 2020.
I have 500 shares of Mapletree NAC Tr

The issue price under the DRP was $1.144 per new unit
I check my stand chart and I saw that I have 4 new units so I now have 504 shares

4 x 1.144 = $4.756

If I had taken Cash, I would have gotten 500*0.0107 = $5.35 of dividends


Any idea where the $5.35- $4.756 = $0.594 went to? I dont see it being deposited in my stand chart account..

 

[imwarren]

I have question regarding DRIP.

I was offered DRIP on Mapletree NAC Tr ex date 26 Feb 2020.
I have 500 shares of Mapletree NAC Tr

The issue price under the DRP was $1.144 per new unit
I check my stand chart and I saw that I have 4 new units so I now have 504 shares

4 x 1.144 = $4.756

If I had taken Cash, I would have gotten 500*0.0107 = $5.35 of dividends


Any idea where the $5.35- $4.756 = $0.594 went to? I dont see it being deposited in my stand chart account..

i believe it was rounded down and disregarded

 

[rikukoh]

Hello everyone,

With the introduction of IBKR Lite, is it currently a better option than the IBKR Pro / SChart Online?

The web mention no commission/inactivity fee etc., can anyone enlighten me on whether is it too good to be true or are they really offering a better alternative for overseas investments (IWDA)?

Not really a fine print kind of guy yknow

Thank you!
Riku

 

[BBCWatcher]

With the introduction of IBKR Lite, is it currently a better option than the IBKR Pro / SChart Online?

If you're a resident of the United States or of India, yes, probably.

Not really a fine print kind of guy yknow

You don't say?

 

[Kaypohji]

Bro u also use IBRK ?

Base currency SGD, and no you do not need to open another currency account with another bank.

So what you do is you deposit in SGD to your IB account then convert to USD

 

[rikukoh]

If you're a resident of the United States or of India, yes, probably.


You don't say?

Hello, out of curiousity, can I just know why would it not apply to residents of Singapore as well? Is there some sort of hidden charge etc.?

 

[kram62]

Hello, out of curiousity, can I just know why would it not apply to residents of Singapore as well? Is there some sort of hidden charge etc.?

It's not available to them.

This product is only available for the aforementioned persons currently.

 

[rikukoh]

It's not available to them.

This product is only available for the aforementioned persons currently.

Ahh I see. Thanks!

 

[Kaypohji]

I was looking at the spreadsheet some kind souls shared earlier regarding the commission for each institutes

I realize for SCB, the brokerage fee formula is maximum of 10.70 usd or 0.25%

If I were to make 2 transactions of 500 sgd each, I will incur 2 x 10.70 usd right ?

Because the formula didn’t take into account of the 2 times frequency transaction although I updated the frequency due to the formula being set for as above

But I just wanna confirm if I’m right or I missed smth

 

[vofzxy]

hello everyone
hope you all are well and healthy.

can i ask regarding shinythings book on amazon...
its only sold on amazon right? and if i want a printed hardcopy, the only way is to get through amazon US right?