People working overseas are often left with a cesspool of investment options.
And most of them don’t realize how unfortunate most of those selections are. They often get roped into paying high mutual fund costs. Or worse, they get accosted by horrendous, costly commitments, thanks to salespeople representing firms like Zurich International and Friends Provident.
Through education, we can limit the exploitation, and ensure that people earn the investment results they deserve.
Overseas Americans can choose one of five options presented in this post.
Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Brits (along with any other non American nationality) can choose to invest in low cost exchange traded funds, as long as they can find a reasonably low cost brokerage.
Until today, I presumed that if a non American expatriate wanted to open an investment account in Singapore, they would need to fly here to do so.
Many expats working in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have done just that. They opened accounts with DBS Vickers, and followed the instructions under one of my expat investing posts.
Today Harold, one of my readers (a Canadian living in the UAE) spoke to a DBS Vickers representative and shared this information:
If you reside outside of Singapore AND OUTSIDE OF CANADA you can set up a DBS Vickers account WITHOUT having to travel to Singapore if you get the signatures on your application (downloadable online) notarized.
As an Expat Canadian you have to request a special declaration form (just call them and they’ll send it to you by email) that confirms you are a permanent resident outside of Canada.
I spoke with them and they can accept telegraphic transfers from outside Singapore so I can electronically send money to DBS Vickers who will then credit my account with the appropriate funds. I suspect that it’s best to convert your funds (which ever currency you’re dealing with, in my case UAE dirhams) to the currency of the Stock Exchange you wish to trade in (CAD/USD/HK) before transferring so you don’t pay conversion charges twice.
This is somewhat of a revelation, and I would like to keep up with Harold’s progress here. Harold, if you would be so kind as to keep us abreast of your account procedures in the comments below, I’m sure that many others will benefit..for years to come.
Harold also mentioned that he will not be required to take the securities test that new DBS Vickers investors have to take, if they reside in Singapore.
Thank you Harold; we’ll follow your journey here.
Loading tweets...
30 comments
Leonardo Pabroquez Jr. says:
October 19, 2012 at 11:17 am (UTC 8 )
Noted. Will follow this one!
M says:
October 19, 2012 at 7:11 pm (UTC 8 )
me too. we live in china i was almost going to make that trip this winter break!
Andre Ooi says:
October 29, 2012 at 10:07 am (UTC 8 )
HI. I’m a big fan of yours and big fan of index investing. I believe your method totally makes sense.
I’m Malaysian residing in Malaysia.
Recently i’ve enquired about setting up trading account with DBS vickers.
However i understand that singapore ETF is specified investment product (SIP). and that not everyone can buy. One needs to pass exam online etc.
How did you do it?
Hafiz says:
October 29, 2012 at 10:18 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andre, I was wondering if CIMB or MAYBANK trading accounts will not be suitable for trading ETF’s in Malaysia? All this time I was wondering why DBS vickers? Thanks
Andre Ooi says:
October 30, 2012 at 6:49 pm (UTC 8 )
Hafiz,
are you able to trade ETFs in SGX, NYSE using online platform and not through phone? using CIMB or MBB.
Hafiz says:
November 3, 2012 at 11:15 pm (UTC 8 )
You are right. You can not trade ETFs online, only through phone.
Hafiz says:
December 22, 2012 at 7:09 am (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew
Trading Vanguard ETF’s is only a phone call away, can’t trade online.
Aside from this inconvenience, what are the other benefits of opening DBS Vickers account in Singapore? Here the brokerage fees are 0.60% (or min US$25), bank charges RM20, and stamp duty 0.1%(max RM 200). What are the fees and commissions at DBS Vickers? Are they cheaper?
Secondly, are there any associated withholding taxes, such as dividend tax or capital gain tax for having Vanguard ETF’s for non US/Canadian citizens?
Many thanks in advance.
Andrew Hallam says:
December 22, 2012 at 8:37 am (UTC 8 )
Hi Hafiz,
The trading costs are DBS Vickers are 0.35% for U.S. ETFs and 0.55% for Canadian ETFs.
You want just want to invest where you are.
There’s one other very interesting component to fees, however, that I need (at some point) to do some research on for a comprehensive blog post. It relates to bid/ask currency spreads. Standard Chartered bank, in Singapore for example, charges a pittance in commissions for purchases. But when you convert money from Singapore dollars to U.S. dollars (this happens automatically when you purchase a U.S. ETF) the exchange rate spread is quite wide. So the question is…which brokerage is actually cheaper, DBS or Standard Chartered? When I have some time, I will find out. And this might be of interest to you as well. You could research your own bank and put it side by side with DBS Vickers,
Cheers,
Andrew
Hafiz says:
December 24, 2012 at 10:54 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew.
It is much easier mow to make some comparison.
My second questions is if there are any associated withholding taxes, such as dividend tax or capital gain tax for having Vanguard ETF’s for non US/Canadian citizens?
Many thanks in advance.
Hafiz says:
January 28, 2013 at 9:24 am (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew. Just heard about “commission free etfs”. There are several online brokers offering this. Any comments? If they are really “commission free”, then why DBS Vickers make a better choice. Many thanks,Hafiz
Andrew Hallam says:
January 12, 2013 at 10:09 pm (UTC 8 )
As a Malaysian residing in Singapore, you may not need to take the exam if you plan to buy ETFs off the New York Stock Exchange, via DBS Vickers. Have you called DBS to ask them?
yannick thevenot says:
October 30, 2012 at 9:59 am (UTC 8 )
hi,
i’m a french national, living in Thailand. I can confirm that DBS Vickers is ready to open an account for me without visiting Singapore, as long as i don’t want to trade on Singaporean market. (in that case you need a local bank account which seems to require a visit to Singapore).
In addition to what is said before, you can your signatures on your firms certified by your local DBS Vickers office. I confirmed that in Thailand they have an office with a person authorized to certify your signatures (it is advised to make an appointment before).
I’ll update this again once i have my account open.
kind regards,
Yannick
Leonardo Pabroquez Jr. says:
October 30, 2012 at 11:50 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew. Hi All!
Which of these brokerage is better (in Singapore):
DBS Vickers OR Standard Chartered
Because from the other thread, you mentioned about Standard Chartered?
Any of you guys here have tried these brokerages?
Thanks a lot! More power to you Andrew! (reading now your “Nine Laws to Financial Freedom” pdf file)
———————————–
Andrew Hallam says:
August 31, 2012 at 5:29 am (UTC 8 )
Reply
Great stuff! I wish there were more options throughout SE Asia, but jmondejar is right. You’ll have to come to Singapore to do it. Give the Standard Chartered brokerage a close look. They charge less for smaller investment deposits.
———————————————
Chris says:
November 4, 2012 at 10:33 am (UTC 8 )
Hi all,
Is it possible to set up a brokerage account as mentioned here in Hong Kong instead of Singapore? I have bank accounts with Standard Chartered in HK already although I do not live there.
Thanks for any advice.
Cheers
albert says:
January 2, 2013 at 12:46 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi,
Im interested to know how it’s possible to set up a DBS Vickers brokerage account without being present in Singapore.
I’m an Indonesian citizen & resident, and I have just got confirmation from DBS Vickers Singapore that I would have to be present when opening the account. I’d need to open a regular savings account (in SGD), and at the same time open the brokerage account with DBS Vickers.
Can anyone confirm that we can open an account without being present in singapore?
albert says:
January 6, 2013 at 12:55 am (UTC 8 )
I have contacted dbsvickers in sgp and they told me that i should be present in singapore to open an account.
I have told them and i have read in an online forum thats its possible to open th account
From outside sg, but they said its impossible.
Can anyone let me know how you were able to do so?
Cheers
Andrew Hallam says:
January 12, 2013 at 10:03 pm (UTC 8 )
Definitely call them back Albert. You will likely end up with a different representative. Check through the comments above for some specifics you can give them. It can be done! Others before you (as you’ll read above) have been told “no” until they pressed the issue and/or spoke to a more knowledgeable rep.
PJ says:
January 19, 2013 at 1:12 pm (UTC 8 )
Is DB Vickers still a good option in comparison to other trading houses considering the recent posts regarding their increase in costs
Andrew Hallam says:
January 19, 2013 at 2:49 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi PJ
The true costs would be determined by figuring out the currency spreads. I haven’t done that comparison yet, so I’m not sure. Currency conversion spread costs dwarf commissions, so the answer (as to the cheapest brokerage) isn’t evident when simply comparing commissions. I have been busy doing research for my regular magazine/newspaper columns. But when I have breathing room, I will be tackling this question.
If you are living outside of Singapore, however, DBS Vickers (I believe) is the only option available to you, so far.
Cheers,
Andrew
Drew Davis says:
January 24, 2013 at 10:07 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew,
I am a Canadian teacher currently working in Malaysia. I saw your presentation at ISKL last year and read in your book that Vanguard was planning on expanding to Canada.
As Vanguard now has online ETFs available in Canada, I thought there would be less fees in me sending my money from Malaysia to my bank account in Canada and purchasing the funds from Vanguard rather than going through DBS Vickers in Singapore. (Vanguard’s fees seem to be 0.15 compared with 0.3 to 0.55 with DBS Vickers) Am I missing something obvious before I set this up?
Thanks in advance.
Drew
Hafiz says:
February 12, 2013 at 8:43 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew. Just heard about “commission free etfs”. There are several online brokers offering this, like Ameritrade. Are there any hidden fees? If they are really “commission free”, then why DBS Vickers make a better choice? Many thanks, Hafiz
Andrew Hallam says:
February 12, 2013 at 9:23 pm (UTC 8 )
I know that Vanguard won’t charge for its own ETFs, but you need to be American to use the Vanguard brokerage. There are other providers doing similar things in Canada. But Singaporean brokerages are far behind their western counterparts. Brokerages are far more expensive in this part of the world. And when commissions in Singapore are low, you can bet that the exchange rate conversions make up the difference.
Stephen Maine says:
February 17, 2013 at 12:46 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi,
I have recently set up an account with TD Waterhouse based in Belgium. I would like to begin index investing but am concerned that the indexes I want ( UK FTSE and S and P 500) are at their highs. Is this a sensible time to put a large investment into these? Also some of the ETF’s are listed as Acc or Inc ( accumulation or income) does it matter which one you buy?
One last question, you have mentioned before US withholding tax if shares bought on the US exchange, wouldn’t it be better then to buy the same share on the UK exchange?
Thanks
Steve
Andrew Hallam says:
March 31, 2013 at 4:21 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Stephen,
If the expense ratios are low enough for those UK based ETFs, and the with-holding tax is minimal, then you could do that. But I have a feeling that you would have to pay capital gains taxes. If you’re British, living in the UK, there’s no way around that. But if you are a non American expat, you may consider investing where there are no capital gains taxes. An account based in Singapore would work.
Cheers,
Andrew
JP says:
March 31, 2013 at 11:47 am (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew and all,
I’m a Canadian teacher living in Cambodia. I really enjoyed ‘Millionaire Teacher’ and I want to get into Index investing as soon as possible!
Does anyone have any experience with investing from Cambodia?
From reading various blog posts here I’m still a little confused about the best option for Canadian expats to open a trading account. It seems like DBS Vickers is the only option for expat Canadians not living in Singapore or Hong Kong. However, I read in a different post about DBSV raising their Trading Commissions…does that mean they are no longer a good choice? Do their higher fees make it cost prohibitive to use their services?
Many thank for all your help,
JP
Andrew Hallam says:
March 31, 2013 at 4:18 pm (UTC 8 )
They are still an excellent choice JP. I use them myself, and I recommend that you follow this thread to see how you can open such an account here in Singapore.
Cheers,
Andrew
Alain says:
March 31, 2013 at 5:31 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew,
Transferring money for first time to my DBS online account, very excited. I have started studying which ETF and bonds I will buy. I am a Canadian expat. My question to you is: you are saying that you are investing in canadian ETF and bonds because of eventually you will be going back to live in Canada. So I guess you want to access the money in canadian dollars and not having to convert it from USD for example. But if, as are my plans, I will be outside of canada for another 10 years, why should I pay taxes on all the dividend from canadian investments during all those years? Why not just get US and international ETF and bonds? So that’s my interrogation. Why buy something that you have to pay taxes on dividends in canada. As much as you like low cost investments, I hate paying taxes!
Gayathri says:
April 3, 2013 at 3:14 pm (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew,
I am so glad I came by your website. I am an Indian national living in Doha now. Before that I lived in the US. I am looking for options to invest my money as in the middle east you are not paid a pension or do you get a retirement benefit. While in the US my retirement money is in a Schwab account and is invested in ETFs. Unfortunately, as I am not a US resident, I can’t add to that pool. Do you know if an Indian expat can invest in DBS Vickers?
Any ideas or information will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Gaya
Andrew Hallam says:
April 3, 2013 at 5:01 pm (UTC 8 )
I’m glad you found the website too Gaya. Yes, an Indian expat can invest with DBS Vickers as easily as a Canadian (or any other non American) can.
Let me know how it goes.
Cheers,
Andrew
JP says:
April 9, 2013 at 8:55 am (UTC 8 )
Hi Andrew and all,
I’ve followed this thread and have tried to open up a DBS Vickers account without making the trip to Singapore but haven’t had much luck. Apparently you can open the DBS Vickers account if you already have a regular bank account in Singapore (and I do not – and can’t seem to open one without making the trip).
I just came across HWANGDBS, which seems like an associated company of DBS & DBS Vickers. Does anyone know anything about this company, ie. whether or not they are legitimate and can be used as a brokerage?
I live in Cambodia and they have a branch here, so it would be easier for me to use them rather than through DBS Vickers in Singapore.
Thanks for all your help,
JP