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 recently, 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 did just that. They opened accounts with DBS Vickers, and followed the instructions under one of my expat investing posts.
An expat named Harold explains:
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.
Please open this link to read how an expat Canadian in Japan opened his DBS Vickers account without flying to Singapore.
Cheers,
Andrew
