I am planning to open Tradestation Global account.

Once I open SG bank account, I send money to Tradestation Singapore bank account correct? No need TT?

But what if I want to buy US stocks, need to convert SGD to MYR again?

If yes then before I can invest, I lost 1% already.

Whoops typo. If convert SGD to USD on the platform need to pay transaction fee again?

No hidden costs. The only catch is if you buy on margin, IBKR is 2.5% p.a. cheaper

Use IBKR app/client to trade. Don't use browser or TradeStation Global's website.

Edit: Make sure you have permission to trade all stocks.
You can buy in other exchange.

This post has been edited by Yggdrasil: Apr 16 2020, 03:24 PM

What are you looking for? You can buy EQQQ in London or Milan.

You should be able to buy it from the Swiss exchange too.

Have you found the answer? I can't seem to find the ETF using another account. Weird.

Edit: Whoops I forgot that EQQQ.MI is EQQQ INVESCO NASDAQ-100 DIST BVME.ETF
BVME is Milan Exchange.

This post has been edited by Yggdrasil: Apr 17 2020, 10:53 AM

Italy doesn't change anymore WHT.
I wasn't taxed beyond that.
BVME is EQQQ.MI because it's Italy Exchange in Milan.

Btw the link you put is for companies not us.
I don't think there is capital gains tax too because it's not an Italian stock.

This post has been edited by Yggdrasil: Apr 17 2020, 11:55 AM

Instarem used to be cheaper. But I heard they bumper the fee up by 0.5%. That's why it's more expensive now.

If you want pure tech in US, you can consider VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF).
Note that it's highly volatile despite having 500+ constituents. Then, again, high risk, high return.

This ETF is usually enough for diversification because they have operations internationally.
E.g. Microsoft, Apple, Adobe all sell their products overseas.

3x is too much. It's possible to lose up to 60% if all 3 circuit breakers are triggered in a day.

Also, it's not meant for holding overnight because of decay.

Note that the past doesn't mean the future.
If we are in a Tech bubble, it might not recover.

This happened to me. They don't believe or understand whatever you say about IC.
Not mistaken, passport is required to verify identity as international investor. IC can only be used to verify address.
You can try your luck with birth cert.

Returns calculated are based "point in time" which may be misleading.

Let's say the ETF price today is $110. Price 1 year ago is $100.
However, the price 3 months ago was $105 because people panic sell but it recovered almost immediately.

The returns will be:
1 year: 10% (110/100)-1
3 month: 19.05% [(110/105)-1] x 12/3

10 or 5 year average should be a good estimate.
Alternatively, you can take the data and calculate the return you would get had you invest a small amount everyday.
Popular index like S&P500 is known to generate around 4.8% p.a. consistently for 40 years.

You shouldn't be too worried if you invest less than 10000 units.

Irish domiciled ETFs are preferred but do check whether if there are any hidden taxes in future.

Small caps are deemed to be higher risk but higher return

Example: You can invest in either Maybank (large cap) or Bank Rakyat (small cap)

Note: It's just an example because Bank Rakyat is not listed

It's USD10 per month minimum (reduced by commissions) if you put in more money, this monthly fee is waived.

If you don't want this monthly charge, you can register under for IBKR under Tradestation Global. This one no monthly fee but there's a fall below fee if balance <$1000

Fractional shares only available under pure IB.

Currency only matters if you plan to lump sum without DCA and matters when you exit.
If a US stock is priced in EUR, it will give you the same return in MYR terms as compared to USD.

Example: You have RM1,000 to invest today.

QQQ	$200
USD/EUR	$1:EUR0.9
USD/MYR	$1:RM4.20

Since we know the USD/EUR exchange rate, the European equivalent of QQQ (which is EQQQ) will be EUR180 ($200 x 0.9).

Now, let's compare investing in US ($200) vs EUR equivalent (EUR180).

The amount of units you get:

Instrument	Calculation	Units
QQQ	RM1000/4.2/$200	1.19 units
EQQQ	RM1000/4.2x0.9/EUR180	1.19 units

You can see that both gives you the same amount of units but they are quoted in different prices/currency.
Now let's say after 1 year, QQQ rises 10%. EUR appreciated against USD. Now it's

QQQ	$220
USD/EUR	$1:EUR0.85
USD/MYR	$1:RM4.2 (same)

EQQQ will be EUR187 ($220 x 0.85).
You bought same amount of units so your portfolio value will be:

Instrument	Calculation	Units
QQQ	1.19 x $220	$261.9
EQQQ	1.19 x EUR187	EUR222.53

Now, let's convert back to MYR to see how much we actually made.
Note that USD/MYR did not change.

QQQ	$261.9 x 4.2	RM1099.98
EQQQ	EUR222.53/0.85 x 4.2	RM1099.56

Notice that investing in either EQQQ or QQQ gives us the same return in MYR terms as long as USD/MYR rate does not change.

Your returns only change if USD/MYR changes.
Meaning if you bought US ETF when MYR was weak and sold when MYR is strong, you lose a due to exchange rate (suppose ETF did not change).
However, if you bought US ETF when MYR was strong and sold when MYR was weak, you gain due to exchange rate (suppose ETF did not change).

However, this currency fluctuation tends to be around 10% only. If you lump sum RM30,000 today and in 10 years it's RM60,000 (a 100% return), you can expect to either make 110% return or 90% return after converting back to MYR.

Daily volume is not really important. Calculate how much value flows instead.

Example: If 49,000 units done daily and price is EUR81 per unit, that's RM19,500,000 worth of stocks daily. Meanwhile you only plan to invest RM30,000 which is 0.15% of the total flow.

If an ETF is delisted, you will likely be notified. You either sell before they liquidate or wait for them to liquidate the stocks and give you the remaining NAV.

IMO, it's more important that you choose the ETF that gives you the higher expected return than obsessing with liquidity/currency issues. Choosing a shit ETF will give you shit returns even if you have the best liquidity/currency rate.

But then again, no one can predict the future.
Also, beware of expense fees. Unpopular ETFs tend to have higher expense fees. IMO, anything above 0.25% p.a. is high.