My long term portfolio isn't very exciting  :

25% Bonds (BND/WIP)
35% US
20% Europe Developed (VGK)
10% Emerging Markets (VWO)
5% each Gold / REITS

Have some other temporary positions outside of that, but not long term or part of above allocation : EWZ, RSX, SPY, VGK, XLV

UK listed : UKDV, IUKD for some dividend income and as I have spare GBP earning 0% interest (no withholding tax )

i got into spy (s&p500), xle (energy), oih (oilfield services) and qqq (nasdaq/tech).

being new in this, i do not really know what surprises may come except the volatility i noticed. i just thought at this time with rm looking to get weaker and local economy being stressed and tested seriously; us economy looking strong, usd getting stronger; oil prices "near bottom" - ingredients are there to put some money. i may get a rude shock, of course.

to others who have been in it longer, i like to ask:

.. to get lower brokerage fees, are there reputable local outfits dealing in rm-usd? or must go overseas to set up usd acc.?
.. dividends - understand there is 30% tax; for etfs, do they always offer reinvestment for every dividend payout?
.. in the event gomen put capital controls like in 1998, what happens to these etfs held in trust by by local ib nominee?

thanks for sharing. i m sure many more are keen on us etf's at this time.

What u hv suits u - u buy sgx as well as us equities, not huge sums, not trading much.

If u focus on usa, bigger sums and trade a lot, better get a foreign broker - much much cheaper in the long run.

People invest in ETF because it's cheaper than UT in the long run.

However for those who have no money, ETFS are out of reach.

Read the terms n conditions for tda n ib, check their websites.

Pay attention to min deposit, brokerages and min monthly charge.

If u hv too small an amount and not trade much, its not worth the trouble, better stick to what u hv.

When u hv, say usd20k to start with or want to trade foreign markets, then it is time.

Anyway, given last fri events, i would think its much harder now to tt money to foreign brokers for investment n stocks trading.

Will have to wait for the typhoon to blow over.

why TD?
there plenty of low deposit broker out there to choose frm

Based on this blog, I think IB is the cheapest.
http://www.dividendgrowthinvestor.com/2015...estors.html?m=1

Based on this blog, I think IB is the cheapest.
http://www.dividendgrowthinvestor.com/2015...estors.html?m=1

SPY (100% tied to S&P500) is the largest ETF in the world, listed in many other stock exchanges besides NYSE.

what u see in SGX now is the price traded in singapore and other open exchanges.

it is what is commonly called "futures":
http://www.investing.com/indices/indices-futures

currently, the futures are all up, but who knows what happens when NYSE opens tonight?

u can buy/sell in any exchange but u cannot buy in one exchange and sell in the other.

sorry, but i have no experience with any foreign broker except IB.

larger, more reputable brokers tend to pose less problems with funds in/out, i would think.

min 10k at all times.

if below, u will be asked to top up, failing which account will be closed.

They don't have ireland based ETF which means you will kena the 30% tax.

Look for one which give you access to London Stock Exchange