Hi there, I was wondering what is the better online trading platform for those whose most of the portfolio is just buying and holding?

Both local and global. I am looking at IBKR but not sure if it is cost effective for those like me who is just looking to hold for the longer term with low trading volume.

thanks in advanced

From what I understand , US based stock is best trading with TD Ameritrade SG. Zero fee. No inactivity fee and min balance.

For other markets, yes, ibkr has the lowest fee.

For SGX HKEX or even China A shares it is best to scout around do not everything use one broker. In investment diversification is impt and for me broker diversification also impt. We never know if broker go ahem. E.g Lehman brothers, Arthur Anderson former one of the big five accounting firm all big name also can fall so have some backup IMHO

Depends on what you want actually. Since your original post is talking about lowest fee on USA trading, just want to let you know TD Ameritrade SG is better than ibkr. If you prefers convenience, ibkr is the way to go.

look for zeit's video... is also few pages back...

Sure many here are transferring using Wise, myself included. Ziet's YouTube channel got a step by step tutorial.

Pretty straightforward and simple really.

first deposit takes like a week (they receive but then hold it for 7 days). after that its super fast 1 day can reflect!

Yes, but the first hour of market open is generally volatile and I personally avoid it, and while VUAA is an Ireland domiciled fund traded on LSE, all it's underlying asset is actually US, so I'd personally recommend you to put your order out after ~11pm Malaysia time, where VUAA will have better tracked price.

Feel free to correct me if I am mistaken.

Okay so, I am going to use some likely wrong words here and poorly explain it, so the resident stock sifus may want to correct me:

You are buying an ETF, which is a basket of stocks. So it has two values, a Market Value (The value of the ticker, the price you buy and sell it) and Net Asset Value, which is the sum of all the stock value under the ETF.

Market Value is determined by the traders but mostly market markers (they provide liquidity to anchor the price close to NAV) while the underlying stocks value is determined by traders who trade them. Hence inevitably, there will be difference in these values, we call them Premium and Discounts (e.g. SP500 all share prices total up for 500 for example, but the ETF currently is trading at 480, so you got a $20 discount if you bought it at that time)
Now, market maker try to keep these value as close as possible, to minimize what we call tracking errors.

Further reading: https://www.vanguardmexico.com/en/learn/exp...-discounts-work

So, when you buy VUAA when US market is not open, you are exposed to tracking error - the price you are paying, may not accurately reflect the real value of the underlying stocks. This could be good, could be bad, could mean nothing. It's just something to keep in mind.

You can see the tracking error by checking the fund's page NAV information, and overall tracking error reported in the fund's annual report usually.

now you know how weak is our MYR... better to invest in countries with strong currency.

When you're about to transfer your money then you notice the spike in the conversion rate. I thought it's a mistake and google it... Ouch MYR depreciate.

one of the reasons why I invest less in Bursa.. keep see our ringgit depreciate 

I can't wait, since EPF withdrawal already approved, I'll just transfer using my emergency fund to SG first, after that transfer to IBKR. The fund should allow me to continue DCA for another 3 months.
Meanwhile for Bursa, Since I'm using Rakuten Trade, just reinvest the dividend i got + topup to Rm999 to maximize de Rm7 fee.

yea safe stocks like Maybank, REITs ok to invest in.. need careful if invest in Bursa as got many goreng2.. pump up price then suddenly mass sell.
lack of foreign investors also can cause this.
especially those lesser known stocks.

I also keep Maybank share, reinvest when the stock price is low.
Now just need to control my itchy hand, can we set a recurring purchase where IBKR can help auto buy at market rate every end of the month?