It'll depend on your deposit route, but try to keep your total transaction fee under 1% (0.5% ideally for me) - if you deposit and convert RM200 every month, you are going to lose quite a bit of fixed cost every month (2USD fixed currency conversion fee at IBKR for SGD->USD, Wise conversion fee for MYR->SGD or MYR->USD is around RM4 for RM200). Might wanna just hold onto it and deposit in longer interval (bimonthly, quarterly?) and later on, use low amount of margin (1.2x or below) to smooth out the buy interval if needed.

Losing 9% (MYR->(WISE)->SGD->(IBKR FX)->USD) or 2% (MYR->(WISE)->USD) of your deposit before you do anything is pretty bad.

The minimum deposit amount using the cheapest route at low volume would be MYR->(WISE)->USD at RM400 per deposit (~1% cost of conversion + 0.35USD for US stock/~2USD for LSE stock purchase) - if you buy Irish domiciled ETFs and stocks, MYR1200 per deposit via the MYR-USD route would be optimal-ish I guess? In that case I would suggest buying US-domiciled equivalent and forgo the 15% withholding tax gain until you decide to commit more per month in the future to cut down on purchase cost.

But don't overthink it too much either - sometimes being invested is the important part. There is a lot of nuance to this, so you can always come back and ask here with reference to what ticker you would be buying.

Adding on to sifu's advice above, I think you can consider tapping into your savings/short-term investments for that mini-lump sum to IBKR.

For example, right now you have 10k saved up for rainy days. Take half of that, you'll have a healthy sum for a relatively lower transaction cost (conversion fee, commission etc). For the next half year, rebuild that missing 5k back into your savings, rinse and repeat. It does mean that you will be risking those few months where you're shorter on emergency funds.

My point is, always prioritise on having a healthy sum of emergency funds. Holding cash gives you a lot more choices and less worries. Only invest with with an amount that you can part with for a loooong period of time (e.g. 5 years+)

Generally, the lower the amount, the less transaction fee incurred would be ideal (e.g. try to accumulate to 1k tranche; buy one fund per month; etc.). Otherwise the fees (albeit little) will add up very quickly.

Just to illustrate:
Wise/FTT transaction: between 1% ~ 2% depending on how much you transfer.
IBKR Conversion fee: 0% (if you direct debit via Wise USD multicurrency account) or ~1-2% if you use IBKR in-app conversion, again, depending on how much you transfer.
IBKR transaction fees
$0.50 out of $50.00 is 1%
$0.50 out of $500.00 is 0.1%

For myself (just started this month after stopping my SA DCA ), I'm going with RM2k/month into 1 fund (or max, two funds only).

Will rotate my ETF choice on month-to-month basis between VWRA (primary) or my complementary sector/region ETFs (e.g. CSPX, KWEB/3067, 3040, etc.) - topping up whichever ETF's that has lower valuation / other factors at play.

ideas are good and valid... but i'll give y'all a more balance view

in a bull market like the us has been in the past 13 yrs... time in market is just as important

so whilst depositing every month... you lose out in fees... you win back in capital gains+dividends... take voo or qqq as example, y'all can do the maths to confirm

obviously in a bear market... take your time... 

i practise keeping an emergency fund for 6 months and monthly DCA from my monthly salary

on top of that, additional source like bonus, dividend, I will keep until there is a attractive entry point

DCA doesn't have to be every month.. if you have high income maybe possible to do so (like earning RM10k a month without much commitments).

meaning of DCA is regularly invest your money into stocks or ETFs.

sweet spot depends on how much you can save and earn.. for me one time transfer of RM2-3k every 2-3 months is my sweet spot. Some people can transfer more like 5k each time. So depends on individual earning power and savings.

hence why your main source of income is actually the most important... need to keep think of ways to grow it further.

Using Robos like Stashaway, KDI Invest then easy to DCA monthly or even weekly.. but their downside is management fees every year and can't control what they invest in.

yes if it's me, I will transfer 10k in.. then slowly buy when prices drop, or just DCA once every few months.
likely prices will fluctuate due to rising interest rates. Inflation now at 8.5% at US. Fed already confirm will have 6 times interest rate hikes.

hope the Ukraine war will be over soon.. stocks will improve once there's no more war. Uncertainty only harms the stock market. Some are afraid of all out nuclear war with Russia.

if you think stocks are tough.. wait till you see crypto prices. 24/7 trading and fluctuate even more since it relies on speculation (no fundamentals like stocks)

Of course as now us inflation very high so people expect fed to increase interest rate.
If US giving 8%pa for FD Vs your Malaysia 3%p.a you don't want to out FD in US?

for me options is like trying to predict the future.. what if you use all the tools in the world and still predict wrong due to some unexpected event?
also a high entry point either need 100 shares or on margin.
for me I don't invest using margin, only what I have and ok with if meet losses. Can't afford to buy any stock or ETF x100 as well.

want simple, just stick to stocks or ETFs.

when retired one day got a lot spare cash and time, then go into options for some fun.

I feel you buddy.

Still waiting for my EPF withdrawal. I predict it will go up again...

That is basically my portfolio haha.

So far so good minimal lost during covid

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.

Can call them during their office hours and ask. SG phone support is fast and efficient.

I had the same thinking until I called Maybank SG CS.

Mein gott it was so much better than local Maybank CS.
Thumbs up

Just did a wise transfer to IBKR. Will be a proud owner of VWRA soon 😆