Simple Q&A - Stock market investing

[RetireJapan]

Hi, what is the difference between the emaxi slim and Vanguard all country available on Rakuten?

Also is there a English tutorial on how to use the interface on Rakuten on how to buy?

thanks

There's an explanation on the wiki: https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/Japanese_global_index_funds

Basically, the VT wrapper by Rakuten contains ALL the stocks in the world while All Country only has a subset

many thanks, is one better that the other?

IMO the difference is minimal and how much you invest/how long you leave it to grow will make far more difference than which of those funds you choose (both are fine).

[Mirei]

Does anyone have any suggestion on what to do with USD?
I transferred some from back home into USD account in Japan, but for now it has just been sitting idle for a while.
Not even sure if letting it sit there and going up and down with the market is considered "investing" as it might be better/worse/stagnant years later.
It is a spare fund (for now), so primarily thinking it as an investing tool instead of emergency fund.
I believe that converting to JPY is perhaps not an option.

[EmaxisSlim Cultist]

Does anyone have any suggestion on what to do with USD?
I transferred some from back home into USD account in Japan, but for now it has just been sitting idle for a while.
Not even sure if letting it sit there and going up and down with the market is considered "investing" as it might be better/worse/stagnant years later.
It is a spare fund (for now), so primarily thinking it as an investing tool instead of emergency fund.
I believe that converting to JPY is perhaps not an option.

Low-risk?

I would buy US treasuries directly (check the bonds tab) through SBI/Rakuten/Monex in USD. Or a US treasuries ETF. However, it would have been better to buy them directly from the US treasury.

Adjust term, duration, and type to your risk appetite. However, buying them directly would lock in your rate.

Medium Risk

Pair a USD Index ETF with a USD Bond Tracker. 70% VTI/VT 30% BND/BNDW depending on preference.

Higher Risk

100% Equities VT/VTI

Challenge mode

55% SPXL/UPRO 45% TMF. Rebalance every 3 months.

[Mirei]

Low-risk?

I would buy US treasuries directly (check the bonds tab) through SBI/Rakuten/Monex in USD. Or a US treasuries ETF. However, it would have been better to buy them directly from the US treasury.

Adjust term, duration, and type to your risk appetite. However, buying them directly would lock in your rate.

Medium Risk

Pair a USD Index ETF with a USD Bond Tracker. 70% VTI/VT 30% BND/BNDW depending on preference.

Higher Risk

100% Equities VT/VTI

Challenge mode

55% SPXL/UPRO 45% TMF. Rebalance every 3 months.

Please pardon my question, very new to the US Treasuries. Is it only available on the big 3, SBI/Rakuten/Monex? or is it common and should be available anywhere?
Also, I browse some but couldn't really get any idea which is which or which one is better than the others... any suggestion?

[zeroshiki]

US bonds should be available everywhere. If you're super risk averse, then just use a savings account. US bonds still carry forex risk (its 114 jpy to the usd right now which is crazy high).

[EmaxisSlim Cultist]

US bonds should be available everywhere. If you're super risk averse, then just use a savings account. US bonds still carry forex risk (its 114 jpy to the usd right now which is crazy high).

He talking about USD, not yen though. No currency risk.

The big brokers have the most selection. Usually just strips and notes though. (Rakuten screenshot attached.)

Again, an American would be better of buying from treasury direct.

Here is a primer. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/United_ ... y_security

[fools_gold]

Please pardon my question, very new to the US Treasuries. Is it only available on the big 3, SBI/Rakuten/Monex? or is it common and should be available anywhere?
Also, I browse some but couldn't really get any idea which is which or which one is better than the others... any suggestion?

If you're moving USD back and forth then an SBI brokerage account combined with a Sumishin SBI Net Bank account might be best. You can transfer USD between them without any charges and if you want to convert into yen at any point Sumishin gives better rates than most brokers.

How to invest the money would depend on how soon you are likely to need the money and whether any financial obligations would be in yen or USD. If you're likely to need the money in the next few years or so a deposit account may be best. Bonds are low risk, but if you need the money in a hurry you may have to sell at a loss.

[Mirei]

Thanks everyone for your insights!

A bit of follow up questions on basic USD bonds if you don't mind.
I will most likely put some USD into one of these bonds rather than letting it sit on savings account,
but I'm still learning and getting myself around it before deciding how much to invest in.

May I kindly ask some clarifications (and corrections if any) on the following please?
Assuming we start with USD10,000 for simplicity.

1. 利率 1.88％ --- Interest USD188/year before taxes.
   利回り 0.99％ --- I notice some products have higher Yield than Interest, but not really sure what Yield actually does in practice.
   Could anyone help to explain?
   利払日 06/15 12/15 --- USD188/year, so USD94 paid out bi-annually before taxes.
2. Some products, especially US Strip Bonds 米国国債（ストリップス債）have 0% interest, no 利払日, and only Yield.
   How does this actually work?
3. I assume these bonds are considered as fixed-income (bi-annually), and the initial investment amount will be credited back in full if we stay and don't sell until maturity date.
   Are there any risks or anything that I should put in mind in advance prior to going with this type of investment? Especially considering that almost all of them have >5 years period.

Thank you!

[Tkydon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyc8h5T ... DW&index=4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrmqYNv ... DW&index=5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtT59jx ... DW&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWKnK9L ... DW&index=7

[vapid]

Is there a way to look at the top-performing stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs in Japan over the past 5 years? I have a Rakuten Securities account if there is a filter or search query that can be used with them.