Opening a NISA account via MUFJ online banking

[urayasujin]

Hello,

I want to open a NISA account and since I have an MUFJ online banking account, I thought of opening one from there. But upon reading Retire Japan's "Guide to Nisa", Monex / SBI Securities / Rakuten securities appear to be the one recommended. Are there disadvantages if I open one via MUFJ online banking? I am also not sure which ones to select in the screenshots attached. Any advice/help is very much appreciated.

[Kanto]

Hello,

I want to open a NISA account and since I have an MUFJ online banking account, I thought of opening one from there. But upon reading Retire Japan's "Guide to Nisa", Monex / SBI Securities / Rakuten securities appear to be the one recommended. Are there disadvantages if I open one via MUFJ online banking? I am also not sure which ones to select in the screenshots attached. Any advice/help is very much appreciated.

It is universally recommended to open one with a real securities broker and not through a bank.

Brokers have far more offerings at better prices.

Are you planning to open a Tsumitate or regular Nisa?

Example:
Mizuho Tsumitate offerings ->6
Rakuten Tsumitate offerings -> 100+

[adamu]

It seems there are three different MUFJ companies that offer NISA, and what you can invest in depends on where you go.

https://www.bk.mufg.jp/isa/howto/pop_shouhin.html lists three.

But then there also seems to be another one: https://safe.tr.mufg.jp/cgi-bin/toushin ... index.html

Very confusing.

[urayasujin]

Hello,

I want to open a NISA account and since I have an MUFJ online banking account, I thought of opening one from there. But upon reading Retire Japan's "Guide to Nisa", Monex / SBI Securities / Rakuten securities appear to be the one recommended. Are there disadvantages if I open one via MUFJ online banking? I am also not sure which ones to select in the screenshots attached. Any advice/help is very much appreciated.

It is universally recommended to open one with a real securities broker and not through a bank.

Brokers have far more offerings at better prices.

Are you planning to open a Tsumitate or regular Nisa?

Example:
Mizuho Tsumitate offerings ->6
Rakuten Tsumitate offerings -> 100+

Thank you for your reply. I plan to open a Regular Nisa. When I open one with a real securities broker (Monex/SBI/Rakuten), are there transfer fees/charges when I fund them from my MUFJ Online Banking? Which securities broker do you recommend?

[urayasujin]

It seems there are three different MUFJ companies that offer NISA, and what you can invest in depends on where you go.

https://www.bk.mufg.jp/isa/howto/pop_shouhin.html lists three.

But then there also seems to be another one: https://safe.tr.mufg.jp/cgi-bin/toushin ... index.html

Very confusing.

Thank you for your reply. If through MUFJ is not recommended, which broker do you highly recommend?

[Kanto]

It seems there are three different MUFJ companies that offer NISA, and what you can invest in depends on where you go.

https://www.bk.mufg.jp/isa/howto/pop_shouhin.html lists three.

But then there also seems to be another one: https://safe.tr.mufg.jp/cgi-bin/toushin ... index.html

Very confusing.

Thank you for your reply. If through MUFJ is not recommended, which broker do you highly recommend?

This site prefers SBI, Monex and Rakuten though there are other decent brokers.

I do not pay for instant funding via Yucho or Tsumitate NIsa via Yucho with Rakuten.

With Rakuten you can use Rakuten Points to buy mutual funds.
With SBI you can use T-Points to buy mutual funds.

[mighty58]

I'd caution against applying with MUFJ for the following reasons:
- Hidden in their Q&A is a throwaway comment mentioning they only offer mutual funds for their NISA accounts. This might not be a deal killer per se, but with an account at a securities broker like Monex you can buy virtually anything you want within the NISA account (any mutual fund, stock, bond, foreign stocks, etfs, what have you). You will be robbing yourself of this choice.

- I could not find a list of the mutual funds available for purchase within the MUFJ NISA, and perhaps even more importantly, there is no info about the fees they charge. You apparently need to ask beforehand, or open an account first to see this list. This for me is a huge red-flag, especially as MUFJ is NOTORIOUS AND REKNOWN for being shameless fee-grabbers, so I am not confident in the least that they will offer fair fees.

- You can only open one NISA account. If you do it with MUFJ, you're stuck there.

So unless you get the list of available investment options up front, including all fees, and that list meets your needs, I'd steer clear.


As for your screenshots, they are standard questions asked when opening up any securities account. If you're an employee, you'll likely want the 特定口座 and 源泉徴収あり options as this means the bank/brokerage withholds taxes for you and you don't need to file a tax report on your own, simplyfing things. The second screen is simply asking your country of residence for tax purposes.

[urayasujin]

I'd caution against applying with MUFJ for the following reasons:
- Hidden in their Q&A is a throwaway comment mentioning they only offer mutual funds for their NISA accounts. This might not be a deal killer per se, but with an account at a securities broker like Monex you can buy virtually anything you want within the NISA account (any mutual fund, stock, bond, foreign stocks, etfs, what have you). You will be robbing yourself of this choice.

- I could not find a list of the mutual funds available for purchase within the MUFJ NISA, and perhaps even more importantly, there is no info about the fees they charge. You apparently need to ask beforehand, or open an account first to see this list. This for me is a huge red-flag, especially as MUFJ is NOTORIOUS AND REKNOWN for being shameless fee-grabbers, so I am not confident in the least that they will offer fair fees.

- You can only open one NISA account. If you do it with MUFJ, you're stuck there.

So unless you get the list of available investment options up front, including all fees, and that list meets your needs, I'd steer clear.


As for your screenshots, they are standard questions asked when opening up any securities account. If you're an employee, you'll likely want the 特定口座 and 源泉徴収あり options as this means the bank/brokerage withholds taxes for you and you don't need to file a tax report on your own, simplyfing things. The second screen is simply asking your country of residence for tax purposes.

Thank you so much! Very helpful. I'll open one in Monex then.

[jcherni]

Something that I have never really understood.

People in this forum seem to strongly advocate against opening your investment account in banks, because of the lack or variety and higher fees,
yet most say that the only thing you need to invest on is the e-MAXIS Slim (All-countries, Developed Countries, etc.), which to my knowledge is available in pretty much every bank and broker.

If you are investing only on e-Maxis Slim, does it make any difference where you buy it?
The fees are the same everywhere, no?

I have my investments account/NISA on MUFG Bank because it is my main bank, and as someone with a very long name (First Name, Second Name, mother's Surname and father's Surname) I can't bear the hassle of spending hours in an agency/phone trying to open another bank account, talking to a Japanese clerk that cannot understand the concept that there are people that have more than the first and last names...

My e-Maxis Slim 先進国株式インデックス has 0.0% for 購入時手数料 and 年率0.1023% for 運用管理費用.
Is it cheaper in other brokers?

[urayasujin]

Something that I have never really understood.

People in this forum seem to strongly advocate against opening your investment account in banks, because of the lack or variety and higher fees,
yet most say that the only thing you need to invest on is the e-MAXIS Slim (All-countries, Developed Countries, etc.), which to my knowledge is available in pretty much every bank and broker.

If you are investing only on e-Maxis Slim, does it make any difference where you buy it?
The fees are the same everywhere, no?

I have my investments account/NISA on MUFG Bank because it is my main bank, and as someone with a very long name (First Name, Second Name, mother's Surname and father's Surname) I can't bear the hassle of spending hours in an agency/phone trying to open another bank account, talking to a Japanese clerk that cannot understand the concept that there are people that have more than the first and last names...

My e-Maxis Slim 先進国株式インデックス has 0.0% for 購入時手数料 and 年率0.1023% for 運用管理費用.
Is it cheaper in other brokers?

You have a point regarding your long name issue. Having more options is definitely a good thing in the future. Many newbies, like me, may think of investing 100% in e-Maxis Slim for now but this may change in the future. So it's just for flexibility in the future. Did you invest 100% in e-Maxis Slim or you diversified?