Good info here
And how the heck do I quote text when I reply? Haha. Someone please enlighten me.
Yes. I hope this helps others to get an account.captainspoke wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:17 am Congratulations!![]()
(and also good news for others who may need an account)
Thanks Captainspoke. So, ETF's are what I can get as an expat. I thought I had read something about mutual funds not available for me here.captainspoke wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:56 am I'm really sure that as an expat (not residing in the US) you are not supposed to be buying mutual funds.
There are plenty of ETFs out there, as you've probably discovered. I personally have some SCHG and SCHX, or if you want to go 'total market' schwab's broad market ETF is SCHB. For vanguard, VT and VTI are commonly mentioned, along with others such as VOO, VIG, VGT, VB, and so on.
I'm not sure what research TDA provides, if they offer morningstar ratings then have a look at those. A couple sites for very general information are etfdb.com and etc.com but you could also look up bogleheads on reddit, and they have some model ETF portfolios, and also recommend some of the broadest, low fee index funds.
No trading fees/commissions is a fairly recent thing, one of the newer benefits of being US and having an acct there. It used to be a few dollars per trade (depending on broker). If you do sell, there is still a very small SEC exchange processing fee based on the dollar value of the trade. I don't recall the percentage, but it's something like 50 cents or less on a trade worth 20k. Trivial, but you might notice it someday.
This is not exactly true. To the extent there is a rule it's a rule that the mutual fund company should be licensed to sell the mutual fund in the country you are located in. It is not a rule that prevents your owning the fund but prevents the mutual fund firm from selling it to you. When I first came to Japan several decades ago this rule either didn't exist or wasn't enforced and my fund companies (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, etc.) had no hesitation to sell me mutual funds even knowing that I lived in Japan. Now they will not sell me new shares but do not require liquidation of the shares I already have. I report the dividends and capital gains distributions from those funds by name on my Japanese taxes each year and that has never raised an issue even though my accounts have gone through several audits.So, ETF's are what I can get as an expat. I thought I had read something about mutual funds not available for me here.
There isn't any reason that two funds would be expected to have the same unit share price even if they are tracking similar indexes because they are tracking performance and are not set at an invidual index share price. However, VTI tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index while SCHB tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index so the indexes they are tracking are not identical although they will perform very similarly. Also Vanguard is somewhat more efficient at managing its ETF's because they are larger than most competitors and Vanguard benefits from lending securities to short sellers which can actually make Vanguard funds slightly outperform the indexes they track (because the index is a theoretical construct and doesn't have any efficiencies of scale or ability to lend securities, etc.)But why are the fund prices so different? (Ex. VTI is $217 per share vs. SCHB which is $101).
You will experience a slight friction cost from the bid/ask spread when purchasing or selling an ETF even if you are using a commission-free brokerage.Am I correct in assuming that the above price per share is the only expense I'll incur if I purchase these?
Unlike for mutual funds it is not usually possible to set up automatic monthly investments in an ETF but it will depend on your brokerage firm.I'd like to set up ETF purchases that are automatic per month if possible. Is this an option?
Hmmm. So would you favor the Vanguard ETF because of it's efficient management / better performance? I'm kind of leaning toward the VTI but still exploring. I suppose it is personal preference as to index (CRSP vs. Dow Jones, etc)?TokyoWart wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:03 pmThis is not exactly true. To the extent there is a rule it's a rule that the mutual fund company should be licensed to sell the mutual fund in the country you are located in. It is not a rule that prevents your owning the fund but prevents the mutual fund firm from selling it to you. When I first came to Japan several decades ago this rule either didn't exist or wasn't enforced and my fund companies (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, etc.) had no hesitation to sell me mutual funds even knowing that I lived in Japan. Now they will not sell me new shares but do not require liquidation of the shares I already have. I report the dividends and capital gains distributions from those funds by name on my Japanese taxes each year and that has never raised an issue even though my accounts have gone through several audits.So, ETF's are what I can get as an expat. I thought I had read something about mutual funds not available for me here.
There isn't any reason that two funds would be expected to have the same unit share price even if they are tracking similar indexes because they are tracking performance and are not set at an invidual index share price. However, VTI tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index while SCHB tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index so the indexes they are tracking are not identical although they will perform very similarly. Also Vanguard is somewhat more efficient at managing its ETF's because they are larger than most competitors and Vanguard benefits from lending securities to short sellers which can actually make Vanguard funds slightly outperform the indexes they track (because the index is a theoretical construct and doesn't have any efficiencies of scale or ability to lend securities, etc.)But why are the fund prices so different? (Ex. VTI is $217 per share vs. SCHB which is $101).
You will experience a slight friction cost from the bid/ask spread when purchasing or selling an ETF even if you are using a commission-free brokerage.Am I correct in assuming that the above price per share is the only expense I'll incur if I purchase these?
Unlike for mutual funds it is not usually possible to set up automatic monthly investments in an ETF but it will depend on your brokerage firm.I'd like to set up ETF purchases that are automatic per month if possible. Is this an option?