RAKUTEN - possible to buy US stocks using USD?

[mikele3]

I got interested (I got the proverbial hot stock tip) in a single stock in the NYSE and I placed a bid in Rakuten for a few shares at a specific price.
If it'll ever get filled, this would be the first stock I'd own

In placing the order (using the translation function in Chrome) it seemed possible to place the order in USD ... is that true?

Can I hold USD in Rakuten and use it to buy stocks? If so, do I need to transfer USD there or can I buy some using JPY?

[mikele3]

... since I got no love here , I decided to learn the old school way, by trials and errors.

looks like I managed to use some JPY I had deposited in Rakuten Securities to buy USD ... I used this link:

then I clicked on BUY next to the USD/JPY pair ... entered an amount .... confirmed ... and left confused.
I didn't record the trade, which I wasn't even sure did actually happen... I left it there and moved my attention back to family and work.

I come back to my Rakuten account today with the goal of determining if I had actually purchased USD and the goal of finding the transaction record so that I transcribe that in the spreadsheet file where I try to track how I am doing with money.

... well... looks like I have some USD hold in Rakuten... but for the life of me I cannot find the transaction history or a record of the purchase.

anybody knows where I should look for it?
I can't imagine a trade report not being available.

[RetireJapan]

Sorry, I think I missed your first post.

Back in the day, I used to buy US stocks on Rakuten in this way:
1. buy USD
2. use the USD to buy US stocks

(and vice versa)

However, I learned that this could expose me to tax reporting/liability for exchange rate movement (ie the movement of the USD vs. the yen while I held them in my account or while I held the stocks).

Recently Rakuten changed their US stock purchase screen, so you can now buy using yen and Rakuten handles the currency conversion.

I don't know if the second method incurs a worse exchange rate or higher fees, but it does seem to eliminate the potential tax headache...

[mikele3]

Back in the day, I used to buy US stocks on Rakuten in this way:
1. buy USD
2. use the USD to buy US stocks

(and vice versa)

Thank you! so IT IS possible to buy directly in USD, this answers my initial concern.

However, I learned that this could expose me to tax reporting/liability for exchange rate movement (ie the movement of the USD vs. the yen while I held them in my account or while I held the stocks).

Recently Rakuten changed their US stock purchase screen, so you can now buy using yen and Rakuten handles the currency conversion.

I don't know if the second method incurs a worse exchange rate or higher fees, but it does seem to eliminate the potential tax headache...

Gotcha. I guess I will stick to buy directly in JPY.

Yet... I bought some USD betting on the idea that the DXY will keep raising for a few more months
I will change back to JPY before purchasing anything else.
(I am aware that buying and selling foreign currencies is a taxable event)

any idea where I can find the record of that transaction?
I am interested in the date/time, exchange rate and JPY spent .... the only thing I can see now is the total USD holding, which is the amount I selected when I placed my order.

[TokyoBoglehead]

I would suggest Monex for Americans stocks. You can use Tradestation in English to trade.

[adamu]

Worth keeping in mind that Rakuten charge ¥0.25 to convert every USD, in addition to the exchange rate. So $1000 costs you ¥250, etc.

[eagleyes]

You can buy directly in USD using your Yen: The dividends you get are in USD and you can use them to buy new stocks directly without having to convert back to Yen. I am using Rakuten. No specific issue.

[mikele3]

Worth keeping in mind that Rakuten charge ¥0.25 to convert every USD, in addition to the exchange rate. So $1000 costs you ¥250, etc.

25% !!!


so, rounding, if I buy $100.00 using ¥13,500 , and I immediately revert back to JPY I would get ¥10,125 ?

You can buy directly in USD using your Yen: The dividends you get are in USD and you can use them to buy new stocks directly without having to convert back to Yen. I am using Rakuten. No specific issue.

Interesting.
By doing that, all the tax implications for the currency conversions that happen behind the scene, are being taken care from Rakuten? Like it would be buying a stock in JPY and reselling it later for JPY?

[adamu]

Worth keeping in mind that Rakuten charge ¥0.25 to convert every USD, in addition to the exchange rate. So $1000 costs you ¥250, etc.

25% !!!


so, rounding, if I buy $100.00 using ¥13,500 , and I immediately revert back to JPY I would get ¥10,125 ?

$100 costs ¥25 so it would cost you ¥50 for the round trip, plus whatever the exchange rate spread is.

[Butterball]

Worth keeping in mind that Rakuten charge ¥0.25 to convert every USD, in addition to the exchange rate. So $1000 costs you ¥250, etc.

25% !!!

Read the figures again. ¥0.25, not ¥25 or $0.25.