Chosing a provider

[weeklan]

Hi all,

Firstly I wish to thank Ben for drumming up the iDeCo guide, it was published at a good time just as I was reading into iDeCo.

Secondly, and with regards to choosing a provider, I believe it basically boils down to Rakuten or SBI.

You can see by checking dcnenkin that SBI offers a higher range of products than Rakuten but is that it? Has anybody chosen to go with Rakuten despite this, or can anybody think of any reason why one might chose to go with Rakuten over SBI as their provider?

[RetireJapan]

Hi weeklan

I went with Rakuten only because I already had an account and it was easier to sign up and use the same login.

I'm not sure merely having more products is useful, as long as they have the products you want with reasonable fees. Having said that all things being equal I would probably go with SBI, although I am perfectly happy with Rakuten as things turn out

[Roman Empire]

The ranking of providers at http://www.dcnenkin.jp/ranking/ gives the following top-5 for September:

- SBI Securities
- Aeon Bank
- Mizuho Bank
- Rakuten Securities
- Japan Post Bank

[weeklan]

Hi weeklan

I went with Rakuten only because I already had an account and it was easier to sign up and use the same login.

I'm not sure merely having more products is useful, as long as they have the products you want with reasonable fees. Having said that all things being equal I would probably go with SBI, although I am perfectly happy with Rakuten as things turn out

Thanks for the reply.
Yes this is the feeling I get as well.
Can I ask what was the account you had with Rakuten, presumably for enavi for credit cards or something else?

The ranking of providers at http://www.dcnenkin.jp/ranking/ gives the following top-5 for September:

- SBI Securities
- Aeon Bank
- Mizuho Bank
- Rakuten Securities
- Japan Post Bank

Thanks.
I suppose the question is why is Rakuten ranked 4th? Makes you wonder by what criteria this ranking was based on.

[Akatani]

I am with SBI, and while the choice is 'nice', I'm only looking at the low cost funds so that choice is limited. If the funds provided by Rakuten are similar then you're not losing much by missing out on funds that you wouldn't consider anyways due to high fees (unless you prefer high fees).

[Roman Empire]

Hi Akatani, which funds for iDeCo did you choose at SBI?

[RetireJapan]

Can I ask what was the account you had with Rakuten, presumably for enavi for credit cards or something else?

I had a normal broker account and a NISA account with Rakuten Securities.

[RetireJapan]

I suppose the question is why is Rakuten ranked 4th? Makes you wonder by what criteria this ranking was based on.

I think it's based on which websites people are clicking through to, so it is based on the ranking here: http://www.dcnenkin.jp/search/commission.php

, with Japan Post thrown in their for familiarity?

[Akatani]

Hi Akatani, which funds for iDeCo did you choose at SBI?

I'll have to check when I'm at home. It was just the lowest cost ones. I think Nissei for world stocks and Mitsui Sumitomo for Japan stocks. I only chose two.

[Roman Empire]

If you only selected the funds based on their fee levels you must have picked the ones with the lowest fees. Some of the funds in the lineup invest in overseas ETFs or have solid track records but won’t have the lowest fees.