Japanese Brokers: Monex vs. Rakuten vs. SBI

[jiro.becker]

Hi,

first of all, thanks to RetireJapan for the site! I really appreciate all the information you put out and the active community on the forums.

I'm in the midst of setting up a brokerage account for my (Japanese) partner. I have read through several threads so far and Monex, Rakuten and SBI seem to be the go-to options. Looking at their fee structures, all three seem to charge equal commissions for US stocks and ETFs. For Japanese stocks and ETFs, Rakuten and SBI have lower transaction fees than Monex (1-3).

I myself have an account with I.B., but since a) she is not going to be an active trader (I think), and b) transferring ￥ to I.B. is a pain, I am leaning towards opening an account with one of these three. The requirements would be:

1) Smooth transfer of funds from a Japanese bank account
2) Access to Japanese and US stocks as well as ETFs
3) user-friendly web interface, and if possible smartphone app
4) NISA/iDeCo compatible

She intends to follow a basic buy and hold strategy with ETFs and dividend growth strategy with select Japanese and US equities and REITs.
I assume that this should be possible with any of these brokers?
Does any one of you prefer one specific broker over the other?

Finally, I've stumbled across this thread, which reveals that US REITs and MLPs cannot be traded on Monex... is this the same with the other options?

Thanks for your advice and Happy Holidays!


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(1) https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/commission/
(2) https://www.sbisec.co.jp/ETGate/?_Contr ... &getFlg=on
(3) https://info.monex.co.jp/service/fee.html

[RetireJapan]

I have access to all three and they don't seem all that different. If I had to choose one I might go for SBI? They all have access to US-listed securities, etc. Assuming your partner is going to stick to mutual funds for the indexes, and choose individual US stocks, there is not much in it.

The only differentiator would be if they are already in the Rakuten point/card system, in which case Rakuten Securities provides some chances to earn points.

[jiro.becker]

Thanks! SBI looks good!

I was under the impression that many people prefer Monex, maybe because they have English app support and look a bit more modern overall?

Assuming your partner is going to stick to mutual funds for the indexes, and choose individual US stocks, there is not much in it.

Yes, we plan on buying individual stocks and ETFs. No mutual funds - is it possible to buy US ETFs? If not, that shouldn't be a problem since I believe there are several equivalent domestic Japanese ETFs tracking the MSCI world, emerging markets, nasdaq etc. How about US REITs?

[RetireJapan]

Actually there are some reasons to choose Japanese mutual funds over ETFs (particularly US-listed ETFs). Low fees, automated purchase options, more tax-efficient...

The eMaxis Slim range is popular with our readers: https://emaxis.jp/lp/slim/pr1/