More dumb investment questions for Americans

[Decchan]

I have a Nomura account and a good relationship with my Nomura representative and I’m asking her to look into this for me. Because of the Covid-19 situation it will probably take some time to get an answer from their tax group but I’ll let you know what they say. Up until now I’ve never received a 1099 from Nomura but my positions have all been individual stocks; it would be great if they could help avoid having a PFIC classification for an etf or mutual fund.

Hi TokyoWart, any chance you have heard back on this? (as you intimated, I imagine these kind of inquiries might be low priority for them right now).
Have been mulling over just biting the bullet and buying 30man of the Vanguard VT and 20man of the Vanguard BND, just in case there really is never another drop and this is the lowest the market will be again for a long time....

[TokyoWart]

I have a Nomura account and a good relationship with my Nomura representative and I’m asking her to look into this for me. Because of the Covid-19 situation it will probably take some time to get an answer from their tax group but I’ll let you know what they say. Up until now I’ve never received a 1099 from Nomura but my positions have all been individual stocks; it would be great if they could help avoid having a PFIC classification for an etf or mutual fund.

Hi TokyoWart, any chance you have heard back on this? (as you intimated, I imagine these kind of inquiries might be low priority for them right now).
Have been mulling over just biting the bullet and buying 30man of the Vanguard VT and 20man of the Vanguard BND, just in case there really is never another drop and this is the lowest the market will be again for a long time....

As expected this taking some time. My immediate contact had no idea and kind of tried to talk me out of asking the question. We finally agreed that she will ask their tax group and get back to me but it looks like that response is coming after Golden Week at the earliest.

When I think about this --and of course I've never received a 1099-div from Nomura over the 20+ years of our relationship, I've also never purchased through their "foreign stock" link (the 外国株式/ETF choice under trading) so there is still a chance they routinely provide such forms for US positions purchased in that link. Sorry that I don't have a definite answer yet.

[Decchan]

and kind of tried to talk me out of asking the question.

Oh, that sounds a bit... ominous....

Sorry that I don't have a definite answer yet.

Absolutely no need to apologize!! Sorry for my impatience. I will continue my own search in the meantime and report back anything I can find.

[Decchan]

So digging around the Nomura site, I found a way to email them my question about 1099s. Unfortunately the response was disappointing:

恐れ入りますが、Form1099は弊社では発行しておりません。

お取引いただいた場合には、日本国内での確定申告にご利用可能な、「取引報告書」・「年間取引報告書」等の交付のみとなります。何卒ご理解いただきますようお願いいたします。

I followed up, as the word from Bogleheads was that its not Nomura itself that sends the 1099, but the Bank of New York Mellon that handles their US-based ETFs:

他の米国人の野村證券ユーザーから聞いた話なのですが、正確にいうと、そのForm1099は野村証券から直接受けることはないのは確かですが、 Bank of New York Mellonという関連会社から発送されるという制度があるようです。（それとも、あったようです。）そういう制度はまだあるでしょうか？

Even after that, however, I got another disappointing response:

弊社の証券口座で外国ETFのお取引をいただく場合、国内居住者としてお取引いただく事になります。
そのため、現地カストディアン（保管銀行）についてもお客様へのFrom1099の発送は行わないと存じます。

I still will hold out hope that TokyoWart's contact provides a better answer after Golden Week.

[Decchan]

So on a lark, I tried to open an account with TD Ameritrade online today. After inputting the first page of personal info I got this message:

We can’t open your account at this time.
Based on your information, we are not currently able to open an account for you. As a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, TD Ameritrade does not open accounts for residents of certain countries. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a New Client Consultant, call us at 800-454-9272.

So it sounds like the only real options to me now are Nomura or Interactive Brokers. I did start a thread over at Bogleheads (if anybody is interested in reading: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=312103) and after a back-and-forth with a member there I have concluded that the best course of action may be to just purchase Vanguard ETFs (probably VT and BND) via Nomura, regardless of whether I get 1099s or not.

I would only be buying and holding these two ETFs quarterly and so, if I am understanding correctly, the only messy tax issue would be reporting my dividends to the US? I'm planning to pay someone to do my taxes this coming year anyway, so I think it might be the right choice for me.

[Majessa]

So on a lark, I tried to open an account with TD Ameritrade online today. After inputting the first page of personal info I got this message:

We can’t open your account at this time.
Based on your information, we are not currently able to open an account for you. As a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, TD Ameritrade does not open accounts for residents of certain countries. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a New Client Consultant, call us at 800-454-9272.

I actually just opened an Ameritrade account because I saw it mentioned in this thread! I did get the same error page when I tried to open the account online, but when I called the overseas customer support number they told me that they can open an account for a US citizen even if they live in a country they don't open accounts with (like Japan). I just had to fill in the application by hand. They sent me the forms by email, I filled them in, scanned them and sent them back. The people I spoke with on the phone were very helpful, and said it was okay that my address and phone number were Japanese. It only took a few days to get the account opened and funded.

I was really glad to find this thread since I thought that Interactive Brokers was the only option for US citizens wanting to open a new account, but also wasn't a fan of the monthly inactivity fee. So if you haven't already gone with IB or Nomura, Ameritrade is still an option

[Decchan]

Hi Majessa, thank you for letting me know about this! I have already put a little money in Nomura, but depositing and buying ETFs has been a little bumpy so I am not sure if Im committed to using them over the long haul. I was wary to call Ameritrade because of the phone costs (I still have never found a cheap way to call international numbers from Japan) and because I could not find much supporting evidence that they still accepted expat customers based in Japan, but I will definitely look into setting up an account now!

[adamu]

I still have never found a cheap way to call international numbers from Japan

LINE Out is 1 yen / minute to the US https://line.me/ja/call/price-table
Skype is 350 yen / month for unlimited calls https://www.skype.com/ja/international-calls/

[TokyoWart]

Hi Majessa, thank you for letting me know about this! I have already put a little money in Nomura, but depositing and buying ETFs has been a little bumpy so I am not sure if Im committed to using them over the long haul. I was wary to call Ameritrade because of the phone costs (I still have never found a cheap way to call international numbers from Japan) and because I could not find much supporting evidence that they still accepted expat customers based in Japan, but I will definitely look into setting up an account now!

Many brokerages have toll-free numbers that you can call from Japan. I know I have used them in the past for Fidelity and Schwab and while I haven't actually had to call TD Ameritrade they have a guide for contacting them toll-free from outside the US:

https://www.tdameritrade.com/why-td-ame ... ct-us.page

[captainspoke]

Skype from here to US is toll-free for 800 numbers there