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CircleInTheSand wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:05 am
1) Between SBI, Rakuten and Monex which one would be a better option? I think they all can access Vanguard S&P 500 but I'm not sure...
For non-iDeCo*, they're all about the same. Personally, I use SBI, but some people here have had trouble opening accounts with them recently because of problems registering their non-Japanese name. Although to be fair I'm not sure Rakuten is much better. Don't know about Monex. In the end, it doesn't really matter. Once you get the account running, they're all similar.
CircleInTheSand wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:05 am
2) What type of account would be convenient for me?
NISA first, followed by standard taxable account (特定口座). You normally open a taxable account automatically as part of opening a NISA.
CircleInTheSand wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:05 am
3) If I could open an account, would it be a good time to do so considering the global pandemic?
As soon as possible, once you have done some research about the fundamentals of investing, and have enough emergency cash savings. It's not possible to consistently time the market, prices can go up or down for completely unexpected reasons. What's more important is to have investments for as long as possible (to make sure you don't miss the price rices), and to have a diversified, balanced portfolio that represents your risk tolerance (to make sure you can tolerate price drops).
It's important to invest as soon as possible and not try to wait for the best timing. But it's also important to understand what you are doing. So I would say: Open an account (takes some time) now, do your research in the mean time, save up a cash buffer if you don't have one already, and once you have a plan, start investing.
CircleInTheSand wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:05 am
I also heard a little of IB but I wonder if that would be better than a local account?
I don't know about IB. A local NISA account allows you to take advantage of the tax benefits while you can. But you will need to close the account when you leave Japan. If that's in 5 years time, it could be risky because you will need to sell all your investments, then buy them back again in the new country. So looking into IB could be an option, but you don't get the NISA tax advantages.
Kanto wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:59 am
if you were Canadian you might want to investigate opening a TFSA/RRSP. If you are in the UK you might look at an ISA.
I don't know about Canada, but non-residents are not allowed to contribute to a UK ISA. Also, although dividends are tax-free from the UK perspective, they are not from the Japanese perspective. So this isn't a good option, IMO.
*for iDeCo, I would recommend Monex, because they're the only one that offer what currently seems to be the best-value global index fund, eMAXIS Slim All Country, as part of the iDeco. Outside of iDeCo, this fund is available on all the providers. But you said you're not interested in iDeCo right now, so this footnote is for the benefit of others reading this.
