Rakuten / SBI differences
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:20 am
I've been planning to start investing some money in Japan, and I've been recommended to go with either SBI or Rakuten (or eventually Monex).
In most threads I've seen, people say that Rakuten and SBI are basically the same, but I wanted to understand in what ways they actually differ before making a choice.
Here are some points that I particularly care about:
- Ease of use: my Japanese is decent, but not decent enough to be able to sustain a phone call if I need assistance (email assistance would be fine). So I'd rather go with the service that has the smoother experience overall. That is, both for the sign-up process and for the actual use of the service once I've signed up.
- Catalog: I am not a fan of mutual funds, so I plan to invest mostly in ETFs and individual stocks. I've seen both SBI and Rakuten support Vanguard ETFs, which is a first good step, but I might be interested in investing in more specific, sector-based ETFs, and I was wondering how wide is the support on both platforms.
SBI seems to always find the symbol I'm looking for, while Rakuten very often does not find it (unless I select the tick-box to show symbols I cannot trade).
What I'm wondering is whether SBI actually supports all these extra stuff, or maybe they are only showing the symbol but I wouldn't actually be able to buy it. If any of you has SBI and would care to check this for me, one search I made as an extreme test is with the very non-japanese cannabis-based ETF, MJ. Rakuten does not show it, SBI does. But I would find it surprising if that was actually available.
Apart from this, if there is any other major difference in catalog I should be aware of, please let me know!
- Foreign denominated products: I plan on buying USD denominated products. Is there any advantage in terms of fee or ease of use between SBI and Rakuten?
Also, Rakuten has a Forex account. Do I need to open it to convert JPY to USD in order to buy a foreign stock, or that can be done without?
- Integration: I use Shinsei Bank, and I'm frankly tired by how bad the system is overall (internet banking not working on Chrome, and oh boy the exceptional GoRemit app).
So I'd like to setup either SBI or Rakuten to be both my Bank, Credit card and Securities account. I heard it is recommended because you gain points and the services just work better when paired together.
Which of the two environments is better in your opinion?
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, please let me know your recommendations.
Also, if you have any other point worth discussing when comparing the two, I'm all ears!
In most threads I've seen, people say that Rakuten and SBI are basically the same, but I wanted to understand in what ways they actually differ before making a choice.
Here are some points that I particularly care about:
- Ease of use: my Japanese is decent, but not decent enough to be able to sustain a phone call if I need assistance (email assistance would be fine). So I'd rather go with the service that has the smoother experience overall. That is, both for the sign-up process and for the actual use of the service once I've signed up.
- Catalog: I am not a fan of mutual funds, so I plan to invest mostly in ETFs and individual stocks. I've seen both SBI and Rakuten support Vanguard ETFs, which is a first good step, but I might be interested in investing in more specific, sector-based ETFs, and I was wondering how wide is the support on both platforms.
SBI seems to always find the symbol I'm looking for, while Rakuten very often does not find it (unless I select the tick-box to show symbols I cannot trade).
What I'm wondering is whether SBI actually supports all these extra stuff, or maybe they are only showing the symbol but I wouldn't actually be able to buy it. If any of you has SBI and would care to check this for me, one search I made as an extreme test is with the very non-japanese cannabis-based ETF, MJ. Rakuten does not show it, SBI does. But I would find it surprising if that was actually available.
Apart from this, if there is any other major difference in catalog I should be aware of, please let me know!
- Foreign denominated products: I plan on buying USD denominated products. Is there any advantage in terms of fee or ease of use between SBI and Rakuten?
Also, Rakuten has a Forex account. Do I need to open it to convert JPY to USD in order to buy a foreign stock, or that can be done without?
- Integration: I use Shinsei Bank, and I'm frankly tired by how bad the system is overall (internet banking not working on Chrome, and oh boy the exceptional GoRemit app).
So I'd like to setup either SBI or Rakuten to be both my Bank, Credit card and Securities account. I heard it is recommended because you gain points and the services just work better when paired together.
Which of the two environments is better in your opinion?
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, please let me know your recommendations.
Also, if you have any other point worth discussing when comparing the two, I'm all ears!