RetireJapan

I've been following the other Interactive Brokers thread, but as a newbie, I had a few more basic questions. Rather than flood that thread with simple questions, I thought it might be best to create a new one.

For the pat few years, I've been using Wise to transfer JPY from Prestia to a USA bank account, effectively paying 6,300 JPY per 1,000,000 JPY transfer. Only recently did I learn that Interactive Brokers provides much better rates on converting currency, so I am excited to set this up. However, I want to make sure I register all correctly and have a few questions that I hope someone may be able to clarify.

I understand that Prestia does not accept non-resident transfers online, so I would need to go to the bank or mail in order to initiate the transfer. Since I would make a transfer just once every few months, I think I am okay with that.

1) Do I set up the IB account as a Japan account? This means that I am required to submit My Number, Pension book, etc. As a resident of Japan and sending sending money to a US bank account, is registering the account in Japan the correct thing to do?

2) IBKR Lite or IBKR Pro? I imagine I will transfer around 2 million JPY every three months. I'm guessing I should go with Lite but would love another opinion.

3) Anything else I need to think about before creating this account?

I'm no expert, but I am currently going through the IB application process and can at least advise that there is no option to set up an account through the main IB site if you (admit that you) are a Japan resident, so you will likely need to set up an IBLLC account through the Japan IB. Secondly, IB Japan only offers Pro accounts, not Lite as Lite is only for US residents.

You're setting up an IB account in order to change yen>dollars? Why not just wire transfers direct to your bank? (They may have changed/adjusted things, but transferwise used to be only cost-effective up to about $5000--more than that and a bank transfer was cheaper.)

Use sony bank or shinsei, and convert to dollars in a sub account before the transfer. For the best deal, leave enough at shinsei to maintain platinum status.

I know this may not be germane to this discussion, though in part it could be.
On a separate thread, I inquired about a dilemma I have had about trying to contribute to a U.S.-based investment fund from here. The current fund I have won't accept further contributions, so I asked about alternatives and a few have replied recommending Interactive Brokers. I've gone through a bit about them to find out more about IB and while they seem to be quite flexible and have developed a good reputation for their plans, one catch is that customer service isn't their strong suit, though according to what I've learned so far they seem to be trying to improve on it.
So my question is - does IB have brokers you can work with? Or can you go to an outside broker to have them manage an IB account that you can contribute to through remittances from a bank or other financial institution here? (Like a number here, my Citibank account got rolled over to a Prestia account when Citibank pulled their retail banking here.)
Apologies in advance if this seems naive for me to ask about this, or if this is still not relevant to this thread. To perhaps make it more revelant let me ask how your experience with IB has gone. Have you been satisfied with them?

curious wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 1:31 pm I know this may not be germane to this discussion, though in part it could be.
On a separate thread, I inquired about a dilemma I have had about trying to contribute to a U.S.-based investment fund from here. The current fund I have won't accept further contributions, so I asked about alternatives and a few have replied recommending Interactive Brokers. I've gone through a bit about them to find out more about IB and while they seem to be quite flexible and have developed a good reputation for their plans, one catch is that customer service isn't their strong suit, though according to what I've learned so far they seem to be trying to improve on it.
So my question is - does IB have brokers you can work with? Or can you go to an outside broker to have them manage an IB account that you can contribute to through remittances from a bank or other financial institution here? (Like a number here, my Citibank account got rolled over to a Prestia account when Citibank pulled their retail banking here.)
Apologies in advance if this seems naive for me to ask about this, or if this is still not relevant to this thread. To perhaps make it more revelant let me ask how your experience with IB has gone. Have you been satisfied with them?

I believe the vast majority of retail investors on this board do manage their own accounts. There are not many advocates here for the services of financial advisors.

They simply do not provide value for most retail investors, and cannot consistently beat the major indices net fees.

IBKR do not have advisors themselves, but publically advertise their services to financial advisors.

Be very careful! The laws are different in Japan, and America so you need to be certain an advisor has a legal obligation to act in your best financial interest, such as a certified financial planner in America.

curious wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 1:31 pm
So my question is - does IB have brokers you can work with? Or can you go to an outside broker to have them manage an IB account that you can contribute to through remittances from a bank or other financial institution here? (Like a number here, my Citibank account got rolled over to a Prestia account when Citibank pulled their retail banking here.)

What do you want the broker to manage for you? With these online platforms you purchase stocks or ETFs or whatever yourself, so no need to pay charges for someone to make the purchases for you.
Most RJ members try to reduce their costs of investing as much as possible, so there isn't so much discussion of actively managed funds or paying brokers to manage investments.

I am not recommending this but Prestia is literally Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank so if you like their services you could buy mutual funds from them. The times I've been to their offices, they've had signs and brochures in English so I assume they can help you.