What platform for a non-American

For residents of the United Arab Emirates.
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trynix
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:50 am

What platform for a non-American

Post by trynix »

Hi everyone,

I'm a 30 year old expat living in Dubai, and it's about time I start a simple portfolio for retirement and future planning, and to dabble with 5% in some individual stocks.

Trying to find a good online platform for my purpose. I could open a Schwab One International Account but my understanding is that I can only trade in US-domiciled funds and stock, hence I get taxed 30% on dividends (if any) and I put all my eggs in the US basket which doesn't make sense.

I then looked at Interactive Brokers, but they can't open an account for me (something to do with country of citizenship being high risk or the like).

Any other recommendations on good online trading platforms that would allow me to access global ETFs and stocks to have a properly diversified portfolio?

Thank you for all your help.
mhalley
Posts: 10424
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:02 am

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by mhalley »

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BeBH65
Posts: 1763
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2015 7:28 am

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by BeBH65 »

What is your citizenship?
BeBH65. (only an investment enthusiast, not a financial adviser, perform your due diligence). | Have a look at https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Outline_of_Non-US_domiciles
Topic Author
trynix
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:50 am

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by trynix »

I'm from one of the countries that had this US travel ban - and Interactive Brokers decided to action that on finance too for some reason hence I can't open an account with them. Ideally I'd want a broker that facilitates ETFs and stock investment, and that would allow me to invest in Ireland domiciled ETFs to avoid US tax.

To shed more light on my thoughts so far:

Schwab One International Account was the first I looked at, but as I understand (and correct me if I'm wrong) its purely for US domiciled funds.
I looked into iShares, but it seems they only do ETFs and don't facilitate direct stock investments (which I plan to dabble in with 5% of my portfolio)
Saxo Bank seems to charge quite a bit of fees all around.
Internaxx (based out of Luxembourg) seems to charge quite a bit for stock/ETFs too (15 euros + 0.1% for 1-9 trade a month!)
I hear good things about TD Ameritrade (but didn't check if they accept international applicants yet). Any thoughts on them? Do they provide good access to global stocks/ETFs?
Also any thoughts on other online brokers I should consider / are recommended?

Thank you!
Topic Author
trynix
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:50 am

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by trynix »

Hi everyone,

Any thoughts on this topic? If not, any suggestions of other forums/resources that may be able to provide insights?

Thank you!
AlohaJoe
Posts: 6609
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:00 pm
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by AlohaJoe »

trynix wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:58 pm Schwab One International Account was the first I looked at, but as I understand (and correct me if I'm wrong) its purely for US domiciled funds.
From Schwab's website: "Schwab offers a comprehensive solution for your global investing needs including equity trading in over 30 foreign markets"

I've heard some people use Degiro, but I don't know what their restrictions are.
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galeno
Posts: 2653
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:06 am

Re: What platform for a non-American

Post by galeno »

It's possible to avoid all USA-NRA withholding taxes using any USA domiciled brokerage.

BRKB as your only equity holding

5yr CD ladder of brokered CDs as your bond holding
KISS & STC.
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