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Keytrade Bank

Keytrade – owned by Crédit Agricole – offers online trading in most European markets and in North America. Fees are reasonably good, but there are probably better stock brokerage choices available for most international investors.

What could make it very useful for some is its fund supermarket, covering around 500 funds. This is worth considering alongside the better-known TD Direct Investing International (formerly Internaxx) for anyone looking for an offshore fund supermarket that will allow you to invest in Europe-domiciled funds, especially since the lack of custody charges means it may be slightly cheaper than TDII.

Keytrade has divisions in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Since the Luxembourg arm is likely to be most popular with non-residents, the details below are taken from its terms, although there is relatively little difference between the three.

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UOB Kay Hian

Singapore’s largest stock broker offers a wide range of Asian markets for online and broker-assisted trading. However, I haven’t received much feedback about this firm and my impression when looking for a Singapore stock broking account was that it probably the weakest of all the major Singapore brokers from an international perspective.

The firm doesn’t provide the same amount of information on its services and charges upfront, which is frustrating when trying to compare accounts. Customer service staff tried to be helpful, but seemed less well informed than staff at most of its rivals. Unless you have a particularly compelling reason to favour this firm, international investors looking for a Singapore brokerage account should probably consider OCBC Securities and Phillip Securities first.

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Phillip Capital Singapore

The last big remaining Singapore independent broker after Kim Eng was purchased by Maybank, Phillip Capital offers a wide range of regional markets. Notably, the line-up now includes Sri Lanka, making it the first multimarket stock broker to offer this to retail investors.

Commissions are very competitive and the fund supermarket could also interest anyone looking to invest in Singapore-based mutual funds. The main weakness is that most markets are not available for online trading – OCBC Securities is stronger in this respect, although Phillip is steadily moving more markets to its online system. Overall, Phillip and OCBC currently seem to be the two firms to consider first if you’re looking for a Singapore brokerage account.

If you’re comparing brokerage accounts regionally, be aware that the Singapore firm is run separately from Phillip Securities Hong Kong and the two divisions offer slightly different services. The Singapore arm is probably a better choice for international investors.

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OCBC Securities

OCBC’s online brokerage division is only a few years old, but the firm has developed a strong regional stock broking service very quickly. It offers more markets online than any other Singapore broker and only Phillip Securities rivals it for overall range.

Costs are reasonably low (although it is now charging dividend handling fees on dividends from foreign stocks) and customer service is good. Given the advantages of having a bank and brokerage account with the same group, OCBC is one of my top recommendations for international investors looking to open a bank account and brokerage account in Singapore (although Phillip Securities is also worth considering).

Some investors from outside Asia occasionally assume that OCBC’s full name – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation – implies the firm is from mainland China or confuse it with ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China). However, there’s no connection – OCBC is Singapore-based and operates mostly in Southeast Asia.

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DBS Vickers

DBS Vickers is one of the larger Singapore stock brokers and also offers accounts in Hong Kong. The service is apparently mostly the same for both sets of clients, but some fees vary depending on where your account is based – where this is the case, both terms are indicated below.

Non Hong Kong residents are likely to be steered towards a Singapore account, but of the available Singapore brokerages DBS Vickers seems one of the less interesting choices for the international investor. Its main selling point was the absence of custody fees on foreign stocks, but even this has recently been abandoned.

When I’ve approached the firm for information, customer service has been good enough but representatives at OCBC Securities and Phillip Securities seem more alert. I’d suggest international investors looking for a Singapore account start there.

For local investors in Singapore, it’s worth being aware that SGX equity purchases made through DBS iBanking with upfront cash settlement are charged at a lower rate of 0.18% with a minimum of S$18 (sales cannot be done on the same terms, unless the sale is made quickly before the T+3 settlement cycle is complete). This is one of the lower rates among local brokerages, but Standard Chartered and the Singapore arm of Saxo Bank will probably work out slightly cheaper for most investors.

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Phillip Securities Hong Kong

International investors comparing brokerage accounts in Asia should be aware that Phillip Securities Hong Kong and Phillip Capital Singapore seem to be run independently of each other and offer different services.

The Hong Kong arm offers more markets online than the Singapore division, but less markets overall. International investors looking for an offshore account to trade Asian markets may do better through its sister firm or OCBC Securities in Singapore.

However, this is still one of the better multimarket brokers around and worth considering, especially if you need to invest in Japanese markets other than Tokyo which are rarely offered by international retail stock brokers (fellow Hong Kong broker Boom Securities is also worth considering for this purpose).

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Haitong Securities (Taifook Securities)

I have received little feedback on this broker. If you would like to add any comments, please email me.

Formerly known as Taifook Securities, the firm was part of the New World conglomerate, controlled by billionaire Cheng Yu-tung. In 2009, it was bought by the Hong Kong arm of mainland brokerage Haitong Securities and renamed.

The company is a major provider of investment services into Hong Kong shares for mainland residents. Although it offers a good range of international markets, it is not routinely used by international investors.

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Fidelity

Fidelity has recently overhauled its international trading service to the point where it may be relatively useful. Previously, you needed a minimum balance of US$25,000 and over 120 trades per year or a balance of US$1,000,000, which made it extremely uncompetitive since any investor who met those conditions could do better elsewhere.

But with the international trading service now open to all account sizes, a large number of new markets added and reasonable fees for online trades in most, it now seems to be one of the most competitive providers available to US investors, at least in terms of range (Interactive Brokers is considerably cheaper, but covers fewer markets). However, be aware of the usual excessive FX conversion fee (up to 1%) – investors should try to work around this as much as possible by avoiding changing currencies within the account too frequently.

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EverTrade

EverTrade is part of Florida-based EverBank, which specialises in postal, telephone and internet banking. It offers a large range of international markets – especially in Europe – for online and broker-assisted trading.

The service is roughly comparable to Fidelity in terms of reach and which one would work out as better value would depend on your individual trading pattern. Broadly, Fidelity looks cheaper for online trades in many circumstances, while Evertrade may be more competitive when placing orders through a broker.

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Charles Schwab One Account

This US online brokerage giant now has two international brokerage services: The Schwab Global Account, open to US citizens and residents only, and the international trading part of its long-standing Schwab One Account. The firm has never really advertised the latter much, but it can deal in a very wide range of overseas markets, albeit by telephone during US hours only.

Schwab One Accounts are available to clients outside the US, although the minimum account size will be larger – US$25,000 for most markets, US$10,000 through the Hong Kong and UK arms. Overseas dealing is likely to have a minimum of around US$5,000 per trade for some markets.

The main snag with the service is cost. International dealing rates are 0.75% with a minimum of US$100. While this is lower than rates at the wirehouses, you can do better than that for many of the markets it offers – within the US, try Interactive Brokers, Fidelity or Schwab’s own US resident-only Schwab Global Account. On top of this, its correspondent stock brokers in the overseas markets will add their own charges, include FX conversion (since you can only hold US dollars within the account). That will vary by market, but it’s likely to add 0.15-1.5% depending on region (Europe will be cheaper, emerging Asia more expensive).

That said, while nobody I know well has used Charles Schwab for buying international shares, second-hand feedback says the customer service is very good. Certainly, I was impressed with the knowledge of its representatives when I enquired about opening an account. At this price, I’d still say look for a cheaper broker for the easy markets. But perhaps consider this firm for the more exotic ones if you trade in reasonable size and the US$100 minimum is bearable.