Categories
Broker profile

Core Pacific – Yamaichi

This Hong Kong brokerage was originally founded in the early 1990s by Taiwan’s Core Pacific Group, now best known internationally for being behind one of the world’s oddest looking shopping malls. It subsequently acquired the Hong Kong operations of Yamaichi Securities – formerly one of the Japanese ‘big four’ brokers – when the latter went bankrupt in 1997, merged with the Hong Kong arm of Taiwan’s Yuanta Securities in 1999 and then got caught up in a lengthy court battle when Core Pacific and Yuanta fell out.

Today, the firm offers trading in most Asian markets and a few others outside the region. However, fees are high and it looks like most investors can get a better deal elsewhere. It’s included in the directory to help with comparisons, but there is no customer feedback available so far.

Categories
Broker profile

BOCI Securities

The international securities arm of Bank of China seems to be a fairly popular choice for online trading of Hong Kong stocks, but I haven’t had any feedback from users who’ve used the fairly extensive list of foreign markets it claims to deal by telephone.

Its website gives absolutely no indication of commission levels, simply saying “Commission rate will be determined and agreed between customer & BOCI Securities”. Some details of custody and other fees are given, but may be unreliable – the claimed custody fees for Malaysia and Thailand are incomprehensibly high.

Categories
Broker profile

KGI Securities

The Hong Kong division of Taiwanese financial services group KGI offers a handful of markets for online trading, while a substantial number of others are available for trading by telephone.

Rates for most are generally not especially competitive by international standards, especially given the high minimum fees (typically US$150 per trade).

Categories
Broker profile

HSBC Hong Kong

The default stock broking service offered by HSBC in Hong Kong covers online trading in local and US equities and a small number of other major global markets by phone. Rates for international stocks are not competitive withe best best international brokers operating in Hong Kong. Details below are based on this service.

The group also has a local securities operation that offers a wider range of markets. This is clearly aimed at wealthy clients, but firm does not provide much information on minimum account sizes and fees – it may be worth investigating for investors with larger accounts.  If you’ve used this service and can provide some more information on terms and costs, feel free to send some feedback via the contact form.

Categories
Broker profile

Swissquote

Switzerland’s leading discount brokerage offers a reasonable range of North American and European markets for online trading and a far larger number for broker-assisted trades. As far as I know, it’s the only retail-orientated brokerage in Europe that offers markets such as Brazil or Japan’s Osaka Stock Exchange (as opposed to the more widely traded Tokyo exchange) – although Daniel Stewart, a UK institutional firm that accepts private clients, can also access these and more, while the Hong Kong-based Boom Securities and Phillip Securities are other cheaper alternatives for Japan.

The main drawback is the fees. Minimum commissions on the broker-assisted markets are so high that they are unrealistic for most retail investors. This may be understandable, since they will be traded via intermediaries. However, even the online markets are not cheap – you will do better through many other discount brokers.

However, there is no minimum account size and admin fees don’t look unbearable. So if you’re aiming to make a handful of long-term investments of at least US$5,000-10,000 each in some of the more inaccessible markets it offers, Swissquote could be worth a look. Feedback on everything except fees has generally been good.

The Hong Kong and Singapore stock brokers may be alternatives for Asia, while Brokerjet, Finasta and Orion Securities may be worth considering for Eastern Europe.

Categories
Broker profile

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.

Categories
Broker profile

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.

Categories
Broker profile

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.

Categories
Broker profile

Lim & Tan

This smaller Singapore broker offers a wide range of Asian markets for online trading. However, the service is provided by a foreign intermediary – probably Boom Securities in Hong Kong. Hence investors might as well save the extra fees and go directly to Boom.

Categories
Broker profile

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.