Markets: Sri Lanka

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MubasherTrade Global

MubasherTrade Global (previously known as DUTrade) is an online trading platform run by Bahrain-based Mubasher Financial Services, which is a subsidiary of National Technology Group, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate. Mubasher FS is a large regional institutional brokerage and MubasherTrade Global is its move into serving retail investors.

As far as we know, this is the only platform offering an online trading service covering most of the Middle East and North Africa markets, making it potentially very convenient for investors interested in this region. Some markets and stocks may not be available to all users – for example, Saudi Arabia is restricted to Gulf Cooperation Council citizens only.

In terms of investor protection, Mubasher FS is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and local rules require brokers to keep clients assets segregated from their own assets. However, investor should be aware that there is no investor compensation scheme in this jurisdiction to protect against worst-case scenarios.

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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.

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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.