Investing your savings in Thailand? (ETF, fixed account, stocks, etc.)

[welovesundaysatspace]

Most of my investments are home, but I am now paid on a Thai bank account. So I am wondering how to invest the money. 

 

My investment style is pretty boring and low/moderate risk. I generally invest long-term in low-cost ETF index funds such as MSCI World. Interest rates on fixed deposit accounts or similar are too low back home. Stock-picking is too time-consuming for me. That’s only a bit of gambling money i put aside every now and then. Not interested in property or any high-risk investments. 

 

I split up 70/30 between ETF and cash. 

 

I am wondering how to best invest my Thai Baht?

 

1. Transfer it home and invest there? That would eat up part of the return because of high transaction fees. Not sure about the fees but I generally like to keep costs low. On the other hand, would feel a bit safer to have the money there than here. 

 

2. Invest here?

- Are there any good online brokers? I prefer to do everything online. Not a KO criterion, but would be nice. 

- Are the usual ETF index funds available here for low fees? 

- Are there any other products offering acceptable interest rates at a low/moderate risk level? I heard that fixed deposit accounts actually pay a bit more interest here than in Europe (3%?)

- Are there any concerns regarding how safe your investments are here?

 

(PS: Cash reserve and insurance are already take care of.)

 

Edited February 7, 2018 by welovesundaysatspace

[simoh1490]

You wont find the information you're looking for here, I've sent you a PM.

 

In a nutshell:

 

Your THB can't be exported to another country so that's out.

Fixed rate deposits here in THB pay about 1.70% currently, the rate is linked to the BOT rate.

Thai based LTF's are good but the OCF's can be pricey, most banks offer them.

Mostly all onshore investment funds in Thailand are much more expensive than in the West.

Perhaps look at CG-LTF or look here: http://siamchart.com/fund-compare/LTF_EQ

[timendres]

On 2/7/2018 at 5:39 AM, simoh1490 said:

You wont find the information you're looking for here, I've sent you a PM.

 

In a nutshell:

 

Your THB can't be exported to another country so that's out.

Fixed rate deposits here in THB pay about 1.70% currently, the rate is linked to the BOT rate.

Thai based LTF's are good but the OCF's can be pricey, most banks offer them.

Mostly all onshore investment funds in Thailand are much more expensive than in the West.

Perhaps look at CG-LTF or look here: http://siamchart.com/fund-compare/LTF_EQ

OP indicated that he is "paid" in THB, which implies he is receiving a salary/wage.

That money can most definitely be transferred to an account back home.

[simoh1490]

16 minutes ago, timendres said:

OP indicated that he is "paid" in THB, which implies he is receiving a salary/wage.

That money can most definitely be transferred to an account back home.

THB, regardless of how it is obtained, cannot be exported. It can be exchanged for another currency and exported but BOT rules disallow THB from being exported to another country. 

[timendres]

Not sure your meaning of "exported". Maybe you are saying I cannot put THB into a US account.

But I definitely transfer THB, exchanged into USD, into my US account, online, with no problem.

Not sure why anyone would want to hold THB back home.

[simoh1490]

54 minutes ago, timendres said:

Not sure your meaning of "exported". Maybe you are saying I cannot put THB into a US account.

But I definitely transfer THB, exchanged into USD, into my US account, online, with no problem.

Not sure why anyone would want to hold THB back home.

I can't say it in more simple terms, exported means to send outside the country ergo, you can't send THB overseas, it must be exchanged here in Thailand and then whatever currency you've exchanged it for, can be sent overseas. Is that clear?

Edited February 9, 2018 by simoh1490

[alex8912]

48 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I can't say it in more simple terms, exported means to send outside the country ergo, you can't send THB overseas, it must be exchanged here in Thailand and then whatever currency you've exchanged it for, can be sent overseas. Is that clear?

It's probably not what anyone reading this thought you said originally. Is that clear?  Just say as most people know Thai baht can be turned to Euro or USD then shipped out. Simple. 

Edited February 9, 2018 by alex8912

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, alex8912 said:

It's probably not what anyone reading this thought you said originally. Is that clear? 

"Your THB can't be exported to another country":

 

"export" means to send outside of the country,

"THB" means Thai Baht,

"another country" means not Thailand

 

which part of that is unclear or ambiguous!!!

[4MyEgo]

Someones having a bad hair day, rohwwwww, hiss hiss

 

I invest my money in the old country's share market, my residency here is that of a foreign resident, therefore the old country doesn't tax me on shares that pay fully franked dividends as the tax is already taken out, and all capital gains are tax free, so might be worth looking into it, and depending on what country you come from, it might have the same laws as Australia.

 

If that's the case, just stick it into one of the main banks, as I know the big 4 give between 5.5% and 6.6% per annum after tax, now if that isn't a safe return, don't know what is, and you never sell your shares unless your taking profit.

[janpharma]

Just forget about it...unless you are looking for a massive loss...

[robsack15]

For long term  (5yrs+) investment consider Unit Trust Funds.  The field is vast. For more info go to

www.hl.com     (Hargreaves Lansdown)       The web site is full of info.     

[cocopops]

7 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

I can't say it in more simple terms, exported means to send outside the country ergo, you can't send THB overseas, it must be exchanged here in Thailand and then whatever currency you've exchanged it for, can be sent overseas. Is that clear?

Well, yes.

 

Of equal relevance, very few foreign stocks or ETFs are traded in Thai Baht, so I guess the OP can rule them out for that reason as well.

 

To the casual observer, it appears that you tried to mislead the OP. Perhaps in order to make the proposal in your PM appear more attractive to him or her. Am I wrong?

[simoh1490]

5 hours ago, cocopops said:

Well, yes.

 

Of equal relevance, very few foreign stocks or ETFs are traded in Thai Baht, so I guess the OP can rule them out for that reason as well.

 

To the casual observer, it appears that you tried to mislead the OP. Perhaps in order to make the proposal in your PM appear more attractive to him or her. Am I wrong?

Go bait somebody else, I'm not interested!

[simoh1490]

 

[tryasimight]

Can anyone actually give the OP some meaningful advice? 

[speedtripler]

7 hours ago, tryasimight said:

Can anyone actually give the OP some meaningful advice? 

Never accept financial advice on thaivisa and be extra wary of anyone who wants to send it by PM so nobody else can critique it... 

 

[simoh1490]

1 hour ago, speedtripler said:

Never accept financial advice on thaivisa and be extra wary of anyone who wants to send it by PM so nobody else can critique it... 

 

You guys don't quit do you! OK, I'll give you chapter and verse, mostly because I've got nothing better to do this afternoon.

 

The OP will confirm that I sent him a link to a forum where a number of Thailand based expats discuss investments and trade ideas, I can't post the link to that forum here because it's against the rules since it's seen as a competitor. Nobody on that forum is selling anything but there are a couple or three very experienced investors, one of whom is quite senior in the banking field, another is retired from the brokerage business, all are very experienced. The site has been extremely useful for me personally because I finally got into investing out of necessity some eight months ago and the tips, tricks and pointers it has given me has been invaluable to my learning process. So I saw the OP asking for investment advice and I know from over fifteen years of posting here on Thaivisa (under current and previous posting names) that this is not the place to get what the OP was looking for so I sent him the link and invited him to make contact again if I could be of further help. The fact that nobody else has posted a useful answer to the OP's query validates my view that he won't get what he's looking for here. 

[Rhys]

1 hour ago, speedtripler said:

Never accept financial advice on thaivisa and be extra wary of anyone who wants to send it by PM so nobody else can critique it... 

 

 

 

Invest abroad never in Thailand...

[speedtripler]

3 minutes ago, Rhys said:

 

 

Invest abroad never in Thailand...

Invest in things you understand

Don't restrict location to your home country or you will miss out on a lot

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, Rhys said:

 

 

Invest abroad never in Thailand...

That was a very common message here on Thai visa as far back as 15 years, for me personally it was one of the worst messages I actually listened to and I regret doing so very much. The fact is that I didn't start making serious money until I did start investing in Thailand by bringing my cash assets into the country, investing in real estate (to live in) and investing in LTF's here. Mostly, the fact that I swapped out my GBP holdings for THB and am now 80%+ in THB has been a godsend to my finances and the best move I've made in the past ten years. But each to their own, potential investors be they big or small need to take their own view on these things, the worst possible thing they can do is listen to people's throw away statements on forums such as this, people who typically don't have a clue, or any money to invest in the first place.