International broker: Suggestions + funds transfer

[mike111]

Hi,

 

I'd appreciate suggestions for online international brokers where my criteria are:

- simple account opening process (do I need to show proof of official residency in Thailand? or will utility bills suffice?)

- ease of funds transfer, ideally just a domestic transfer thus avoiding the hassle of transferring funds outside of Thailand

- low account/brokerage fees

 

Thanks

 

[Thaifish]

Its called Transferwise. You need to open a bank account in your name unless you really really really trust someone. Transferwise fees are minimal compared to other options apart from cash.

 

To open an account the rule varies from Bank to Bank location to location. Good luck with that. Having a Thai National help works wonders. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Thaifish

[mike111]

Thanks.

 

I'm familiar with Transferwise. So that is mean of bypassing Thai strict regulations on delivering funds overseas.

 

My original question was: is there an internaitonal broker which I can transfer funds to domestically?

Say, Bangkok bank (my account)->TMB (broker's domestic account - just as an example).

 

 

[Thaifish]

Errrmmm... You can transfer funds between banks easy within the Kingdom... You are saying Domestically...

 

[mike111]

Domestically as in Thailand-domestic, i.e. transfer from my Thai bank account to the broker's Thai bank account.

 

 

[blackcab]

20 minutes ago, mike111 said:

So that is mean of bypassing Thai strict regulations on delivering funds overseas.

 

Please be careful where this discussion leads to. Discussion of legal companies such as TransferWise or Dee Money is encouraged, but please do not discuss anything which illegally bypasses Bank of Thailand regulations.

[mike111]

What's illegal here? I'm asking about transferring funds between two Thai bank accounts.

[topt]

29 minutes ago, mike111 said:

What's illegal here? I'm asking about transferring funds between two Thai bank accounts.

So I don't understand what the issue is. I transfer from SCB to Kasikorn regularly. 

 

1 hour ago, mike111 said:

I'd appreciate suggestions for online international brokers where my criteria are:

This is a very different question. By brokers do you mean to buy stocks/shares - since you mention low brokerage fees I am guessing that?

There have been a couple of threads about local based brokers but no idea if they service international assets. 

 

if you are aware of Transferwise then you should know that they cannot send money out of Thailand. Dee Money can do that to a limited no. of countries.

[wordchild]

There are a number of Thai brokers that will facilitate international trading accounts; Asia Plus, I have used myself, in the past, reputable company who use J P Morgan as the international custodian ; ie pretty safe. But, there are others. 

As with all accounts of this type basic checks are required, passports, proof of address etc.

Edited May 9, 2020 by wordchild

[wordchild]

however, it should be noted that , if you are a Thai resident/national, these type of accounts cannot be used to transfer funds permanently outside of Thailand.. ie you are free to invest in overseas markets however when you want to take cash out of the account , then it must be remitted back into Thailand.

[wordchild]

The Bank of Thailand has created rules to prevent these brokerage accounts from being used as vehicles for Thais to take money out of country, without going through the correct channels. 

[wordchild]

If you are a non national (or non PR ) then there are less restrictions.

However the standard Know your client checks  and Anti Money Laundering procedures will apply

Edited May 9, 2020 by wordchild

[wordchild]

Just search International Equity trading with a Thai broker. start there.

[wordchild]

However, despite what I said above, if you can get your capital outside of Thailand, then, in my opinion, for the long term, maybe better to do that first.

move your funds to a neutral country, where you don’t reside, eg Singapore, Luxembourg: and then look for a broker there. Plenty of choice.

[mike111]

Thanks, I do prefer dealing with an international established broker than with a Thai one.

What I'm trying to understand if any have a Thai bank account to which I transfer funds to top-up a brokerage investment account.

 

 

 

[wordchild]

6 minutes ago, mike111 said:

Thanks, I do prefer dealing with an international established broker than with a Thai one.

What I'm trying to understand if any have a Thai bank account to which I transfer funds to top-up a brokerage investment account.

 

 

 

Not as far as I am aware, unless it was a locally regulated broker, then this would run contrary to the Bank of Thailand current rules.

However you can open an international investment account with a Thai broker and fund that account from local funds. You could even remit cash from that account to an overseas bank, assuming that you are a non Thai National.

There are some good Thai brokers and some of them have tied up with high quality international brokers, as I mentioned above. 
However, from what you have said, my thinking is that you should first

 get your money out of Thailand, (to a less restrictive jurisdiction) and then after you have done that, start to think about brokerage services.

[mike111]

Thanks. But if I open an investment account with an international broker doesn't the account "physically" reside overseas, e.g. US or Europe?. The funds transfer is just from my Thai account to the broker's Thai account (if it exists), but once the funds are with broker they just increase my investment account balance, as I understand. Isn't this so?.

[wordchild]

23 hours ago, mike111 said:

Thanks. But if I open an investment account with an international broker doesn't the account "physically" reside overseas, e.g. US or Europe?. The funds transfer is just from my Thai account to the broker's Thai account (if it exists), but once the funds are with broker they just increase my investment account balance, as I understand. Isn't this so?.

By international broker do you mean a Thai based broker that has Bank of Thailand (and Thailand’s SEC)  permission to operate international share accounts for customers?

 If that is what you mean, then your understanding is correct, you invest Thai Baht with the broker who then invests internationally, according to your instructions. Your funds are then effectively held offshore via a global custodian eg Citi or J P Morgan However your (Thai) broker is still subject to Bank of Thailand (and SEC) regulation, including over your international investments. Because they originated via a Thai regulated broker.
 If you are non Thai, and your funds originated, by presumption, from outside Thailand, then you can instruct the broker (and custodian) to transfer the assets and have them held by a non-Thai broker, and so close off any jurisdiction that the Bank of Thailand ( SEC) might have over your assets. It is not a means of escaping international money laundering restrictions however.

  I still think, from what you have said, the easiest, and most straightforward thing to do is to move the funds to eg Singapore and then open a securities trading account there. If you went down that route then you would need to actually make the transfer out of country to ,say Singapore. I don’t think there is any way that you could directly link a Thai bank account with an offshore trading account of a non Thai broker. You basically have to instruct the transfer of funds outside Thailand yourself.

Edited May 10, 2020 by wordchild

[wordchild]

i have had Thai brokerage accounts , myself, in the past, and have used them for mainly local but also international investing. I have also had (for many years) brokerage accounts in other jurisdictions eg Sing , HK.

Some years ago i decided it was just not worth maintaining the Thai accounts , minimal benefits and some increased bureaucracy and risks (military coups etc) . So i transferred all the assets in those accounts out of Thailand. Now , even for local investing in Thailand, i use an offshore account and have closed my Thai accounts.  

[Thailand J]

Open a US based international account with Charles Schwab. You can use your Thai phone number and address to manage the account. Thai driver license is acceptable as prove of address, they will do the free translation. That plus another form of prove of address, I am not sure what at this point.

 

The account comes with a US bank account with Bank of NY Mellon,  you can tranfer money  into the brokerage account using BNY Mellon ABA number via Deemoney.

 

Interactive brokers brokerage account comes  with a UMB (United Missuori Bank) account which is not on Deemoney's list.

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Thailand J