Can a Thai National open a Vanguard ETF….?

[mikey88]

Thinking about starting an ETF for my Thai partner so they will have some investment money when I’m gone …

Any people have this experience…?    All information greatly appreciated…

[RayOday]

I am not an expert in this area so please do your own diligence. I am not sure you want to open an account yet if it is in the U.S. then I would give a call to Charles Schwab in the U.S. They accept foreign calls collect. A foreign national can apply for a U.S. tax identification number (ITN number). You can do this without going to the U.S. through the Internal Revenue website (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/obtaining-an-itin-from-abroad). Your partner would have to complete a load of paperwork but if she/he has a Thai passport all they need to do is complete a W7 form, no other paperwork. Most brokerages will alllow you to invest with an ITN since it serves the same tax requirement as a social security number. I am not certain if the investment can ne a Roth IRA or can only be a ETF direct purchase. If it works for you thwn I would recommend the Roth IRA to avoid future capital gains exposure. Also if they may allow your partner to open a investor checking account. The great thing about that is that she can get a Schwab debit card. She can also request a debit card in your name. Once you open the account you can can ooen another investment account in their name with $5. Yiu can then put some money in that account and move it money when you like into the investment checking account on the Schwab app. Why would you want to have a Schwab debit card? Because you will pay no fees on any ATM anywhere in the world. I have a Schwab debit card. There is no annual fee. Everytime I use it at a bank in Thailand I am charged 220 baht. On the 30th of each month Schwab rebates the sum for the month into the investor checking account. So if I use an ATM 10 times 220 x 10 = 2200, Schwab will use the current market converaion and  rebate the 2200 baht in U.S. dollars. That is a great benefit. If you loose a debit card just call Schwab collect and they will Fedex a new one to you. You will receive it in 2-3 days at no charge. I have no relatiinship with Schwab other than being a long term client. They are a model for customer service. The phone reps are educated and so not run you through a circular unfulfilling process. They do what is necessary to solve your issue as long as it is legal. Customer service reps who are empowered to take ownership of your issue is very unusual these days. After many years as a client living in the US, Europe, China, and Thailand I cannot think of one complaint I have had in resolving issues. Great company, great value, great service. The praise I am giving is higly unusual for me as I have spent my career viewing service processes from a engineering perspective. Hope this advice applies and can be executed. Cheers

 

P.S. I am dyslexic so I hope this makes sense. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dante99]

Vanguard International in Dublin has accounts a Thai can open but minimums are USD 100,000

for each fund.  Vanguard US will require a US address.

[Paulaew]

I understand that under new rules, Thais are allowed to purchase foreign stocks and funds through Thai brokers.

 

There was an article on the topic in one the Thai newspapers last year. I can't quote it here, but do a google search for "Thais flock to purchase foreign securities " and you'll find it.

 

Paul Laew

[EVENKEEL]

I had a telephone consultation with Vanguard. I have a retirement with them and wanted to invest my savings. During the conversation I let him know I was staying full time in Thailand. He told me I couldn't open a new account with my savings with Vanguard because I was living out of the US, even though I have a house in Ca where my mail goes.

[ujong]

The person who mentioned Ireland was getting closer to the right answer, but you don’t need to open a Vanguard account.

Vanguard Ireland lists their ETFs on the London stock exchange. In fact, one of the most popular ETFs for non-US  investors is the Vanguard All World Index ETF under ticker VWRD. This is more tax efficient (lower dividend tax) and tax appropriate (no US estate tax) for non-US investors. 

 

The next question is which broker is best for trading is London? The first place I would check is Interactive Brokers. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by ujongjoe

[Derek B]

15 hours ago, RayOday said:

I am not an expert in this area so please do your own diligence. I am not sure you want to open an account yet if it is in the U.S. then I would give a call to Charles Schwab in the U.S. They accept foreign calls collect. A foreign national can apply for a U.S. tax identification number (ITN number). You can do this without going to the U.S. through the Internal Revenue website (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/obtaining-an-itin-from-abroad). Your partner would have to complete a load of paperwork but if she/he has a Thai passport all they need to do is complete a W7 form, no other paperwork. Most brokerages will alllow you to invest with an ITN since it serves the same tax requirement as a social security number. I am not certain if the investment can ne a Roth IRA or can only be a ETF direct purchase. If it works for you thwn I would recommend the Roth IRA to avoid future capital gains exposure. Also if they may allow your partner to open a investor checking account. The great thing about that is that she can get a Schwab debit card. She can also request a debit card in your name. Once you open the account you can can ooen another investment account in their name with $5. Yiu can then put some money in that account and move it money when you like into the investment checking account on the Schwab app. Why would you want to have a Schwab debit card? Because you will pay no fees on any ATM anywhere in the world. I have a Schwab debit card. There is no annual fee. Everytime I use it at a bank in Thailand I am charged 220 baht. On the 30th of each month Schwab rebates the sum for the month into the investor checking account. So if I use an ATM 10 times 220 x 10 = 2200, Schwab will use the current market converaion and  rebate the 2200 baht in U.S. dollars. That is a great benefit. If you loose a debit card just call Schwab collect and they will Fedex a new one to you. You will receive it in 2-3 days at no charge. I have no relatiinship with Schwab other than being a long term client. They are a model for customer service. The phone reps are educated and so not run you through a circular unfulfilling process. They do what is necessary to solve your issue as long as it is legal. Customer service reps who are empowered to take ownership of your issue is very unusual these days. After many years as a client living in the US, Europe, China, and Thailand I cannot think of one complaint I have had in resolving issues. Great company, great value, great service. The praise I am giving is higly unusual for me as I have spent my career viewing service processes from a engineering perspective. Hope this advice applies and can be executed. Cheers

 

P.S. I am dyslexic so I hope this makes sense. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read perfectly to me.................

 

[2009]

Surely you can buy VOO (for example) with a Thai broker?

 

Otherwise try Swissquote. They specialize in expats. Dunno about their rules on Thais tho.

 

Maybe a Singaporean broker?

[mikey88]

On 1/8/2022 at 12:05 PM, Derek B said:

Read perfectly to me.................

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply….let me digest this and I’ll speak again..

[ujong]

VOO is an appropriate S&P 500 ETF for US folks, but for non-US folks, the S&P 500 ETF of choice is London listed, Ireland domiciled CSPX. Irish withholding tax on US dividends is only 15%, and your beneficiaries won’t get caught by US estate tax. 

[Millian]

There is guide for investing in Vanguard ETFs from overseas here: https://www.deadsimplesaving.com/blog/guide-offshore-investing-expat-etf/

[Dante99]

On 1/7/2022 at 10:01 PM, ujong said:

Vanguard Ireland lists their ETFs on the London stock exchange.

 

On 1/7/2022 at 10:01 PM, ujong said:

The next question is which broker is best for trading is London?

What are the fees with a broker and the London exchange?

 

Buy direct from Vanguard there are no purchase or sale fees.

[Neeranam]

My wife, and oldest child have Bitkub accounts that they can hold the Bitcoin I give them. My wife also opened a Maybank account but the stock she got has done nothing near what BTC has over the last 6.5 years.