I have scb bank and I am a farang, with tourist visa

how can i buy this stock?

 

S&P 500 is an index.

so do you want to buy an index replicating fund ?

19 minutes ago, tgw said:

S&P 500 is an index.

so do you want to buy an index replicating fund ?

yep 

but it is not possible to buy it like tesla or apple stock? I want to put 1/3 of my savings in s&p 500 index

Edited June 29, 20233 yr by parafareno

4 minutes ago, parafareno said:

yep 

but it is not possible to buy it like tesla or apple stock? I want to put 1/3 of my savings in s&p 500 index

SCB Bank should have that in their products - why don't you ask them ?

The ETF that tracks the S&P500 index has the symbol "SPY".

 

This is traded on NYSE Arca. To trade this, you would need a brokerage account that can accommodate making trades with USD on NYSE Arca. I don't know if there are any Thai firms/banks that can provide this.

 

Myself, I have an account with InteractiveBrokers, which allows me to trade on many exchanges worldwide, and even supports currency exchange to facilitate those trades. It also allows me to trade stocks, options, and futures from a single account. I have been quite happy with InteractiveBrokers.

 

You can open a US based brokerage account online with Interactive Brokers or Schwab https://international.schwab.com/open-account-intro.

 

S&P 500 index is up 15% YTD, up 61% in last 5 years and 226% in last 10 years.  Last year was nerve wrecking even for me as an experienced  long term investor.

 

 

 

 

https://gdcdyn.interactivebrokers.com/Universal/Application

 

There is no minimum to open an account with IB and no maintenance fee for LITE accounts.

I have used Schwab for many years. And there are many products [ETF's] that track the markets... You can check their performance through the years and make your own choice.

 

I wanted to find something here for my niece, a Thai person... and Kasikorn does have a service that offers investing in overseas... but she did not meet the qualification of being 21... 

6 hours ago, Puccini said:

The question doesn't make sense. Of course you can't buy a US index on a Thai exchange. First you can never buy an index because it's just a weighted sum of various stocks (S&P is the top 500 US stocks by market capitalization). You can buy ETFs like SPY that track the S&P500 but not on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. There you can buy it's own SET Index if anyone wanted that. What motivates people to post answers from ChatGPT to questions from others?

 

Aaaanyways, some Thai banks used to offer brokerage services with connections to NYSE, NASDAQ etc. I know SCB did. There are also international banks like Citi in Thailand which offer this. It might be hard or impossible to get it going on a tourist visa. But as mentioned it's probably a better ideo to go with a dedicated brokerage company like Schwab or Interactive Brokers. Schwab used to have a minimum deposit of $20k I think.

Better go short my friend

Have been in Thailand many years.  I have an account with Fidelity and trade via the net on a frequent basis.  They also facilitate money transfers to Thailand.  A quick phone call and my money usually arrives in 2 days with no fee by Fidelity.  There is also Vanguard with similar services.  If you are from the USA should be very easy to get set up with either service.  

13 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

Better go short my friend

Terrible advice for anyone asking on AseanNow about stocks.

The Thai banks offer mutual funds.  Some of which are for American stocks.  But the fees are rather high.

 

Much better to use a regular broker.

Brokers list 2023 for Thailand

Edited June 30, 20233 yr by rwill

Open an eToro account 

1 hour ago, dlclark97 said:

Have been in Thailand many years.  I have an account with Fidelity and trade via the net on a frequent basis.  They also facilitate money transfers to Thailand.  A quick phone call and my money usually arrives in 2 days with no fee by Fidelity.  There is also Vanguard with similar services.  If you are from the USA should be very easy to get set up with either service.  

I trade with Fidelity here too but it's a no no according to their regs.  They seem to run things a little loose and it benefits them and investors but that window could be closed anytime.  Make sure you flip on a VPN before doing anything with them or you are risking a lockout. Also be careful what you reveal to them about your location in any communication.  Happened to me with Schwab. I had to show up at a US office with my passport to get it taken off.   Vanguard is a security nightmare which I why I moved all my holdings from them to Fidelity.  If you switch phones you may find the Fidelity app is gone from app and play stores like I did.  I just bookmarked the homepage and still get through.  You mentioned transferring money and I don't doubt you but sending money and trading are not the same thing. I'm actually going to look into.  Thanks for the tip. 

  https://www.fidelity.com/accounts/services/investors_outside_US_faq.shtml

There is one mutual fund in Thailand investing in the S&P 500 index.

 

https://www.assetfund.co.th/home/fundfact-template02.aspx?id=69

I mistakenly walked into one of SCB's investment only branches about a year ago. While I was in there I asked about buying stocks and she just said no can not lol.

I have a feeling it can be done however anytime I try to open anything stock related in the app it always hits a brick wall and says "Thai Nationality" only. Other times it says to visit a branch.

Probably for the better anyway as the documentation would no doubt all be in Thai and given that some banks try to fleece you with insurance every chance they get I am not sure they have the integrity to be managing my investments. Especially considering you can just invest in your home country anyway.

I will say though I have never had much of an issue with SCB compared to Bangkok or Kasikorn banks. Normally they are pretty good.

8 hours ago, Thailand J said:

S&P 500 index is up 15% YTD, up 61% in last 5 years and 226% in last 10 years.  Last year was nerve wrecking even for me as an experienced  long term investor.

An experienced long term investor would know, as I do, that you'll have years when it's up and years when it's down. It's par for the course. If you found last year nerve wracking, wait until a real downturn happens.

 

The S&P 500 was around $200 when I purchased my first index fund. Averaging over 10% return excluding dividends over the last 40 years. 

I suggest you go to UOB Kay Hian Securities Thailand PCL.  They're located in the Sindhorn Tower Building - Office / Office 130-132 Wireless Road, Lumpini Subdistrict , Pathum Wan District, Bangkok. I think that's across the street from the US Embassy.
UOB Kay Hian Securities (Thailand) Public Company Limited operates a securities business. The Company is licensed to conduct securities brokerage, securities trading, investment advisory, and securities underwriting in many stock exchanges worldwide. UOB Kay is also licensed to provide financial advisory and unit trusts agency.

I wish I'd known about them in 1998, but didn't until 2010. It's very easy to set up an account.

You open an account with a stock brokerage such as Charles  Schwab, (I am very happy with them) you fund the account by transferring funds from your bank . You do your research on the type of investment vehicle you prefer, and you buy it.  

The gentleman suggesting 'going short' is possibly an experienced trader who has a specific view on how markets will respond to the coming recession (expected by many).  This is not sensible for a regular investor with a long term view.

 

For the OP, whether it makes sense to place 33% into an equity index fund depends on circumstances, need for cash, age, risk profile, and what other assets are held.

 

In general, the evidence says that for most investors, holding a small number of equity and bond index trackers will give best long run returns at lowest cost.  Actively managed funds rarely do better over any meaningful timescale.  (This is no longer contentious - the research is overwhelming.)

 

I personally have a rather cautious view of markets in the next year or so.  Almost all indicators used by economists (including Conference Board LEI which has been 100% reliable in the past) suggest a recession nearby.

 

For cautious investors, or those retired or approaching retirement, it's very well worth considering an allocation to fixed-income investments that deliver reliable returns but are not correlated to markets.  There are some good options in this field for those resident in Thailand.

 

If you want to trade onshore in Thailand using Thai baht, you may open an international trading account at any Thai securities company and trade international markets online directly. All offer the US market and major Asian markets like HK and Singapore.  Of course you pay a double commission because they have to put the orders through foreign brokers but the online commissions are still quite reasonable. 

 

So you can buy SPY in NY or any S&P 500 stocks through a Thai brokerage account, if you wish to do it. Since you have a bank account with SCB, you can ask them to introduce you to SCB Securities. 

15 hours ago, parafareno said:

yep 

but it is not possible to buy it like tesla or apple stock? I want to put 1/3 of my savings in s&p 500 index

There should be a fund book available in one of the Thai banks with that option, for example this one from SCB...

 

8 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Terrible advice for anyone asking on AseanNow about stocks.

only until it proves to be correct

54 minutes ago, falang07 said:

only until it proves to be correct

That's like saying gambling is only a bad idea until you win.

 

The OP is obviously new to stocks. Buying a SP500 ETF is as safe as it can get when it comes to investing into stocks. Shorting on the other hand is an advanced vehicle that carries a very high risk (and limited upside to boot) which over a long time frame is nearly guaranteed to lose. Most serious brokerages will either warn you or flat out refuse to let you sell short if you can't show proper training or experience.

Edited June 30, 20233 yr by eisfeld

16 hours ago, parafareno said:

yep 

but it is not possible to buy it like tesla or apple stock? I want to put 1/3 of my savings in s&p 500 index

You can buy Tesla, Apple and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY), NASDAQ ETF (QQQ) and many other US stocks through a Thai brokerage international account. I have one, although I don't use it as I have accounts in the US and HK.

If you are not a US citizen and not a US resident and you trade with a US based brokerage firm such as IB or Schwab, your capital gain from US stocks is not taxable by the US government and not Thai government if you do not report the income as transferred into Thailand the same year.

 If you trade with a Thai broker, you better ask about the taxes on dividends and capital gains.

Schwab and IB offer excellent services at low low fees, and their online websites are user friendly. Just about everything can be done online.

 

 

 

 

14 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Terrible advice for anyone asking on AseanNow about stocks.

but brilliant advice for anyone that dont want to lose money

i am european and I bought a little for few hundred on etoro

but the next day i lost 150 usd immediately...i thought i was buying a real stock like tesla, apple, but i bought 

CFD sp500  and I was shocked....I dont really understand what I bought because the SP500 did not go down for 33% in few days....

but today I am in a plus of 16%.... I dont understand what I bought and why my profit fluctuates so fast...lol