Motley Fool Website

[111tingtong]

Hi there,

Does anyone use any of the services offered on fool.com (Motley Fool Stock Market Investment Advisors). I read one of their books a long time ago and found it to be very informative. Im now at a point in my life where I would like to start learning how to invest in the markets around the world. As I am originally from the UK I contacted the fool.co.uk wing of the organisation. They responded rather quickly with the following:

"I'm afraid that The Motley Fool ShareDealing Service is only available to UK residents. As it says in the Terms & Conditions for the service:

"You must be 18 years of age or over and be resident in the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man or be a Crown employee serving overseas."

http://g.fool.co.uk/art/sharedealing/pdfs/termstmfsharedealing.pdf

I'm sorry that we couldn't be of more positive help on this occasion."

The fool.com main website is mainly American/US$, which is fine. I sent an email to them also and still waiting on a reply.

The Motley Fool website seems to be very good and they put things in a way that is easy to understand for newbies. Im very keen to pay for the "Stock Advisor" service they offer for $150/year just to get me started. However im not completely sure where I stand with regards to tax, brokers etc as I live in Thailand.

I would appreciate some advise from folk that already invest as an expat in the stock markets, legally. I know there are ways to open bank accounts in home countries blah blah blah, but id rather not go in that direction.

Many thanks in advance for any info

Rgds

[AyG]

Use a broker that is geared towards expats such as Internaxx (http://www.internaxx.lu).

Don't pay for advice from a US-oriented company. Your financial goals as an expat are quite different. Your investments need to be oriented towards your domestic economy, not the US of A.

If you're inexperienced, invest in unit trusts/OEICS/mutual funds/investment trusts where a highly paid (and, one hopes, highly experienced) fund manager will make the decision which stocks to buy on your behalf.

[PoeDogg]

Check out www.DaytradingRadio.com

Starts at 9:30 PM Thailand time.

He trades (U.S.) S&P 500 stocks.

Free to listen, but if you want to see his trades in real time, it cost $30/month or $300 a year.

There is a 2 week free trial.

I receive NOTHING from this site, other than what I pay for.

IMHO, this guy saved my ass. I found him after the market crashed in 2008, and was showed that I had no idea what I was doing.

I believe that if I hadn’t had found him, I would not be trading today, and would have blown my account.

Not only does he show and talk about the trades, he explains “why” and teaches listeners how to trade.

If you have ANY questions about this site, feel free to post them here and I will answer all that I can.

P.S., I use Interactive Brokers.

Very cheap commissions, but complicated platform.

[pipo1000]

Motley fool is what it say in their title.FOOLS.

Take some time to search their previous postings and recommendations and you will find out that all they write is pure rubbish and changes with the wind.

[wordchild]

as the OP observed MF is a great place to start as a new investor, good information and not pretensious at all!

[111tingtong]

Thanks to all for the differing responses, will certainly look into all of them.

Have opened The Motley Fool Stock Advisor for $50 (reduced from &150). Their advise/recommendations so far have been interesting to say the least, I will follow their advise tentatively for a while and see what happens.

Rgds

TT

[craigt3365]

I also use to read MF. But have not for quite a few years. What I like is it is oriented towards newbies, and provides some really basic advise. Not necessarily true for other investment sites. You really have to know what you are doing there....

I don't agree that just because you are an expat that you have to focus on the domestic economy. I lived in the US for years and never invested in USA stocks/funds. Only international and foreign funds. Did great for many years. Of course, did take a beating on some Japanese funds many years ago!

Please report back with your experience. I am also looking at these guys offerings now. Would love to hear how it goes for you.

[111tingtong]

Use a broker that is geared towards expats such as Internaxx (http://www.internaxx.lu).

Don't pay for advice from a US-oriented company. Your financial goals as an expat are quite different. Your investments need to be oriented towards your domestic economy, not the US of A.

If you're inexperienced, invest in unit trusts/OEICS/mutual funds/investment trusts where a highly paid (and, one hopes, highly experienced) fund manager will make the decision which stocks to buy on your behalf.

AyG, Ive been looking into the company you mentioned, intermaxx. As im now a non resident from the UK and living in Thailand as an expatriate, on a non immigrant O visa how would one go about supplying Internaxx with the following requirements, this is directly from their website frequently asked questions

What do I have to provide you with if I am not liable to tax in one country of the European Union?

In case you are not liable to tax in any of the countries of the European Union (typically if you are an expatriate living outside the European Union or a foreigner resident, but not domiciled for tax purposes in Great-Britain), you are able to avoid the deduction by simply providing us with one of below documents:

- A tax residence certificate from a country outside of the European Union.

or

- A residence certificate issued by your local town council, an Embassy, a Consulate or a Population Office/Registry outside of the European Union.

or

- A copy of your residence permit from a country outside of the European Union.

or (in particular for expatriates resident, but not fiscally domiciled in Great-Britain)

Certification from the tax authority, a notary, a solicitor, a tax advisor or by a fiduciary certifying your tax-exempt status in the country where you reside. Please note that the above mentioned institutions must be officially licensed and registered.

Finding a suitable Broker as a n expat is proving more difficult than I first thought

[pipo1000]

^ just my opinion but you are still a UK resident.Because you reside here on a Non-O doesn't make you a resident.

[111tingtong]

^ just my opinion but you are still a UK resident.Because you reside here on a Non-O doesn't make you a resident.

Sorry have to disagree, I left the UK 7 years ago, completed non-resident application and qualified after five years and no longer required to complete a tax return, call it what you want but im not a resident in the UK for tax purposes. Maybe what you meant to say is I am a UK citizen?

At no point did I state that I was a resident in Thailand because I hold a non O. I was simply stating my status and looking for options to invest through a stock broker as an expat.

Ive had further feedback from Internaxx. Contrary to what they said previously all that is required, according to the reply below and the forms that were sent is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand and proof of my address in Thailand, ie electricity bill with name on or a residency certificate which can easily be sourced from an immigration office (same form used for buying a car/motorcycle etc with).

At this point I should be up and running tax free with Intermaxx as my broker. Thanks AyG for mentioning this broker, I hope it works out.

I might be jumping the gun slightly, but ive been looking into trading software that will run on a mac. So far Ninjatrader and Share Scope seem to have the best reviews and have loads of support for newbies. Both of these will have to be run on bootcamp or what I use, VMware Fusion as there is no native application support for OSX yet. I am testing Ninjatrader out just now in simulation mode where it then can be linked to a live feed for paper trading and eventually pairing it with a broker for real trading. It all takes time I suppose, less haste more speed as they say.

Dear Mr ???,

Thank you for your mail and interest in our service.

There is no capital gains tax in Luxembourg on shares or investment funds.

We offer access to shares or ETFs on 17 stock eschanges in North America, Europe and Asia. You can also invest from a range of over 400 managed investment funds.

You are welcome to open an account with us. To do so simply complete the attached application form and return to us by post together with either your bank details or a certified passport copy (please see identification page). We can also accept transfers from the U.K. Isle of Man or Channel Islands for this purpose.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

We look forward to welcoming you as a new client.

[rgs2001uk]

^ just my opinion but you are still a UK resident.Because you reside here on a Non-O doesn't make you a resident.

Sorry have to disagree, I left the UK 7 years ago, completed non-resident application and qualified after five years and no longer required to complete a tax return, call it what you want but im not a resident in the UK for tax purposes. Maybe what you meant to say is I am a UK citizen?

At no point did I state that I was a resident in Thailand because I hold a non O. I was simply stating my status and looking for options to invest through a stock broker as an expat.

Ive had further feedback from Internaxx. Contrary to what they said previously all that is required, according to the reply below and the forms that were sent is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand and proof of my address in Thailand, ie electricity bill with name on or a residency certificate which can easily be sourced from an immigration office (same form used for buying a car/motorcycle etc with).

At this point I should be up and running tax free with Intermaxx as my broker. Thanks AyG for mentioning this broker, I hope it works out.

I might be jumping the gun slightly, but ive been looking into trading software that will run on a mac. So far Ninjatrader and Share Scope seem to have the best reviews and have loads of support for newbies. Both of these will have to be run on bootcamp or what I use, VMware Fusion as there is no native application support for OSX yet. I am testing Ninjatrader out just now in simulation mode where it then can be linked to a live feed for paper trading and eventually pairing it with a broker for real trading. It all takes time I suppose, less haste more speed as they say.

Dear Mr ???,

Thank you for your mail and interest in our service.

There is no capital gains tax in Luxembourg on shares or investment funds.

We offer access to shares or ETFs on 17 stock eschanges in North America, Europe and Asia. You can also invest from a range of over 400 managed investment funds.

You are welcome to open an account with us. To do so simply complete the attached application form and return to us by post together with either your bank details or a certified passport copy (please see identification page). We can also accept transfers from the U.K. Isle of Man or Channel Islands for this purpose.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

We look forward to welcoming you as a new client.

Having gone through almost the exact same scenario a few months ago, I did the following.

"is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand"

The British Embassay will charge in the region of 2,000 baht for this service.

I instead went to my local bank, and had them certify the copy of my passport for free, this was accepted as evidence of my address and identity.

I didnt exactly lie, I told the bank I was considering transferring X amount to the account in Thailand and my stockbroker required this paperwork.

The bank copied the passport, then typed up the usual I certify this is a true likeness of Mr X residing at 123 soi abc, Bangkok.

Signed by bank manager and stamped up with the banks stamp, a pain free experience, and less painfull than the fees the British embassay would have inflicted.

[111tingtong]

^ just my opinion but you are still a UK resident.Because you reside here on a Non-O doesn't make you a resident.

Sorry have to disagree, I left the UK 7 years ago, completed non-resident application and qualified after five years and no longer required to complete a tax return, call it what you want but im not a resident in the UK for tax purposes. Maybe what you meant to say is I am a UK citizen?

At no point did I state that I was a resident in Thailand because I hold a non O. I was simply stating my status and looking for options to invest through a stock broker as an expat.

Ive had further feedback from Internaxx. Contrary to what they said previously all that is required, according to the reply below and the forms that were sent is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand and proof of my address in Thailand, ie electricity bill with name on or a residency certificate which can easily be sourced from an immigration office (same form used for buying a car/motorcycle etc with).

At this point I should be up and running tax free with Intermaxx as my broker. Thanks AyG for mentioning this broker, I hope it works out.

I might be jumping the gun slightly, but ive been looking into trading software that will run on a mac. So far Ninjatrader and Share Scope seem to have the best reviews and have loads of support for newbies. Both of these will have to be run on bootcamp or what I use, VMware Fusion as there is no native application support for OSX yet. I am testing Ninjatrader out just now in simulation mode where it then can be linked to a live feed for paper trading and eventually pairing it with a broker for real trading. It all takes time I suppose, less haste more speed as they say.

Dear Mr ???,

Thank you for your mail and interest in our service.

There is no capital gains tax in Luxembourg on shares or investment funds.

We offer access to shares or ETFs on 17 stock eschanges in North America, Europe and Asia. You can also invest from a range of over 400 managed investment funds.

You are welcome to open an account with us. To do so simply complete the attached application form and return to us by post together with either your bank details or a certified passport copy (please see identification page). We can also accept transfers from the U.K. Isle of Man or Channel Islands for this purpose.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

We look forward to welcoming you as a new client.

Having gone through almost the exact same scenario a few months ago, I did the following.

"is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand"

The British Embassay will charge in the region of 2,000 baht for this service.

I instead went to my local bank, and had them certify the copy of my passport for free, this was accepted as evidence of my address and identity.

I didnt exactly lie, I told the bank I was considering transferring X amount to the account in Thailand and my stockbroker required this paperwork.

The bank copied the passport, then typed up the usual I certify this is a true likeness of Mr X residing at 123 soi abc, Bangkok.

Signed by bank manager and stamped up with the banks stamp, a pain free experience, and less painfull than the fees the British embassay would have inflicted.

Great tip rgs, I was on my way to the consulate in Chiang Mai tomorrow morning to get my passport certified which was going to cost 1,200 baht. As im relatively new to Chiang Mai opening a bank account up this way is still on the list of things to do, so will get both done at the same time, many thanks for the advise.

[cat5]

"is a certified copy of my passport which should easily be achievable at any consulate in Thailand"

The British Embassay will charge in the region of 2,000 baht for this service.

I instead went to my local bank, and had them certify the copy of my passport for free, this was accepted as evidence of my address and identity.

I didnt exactly lie, I told the bank I was considering transferring X amount to the account in Thailand and my stockbroker required this paperwork.

The bank copied the passport, then typed up the usual I certify this is a true likeness of Mr X residing at 123 soi abc, Bangkok.

Signed by bank manager and stamped up with the banks stamp, a pain free experience, and less painfull than the fees the British embassay would have inflicted.

I like that idea! I've still got the mobile number of a girl from my local bank and will call her next time I'm in Thailand. The British Embassy can stick their services where the sun doesn't shine.