THB Currency ETFs

[Oxx]

Are there any baht currency ETFs? iShares was thinking of starting a THB/USD ETF in 2013, but that appears not to have got off the ground.

 

It would be nice to be able to hedge some of my currency exposure without having to go to the trouble of dealing with derivatives.

[Srikcir]

 

The baht through 2017 is likely to be very volatile.

Pairing USD with a more stable currency such as NZD or CHF might be a better consideration.

 

[MANFROMBOCA]

http://www.etf.com/sections/features/19448-ishares-plans-14-active-currency-etfs.html

 

im not sure available yet

[al007]

 

There is an Ishares Thailand ETF ticker THD, I have however tended to stay away from the thai SET

 

THD has dropped from 75.8 to 69.47, friday close,(8.34% down) in the last ten days, might be worth watching, let it drop continue then buy

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/THD#eyJtdWx0aUNvbG9yTGluZSI6ZmFsc2UsImJvbGxpbmdlclVwcGVyQ29sb3IiOiIjZTIwMDgxIiwiYm9sbGluZ2VyTG93ZXJDb2xvciI6IiM5NTUyZmYiLCJtZmlMaW5lQ29sb3IiOiIjNDVlM2ZmIiwibWFjZERpdmVyZ2VuY2VDb2xvciI6IiNmZjdiMTIiLCJtYWNkTWFjZENvbG9yIjoiIzc4N2Q4MiIsIm1hY2RTaWduYWxDb2xvciI6IiMwMDAwMDAiLCJyc2lMaW5lQ29sb3IiOiIjZmZiNzAwIiwic3RvY2hLTGluZUNvbG9yIjoiI2ZmYjcwMCIsInN0b2NoRExpbmVDb2xvciI6IiM0NWUzZmYiLCJyYW5nZSI6IjF5In0%3D

 

I half watch Bank Bangkok BBL down some 8% in last three weeks yields about 4% and when I studied it a while ago,

 

it was trading below underlying asset value, has to be right for a takeover one of these days,

 

most directors late 70s or more, many town centre properties, bought years ago

[makescents]

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TDEX:TB

 

And

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TH100:TB

[Oxx]

I'm specifically interested in any Thai currency ETF - not equity ETF.

 

This is for hedging currency risk, not speculation.

 

The iShares ETF that MANFROMBOCA mentions was never launched.

[SunLover2]

Most companies with significant international trade will try and hedge currency risk, so I get what you are trying to do by locking in the current price (rate) into the future.

 

I don't know of a USD ETF; but you can essentially accomplish much the same thing by opening a bank account in Thailand and wire transferring USD into it, therefore buying baht at the current level.  Transaction cost fees might bite into it, but sill a better rate than the physical foreign exchange opportunities outside the kingdom.

 

 

SL

[makescents]

18 hours ago, Oxx said:

I'm specifically interested in any Thai currency ETF - not equity ETF.

 

This is for hedging currency risk, not speculation.

 

The iShares ETF that MANFROMBOCA mentions was never launched.

 

I would have thought in that case that just holding foreign currency would hedge you against the Baht. I'm not financial expert by any means...

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, makescents said:

 

I would have thought in that case that just holding foreign currency would hedge you against the Baht. I'm not financial expert by any means...

 

It would, of course, though I suspect that the OP is looking for something leveraged (ie you only have to pay a percentage of what you are hedging against). Or maybe he just doesn't trust Thai banks?

 

Personally I did it your way and have a few years of spending money on deposit here.

[Oxx]

4 hours ago, makescents said:

 

I would have thought in that case that just holding foreign currency would hedge you against the Baht. I'm not financial expert by any means...

 

That doesn't help, unfortunately.  My income is from investments overseas, but my expenditure is in baht.  I want to protect against a rise in the value of the baht, meaning that my overseas investment income is worth less in the local currency here.

[al007]

1 hour ago, Oxx said:

 

That doesn't help, unfortunately.  My income is from investments overseas, but my expenditure is in baht.  I want to protect against a rise in the value of the baht, meaning that my overseas investment income is worth less in the local currency here.

 

I think you are trying to have your cake and eat it, we all want that but have to be realistic

 

If you are too exposed by an adverse currency movement of say maybe 20% then maybe you can not afford to live here

 

I trust you have some assets invested in property in thailand, this will help hedge

 

I mentioned earlier I shares THD this would certainly hedge some of you exposure

 

If you retire in England you need to have a substantial share of your investment assets base in UK markets, often taking different courses can expose you to substantial losses

 

I am sure you can do foreign exchange currency contracts, unless you are only talking small amounts

 

there is also the sleep factor risk if you can not sleep change your approach

 

Maybe you need a good financial adviser, I am not for the record interested

 

I just checked your profile you tell us very little about yourself, not even age are you a young teacher, or an old man

 

You need to talk about your assets type, geographic location short term long term, treasuries, equities etc

 

I think you may well be a wealthy old man wanting to be a bit too greedy, apologies if I am wrong, be happy go with the flow

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

That doesn't help, unfortunately.  My income is from investments overseas, but my expenditure is in baht.  I want to protect against a rise in the value of the baht, meaning that my overseas investment income is worth less in the local currency here.

 

USD futures perhaps?  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/TFEX-USD-futures-an-effective-tool-for-FX-hedging-30211006.html

 

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, but YMMV.

[fletchsmile]

THD as mentioned is an offshore iShares ETF. It will help reduce FX exposure by nature of being exposed to THB equities. However, anyone investing is effectively swapping some currency risk for some equity risk. No bad thing as part of a lager portfolio and a partial solution to hedging currency risk. 

 

Onshore there are similar ETFs  as at the link below, eg TDEX

http://www.set.or.th/set/etfstatistics.do?language=en&country=US

 

For someone unhappy with equity risk, a fixed income ETF investing in THB government securities is another consideration. Government Bond based Fixed Income funds should be less volatile over time than equity based funds, but still come with interest rate risk and other risks. Short dated underlying bonds again less volatie than longer overall

 

Onshore in Thailans there are also cash fund unit trusts. To be honest though the fees even though small eat away at these cash fund, and from the ones I've held (very small amounts given free with other purchases and held for curiousity/interest) you might as well hold cash

 

I'm not aware of any currency only ETFs in Thailand or outside Thailand though.

 

Edited September 14, 2016 by fletchsmile

[fletchsmile]

For futures, they are quite easy to trade on TFEX as the article above mentions.

 

I trade SET50 options and SET50 futures sometimes based on the SET50 equity index as underlying.

 

As part of my platform I can also access USD currency futures should I want to,

USDU16 for Sep, V16 for Oct, X for Nov, and Z for December .

Normally they do the next 3 months + end of the next quarter, so it will soon be Oct,Nov,Dec +March

 

So maximum you can go out is only 6 months. Probably not what OP is looking for. They could be useful in some circumstances. Never really appealed to me though

 http://www.tfex.co.th/en/products/usd-mktdata.html

 

May be useful to someone of experience for a near term hedge on some occasions in some circumstances. Leverage may be useful too if you don't yet have the cash and are hedging cash you will have in the next few months. Also if you want to trade.

 

Myself I'd rather just move the cash, tho it is something to bear in mind in specific circumstances

 

Cheers

Fletch

[djlest]

Yes im also interested in Thai currency ETF
Another good one currently to consider is GOLD ETFs
Currently the SET is down from 2 weeks ago and this could be a good time to buy
Anyone else have any nuggets to share?

[Srikcir]

8 hours ago, djlest said:

SET is down

I'd wait for a 1,300 breakpoint for a bargain.

[djlest]

On 9/14/2016 at 10:46 PM, Srikcir said:

I'd wait for a 1,300 breakpoint for a bargain.

Agreed although it seems to be on the up again now... ouch!