ShareJunction - Stock Forum Messages

Others

Trading of US stocks using POEMS

oops sorry for not clarifying, don't have to get the BRK.A shares, the BRK.B also can. i think the good thing about US shares is u don't have to buy in lots of 1000, can buy just 1 unit. I personally have not bought any BRK.B shares at the moment.

Most important factors when considering a platform -

(1) Reliability - it has to be up 99.999% of the time even during heavy traffic periods

(2) Low commission costs

(3) Free charting and data

Anyone here using Citibank's platform? Are there any other charges I must take note of before I trade? The min fee seems a bit more expensive than POEMs. Anything above USD 20,000 Citi seems a bit cheaper. Other concern is also the reliability of the platform? Any views on either of them?

Charge Description	Internet Order	Phone Order
Brokerage Fee
Transaction Amount (i.e. Trade Value)
Minimum Charge	USD 29	USD35
USD 0 - USD 19,999	USD 29	USD35
USD 20,000 - USD 49,999	0.35%	0.40%
USD 50,000 and above	0.30%	0.34%
SEC Charge
Sell transactions only	0.00307% of trade amount
Real Time Data feeds
Charge	Nil
Custodian fees
Semi-annual charge of US$5(with or without trade) or 0.02% of average monthly stock holding balance, whichever is higher, up to maximum of US$100.
Corporate Actions
Dividend	Nil
Bonus	Nil
Bonus & Dividend	Nil
Bonus & Dividend with ratio	Nil
Takeover for cash	Nil
Stock Merge	Nil
Stock Split	Nil
Takeover for security	Nil
Rights	Nil
Share Transfers
Transfer In of shares	Free
Transfer Out of shares	US$30 per counter
Inactive account charges	Nil

Prevailing GST applies to the US market brokerage fees.

b. For SG Trades:

Shares trading in SGD	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	S$22	S$25
SGD 50,000 and below	0.28%	0.33%
SGD 50,000.01 to SGD100,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above SGD100,000	0.18%	0.20%

Shares trading in USD	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	US$12	US$14
USD30,000 and below	0.28%	0.33%
USD30,000.01 to USD60,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above USD60,000	0.18%	0.20%

Shares trading in HKD	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	HKD100	HKD115
HKD250,000 and below	0.28%	0.33%
HKD250,000.01 to HKD500,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above HKD500,000	0.18%	0.20%

Shares trading in AUD	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	A$22	A$25
AUD55,000 and below	0.28%	0.33%
AUD55,000.01 to AUD110,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above AUD110,000	0.18%	0.20%

Shares trading in Yen	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	1600 Yen	1900 Yen
Yen 3,150,000 and below	0.28%	0.33%
Yen 3,150,001 to Yen 6,300,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above Yen 6,300,000	0.18%	0.20%

Shares trading in GBP	Internet rate	Phone rate
Min commission (per contract)	GBP10	GBP12
GBP 15,500 and below	0.28%	0.33%
GBP 15,500.01 to GBP 31,000	0.22%	0.26%
Above GBP 31,000	0.18%	0.20%

Other Charges for SG Market

1.	There is a Clearing Fee of 0.04% charged by CDP on the contract value, subject to a maximum of S$600.
2.	There is a SGX Trading Access Fee of 0.0075% charged by SGX on the contract value.
3.	Prevailing GST applies to the brokerage rates, CDP Clearing Fee and SGX Trading Access Fee.

US stocks are very interesting due to the high volatility and volume. However often your gains will be greatly reduced if you trade in SGD (due to the exchange differences) .

Thanks.

Hello,

I think the charges are

1) 0.4% of your traded amount

2) 7% GST of the 0.4%.

There is still another factor which is in the exchange rate. Pls refer to the posts below by Andrew ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 16:33)

Hi,

May I know the charges for US shares using the POEM platform. In addition, I read that there are technical glitches within the platform, how badly will it affect the trade in terms of buying and selling? Thanks

Hello TradeChancellor,

i small investor nia. that one too ex liao lah~ haha but thanks for the recomendation

TradeChancellor ( Date: 19-Oct-2008 20:32) Posted:

Zhenxian, if you want want a US counter to trade, NASDAQ (ticker NDAQ) is a good trading counter. NASDAQ is the world's largest listed exchange company, its rival being NYSE. If you want something stable to park your cash for a while, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (ticker BRK.A or BRK.B) is quite stable. But note he doesn't give dividends. But price is likely to rise over the longer term. BRK.A is his A shares and BRK.B is his B shares. He has full control over about 76 companies and numerous significant minority stakes in others such as Goldman Sachs, GE.

BRK.A price is USD 119,800

BRK.B price is USD 3,976

err.....

TradeChancellor ( Date: 19-Oct-2008 20:32) Posted:

Zhenxian, if you want want a US counter to trade, NASDAQ (ticker NDAQ) is a good trading counter. NASDAQ is the world's largest listed exchange company, its rival being NYSE. If you want something stable to park your cash for a while, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (ticker BRK.A or BRK.B) is quite stable. But note he doesn't give dividends. But price is likely to rise over the longer term. BRK.A is his A shares and BRK.B is his B shares. He has full control over about 76 companies and numerous significant minority stakes in others such as Goldman Sachs, GE.

hey please do not do this.... the broker was only kind enough to do me a favour and No More Next Time..

After this, I think about it .. actually, it really does not matter, if you can earn so much money in just 1 day, who cares about the 0.01 exchange rate .. u know what I mean...

In conclusion, if you intend for contra, choose USD, for long choose SGD...

zhenxian ( Date: 19-Oct-2008 02:35) Posted:

Wow~ Good money there:)

So that means, if we managed to contra out within T+3, we can call up our trading representative to change the trading mood to USD currency?

Ya i am looking at AIG and whatever banks that is in the news that is going to go down next.

I think I can answer your question, as I first purchased US stock through POEMS last two Friday..

I bought Morgan Stanley October 10 (Friday) at USD 7, thinking to long for this counter, therefore I chose SGD currency.

October 13(Monday), the price shot up, I sold all my holdings at USD 15, I chose SGD currency again.

Now, this is obviously a contra. I called my broker at POEMS, she told me if I am doing contra, it is the best to choose USD currency , avoid any USD to SGD foreign exchange (of course for my case that is only 1 day difference Friday & the following Monday). However, she is so kind to change the currency settled mode from SGD to USD for both buy and sell...

This is how it works...... (USD 15-USD7) * XXXX shares = USD XXXX * exchange rate (iny my case is $1.46735) to SGD XXXXX , banked into my account on October 17 (Friday). Of course now is at our benefit, as USD going up from lowest $1.35 to now $1.47....

I love US stocks volatility, the next thing I am looking closely are still bank shares and Las Vegas Sands... Good luck folks.

zhenxian ( Date: 18-Oct-2008 04:34) Posted:

Hello,

Have anybody traded US stocks recently?

Any advise on any counter?

Small player here :)

Originally, contra is not allowed. But how to play the super volatile markets.

Only recently as in late 2006 they allow contra.....shorting still NO NO...

Rustyhaster ( Date: 29-Sep-2008 17:51) Posted:

Contra can arh??i thought they put inside that conta cannot be done unless its on the same day only??

Andrew ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 16:33) Posted:

If you have a POEMS account already, you probably need them to activate the US trade for you.

You will need to fill up the W-8EN Withholding Tax Wavier Form. There is capital gain TAX in USA for Citizen and alien residing in US for 6months or more. W-8EN is a decalration that you are neither of the above.

W-8EN expire every 3 years. Need to sign up again (Mine was disable recently, luckily.....heee)POEMS will suspend US trade on expiry date. Do take note.

POEMS charges 50 basis point on the exchange rate from SGD to USD and vice visa. It is best you have a USD bank account (Optional).

Contra is allowed. Shorting is NOT allowed.

All entities you hold invite a $2.50 per counter per month script holding charge. (May have revised)

You do get dividend and subject to admin fee of S$5(I guess....please check, never bought a stock that pay div). Dividend is taxable. (too insignificant, anyway, never wait long enough to get it).

POEMS offer realtime NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX.

The min. trade lots is 1 share. There is no min. step amount for trade (like 0.5cts for SGX). No maximum Q bids. Example BUY GOOG $479.8796 1 share. Curent bid for example is 535.50

I think it is publish on POEMS website......

Hi RustyHasty,

Contra can be done. I've did it once in early July. I bought a counter on one day and sold it off the next day. When you received the contract statement from POEMS, it will show 'contra'. Since then, I haven't touch any US counters for now. But I think contra is still allowed now. But pls check with POEMS first and don't take my word for it.

Cheers!

Contra can arh??i thought they put inside that conta cannot be done unless its on the same day only??

Andrew ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 16:33) Posted:

If you have a POEMS account already, you probably need them to activate the US trade for you.

You will need to fill up the W-8EN Withholding Tax Wavier Form. There is capital gain TAX in USA for Citizen and alien residing in US for 6months or more. W-8EN is a decalration that you are neither of the above.

W-8EN expire every 3 years. Need to sign up again (Mine was disable recently, luckily.....heee)POEMS will suspend US trade on expiry date. Do take note.

POEMS charges 50 basis point on the exchange rate from SGD to USD and vice visa. It is best you have a USD bank account (Optional).

Contra is allowed. Shorting is NOT allowed.

All entities you hold invite a $2.50 per counter per month script holding charge. (May have revised)

You do get dividend and subject to admin fee of S$5(I guess....please check, never bought a stock that pay div). Dividend is taxable. (too insignificant, anyway, never wait long enough to get it).

POEMS offer realtime NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX.

The min. trade lots is 1 share. There is no min. step amount for trade (like 0.5cts for SGX). No maximum Q bids. Example BUY GOOG $479.8796 1 share. Curent bid for example is 535.50

I think it is publish on POEMS website......

darylwj ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 12:50) Posted:

To add on to the questions below:

Are we entitled to the dividend if we hold the US shares?

And are the dividend taxable if we are entitled to it? And how is the tax struture like?

You feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the info, regarding the divvy (Just found out that most info can be found on the Poems website...but thanks for sharing anyway) . Yes, you need to fill up the W-8EN form to get the acct activated for trading US shares. (Didn't know abt the 3yr expiry date though...thanks for bringing this up) did get my acct activated early this yr and traded a couple of US shares. Yes, the volatility is there..so have to be very careful although it is very liquid, almost always able to buy or sell due to the market makers there.

Regarding the custody charges for holding the US shares, the rate is now S$2.14 (w/GST) per month per counter. It can be waived for that month if you make at least 2 trades during the month. Cap at S$160.50 per quarter. More info can be found here: http://www.poems.com.sg/HelpCentre/uscharges.asp?value=charges

Andrew ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 16:33) Posted:

If you have a POEMS account already, you probably need them to activate the US trade for you.

You will need to fill up the W-8EN Withholding Tax Wavier Form. There is capital gain TAX in USA for Citizen and alien residing in US for 6months or more. W-8EN is a decalration that you are neither of the above.

W-8EN expire every 3 years. Need to sign up again (Mine was disable recently, luckily.....heee)POEMS will suspend US trade on expiry date. Do take note.

POEMS charges 50 basis point on the exchange rate from SGD to USD and vice visa. It is best you have a USD bank account (Optional).

Contra is allowed. Shorting is NOT allowed.

All entities you hold invite a $2.50 per counter per month script holding charge. (May have revised)

You do get dividend and subject to admin fee of S$5(I guess....please check, never bought a stock that pay div). Dividend is taxable. (too insignificant, anyway, never wait long enough to get it).

POEMS offer realtime NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX.

The min. trade lots is 1 share. There is no min. step amount for trade (like 0.5cts for SGX). No maximum Q bids. Example BUY GOOG $479.8796 1 share. Curent bid for example is 535.50

I think it is publish on POEMS website......

darylwj ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 12:50) Posted:

To add on to the questions below:

Are we entitled to the dividend if we hold the US shares?

And are the dividend taxable if we are entitled to it? And how is the tax struture like?

You feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks!

Hello Andrew,

Thanks for the sharing~! :)

Hi zhenxian,

1) 50 basis pt means 0.5cts for every US dollar. For example 1 USD = S1.4200. POEMS will sell you 1USD for S$1.4250. When you sell your stocks 1USD = S$1.3850, POEMS buy 1USD at S$1.3800. So from buy to sell POEMS will make 1Scts for every US dollar or 100 basis point.

Do note that the exchange rate is retail rates and like all good bank, they tends to give you the worst rate of the day. Or worst still, the worst rate of the T+3 window.

Buy/Sell rate for USD is also wider these day........very volatile.

2) I have never open a USD checking account. But my exchange rate is corprate rate -- As seen in Channel News Asia displayed rate.......heeeee.

3) Exactly.....I may have mixed up with CPF pricing......agent in US need to help safe keep and upkeep your "scripts". I also never pay because this is a barginable items......do at least 2~3 trade a month and you can probably bargain for a wavier. I think in SGD...

Your example is correct.....per stock per month rate...or is it per Q??. Really, never pay them because IN OUT in days......not months..DON'T HOLD.

Finally, with all this charges, you need a lot of profit margin to make money. For me, I usually enter if Hugo is blasting USA with threat to nationalise some american interests.

Like last year, Hugo nationalise their "Singtel" - ticker VNT, the stock fall 60% in 2 hours. I buy, and it fell some more. By next day, it when up by 3 dollar+++. So 1 day, zero capital, free money.

Buy at 11++ close at 10++.....next day 14+++....very very volatile.

It is really a jungle out there......it is a perfect market.....infinite seller and buyer.

Take care.....

zhenxian ( Date: 26-Sep-2008 23:39) Posted:

Hi Andrew, Thanks for sharing. 1) Can you explain the 50 basis point exchange rate charges with an example? 2) Where can i open a USD bank account that is cheapest? 3) Regarding the $2.50 per counter per month script holding charge, does it mean that if a have AIG and GOOG, every month they will deduct $5 from me? Is it in USD$ or SG$ for the charges?

Login Register

Trading of US stocks using POEMS