Best option for exposure to global markets?

[Arndale]

Thanks for sharing. I have to say that those figures are very impressive. I guess there is no substitute for experience and time served in the markets.

How long have you been trading in the CFD and derivative markets? Was it something that took a great deal of education, research and experience before you felt comfortable with these?

[OldRider]

Arndale:

All investments were made through NZ broker. LSX shares are held in UK registry though,no cost for this, we actually have share certificates for them, could sell through UK registry if we wished, we did have a British bank account for a while but too much trouble so closed it, registries still post cheques, costs $5 flat fee at Westpac to bank, could have direct credit but this is rather more expensive, ASX investments in CHESS. Have Australian bank account to collect dividends, use this via internet - Bpay for issues and brokers cash management account for broker trades.

Changes are not frequent so brokerage is not significant, though if I were to sell through local broker I get slugged twice, once to transfer investment so they can sell, then brokerage. Hope this is useful.

[noodles]

Thanks for sharing. I have to say that those figures are very impressive. I guess there is no substitute for experience and time served in the markets.

How long have you been trading in the CFD and derivative markets? Was it something that took a great deal of education, research and experience before you felt comfortable with these?

I have been trading CFD's for 7 years. I did some research before signing up. It is important to understand the how it works. You can usually open a demo account to educate yourself. But I stress, it is best to master normal shares before venturing into the CFD space.

Also, CFD's are better suited to short term traders than buy and hold investors.

[Arndale]

Arndale:

All investments were made through NZ broker. LSX shares are held in UK registry though,no cost for this, we actually have share certificates for them, could sell through UK registry if we wished, we did have a British bank account for a while but too much trouble so closed it, registries still post cheques, costs $5 flat fee at Westpac to bank, could have direct credit but this is rather more expensive, ASX investments in CHESS. Have Australian bank account to collect dividends, use this via internet - Bpay for issues and brokers cash management account for broker trades.

Changes are not frequent so brokerage is not significant, though if I were to sell through local broker I get slugged twice, once to transfer investment so they can sell, then brokerage. Hope this is useful.

Thanks for the info OldRider. I had a little look out of interest into this area this morning. When you purchased UK shares through the NZ broker, did you then have to pay to get the UK shares certificated so you held them as opposed to them being held in a nominee account with your broker? And I'm guessing you can still be on the UK register as having an international address to which they post to?

[voltage]

Yes it is not cheap investing overseas from NZ. If you have shares outside asx and nzx you really need custodial. I have held UK investment trusts in savings schemes in the UK but everything gets complicated and now have withdrawn all these funds. I have looked at etrade in australia and they have the cheapest option to purchase global shares ay .6% and low custodial of .1%. Your idea of purchasing ETFs on asx is a good one. Look at etrade.com.au for this. Keep things simple.

[GTM 3442]

You could look at these guys in Luxembourg:

http://int.tddirectinvesting.com/

[Arndale]

Thanks Voltage and GTM3442.

In terms of international trades through somewhere close to home, etrade Oz seems like a very viable option. Rates certainly beat ANZ Securities hands down in terms of custody.

Am I right in saying that management fees for ETF's are taken from dividends paid by the companies within the ETF?

[zb3]

Thanks for that GTM. On first glance these guys look quite good. It seems they even offer access to vanguard mutual funds. Are you using them/have you used them in the past and do you recommend them?

[GTM 3442]

Thanks for that GTM. On first glance these guys look quite good. It seems they even offer access to vanguard mutual funds. Are you using them/have you used them in the past and do you recommend them?

TD Direct in Luxembourg offer me access to a lot of things which are very useful, but charge me for these very useful things.

They offer me custody services. They offer me accounts in multiple currency. They offer me access to a wide range of Mutual Funds. They offer me access to a wide range of ETFs. They offer me access to direct investment in specific shares in a wide selection of markets. They are easy to pop money into.

Note that they do not pay interest on cash balances. Note that they charge for custody services. Note that they charge brokerage. Note that they make money on multi-currency transactions.

Primarily they offer me a "one-stop-shop" which allows me to keep all my non-NZ non-bank investing in one easily-accessible place. This is my main reason for using them. It has worked well for me for years now.

I will shut up now as I am starting to sound as if I am on the payroll.

But before I go - be very careful about all of this. Much of the work of investment is in administration , in compliance, and in taxation.

Before you start flinging money around the world, make sure that you know what you will be up for in the way of tax liabilities, where those liabilities will fall, how you will deal with them when they arrive, as well as the inevitable compliance and administrative overhead

[Arndale]

Thats great advice GTM. Particularly the elephant in the room, which is no doubt the tax burden on top of the quoted administration, brokerage and custody fees.

I assume the IRD website will have all the relevant tax implications? Is there any other websites which you have found useful that you could point us in the direction of?

Thanks again.