AyG
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
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Post by AyG on Sept 9, 2020 6:55:28 GMT 7
Any basic tips on what I should and shouldn’t invest in. Just a few of my thoughts on what not to invest in: (1) Don't invest in things where the price isn't underpinned by future cash flows. In other words, avoid things where the price is determined by emotion, rather than rationally - things such as gold and Bitcoin. (2) Don't invest in complex products which are difficult to understand such as derivatives, structured products and leveraged ETFs. (3) Don't invest in products where the provider won't tell you "what's inside the box" such as hedge funds and absolute return funds. (4) Don't invest in sectors where there has been recent strong performance. You're probably already too late, and the tide will inevitably turn. At the moment I believe technology and biotechnology investments currently fall into this category. (5) Don't invest in narrow markets or sectors such as single country ETFs (unless, perhaps, that country is the USA) and mining or financials (6) Don't invest in anything being promoted by financial journalists, for two reasons: (a) they aren't particularly knowledgeable about investment, and (b) they are often simple repackaging promotional material from a product provider. Also my wife is an expat from Singapore living here so is it better to use her to invest through (for tax reasons)? Your wife's tax situation is the same as yours (I presume): not a citizen of the United States, tax resident in Thailand (i.e. living here more than half the year). I see no tax benefit in investing through her.
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Sept 9, 2020 7:19:48 GMT 7
I'm confused, you opened an IBKR account last year but you live in Thailand do you not? That being the case, did IBKR not want details such as your Thai tax ID number? If I had a TIN, I'd have been required to supply one, but since I don't have any taxable income arising in Thailand I don't need one. (I don't bother reclaiming the small amount of tax withheld on bank deposit interest.) Hopefully the OP is far less thick than me and is able to decipher how and where you opened that account and where it sits today but I'm not going to keep probing as to why the OP couldn't do what you've done.
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Post by rgs2001uk on Sept 9, 2020 20:17:48 GMT 7
No. IBKR has operations in a number of countries. If one's not in one of those countries it's opened as a US account. And this is nothing to do with having a Thai tax ID. I don't have one, and I opened an IBKR account last year. I'm confused, you opened an IBKR account last year but you live in Thailand do you not? That being the case, did IBKR not want details such as your Thai tax ID number? To confuse you even more, , this year I opened an interactive investor account, no tin required. Not every company is applying the same rules, I was asked for a tin by hsbc, I emailed them back and told them, thailand doesnt issue them, problem went away. My uk stockbroker has never asked me for one. Like AyG, i dont have a thai tax number. If truth be told, too much hassle to get one. Same as I dont hold a yellow house book or pink id card, I see no benefit to having one, Every 6 years I request a certificate of residency to renew my drivers license, costs me 200 baht, two weeks later, it arrives at the house.
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Sept 9, 2020 20:47:31 GMT 7
I do have a TIN but I don't have those other bits and pieces, they only seem useful for bragging rights amongst expats at the bars....oh yes, of course, I have a pink Thai ID card or the fairy card as it's otherwise known, I mean really, pink!!
But the TIN is useful, if you give it to your bank they will not deduct tax from your savings account interest which can save you needing to file a tax return.
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Post by rgs2001uk on Sept 9, 2020 22:13:18 GMT 7
I do have a TIN but I don't have those other bits and pieces, they only seem useful for bragging rights amongst expats at the bars....oh yes, of course, I have a pink Thai ID card or the fairy card as it's otherwise known, I mean really, pink!! But the TIN is useful, if you give it to your bank they will not deduct tax from your savings account interest which can save you needing to file a tax return. Just pulled my bank book out, they are taxing me 29 baht per month, they are welcome to it, like AyG says, it would cost me more in petrol, bullshit and running around than what it is worth.
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Post by rgs2001uk on Sept 9, 2020 22:20:36 GMT 7
I do have a TIN but I don't have those other bits and pieces, they only seem useful for bragging rights amongst expats at the bars....oh yes, of course, I have a pink Thai ID card or the fairy card as it's otherwise known, I mean really, pink!! But the TIN is useful, if you give it to your bank they will not deduct tax from your savings account interest which can save you needing to file a tax return. Too be honest, the only two cards I have found to be worthwhile, are the drivers licensce and an insurance card. Sat in the hospital with a effin leg hanging off, wheres your insurance, please fill in this bullshit form, blah blah blah, litten lek is only following instructions, no money no honey, . Left Bkk on friday, 4 days upcountry, no passports, pink card, yellow house book asked for, no tm 30 either.
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chiangmai
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
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Post by chiangmai on Sept 10, 2020 6:17:15 GMT 7
I do have a TIN but I don't have those other bits and pieces, they only seem useful for bragging rights amongst expats at the bars....oh yes, of course, I have a pink Thai ID card or the fairy card as it's otherwise known, I mean really, pink!! But the TIN is useful, if you give it to your bank they will not deduct tax from your savings account interest which can save you needing to file a tax return. Just pulled my bank book out, they are taxing me 29 baht per month, they are welcome to it, like AyG says, it would cost me more in petrol, bullshit and running around than what it is worth. I obviously get better deals on my savings account interest than many others do, in fairly recent times it was not unusual for me to receive over a couple of thousand baht in interest each month on my UOB Privilege account and the tax on that adds up quickly - even today I get just under 1k per month. And getting a TIN in my neck of the woods has got to be one of the least bureaucratic and easiest things to do in the whole of Thailand, hand over your passport and drivers license and ten minutes later they give you a TIN. Two years ago I reclaimed 26k Baht, last year it was only about 14k because rates were low, but I don't even have to fill out the tax return to get it, the Revenue even does that for me also, all I have to do is show up at the office.
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Post by nikedunkies on Sept 10, 2020 13:56:49 GMT 7
First of all, I’m loving this forum!!
This is the first time I’ve been distracted from the bars, clubs and dodgy parts of Bangkok in a while - and it’s because of the cool info you guys are providing
I was messing around last night and actually was quickly approved by IB - just needed my Thai Tax number but I will take into consideration the warnings mentioned above.
To be honest I have somehow found myself cash flush and was about to go in big but the advice on being a little more thoughtful on what I invest in has put the brakes on my intentions for sure.
The IB platform (on my Mac anyway) seems pretty daunting but I’ll play around with it a little before I start anything serious
I have properties in the UK, Singapore and Australia and all are paid off, have a decent amount to invest and the only reason I posted was the feeling that my money is doing nothing sitting in a bank
I will say thought that I am getting a lot of messages warning me that in the current climate it could be wiser just stashing the cash under my mattress !!
Let’s see how this goes and for sure I will help others if I’m in a position to do so as I learn more and support this forum. I’m an expert drinker and all round trouble finder so if anyone needs tips on that front, I’m you’re man!!
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chiangmai
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
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Post by chiangmai on Sept 10, 2020 14:23:37 GMT 7
To be clear....there are no dodgy parts to Bangkok, just some areas that require greater will power and a larger wallet than others.
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Post by nikedunkies on Sept 10, 2020 15:07:28 GMT 7
Well....
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Post by rgs2001uk on Sept 10, 2020 20:08:33 GMT 7
First of all, I’m loving this forum!! This is the first time I’ve been distracted from the bars, clubs and dodgy parts of Bangkok in a while - and it’s because of the cool info you guys are providing I was messing around last night and actually was quickly approved by IB - just needed my Thai Tax number but I will take into consideration the warnings mentioned above. To be honest I have somehow found myself cash flush and was about to go in big but the advice on being a little more thoughtful on what I invest in has put the brakes on my intentions for sure. The IB platform (on my Mac anyway) seems pretty daunting but I’ll play around with it a little before I start anything serious I have properties in the UK, Singapore and Australia and all are paid off, have a decent amount to invest and the only reason I posted was the feeling that my money is doing nothing sitting in a bank I will say thought that I am getting a lot of messages warning me that in the current climate it could be wiser just stashing the cash under my mattress !! Let’s see how this goes and for sure I will help others if I’m in a position to do so as I learn more and support this forum. I’m an expert drinker and all round trouble finder so if anyone needs tips on that front, I’m you’re man!! Great stuff, nice to know there are still proper old skool testosterone fuelled expats doing the rounds, last time i was in the ghetto the latest bunch of freshies were manbun skinny lattee drinking soyboys.
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Post by rgs2001uk on Sept 10, 2020 20:32:28 GMT 7
First of all, I’m loving this forum!! This is the first time I’ve been distracted from the bars, clubs and dodgy parts of Bangkok in a while - and it’s because of the cool info you guys are providing I was messing around last night and actually was quickly approved by IB - just needed my Thai Tax number but I will take into consideration the warnings mentioned above. To be honest I have somehow found myself cash flush and was about to go in big but the advice on being a little more thoughtful on what I invest in has put the brakes on my intentions for sure. The IB platform (on my Mac anyway) seems pretty daunting but I’ll play around with it a little before I start anything serious I have properties in the UK, Singapore and Australia and all are paid off, have a decent amount to invest and the only reason I posted was the feeling that my money is doing nothing sitting in a bank I will say thought that I am getting a lot of messages warning me that in the current climate it could be wiser just stashing the cash under my mattress !! Let’s see how this goes and for sure I will help others if I’m in a position to do so as I learn more and support this forum. I’m an expert drinker and all round trouble finder so if anyone needs tips on that front, I’m you’re man!! Nice one, with assets like yours I think its safe to assume you aint a teecha or bubblehead padi dive instructor. You mention Oz, do you have access to ozzy super? If you have a decent amount to invest, I would be looking for at least three if not five investment opportunities. Personally, I am a big fan of investment trusts, some call it the lazy mans way to investing, I can assure you, it isnt. This year I took a 30% plus kick to the financial gonads, thankfully now recovered, not something I would recommend to the novice investor.
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