hmmm, i am not sure Brian of what to think now; is this a positive or negative view?
Tax time... this is something we can't get away from: I let my accountant worry about that. I realize that some countries, like Singapore I believe, have a capital-gain exception (nice for them!) while others (like in Canada) do not. The main criteria to decide whether to trade globally is of course whether you have a system that is profitable when you apply all the fees and taxes, etc. The first thing to do is to run your system over some foreign data and see what gives.
IB Has an office in Montreal Canada, so I presume that for Canadians some restrictions will be applied automatically when trading through that office. That ought to simplify things. My approach would be to simply test-trade all markets and stick with the ones that work flawless.
The trading hours for foreign markets can be displayed quite effectively to show you at a glance which markets are open, or where in the trading day they are. Adding some indexes may actually help the trader observe correlations between foreign markets. Perhaps these correlations can be programmed into the system.
I would definitely create a normalized portfolio display so that global portfolio status would be visible at all times. Also, since I would trade frequently, i would want to maximize exposure to take advantage of the extra hours I can be in the market; this ought to increase profits proportionally. Indeed, currency strength might be a factor to add to the system. Thanks for that idea! However, from what I can see, the Forex markets are not very volatile and their effect on a frequent-trading system might be minimal - especially when hopping currencies.
I am not sure what "fittest" means :-) their are many roads to success. If you don't have the smarts or the expertise and get stuck don't be shy to admit it, simply find the expertise needed, and even pay for it if necessary. This is how I managed my career ;-) and it was great fun. I have worked with very smart persons who were handicapped by a desire to do everything themselves: they wasted a lot of time and often failed.
My next step is to find data for more foreign markets. Next I feel I need a foreign market-time display and normalized portfolio chart to help me evaluate what will be happening.
Ofcourse the above may be naive observation but how else to start. Further discussion and experiences would be appreciated.
best regards,
herman
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Friday, June 6, 2008, 8:25:41 PM, you wrote:
> Hello frankphd_us,
> Your 'answers' have been simplified to render them almost valueless.
>>When you open
>> an account you apply and receive access to EXCHANGES and PRODUCTS -
>>not
>> countries.
> There is a high degree of virtuality about trading but occasionally
> the 'otherworld' intrudes e.g when tax time comes around.
> Since IB LLC is a US company, US citizens who open accounts are not
> opening a foreign account.
> US foreigners will have to manage an offshore account, offshore
> support and out of hours trading. In the event that they end up in
> dispute with their broker, or other parties, they will not have the
> luxury of being,for example, a US resident appealing to a US
> regulator and/or hiring a US solicitor that they are paying for in
> their own currency, namely US dollars etc.
> Trading 'products' are tied to their exchanges, who conduct business
> in the currency where they are domiciled.
> US residents can trade almost every available 'product', or its
> equivalent, in there own currency/country but the trading world
> doesn't end at the US borders.
> While we can open accounts, and trade, almost freely, in the virtual
> world, eventually we will want to spend that money in our own country.
> That is when the reality of exchange rates, and their movement
> against our 'base' currency will hit home to us.
> So for me, as a non-US citizen, the reality is that I also became a
> Forex trader, an international citizen and an international bush
> lawyer the day I started dabbling in international trading.
>> ) What are the pitfalls and drawbacks of trading a portfolio
>>consisting
>> of 3-5 markets (ASX,SGX,US,CA,EUR,... )?
> If your base currency is US dollars, and you have been 'in' the
> Aussie market/Aussie dollars then you have done very nicely over the
> last few years (whether by good luck or good management). Not so if
> you were an Aussie with unhedged exposure to the US dollar/market.
> In fact last year, in NZ, I bumped into an American trader whose
> entire strategy consists of buying strong stocks in a strong currency
> (relative to the US dollar). I think he said he hasn't had a losing
> year for 10-15 years and he had done around 30-50% a year for the
> last 5 years (he is state hopping, living on a boat etc and hasn't
> been home for a few years - doesn't even own a computer - wouldn't
> know what backtesting is and uses Yahoo on the library computer to
> follow his trades).
>> 2) How to set up the account(s) with IB, for example can foreign
>>stocks
>> be traded with US funds (auto conversion)?
> Does IB charge for currency conversions?
> The trading platform I use charges for each adjustment to and from
> the base currency (yes, I can nominate the frequency).
>> 3) Is there a problem with the different market time-zones?
> My platform is London based (as I said the trading world doesn't stop
> at the US borders) so the platform Java based charts are 24 hour GMT -
> it is not a problem as 'you' know when the different markets are
> waking up..... Nuku'alofa opens, followed by Fiji, NZ, Australia,
> Singapore etc.
> "No holding hands for NEWBIES here"?
> Survival of the fittest!
> Great idea.
> Not new though.
> It doesn't work out so well if you are not amongst the fittest (good
> luck in your old age).
> brian_z
> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> I trade international markets via IB and other brokers. When you
> open
>> an account you apply and receive access to EXCHANGES and PRODUCTS -
> not
>> countries. So when you apply for an exchange you might receive
> access
>> whilst your friend won`t be granted access - if he is of different
>> nationality/domicile: Citizens of some countries are restricted by
>> their national regulations (namely US citizens by SEC). Otherwise -
> if
>> your selected markets/products comply with your indicated
> experience
>> you will be setup for trading within minutes.
>>
>> Re your questions:
>> ) What are the pitfalls and drawbacks of trading a portfolio
> consisting
>> of 3-5 markets (ASX,SGX,US,CA,EUR,... )?
>> None aside from my mental capacity to differentiate between
> positions
>> in USD, CAD, AUD........
>> 2) How to set up the account(s) with IB, for example can foreign
> stocks
>> be traded with US funds (auto conversion)?
>> I am debited with local currency and can adjust this manually
> whenever
>> I like.
>> 3) Is there a problem with the different market time-zones? For
>> example, for a foreign stock, would MOO and MOC be automatically
> adjust
>> to the foreign market's open/closing time?
>> No problems, if MOO and MOC is supported for this exchange/product.
>> Trading via IB is a dream come true, if you take the time and
> effort to
>> read, learn and practise the TWS. Amongst brokers IB is exactly
> what
>> Amibroker is amongst software. And a bit alike amibroker.... NO
>> Handholding for Newbies there! But helpful forum and webinars.
>> Kind regards
>> frankphd_us
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