Opening a foreign equity account

katana18 — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:30:20 +0800

I have been trying to find a way to open an online investment account to put money into buying stocks or indexes. Options are nice, but not necessary at this point. I've checked out a few popular online brokers, and this is the brick wall I'm running into: https://global.etrade.com/sg/en/products-se...open-an-account

It seems that I have to jump through some hoops and actually do PAPERWORK in order to put money into the US stock market. I was wondering if anyone has already posted a step-by-step guide on how to do this, as I would like to know if this is worth my time to pursue. The amount I intend to put into the account is not important. Just assume it can be anywhere from $1k to $10k. In fact, just assume that I want to put it all into an S&P index. Is there a link/guide to accomplish this painlessly?

Thank you.

Edit: I've looked through the W8-BEN form that you need to file for non-resident alien tax purposes. I am curious to know how a H1B visa affects my status for this form.

Further Edit: Skimming the IRS webpage: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p515/ar02....blink1000225127 leads me to the conclusion that the IRS will always withhold 30% of income other than personal service, as Malaysia falls under "Other Countries" in Table 1 of the tax treaties. Can anyone confirm this?

SE themes site?

katana18 — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:07:54 +0800

Hi all, I just bought a new SE Elm. I'm looking about for new themes. I want those that are well-designed and compatible with the newer SE phone models. I used to have a nice collection few years ago, but can't seem to find any decent ones now.

Would greatly appreciate if someone can point me in the right direction. Thanks!!

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Opening a foreign equity account

SE themes site?