Author Topic: S&P 500 investment in Poland  (Read 4230 times)

Voltigo

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S&P 500 investment in Poland
« on: February 21, 2015, 02:03:35 PM »
Hello everybody,
I'm a 22-yo student from Poland starting his Mustachian journey. Recently, I've been doing some research and I'm wondering what is the best way to invest in S&P 500 here in Poland. Is there anybody who could help me?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Bart

daverobev

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Re: S&P 500 investment in Poland
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2015, 06:43:29 PM »
Find a local brokerage. I don't know if there are Vanguard ETFs on a Polish stock exchange. If not, Euros are fine, or Pounds.

Then buy stuff like: https://www.vanguard.co.uk/uk/portal/investments/all-products?productType=etf

VUSA.L for the S&P. But honestly you want some Europe, VEUR.L, as well, or even more of that as it's more local.

I don't know what discount brokerages there are for you. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/ind/en/main.php is a good one but I don't know if they take Polish clients.

Voltigo

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Re: S&P 500 investment in Poland
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2015, 04:20:38 AM »
Thank you, but here in Polish brokerages we can buy only: S&P500, WIG20L (Polish ETF) and DAX (German). The amount of ETFs traded every day is very small (about 20,000 $ or less) so I'm a bit worried about liquidity. In my ETF  research I came across a Polish blog which stated that here in Poland when it comes to ETF trading there is a "market maker" who reduces spread and increases liquidity. I do understand what it means but I don't know how it really works and what's the result of it for a person like me.
I suppose that Polish stock exchange has a lower ROI than in US, that's why I would love to buy Vanguard.

PEIslander

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Re: S&P 500 investment in Poland
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2015, 07:27:13 AM »
I wonder if it is legal for Voltigo to invest with an offshore discount broker? In many countries it is totally legitimate if you follow all your own country's rules regarding declaring your capital gains & income.

I've written about this one in the Cayman Islands before: OneTradeX. http://onetradex.com/ I'm not a customer and don't know anyone who is so I have no experience with them; but, from their website it sounds like they might be just what needed by Voligo or other people having trouble getting local access to a discount brokerage. For those who don't know -- the Cayman Islands is the world's 5th largest banking centre.

Quote
Offshore Brokerage – Trade 100 Markets In 24 Countries
Direct market access to stocks, options, futures, FX, bonds, ETFs, CFDs and physical gold.  Trade assets denominated in multiple currencies from a single offshore investment account.

OneTRADEx offers discount trading accounts for offshore residents and expatriate investors, including non-resident U.S. citizens. It is a regulated broker. Their accounts do require the equivalent of a $5000 USD minimum opening deposit. Cayman Islands would not tax the account and accounts are insured. They note that accounts can be based on any of the following currencies: AUD, CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, MXN, KRW, DKK, CHF, SGD, NZD, NOK, HKD, INR. The trading software they use is available in several languages.

I see they also offer free demo accounts which could be a good way to see how easy it is and if it is suitable to your needs.


2Birds1Stone

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Re: S&P 500 investment in Poland
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2015, 08:41:30 AM »
Bartek, I will speak with my pops and see if I can get any information from you. I know my parents have invested both in US markets and over in Poland as well.

I possess dual citizenship so its quite easy for me to do both, however I have not invested in Polish market like my parents.

Bicycle_B

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Re: S&P 500 investment in Poland
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2015, 02:42:15 PM »
I suggest researching your assumption that Polish stock exchange provides lower Return on Investment than US stock exchange.

Consider:
1. US market is very large, deep and trusted.  Relative to markets in smaller countries, it can be considered relatively low risk. Logically, returns should be correspondingly lower.
2. US market is a refuge market compared to local markets in other countries, again possibly reducing your future returns as an investor.
3. In passing, I have noted that other markets sometimes have much higher dividend yields than US market does.

To be fair, the lower risk (if the risk really is lower...no one can predict the future...) in USA might be valuable.  So you will have to make a judgment.  But please do not assume ROI will be lower without checking; you could at least compare price to earnings ratio of the markets, and the projected growth rate in each economy, etc. in order to analyze wisely.