Signing up with local brokerages have many advantages that will almost always outweigh the savings of commission. Firstly, you have local helpline to call to ask for technical questions, the time difference between a US help line will almost always mean you gotta wait till late into the night to ask for help. Secondly, if using overseas online brokers, you gotta wire funds overseas which mean incur wire charges, have to open an overseas bank account which often has high minimum limit to open and maintain. Trading with local brokerages means no wire transfers as all can settle instantaneously with EPS and in SGD. The cheapest brokerage i have encounter so far is Stanchart which charges 0 comm for trading of shares, OCBC charges a flat fee but have excellent call center support anytime of the day, with a dedicated broker's direct line to call. Buying from local brokerage means all equities are SGX-custodialed, which give peace of mind. I have no idea about whether overseas brokers allow SGX as custodial. I only top-up my funds twice a year and hold some utilities and telco shares, therefore i pay very little comm since its a flat-fee model.
Believe me, the immediate concern is more on deciding which shares and funds to buy rather than worry about the charges. Meanwhile, take a look at the local brokerages promo.
http://forums.fuckwarezone.com.sg/s...ions;-rewards;-additional-offers-4944484.html
