Posted by forex at 2:44 AM
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1. Allocate a portion of your portfolio to mutual funds focusing on international markets. Many mutual fund companies offer international exposure in their portfolios. Many financial advisors agree that a diversified portfolio should include a certain percentage of international investments. For the benefit of professional management and immediate diversification, identify mutual funds whose holdings include shares traded in Singapore.
2. Fully utilize your online trading account.Regardless of which broker you use, Etrade, Interactive Brokers or TDAmeriTrade (and keep in mind there is nothing prohibiting the use of more than one broker), most permit clients customers to trade on foreign stock markets. Account features and costs such as commissions may vary, so review their respective offerings prior to beginning the account application process, at it can be somewhat time-consuming. Nonetheless, if it suits you, this direct method can be one of the simplest to gain access to foreign equity markets like Singapore.
3. Visit the Singapore Exchange website regularly. It offers market information, breaking daily news, investing trends and background research on equities traded on that exchange. It will also keep you informed about any changes that impact trading hours, specific securities or market holidays that may occur. Also, for more opinion rather than market structure and fact, you may want to follow an established investment blog or two that focuses on the Asia-Pacific region such as Bloomberg BusinessWeek's 'Eye on Asia' or commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle's Asia Pacific Research Blog. There are a multitude of regional experts that offer insights on what to buy and what not to buy on the SGX. However, always consider the source, as lesser-known financial services companies and independent subscription newsletter services may have conflicts of interest that could adversely impact their credibility.
4. Research and become familiar with foreign trading instruments known as contracts for difference (CFDs). They are basically agreements to pay the change in price in a security (whether gain or loss) to a counterparty, and act almost like owning true stock. Among other attributes, CFDs permit selling short without ever taking physical delivery of the underlying security. Many international markets, including Singapore, offer these instruments in lieu of trading actual shares.