Purchasing a foreign ETF through SBI NISA: Yen or US$?

[Jamo]

There was a discussion about whether it's better value to settle through yen, or convert to US$ then settle. But I couldn't find the thread.

So, does anyone know?

[fools_gold]

I read that the cheapest way is to transfer your yen to your SBI bank account, convert to dollars and then transfer back to your SBI brokerage. There's no fee for transferring dollars between SBI bank and brokerage, and apparently the bank offers better exchange rates.

[Jamo]

Thanks!

[adamu]

Hi Jamo, sorry if this info is too late, I went offline for the holidays.

There was a bit of a discussion here: Re: British - Living in Japan (Opening a trading account)

According to that it looks like the best way is to use SBI's Foreign Exchange account and transfer to your investment account (not the built-in currency converter within the investment account). I also remember reading that they add more on top of the built-in converter when buying directly with Yen, but I can't remember where. This thread would be a good place to collect definitive information in English.