More dumb investment questions for Americans

[Decchan]

Hi Majessa, thank you for letting me know about this! I have already put a little money in Nomura, but depositing and buying ETFs has been a little bumpy so I am not sure if Im committed to using them over the long haul. I was wary to call Ameritrade because of the phone costs (I still have never found a cheap way to call international numbers from Japan) and because I could not find much supporting evidence that they still accepted expat customers based in Japan, but I will definitely look into setting up an account now!

Many brokerages have toll-free numbers that you can call from Japan. I know I have used them in the past for Fidelity and Schwab and while I haven't actually had to call TD Ameritrade they have a guide for contacting them toll-free from outside the US:

https://www.tdameritrade.com/why-td-ame ... ct-us.page

Thanks, for some reason I thought TD Ameritrade did not have an 800 number (maybe Im thinking of Shwab)

[sudachiken]

Quite an old thread (well, 2 months or so old), I was wondering if there was any update for opening a TD Ameritrade account while in Japan?
Looking to open an account as well and was wondering if any other information is necessary.
In any case, I'll try calling this week! Glad to see that someone was able to open an account!

[sudachiken]

So on a lark, I tried to open an account with TD Ameritrade online today. After inputting the first page of personal info I got this message:

We can’t open your account at this time.
Based on your information, we are not currently able to open an account for you. As a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, TD Ameritrade does not open accounts for residents of certain countries. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a New Client Consultant, call us at 800-454-9272.

I actually just opened an Ameritrade account because I saw it mentioned in this thread! I did get the same error page when I tried to open the account online, but when I called the overseas customer support number they told me that they can open an account for a US citizen even if they live in a country they don't open accounts with (like Japan). I just had to fill in the application by hand. They sent me the forms by email, I filled them in, scanned them and sent them back. The people I spoke with on the phone were very helpful, and said it was okay that my address and phone number were Japanese. It only took a few days to get the account opened and funded.

I was really glad to find this thread since I thought that Interactive Brokers was the only option for US citizens wanting to open a new account, but also wasn't a fan of the monthly inactivity fee. So if you haven't already gone with IB or Nomura, Ameritrade is still an option

Just finished talking to one of the TD Ameritrade Customer Support Representatives on the phone. I mentioned the same as the above (US citizen, living in Japan). They said that I should be fine with opening an account online as normal. I mentioned the error that comes up and they said as long as I have a mailing address in the US, I should be able to open an account. They emphasized that since I'm a US citizen, not a diplomat or military, it should be fine. Although I mentioned I was working and living in Japan and the person seemed to think I was in Japan for business. (Well I'm working here, so technically that is correct, I suppose.) They seemed quite unsure about the above situation. Perhaps it was a special case? I was hoping to get a straight answer and be able to open an account this week...

I'm going to try to call again and see if I can get the same results as above.

Quick question. If I were to use my US mailing address, would there be any real issues besides getting things mailed and such?

[captainspoke]

...
Quick question. If I were to use my US mailing address, would there be any real issues besides getting things mailed and such?

All that sounds great--good luck with this. And thanks for the report.

As for mailing addresses, I'd hope that they have the option to go paperless. For statements, tax forms, trade confirmations, prospectuses, etc.

[Quinoa]

Quick question. If I were to use my US mailing address, would there be any real issues besides getting things mailed and such?

I went through the application process back in July as a US citizen. I have my mailing address set to where I live in Japan, and I just have all my statements delivered electronically. Other things like my PIN and the getting started paperwork made it through via the regular mail just fine (but since I wanted to start putting money in immediately, I was able to call and get my online account set up without having to wait the extra month or two waiting for the snail mail to arrive.

[sudachiken]

Managed to get someone who was able to provide the same process as mentioned here. Luckily I don't have to worry about using my US mailing address. Took a bit of explaning to get them to come to this conclusion. Much faster than the previous person I talked to.

Got the forms and also was told the process of how to send it by email. Essentially using their moveit service to send documents to their international department. Or I could fax it.

I went through the application process back in July as a US citizen. I have my mailing address set to where I live in Japan, and I just have all my statements delivered electronically. Other things like my PIN and the getting started paperwork made it through via the regular mail just fine (but since I wanted to start putting money in immediately, I was able to call and get my online account setup without having to wait the extra month or two waiting for the snail mail to arrive.

Sounds like the right way to go. I was concerned about the starting paperwork from them might take awhile. I will have to look into contacting them to get things started so I don't have to wait for the paperwork. Thank you for the heads-up regarding this.

Looking forward to finally starting my account and not having to deal with the Japanese brokers. Goodbye my Monex account!

[Quinoa]

No worries! Once your application is approved, you should get an email informing you of the Client Services number to call to get your online account setup. When I did that I think I had to be on hold for something like 45 minutes due to their reduced staffing, but otherwise no issues getting that done over the phone.

[sudachiken]

No worries! Once your application is approved, you should get an email informing you of the Client Services number to call to get your online account setup. When I did that I think I had to be on hold for something like 45 minutes due to their reduced staffing, but otherwise no issues getting that done over the phone.

Thanks again for the information! Finally got the account set up, not without a few hiccups though. Below is my experience, in case anyone is thinking of opening an account with TDA.

Experience opening a TD Ameritrade Account as an overseas US citizen


1) Confirmed over the phone that I was living in Japan, but was a US citizen with a valid SSN. Also not a diplomat or active military service member.
2) Filled out the PDF form that they emailed me to their secure email system (MoveIt)
3) Received the confirmation email and was told to wait 1-3 business days for the account to be created.

Where the fun begins...

1) They had input my email wrong and I did not receive the confirmation email for the account after waiting a week.
2) I had to contact them twice before being told that my account was created a few days earlier
3) Zip code was entered as 000000, so the account was restricted and I had to call them to fix and verify. They requested my previous US residential address
3) Cannot edit my Personal Information (Email, marital status, address, etc.) for some reason (No option to select how to receive Security code to verify identity)
4) Multiple emails back and forth over a few days until finally getting my email address fixed (The New Account representative I was emailing did not answer my questions nor check the problem I was having)
5) I noticed my employer address that they inputted was the same as my residential address

My advice
- Check all your account information when you log in for the first time
- If you contacted them about something, follow up if you do not hear from them
- Support over the phone seems to be the better option for support, although you may have to wait up to 10 minutes or more
- When calling, use Skype. It's free! (As people here have mentioned)

Besides not being able to fix my Personal Information, it looks like the account is finally up and running. Needless to say, the process was not as smooth as I had hoped, but I am glad that I was able to get an account opened. Now to get around to putting money in there. I'm planning on using TransferWise to fund the account from my Japanese bank account.

Good luck to anyone thinking of opening a TD Ameritrade account! It is possible!

[jeronimoski]

So on a lark, I tried to open an account with TD Ameritrade online today. After inputting the first page of personal info I got this message:

We can’t open your account at this time.
Based on your information, we are not currently able to open an account for you. As a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, TD Ameritrade does not open accounts for residents of certain countries. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a New Client Consultant, call us at 800-454-9272.

I actually just opened an Ameritrade account because I saw it mentioned in this thread! I did get the same error page when I tried to open the account online, but when I called the overseas customer support number they told me that they can open an account for a US citizen even if they live in a country they don't open accounts with (like Japan). I just had to fill in the application by hand. They sent me the forms by email, I filled them in, scanned them and sent them back. The people I spoke with on the phone were very helpful, and said it was okay that my address and phone number were Japanese. It only took a few days to get the account opened and funded.

I was really glad to find this thread since I thought that Interactive Brokers was the only option for US citizens wanting to open a new account, but also wasn't a fan of the monthly inactivity fee. So if you haven't already gone with IB or Nomura, Ameritrade is still an option

Wow. Do you still have the blank forms? I would love to open up and account with them.

[jeronimoski]

Just got off the phone with them. Was a bit nervous cause at first she said 'no' and then put me on hold to talk to someone in their internal department. Then she came back and asked if I was in the military or a diplomat which I am not. So she sent me the forms. I hope everything works out! I'll keep you posted.