VOO/SPY S&P 500 via BPI Feeder Fund, GoTrade, or eToro?

[hiltopp]

Where is the best way to invest Mid to Long-term goal of 5-10 years?

Thanks in advanced to anyone who could share their experiences, funding fees, dividend payouts with US ETF from PHP platforms that I'm considering below:

Platform
Fee
Notes

BPI US Equity Index Feeder Fund
0.75% p.a. + Feeder Fee 0.46%
Feeder Fund cost

GoTrade
Commission and FX Fee 0.45% to 1.3% + Deposit/Withdrawal approx. $5.55
New to market, recently adding fees

eToro
"Hidden" CFDs, Spread, Overnight Fee
CFDs concern for long-term, may need USD bank account?

Sources:

https://www.bpiassetmanagement.com/pages/bpi-invest-us-equity-index-feeder-fund

https://www.heygotrade.com/legal/gotrade-fees.pdf

https://www.etoro.com/trading/fees/

 

[matthew517]

@hiltopp Definitely not eToro. Stay away from that piece of garbage. They practice market arbitrage, where they sell the stock to you for a higher price, and buy the stock from you at a lower price.

 

[nobadee]

@hiltopp Keep in mind that the US imposes a 30% tax on dividends for non-resident aliens. There's also a 40% estate tax on assets over 60,000 USD.

Not sure if the dividend tax is included in BPI's management fees, but GoTrade deducts this tax automatically whenever you get a dividend from a US-based ETF like VOO.

I also recommend Interactive Brokers (IBKR), because it lets you buy a version of VOO (VUAA) that's not covered by the dividend tax.

Edit: And the US estate tax won't apply din pala to VUAA, since it's domiciled in Ireland.

 

[jaxadaisy]

@nobadee Hi medyo dumb question – I looked into VUAA, and it automatically reinvests dividends into the fund. How does that get realized on your end? Does that mean you get additional shares of VUAA instead of cash divs (so parang dividend reinvestment plan)?

 

[nobadee]

@jaxadaisy Here's a good explanation of how accumulating ETFs work: https://indexfundinvestor.eu/2020/12/21/how-do-accumulating-etfs-actually-work/

Bale the ETF uses the dividend cash to buy more shares of the companies of the index it's tracking.

Since I never the receive the dividends directly, I don't have to pay taxes on them.

 

[hiltopp]

@nobadee Thank you for sharing this! Will look into VUAA myself.

 

[matthew517]

@nobadee When does the 40% estate tax get realized?

 

[hobster777]

@matthew517 Estate tax = tax to be paid after you die

 

[matthew517]

@hobster777 So it should not be a problem then?

 

[hobster777]

@matthew517 It won't be a problem if you don't die suddenly while having $60k+ worth of US-domiciled ETFs, or if you're okay with giving the US govt 40% of your $60k+ ETF assets when you die.

 

[reathaagsley]

@hiltopp I use gotrade and etoro. Gotrade actually has better conversion rates but I prefer to use both for diversity.

 

[tracy7]

@hiltopp May I know how you computed the 0.46% Feeder fee of the BPI US Equity Index Feeder Fund? According to the latest KIIDS, the Trustee fee is 0.0637%, Custodianship Fee is 0.001%, Other Fees is 0.03%, and the Total Expense Ratio of the Target Fund (SPDR S&P 500) is 0.0945%. This amounts to 0.1892% only. Did I miss something?

 

[hiltopp]

@tracy7 My apologies as I was looking at the Product Highlight Sheet.pdf) po pala and added them, I am not sure how to compute or how are these Feeder fund fees affect each cash in though

|Custodianship
Fee
|0.0084% payable to the Third-Party
Custodian of the Fund, Bank of New
York Mellon|
|:-|:-|
|External Auditor
Fee

|0.0082% payable to the External Auditor
of the Fund, Isla Lipana & Co.|
|Broker’s Fee
|0.0300% payable to the brokers / dealers
for the buying / selling of shares / units of
the Target Fund|

 

[tracy7]

@hiltopp based on these numbers, it should be 0.046% and not 0.46%. also, the Product Highlight sheet is dated Nov. 2019 so maybe we should use the latest KIIDS instead as reference in computing for the fees. anyway, thanks for responding! I'm also curious as to how these fees are deducted on our investments (during cash in or deducted annually?) maybe others could help answer this good luck OP!

 

[elvinson]

@tracy7 Trust fees are annual hence why most people suggest Gotrade or IBKR to buy ETFs (less convenient but saves money)

 

[dales]

@hiltopp BDO US and Global Equity and other funds are much cheaper in cost.

I suggest that you check all the charges on all major banks.

 

[jrodmc]

@dales 1% trust fee is huge.

https://www.bdo.com.ph/personal/tru...estment-trust-funds/bdo-us-equity-feeder-fund

 

[dales]

@jrodmc My current YTD on BDO global equity fund is around 13%, that just from Jan-Jul 2023. I've regularly been buying since May 2020. 0.5-1% trust fee is okay for me with that kind of return.

 

[hiltopp]

@dales How was your experience personally in BDO US Equity?

 

[dales]

@hiltopp There is no holding period. You can "buy and sell" it when your satisfied with the gain.

The only challenge is how to procure USD since you need to fund your USD account before you can buy.

Been buying since May 2020, when the US and global stocks and equities rebounded vs the PSE.