Updated August 2023

Rakuten Trade Referral Code

First off, if you’re thinking of registering for a Rakuten Trade account, and looking for a referral code, please consider supporting me and the blog by using my referral link hERE or with the code: DIVMAGIC

Just make sure that this section is filled this way:

You will earn 1,000RT (RM10 equivalent) points upon successful activation of your account.

Thank you in advance for supporting me and the blog.

Latest News: Fractional Share Trading on NYSE

Rakuten just released fractional share trading!

My New Investing Strategy Starting 2022

Starting Match 2022, I’ll be using Rakuten Trade to invest in Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (US: VOO) every month. I’ll be putting in about RM1-2K a month depending on my income.

If markets do drop and if a big dip happens, I might be investing a larger amount that month. This will be a very passive investing strategy and I’d like to invite you guys to try and do the same. Instead of picking your stocks and timing the market, buy the whole US market. I think in 10-20 years, you’ll be thanking me.

I won’t go into details about the benefits of long-term passive investing, if this is unheard of to you, I’ll leave you with this write-up on Warren Buffet’s $1 million bet on passive investing vs hedge funds.

May 2023 Portfolio Update

Rakuten Trade: Foreign Trading

As of 27 January 2022, Rakuten Trade will have its foreign trading account go live. It is finally here!

After attending their live briefing, it seems that their fees will be one of the lowest among our local brokerages that offer foreign trading.

As of now, Rakuten Trade only offers US share trading, which includes over 900 1,100 tickers of popular stocks and ETFs. This will slowly increase as we go on and will eventually cover stocks from other countries.

Dividends. Dividends from the US will be subjected to a 30% withholding tax as I’ve mentioned several times. No extra nonsense charges, so you’ll be seeing money come in.

I’ll be updating this article as I continue to test the platform and maybe even write a longer stand-alone review.

I’ve been using it for the last six months and you can find my update(s) on my US Portfolio for 2023 hERE.

Rakuten Trade All Brokerage Fees

A few key highlights of their fee structure:

For a retail investor like me, it’ll be safe to say that Rakuten Trade offers the cheapest option right now.
With their new foreign trading fees, and the ability to trade in different currencies, I’ve done a bit of research with the Rakuten Trade team.

So, in short, if you’re planning to buy US stocks, assuming no currency exchange fluctuations of course

< Below RM700 trading value – trading in MYR wins

> Above RM700 trading value – trading in USD wins

Forex Rate

Conversion rates will be competitive as per the briefing I attended. This will have to be tried and tested when they eventually go live.

Registration and Activating Foreign Trading

With the fees out of the way, I urge you guys to go ahead and open and activate your Rakuten Trade Foreign account right now. It can be done 100% online. Go register, activate and test the platform out together with me.

Step 1: Open your Rakuten Trade Cash Upfront Account

If you’re new to Rakuten Trade, you’ll need to first open a basic Rakuten Trade Cash Upfront account. Please consider supporting me and the blog by using my referral link hERE with the code: DIVMAGIC. You’ll also receive 1,000 free RT points (updated for 2023) which can be used to offset your brokerage fees!

Step 2: Activate Foreign Trading

Then, you’ll have to log in to your Rakuten Trade account and activate Foreign Trading. This can be done via the website or through their app. If you’re already an existing Rakuten Trade user, skip Step 1 and just proceed with Step 2.

Rakuten Trade – One of Malaysia’s Best Brokerage

Moving on, this is not a Sponsored Post.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, Rakuten Trade has reported an unprecedented number of sign-ups and activations.

In part, due to clients being allowed to register for and activate their accounts online.

Rakuten Trade activates 11,000 new accounts in March, amid MCO period

As reported by The Edge Markets

How I Use Rakuten Trade

For all Malaysian retail brokers like myself, I think Rakuten Trade is the best brokerage we have available here. I’m a long-term investor and typically make about 10-20 trades a year, depending on the market’s performance.

Low Brokerage

Rakuten Trade is perfect for me due to its competitive and low brokerage fees. As of 2021, most brokerages have lowered their fees to similar levels. Rakuten Trade is among the lowest.

And you know me, I always go for low fees. Fees add up. In my few years of stock investing, my fees add up to RM3.6K. And that is me being a long-term, slow investor. Remember to always keep your fees low.

RT Points

Apart from its low and competitive brokerage fees, Rakuten Trade is the only Malaysian brokerage that offers a form of cashback/reward for every trade made. You get RT points for trades and they have regular events that earn you even more points throughout your stock investing journey. And these points can add up. I usually cash in for AirAsia BIG points. You can also cash in your RT points for Bonuslink and Boost.

100% Online Registration

Another huge advantage of Rakuten Trade is its fully online registration. This has been a big hit, especially among younger retail investors. It can be a hindrance for the older generation but if you find it tough to sign up online, you can always walk into their premises and get help there.

FAQ

With this huge amount of sign-ups, I’ve also received plenty of questions from first-time investors as well as veteran ones. With a fully online brokerage being something totally new in Malaysia.

I’ve taken the time to compile a list of frequently asked questions below and sent them to Rakuten Trade for their official answers (highlighted in blue).

1.            Is it safe to trade with Rakuten Trade?

Yes, Rakuten Trade is licensed by Securities Commission Malaysia and holds a restricted Capital Markets Services License (“CMSL”) to deal in listed securities and to provide investment advice.

I get asked this question the most! And the answer is 100% yes. The SC does not willy nilly hand out brokerage licenses.

2.            How long does it take for me to withdraw my money?

If you perform a withdrawal before the cut off time (3pm on working days), the withdrawal will be reflected in your account the same day. After 3PM, we will process your withdrawal in the next working day.

So, for those that have asked me if there are problems with withdrawal, the answer is no. In fact, Rakuten Trade is one of the fastest in processing your withdrawal requests.

3.            I hear the shares held won’t be under my name.

Rakuten Trade accounts are nominee accounts and you will be the beneficiary of the account.

A nominee account is a securities account opened by an authorised nominee in accordance with Bursa Rules. With Rakuten Trade, your CDS account is held under a company’s name KENANGA NOMINEES (TEMPATAN/ASING) SDN BHD RAKUTEN TRADE SDN BHD FOR [CLIENT NAME]

4.            When do I receive my dividend payments?

As a Nominees CDS account holder, it may take an additional 3-5 trading days from the dividends payments date before it gets credited into your RT trading account

5.            Will Rakuten Trade charge for corporate actions in the future?

Rakuten Trade currently doesn’t charge a fee for corporate action related activities and has yet to have plans to change this.

6.            I’m already trading with another broker, how can I transfer my existing shares to Rakuten Trade?

You just need to inform your current broker of your intention to switch. A physical share transfer form with a transfer fee of RM10.00 per counter will be submitted. Upon successful transfer, you will receive 1000 RT Points.  

My Full Review of Rakuten Trade

With their, rewards program, low fees, and no handling fees for corporate actions, Rakuten Trade is the top broker currently in Malaysia.

Rakuten Trade Advantages

1. You earn RT points whenever you trade.
As mentioned earlier, Rakuten Trade points or RT Points are what you earn when you trade or execute any trading exercise via their platform. The points can then be redeemed.

No other broker offers this!

2. Low brokerage fees starting from RM1 up to RM100.
Of all the brokers in Malaysia, Rakuten Trade offers the lowest commission rate at RM1 per trade for transactions below RM700. This is why Rakuten Trade is one of the best brokerages to start with when you’re a beginner.

3. No handling fees on corporate actions.
You open a Nominee CDS Account instead of a Direct CDS account with Rakuten Trade. This means no more manual paperwork to be done on your end for corporate actions.

Instead, these requests are handled by Rakuten Trade based on customers’ instructions from the website (online). They even absorb that revenue stamp guys and girls!

Now, this is a huge one, you no longer have to queue up at the post office to hand in your DRP forms for example.

4. Simple and fast account application. 100% online
Unlike all other brokers in Malaysia, you can apply for and activate your Rakuten Trade account online.

5. Online dividend tax vouchers
You receive your dividend vouchers in your inbox instead of in the mail. Save the trees!

6. High digital engagement with users
Rakuten Trade regularly posts updates and research on their website and social media accounts.

7. Clean User Interface
Rakuten Trade recently revamped their platform and it is now, even more, user-friendly. After using other brokerages for so long, Rakuten Trade’s feel much more modern. Try it!

Rakuten Trade Disadvantages

Most of these are due to Rakuten Trade being a nominee account instead of a direct CDS account. First off, let me assure you that your money will be safe albeit not directly under your name. Rakuten Trade is regulated by SC and your money is placed with a Trustee. In the unlikely case that Rakuten Trade goes bust, your money is held by a third-party trustee. Your money is safe.

The pros of a nominee account are that they will handle all the corporate actions on your behalf for free as mentioned above. No more long queues and RM10 setem hasils at post offices. This is a huge win for me as it saves time. The small disadvantages are listed below.

1. Late dividend tax vouchers.
You may receive your dividend vouchers a little late as the dividends will first need to be processed.

I do feel obliged to mention this as I get messages from readers asking me why they have yet to receive their dividends when their friends have. Your dividend will take around 3-5 trading days to process given your RT account is a nominee CDS account.

2. You cannot apply for an IPO.
Being a nominee account, you’re unable to apply for a company’s initial public offering.

This isn’t a big deal for me. To date, I’ve never subscribed to an IPO. If you, however, are big on IPOs, Rakuten Trade might not be for you.

3. Additional steps for attending AGM/EGMs
Due to it being a nominee account, to attend AGM/EGMs, you’ll have to email your request to Customer Service ten (10) working days before the AGM/EGM.

Register Now

As mentioned above, if you’re thinking of registering for a Rakuten Trade account, please consider supporting me and the blog by using my referral link hERE with the code: DIVMAGIC

Just make sure that this section is filled this way:

You will earn 1000RT points upon successful activation of your account.

Thank you in advance for the support!

End.

If you’re new to investing, you can start reading my Guide to Stock Investment.

To end this, I’d like to emphasize that this is not a Sponsored Post.

I am 100% backing one of Malaysia’s modern brokerages and recommend it to all new investors.

As always, I am on Facebook and Instagram. Follow, keep up to date.