USD Cash Management in HK

[shri]

Whatever the underlying, any dividend of a USA domiciled product paid out overseas will have the 30% WHT on the distribution.......unfortunately.

Years ago, govs and muni distributions used to be delivered without wht. Will buy a small amount of a muni etf to check at HSBC and SGoV at DBS

[ceeeps]

Just to update with HSBC. Did buy some SGOV and the 30% WHT got applied.

This is a shift from previous years.

Just updating on my HSBC (Singapore) experience, after further enquiries they confirmed that the WHT will be applied, and also claim that this can't be subsequently reclaimed. I'm not sure that's actually true, but I don't have a high level of confidence I would ever see the money back so have given up on the idea.

[Windmill65]

It may have been mentioned previously, but in some cases you get your WHT back. I have an IB account. My February monthly statement shows that all WHT in ETF GOVT I paid during 2024 have now been returned to me. GOVT may be the exception though, as I didn't get it back for other ETFs.

[ComedyComrade]

I contacted Standard Chartered HK, they say that they deduct 30% WHT before distributing to us too.

[Morrison]

Just updating on my HSBC (Singapore) experience, after further enquiries they confirmed that the WHT will be applied, and also claim that this can't be subsequently reclaimed. I'm not sure that's actually true, but I don't have a high level of confidence I would ever see the money back so have given up on the idea.

Then you should either contact the authority that regulates HSBC in Singapore or sue them.
They are responsible for correct tax handling.
I had the same problem and got it solved.

[becomjapanHK]

Yes, I think though that these rebates may be with respect to how the distribution paid is defined........for example, some of the ETF providers (like NEOS for example for SPYI, QQQI etc...) have been able to structure their dividend payouts where a high proportion of that dividend is classified as 'Return of Capital' and so I think that this is where the rebates come from........some of mine have taken more than 2 years to come through!

[shri]

It may have been mentioned previously, but in some cases you get your WHT back. I have an IB account. My February monthly statement shows that all WHT in ETF GOVT I paid during 2024 have now been returned to me. GOVT may be the exception though, as I didn't get it back for other ETFs.

What are the ETFs that you were expecting (or hoping for) WHT refunds?

For iShares Fixed Income - https://www.ishares.com/us/literatur...ed.pdf?noembed

[Windmill65]

What are the ETFs that you were expecting (or hoping for) WHT refunds?

For iShares Fixed Income - https://www.ishares.com/us/literatur...ed.pdf?noembed

I wasn't hoping/expecting WHT refunds on any ETFs that I'm holding. I consider it a present that IB refunds me the WHT on GOVT. That's why I emphasized that it was returned on only this ETF.
Thank you for the URL to that document. That's quite a long list.

[hksomewhere]

Has anyone done the homework on wealthtech platforms like Stashaway, Endowus, Syfe, etc.?
They advertise 0 commissions and full rebates on trailer fees. On the other hand, they charge a platform fee of 0.1 - 0.6% depending on the product type. Want to know if there's a clear advantage to using them over bank time deposits, mutual funds, etc.

[aw451]

They all are almost certainly matching your profile to a target portfolio based of your Risk Profile Questionnaire and then rebalancing your portfolio automatically when you top up or there is portfolio drift.

They all claim to have various gimmicks but in essence that's how they work.

Assuming you believe in the Random Walk hypothesis, these are reasonable services albeit with different pricing models.