ETFs available in both Japan and UK
Hi I am a resident in Japan and recently signed up with Interactive Brokers Japan and plan to start investing soon.
One of the reasons I want to do this is to finally do something with my JPY savings which have rapidly lost value over the past few years with the JPY exchange rate.
There’s a possibility I may move back to the UK within the next 6-12 months which is why I am planning to do with interactive brokers in a regular account rather than a NISA which needs to be liquidised before leaving Japan.
I would like to invest in a globally diversified ETF through my IBSJ account now, with the intention of transferring my holdings to IBKR UK when I leave Japan.
I am aware of the following restrictions:
US-domiciled ETFs (such as VT) cannot be purchased by UK residents due to MiFID/PRIIPs regulations. This means even if I buy a US-domiciled ETF now in IBSJ, I would not be able to buy more once I become a UK resident, making it unsuitable as a long term investment vehicle.
I understand that EU/Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs are not available on IBSJ due to Japanese regulations.
Given these restrictions, does anyone have advice or success in identifying / purchasing which ETFs on the IBSJ approved overseas ETF list ARE available to UK residents on IBKR UK and can be transferred when I change residency?
I raised a ticket to IBSJ on this but the response I received was as follows.
‘We are unable to provide a definitive list of ETFs approved for trading across both platforms, as product availability is governed by the regulatory requirements of each entity. The most reliable way to confirm whether a specific ETF can be transferred is through the transfer process itself — our system will flag any ineligible securities at that point.’
The reply was from their AI. I replied that I am wanting to identify the ETFs before purchase - rather than have to do this after purchase and have already purchased ineligible ETFs - which is surely common sense lol. I am awaiting a reply from an actual agent but not confident I can receive any useful guidance from them on this.
Appreciate if anyone has any insights on this topic.