If you don't know, you may not benefit at all from the difference between the commission and the points, or you may not be able to take advantage of the points redemption!
What is online securities?
The once much-discussed “20 million yen for retirement” problem and the recent economic uncertainty have led to an increase in the number of people investing in Japan. In recent years, in particular, the popularity of online securities has increased due to a surge in the number of individual investors who trade stocks and exchange rates at home due to self-restraint in going out.
Online securities are services that do not require a physical store and allow users to trade stocks and other securities over the Internet using smartphones and personal computers. Investing was once thought to be something only a few wealthy people did, but nowadays, everyone invests. Online securities companies have also been expanding their services for investment beginners in recent years.
Opening an account with an online securities firm is free of charge, and procedures are basically completed online. For example, SBI Securities, one of the online securities companies, offers a service that allows customers to earn T Points, V Points, Ponta Points, d Points, and JAL Points by investing, as well as a service that allows customers to invest using these points.
Even beginners who are afraid to start investing with their own money will find the hurdle much lower if they use their points to invest. In terms of ease of starting to invest, simplicity of procedures, and the geekiness of accumulating points, online securities are definitely a service that can be recommended to beginners.
However, there are more than 15 online securities companies like SBI Securities. Therefore, the first problem that beginners encounter when they start investing in online securities is “which service should I use? Here are some points to consider when choosing an online securities brokerage.
Points to consider when choosing an online brokerage
First of all, you should choose a securities company according to what you are going to invest in. For example, if you are planning to start NISA, it is better to use online securities that have a large number of stocks for NISA.
If you have already decided what you are going to invest in, you should choose an online securities company that is suitable for that purpose. An overview of each service will be introduced later.
If you do not want to pay any unnecessary commissions, compare the commissions of each company and make your choice. Normally, commissions are charged per transaction, but some online securities, such as Matsui Securities, determine commissions based on the total amount of transactions in a day.
For example, if you trade small amounts several times a day, Matsui Securities is very advantageous because it does not charge commissions for up to 500,000 yen worth of transactions per day. On the other hand, if you are planning to make a long-term investment of 1 million yen, a service that calculates commissions for each transaction is recommended.
Another option is to choose an online securities company based on the ease of accumulating and using points. For example, SBI Securities offers 1% V-Points if you use a Sumitomo Mitsui credit card for “Credit Card Accumulation. In addition, Platinum Preferred card holders can earn up to 5% back.
Similarly, Rakuten Securities offers a 0.5% to 1% return on Rakuten points if you use your Rakuten card to accumulate funds. If you are already using Sumitomo Mitsui Card or Rakuten Card on a daily basis to accumulate points, you may choose online securities accordingly.
As you can see, there are a number of factors to consider when choosing an online securities company, so it is safe to choose one with a high overall strength. Therefore, among the online securities companies, we would like to introduce three companies that are highly popular and offer a good number of stocks and services.
If you are still undecided about which online securities company is best for you, you will not go wrong if you choose one of these three companies.
