You’re lying awake at 2 in the morning, doing mental math. Your salary increase this year? Maybe 8%. The price of rice, transport, your kid’s tuition? Up 12%, maybe more. That sinking feeling in your chest isn’t paranoia, it’s reality. Your savings account sits there earning 4%, which means you’re actively getting poorer every single day.
You’ve heard the stock market could help, but the stories terrify you. Crashes. Scams. People losing everything overnight. Here’s what nobody tells you: staying “safe” in your savings account is the riskiest move you’re making right now. Let’s change that, together, starting today.
Keynote: Stock Market Investment
Stock market investment in Bangladesh through DSE and CSE offers retail investors 15-25% annual returns when approached systematically. Opening a BO account costs just BDT 150-450, requires basic NID documentation, and provides access to blue-chip stocks across pharmaceuticals, banking, and telecommunications sectors that historically outpace inflation and traditional savings instruments.
Why That Knot in Your Stomach Is Actually Rational
The Fear You Won’t Say Out Loud
You’re not scared of stocks themselves. You’re terrified of regret and judgment.
One wrong move feels like months of sacrifice flushed down the drain. My neighbor Kamal, a mid-level bank manager, still won’t touch the stock market three years after his brother-in-law lost 60,000 taka in a single week. It wasn’t even Kamal’s money, but the shame at family gatherings haunts him.
Family pressure makes every financial decision feel like it’s being watched and graded. When your uncle asks about your investments at the next wedding, you want to sound smart, not foolish. The real fear is looking stupid, not just losing money.
The Silent Thief Already Robbing You
Here’s the number that should wake everyone up: your 1 lakh BDT today will only buy what 85,000 BDT bought three years ago.
Traditional savings accounts offer 2-4% interest while inflation runs at 7-10% annually in Bangladesh. You’re losing 3-6% of your purchasing power every single year by “playing it safe.” This isn’t a future problem. It’s happening right now while you read this sentence.
My colleague Rima kept 5 lakh taka in her savings account for four years because it felt secure. When she finally calculated the real value after inflation, she realized she’d effectively lost almost 1 lakh taka in purchasing power. The bank didn’t steal it. Time and inflation did.
The Greed Trap That Makes Everything Worse
You see a neighbor bragging about a 40% gain and suddenly your careful plan feels stupid.
FOMO pushes you to buy at the worst possible moment, when everyone else is greedy. Then the market corrects, you panic sell, and the cycle of pain continues. I watched this exact pattern destroy my cousin Rafiq’s confidence. He entered the market in 2020 during a buying frenzy, ignored all fundamentals, and sold everything three months later at a 30% loss.
But here’s what he missed: the investors who bought during that same correction and held for 18 months saw 45-60% gains. The market didn’t fail him. His emotional reactions did.
What You’re Actually Buying When You Buy a Share
It’s Not Paper, It’s Ownership
Imagine your neighborhood tea stall suddenly opened five new locations and profits doubled. If you owned even 1% of that business, you’d celebrate because your slice just got more valuable.
That’s exactly what a stock is: a tiny ownership piece of a real, operating business. When Grameenphone sells more SIM cards, you profit. When Square Pharmaceuticals exports more medicine to international markets, you profit. When Walton manufactures and sells more refrigerators, you profit.
This isn’t abstract. When you buy shares in Square Pharma, you literally own a microscopic fraction of their factories in Gazipur, their distribution networks, their research teams. The financial statements you’ll read aren’t fiction. They’re reporting on assets you partially own.
The Two Ways Your Money Grows While You Sleep
Dividends are your share of company profits, paid out like rent just for owning the stock. Some companies like British American Tobacco Bangladesh or Grameenphone pay regular dividends because they generate steady cash and want to reward shareholders.
Capital appreciation happens when the share price rises because the business grows stronger. The company reinvests profits into expansion, new products, better efficiency. The market recognizes this growth and values your ownership stake higher.
Some companies give steady dividends, offering income. Others reinvest everything for growth, offering appreciation potential. Your job is matching the right type to your actual financial goals, not chasing whatever’s trending in the group chat this week.
The Casino Myth, Permanently Destroyed
Gambling means betting on random chance with odds stacked against you over time. The house always wins because the math guarantees it.
Investing means buying productive assets that create value in the real economy. When you own shares in a pharmaceutical company, that company’s scientists are developing new drugs, sales teams are securing contracts, and factories are producing medicine that people need. Real work creates real value, which flows back to you.
The casino comparison falls apart under examination. In a casino, nothing productive happens. In the stock market, patient owners of quality businesses historically win because those businesses solve problems and generate profits.
The Psychological Game Nobody Warns You About
Why Smart People Still Lose Money
DALBAR’s 2024 research found that investors underperformed the S&P 500 by 8.48% annually. The market itself went up, but human behavior destroyed returns through panic and greed.
It wasn’t the stocks that failed. It was the emotional reactions of the people holding them. A software engineer earning 1.2 lakh monthly can analyze complex algorithms at work but still panic-sell quality stocks during a temporary 15% dip. Intelligence doesn’t protect you from fear.
Your feelings can be more expensive than any brokerage fee you’ll ever pay. Commission might cost you 0.5% per trade. Emotional decisions cost you decades of compounding growth.
Your Brain on Red and Green Numbers
EEG studies show your brain literally processes financial losses in the same area as physical pain. The red color on your DSE mobile app isn’t just information. It’s triggering your fight-or-flight response, the same system that kept your ancestors alive when they encountered predators.
Experienced investors show calmer brain activity during market volatility because they’ve trained emotional discipline over time. This means staying calm during downturns is a learnable skill, not a personality trait you’re born with.
I learned this the hard way. My first major holding dropped 22% over six weeks in 2019. I couldn’t sleep. I checked the price seventeen times a day. Then I forced myself to stop looking for a month and focus only on the company’s quarterly earnings report. The fundamentals were solid. The price recovered and eventually hit new highs. My anxiety was real, but it was also completely useless.
The Group Chat Rumor Mill
A “hot tip” feels safe because three of your friends believe it too. But crowds are most confident at market tops and most terrified at market bottoms.
Create your personal rule right now: no buy without a written reason and a clear exit plan. If you can’t explain the business in simple terms to your spouse or your teenage nephew, you’re not ready to own it.
The best investment I ever made came from ignoring my friends. They were all buying a textile company because of expansion rumors. I researched their debt levels, profit margins, and competitive position instead.
I passed. Six months later, the stock crashed 40% when the expansion financing fell through. My friends blamed the market. I blamed their decision to trust gossip over data.
Before You Risk a Single Taka, Build Your Foundation
Your Emergency Fund Is Your Courage
Without 3 to 6 months of expenses saved separately, every market dip feels like a life-threatening emergency. This isn’t “extra” money. It’s the foundation that allows you to invest without panic.
Start with one month of expenses, then build gradually while you learn about stocks. If your monthly expenses are 40,000 taka, aim for at least 1.2 lakh in emergency savings before you invest seriously. You need “sleep money” before you ever touch “growth money.”
My friend Salma started investing with only 30,000 taka in emergency savings. When her daughter needed unexpected medical treatment three months later, she was forced to sell her stocks at a loss to cover costs. The market didn’t fail her. Her planning did.
The Debt Trap Too Many Ignore
If you’re paying 18% interest on credit card debt, that’s killing you faster than any stock can save you. Paying off high-interest debt first is often the most profitable “investment” you can make.
The honest rule: clear debt above 10% interest before investing, or split your focus 70/30. Put 70% of your extra money toward debt elimination and 30% toward beginning your investment education with small positions. This keeps you motivated while being mathematically sound.
No stock investment will reliably beat the guaranteed 18% return you get by eliminating credit card debt. I don’t care how exciting a pharmaceutical IPO looks, pay off the debt first.
Know Your Timeline Before You Pick Anything
Money you need in 2 years has no business being in stocks, period. Short-term goals under 5 years belong in fixed deposits or savings, not equities.
Long-term goals of 10 or more years can handle volatility because time smooths out the chaos. The 2010 DSE crash looked catastrophic if you needed the money in 2011. But if you held until 2015, you recovered and then some.
Write this down physically: “I will not need this money until [specific year].” Put it on your wall where you’ll see it during moments of panic. This single sentence will save you from more bad decisions than any technical analysis ever could.
The Bangladesh Reality: Your Actual First Steps
Opening Your BO Account Without the Confusion
BO stands for Beneficiary Owner’s Account. It’s your mandatory “license” to own shares in Bangladesh, maintained by the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited or CDBL. You can do this entirely online now through any licensed broker’s website.
Required documents are straightforward: NID copy, recent passport-size photo, bank account details, and the opening fee ranging from BDT 150 to 480 depending on the brokerage house. For Non-Resident Bangladeshis, you can open an NRB BO Account from abroad with your passport and foreign residency proof.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) regulates this entire process, so stick with BSEC-approved TREC holder brokerage houses. You can verify legitimate brokers on the official BSEC website at https://sec.gov.bd/home/iguide before submitting any documents or fees.
Here’s what nobody tells you: some brokers offer free BO account opening but charge higher trading commissions later. Others charge upfront but offer better ongoing rates. Calculate based on your expected trading frequency, not just the initial cost.
Understanding Fees Before They Surprise You
| Fee Type | Typical Amount | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| BO Account Opening | BDT 150 to 450 | One-time initial fee |
| CDBL Annual Maintenance | BDT 450 | Yearly charge for account upkeep |
| Brokerage Commission | 0.25% to 0.50% of trade value | Every buy or sell transaction |
| LAGA Commission | 0.015% | Applied by BSEC on transactions |
| IPO Application | BDT 5 to 10 | Per IPO application submitted |
| BEFTN or bKash Deposit | Variable (BDT 10 to 50) | Funding your trading account |
BSEC caps maximum brokerage at 1% of transaction value, but most competitive brokers charge far less. Ask your broker for their exact fee structure in writing before your first trade. Factor these into your calculations so they never feel like hidden costs.
Capital gains tax in Bangladesh is 0% if you hold stocks for 5 or more years, making long-term investing even more attractive from a tax efficiency standpoint.
When the Market Actually Opens
Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange typically trade from 10 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon, Sunday through Thursday. Trading hours can occasionally change for special circumstances, so always verify through your broker’s mobile app or the official DSE website at https://dsebd.org/.
Busy professional tip: place limit orders in the morning before work, let them execute while you’re in meetings. You don’t need to watch the screen all day. In fact, not watching constantly will probably make you richer.
The settlement cycle in Bangladesh is T plus 2, meaning your shares are officially credited to your BO account two business days after purchase. Plan accordingly if you need to sell quickly, though quick selling is usually a sign of poor initial planning.
The Only Two Strategies Most Beginners Actually Need
Index Funds vs Individual Stocks: The Core Choice
| Factor | Index Funds or Mutual Funds | Individual Stocks |
|---|---|---|
| Research Time Required | Minimal, buy and hold approach | High, continuous monitoring needed |
| Diversification | Instant across many companies | Manual, requires multiple purchases |
| Emotional Stress Level | Lower, market-wide performance | Higher, single company risk |
| Initial Capital Needed | Often lower minimums | Can be higher for diversification |
| Best For | Hands-off long-term wealth building | Active learners with time and discipline |
Index funds or mutual funds in Bangladesh automatically spread your investment across 30, 50, or more companies at once. Individual stocks let you own specific businesses you understand and believe in deeply.
Most people should start with mutual funds managed by companies like Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), then add individual stocks once comfortable. This isn’t a weakness. It’s intelligent risk management while you’re learning.
I started with mutual funds for my first year. Boring? Absolutely. Profitable? Yes. More importantly, it taught me market rhythms without the stress of picking individual companies. When I finally bought my first individual stock, I understood what normal volatility felt like.
Dollar-Cost Averaging: Your Anti-Panic Weapon
Invest the same fixed amount every single month, regardless of whether the market is up or down. When prices are high, you automatically buy fewer shares. When prices are low, you automatically buy more.
This mathematically averages out your entry price over time and removes the “am I buying at the top?” anxiety that paralyzes people. Historical data shows consistent monthly investing outperforms trying to time the market in 80% of scenarios.
Let’s make this concrete. You invest BDT 10,000 every month into a blue-chip stock. In January, it costs 100 taka per share, so you buy 100 shares. In February, it drops to 80 taka, so you buy 125 shares. In March, it’s 90 taka, you buy 111 shares. Your average cost per share is 89.47 taka, better than if you’d invested all 30,000 in January.
The beauty is that this works without prediction. You don’t need to forecast market movements. The math handles it automatically.
The Boring Portfolio That Actually Works
Warren Buffett’s advice for his own family after he’s gone: 90% in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund, 10% in short-term government bonds. For Bangladesh context, adapt this wisdom.
Consider allocating 60 to 70% in blue-chip stocks or mutual funds that track the DSEX or DS30 indices. Put 20 to 30% in bonds, fixed deposits, or Sanchayapatra for stability. Reserve 10% as “learning money” for trying individual stock picks and experimenting with analysis techniques.
“Learning money” is psychologically crucial. It lets you scratch the itch to try exciting investments without risking your core wealth. When that 10% performs poorly, you learn valuable lessons. When it performs well, you’ve tested a strategy you can expand.
Keep costs low, rules clear, and ego completely out of the equation. The moment you start thinking you’re smarter than the market is the moment you’re about to lose money.
Reading the Bangladesh Market Without Getting Lost
The Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight
DSE’s average Price-to-Earnings ratio sits around 10 to 15, significantly lower than global averages of 20 to 25. Translation: Bangladesh stocks are mathematically cheaper relative to their earnings.
Asia Frontier Capital, which analyzes frontier markets professionally, predicts a bullish turnaround for the Bangladesh capital market in the second half of 2025. They compare our current position to Pakistan and Sri Lanka 18 to 24 months before their markets surged 52 to 88%.
This doesn’t guarantee anything. Markets are unpredictable short-term. But it suggests potential upside for patient investors who enter systematically rather than waiting for confirmation that everyone else has already captured.
The DSEX index tracks the overall market, DS30 follows the 30 largest companies, and DSES Shariah index focuses on Shariah-compliant investments. Understanding these benchmarks helps you measure your own portfolio performance honestly.
What Those Numbers Actually Mean
P/E ratio shows how many years of current profit you’re paying for. A P/E of 12 means you’re paying 12 times the company’s annual earnings to own the stock. Lower P/E generally suggests undervaluation, but verify the company is actually profitable and growing.
Check earnings per share over 5 years to see if profit is growing steadily or erratically. A company with smooth 8 to 12% annual EPS growth is often safer than one with wild swings between 40% gains and 20% losses.
Dividend yield shows the annual dividend as a percentage of the current share price. A 5% dividend yield means if you buy the stock today, you’ll receive 5% of your investment back as dividends annually, assuming the company maintains the same payout.
Avoid Z-category stocks, which are the speculation zone with suspended trading or serious regulatory concerns. Stick to A and B category stocks until you’ve mastered the basics and can genuinely understand what you’re evaluating.
Sectors Growing With Bangladesh’s Economy
Pharmaceuticals export globally and benefit from domestic healthcare expansion. Companies like Square Pharmaceuticals and Beximco Pharma have demonstrated consistent growth and international quality certifications. Historical returns in this sector averaged 18 to 22% over the past three years.
Banking and financial services grow as more people enter the formal economy. BRAC Bank, Eastern Bank, and others benefit from increasing credit demand and digital financial services adoption. This sector averaged 12 to 16% returns but watch for Non-Performing Loan ratios and regulatory changes.
Telecommunications remain stable with steady cash flows and dividends. Grameenphone Limited dominates market share and pays reliable dividends, making it popular among income-focused investors. Three-year average returns of 15 to 20%.
Consumer goods and manufacturing, including companies like Walton Hi-Tech Industries, benefit from rising middle-class spending. These businesses are easy to understand because you see their products daily.
Avoid sectors you don’t personally understand, no matter how “hot” they seem in news headlines. If you can’t explain how a cement company makes money and what drives its margins, you shouldn’t own it yet.
The Mistakes That Keep People Poor in This Market
Panic Selling: The Wealth Destroyer
Historical DSE data shows every major crash has been followed by full recovery and new highs. The 2010 crash felt apocalyptic. Investors who sold locked in permanent losses. Those who held through the pain and even bought more during the fear recovered fully by 2014 and profited substantially by 2017.
Selling during a dip turns a temporary “paper loss” into a permanent real loss. As long as you own the shares, the loss isn’t realized. It’s just numbers fluctuating on a screen. The moment you sell in panic, you’ve converted potential recovery into guaranteed loss.
The investors who got rich were the ones who held through every scary headline. Your edge isn’t prediction. It’s the discipline to do nothing when everyone else is panicking.
I know someone who sold 50,000 taka worth of banking stocks during the March 2020 COVID panic. Those same shares were worth 78,000 taka by December 2020. His panic cost him 28,000 taka in just nine months, a 56% opportunity cost.
Chasing Hot Tips and Group Chat Rumors
The stock that “everyone” is talking about is usually near its peak already. By the time a tip reaches your WhatsApp group, insiders and early movers have already profited and are looking for buyers to sell to.
Your research beats their rumor every single time, even if it feels slower. Create a 48-hour cooling-off rule: no buying based on tips for at least two days. If the opportunity is real, it will still be there in 48 hours. If it’s not, you just saved yourself from a trap.
The biggest winners in my portfolio came from companies I researched for weeks, not tips I heard at tea stalls. The biggest losers came from “can’t miss” opportunities that my neighbor’s friend’s broker recommended.
Putting Everything in One Sector or Company
If all your money is in banking stocks and the Bangladesh Bank introduces stricter lending regulations, you’re devastated. Diversification isn’t complicated: own 10 to 15 companies across different industries.
Mix growth stocks for appreciation with dividend stocks for steady income. A portfolio might include Square Pharma for growth, Grameenphone for dividends, BRAC Bank for financial exposure, and Walton for manufacturing.
Rebalance once a year by selling some winners and buying undervalued positions. This forces you to “sell high and buy low” systematically, which is the exact opposite of what your emotions want to do.
Never put more than 10% of your investment portfolio into a single company, no matter how confident you feel. Confidence is not the same as certainty, and the market doesn’t care about your feelings.
Building Your Repeatable Investment System
Your One-Page Personal Plan
Write this down physically and keep it visible. Target monthly investment amount, even if it’s just Tk 5,000 to start. The amount matters less than the consistency.
Product choice: specific blue-chip stock names, mutual fund selection, or index fund target. Be explicit. “I will invest in ICB AMCL First Mutual Fund” is better than “I’ll buy some mutual funds.”
Time horizon: the exact year you’ll need this money. Not “retirement” but “2045 when I turn 60.” Specificity creates commitment.
Rule for dips: “I will not change my plan for 30 days after any market drop.” This single rule will save you from 90% of panic decisions.
Rule for wins: “I will rebalance calmly, not get cocky and increase risk.” Success makes people stupid more often than failure does.
Diversification That Actually Protects You
Allocate 60% to established blue-chip companies with 10 or more year track records and consistent profitability. These are your stability anchors: Square Pharma, Grameenphone, British American Tobacco Bangladesh, major banks with strong fundamentals.
Put 20% in growth stocks in expanding sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT services, consumer goods. These carry more risk but offer higher appreciation potential.
Reserve 10% for dividend payers that provide regular income and emotional comfort during downturns. When markets are falling but you’re still receiving quarterly dividends, it reduces the psychological pressure to sell.
Keep 10% as learning money for trying new analysis techniques and individual stock picks outside your comfort zone. This satisfies curiosity without endangering your core wealth.
The Review Rhythm That Won’t Consume Your Life
Daily checking creates anxiety and terrible decisions. Avoid it completely. Your portfolio doesn’t need daily supervision any more than your garden needs hourly watering.
Monthly contributions should be automated through your broker’s systematic investment plan if possible. Automation removes the emotional decision from every month.
Quarterly review every 3 months: check if companies are still healthy, read their latest financial statements, verify your thesis hasn’t broken. This takes 2 to 3 hours four times a year.
Annual deep dive: assess total performance, rebalance allocation back to target percentages, adjust goals based on life changes. This is your serious review, maybe 4 to 6 hours once per year.
This rhythm keeps you informed without becoming obsessed. The investors who check prices every hour make worse decisions than those who check quarterly and stick to their plan.
The First Trade: IPO vs Secondary Market
Understanding Your Entry Points
| Aspect | IPO (Primary Market) | Secondary Market |
|---|---|---|
| What It Is | Buying shares directly from company going public | Trading existing shares with other investors |
| Minimum Investment | Typically BDT 5,000 to 10,000 | Can start with BDT 1,000 to 2,000 per share |
| Process | Apply via lottery, wait for allotment | Immediate buying and selling during market hours |
| Complexity | Structured, less overwhelming | Requires market timing decisions |
| Risk Level | Company unproven in public market | Market volatility plus company risk |
| Best For | Patient beginners wanting structured entry | Active learners ready for real-time decisions |
IPO applications in Bangladesh go through a lottery system when oversubscribed. You apply through your BO account, pay the application fee of BDT 5 to 10, and wait for allotment results. Not everyone gets shares.
Secondary market trading happens on the DSE and CSE platforms through your broker’s app. You place buy orders, sellers place sell orders, and transactions happen when prices match.
My recommendation: start with IPOs for lower daily stress and structured entry. Graduate to secondary market trading after 6 months of learning and observing how prices move.
Your First Purchase Checklist
Choose a company whose products or services you personally use and understand. If you’ve never seen their product or don’t know how they make money, skip it.
Read their last 2 to 3 annual reports, available free on the DSE website. Look for consistent revenue growth, manageable debt levels, and clear explanations of their business strategy.
Verify 5-year profit growth isn’t erratic. Steady 8% annual growth beats wild swings between 40% gains and 30% losses.
Start with just 10 to 20% of your planned investment amount, not everything at once. If you planned to invest 50,000 taka total, make your first purchase just 5,000 to 10,000. This gives you room to learn from mistakes without catastrophic consequences.
Check the stock’s category rating on the DSE. Stick to A and B categories initially. These companies meet stricter financial and regulatory requirements.
Conclusion
We started with that 2 in the morning anxiety about your shrinking savings, that fear of losing everything, that confusion about where to even begin. Now you understand the real risk isn’t in the stock market. It’s in standing still while inflation eats your future. You’ve learned the emotional traps that destroy returns, the practical Bangladesh-specific steps for opening BO accounts, and the simple strategies that actually work for patient investors. You know what CDBL charges mean, how brokerage commissions affect returns, and why diversification across pharmaceuticals, banking, and telecommunications protects you from single-company disaster.
Most importantly, you understand that investing isn’t about getting lucky or being brilliant. It’s about being patient, informed, and disciplined when everyone around you is panicking or getting greedy. Your single action for today: download the BO account application form from any BSEC-licensed broker’s website. Just download it.
You don’t have to submit it yet, but getting that file on your computer turns this from an abstract fear into a concrete next step. You’re not waiting for permission anymore. You’re taking ownership of what comes next, one informed decision at a time.
Stock Market Investment in Bangladesh (FAQs)
How much money do I need to start investing in DSE?
You can start with as little as BDT 20,000 to 30,000 for meaningful IPO participation or secondary market purchases. Some mutual funds accept even lower minimums of 5,000 to 10,000 taka. The key is starting with what you can afford to keep invested for 5 or more years without needing emergency access.
What are the total costs of opening a BO account in Bangladesh?
Total initial costs include BO account opening fees of BDT 150 to 450 depending on your brokerage house, plus annual CDBL maintenance charges of approximately BDT 450. Trading costs add 0.25% to 0.50% brokerage commission per transaction, plus nominal LAGA commission of 0.015%. Factor in BEFTN or bKash deposit fees of 10 to 50 taka when funding your account.
Which brokerage house charges lowest commission in Bangladesh?
Commission rates vary from 0.25% to 0.50% per transaction among major brokers like Midway Securities, Mika Securities, and UFTCL. However, lowest commission doesn’t always mean best value. Consider trading platform quality, customer service responsiveness, and research tools provided. Compare total cost including BO opening fees and platform charges before deciding.
How do I choose between DSE and CSE for investment?
You don’t need to choose exclusively. Your BO account works for both Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. However, DSE has significantly higher trading volume and liquidity, making it easier to buy and sell shares quickly. Most retail investors focus primarily on DSE while keeping CSE access available for specific opportunities.
What documents are required to open a BO account?
Required documents include valid National ID card copy for Bangladeshi citizens or passport for non-residents, one recent passport-size photograph, active bank account details for fund transfers, and completed BO account application form from your chosen brokerage. Non-Resident Bangladeshis additionally need foreign residency proof. The entire process can be completed online through BSEC-approved broker websites.