Hey everyone, Hirokichi here.
This time I want to break down the real pros and cons of SBI Securities, Japan’s largest online brokerage, using actual numbers. If you’re deciding whether to open an account, or wondering how it stacks up against other online brokers, I hope this helps you make the call.
What kind of brokerage is SBI Securities?
SBI Securities is an online brokerage operated by the SBI Group. Combined with its affiliates SBI Neotrade Securities and FOLIO, the group holds 15,197,000 accounts as of 2026, making it the largest online brokerage in Japan by account count (source: Yahoo! Finance Japan brokerage catalog). It’s often the first choice for people starting to invest, especially since Japan’s new NISA program launched.
Being the largest player comes with real advantages, like a wide product lineup and a rich points program. But being big also means certain issues surface more visibly. Let’s go through both the strengths and the concerns with specific numbers.
The advantages of SBI Securities
1. Domestic stock trading commissions are effectively zero (the “Zero Kakumei” plan)
Since September 30, 2023, SBI Securities has offered its “Zero Kakumei” (Zero Revolution) plan, which made commissions on domestic stock trades (both cash and margin) free. Previously, a 100,000 yen trade cost 99 yen and a 1,000,000 yen trade cost 535 yen — those fees are now gone (source: SBI Securities official “Zero Kakumei” page).
One thing to watch out for: this free-commission plan requires you to enable the paperless “electronic delivery” setting. If you forget to set this up, you’ll be charged the standard commission instead. Make sure this setting is turned on when you open your account.
2. Industry-leading lineup of U.S. stocks and mutual funds
SBI Securities offers 4,263 U.S. stocks, putting it among the top online brokers in Japan for U.S. stock selection. It also carries around 2,600 mutual funds (source: Yahoo! Finance Japan brokerage catalog). That breadth of choice is a major strength.
Its new NISA support is equally strong: 224 funds are eligible for the “Tsumitate” (installment) investment quota, and 1,190 funds are eligible for the “growth” investment quota. Whether you’re a beginner who isn’t sure what to invest in, or a more experienced investor who wants to pick individual U.S. stocks, one account can cover both.
3. Choose from 5 different point programs
Points earned through trading and installment investing at SBI Securities can be received as V Point, Ponta Point, d Point, JAL Miles, or PayPay Point — your choice from five options. Since you can match it to whichever loyalty ecosystem you already use in daily life, you can put the points to use without any waste.
4. Double-dip on points with SMBC card installment investing
If you fund your mutual fund installment purchases with an SMBC (Sumitomo Mitsui) credit card, you earn V Points based on your investment amount. The reward rate depends on the card tier: the standard card (NL) earns 0.5%, the Gold (NL) card earns up to 1.0% if annual spending conditions are met, and the Platinum Preferred card earns up to 3.0% depending on annual card spending (source: SMBC card official site and multiple comparison sites).
Looking at the chart, the gap between card tiers is pretty clear — the Platinum Preferred card earns six times the points of the standard card.
The drawbacks and things to watch out for
1. Multiple separate apps can feel inconvenient
SBI Securities splits its tools across separate apps for domestic stocks, U.S. stocks, and mutual funds, and many users note that “you have to switch apps depending on what you want to trade.” If you prefer everything in one app, this can feel like a bit of a hassle.
2. The 2025 unauthorized access incident
This is a fact I think is important not to gloss over. In 2025, phishing attacks led to unauthorized takeovers of SBI Securities customer accounts, resulting in fraudulent stock trades. SBI Holdings announced it would compensate 50% of the losses in cash, plus a flat 10,000 yen condolence payment to affected customers (source: SBI Holdings news release, July 29, 2025). The fact that compensation isn’t 100% has drawn criticism, and phishing attacks targeting brokerage accounts are an industry-wide problem, not unique to SBI — but even with a major brokerage, it’s worth taking your own precautions seriously, like enabling two-factor authentication and never reusing passwords.
3. Support wait times and scheduled maintenance
Some users report waiting over 30 minutes for phone support during busy periods. There are also no in-person consultation branches, which can feel unsettling for first-time investors. On top of that, regular maintenance runs every Saturday late night through Sunday, during which trading isn’t available — worth keeping in mind.
4. A 2024 administrative sanction from Japan’s Financial Services Agency
On January 12, 2024, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued SBI Securities a partial business suspension order and a business improvement order, citing misrepresentation of allocation details to customers in IPO (initial public offering) share sales (source: official FSA announcement). SBI Securities submitted a business improvement report on February 13 of that year and has implemented measures to prevent recurrence. I think this is a fact worth knowing when choosing a brokerage.
Who is SBI Securities a good fit for?
Based on everything above, here’s who I think benefits most from SBI Securities.
First, anyone who wants to keep trading costs as low as possible. The Zero Kakumei commission-free plan pays off more the more actively you trade.
Second, anyone who wants a wide range of choices in mutual funds and U.S. stocks. The sheer size of the product lineup becomes valuable once you decide to expand into new investments later on.
Third, anyone who already uses V Point, Ponta Point, or another specific loyalty ecosystem in daily life. Combined with card-based installment investing, you can earn points efficiently while investing.
On the other hand, if you strongly prefer everything in a single app, or want to open an account with in-person guidance, another brokerage or a branch-based financial institution might suit you better. I hope weighing both the pros and cons here helps you decide whether SBI Securities fits your investing style.
日本語版はこちら → SBI証券のメリット・デメリット（日本語版）
I’ll cover specific topics like new NISA strategies and the account-opening process in more detail in future posts. You can also check out my full asset-tracking record here: the complete asset disclosure archive.
* This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend any specific investment. Please make investment decisions at your own responsibility.
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