In June, and again in August 2021, US brokerage firm Wells Fargo sent letters to many of its clients living outside the USA saying that they need to move their accounts to another brokerage firm by the end of September 2021. The letter states in part that “Wells Fargo...

Around nine million Americans live abroad, and thousands more join them every year. The most common reason why Americans move abroad is for a work placement, though others move abroad due to a sense of adventure or for romantic reasons.   Moving abroad can have a...

US expats looking for financial advice are faced with a number of options. Financial advisors for expats who offer investment advice can be broadly divided into two groups though: those that comply with a Fiduciary Standard, and those that comply with a Suitability...

Since January 1st 2018, any person or firm advising an EU resident, including US expats living in EU countries, regarding certain investments has to comply with new EU-wide laws known as the PRIIPs regulation.   What is a PRIIP?   A PRIIP is a Packaged...

US expats living in the EU are subject to EU-wide laws as well as national laws in the country where they live. One recent EU law that came into force that affects US expat investors living in the EU is General Data Protection Regulation, more often known as GDPR....

Merrill Lynch has recently been sending letters to many of their US citizen clients living outside the USA saying that their accounts will be closed as of October 1, 2016. The letter typically states the following: We have conducted an extensive review of our non-US...

Over the last few years I have written a number of articles on why US brokerage firms are closing accounts for American citizens living outside the USA and how we help those affected address the situation. It seems the severity of this issue is increasing. Recently...

Dealing with financial matters has become increasingly difficult for US citizens living outside the USA over the last few years as a result of what is called FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), which has led to both US and non-US financial institutions being...

It is estimated that there are between six and seven million U.S. citizens living outside the USA. As many formerly “emerging” markets become more developed Americans are finding that life in places like Ecuador, Uruguay, and Thailand may offer a good standard of...

If you have worked in the United States it is likely that you have paid into a US retirement account such as an IRA (Individual Retirement Arrangement) or a 401k (a company-sponsored retirement plan). The question arises as to what should be done with such an account...