One regular question about the UK online stock brokers list and UK international stock brokers list is whether any UK stock brokers will open accounts for non-residents.
Generally, many of the UK stock brokers are not very helpful on this score, due to a combination of money laundering regulations and a tendency to regard overseas clients as a hassle. (The same problem is true for non-residents wanting to open an UK bank account.)
There are a handful of UK stock brokers that indicate they will deal with non-residents, but investors report different levels of success opening and using accounts. It may depend on whether you are a UK citizen but non-resident, whether you are neither a citizen nor a resident, whether you are resident in the European Economic Area (EEA), whether you have a UK bank account and even who you speak to at the company.
The following firms have been reported to open online trading accounts for at least some non-residents and are so probably worth investigating first:
- TD Direct Investing (formerly TD Waterhouse) has an Overseas Resident Trading Account. Reports of success opening one vary and it may be available to EEA residents only. UPDATE: Some readers (e.g. see comments below) have reported that TDDI is now closing accounts held by some non-residents. References to the Overseas Resident Trading Account on the main TDDI site are few and links to TD Direct Investing International (formerly Internaxx) in Luxembourg are more prominent, suggesting they may be aiming to steer new non-resident clients there.
- A large number of non-residents have said that Fastrade/Charles Stanley is willing to open accounts for them. It may also be worth investigating Stocktrade/Brewin Dolphin, which is a similar type of firm and does not explicitly rule out non-residents.
- SVS Securities says on its website that it will open accounts for non-residents with a UK bank account.
- One non-resident reader of this site has reported that Saga Share Direct was willing to open an account for him. However, the Saga service is operated by Barclays Stockbrokers who apparently do not deal with non-residents, so it seems possible that there may be some miscommunication involved and there might be a risk of the account being shut down on review by Barclays. UPDATE: It’s not clear whether Barclays will accept non-residents now or not – see comments below.
- Another non-resident reader has reported opening an account with Sucden and finding staff there very helpful. Sucden isn’t the cheapest choice, but it offers a wider range of assets than most UK brokers (including stock options), so it may appeal to clients keen to trade several types of instrument through a single account.
Elsewhere, the multinational firms Interactive Brokers or Saxo Bank will almost certainly accept you through one arm or another and give you low-cost access to the UK market. However, whether that would be through the UK office or whether they would allow you to link to a UK bank account (if you have one) isn’t clear – it may depend on where you are resident.
Beyond these possibilities, it’s always worth approaching a specific firm to ask if they’ll deal with you. However be aware that some non-residents have reported success opening accounts, only to have it shut down months later, so make sure you get confirmation that non-residents are permitted from somebody who is in a position to know.
In general, you may find the traditional stock brokers are more welcoming than many of the discount stock brokers, because their business is less focused on maximising volume and minimising complications. However, some of these firms offer telephone dealing only, while online trading will often be more convenient for non-residents.
All the above assumes you are not a US resident. If you are, things get tougher due to foreign stock brokers wanting to avoid issues with Regulation S and now FATCA. No UK brokers are confirmed to deal with US clients, although obviously you can trade UK stocks through some of the US international stock brokers.
Any extra feedback from non-residents who have successfully opened accounts (or have confirmed that it’s not possible) with the stock brokers mentioned above or any others is very welcome. Please add a comment below or use the contact email form.
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Do you trade UK warrants? Is there any office in Hong Kong and your address/Tel. number in Hong Kong and how can I contact you?
Hi,
This site does not offer any trading services – it only provides information on which stock brokers are available. You will need to contact one of the listed stock brokers directly.
Most UK stock brokers should offer trading in UK-listed warrants, but warrants are less common in the UK than Hong Kong and there won’t be such a large choice.
TD Waterhouse are in the process of closing traders accounts who are resident in Japan.
I have contacted some of the suggested companies who appear to offer their services to non-residents and will update when/if I am successful.
Thanks Paul.
I’m not entirely surprised to hear that – there was a hint recently that they may try to move international clients out of TDDI UK and into TDDI International in Luxembourg (formerly Internaxx). Not sure if TDDI International will accept clients resident in Japan.
Cant believe TD done this to me after being with them for over 10 years. It was sudden too. My dividends and recent stocks I bought for dividends have all got to be cashed in before the dividend date.
Pretty shoddy treatment telling me/us 3 weeks before closure. They should have given at least 6 months notice. TD international deal with EU only residents or so it appears. No UK broker will touch me unless I have a registered UK address by the way I am in Japan.
There is a company in Gibraltar I looked at. Not sure if it is for me but it looks like one of the more promising ones I have checked out. http://www.investorseurope.com/terms_conditions.html
In the mean time I guess I will have to make do with an index tracker. Happy hunting
I think the Investors Europe model is to be an introducing broker/white label for a number of other platforms, rather than operating their own brokerage. I have no view on them one way or another, but it may be worth trying to work out what the underlying firms they use are and whether you can go direct for a better deal.
Depending on what you need, Interactive Brokers and Saxo are probably worth investigating – both have Japanese offices and seem to be willing to accept clients with most residencies anyway (US ones for Saxo excepted).
I am also resident in Japan and also got shafted by TD. I have been searching like others for a broker who will take my business. It looks like HB Markets will take you on as an advisory account, which means you get assigned a dedicated broker, whatever that means, them trying to sell you stuff, and get charged 1.65% commission for each trade, buying and selling. I also tried Saxo, since they have offices in Japan, but they will only accept Yen deposits, foreign bank accounts are not acceptable (so no dealing in UK stocks out of your UK bank account) and they will only sign you up if you can understand their agreement, which of course is all in Japanese.
And so the possibilities get fewer.
If anyone finds someone who will accept us offshorers, they are in for some business.
Thanks, that’s useful information re Saxo. Have you tried Interactive Brokers? – they might have different policies. The minimum monthly commissions are a downside, but overall rates are cheap, so they could still work out cost-effective (though some people find the support a bit too sparse).
Regarding advisory firms, they tend to be more flexible. In that area, it might be worth trying firms such as Charles Stanley and Brewin Dolphin first since they also have execution-only arms – Charles Stanley Direct (formerly Fastrade) and Stocktrade respectively – who reportedly take non-residents and are obviously cheaper than the advisory service.
HB Markets’ online execution-only service (as distinct from its advisory service) is a white label of Simply Stockbroking, so whether they will take execution-only clients would depend on Simply Stockbroking’s policies I imagine.
Chris,
Interactive have replied to my inquiry saying that they will accept applications from Japanese residents and that I can use my UK bank to fund purchases, but I didn’t know they have a minimum monthly commission, so that’s something I’ll have to find out about and consider. As for sparse support, haven’t heard anything about it, but their response to my email was pretty sharp, but that may be until they get you on board, but hey, when there is no alternative (so far) what can you do?
They target reasonably active traders, so they charge a minimum commission of US$10 per month, which some infrequent users don’t like. That said, their commissions are so low compared to most firms (including the FX conversion charges) and there are no corporate action/handling charges, so that they can still be pretty cost-effective for even infrequent traders.
Support-wise, they respond to queries pretty quickly, but they don’t want to do much handholding and it’s not the most intuitive platform around (though the FAQs on the site are reasonably good). But they’re fine if you know what you’re doing – I just tend to point that out so new/inexperienced investors understand what to expect.
I am resident in Bahrain and also got a peremptory email from TD Direct on 6 March 2013 telling me that my account is being closed (notionally 30 days’ notice but the email came late) on the basis that I live in a “high risk jurisdiction”. I asked to speak to Andy Ratcliffe, Senior Manager Operations, whose name the email was sent over, and was brusquely told by the ‘customer service’ supervisor, Andy Cruddace, that this was not possible; nor would he give me his email address. Couldn’t/wouldn’t explain what they mean by ‘high risk jurisdiction’ – and would that include Japan (@John)? To top it all, I was told, “It doesn’t matter what you think; we’re closing your account”. Lamentable customer service, so I they are probably doing us a favour in the end. I will be writing to the Ministry of Finance in Bahrain and the British Embassy for their reaction to the new designation.
On a more positive note, Cris, Barclays Stockbrokers indicated no restriction on opening an account when I called them yesterday, though I will get that confirmed in writing.
Cris
Apologies – email address wrongly entered in my first message. The one above is correct.
Thanks David.
Regarding Barclays, that’s a useful additional option if it turns out to be correct. I’ve had contradictory reports and the website itself is inconsistent – one page says To open a Barclays Stockbrokers account you must be over 18 years old and resident in the UK, while another talks about ordering an application pack for people living outside the UK.
In the same situation with TD Direct, living in Japan and none too happy about the short notice. I got in touch with Sucden Financial, and they got back very quickly. This is what they said:
“Many thanks for your email. I have attached some information about Sucden Financial that I hope will be of interest to you.
I am pleased to confirm that Sucden are indeed able to open accounts for overseas clients. I confirm that it would also be possible to transfer shares from TD Waterhouse to ourselves.”
Has anyone else switched to them?
Greetings to Brit’s living abroad. UK Stock Brokers these days are so out of touch and too scared to step out of line with the majority that very few will entertain or support this vast group of investors, even though all retain their N.I . No.. UK bank account(s) and pay UK tax in some form or other.
You should try James Brearley & Sons Ltd., based in Blackpool. Internet trading account with cash account with no extra fees other than reasonable dealing charges. The service is first class. Take a look.
Regards,… Jeff