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UK stockbroker accounts for non-residents

One regular question about the UK online stockbrokers list and UK international stockbrokers list is whether any UK stockbrokers will open accounts for non-residents.

Generally, many of the UK stockbrokers 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 stockbrokers 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 Union (EU) or 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 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 (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. Australian, New Zealand and Japanese residents are now definitely not accepted by TD Direct.
  • SVS Securities says on its website that it offers an Individual Overseas Account for non-residents with a UK bank account. One reader reports that this includes Channel Island accounts, which are far easier for non-residents to open than an onshore UK account.
  • iDealing will accept EU residents, according to its account application page.
  • A number of non-residents have said that Fastrade (recently rebranded to Charles Stanley Direct) is willing to open accounts for overseas clients. Stocktrade/Brewin Dolphin is a similar type of firm and has also reportedly opened accounts for non-residents in the past. UPDATE: Brewin Dolphin has exited the execution-only business, with Stocktrade clients being transferred to Alliance Trust Savings.
  • Redmayne Bentley says in its FAQ that it will accept non-resident clients. The firm does not offer an online dealing service.
  • HSBC’s InvestDirect service is available through its offshore arm. This requires an HSBC Expat bank account, which in turn requires a minimum of £60,000 in deposits and investments (including the share dealing service) for new clients.
  • The multinational firms Interactive Brokers or Saxo Bank will accept most international clients and give you access to the UK market. 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) may depend on where you are resident.
  • 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 – but the Saga website now explicitly appears to rule out non residents.
  • Another non-resident reader has reported opening an account with Sucden and finding staff there very helpful. Sucden’s online trading platform is a white label of the Saxo platform, but it also offers other services such as equity options trading by telephone. UPDATE: Sucden no longer offers trading accounts to individuals.

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 a member of staff who is in a position to know the company’s policies.

In general, you may find the traditional stockbrokers are more welcoming than many of the discount stockbrokers, 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 stockbrokers 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 stockbrokers.

Any extra feedback from non-residents who have successfully opened accounts (or have confirmed that it’s not possible) with the stockbrokers mentioned above or any others is very welcome. Please add a comment below or use the contact email form.

79 replies on “UK stockbroker accounts for non-residents”

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 agree with you. TD as well as Canada Trust is very badly managed. I have a very tormenting experience. Foreign currencies can no longer be supported, with means exchange gain for then in addition to trading commission.

I think a class action should be instituted for the short notice that was given.

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.

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

Today, their website says:

“This website is solely for use of investors who are resident in the UK. If you are an investor resident in the UK please click Continue to gain access to that area of our site dedicated to Private Clients.”

Maybe something has changed in the almost 2 years between Jeff’s post and mine.

I just called Barclays Stockbrokers and they were adamant that they absolutely no longer work with overseas residents. I’m British, have a UK bank account, submit a tax return annually, and have N I number!!! I can’t believe that Woody was able to open one….. will it stay open I wonder?

Im also U.K. citizen living in Japan and just called barclays. They told me I can open an account but I’d need to send in the post a completed appication form (which they email to you).

What did you do about their requirement to have a notarised (is that the correct word) copy of your passport?

I’ve had trouble before in Japan getting anyone to witness my passport, as bank managers etc.. don’t seem to do that here.

—-

Which broker would people recommend for an infrequent trader in Japan (but with money in sterling in a UK bank account)?
I was mostly thinking of buying a whole load of Vanguard ETFs (usd?) and maybe something similar in the UK/Japan to guard against future currency fluctuations. But I’m not planning on making regular trades or trying lots of international markets,
The options for people in Japan seem limited.

Oh, I tried TD International and they said they aren’t doing accounts for people in Japan.
Interactive brokers seems good, but I’m rather put off by the monthly charge.
Barclays sounds like the next best option. Would people agree?
It sounds like Charles Stanley, etc.. are expensive.
Or Schwab in the USA seems like an option.

When choosing, would it be better to get a UK one (as my money is in sterling) or a USA one (if buying Vanguard ETFs)? The fee structures and currency exchange charges are very hard to get your head around and compare.

Re Interactive Brokers, their service is really bad. I closed my account after a few months trading. I heard that a group of investors got a judgment amount against IB a while ago.

I am resident in Guernsey

I have a limited company in Guernsey

I am looking for a stockbroker who I can set up an account with execution only on the Internet

Regards

D Bridle

Hi Bridle,

Its a bit late in the day for an answer, but I’m also a Guernsey resident and have had an on-line account with SaxoBank for several years now. It’s no problem to operate once you’ve got the hang of it and is inexpensive.

My only concern now is that when I joined my account was held in Europe (Denmark, I recall) but now it appears that my account is held in the U.K. As I used to be a UK resident I’m a little wary of whether this will equate in HM Revenue’s mind as indicating that I still have a connection with the U.K. and leave me open to Death Duties. I’m currently trying to discover whether this is so.

barclays give wrong info regularly. problem is the junior staff don’t know or understand the reasons for, their own regulations. non uk residents MUST live in the European Economic Area (EEA)- as you will eventually find out after first being told expats in se asia are welcome..dr denis

I live in Eastern Europe and just before Christmas I received an email from TDW telling me to close my account. I’ve used them for 15-years (since before they re-branded) and paid over 15k in commissions.

Though they hold my money – and I haven’t paid anything into my account since my initial deposit 15-yrs ago – they told me that I am a money-laundering risk to them!

As many have posted, I too have UK bank accounts and pay UK tax and hold a NI number.
Very shoddy treatment.

Now I’m looking for alternatives…

They hold your money? What does it mean?! Is it possible that they can do it? What are you going to do? I have the same problem. I am stressing out still have my fund account but am no longer UK resident even though have UK passport and pay UK taxes!

I’m a British citizen based in Vietnam and TD Direct Investing in Luxembourg wouldn’t open an account for me.

I am a European who is moving to Japan some time later this year.

I wanted to open an account at Saxo Bank A/S, but I noticed that they don’t want people who live in Japan to be their customers. They say it on the “open account” form where you can choose which country you live in. If you choose Japan, it says that due to local legislation, they can’t accept customers who live in Japan. I just chose Japan on the form to test what it would do, not to really open an account with Japan as the choice now.

This is a big problem to me. I already use a Nordic broker (Nordnet), but this broker doesn’t give me access to many markets that I want to trade in. Saxo Bank looked like the best for other European markets.

I noticed that Saxo Bank has an office in Japan, but I can’t read Japanese, and my spoken Japanese is limited to about a hundred words that are not related to trading or banking at all, so I am very afraid of using this office. Chances are high that I would need a Japanese person to come with me to help me every time I would want to talk to staff at Saxo Bank Japan, and since I want to keep my trading and banking related matters private, I wouldn’t feel comfortable about bringing another person with me there to read all the papers for me and to explain reports about my trading to me.

I don’t know what to do. I could use Interactive Brokers, but I would prefer to use a European broker for trading in Europe. I would continue to use Nordnet in any case as it provides access to my country of birth (for example, Interactive Brokers don’t) and files at least some reports to the tax agency automatically on my behalf.

I have considered founding a Limited Liability Company for my trading needs. This way I could get around the limitations regarding where my official residence would be. But it would also mean that I would lose direct personal control over the money. I would borrow the company my money and make it pay it back later with some interest. I am not sure whether a company would be worth all the hassle that would come with it…

I recently had a nightmare with TD Direct investing. I originally set the account up when I was working in Singapore and they didn’t make it easy. They were fine when it was eventually opened. I later moved to Thailand and experienced no problem. I’ve used the account for about 5 years. However, last September they made me jump through hoops re-verifying my details. After this was done (at cost to me via a lawyer) they were fine for another three months, but then decided they would close the account down anyway. There was no explanation and redress of costs to me.

I have since set up with HSBC direct, but the platform is a shocker as is the trading limit.

Hi All,

My name is Rich Ellison and I work for OneTRADEx Ltd, based in the Cayman Islands. OneTRADEx launched operations in January of this year in response to many of the issues being raised above. We are able to deal with expats of all stripes including non-resident Americans. Through OneTRADEX.com we offer a tax neutral offshore discount trading platform that can be used to access markets in 23 countries through multi-currency account. By way of example our minimum equity trade commission is $9.95 for U.S. stocks based on $0.0125/share. We don’t charge account maintenance or custody fees but we do charge USD50 per quarter for accounts that have not had 15 or more trades in the prior three months. That may be an issue for some of the fee sensitive and infrequent traders posting above but for others it might not. We open accounts with a minimum of US $5000 deposit (GBP 3,000 or EUR 3,600 etc depending on exchange rates) Please check us out as we would welcome you as clients.

Good luck with your accounts,

Rich Ellison, OneTRADEx

The following is a general disclaimer and not a comment on OneTRADEx in particular.

Stockbrokers that are licenced and regulated by their relevant local authorities may sometimes be allowed to mention their services in comments on this site, if these services may be relevant to readers. However, I do not endorse any brokers featured on the site, whether in comparison tables, editorial or comments by myself, company representatives or other users.

You should not assume that I have made any attempt to verify the security and reliability of any brokers mentioned or to verify the information they provide. Investors should be familiar with local investor protection regulations before considering opening an account with a broker in any jurisdiction, including any relevant investor compensation schemes and rules intended to keep your money and investments segregated from the broker’s own assets.

I do not receive any renumeration for mentioning specific stockbrokers or allowing them to be mentioned. Decisions as to which brokers may be permitted to comment and the extent of acceptable comments is at my sole discretion, in the interests of preventing the site being overrun by marketing and self-promotion.

TD Directinvest is even worse than any of the comments above. I am non-resident now for 18months and 1 month ago they locked my account with NO notice. After several follow up calls they indcate i must provide verification of a residential address where I now live in Indonesia (where i currenlty reside). Catch is the verification must be signed by an EU regualted banking official…toughh to find in SE Asia.

For over 1 month i have had no access to my account and the worst customer service ever to try and resolve. Appalling really. I can’t even get the account closed out even though they accept my identity.

Lucky people who only got their accounts closed…locked out with no end is sight s MUCH MUCH worse.

I am a UK citizen in the Philippines I hold paper certs for HSBC and cannot get them transferred to my Interactive broker account as the Registrar is not a nominee. I cannot sell them as no UK broker will touch the sale as I am in a non approved country even though they confirmed that due diligence was met and satisfactory. The shares relate to a SAYE holding on script for many years. I have a UK bank account as well.

I am now returning to the Uk but looks like banks no longer offer an over the counter share dealing service, Does any one know who does? this will be a one time execution only deal I deal my other holdings with Interactive brokers who have thus far proven adequate.

G’Day
A few hours ago, I received 90 day warning that my UK based td-direct a/c is to be closed with regulations recently introduced by Australia cited.
I have property, bank a/c and tax numbers etc in UK but this seems like the predicted extension of the American FATCA to a Global (G)ATCA so the future of global capital control is approaching. I suppose things will get worse before they get better.
Last week, while in Singapore, I began the process of opening a share and Savings/deposit a/c there and found even Singapore to be a little tougher than previously reported. Process not completed – will have to return there but seems worth it.
I am currently resident in Au with NZ and UK/Euro access but my remaining share accounts offer limited access world wide and international purchases are expensive from here. I hope to convert the majority of my UK holdings with TDdirect to issuer-sponsored shares but the international holdings via UK account are a problem. I returned my US green Card many years ago and this may be the first twinge of regret I have about that. ADR’s for Russia by proxy now become very difficult to hold.
Thank you all very much for all the contributions on this problem- I am currently picking through other’s experiences and will hopefully find some solutions pertinent to my own situation.
If I stumble on something marvellous, I will of course report back.
TFLK3

Yes, I’ve had a few emails in the last few days from readers about TD shutting accounts owned Australian residents. I gather the official reason is that they believe new Australian regulations mean that they need to be registered in Australia to accept clients there, but it seems clear that they are becoming less interested in serving non-residents from the UK division anyway.

I had this exact problem. I had a large number of shares (in a single company) in my Investdirect brokerage account with HSBC in the UK. When I moved to Australia, HSBC decided that as I was no longer resident in the UK, then I could not be an Investdirect customer – so they closed my account. This was despite the fact that I was still an existing bank customer of HSBC in the UK as well as having bank accounts with HSBC in Australia as well! Very annoying. Anyway, I ended up with a paper share certificate and no broker.
I recently bought a house here in Australia and so needed to liquidise the shares. I approached a number of brokers in the UK but all of them refused to open an account for me because I was non-UK resident. As I understand it, there is no reason why a UK broker cannot accept a non-resident client other than it is more difficult due to international money laundering procedures, but certainly not impossible. I looked on a number of ex-pat forums and it seems that getting a UK broker can be very hit and miss.
I also approached a number of brokers based here in Australia and whilst there was no problem opening an account, converting the paper share certificate was a big issue and I couldn’t find anyone to do it.
This was extremely stressful as I had committed to the house purchase but couldn’t access my funds.
After a late night phoning yet more brokers in the UK, I eventually contacted Beaufort Securities in London (you can look them up on the web). I spoke to their Business Development Manager, Matthew Giles who was absolutely brilliant and basically held my hand through the process of setting up an account, selling the shares and transferring the money over to Australia. I had to get some documents certified (easy enough to do) and send them across to the UK. The whole process took a couple of weeks start to end.
I would definitely recommend that if you are looking for a broker in the UK, then speak to these guys – they are the only brokerage I could find that not only helped my situation but also the only ones that even acted like they wanted to help. Fees for selling the shares were very reasonable and when it came to converting the sterling into Aus$, then Beauforts gave me a cracking deal on the exchange rate – certainly better than my bank or the online exchange bureaus (eg. moneycorp). The deal on the exchange rate actually saved me more money than the cost of the brokerage fees to sell the shares – so I’m thinking I definitely came out a winner.
I’m no expert, but I’d happily recommend Beaufort Securities and in particular Matthew.

Hello everyone. I am in a similar boat, a non resident, non citizen owning UK shares (certificated) My tiny shareholding seems to have become unmarketable.
I have been plodding through the brokers in the UK trying to find someone who will deal with me.
Barclays, TD Waterhouse will not assist. (I have a Barclays current account for settlement). I have contacted the registrar whom have yet to respond. Has anyone found a solution to this issue?

Many thanks

Kent

Hi Kent,
Did you have any success if finding a broker ? I an a Non-Resident, Non-Citizen like yourself and have not been able to find a broker to dispose of some share holdings .

If you have managed to sort out your holdings, I would be grateful if you could point me the direction of the stock broker that you worked with .

Thank you .
A Rebelo

I am a citizen and resident of South Africa and have a share account with Selftrade. I had this account for about 10 years and now Selftrade had been taken over by Equinity. The administration now seems to be in a huge mess. My account was closed, reopened again and the website now tells me that the info I enter is wrong. I cannot get hold of Selftrade personnel over the phone – due to “a high level of calls” and I get absolutely no response to my emails. Is there any other broker that one can approach? I also deal in covered warrants and would like to carry on as usual.

Hi everyone, I am a UK citizen with UK bank account living in France. I have a significant holding of Fidelity OEICs and ISAs in an account with them. Since moving to France, they have stopped me from dealing online, restricted me to only Fidelity products, told me I can only sell ISAs by writing to them, etc, etc. I have tried opening an account with Charles Stanley Direct, but they will only deal with UK residents – pity as they only charge 0.25% platform fee. Hargreaves Lansdown will open an account, but they charge 0.45% platform fee – one of the highest. Can anyone suggest a UK broker who charges reasonable fees for funds and offers online trading, please?

If I am overseas resident and I maintain USA Shares with a UK stockbroker account (I am not resident in USA or UK), what is the withholding tax rate (tax they deduct at source) on my dividends from USA companies? 30%, 15% or 0%? Does anyone know?;

Theoretically I think it will be either 15% or 30% depending on your own underlying residency (the 0% withholding only applies in very limited situations, such as a UK pension fund). In practice, if you’re not a UK citizen and not a UK resident, unfortunately it will be very difficult to get a UK broker to open an account for you anyway.

It depends on your country of residence and whether they have a Tax Treaty with the US. If they do it could be just 15% otherwise it will be 30%. Be very careful about owning over US$60,000 in assets in the US (of any type) as then you’ll be liable for Estate Duty on those assets in the US.

I’m not a US or UK citizen and am interested in the inheritance tax implications of holding US domiciled and Irish/Lux domiciled ETFs in a UK stockbroking account.

1) Would I be liable for US inheritance tax on US domiciled ETFs even if they are held in a UK stockbroking account?

2) If yes to above, then its the underling investment that determines the inheritance tax implication. So I would then presume the Irish/Lux domiciled ETFs have no UK inheritance tax implication even though held in a UK based stockbroking account?

Thanks a mil to anyone who can clarify…
Confused…

Your note about TD International is misleading. I wasted time trying to sign up to this Luxembourg outfit, but received a reply saying Australian residents are not accepted. No reason given.

Yes, as noted in the article Australian, New Zealand and Japanese residents are now definitely not accepted by TD Direct.

Hi,

Thanks for the useful information. I am from India working in UK from past 4 years on a working visa. Can I open a trading account and buy/sell UK stocks ? From your post, I assume that I can only if the broker opens an account for me.

Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

Thank you,
Radhika

As far as I know, if you are in the UK on a valid working visa, most UK brokers will open an account for UK, subject to the usual checks. So you probably don’t need to limit yourself to the brokers in this list – try the main UK broker list

A very helpful, well-researched and well-written guide to Ex Pat investing and the problems of trying to find a stockbroker, depending on where you are resident, is Andrew Hallam’s “The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing”. He also has a web site where you can buy his books and answers questions promptly http://www.andrewhallam.com. There are individual chapters for US, Canadian, British, Australian and other citizens.

One important thing I learnt there is that US Inheritance Tax is applicable to all assets over US$60,000 for non citizens so its best to buy GBP or EUR based ETF’s or funds to invest in the US, not US$ based funds, as they’re typically resident in the US and you get caught by the IRS.

«US Inheritance Tax is applicable to all assets over US$60,000 for non citizens so its best to buy GBP or EUR based ETF’s or funds to invest in the US, not US$ based funds»

Why do you say it RogerK? If I maintain a joint account, do I pay inheritance tax in case of death of the other account holder?

I am a Greek resident and I intend to maintain a securities account with Interactive Brokers (IB UK) as a non-UK and non-USA resident. Have you any idea on what tax I will be deducted at source on dividends or interest from a.) UK shares b.) USA shares and c.) corporate bonds traded in the Luxembourg Stock Exchange?

They answered me «30% dividend or interest withholding in any case». I cannot understand it. I thought that withholding tax will vary based on the domicile of the stock issuing the dividend.

Dividends from UK companies for instance (excluding distributions from Reits), are paid to UK brokerage accounts (based in UK) without any tax on the dividend being deducted at source. I maintain a brokerage account in the UK and they do not deduct at source any tax on dividends from UK shares. Similarly, other countries apply ? withholding tax which is less than the 30 per cent. If I open an account with IB, why will they levy withholding tax 30% (at source) on the dividends from any country? It sounds strange.

For instance If I receive dividends from UK shares, why they say that they levy the USA withholding tax rate for dividend distributions? (As I said, I am not a USA resident).

Furthermore, I have heard about IB that in general the withholding rate from other countries will be the highest withholding rate applicable and will not incorporate a reduction based on prevailing tax treaties.

Has anybody experience with Interactive Brokers UK? Is this information accurate?

Thank you in advance.

Giorgos

Interactive Brokers is a US company. They will declare everything you earn (even dividends from non-US companies) to the US tax authorities on a Form 1042-S.

What they actually deduct at source seems to vary. They will say you can reclaim some tax deducted at source by filing a US tax return ( form 1040NR). This is true, but it’s an incredible pain, and small errors can make you liable to huge fines.

Assuming you are not a US citizen or green-card holder, my advice would be: never deal with a US-based broker, unless you want to trade only US stocks.

Chris and RogerK,
Thank you for you previous reply.

RogerK, what do you maen, when you say «Be very careful about owning over US$60,000 in assets in the US (of any type) as then you’ll be liable for Estate Duty on those assets in the US»?
Are shares and bonds included?
Thanks again.

In order to inform the site about everything I learn and as you mentioned TD Direct Investing many times, I would like to share the following:

I sent an e-mail to TD Direct Investing UK and they answered that an EU Citizen can open a trading account with them. However they ask a VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY FORM to be completed and singed by a regulated body. I have not met this requirement in other stockbrokers or banks in UK. Attorney at Law or Banker or any verifying firm abroad denies completing and signing of this form. They only notarize photocopies of passports, but they do not sign this form. Has anybody any idea about it?

Hello,

@Giorgos: Did you find a solution to the above? Is TD direct fine to open an account to Greek citizens? I am struggling to find company to hold an account for investing to funds.

Thank you
Kostas

I have a UK address and a UK bank account, if I tick that I am resident in the UK what sort of potential legal problems am I opening myself upto? I live abroad.

Yes it is probably a silly question but I am also interested in the answer. I have a UK bank account and UK address but am non resident for sure as I have been working overseas for the past four years.

I live in Belgium and have successfully opened a nutmeg account. I had to get a notarised copy of my passport at British Embassy but after that all good.

I am a resident of Hong Kong a UK citizen with NI number, tax payer and a UK bank account I want to trade online execute only where do I go ?
Thanks

I am a UK citizen living in Anguilla and E-Trade closed my account. It had been fine for many years. I suspect FATCA changed things.

TD direct investing UK have just written to all their non resident investors and told them to move to TDW international or leave TD within 30 days. The short period is presumably to restrict investigation of alternatives (which is why i came here). Fees are of course much higher especially if you invest and don’t generate transaction fees for them.Call a website a trading platform and you can charge for it. I basically want to own stock and reinvest dividends. I don’t need a personal banker or multiple currency accounts.

Also having problems with TD Direct.
I’m British living in Austria, had a TD account for several years and they have just informed me to close the account in 30 days (although i can keep my SIPP with them)

Is it worth opening another UK brokerage account or should I look elsewhere??

The UK seems to be the only place that i can open a custody brokerage account to invest for my kids

Beaufort Securities can help you , i have helped many former TD clients open an account due to this problem, ask for Peter …. 0207 382 8306

TD Direct have refused to accept my Validation of Address form after 2 years and 3 attempts despite satisfying the requirements on their form. Clearly there is a hidden agenda.

I’m resident in Australia. Just received a letter from Barclays stating they are ‘no longer able to provide a full investment service to our clients in Australia’ from 9th June 2017. Options are to close, transfer at zero cost, receive certificates, donate to charity.

So will check the above.

Hi. My name is Tony Cooper.

I am Uk born but now reside in Australia (3.1/2 years). Had and still have a Saga Direct Trading Account. I am now informed by Barclays Stockbrokers that from June 2017 they can no longer offer me the buy/sell/reinvest service etc.

Just looking for the same uncomplicated buy / sell / reinvest ( shares only) facility with another broker.

I have a UK bank account and am still registered as a Uk tax payer.

Suggestions Wellcome.

Kind regards

Hey guys,

I am a EU citizen and I have a UK shares certificate, can you please recommend a broker that would accept the certificate? TD Direct Investing in Luxembourg seems to be crap, as they won’t open an account to someone who doesn’t have lots of money …

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