PeterFrank

Hi. I am a permanent resident in the US but have money in the UK that isn't doing anything. I don't want to transfer to the US until the exchange rates improves if ever. I notice a lot of the banks and investment companies in the UK don't let you open new accounts or make investments if you are non resident. Has anyone found a way around this and successfully manages their UK savings?

Thanks in advance for any information.

Hotscot

I know this doesn't answer your question, but it comes up regularly.

Personally I don't see the point of adding complexity/paperwork headaches to my investing strategy when there are literally tons of excellent investing choices through Vanguard, Fidelity etc...
I keep a few bob in an account, under the FBAR limit, to deal with incidentals. but that's about it.
I'd just transfer the dosh and get it working here. Especially if it's sitting doing nothing.

What's your perceived advantage in UK investments? Playing the exchange rate is rarely worthwhile long term.

PeterFrank

Hotscot

No real advantage then to be honest.
In the meantime it's sitting there doing nothing.
Transfer it here, get it working, enjoy the straightforward 1099's at Turbo Tax time.
Enjoy life.

Pulaski

Would you punt £x,000 (£x being the amount you have in the UK) on an FX bet? That is what you are doing, and nobody with any knowledge or experience of investing would recommend that, punting it on an FX hunch, as a sensible way to invest a sizeable chunk of your net worth.

Investing in the UK as a US resident creates massive tax and reporting issues, so I would strongly recommend that you bring your funds on-shore to the US, then make the best investing choices you can in the US, which may, or may not being investing in the UK. If you still want to punt on the pound recovering then you should look for US mutual funds that specialize in investing in the UK - because those investments will experience the bump in value if/when the pound recovers.

cranston

Exactly right.

The SP500s long term average gain is around 11% per year. Rather than punt fx whilst you have a higher probability of growth in the US stock market.

Hotscot

I've known a few FX traders.
They got lucky a few times before losing it.

Timing's for mugs.

Pulaski

A lot lost their job in London about 20 years ago, as currency volatilities waned and many European currencies disappeared …. and they set up their own on-line FX businesses, which is where WorldFirst, Transferwise, and a myriad other on-line FX platforms came from. The owners of these businesses correctly surmised that there was more money to be made from selling a service to others than staking your own money ….. and these are experienced FX traders!

PeterFrank

Pulaski

You're welcome.

mrken30

The FTSE100 generally follows the dollar. If you want to follow the GBP more look at FTSE 250 funds.

hutchison

I have this same question about the US, how do you invest as a non resident over here?

do investment companies accept non residents?

Pulaski

As long as you have an SSN you should be OK.

mrken30

Sometimes it's easier to invest using a company based in the country of residence. Both Vanguard and Fidelity allow you to invest in index funds based in both countries. Vanguard also has an article about hedging currencies, https://www.ftse.com/vanguard .Vanguard US allows you to invest in VAFTIGI . I am not sure about Vanguard UK but I assume it is similar.

durham_lad

I think you might find it difficult to open a new account with a broker if you are not resident in the USA. We reside in the UK but invest in the USA using the same broker, Vanguard, we used while living in the USA. I checked with them before we moved back if they supported overseas customers and they said no problem if you are an existing customer. So far so good, we have IRAs and regular after-tax investments with them (ETFs), linked to our US bank account for moving money back and forth.

From Vanguard's terms and conditions

For overseas investors with Vanguard it looks like, for the UK, you can invest with Vanguard.co.uk but I don't know how the IRS views the funds offered.
https://global.vanguard.com/portal/site/home