Getting an IFA when an expat

John_D.

My former IFA dropped me as a client. My current wrap account provider (Transact) has consequently hiked its charges dramatically. I need to find a new wrap account.

I'm an expat living in Asia. All the self-directed wrap account providers have turned me down, either because I don't live in the UK or because I don't live in Europe. (I've approached 14 of them.) That only leaves advised wrap accounts. (I don't actually need any advice, and would prefer not to pay, but it looks like the only possible route now.)

Anyway, the 4 IFAs I've approached so far are not prepared to take me on as a client living in Asia and wanting to do business by 'phone/email.

Is it possible to take on an IFA whilst living as an Expat outside Europe? And if so, who should I approach?

Your_Hero

It's unlikely that IFAs will advise on this for a number of reasons as you've found out due to your residency. If you don't require advice, then perhaps you could enquire about transferring it to a DIY platform in Asia?

Alternatively, you could look for an international financial adviser for assistance, deVere group is known is advise expats.

John_D.

The problem with overseas fund platforms (and I already have an account with Internaxx as was, now TD Direct International) is the range of funds offered. I've put a lot of effort into studying UK-based funds and am in particular a great fan of some of Ruffer's and one of Ecclesiastical's funds. I really don't want to go through that learning process again, plus I doubt I'll find equivalent funds offshore. Judging by Internaxx the range of funds available seems to be very limited.

bowlhead99

Though this doesn't really help you with your headline question about IFAs, or indeed the wrappers that you might hold your assets in - one thing to consider is the way in which you get your exposure if you can't get access to UK OEICs or UTs.

If you were looking at investment trusts or investment companies or ETFs or equivalent that were simply listed on UK or major European markets, you wouldn't need a "funds platform" because any broker worth his salt who could trade UK and Ireland or Luxembourg / German / Netherlands markets would be able to get them for you.

There are some very credible UK managers who run ITs as well as their UTs or open ended funds, often with similar strategies. So while the risk profile might be slightly different, there are lots of actively managed investing entities that you can access just by knowing the UK ticker, without needing to have a sophisticated platform which comes with platform/distribution charges.

Alternatively if you were into passive rather than active management, many exchanges have ETFs for most conceivable indexes and so between the UK and US and European exchanges you should be able to find something useful if indexes float your boat.

So, some of your work may be wasted if you can't access a specific UK investment house but other managers or investment vehicles might have a similar strategy in their non-UK mutual fund or trust. Looking beyond UK ITs, if none of them are any good to you: we can't be the only place in the world from which people want to access competently run investment funds... though I haven't had cause to look too far and wide myself.

macca1974

Having had some experience of dealing with ex-pat IFA's, if you already know what you are doing, are happy to self manage and were happy with your transact portfolio then I would suggest taking the increased charges on the chin.

Most ex-pat IFA's will generally guide you towards either an offshore bond, or a white labelled version of an investment platform. However, I would be willing to bet a fair amount that the charges will be considerably more than you are currently paying through Transact even after the fee hike, mainly because of the high commission levels prevalent in the offshore world.

Reaper

Your_Hero wrote: »

Alternatively, you could look for an international financial adviser for assistance, deVere group is known is advise expats.

There are no shortage of "advisors" keen to sell things to ex-pats, but judging by the many threads from ex-pats on this forum they mostly sell plans that generate high commission rather than high growth.

As for deVere I suggest you search this forum and the Internet. You will find a number of investors unhappy at plans they were sold. I'll leave you to judge whether they were exceptions to the norm.

Your_Hero

Reaper wrote: »

There are no shortage of "advisors" keen to sell things to ex-pats, but judging by the many threads from ex-pats on this forum they mostly sell plans that generate high commission rather than high growth.

As for deVere I suggest you search this forum and the Internet. You will find a number of investors unhappy at plans they were sold. I'll leave you to judge whether they were exceptions to the norm.

You are probably right, I've not had much dealings in the international scene and it's not my field of expertise. It was just a suggestion to speak to someone from a larger company who deals with expats, rather than DIY since OP didn't want this.