Vanguard Life Strategy - Investing from abroad

granvilleclutterbuck

Good morning folks, a MSE posting newbie here.

Thought i'd put this as a separate thread to the other one about who intends to invest in this fund.

The fund appears to be UK only. Are there any expats who invest in this, or have found a way to? Is the requirement just to have a registered address? Vanguard appear to be somewhat quiet about this one when i've tried to get information on this.

cheers,

Tim

PenguinJim

Couldn't you invest through your trading platform?

Archi_Bald

"abroad" is a rather open ended place. What country do you live in, what are the stumbling blocks for you to invest in Vanguard funds or similar funds?

granvilleclutterbuck

Archi_Bald wrote: »

"abroad" is a rather open ended place. What country do you live in, what are the stumbling blocks for you to invest in Vanguard funds or similar funds?

I'm living in the Netherlands.

Stumbling blocks that are to sign up for other Vanguard funds directly in Ireland, a minimum investment of 100,000 euros is required.

There are only a limited number of their funds available from brokers in NL. ETFs are available, but that means missing out on the benefits of compounding, and also require that i do more rebalancing.

The LifeStrategy fits in pretty nicely with what im looking for.

granvilleclutterbuck

lol, just after i post a reply, i finally get confirmation from Vanguard that you need to be a permanent resident of the UK to be able to invest in this fund.

brasso

If you already have a SIPP or S&S ISA or trading account in the UK, I presume that it's OK? But if you don't, then no, you wouldn't be able to open one in order to invest in the fund.

ozzage

I've read in various other places that German investors who are trying to invest in Vanguard end up buying the ETFs as they have no other option. I suspect it will be the same for the Netherlands.

Archi_Bald

brasso wrote: »

If you already have a SIPP or S&S ISA or trading account in the UK, I presume that it's OK? But if you don't, then no, you wouldn't be able to open one in order to invest in the fund.

You are unlikely to be allowed to make further subscriptions to an ISA if you are no longer a UK resident. Though you could probably sell existing investments and purchase new ones from the proceeds, within the wrapper. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/isa/faqs.htm#14

Not sure what the SIPP rules are for non-residents but I would think that you would not receive any HMRC contribution, which then makes it not much more attractive than a normal trading account.

Some providers allow non UK residents to open trading accounts. For example, I believe anyone other than US and canadian citizens and residents can apply for a TD Direct trading account.

ozzage

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Not sure what the SIPP rules are for non-residents but I would think that you would not receive any HMRC contribution, which then makes it not much more attractive than a normal trading account.

One point to note is that UK pensions (including SIPPs) sometimes have special rules in other European countries as they are viewed as equivalent to whatever local retirement saving options exist, and can therefore remain tax-free locally whereas income and capital gains from ISAs and unwrapped accounts may well be taxable income in the country of residence. Would depend on the local tax laws and the details of any double-taxation agreements but worth looking in potentially.

granvilleclutterbuck

Thanks for all the advice folks,

My tax status is partial non resident. This basically gives me some tax advantages over in the Netherlands, but at the same time means that i am taxed on all income worldwide at the Netherlands.

My last investment was sold quite a few years ago, my apartment, and other than my lloyds tsb current account, thats about it for financial items in the uk.

I'll phone the DWP and see if i can get some advice on the pensions side and how these may work.

thanks for all the responses folks!

PenguinJim

If you have access to a UK address as well as that UK bank account, why not set up a UK trading platform? Email them explaining your situation first, rather than just using their automatic sign-up.

Then just use that trading platform to buy into Vanguard.

If you're transferring money from the Netherlands, don't transfer directly using banks. Use an international currency transfer service such as UKForex (that's an example, not a recommendation either way - I have not used them). You'll avoid high bank fees and get a much better conversion rate.