Vanguard Life Strategy - Investing from abroad

granvilleclutterbuck

PenguinJim wrote: »

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.

Ahhhh, i didnt know the fund was available also through brokers, thought it was just direct with Vanguard, thanks. Will do some looking through MSE tonight for recommended traders.

TCA

granvilleclutterbuck wrote: »

Ahhhh, i didnt know the fund was available also through brokers, thought it was just direct with Vanguard, thanks. Will do some looking through MSE tonight for recommended traders.

Try here: http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

granvilleclutterbuck

TCA wrote: »

Try here: .....

Thanks for that. I also had a look at information from HM Revenue last night, and ironically they refer in their documentation that a permanent resident was a general term and there was no specific definition. So it's open to interpretation.

After this, spoke to TD Direct Investment and they advised that as long as i had a permanent address in the UK and partial resident tax status, it would be fine. However, they will confirm later today.

Still some research to be done about Capital Gains tax and liability for this in the UK, but may be able to offset this against pension contributions in the Netherlands.

lol, just registering for investing can be involved!

colsten

granvilleclutterbuck wrote: »

Thanks for that. I also had a look at information from HM Revenue last night, and ironically they refer in their documentation that a permanent resident was a general term and there was no specific definition. So it's open to interpretation.

Not quite - there is a pretty firm set of rules: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/rdr3.pdf

I don't believe there is any such thing as partial residency. If you are at a loss, you can contact the HMRC directly. They will confirm your residency status to you in writing.

granvilleclutterbuck

colsten wrote: »

Not quite - there is a pretty firm set of rules......

I don't believe there is any such thing as partial residency. If you are at a loss, you can contact the HMRC directly. They will confirm your residency status to you in writing.

The bit i had found from HMRC was :

"It is important to understand what is meant by 'resident in the UK' because this will determine what UK tax you have to pay. There is no special definition of the word 'residence' for tax. It takes its normal, everyday meaning. It is not just about whether you have a house or flat in the UK or about how much time you spend there, but the more connections you have with the UK the more likely you are to be UK resident. You can be resident in more than one country at the same time."

re partial resident, I'm getting mixed up with Netherlands tax status, where you can be registered as a partial non-resident taxpayer. Looks like the UK has a resident and non resident one.

The question is as much I guess whether the brokers look at taxation status to define 'resident' or just if the person is from the UK and has a UK address.

PenguinJim

The TD Direct Investing account looks a little bit expensive. You understand that there is a £10 quarterly inactivity fee for your account? If you're topping up your LifeStrategy quarterly, you'll get the best-case use of your account - £50 a year, due to one trade per quarter costing £12.50. Investing more often would incur more £12.50 charges, and investing less frequently would leave you with that £10 inactivity charge anyway.

If you went with IWEB (for example; £25 opening fee and £5 per trade) and did quarterly deposits, the first year would be £45, and every subsequent year would be £20, with no inactivity fees if you decided not to invest one quarter or one year.

Any comparisons other than quarterly investments would only make TD Direct Investing seem far more expensive.

It's not a big deal if you're investing large sums, of course. In which case, ignore me.

granvilleclutterbuck

Thats good to know. I'm going through the different brokers from Monevator at the moment, but it's a big list. I see they've got online assistance as well, so i'll have a chat with them.

TCA

granvilleclutterbuck wrote: »

The question is as much I guess whether the brokers look at taxation status to define 'resident' or just if the person is from the UK and has a UK address.

If you start the online process for opening a TD Direct trading account you get this:

Eligibility: To apply for an account online please confirm:

• You are an individual aged 18 or over
• You are a UK resident

If you do not meet these requirements, you may still be able to open an account with us. Please call us on 0800 138 1900 (from abroad, call +44 161 819 6467).


What you'll need:

• Your address details for the past 3 years
• Your debit card details
• A valid UK contact number
• A valid email address
• Your employer details, including the address
• Your national insurance number (if applicable)

It'll be interesting to hear what TD come back with.