IFA for UK/US dual national

bostonerimus

tomquery wrote: »

bostonerimus- it seems that even if I opt not to invest in UK funds via my workplace pension I may still require advice in respect of my employer contributions.
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You can invest in anything that is allowed in a UK pension fund without worrying about PFIC issues or being liable to US tax until you make withdrawals....and then they will be taxed as income in the US and the UK.

EdSwippet

bostonerimus wrote: »

Does this explain why I can't find the US Vanguard VTI ETF quoted on the H&L site anymore?

Yes. It's exactly this. All UK platforms have now removed them. Interactive Brokers also no longer offer them to EU residents.

tomquery wrote: »

I was under the impression that even UK investment funds within a UK pension wrapper would attract US tax. Perhaps I am confusing this with the ISA situation?

You actually have a bit of a choice. UK pensions are not qualifying US plans, but the US/UK tax treaty allows you to consider UK pensions to be US tax-deferred and so PFIC-unencumbered if it is useful for you to do so. Oddly, sometimes it may not be. A little more in this paper: http://www.pjdtax.co.uk/updates/post/uk-and-us-pensions-for-us-taxpayers

Finally, if considering renunciation you might want to note that up until 2010 this was free, in 2010 the US introduced a 'processing fee' of $450, and in 2014 it raised the fee to $2,350, currently the highest citizenship renunciation fee on the face of the planet. That's a pretty clear (and steep) trajectory.

dunstonh

Normal UK IFA fees are 20k on 1M just to say where to invest the money

No they are not. That is far higher than most would charge. Although most "normal" UK IFAs will not be able to advise US citizens. So, that leaves you with a much smaller number to select from and the larger national/international brand names are typically much more expensive and have figures of the level you suggest.