How difficult is it to open a investment bank account for non-residents

whatodo

So I am not in the UK. Never lived there before, but have visited. I'm a Canadian living in Asia. My parents are giving each of the kids ~500K GBP. Money is coming from Asia. I would like to open a investment account in the UK. How difficult is this? I've talked to HSBC but the person on the phone didn't seem to want to give answers.

xylophone

I've talked to HSBC but the person on the phone didn't seem to want to give answers.

Assuming that you bank with HSBC, would you/your parents not be well advised to book an appointment to discuss matters?

HSBC will have a department that deals with Trusts - assuming that your children are minors, it is virtually certain that some form of trust will be required.

If HSBC will open a Trust account for each child, it should be possible to use the investment banking side of HSBC to invest in shares/funds etc in the normal way?

Voyager2002

And to answer the original question: every bank I have contacted in the UK has insisted on proof of address within the country in order to open an account. So account-opening here will not be easy and may prove impossible: I suspect that the only way you could do it would be to ask a UK solicitor to deal with the Trust work and open an associated account for you.



I cannot think of any reason to hold the funds in a UK bank rather than one in Singapore (or even Hong Kong).

whatodo

Kids as in their kids, i.e. me and siblings.

danm

Aside from the fact that the money is currently in GBP, why do you want a UK bank account? You are in Asia and money coming from Asia.


I am pretty sure that HSBC do some kind of multi-currency accounts. So that may work. The fact that the money is coming from Asia in GBP suggests your parents have something similar, so could you contact their bank?


Alternatively why not open a local account and exchange the GBP for local currency when it is 'given'.

xylophone

Kids as in their kids, i.e. me and siblings.

And none of you are minors....:)

You bank with HSBC in Asia?


It could still be an idea to book an appointment to discuss what might be possible?

At the least if a large sum is to be remitted to your bank account, it would be as well to clear it with HSBC?

You would have the option of consulting an independent financial adviser with specialist expertise in investments for non residents.

You could google - for example, after a quick look through I found this

https://www.expertsforexpats.com/expat-financial-advice/expat-investments-investment-opportunities-reviewed/

but it is very much an overview.