US shares held - best to leave until selling or transfer to UK brokerage?

mjwraw

I currently have some IBM 'Restricted Stock Units' which were awarded to all IBM employees a good long time ago, and whilst I no longer work for IBM, I was there long enough to qualify for these shares so they are now mine to do with as I please. They're currently held by Morgan Stanley in the US, and what I'm trying to work out is whether I'd be better off just leaving them there until I decide to sell them and take the cash, (I have no idea what fees or other charges I might incur as a 'foreign national' if trying to sell via Morgan Stanley), or if it would be better to transfer them to a UK broker now, (again, not sure what fees Morgan Stanley would charge to transfer to a UK broker), so that when I do come to sell them it will be that much easier?

LobsterMemory

Why not ask Morgan Stanley for the information on fees and processes for selling and transferring shares and then come back on here?

[Deleted User]

I don't know about the tax situation but assuming a level-playing field and the following points:-

1. Investors are protected for much higher sums in the USA, nearly £400k in securities and £190k for cash. And looking at the SVS fiasco, it is hard to imagine they would handle it any worse.
2. If you sell US stock here, brokers are entitled to shave a commission from the exchange rate.
3. My stockbroker use Bank Of New York to hold clients' US stocks.

-in light of the above, maybe you should be looking to send the rest of your holdings to America, rather than the other way round.

sausage_time

I'd probably leave them there if you want to hang on to them.  Make sure you complete a W8-BEN otherwise you will pay federal taxes on the dividends.

When you come to sell I’m sure Morgan-Stanley can wire to your UKP account.  My employer use Schwab for RSUs, and Schwab charge $25 for an overnight transfer and they give decent FX rate.  Schwab also offer a US$ Visa Debit card, and you can access the proceeds and dividends that way. But check what MS would offer and charge.

mjwraw

Great info, thanks all, I shall leave them be for now. And yes, I'll speak to Morgan Stanley before I do do anything.

EdSwippet

It's been a few years, but my ex-employer also used Morgan Stanley as their broker for RSUs. I don't recall any issues using them; all reasonably straightforward provided you keep a valid W-8BEN on file (note that these can expire after a few years, so make sure to renew when required).

For best forex, consider having Morgan Stanley send USD to a Transferwise 'Borderless Account' or similar, and then handle the exchange into GBP yourself there. Also a potential small saving on wire fees, since the transfer from Morgan Stanley to Transferwise USD will be a US domestic wire or ACH, and likely cheaper than international.

sausage_time

Upvote for TransferWise.  I do exactly this too 

HappyClapper01

Hi,  Morgan Stanley are saying they cannot payout into Transferwise as the account is in the name of Transferwise not me as an individual.  Did you definitely get them to do this?

sausage_time

As noted above, I'm tied to (and transfer from) Schwab.  But my US bank details in TransferWise appear to list me as the account holder?   I'm sure Schwab had the same requirements, but I could set it up online no trouble.

From the TransferWise on-line help (for US$):

Your bank details include:

• account name — your name as it appears on your TransferWise account
• account number
• routing numbers — both a wire transfer number and an ACH routing number
• SWIFT code — for international payments from countries other than the US
• local US address — if your payer needs to include an address, use: TransferWise, 19 W 24th Street, New York, 10010