Moving abroad (currently using AJBell)

masonic

Providers would normally allow you to buy and sell investments within the account if they let you keep it at all. If AJ Bell has told you that you would be unable even to transact within the account, then that could be reason itself to move. What happens if one of your holdings goes through a corporate action that needs you to act, or closes?

If fees cannot be covered by dividends from your investments, then AJ Bell would need to sell holdings to cover the fee, which will add transaction costs. I'm sure they'd be willing to go on providing that "service".

Bostonerimus1

Where you become tax resident is important as it will determine how your worldwide income is taxed. Owning investment funds in a country other than the one where you live makes taxes more complicated and can run into local restrictions on the type if investments you can own. The treatment of cross-border pensions is also a long term thing to understand.

A plan might involve leaving some money in the UK and moving some to wherever you plan to live. You should always ask UK providers how they will deal with you when you become non-UK resident.

Tassie_Devil

MoneySavingHope said:

by the way, now I'm also wondering... if I won't be able to put any more money into the account, how will I be able to pay for the monthly fee if I run out of "cash" in my wallet at some point? 

You can opt to pay your fees from a dealing account with AJB. 

masonic

Tassie_Devil said:

MoneySavingHope said:

by the way, now I'm also wondering... if I won't be able to put any more money into the account, how will I be able to pay for the monthly fee if I run out of "cash" in my wallet at some point? 

You can opt to pay your fees from a dealing account with AJB. 

I don't think that helps in this case as they won't let a non-resident add money to their dealing account either.

MoneySavingHope

Thanks all for the replies so far. So, I've talked to a AJBell adviser and I can confirm I will not be able to do put money into my wallet, even if it's just to pay for the maintenance fees. So Eventually, I will have to sell my shares to pay, if dividends from my other shares won't be enough at some point...

Is there any other option, you reckon?

masonic

MoneySavingHope said:

Thanks all for the replies so far. So, I've talked to a AJBell adviser and I can confirm I will not be able to do put money into my wallet, even if it's just to pay for the maintenance fees. So Eventually, I will have to sell my shares to pay, if dividends from my other shares won't be enough at some point...

Is there any other option, you reckon?

It's worth looking into other providers. There aren't many to choose from but some will allow payment of fees by other methods. For example, Hargreaves Lansdown will let you pay by debit card (although you have to do it manually). There might be a provider who would collect by direct debit (assuming you can retain a UK bank account). You might even find one who allows you to trade within the account. I'd be very reluctant to lock into specific investments without the possibility of being able to change them.

Something to consider is pulling the money out of the LISA (yes, at a net cost of 6.25%) to reinvest in a SIPP where you'd have more choice of providers and better recognition abroad as a pension. This assumes of course that you have sufficient earnings to be able to contribute that much.

Bostonerimus1

Schwab have a good reputation with American expats for accommodating them, but I have no idea about their UK operation. You might be able to keep your accounts and just sell at some point. I would look into investing wherever you intend to live and understand how that country treats overseas accounts. Paying fees at AJ Bell is the least of your worries.

MoneySavingHope

@masonic I don't think it would be wise for me to pull all of my money now and pay the penalty (including losing the 25% the government has been adding every year), so I would rather just swap platform.
That being said though, considering that from my understanding (I might be wrong, so please correct me if so), I think AJBell is pretty much the cheapest in terms of maintenance fee that can hold a LISA account, so, perhaps I can just leave a lump sum (for example£1k) in there now that I still can, and hopefully over time my shares will grow enough so that the dividends they are paying will be enough to cover for the maintenance fee? 

Either way I will certainly find another platform that I can use from Italy, so this would be just for the money already "locked" in here. 

MoneySavingHope

I see there is a cheaper version of AJBell called "AJBell dodl" so perhaps, if I'm going with the option of staying with them and leave a lump sum, I can just swap to AJBell dodl and pay less overall?

masonic

Only worth pulling it out of the LISA if you can pay it into a SIPP to get a 25% uplift again from tax relief.

Dodl is not as cheap as the main AJ Bell account for larger balances as it is uncapped. Would be swings and roundabouts for £30k+. Just requires the swapping of open- for closed-ended equivalent funds on AJ Bell.

It should be easy enough to generate >£50 pa in dividends from your portfolio. This might take a swap from Acc to Inc for one or more fund holdings.

The main concern I'd have is the lack of service, which I don't think will be so much of a problem everywhere. Should a large holding go through some change resulting in it having to be sold, you'd be unable to reinvest. Likewise if Neil Woodford gets appointed as the new fund manager