Non Resident Shares Sale - Broker

chiang_mai

I have some Aviva shares, registered at Sharecenter and want to sell them, but I'm not UK resident hence Sharecenter wont act for me. I have had no luck trying to identify a broker for this, does anyone know of a broker that will transact on behalf of non-residents?

retiredbanker1

Where are you residing ,Could you find one in that country ? 

chiang_mai

I live in Thailand, there are no brokers here that could do that at anything closely resembling a sensible cost. 

masonic

Unlikely a UK broker would due to regulation of financial services here.

You could try one with an international presence. Interactive Brokers is one that springs to mind, although there are others.

ColdIron

You do know that The Share Centre are now II?

https://www.ii.co.uk/the-share-centre

chiang_mai

ColdIron said:

You do know that The Share Centre are now II?

https://www.ii.co.uk/the-share-centre

My apologies, I said Sharecenter, I meant to write Computershare.

chiang_mai

To wrap this up:

The issue of UK residency pops up from time to time and the impact that it has on our ability to invest or participate in related activities. I recently sold UK shares via the registrar, even though I haven't left Asia for several years and I am not UK resident in the way that is typically implied by the term. I made full and truthful disclosure of my circumstances to the registrar and fortunately, they were willing to look into the matter and think about things, rather than just parrot the dismissive blanket phrase, "cannot, you're not resident".

There are several aspects involved, including, traceability, money laundering, UK tax avoidance, overseas tax avoidance, compliance with regulatory body rules and other things. In my case, I was able to confirm my identity via my passport, my UK Council Tax bill. my UK utility bills and my long standing UK bank account. I had owned less than two thousand Pounds of shares for over 12  years hence money laundering was unlikely to be an issue, nor did they appear to represent the proceeds of crime. The UK tax obligation is nil, because UK CG is not due from non-residents. Overseas tax is not due either since the country where I spend most of my time, operates on a remittance basis. There are no regulatory related rules that would impact the decision, other than ones that pertain to aspects already mentioned. Yet despite those things, the company rules say non-residents (and those residents of some other countries), cannot sell their UK shares. 

All of this is recognition that it is possible to be resident in multiple jurisdictions, simultaneously. This does not necessarily signify criminal intent or an intent to defraud, it's simply a reflection of a different lifestyle where individual affairs are well managed and all information is disclosed appropriately, across and between those jurisdictions. The next time somebody tells you that you can't do this or that, because you are not resident, make them tell you why and make them think about it.

It's worth adding here that the staff at the registrar were most helpful in providing a solution to the problem, for which I am very grateful.