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US expat wealth management: relevant questions

Expert cross border wealth management and international asset protection for US citizens and expats.

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Discretionary Portfolio Management

Designed for clients who want their assets holistically managed by the investment manager, but who do not wish to be involved in their management

Portfolio Advisory

The portfolio advisory service is designed for clients who would like their account to be holistically managed but still wish to be involved in every investment decision.

Hold Only

The hold-only service is for clients who do not want discretionary portfolio management or advisory. It applies only to accounts holding cash, precious metals, and commodities, with no securities included. No advisory services or risk monitoring are provided. Clients are solely responsible for asset allocation and all investment decisions.

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US expat wealth management: what changes?

Moving abroad can change the practical context in which an American manages investments. Income and expenditure may be in different currencies. Assets may be held in more than one country, while investment objectives may increasingly reflect an international lifestyle. What does not disappear is the relevance of U.S. status. For US expat wealth management, that distinction matters because investments available in the country of residence are not automatically suitable for a U.S. person. U.S. tax and regulatory considerations can remain relevant even when an investor has lived outside the United States for many years. The starting point is therefore not simply where the investor lives, but how an international investment portfolio can be managed while taking U.S. requirements into account.

Which investments work for US expat wealth management?

Local availability is not the same as suitability. An American living in Europe, the Middle East, or Asia may have access to investment products designed primarily for residents of that market. Some non-U.S. investment vehicles can have particular U.S. tax or reporting implications, including investments potentially subject to Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) rules. This affects US expat wealth management at the portfolio-construction stage. Before comparing individual investments, the investable universe can be assessed to determine which types of assets should be considered. Conventional investment criteria still apply. Risk, expected return, liquidity, diversification, and costs remain relevant. U.S. status adds another consideration rather than replacing them.

US expat wealth management and investment choices

Which currency should you invest in? There is no automatic answer simply because an investor lives in a particular country. An American may earn income in euros, pay expenses in another local currency, and still hold substantial U.S. dollar assets. Future liquidity requirements may involve several currencies as well. Currency exposure can therefore become an important consideration in US expat wealth management. Holding investments denominated in different currencies does not by itself eliminate currency risk, and the currency in which an asset is quoted is not always the same as its underlying economic exposure. Rather than assuming that an expatriate portfolio should move from dollars into the currency of residence, currency positions can be considered alongside the investor's objectives, liabilities, and overall asset allocation.

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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone. Discuss your needs with one of our experts. We are happy to assist you personally.

Switzerland for US expat wealth management

Living outside the United States does not necessarily mean that all financial assets need to move to the new country of residence. An expatriate may maintain banking and investment relationships in different jurisdictions. Where assets are held with a custodian in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, custody can also be separated from investment management. Kaiser Partner Financial Advisors Ltd. is a Zurich-based investment advisor registered with the SEC and focused on U.S. persons. Its US expat wealth management services include Discretionary Portfolio Management and Portfolio Advisory, while the assets themselves remain with the selected custodian bank. Hold Only is also available for relationships that do not include investment advice or portfolio risk monitoring. The appropriate arrangement depends on the investor's requirements rather than expatriate status alone.

US expat wealth management: Continuity across borders

An expatriate's country of residence can change. The investment strategy does not necessarily need to be rebuilt every time it does. Instead, the portfolio can remain anchored to factors that are directly relevant to investment management: objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity needs, asset allocation, and currency exposure. Those parameters provide useful reference points when circumstances change. A relocation may create new currency requirements, for example, while a change in expected expenditure may alter liquidity needs. Each can be assessed for its actual effect on the portfolio. This gives US expat wealth management a more practical purpose than simply managing investments from abroad. It provides an investment framework against which changes in an internationally mobile client's circumstances can be considered. Our investment-management approach is designed to support consistency in the investment strategy as circumstances become increasingly international. Contact us today to find out more.