# Investment friendly countries for US citizens ?



## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

I am a dual national (US / Mexico) residing in Mexico.
I have no plans to renounce any citizenship at this point BUT more and more often I am running into 'speed bumps' when I try to do financial stuff.
One large brokerage firm in the US will not allow me to set a beneficiary on my brokerage account. Another competitive firm has no issues.
One large US brokerage firm will not allow me to place my own trades online. I need to wait on hold and have the transaction placed for me.
One large Mexican bank will not allow me to invest in any assets which have anything to do with the US. I am limited to 'funds' which invest solely in Mexico.(They use a large US based fund manager). 
I could go on...

But my question is - are there countries where all people are treated as equals ? I am perfectly willing to comply with the FATCA notifications etc. but are there countries where I can open an account, move some money and invest it just like every other person (citizen or non-citizen, resident or non-resident) in that country ? 

Hopefully my question makes sense.


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## LordD (Jun 19, 2019)

MangoTango said:


> I am a dual national (US / Mexico) residing in Mexico.
> I have no plans to renounce any citizenship at this point BUT more and more often I am running into 'speed bumps' when I try to do financial stuff.
> One large brokerage firm in the US will not allow me to set a beneficiary on my brokerage account. Another competitive firm has no issues.
> One large US brokerage firm will not allow me to place my own trades online. I need to wait on hold and have the transaction placed for me.
> ...


Foreign investment is a very complex subject for US citizens and a lot depends on the country of residence and the tax treaty they have with the US. That’s were you need to start your research. You also don’t want to fall into the foreign investment category if Mexico does not have a strong, clear, concise treaty. Most US expats are limited to basic employer “401k equivalent” contributions or US investments without having to file very complex returns.

Good luck in your quest.


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## Harry Moles (11 mo ago)

I have no idea how Canadian banks would deal with a non-resident non-citizen, but for Canadian residents I know of no restrictions on the investment products offered to customers who've been identified as US persons (even investment products that would suffer from toxic US tax treatment if reported honestly). Note that any accounts not falling into the normal registered categories (RRSP, TFSA, etc.) would be subject to FATCA reporting, for US-person customers. Note also that it's very easy for Canadian residents to conceal US person status, because they can open accounts using ID that does not show place of birth.


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## 255 (Sep 8, 2018)

@MangoTango -- On the U.S. side, a lot of U.S. firms have made a business decision not to support clients (U.S. citizens or not) that do not reside in the U.S. The other issue is the additional reporting of collective investments (funds,) PFICs.

The solution seems to be to invest in individual stocks, by perhaps transferring your account to a firm like "Interactive Brokers" (IB,) if you want to make online trades. Alternatively, there have been, at least a couple of investment advisors, that have been mentioned on this forum previously that support expats.

I had similar issues when I lived in Bolivia and I contracted with a mail forwarding firm (in a no tax state) and then changed the addresses for all of my banks and brokerage accounts to my new Seattle address -- problem solved. I still have that address 30 years later. Florida seems to currently be the state that supports travelers the best, but there are others.

You might consider doing both, obtaining a mail forwarding address (preferably with a "street" address,) open an account with IB and then do a direct transfer of your current accounts, from the brokerages that don't really want your business. Cheers, 255


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## 255 (Sep 8, 2018)

@MangoTango -- Sorry, I gave you a solution, but I didn't really answer your question. Your problem is with your U.S. nexus. The U.S. has deemed it OK to pass extra-territorial laws that affect foreign companies/states. I learned that this was illegal, in high school Civics class, but the U.S. Government has essentially written laws that blackmail foreign entities into compliance.

In most countries, you can open bank and brokerage accounts, without issue -- I've done this in many countries (albeit before FATCA.) They will treat you under their laws. Unfortunately, the U.S. has "turned the screws" in some jurisdictions that made it not palatable to deal with U.S. citizens anymore. When the U.S. first passed FATCA, a lot of foreign financial firms stopped doing business with U.S. clients. This has now eased somewhat, especially with the big firms, that would have reporting requirement anyway or with countries that signed reporting treaty agreements -- most just want a current IRS form W-9, on file. Cheers, 255


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

To be honest about it, any bank or investment company that wants to be able to do business in or with the US (even just buying and selling of US stocks) is going to ask you about your tax "residence" - which, for an American living anywhere outside the US is both their country of residence and the US. It all has to do with the FATCA regulations for foreign financial institutions. Those that don't want the hassle of the FATCA compliance will find some way or another to exclude "US persons" from their customer pool.


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