# Wealth/investment advisor for US citizen living abroad with non-US spouse



## preguntasenpucela (10 mo ago)

I'm writing to ask whether anyone can recommend an international wealth/investment advisor. We live in Spain; I'm a US citizen with permanent residence in Spain, and my husband is a Spanish citizen. We have low-to-mid six-figure savings that we'd like to start investing for retirement and to at least keep up with inflation. I'm in compliance with US tax reporting and we're both up-to-date on Spanish taxes, but we have no idea how to start investing in real estate, stocks, etc., without royally screwing ourselves over, and are hoping to find an advisor willing to work with non-super-wealthy clients. Please no suggestions that I renounce my US citizenship. Many thanks in advance.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Unfortunately, it seems like international wealth/investment advisors seem to direct their services primarily to the wealthy - or so it seems. As far as I have seen, here in Europe, many people of "modest means" tend to rely mainly on their bank to advise them for investing purposes - but I can tell you from experience that most bank counselors have no clue about the US tax laws that make this type of investment so difficult for US citizens living overseas.

You might want to look into an organization called AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) which is based in Paris, but had members in many countries. They provide quite a bit of tax and other financial information for their members regarding the US tax laws and restrictions, and they may have some members in Spain who you could contact (i.e. member to member) for guidance or recommendations of tax advisors familiar with both the US and Spanish tax systems.






AARO - Association of Americans Resident Overseas


The Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), founded in 1973 and headquartered in Paris, is an international, non-partisan association with members in 21 countries. It researches issues that significantly affect the lives of overseas Americans and keeps its members informed on those...




aaro.org


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## JustLurking (Mar 25, 2015)

At least consider simply having the non-US partner doing all the investing for you as a couple. Avoid joint accounts, joint mortgages if you can) and intermingling your finances in general. That, and filing your own US tax as Married Filing Separately, keeps the vast majority of your financial lives free and clear of US and IRS interference, and importantly allows the non-US partner to use local investment advisers with minimal danger of running into US tax traps.

The one place you (individually) might be safe with investing is in a local Spanish pension. The US/Spain tax treaty looks to be relatively good on these, at first glance; read it carefully, though.

All of this may mean that you miss out on some optimisations, such as locally tax-free accounts, but that can sometimes be a small price to pay to cut the IRS out of everything you do.


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## sirpo2011 (4 mo ago)

preguntasenpucela said:


> I'm writing to ask whether anyone can recommend an international wealth/investment advisor. We live in Spain; I'm a US citizen with permanent residence in Spain, and my husband is a Spanish citizen. We have low-to-mid six-figure savings that we'd like to start investing for retirement and to at least keep up with inflation. I'm in compliance with US tax reporting and we're both up-to-date on Spanish taxes, but we have no idea how to start investing in real estate, stocks, etc., without royally screwing ourselves over, and are hoping to find an advisor willing to work with non-super-wealthy clients. Please no suggestions that I renounce my US citizenship. Many thanks in advance.


Keep your money in your pocket American 6 figures = Credit Union CD if you are looking for someone to do it for you other wise you swim with the sharks


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## janiceD (4 mo ago)

I am an American Expat, living in Europe. If you are looking for a good advisor with US and Spanish cross-border knowledge, you should contact <snip>


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Just a friendly reminder - making specific recommendations about businesses or commercial services is limited to members who have successfully integrated themselves into the Expat Forums community. You cannot promote your own business or services unless you are registered as a Premium or Vendor members - and then, only in the areas provided for advertising. Please contact VerticalScope for information about rates and conditions for advertising (see bottom of the page for contact information.


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## janiceD (4 mo ago)

Bevdeforges said:


> Just a friendly reminder - making specific recommendations about businesses or commercial services is limited to members who have successfully integrated themselves into the Expat Forums community. You cannot promote your own business or services unless you are registered as a Premium or Vendor members - and then, only in the areas provided for advertising. Please contact VerticalScope for information about rates and conditions for advertising (see bottom of the page for contact information.


I don't work for that company. I simply replied to the request for help based on a company I have used for my own expat needs. Is this not allowed?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

janiceD said:


> I don't work for that company. I simply replied to the request for help based on a company I have used for my own expat needs. Is this not allowed?


Not until you've posted a few messages without promoting a business or service. It's simply a matter of getting to know you first. You can always send the poster a private message with your suggestion. Click on their avatar in any message and then use the button marked Message in the lower right corner of the pop up you get.


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## preguntasenpucela (10 mo ago)

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. "Put it all in your husband's name" is about what I expected to hear, although it certainly chafes against my every instinct. I'll look into the AARO, and if anyone does want to recommend a particular advisor/company, I'm open to receiving PMs (janiceD, I have already messaged you).


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## JustLurking (Mar 25, 2015)

preguntasenpucela said:


> "Put it all in your husband's name" is about what I expected to hear, although it certainly chafes against my every instinct. ...


Entirely understood.

You could of course complain to your congresscritter, but if you do you'll just be joining a chorus. Expect either no response, or some variant of "We've always done it this way, so it must be right." Or less sensitively, but equally unhelpfully, "Drop dead."


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## myersd314 (6 mo ago)

preguntasenpucela said:


> I'm writing to ask whether anyone can recommend an international wealth/investment advisor. We live in Spain; I'm a US citizen with permanent residence in Spain, and my husband is a Spanish citizen. We have low-to-mid six-figure savings that we'd like to start investing for retirement and to at least keep up with inflation. I'm in compliance with US tax reporting and we're both up-to-date on Spanish taxes, but we have no idea how to start investing in real estate, stocks, etc., without royally screwing ourselves over, and are hoping to find an advisor willing to work with non-super-wealthy clients. Please no suggestions that I renounce my US citizenship. Many thanks in advance.


I would suggest speaking with a multi- national tax lawyer. My husband ( who is a US Lawyer) set us an appointment with a well regarded legal firm on our recent trip to Italy for exact reasons. Except we are US citizens contemplating living and investing in EU in the next year or so!
Very informative, and they recommended us to a high caliber real estate commercial broker. 
That is the best way to approach investing abroad with your circumstance's. Only lawyers know what to do!


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## myersd314 (6 mo ago)

myersd314 said:


> I would suggest speaking with a multi- national tax lawyer. My husband ( who is a US Lawyer) set us an appointment with a well regarded legal firm on our recent trip to Italy for exact reasons. Except we are US citizens contemplating living and investing in EU in the next year or so!
> Very informative, and they recommended us to a high caliber real estate commercial broker.
> That is the best way to approach investing abroad with your circumstance's. Only lawyers know what to do!


P.S. all were based in EU and also had offices in US and England, etc. cost was nominal in comparison to quality exact knowledge.


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## 255 (Sep 8, 2018)

@preguntasenpucela -- There are a few boutique U.S. investment advisors that cater to expat clients. There have been a few older threads that make a couple of recommendations. Alternately, you could utilize a brokerage firm like Interactive Brokers that opens accounts world-wide to trade stocks, futures, options, currency and now even crypto. 

Real estate is a separate "kettle of fish." I'd recommend you put each investment property in an local pass through entity (LLC,) and designate them as a "disregarded entity" for tax reasons. make the LLC wholly owned by a "holding" LLC, in a no tax jurisdiction. This could be an onshore state like WY or an offshore location like Nevis. Consider making the holding LLC a disregarded entity and file a U.S. Partnership return. I have no knowledge of Spanish taxes. 

I see zero reasons to not invest yourself. You might want to invest in a separate LLC. If financial accounts are in your name, that just means you have a reporting requirement -- so what. The reason often touted to keep all accounts in the NRA spouses name is to shelter it from U.S. FBAR reporting. So just report it. Good luck. Cheers, 255


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## LeeSEA (Oct 27, 2021)

I joined American Citizens Abroad (americansabroad.org) and it has been very helpful. They have a listing for vendors. But one vendor stands out, specializing in the nuances of cross border citizenships, investing and keeping things clean for taxes (US and foreign). They have webinars that are exceptionally well attended, and have popular Q&A sessions that can run for 3 hours or more because David Kuenzi answers every question before signing off. Minimum investment is 100K.
ACA also offers webinars on topics of taxation, banking, and all topics of interest to expats.


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## preguntasenpucela (10 mo ago)

myersd314 said:


> I would suggest speaking with a multi- national tax lawyer. My husband ( who is a US Lawyer) set us an appointment with a well regarded legal firm on our recent trip to Italy for exact reasons. Except we are US citizens contemplating living and investing in EU in the next year or so!
> Very informative, and they recommended us to a high caliber real estate commercial broker.
> That is the best way to approach investing abroad with your circumstance's. Only lawyers know what to do!


Hi mayersd314, might I ask what your process was to find and vet this legal firm (i.e., Google, personal recommendation, expat association, etc.)? I don't know any other Americans in Spain, and our local friends and family aren't able to help us in this regard.


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