UK broker for non-residents

[RetireJapan]

I keep getting this question, and I am not aware of any UK broker that will work with non-residents (specifically Japan residents).

Are there any?

[adamu]

Sorry I don't know the answer but I suspect money laundering regulations make it very difficult.

There's a pretty comprehensive list of brokers on Monevator, and also some discussions in the comments about non-residents.

https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheape ... e-brokers/

[RetireJapan]

I just want to know if anyone is using a UK broker while living in Japan (and not lying about it by pretending to live in the UK). I keep getting asked about it and basically tell people it's not possible, but if I'm wrong I'd like to know

[Kanto]

I just want to know if anyone is using a UK broker while living in Japan (and not lying about it by pretending to live in the UK). I keep getting asked about it and basically tell people it's not possible, but if I'm wrong I'd like to know

Would Interactive Brokers Tokyo not be an option?

IBKR seems to accept changes of residency, though the stated terms are vague.

IBKR Japan -> IBKR UK should be possible.

...

Saxo might also do the same, they have UK and Japanese accounts.

...

In my experience as a Canadian, I could only find one broker that was willing to OPEN an account for a non-resident. (Questtrade).

[RetireJapan]

In my experience as a Canadian, I could only find one broker that was willing to OPEN an account for a non-resident. (Questtrade).

That's basically the question: an actual UK broker (in the UK) so people can use their UK bank, funds they have in the UK, etc.

I have had several UK investment accounts forcibly closed over the years once they realised I was in Japan and they would have to register with the FSA here in order to do business with me

[adamu]

Since they're so Wise, I imagine brokerage accounts could be on the horizon.

[RetireJapan]

That would be great, but I won't hold my breath. Their debit card app is really good.

[Moneymatters]

I’ve shilled for them before so might as well do it again. Trading212. Yeah it’s a bit of a meme but if you just want to buy and hold it’s fine.
Currently new account creations are taking an age and the wait list is of indeterminable length.

But you can open an account and be honest about living here. One small issue is you can only choose € or $ for your account currency. But you have access to the same things as uk residents with the exception of ISA accounts of course. So you can buy GBP denominated stocks or funds for example.

[RetireJapan]

I’ve shilled for them before so might as well do it again. Trading212. Yeah it’s a bit of a meme but if you just want to buy and hold it’s fine.
Currently new account creations are taking an age and the wait list is of indeterminable length.

But you can open an account and be honest about living here. One small issue is you can only choose € or $ for your account currency. But you have access to the same things as uk residents with the exception of ISA accounts of course. So you can buy GBP denominated stocks or funds for example.

Thanks! Just had a look and it seems like they have suspended opening new accounts -joined the wait list so we'll see.

This might turn out like Nutmeg though -happy to take non-residents until they got big enough to hire some lawyers and realise they didn't want the hassle

[imaginatorium]

I just tried contacting a (more or less random) stockbroker in Manchester about opening an account, and got a polite, almost friendly response: "Due to legislation and regulations we are unable to accept any new clients who do not reside in the UK" That seems like a fairly clear statement that it is not that they are legally prevented from offering services, but that the hassle of "checking" a new applicant for all this terrorism stuff, or whateveritis, is simply economically prohibitive. About three years ago I contacted a stockbroker on the south coast, who said "Yes, please complete the form", but the form requires two bits of paper from each of me and my wife, none of which immediately exist. (Neither of us has a passport, so she does not immediately have any document with her name in roman letters; they explicitly accept ID cards (etc) from the EEA, which implies they might not be able to accept any Japanese document; they want documents with our address, presumably in roman letters, etc etc etc. I mean, does *any* married couple living together really have "utility bills" in both names?) I just got tired and gave up - I have previously spend probably weeks of my time trying this bank, that 司法書士, to work out how to get the necessary bits of paper to extract an investment, eventually paying 11,500 yen to the Notary Public, somewhat more than 1% of the total.

Anyway: my problem is not that I want to "start trading". It is that a large chunk of our retirement savings is in the form of shares on the London Stock Exchange in certificated form. (We have held all of these for more than 20 years, so I am unable to see what advantage there would have been in having a wotsit account, and paying 5000-6000 pounds? over that time to have the dividends paid into our account by someone else, and have shareholder communications intercepted. But, ... we need to sell some of them.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience of how this might be done?