Suggestions for a spouse account/investment

[LifeinJapan]

Greetings,

I'm a US citizen in Japan with both Charles Schwab and International Brokers Accounts.
Mostly invested into a target date index fund, along with some low cost Vanguard ETF's.
All this came at the advice of a financial planner for US expats.

My wife (Japanese National) has a significant amount of money just sitting in her bank, and finaly seems ready to do something with it.

My Question:

What would make the most sense for her to do with 15-20 million yen she wants long term growth from? (and has little to no maintenance)

She could potentially be living in the US or another country at a later point in time.

Is there a brokerage / investment vehicle that would compliment my investments? be portable? or give her a tax savings?

I don't want to giver her bad advice and not sure if just copying a set up like me with an IB Japan account and VTI would be appropriate or not.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,


J

[RetireJapan]

In Japan an online broker would give your wife access to NISA and possibly iDeCo accounts (these are tax-advantaged). An account in Japan would have low fees and little in the way of paperwork. Using a tax-deducting taxable account (特定口座) means no need to file taxes. However, if she left Japan she would have to liquidate and close the accounts.

Outside of Japan a broker would incur the cost of sending money to the broker, plus the paperwork to file taxes in Japan. But if she left Japan she could likely keep the account.

The main factor is how likely your wife is to leave Japan, and when. If several decades away, I would probably invest through a Japanese broker, if a couple of years away, an overseas broker.

[LifeinJapan]

Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it. Yes, I see. So in her case a Japan based account makes the most sense. Cheers!

[beanhead]

You also need to be careful about how you file taxes in the US. There are some situations where the craziness of U.S. tax laws can also apply to your wife, hampering her ability to invest in Japan.
Americans here can hopefully explain in more detail, or perhaps take a look at the Japan Finance reddit sub. I am sure I have read about similar situations on there.

[RetireJapan]

You also need to be careful about how you file taxes in the US. There are some situations where the craziness of U.S. tax laws can also apply to your wife, hampering her ability to invest in Japan.
Americans here can hopefully explain in more detail, or perhaps take a look at the Japan Finance reddit sub. I am sure I have read about similar situations on there.

That is a very good point that I forgot. If OP's wife has a green card (and thus a responsibility to file taxes with the IRS), or they file jointly, then she basically can't really do much here