invest in the UK

[arty]

I have even had existing ones closed due to Japanese government pressure.

How did that come about?

[RetireJapan]

How did that come about?

I had an investment account with NatWest Stockbrokers. One day out of the blue I received a letter from them saying "we are going to close your account in two weeks, please tell us where to send the money". I looked into it and apparently Japan requires all investment companies doing business with residents of Japan to register with the FSA here. I guess NatWest Stockbrokers decided it was easier to get rid of their Japan-domiciled clients than to go through that process

[KyushuWoozy]

You might try opening an investment account with Degiro (based in Netherlands).

I looked at the FAQ for Degiro UK. Non-residents can open accounts but need a UK bank account (which I don't have). Any Degiro alternatives? Basically I want to invest in index funds, want cheap fees, and can do so as Brit resident in Japan. Any advice appreciated.

PS: I already have L&G account which meet all criteria above except fees are too high for my liking.

Thanks ...

[RetireJapan]

I was extremely pleasantly surprised to be able to sign up for Degiro in about ten minutes... will post about it on the blog if I manage to use the account

[stevendorrans]

I looked at the FAQ for Degiro UK. Non-residents can open accounts but need a UK bank account (which I don't have). Any Degiro alternatives? Basically I want to invest in index funds, want cheap fees, and can do so as Brit resident in Japan. Any advice appreciated.

PS: I already have L&G account which meet all criteria above except fees are too high for my liking.

Thanks ...

As I understand it some UK based financial institutions won't send funds to Japanese bank accounts. You might have a problem when you want to sell your investments.

[KyushuWoozy]

As I understand it some UK based financial institutions won't send funds to Japanese bank accounts. You might have a problem when you want to sell your investments.

Thanks for the info, but this won't be a problem. I won't necessarily need the money here after selling my investments.

[KyushuWoozy]

I was extremely pleasantly surprised to be able to sign up for Degiro in about ten minutes... will post about it on the blog if I manage to use the account

I guess you have UK bank account?

[RetireJapan]

I do. I've had it since I was 11, and am careful to keep it active as I know it would be almost impossible to open a new one from overseas.

[ricardo]

Me too!

Keep it active.

[Bushiman]

I do. I've had it since I was 11, and am careful to keep it active as I know it would be almost impossible to open a new one from overseas.

I have recently been through this nightmare with HSBC...
7~8yrs ago HSBC got in touch with me due to the fact my current account (that I'd had since I was a teenager) was about to be made 'dormant' due to inactivity. I called them up, told them all about Japan, and I was advised to just open an Online BNS Saver account... I could access my money from Japan or transfer funds to it if needed. No fees. Great. I had a few thousand pounds in there and the higher interest rate was cool... I was assured my money would be fine there.

Since January of this year, having squared away and finished the voluntary UK pension application process I needed to give HMRC account details for them to set up a Direct Debit for repayments... I naively handed over the Online BNS Saver details only to find no payments taken when the due dates came and went. Uh-oh...
Calling HSBC, I was made aware that unfortunately my account had been made dormant... OK... To unfreeze it I had to send proof of my Japanese address, in English. So that meant sending copies of Student Loans, HMRC communications etc. as they were the only things I had with my address not written in kanji. Anyway, after 3~4weeks I called to find the lock on the account had been lifted -"Yes!" Only to find that an Online BNS Saver account couldn't be used to make payments like Direct Debits or Standing Orders... Great. What do I do now? I was on the phone to an agent for the good part of an hour going through all the available account options, only to have him read the fine print and tell me I was ineligible... Then finally he checked some of the other 'saver' accounts and BINGO! I could actually open a Flex Saver account -no fees, make repayments, transfer money in and out, just no debit card and no overdraft/loan options.. Perfect!
So I opened one immediately, transferred in some money from the Online BNS Saver and sent it straight away to HMRC for the 12yrs backpayments before there was a chance anyone realised a mistake had been made... It has been 10days now and the money hasn't been refunded/taken back so fingers crossed!

What a faff...

The Nationwide Building Society on the other hand -my old ISA making Japanese levels of interest could be transferred to a new current account and debit cards sent out just because they still had my parents UK address on record for me, even though I'd told them I lived in Japan now!