“We have a Canadian bank account at Royal Bank. What we are interested in opening is a brokerage…”
Question from an US-based IM Member:
Q: “We have a Canadian bank account at Royal Bank. What we are interested in opening is a brokerage account in Europe or Canada and the institutions we have contacted tell us that they cannot do so for ‘US persons.’”
A (by Terry Coxon): Few non-US financial institutions will any longer accept an account from a US person. However, there are a good number that will do business with an offshore company or offshore trust even though it is beneficially owned by an American. You could, for example, set up a Cook Islands trust or LLC that would open an account with a bank in Zurich, where you could trade stocks, bonds, currencies and metals. Canada, on the other hand can be difficult. Some Canadian brokers will accept an account from an offshore entity tied to a US person, but they won’t accept trading instructions from an individual physically located in the US.
Terry Coxon is the president of Passport Financial, Inc., a publishing company specializing in international financial planning, and a senior editor for Casey Research. Terry is the author of Keep What You Earn, Using Warrants and the co-author (with Harry Browne) of Inflation-Proofing Your Investments. He edited Harry Browne’s Special Reports for its 23 years of publication and all of Harry Browne’s investment books since 1974.
PLEASE NOTE: The information contained within this article is based on the best research we could find as of the date of publication. However, the world changes fast and information can become out of date relatively quickly. So, two points… First, before undertaking any action described in this material, please conduct your own due diligence and verify all facts. Second, if you happen to spot an out of date fact or figure (or even suspect something is out of date or false), simply get in touch with us and we'll look into it. International Man is a network made up of some very smart people – tax specialists, accountants, lawyers, analysts and many other talented individuals. As a group, we can create and maintain a very accurate and highly actionable resource for internationalization.