sellidor wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:37 am
I'm in a very similar situation as OP (American living in France), and I'm stunned at how investing is basically impossible for me.
I got rejected by Vanguard, Ameritrade and Schwab, so I registered with IB. But IB won't allow me to invest in US funds or ETFs, so it seems just as useless as the other brokers.
I really have no clue what to do with my savings, which are just sitting in a basic savings account. I'm seriously contemplating renouncing US citizenship so that I can at least invest in a European fund.
Ouch.
If I were in your shoes, I would either 1) set up an LLC and use it for investing. Brokers accept it because it's a US entity.
https://www.incfile.com/blog/post/setti ... investing/
It's not without costs or hassles though.
Or 2) You might try getting a US address. Perhaps in South Dakota. Then you might try opening a brokerage account with that. You might need a US phone number. You might need to use a VPN (but probably not).
Then, you have to use transferwise or something like that to transfer money. Not sure if they go directly to a brokerage account or not.
Or 3) get a Morningstar subscription and do individual stocks. M* can help you stay closer to sector allocation.
Of those, 3 is probably easiest. No you won't get index returns, but it's better than saving in Euros. Is that even meeting inflation.
I'm older and have been investing for years, so #1 would be worth it for me. #2 is middle ground. I would think an offbrand broker might be more lenient about accepting someplace that might me a mailing service. Technically you are a US resident for tax purposes and legally your domicile is the US if you intend to return there permanently and consider France temporary, so legally you could be considered a US resident but it's a slightly grey area.
Maybe 4) direct indexing would be best. But I am not sure of what's available. It's like #3 but much more systematic and like indexing and you pay someone to do it. Or maybe any firms in Europe that offer it wouldn't take you as an American because they don't want to do the reporting.
Not to be political, but perhaps call a representative.