đ Hey expats, this is Dexter. Welcome to a new edition of Money Abroad, my weekly newsletter where I bring you fresh tips on building wealth while living abroad.
Today in 10 minutes or less, youâll learn:
đ Expat multi-country investing report
đ Their portfolio strategy, challenges, & tips
đď¸ Frameworks like sweat-adjusted returns
đ Must-know Southeast Asia tech news
đ Expat multi-country investing report
Letâs face it. The financial world is not designed for expats.
Have you ever moved abroad and wondered, âIs it worth the hassle for me to invest in my new country?â
If youâre one of the more seasoned expats in Money Abroad, you may have said âyesâ a few times and accumulated assets across 2-5 countries.
Managing cross-border assets is a giant operational headache â ie dealing with taxes, compliance/risk, and estate planning đ¤Ż
In this post, I deep dive into how expats living in 6 countries invest in multiple countries: their asset allocations, challenges, tips, plus two actionable frameworks.
đ¤ Who took the survey
12 expats living across 6 countries: Singapore, US, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Taiwan
Originally from US, Singapore, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, Norway, Fiji, Australia, India, Japan
~60% lived in their new country for 2-5 years
2/3 who reported their income made $10k+ USD / month
đ§ What strategies they used
Top 3 multi-country asset allocation strategies:
(1) Minimize tax & compliance burden
âAlmost all of it is compliance/ease: As a US citizen you are taxed globally, investing outside of the US seems very annoying in that you have to still report investment income, but you no longer get convenient 1099's to track capital gains, dividends, interest, etc. Also, moving existing savings across borders seems a bit daunting: will I trigger limits, hit some kind of friction/restrictions in the new country. I am trying to see if stocks can also be directly transferred via ACATS so no liquidation has to happen, just direct transfer. â
âIt seems important to have some assets in the new country especially if you plan to live for a while there. As a consultant and accepting US clients, generally easier to have US financial institutions. Taiwan's banks are rather backward when it comes to a lot of ease of use.â
â[I follow local] tax regulations but may shift assets back to Singapore above a certain thresholdâ
(2) Double down on familiar markets
âfocusing on assets in my home country firstâ
âMaximise global diversification, but with a focus on a market I know well (home)â
âopportunistic, proximity helps, seeing strengths in each countryâ
(3) Double down on new markets
Less time required: âMost of the assets in the new country, properties and pension funds in home country and other countries - easiest to manage with minimal time investmentâ
More opportunity: âNot enough opportunity / lack of exposure in home country therefore by default I have been investing in home and other countries.â
