Expat accounts / low tax investments

[Crankshaft]

9 out of 10 times the answer is Interactive Brokers.

I also think the fear about keeping your portfolio (as long as it's in USD) in HK is being overly paranoid.

[PLamHK]

Indeed. A while ago IKBR sent this in email to clients:

Dear Client,


We are sending this notice to clarify the investor protections you enjoy in your Interactive Brokers Hong Kong account and the location of assets you may trade through us. Client accounts at Interactive Brokers Hong Kong are protected by the Investor Compensation Fund ("ICF") and the protections described on our website.


Cash in USD, EUR or other non-local currencies (anything other than HKD or CNH), are held in leading global banks outside of Hong Kong, including Standard Chartered, Barclays and JP Morgan Chase. HKD and CNH cash is held in Hong Kong banks.


If you hold securities or commodities on non-Hong Kong markets, those positions are held in clearinghouses, depositories or banks in those markets. For instance, US stocks are held with the US Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation and European stocks are generally held with Euronext, Euroclear and other Western European clearinghouses. Your fully paid for non-Hong Kong securities are custodied through our US affiliate, Interactive Brokers LLC, and benefit from US SIPC coverage.


Interactive Brokers also pays Market Rate Interest on your instantly available cash balances, currently as much as 4.83% annualized on eligible USD balances.

[Beanieskis]

Agreed. Over time the higher fees of say Swissquote will lead to a difference in performance versus the same investments held in IBKR. It comes down to if you think this is a price worth paying to have the investments held in a brokerage outside HK. Although as PLam points out, your assets aren't actually held in HK anyway. If HK introduced some kind of capital controls, I imagine it would be relatively straightforward to transfer your investments in IBKR to another non-HK broker, as they're not held in HK in the first place.

[Morrison]

He probably grew up with a communist country as a neighbor during the height of the Cold War

[Flapster]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and corrections. Been very helpful.

[Thelliand]

Just hold it as bitcoin on chain and no government can confiscate it and it is unlinked to where you live.

And it will probably go up in value significantly over next few years.

[becomjapanHK]

Rental income, Salaried income etc...

[Flapster]

Rental income, Salaried income etc...

Who or what is this in response to?

[riversidejr]

Who or what is this in response to?

Appears to me that this related to income that could be taxable outside the country of residence, i.e. property income is generally subject to tax in the country where it is located, salaried income could be taxable where the work is physically performed etc.

[becomjapanHK]

UK sourced income that would be taxable in UK