Free Your UK Funds: Smart Investment Solutions for Expats

Still holding UK assets? This is how to transfer them with ease.

The problem. UK IFAs (independent financial advisers) can’t provide advice in the EU and France has strict IFA regulations. Despite Brexit’s five-year cutoff, many British expats in France still have lump sums stuck in the UK and remain unsure of their options.

Our strategy. As bilingual cross-border IFAs in France with English backgrounds, DTB assists expats in transferring UK funds to optimise clients’ portfolios. The process is straightforward:

• DTB sends a “change of advisor” form for you to sign and return.
• We all sign an engagement letter detailing fees and objectives (mandatory in France after individual consultations).
• We suggest solutions, such as certain assurance vie products, to optimse performance and tax efficiency.

Fund focus. Assurance vie schemes suit assets like ISAs, GIAs, liquid funds or property proceeds. Legally, policies must be in your native language, so we suggest:

1. Luxembourg. Multi-currency policies (€125,000+) that adapt to local tax laws and, unlike French plans, assets are protected if the insurer fails.
2. Ireland. A tailored scheme for British expats managed by a reputable Irish firm.

360 support. We provide an “all-in-one” service to clients that covers the whole market, from assurance vie to SCPIs, pension schemes, succession planning, mutuelles and income tax – we’ll even fill in your annual form for you. 

See today’s case study for a real-life situation we recently solved and our product spotlight for the lowdown on Luxembourg’s assurance vie.