Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation. It is one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors.
In the following it can be seen that Fidelity Investments directs U.S. persons who do not live in America to its international investment site:
Open an AccountThis site is for U.S. residents with a valid U.S. address. Not a U.S. resident? visit our International Investment site.
At its international investment site, it informs U.S. persons that they are denied services at this site.
International Investment siteFidelity does not offer these products or services outside their intended countries or regions, and purchase orders from U.S. investors will not be accepted
As such, Fidelity Investments are available to everyone except for American citizens living abroad, it appears.
So, I called to inquire on the matter. First, I was told that they do not accept foreign addresses. Yet, when I explained that I was an American citizen who does not live in America and that I was denied services at the international site, I was informed that I can open up a US investment account from within the US using my foreign address, or I would have to do so via international snail mail. Sadly, in the year 2012 with all the latest and greatest tech gadgets and possibilities, everyone but American citizens living abroad can open up an account using the internet.
I’ve never had problems with Fidelity, both as a US person abroad and now as a non-resident alien. Another Fidelity customer (US person abroad) once told me they had problems accessing the website for the reasons you mention, but I’ve never found that to be the case personally. Maybe now they’ve made some recent changes.
@Wellington, I wrote the comment in response to an American abroad who had problems with the web site due to his address:
I think that I’ll investigate the matter further. Citzenship-based taxation, if it were possible to function, would have to mean that one is a US resident in the US even though one lives abroad. Currently, it seems that one is taxed while often being denied residency status. Fidelity says that one must live in the US to be a customer, refuses to allow U.S. persons to use the international sites, and yet allows U.S. persons to use the U.S. site even though they don’t live in the US, as long as they learn on their own somehow that such is possible. So, Americans abroad actually live in the US, even though they don’t and the US government and all US services must acknowledge and admit this, meaning that Americans abroad must be treated in the exact same manner as any other American. Yet, such equal treatment is impossible due to double-taxation, health insurance abroad and all the other millions of issues. Thus, the current situation is a total clusterfuck with nobody having a clue as to how it is supposed to work.
What the American abroad said sounds similar to the story of the other guy (US person abroad) whom I spoke with. The guy I knew said he went overseas temporarily to work a number of months and told Fidelity about it. Afterwards, he couldn’t access their website services anymore, but had to call in with requests or orders. He kept blaming Obama or some Obama-sponsored regulation for the problem, but wouldn’t be more specific. This is unfortunate, because I would have liked to know what was causing the problem.
Fidelity has been playing that game since its inception. At one point, you couldn’t sign on from a foreign web address–but it was simple to get around. You could not tell them that you were calling from a foreign phone. Today, they cannot advise you which internet page has the info you want if you have a foreign address. All at the same time, they have toll free numbers to call when you are on “vacation” overseas (check in the contacts area)
Thanks for posting this. I’ve had many US citizen clients recently that would like financial advice and to open investment accounts, but are having trouble as they live overseas. The foreign investment companies don’t want to talk to them anymore b/c of FATCA, and the US companies don’t know how to handle them once they tell the company they do not live in the US. The only way clients have told me it works is if they previously had an account open with a company like Fidelity/Vanguard before moving and then were able to keep a US address on the account, or they use a US address to open the account while overseas (never telling the company they are living overseas). If a US citizen living overseas wants personalized help, there are US Registered Investment Advisers (RIA’s) out there that do take on overseas clients and can open US investments (being fully aware that you are living overseas and doing everything legitimately), but from what I have seen, these RIA’s normally require a minimum amount of investment (the lowest I’ve found through a company is 50K). This really creates a problem for younger individual US citizens living overseas who are just getting started in investing, because they have no place to go.
I migrated to Australia just recently, and have a Fidelity Retirement Account in addition to a Brokerage account. I need to transfer some funds from my Brokerage account and am starting to run into the issues discussed here. However, does any contributor know of restrictions that may apply to IRAs? thanks in advance.
*ColinJ, as I understand it, the rules on IRAs are the same for Americans abroad as they are for stateside Americans:
Publication 590 (2011), Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/
I visited your site because today I have received a letter dated May 14 2013 from Fidelity to tell me that as a foreign resident, I am no longer able to purchase or add to my mutual funds accounts. I have been very much confused and shocked.. I can only sell after July 1 2013. I have been counting to my retirements to the Fidelity since I have quit my jobs to raise my kids and I am now living in France, divorced… I have no jobs right now. I got an American citizenship but they said it has nothing to do with the citizenship. The european stocks are not doing well at this moment and the interest rates are low everywhere. I am feeling so lost and abandoned after being their customer for more than 15 years.
You need a postal address. Friend, relative, etc. Likely a box at Mailboxes Etc might work, but requires a visit
@Eri, I’m very sorry to hear this. Americans living abroad are getting slammed from all sides. Will they allow you to purchase or add funds if you provide to them a US address for a friend or mail forwarder?
Like Eri (above), my wife and I have just received letters from Fidelity saying that our Brokerage and IRA accounts will be restricted from July 1, 2013, so that we will not be able to purchase new holdings or make additional deposits. This is because we have been classified as foreign residents (we live in Australia). The letter implies that if there is someone with trading authority in the US, that would be okay, but that in turn would seem to imply that that person would have to declare the authority on their tax return.
We could probably withdraw the balance of the Brokerage account and move it to Australia, but I’m not clear about any options in relation to the tax-deferred IRA, short of withdrawing the funds and paying tax at the highest rate. All our retirement funds are in Fidelity.
The input from expatcpa (above) sounds interesting. Any other suggestions or related info would be much appreciated.
Fidelity has a mailing address and a legal address. The notices are likely sent only to the people whose Residence addresses are listed outside USA.
I know someone very very very Close who has a Fidelity account with foreign mailing address yet USA legal address in USA. This person has not received that notice.
“legal address” ought not to be incriminating for anything, as it has no real definition.
To get a US id card, I had to fly to the US and give them a US address where I was living. For this, I used a mail forwarder. This caused problems, though, with the voters registration which didn’t understand why I was living at a business location. After explaining my situation, my mail forwarding address was accepted as my “legal US residence” address. So, for all my US financial Services, I use a US address even though I’m no longer a US citizen. This does cause confusion, though. Just the other day, I got a letter from the voters registration, sent to my US address, asking if i was still living there. Now, I’ll have to call them to explain that I am no longer a US voter. Will they believe me? I’m not yet listed as having renounced last year.
Since I haven’t received the letter from Fidelity US, I thought I would call and check whether the UK is being impacted. Apparently UK residents aren’t impacted or at the least there aren’t any flags on my account. In speaking with the customer rep he suggested that the reason why French resident customers were being impacted was because of recent taxation laws/changes. His response was very generic so I pushed further and asked if France was on the list because of the French equities transaction tax. He said it was. I asked if this was a form of protest. He said you might consider it that. I’m not sure how reliable this information is because I’m probably not getting the most seasoned rep on the phone during US overnight hours.
If it is a form of protest, it’s not a particularly good one. Limiting the accessibility of accounts for French residents does nothing for their requirement to deduct and pay the French equities transaction tax. They still have to do this because they still offer investments in French equities to all of their US resident customers who are cleared to trade international shares.
I used to be a Fidelity customer as well and had to use a relative’s address in the USA. Shortly before renouncing I divested of all US assets and transferred everything home to Germany. Best not to have any financial ties with the USA if they can be avoided.
I received the “restricted account” letter last week also. I am an American citizen, currently resident in New Zealand. We don’t like nuclear submarines here but otherwise support the USA in almost everything. The Queen is our official Head of State. And I pay US taxes every year ……..This is really a nuisance.
Does anyone know if Vanguard is planning something similar?
I received the same letter. I checked with Charles Schwab and they offer ETF trades for Expats and Internationals. I have looked into it a little, but not thoroughly yet. I looks like they are offering Index funds with similar fees as Fidelity and Vanguard. http://www.schwab-global.com/public/schwab-gcb-en
I actually called Schwab and they confirmed Expats and International people can invest. If anybody looks into this in more detail please post and let us know. Lastly, if any body is interested check our http://www.Jillonmoney.com or download her pod casts . She is great. I listen to her every week. She gives great financial advice.
Good luck
I will keep my eye out to switch my IRA’s out of Fidelity. No reason to support a company that doesn’t want your money.
ok, I just checked my account for the first time in ages. First page up:
Fidelity International Usage Agreement
You are visiting Fidelity.com from outside of the United States and you must accept the International Usage Agreement before you can proceed.
This web site is intended to be made available only to individuals in the United States. Nothing on this site shall be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security, or any other product or service, to any person in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction and none of the securities, products or services described herein have been authorized to be solicited, offered, purchased or sold outside of the United States of America. By using this site, you consent to the use of cookies which collect information about site visitors. To continue to this site, you must acknowledge that you understand and agree to these terms of use by clicking “I Accept” below.
“Your account is currently coded as abandoned due to mail sent to your address of record being returned by the US Postal Service as undeliverable.”
So, I guess they are sending snail mail to the US address on record.
@Kenfred, yes Schwab is fine, but Americans abroad are treated similar or the same as non-resident aliens. This means that one uses the London branch (if in Europe) and has to have a minimum balance of $30k or so instead of 10k.
Got the cancellation letter from Fidelity after 15 years with them. They are now finding a problem with my country of residence. Too hell with Fidelity!
Just spoke to Fidelity as received the “Dear John” letter after almost 20 years with them. I am boiling. I live in the West Indies and am a US Citizen. Fidelity will not accept direct (or any) deposits- not even for my Social Security check! I am not able to get to actual reasons with them other than New US regulations…They do want me keeping my $ with them however! I need to find another firm as I don’t wish to deal with Fidelity one minute more than necessary. Any ideas?
@Diane
1. Talk to Charles Schwab
2. Inform the ACLU
I’ve been using Schwab for almost 15 years as a non-resident Citizen. When I opened my account, I provided a US address, but when that was no longer available, I just updated my address online to a foreign one in 2005. There were no problems until I tried purchasing a mutual fund which was “not available to residents of your country”. I acquired a US mail forwarding address, which solved the problem. I subsequently opened a second Schwab account through a foreign trust. The trust is registered with the IRS and disregarded as an entity (meaning the trust’s financial activities are considered to be mine for the purposes of taxation). Schwab initially classified the account as foreign and it took a phone call from my attorney to their legal department to reclassify it as a US account. At that point they transferred me to Schwab International in Orlando, provided me with an account manager, and generally better all round service. My only complication is that I must make mutual fund transactions by phone, but they waive the broker-assisted fee. I have also recommended Schwab to a few non-resident aliens, who use Schwab Global in London.
A word on mail forwarding addresses. I use MyUS.com. I’ve had no problem using the address with banks, credit cards, brokers; basically any manner of financial accounts which might attract compliance regulations. I have had occasional difficulty shopping online in the USA. Some vendors won’t ship to mail forwarders, others initiate a fraud alert if the address is used for billing or shipping. Last year Newegg.com summarily informed me that my name, phone number, card number and address had been put on a permanent black list, which was a bit of a problem as I was staying with a friend who regularly purchased from Newegg, and I’d blacklisted his address. Another curiosity: I was at school with someone who has since become an international fugitive. I google him occasionally, and discovered that his current address is now the same as mine (i.e. he uses MyUS.com as well).
The service is phenomenal by virtue of the fact that my US mail consists of monthly statements from financial institutions and going back almost a decade, not one statement is missing in my files. Who knows how long it will be before paranoid legislators ban mail forwarding for financial services, and finally destroy our ability to jump through their convoluted maze of hoops?