How Nardis Advisors Addresses the Financial Complications Faced by U.S Expats
Summary
What does one do when you are no longer a resident in the United States and your US brokerage firm informs you that they can no longer service your account? Nardis Advisors specializes in providing clients with alternative solutions for their investment accounts.
Case 1: The Problem
J. spent over 40 years living a comfortable life in Westchester County, NY but decided to move back to her native Holland. Over the years she was served well by her brokerage firm and was very satisfied with the large portfolio she had built up. Now, to her surprise, they informed her that as she was no longer a US resident, their internal compliance policies did not allow them to continue managing her account.
The Solution
Nardis Advisors can manage investment accounts at its US-based custodian for certain non-US residents. J.’s situation was brought to the attention of Nardis by her CPA. They suggested that Norman Chait, Managing Principal of Nardis, travel to her home in the eastern Holland to consult with her.
As she is of advanced age, has mobility issues and does not have internet access, all the account opening and asset transfer paperwork had to be processed manually. Nardis had to ensure ahead of time that everything would be perfectly in order, because any corrections to the forms would have delayed the process significantly. All the paperwork was scanned on site on an iPad and later that day sent via secure connection from Norman’s hotel in Amsterdam to the Nardis office in Westchester. The account was opened at Nardis’ custodian and we assumed the role of investment advisor to J.
Case 2: The Problem
A similar situation occurred with S. who now lives in Haifa, Israel. He spent many years in Maryland, USA after he was brought over by an Israeli manufacturer to work at their operation there. Recently the company shut down their US subsidiary and S. returned home. The company closed its 401k retirement plan, issued him with a rollover check with instructions to open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) at Fidelity Brokerage. The only snag was that Fidelity was unwilling to open this account as S. no longer had a local address or valid American ID. In addition, according to US law, rollover checks must be deposited within sixty days into another retirement account (IRA or 401k) or the holder will be liable to pay taxes and penalties on the amount.
Solution
The CPA of the Israeli manufacturer where S. is employed contacted Nardis Advisors for guidance. Norman Chait immediately asked for a copy of the rollover check in order to see if sixty days had passed. Fortunately, they had not. Nardis was able to open an IRA for S. at our custodian within a few days, and deposit the rollover check, thereby saving him several thousand dollars in penalties and taxes.
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