Expat Wealth Management [How to Start]

As an expat, many of the standard wealth management services in your home country may not be available to you or optimized for your needs.

Instead, private banking and wealth management solutions found in offshore jurisdictions that are tailored to the investment needs of foreigners are often a better choice.

Luckily, whether you’re looking for offshore private banking services, planning for retirement, or simply want to invest, there are a number of international alternatives available to you.

The best option for you depends on what specifically you’re looking for, and the assets you have to invest.

Luckily, there’s something for everyone. So read on in this article for the best jurisdictions where expats can unlock wealth and asset management services and everything you need to know to access them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Expats can unlock investment, wealth, and asset management services in a varitety of jurisdictions
Deposit requirements will vary between banks, branches, and even bankers
Investment products will vary between banks
Not all banks will accept expat individuals

Feel free to use the table of contents to jump ahead to the sections most relevant to you.

Expat Wealth Management

Expat wealth management can offer unique benefits for those living abroad. To unlock these benefits, you need to determine where you meet the asset requirements. Read on for the top jurisdictions for wealth and asset management by investment amount.

Expat wealth management services are available in a wide range of countries, from Caribbean island banking hubs like Barbados and the Bahamas to major international financial centers like Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Below, we will discuss how to select the jurisdiction that best fits your needs.

Before diving in, if this is your first time visiting GlobalBanks, download your FREE Private Banking Starter Guide. It’s designed to help you navigate the complexities of private banking while unlocking as much value as possible.

Who Is Wealth Management For?

Before we jump into who can unlock wealth and asset management services, let’s specify who is considered an expat.

What Is an Expat?

By expats we are referring to individuals that reside outside of their country of citizenship. This applies whether you have relocated for work, have retired abroad, or travel regularly.

Regardless of why you are an expat, the one thing all expats have in common is that they move (or have moved). This is what makes banking such a challenge for expats because you have to rethink where and how to manage your accounts and investments.

In an attempt to resolve these challenges for prospective clients, some international (and traditional) banking providers offer management solutions. These are tailored solutions that allow expats to open bank accounts and banking relationships in a third country, outside of their country of citizenship, and outside of the country where they temporarily live.

Doing this, you no longer need to restart your banking relationships every time you move. Instead, you can maintain consistent banking relationships and significantly reduce the headaches related to managing your finances.

This is an ideal solution if you can afford it. Below we’ll go into more detail on how you can access these solutions.

Who Shouldn’t Be Using Wealth & Asset Management?

Note, however, that wealth, investment, or asset management isn’t for everyone. In order to be a candidate for these services, you must have significant savings to invest. And, be able to meet a minimum deposit level of at least $100,000.

Of course, each bank, branch, and even banker that offer financial management solutions has different qualifications when it comes to accepting expat clients.

If you can’t meet the $100,000 deposit threshold, you may still be able to access some financial management solutions. Just keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to unlock all services. But it may still be worth your while in some cases.

With this in mind, let’s look at which expats can benefit from having a financial advisor.

Who Can Benefit From Wealth & Investment Management While Living Abroad?

How do you know if wealth, asset, and investment management is for you?

Here’s a look at the specific kinds of expats that stand to benefit from having a financial avisor.

Expats requiring private banking products and services
Expats interested in investment products offered by the bank
Non-resident expats in need of a financial advisor
Individuals planning to permanently relocate for retirement purposes
Expats wanting help to build a savings strategy while living abroad
Expats that can meet larger deposit levels

Note that even if you fall into one of these expat groups, that alone is not a guarantee that you will be able to access all expat management services.

Let’s look at where you can access expat management services according to your client profile.

Where to Unlock Wealth & Asset Management Services as an Expat

Depending on your client profile, banking needs, and where you’re residing, the wealth, asset, and investment management options available to you can (and will) vary.

To get started, we’ve broken down the top expat financial management options into three categories. These categories are based on the minimum deposit levels.

Countries with Low-Cost Asset Management & Financial Planning Services

Many people believe that financial planning, estate planning, tax planning, investment services, and other private banking products and services caters to only high-level professionals and wealthy individuals with higher deposit levels.

And, while that is mostly true, some countries offer these services to expats with a lower deposit requirement.

You can find these options through international banks with offices in the Crown Dependencies, including:

Isle of Man
Jersey
Guernsey

Each of these three banking jurisdictions have a lot of experience working with expats. This means, that banks here understand common expat challenges, such as international relocation, and they have experience working with foreign clients interested in opening accounts outside of their country of origin.

In addition, these countries are excellent options for expats looking for third-country accounts with access to multi-currency accounts.

Best of all, you can get accounts with a much lower deposit than you’ll find in other jurisdictions.

In fact, you can access these services in the Crown Dependencies with an initial deposit between US $5,000 to $100,000.

Of course, the deposit level the bank asks for depends significantly on which particular bank and banker you approach.

Now, before you jump into picking the best bank for your banking needs, let’s look at the next category…

Other Investment, Wealth, and Asset Management Banking Options

Naturally, when looking for wealth, asset, and investment management options, you want to find ones that have the lowest fees, best service, fewest headaches, and most attractive management financial offerings.

If you can afford a slightly higher deposit, then your best options will likely be in one of the following two popular banking hubs:

Singapore
Dubai

With 90% of Dubai residents being expats, it’s no surprise that Dubai is a popular banking hub for expats.

What Singapore and Dubai have in common is they are both extremely well-managed banking jurisdictions. And they have excellent international reputations for accepting not only expat clients, but also non-resident individuals, and foreign businesses.

To access wealth and asset management options as an expat in either of these banking hubs, you will be required to make a deposit in the range of US $100,000 to $250,000.

By doing so, you will be able to unlock a number of unique services and low-cost products and solutions.

Now, if you’re able to support an even higher deposit, you may want to consider accessing management services in one of the most elite jurisdictions.

Traditional Expat Bank Account Options

If you’re looking for more traditional private banking experiences and can support a deposit between US $1mm to $5mm, your best move would be to consider one of the following three banking jurisdictions:

Switzerland
Liechtenstein
Monaco

Yes, it may be expensive to access banking products and services in these countries. But, if you can get in, it’s more than worth it. Here you’ll find exceptional banking products and services that you can’t access anywhere else in the world.

From financial planning, tax services, estate planning, retirement planning, and managing investments, to so much more.

If you’re looking for high-quality quality experienced financial advisors and you can support the initial deposit amount, then one of these banking jurisdictions may be the right option for you.

Now, if these options are not suitable for your client profile, another banking jurisdiction you might want to consider is Barbados. Most banks in Barbados cater to foreign non-residents and expats seeking private banking products and services.

Of course, whatever jurisdiction you choose, you first need to ensure the bank will accept you as an expat. So, if you’re ready to get started on opening an expat bank account abroad, here’s how…

Ready to Explore Your Options?

If so, you can access GlobalBanks Insider and start the process of applying for an offshore account in a few clicks.

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And “yes!” GlobalBanks Insider is designed to help foreign and non-resident individuals and companies open bank accounts.

Use this link to see how GlobalBanks Insider can help you successfully open accounts.