Portfolio Structure After A Move: What Needs To Change And What Can Stay

Asset allocation asks what you should hold. Currency exposure assesses a specific risk. Portfolio structure asks something different again - can the account itself still function where you now live, and is it still the right vehicle for your circumstances.

This distinction matters because a portfolio can have entirely sound asset allocation and sensible currency exposure and still be sitting inside a structure that no longer suits the client. Equally, a structure can be entirely sound while the underlying holdings need attention. The two problems do not always arrive together, and they are not solved by the same conversation.

Many investment platforms are built around residency. A platform that accepted a UK resident account may restrict, freeze, or decline to service that same account once the account holder becomes resident elsewhere. This is not a reflection of the investments themselves - it is a regulatory and commercial decision made by the platform provider.

Checking whether the current custodian will continue to service the account post-move should be one of the first steps taken, ideally before the move rather than after.

An adviser regulated to give advice in one country is not automatically able to advise a client once they become resident somewhere else. This is often missed, because the relationship with the adviser feels unchanged from the client's side. The regulatory permission behind that relationship may not have moved with them. 

Many of Hoxton’s advisers are qualified in more than one jurisdiction (e.g. in the UK and the US) so can bring knowledge from both sides to create a long-term retirement strategy that can be executed successfully across borders.

Certain account types are built around the tax rules of a specific jurisdiction. A wrapper that was tax-efficient at home can become tax-inefficient, administratively burdensome or simply irrelevant once residency changes. This is separate from asset allocation - the same underlying investments could sit far more sensibly inside a different structure entirely.

New residency can bring new reporting requirements attached to existing holdings - some jurisdictions (such as France) require disclosure of foreign-held accounts regardless of value or activity, with heavy fines if you fail to comply. This is a structural obligation rather than an investment decision, and it exists independently of what is actually held inside the account.

Where the account structure itself remains valid and serviceable in the new country of residence, there is often no need to change investment manager purely because of the move. Continuity with a manager who understands the client's history and objectives can be a genuine advantage, provided the structure holding those investments is fit for purpose.

A move does not usually change what someone is investing for - retirement, children's education, a future property purchase. Structural review should sit around those goals, not replace them. It is easy for a relocation to become an excuse for a wholesale strategy rethink when the actual trigger was administrative, not strategic.

Where an adviser does hold cross-border permissions or works within a firm structured to serve internationally mobile clients, like Hoxton Wealth, the relationship itself does not need to be rebuilt. What should be checked is whether that permission genuinely extends to the new country of residence, rather than relying on assumptions.

Before making any changes, a useful first step is a straightforward audit of the existing structure, asking three questions: 

      ·       Can this account still be serviced from where I now live?

      ·       Is my adviser permitted to advise me here?

      ·       Is this the right type of account for my new tax residency?These questions sit apart from asset selection and currency considerations entirely, and answering them first avoids restructuring a portfolio unnecessarily - or, just as often, leaving a structural problem unresolved because the investments inside it looked fine on paper.

Hoxton has been advising expats on the investment management issues specific to relocation since 2018. Our extensive team works across nine global offices, serving over 10,000 clients and overseeing more than $4 billion in assets under management. If you’re looking for professional advice before, during or after a move, we’ve got you covered. 

Contact us for a free consultation.