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by MandieD 2555 days ago
Opening an IB account as a US citizen living in Germany resulted in the IB account being domiciled in the UK - NOT what I was going after, because they then could not allow me to buy non-EU ETFs. I've heard that it used to be different, and that's why I opened an account with them, but they've changed policies within the past year.

Pro-tip for other American taxpayers living abroad: do NOT buy non-US-domiciled ETFs or other funds; PFIC will eat up most of any gains.

Schwab is reasonably-equipped for serving the US citizen expat market.
1 comments
throwaway9d0291 2555 days ago
> because they then could not allow me to buy non-EU ETFs

That's going to apply to everyone. It's due to new EU regulations requiring documentation (PRIIPs) for retail EU residents.

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MandieD 2547 days ago
Right, but it’s a nasty Catch-22 for US taxpayers, which is anyone with US citizenship. Can’t buy non-EU ETFs because PRIIPs, would be stupid to buy EU ETFs because PFIC.
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