Any US citizens living long term in japan have experience working with a financial advisor? I’m looking for advice concerning investment, retirement and taxes, and as a US citizen abroad it seems like there are so many complications that I am not confident to try to do everything myself. I’d like to find someone specialized in this area.
Does anyone have any experience or recommendations? Yes, I know there is a wealth of information online, but with both US and Japanese tax laws, I don’t have the time or energy to properly understand everything all on my own, and I would be happy to pay someone for some good advice.
Thanks!
4 comments
https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/
Be very very very careful. The “Financial Advisor” space targeting non-citizens is completely unregulated here. You will be taken for a ride by 99% of the operators in the space. As someone else said, /r/JapanFinance or hop over to http://www.retirejapan.com for some impartial advice.
Avoid like the plague:
* any ‘offshore’ financial advisor
* any ‘portable pension plan’
* anyone offering a ‘tax efficient’ way of investing
* anything with a lock-in, where you cannot cash out (i.e., get your money back) without penalties/fees until a set number of years have passed
* anything with a lock-in that commits you to ongoing amounts on a monthly/yearly basis
As a wise person once said, “There’s only one thing that grows in someone else’s hands.”
May look into an accountant as well (esp one that lives in Japan). Even if you don’t do stuff yourself, you should try to learn enough to know what they’re doing for you in broad strokes.