investment

[johnys]

we hope soon to be permanent resident in France on completion of the sale of our house in the uk so are looking for financial advice , so many advisors which are good trustworthy and dont charge an arm or a leg anyone had any experiences good or bad

John

[Mikep]

In my experience (retired to France twelve years ago), your criteria are mutually exclusive. Anyone who's any good is going to be expensive (think in terms of 2% per year - if you don't think that's expensive, extrapolate it over twenty years).

The key thing is for you to fully understand what's being proposed. My best advice came from a book by PKF Guernsey - "Taxation in France - A Foreign Perspective". My copy's out of date now, but should still be obtainable through their website, which also has lots of free information sheets, although these tend to be pretty technical.

Before we left UK, I tried to use Blevins Franks on a fee-paid basis (as opposed to commission based) but was disappointed. I then used Siddalls who were reasonably good, but still commission-oriented. I now manage my own investments including pension funds, having done lots of research and reading over the years to understand the risks and costs.

I have no connection with any of the above organizations.

[AnOther]

Unfortunately few will feel sufficiently confident or well informed to go the DIY route so are left with little option but to use advisers.

Having had contact with both of the major players, and left feeling less than impressed in both cases, I ended up with the Spectrum group and have been satisfied with their services.

Usual caveat, no personal interest other than being a satisfied customer.

[parsnips]

[quote user="johnys"]we hope soon to be permanent resident in France on completion of the sale of our house in the uk so are looking for financial advice , so many advisors which are good trustworthy and dont charge an arm or a leg anyone had any experiences good or bad

John[/quote]

Hi,

       After 17 years here and having dealt with the major IFAs both on my own account and for friends , I advise you to do what I have finally come to as the cheapest and best way to invest as a  french tax resident. The main advice all the firms will give you (for a price) is to invest in french life assurance plans--they will then invest you into the plans which pay them the best commission-and charge you the biggest entry and management fees.

       There are internet assurance companies (branches of the biggest and and most reliable companies like Generali and Suravenir) which charge NO entry fees and very low management fees , and do not charge for switches between funds. The two that I use are Fortuneo and Linxea--look at their websites.

        You can find funds within the plans to suit your appetite for risk starting with the risk-free euro guaranteed funds , and offering a complete range of share, bond, property, commodity and all other investment types.

         This is the most tax-efficient way to invest in France, and can also be extremely useful in planning your succession (which as you will find is a french obsession).