We often get asked how we came to specialise in financial planning for American citizens and dual-citizens. It wasn’t a case of a business plan, drawn up in a business school; it was a question of life, lived overseas, from an early age, and taking a much broader view of the world than many of our peers.
Maybe the “aha!” moment was from a secondment to university in Copenhagen, Denmark for our owner. He spent a year abroad at Copenhagen Business School, which completely opened his eyes to the idea of living in another country and another culture. It began an appetite for life abroad that has stayed to this day.
Living overseas opens the mind and provides opportunities to understand that life in more than one country, with its rich diversity and potential, is great for those who are willing to embrace it.
Living in multiple countries was the start of an intellectual journey that made him realise a life lived in more than one country made sense, in terms of culture, business and lifestyle.
After university planted the seed our owner worked in a number of global industries, in international life insurance, private banking, and investment management. With each one it meant dealing with clients who had a global reach in their lives, investments and objectives.
The needs of these multi-country workers, in many cases, US UK dual-resident and Brits abroad, seemed to be impossible for established providers. At the same time, it was a natural part of the delivery adn advice of Edale. As compliance walls go up, many service providers cannot deal with individuals who are dual citizens. They are approached for advice on tax, investments, and financial planning, but they are unable to provide support.
A couple decades ago we saw a pattern that was particular to American investment bankers, in which, after several decades at a bulge-bracket investment bank in New York, London or Hong Kong, many made their final career move by moving to the Middle East, to be a director or head of investment banking at a regional bank, before eventually retiring.
The U.S. is a citizenship-based tax system, unlike nearly every other country in the world, which has a residency-based system. All Americans are legally required to file a U.S. tax return every year and report all of their worldwide income to the IRS, regardless of their place of residence or source of income. Although this may subject an individual to double taxation, the tax may often be reduced or eliminated by claiming one or more forms of tax relief, such as the Foreign Tax Credit or the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. But beyond the issue of actual tax, there is the ever-present issue of onerous and often bewildering reporting requirements for foreign bank accounts and financial assets. This situation was one that we navigated for wealthy Americans bankers and became part of Edale. We then opened to more retail customers and blended around UK financial products and the marketplace.
So, this lifelong view of the benefits and opportunities of living and working overseas, and a keen appreciation of the challenges of building and maintaining a global financial life, saw Edale being founded in 2014. Its a business specialising in cross-border financial services for people with complex lives in more than one country. Although over the years, Edale has widened its client base to include more retail clients, we still have remained specialists in American financial planning.