UN Community

If you are planning on moving to Switzerland, whether just to live or to live and work, there will be many issues you will want to consider: removals, accommodation, schooling (where relevant), banking, insurance etc. Last on your list may be managing your pensions and investments.

Relocation Services 

Moving abroad takes a huge amount of organisation, and having a trusted relocation agent is a great way of reducing the stresses involved. Blackden Financial has partnered with the highly experienced Welcome Service in Geneva, which plans, advises and organises the most complete logistics package. 

Welcome Service covers the whole of Switzerland and neighbouring France. Founded in 1990, managing partner, Guillaume Bédat, with his able team, do a lot more than home searching. Indeed, so impressive is the service, that one of our own senior team members, Edward Mills, used Welcome Service to relocate to Switzerland in 2020. 

You can find out more about the Welcome Service here. 

Once you have relocated

However, whilst the above are clearly immediate priorities, there are a number of key reasons why the financial aspects of your move should not be ignored once you are settled into your new home and country.

  • The most obvious of these is that the financial world never stands still for long so it is essential to review your investments regularly.
  • Tax laws differ from one country to another so it is important to ensure continued tax efficiency.
  • Of equal relevance and rarely considered is the fact that your current financial adviser is highly unlikely to be authorised and regulated to accommodate your financial management needs any longer. This is the case regardless of whether the investments you have outside Switzerland are to remain in place or you prefer to receive locally-based advice in Switzerland. It would be a rare exception for an international adviser firm to have Swiss regulatory licensing in place.
services

Important financial protection

Great care should be taken if your existing adviser suggests that you can be advised from abroad whilst resident in Switzerland. There are a number of potential drawbacks. In particular, the regulatory protections that you enjoyed before becoming Swiss resident may no longer apply.

These important protections could include:

1. Local compensation schemes

2. Financial Ombudsman Services

3. Unenforceable Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) claims*

*insurance cover that an adviser firm needs to have to adequately protect its local clients in the event of a financial loss being deemed due to advice given to you.

Regrettably, we have come across several cases of overseas adviser firms that are unaware of the need to take locally regulated financial advice and who continue to advise clients who have moved to Switzerland.

Specialist

The other key problem with taking continued advice from the adviser firm in your previous country of residence is that you may lose out on potentially significant financial opportunities open to you for the following:

Tax-efficiency

Using Swiss or EU specific investment options

Pensions

Tax limitations and alternative strategies

Swiss based

High quality investment management options

How we can

Established in Switzerland in 2003, Blackden Financial offers independent financial planning advice to international clients and their families.

We provide peace of mind to our clients through our tailored financial planning advice solutions, designed to simplify the complexities associated with cross-border wealth management.

This is achieved through our international links from here in Geneva, Switzerland, along with our EU and UK partners.  The result is: 

  • Your existing investments can be assessed updated to take advantage of Swiss investment opportunities and monitored
  • Your ongoing investments can be updated in line with your risk profile and ongoing evolving objectives in the most tax-efficient manner within Swiss rules
  • We are part of the carefully selected team of experienced professional advisers for your whole period in Switzerland
Blackden was also selected recently as one of a small number of firms listed to provide Financial Planning advice to staff members at GAVI Alliance in Geneva.
Gavi The Vaccine Alliance
Pension transfers

Our solutions are aimed at keeping your costs down, investment performance up and to ensure you benefit from qualified, regulated advice in the relevant jurisdiction.

Find out more now, whether you’re arriving shortly or even in the planning stages. You have nothing to lose and potentially lots to gain, so why not email, phone or complete our Contact Form. One of our team will contact you and arrange a suitable time to discuss how our specialist service for UK expatriates works, discuss your own situation and how we may help.

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