Your Trusted Partner for Expat Financial Advice

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who are clients that you mainly work with?

  We generally work with clients who live, work, or are retired abroad or are planning to live, work, or retire abroad. Because we have extensive experience working with clients both inside and outside of the United States, many clients find it wise to engage us before they move as we can help maximize the efficiency of their portfolio and financial plan and help them avoid costly mistakes.

• Why should I work with someone that specializes in expats versus a “general practice” financial advisor?

  There are many reasons: tax and investment compliance, seeking to maximize returns after local taxes, and minimizing currency risk. Longer-term planning considerations including asset titling and estate planning and gifting are also significantly different for Americans abroad. A “general practice” financial advisor may not have the experience necessary to provide this information. For a fuller explanation either read our investing guide on the topic or schedule a meeting with one of our advisors.

• Do you have a minimum?

  Our investable asset minimum is $1,000,000. Investable assets generally refer to liquid or readily accessible funds that can be invested efficiently, such as cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, retirement accounts (like IRAs or 401(k)s that are accessible for management), and other marketable securities. These exclude illiquid or non-investment items like your primary residence, personal property (e.g., cars, collectibles), or other assets not easily converted to cash without significant delay or loss. We best service clients in higher net worth ranges, as many of our overall strategies are designed in a custom manner to account for factors such a taxation, estate planning concerns, and regulations related to certain types of investments.

• What is your fee structure?

  We operate as a fee-only firm using an Assets Under Management (AUM) model. This means our advisory fee is a percentage of the assets we manage for you, based on a tiered schedule.

  • Aligned Interests: Our fees are tied to your portfolio’s performance. When your account grows, we do well; if the market declines, our fees decrease.
  • Long-Term Focus: We specialize in comprehensive, ongoing wealth management. Because of this, we do not offer one-time projects or hourly engagements. For a deeper look at why we made this choice and how it benefits complex financial lives, read our article on Hourly vs. Ongoing Wealth Management.
  • Transparency: Our standard fee schedule is clearly outlined in Schedule B of our client agreement.

• Will I have a problem opening accounts?

  Provided you do not live in a country restricted by American or international law, we should be able to open accounts for you wherever you live. We use a variety of custodians including Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, and global banks in order to accomplish this. For more information, read our guide to opening accounts or contact us directly at info@walknercondon.com. We also have a blog post on the topic, “What is the Best Brokerage for Expats“. We make every effort to match the best custodian for your situation.

• What systems or interfaces do you have in place to facilitate meetings/communications?

  We host the majority of our meetings using web conferencing software and allow you to schedule at your convenience with our online scheduling tool. Our technology suite offers client web portals where we can share our proprietary financial plans, investment allocation and performance and risk analysis. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our technology offerings to suit the needs of our U.S. expat clients.

• Do you have tax services for U.S. expats?

  We do not prepare taxes. We are happy to refer you to tax preparers outside of our organization.