Bill Goldstein (47) is a Certified Public Accountant in New York City with a client base that includes a number of foreign nationals with U.S. tax liabilities. In the past, he referred clients to several wealth managers at large Wall Street firms who offer broad access to the traditional U.S. securities markets and alternative investments but lack sophisticated on-site solutions in foreign markets. Their main interests are U.S. companies with global business interests.
Lately, Bill has been getting more frequent requests for strategies to shield his clients from anticipated increases for U.S. tax rates on capital gains, ordinary income, and estates. Bill has experience with cross-border/international taxation issues and has worked with a Swiss-based investment bank in the past, but he experienced some financial mishaps that he felt could have been avoided.
Challenges
- Bill still wants to form partnerships with specialized firms that are based in Switzerland, France, and England to better serve the needs of his expanding base of clients who carry dual citizenship in the U.S. and Europe. He has not made much headway with his New York financial connections because his boutique firm is too small to attract the attention of the brand name firms.
- Several of his clients also had poor experiences with some of his past referrals to European investment firms.
Solution
Working with LFA provides Bill with access to consistent, seasoned international investment managers based in Switzerland. Additionally, LFA’s network of Swiss banking partners provides him with the services he needs to diversify his clients’ currency holdings with financial institutions that are familiar with sophisticated international tax strategies.