Expat buying stocks in CH

Hello, I am a newbie here so apologies if this has been asked before (I looked through the forums but didn't see an answer)

I have stock with some companies in the US and cash too but am now blocked from buying more stock there as I am non-resident. I'm a US citizen with a Swiss B Permit. 

Should I move the cash over to Switzerland and trade stock here instead?

Sorry for the simple question but any advice would be much appreciated!

Good day

In general, there are of course many American trading platforms/brokers that are cheaper than Swiss platforms/ banks. 

But if you can no longer trade in the USA, and want to trade regularly, there is no need for a comparison between Swiss and US providers. So the recommendation is important that you choose a broker that is as cheap as possible (by Swiss standards). You can find the Swiss broker comparison on moneyland.ch: https://www.moneyland.ch/en/online-trading-comparison.

However, if you can still hold the US shares with your US broker (and sell them at some point), this is probably the cheaper option (unless you have to pay higher custody fees there, but this is often free in the US). This is because you would have to transfer the shares to a Swiss account (usually in CHF), in which case exchange rate costs would be incurred.

Or you can avoid these by opening a USD account with a Swiss broker. But even then, Swiss brokers almost always charge custody fees and/or inactivity fees if you do not trade. Cornèrtrader has no custody fees, but inactivity fees - Cornèrtrader could be an option if you buy a share every now and then.

Best regards

I would recommend you move that US cash to a US broker which accepts people who live in Switzerland, and use that broker to invest in US stocks. That is beneficial because Swiss brokers have to charge you stamp duties on every trade, whereas foreign brokers do not. You also avoid the cost of transfering money and possibly exchanging into CHF.

Use a Swiss stock broker to invest the Swiss francs you earn here, especially if you want to invest in Swiss stocks.

That way you keep your eggs in two different baskets and get favorable T&Cs for both.

Thanks for all the advice. If our plan is to not move back to the US and potentially buy a house in CH some time in the next 2-3 years would your advice remain the same to keep it with a US based stockbroker? What about cash sitting in a non-interest account, keep it in US or move to CH?

My two cents: If you need the money in 2-3 years, new share investments or the like are generally not a good idea, as there can of course be a loss in the short term. If you already have the shares, it matters less whether you leave them in the US. There are then currency costs when converting into CHF. You can perhaps do this with Wise or a similar app.

If you want to hold cash: You can also choose a Swiss savings account in CHF now, if you are accepted as a US person (can be a problem depending on the bank, but the same problem exists with a mortgage). With a savings account, you still have a little interest. Another alternative: Medium-term bond (e.g. 3 years). There are comparisons of everything here on moneyland.ch.

If history is anything to go by, keeping the cash part in Swiss francs may give you a better real profit down the line. The USD has lost -4.5% against the franc over the last 10 years. In other words, you would have gained 4.48% if you'd changed your dollars into francs 10 years ago. That's nearly 0.5% per year. Of course, if you were able to earn so much interest in the US compared to Swiss banks that it makes up for the loss and then some, then dollars is better.