Who this is for
People who typically come to me about this.
Persona 1
Mobile professionals with cross-border portfolios
Have investment accounts in multiple jurisdictions and want them coherently managed against a cross-border life.
Persona 2
Retirees seeking discretionary management
Want professional portfolio management aligned to a sustainable drawdown plan.
Persona 3
Recent UK leavers
Were using a UK-domestic platform that no longer accepts non-resident contributions, need an expat-friendly alternative.
What's involved
How the work actually plays out.
The default UK wealth-management playbook does not survive contact with cross-border life. Your platform may stop accepting contributions; your ISA may stop being efficient; your domestic broker may quietly transfer your account to a non-resident desk. The work is building a portfolio that operates from where you actually live.
Custody arrangements that survive residency
Some platforms onboard Thailand-resident clients; many quietly do not. Custody choice matters more than asset allocation for the expat client.
Currency-aware asset allocation
A GBP-heavy portfolio for a retiree spending in THB is a currency bet, not a diversified strategy. The portfolio needs to be sized against the currency of expenditure.
Common mistakes
Where this most often goes sideways.
Holding a portfolio with a UK broker that no longer accepts you.
Many UK platforms have quietly stopped accepting non-resident contributions or new positions. You may find this out only when you try to act. The fix is checking now, not later.
Ignoring fee compounding.
The difference between a 0.45% pa platform and a 1.5% pa platform is six figures over a typical retirement horizon. The work includes the fee audit.
How I work on this
The process, in three steps.
01
Audit current custody
A written assessment of where your assets sit and whether the custody is appropriate for a non-resident.
02
Design the target portfolio
Asset allocation modelled against your goals, your timeline, and the currency of your expenditure.
03
Transition deliberately
Move what needs to move, leave what works alone, with tax impact modelled in advance.
Fees and what to expect
Plain-English fee transparency.
I am paid through commission on the products arranged and an ongoing fee on the assets managed. Every cost, and what it pays, is set out in writing before you decide.
You may ask what any recommendation pays me, and the figures that apply are agreed in writing in the engagement letter before you proceed.
A first 30-minute consultation costs nothing and obliges you to nothing.
Client assets are held in your own name on FCA-regulated platforms or SEC-licensed brokers, never by me.
Writing
Related reading.
- Tax
Tax · 6 min
What happens to your UK ISA when you leave the UK
The tax treatment of an existing ISA for an expat, and when it stops being efficient.
Read article - Markets
Markets · 7 min
The best ways to move money to Thailand in 2026
Wise, Revolut, broker transfer, or specialist FX, which is right for which kind of transfer.
Read article
Questions
Questions about this.
Begin a conversation.
Thirty minutes, by Zoom or in person at the Bangkok, Hua Hin or Pattaya office. Free, and without obligation. You leave with a clearer view of what is in front of you, whether or not the work proceeds.
Book a meeting
Choose a time that suits you.
Thirty minutes with Richard Knight, ACSI directly. By video, phone, or in person. No obligation.
