Vanguard Australia moves Australian Expats along – Vanguard has recently announced a major update to one of its product offerings that will impact Australian Expats.
What has happened?
In August, it was announced that investors in the Vanguard direct product offering would be moved to a more enhanced digital platform offering known as the Vanguard Personal Investor.
The move was voted on by members in the direct offering and was approved on 15 August 2023.
How does this affect Australian Expats?
Unfortunately, Australian Expat investors without an Australian address on file will have their investments redeemed and paid out in cash.
This means Australian Expats investors will be forced to crystalize a capital gain or loss on their Vanguard holdings as part of their units being sold to cash.
This will have tax implications with the Australian Tax Office unless a deemed disposal election has been made in your Australia tax return at the time of departing Australia.
Not only will this have capital gains tax implications, but Vanguard has not provided an alternative product offering to move the investments of those affected, leaving Australian Expats to find a new product in an already highly restricted market.
When are the changes taking effect?
Vanguard has not advised of a definite date that the redemption will occur but is encouraging members to take action before the 28th of September 2023.
We can help
Managing your finances as an Australian expat can be incredibly difficult at the best of times, and this example from Vanguard shows how Australian expats as a minority are left high and dry.
If you would like to have a short call with one of our specialist expat financial advisers about how you can safeguard your financial plan and investments, please don’t hesitate to contact us through our website.
You can read more on Vanguard’s announcement here: