The Lemon Fool

Hope this is the right forum.
I can’t think of anywhere else to put it.
Can anyone give me some information about the mechanics investing for a resident in France ?

My son has lived in France for many years and in fact has recently acquired French citizenship.(he now holds dual Uk and French nationality)
Following some (well-deserved ) promotion he finds he has some spare cash (a lower end 5 figure sum in euros).
He would like to invest it in France and I am flattered that he has turned to me for advice.
If he were in the UK I would advise him to invest in, say, a Vanguard World Tracker or something long term and relatively safe inside an ISA.
However I know nothing about investing as a French citizen.
I assume they do not have the equivalent of stocks and shares ISAs there.
Therefore any capital gains would possibly be taxed.

Could anyone tell me how he would deal on his French tax return, with the gains I hope he will earn ?

Also, what is a decent French online broker with low fees through which to hold the investment ?
Alternatively, could he as a French citizen buy a Vanguard Tracker direct from Vanguard, online from his home in Paris ?

Any advice would be welcome.

I have little advice to offer on France.

If he plans to stay in France/eu then worth looking at local pension/tax rules.
If he plans to return to uk, then flexible investments more likely to be useful. Interactive brokers (.eu) are one of the truly flexible international brokers.

You are more likely to get this level of advice from a specific expat forum.

Gryff

AIUI, France runs a system similar to our ISA, called PEA. But there’s a €100k ceiling, and I don’t know if you arrive there in increments or can load it up all at once.

Many thanks Graham.
I had not heard of a PEA.
I have looked it up.
The 100k limit is not a problem, nor, I think, is the requirement to hold for 5 years,however I see that a condition is that all investments must be in a French company or one with its HQ in the European Union (or Norway etc. Which has a tax agreement with the EU).
Because of the glorious advantages of Brexit, this seems to rule out the investments I was thinking of (I presume Vanguard does not qualify ?).
Are there any French investment Trusts (or similar) I might consider ???

unperplex wrote:Are there any French investment Trusts (or similar) I might consider ?

Now that, I do not know, sorry.

Thanks, anyway.
Do you know if there is a Motley Fool (or similar) France ?
It doesn’t matter if it is French language as my son is bilingual.

Hmmmmm.
I see AXA is French.
AXA Investment managers might qualify for a PEA investment (?)
Are any of their UK funds any good (I am thinking of growth long term) ?
If so I shall look to see if there is a French equivalent.
Do AXA Investment managers (uk) do a World Tracker ?

unperplex wrote:The 100k limit is not a problem, nor, I think, is the requirement to hold for 5 years,however I see that a condition is that all investments must be in a French company or one with its HQ in the European Union (or Norway etc. Which has a tax agreement with the EU).
Because of the glorious advantages of Brexit, this seems to rule out the investments I was thinking of (I presume Vanguard does not qualify ?).
Are there any French investment Trusts (or similar) I might consider ???

It seems that most of the times I look at the KIIDs for ETFs I'm thinking of investing in, they are headquartered in Ireland, so should all be available to your son? All of the Blackrock/iShares ones seem to be.

Amundi do a selection of ETFs: https://www.amundi.fr/

Ah yes, Ireland.
I should have thought of that.
Thanks for all the information.
Especially to those able to understand the difference between a question and an assumption.