Investing as a Non-Resident

My Approach

I keep investing boring on purpose. Pretty much all of my money is in broadly diversified index funds — Vanguard Total World (VT) and similar products. I don't trade, I don't pick stocks, and I don't try to time the market.

This isn't because I think that's the only valid approach. It's because I'd rather spend my time building my business than staring at charts. The evidence strongly suggests that for most people, simple index fund investing beats active management over the long term.

What I can help with is the infrastructure:

• Which brokers accept non-residents
• How to move money between your bank, broker, and personal accounts
• The US estate tax trap that catches non-residents off guard
• How to use Ireland-domiciled ETFs to avoid US situs exposure
• Currency conversion without getting ripped off

The $60,000 Estate Tax Trap

This is the single most important thing for non-residents to understand about investing in US markets.

Non-US persons are subject to US estate tax on US-situs assets — including US stocks and US-domiciled ETFs — above $60,000. The tax rate goes up to 40%.

What this means: if you hold $200,000 in VTI (a US-domiciled ETF) and something happens to you, the IRS will tax your estate up to 40% on the $140,000 above the threshold.

The workaround: Use Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs (like VWRA or IWDA) that hold US stocks indirectly. These are not considered US-situs assets. I keep my direct US equity exposure below roughly $60,000 and use Ireland-domiciled funds for larger positions.

This is not tax advice — talk to a cross-border tax professional about your specific situation.

My Money Flow

Here's how money moves through my setup:

1. Business revenue → Mercury (primary US bank) or Wise Business (international payments)
2. Pay myself → Revolut Business → Revolut Personal (instant, even weekends)
3. Invest → Interactive Brokers (connected to Wise for fee-free transfers)
4. Withdraw → IBKR → Wise → Revolut or local bank

The key advantage of this setup: money moves between all accounts with minimal fees and without international wire charges.