THE BRITISH ARE HERE

Helping British expatriates find financial security in the USA

More than 1.3 million British expatriates make their home in the United States and Canada. That rivals the number of Brits living in Australia, a more traditional destination for those leaving the United Kingdom.

Better paying jobs, more opportunities and the anticipation of a better lifestyle stateside are the draw for hopping across the pond. Yet, relocating from the U.K. to the U.S. isn’t seamless. The economic differences can leave a chap feeling bloody knackered (frustrated or tired) that his finances will end up like a dog’s dinner (a mess). One must be aware that there are usually implications of being a British citizen who lives, works and maybe retires in the U.S., even if one secures US citizenship.

Enter these two blokes working together on each side of the pond. Richard Taylor is the CEO and a Chartered Financial Planner with Taylor & Taylor Financial Services USA, LLC, located in Rye, New York. Thomas Quinn is the president and CRO based in London. Two offices separated by the Atlantic Ocean with one shared mission to help British expatriates.

“There is a real lack of information readily available for British expatriates,” Taylor, said. “It is quite intimidating trying to navigate the additional requirements and there is an element of anxiety that often comes down to a fear of the unknown .”

It is a similar situation for Quinn in his position as the London-based advisor helping British expatriates handle their financial affairs in both countries.

“Many of them have significant wealth in the U.K. and need professional guidance on their returning,” Quinn said.

Taylor, a British expatriate himself, knows how much more complicated retirement planning is for his former native countrymen who have monies in U.K.- based pension plans and are also eligible for Social Security in the U.S. Ultimately, they are also seeking to conclusively answer one common question for all their clients – who are almost exclusively British expatriates –: “Am I going to be okay?”

Taylor sees a lot of client uncertainty stemming from the way financial information and news is presented to the public. While he advocates for change, he doesn’t see the financial industry

making strides in this area anytime soon. One change he’d like to see is that financial coverage is too focused on the short-term and he calls on financial advisors to provide clients with a different perspective.

“We in the financial planning industry are working with long-term investments,” said Taylor. “We have to combat being shortsighted because it does not do any favors for the client.”

Combating short-sighted decisionmaking was front and center for Taylor and Quinn in the spring of 2020 when the markets fell due to COVID-19 concerns. As a result, communication with clients was kicked into high gear, and monthly contact became weekly. The Friday email to clients included encouragement for clients to reach out no matter what their concerns were regarding their finances. There was also an increase in video conferencing meetings with clients who are widespread across the Continental USA and accustomed to virtual meetings.

“Over this period of time, the number of clients that we encouraged not to sell at the wrong time reinforces some of the value we bring,” Quinn said of the many conversations he had encouraging clients that we’re long term investors not being drawn in to this panic sale.

The idea that clients need to pull out of the market during volatile times is anathema to Taylor and Quinn.

“We encouraged our clients to hold steadfast to their plans and hopefully prevented a number of people from bailing out in March,” Taylor said. “We went into a deep hole as a country, but over the past six months I believe our client relationships have strengthened and we are here to continue to get our message out of being able to serve British expatriates living in America.”

For more information on Taylor & Taylor Financial Services USA, LLC, visit: taylortaylorusa.com