Investing in Denmark

Diksha Moderator

Member since 01 September 2017

DikshaModerator22 January 2020 08:40:19

4832

Hello everyone,

During your expatriation in Denmark, you might have been made aware of interesting investment schemes (local or international). Whether one wants to make money grow, protect oneself or prepare for retirement, investment is always an attractive option. It is, however, never free of risk. Would you, therefore, like to share some practical information for other expats and expats to be?

Is the Danish economy open to foreign investment? Do local authorities encourage investment (through formalities, tax etc.)?

What are the promising sectors to invest and do business in Denmark?

Who do you turn to for information before investing your money? (organisation, professional, lawyer, consultant)

According to the sectors of activity and the projects, what budget should be foreseen for an investment in Denmark?

What do you think are the pitfalls to avoid and what advice would you give someone who wants to invest?

Thanks in advance for your feedback,
Diksha

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LindaPeacock Member

Member since 24 February 2020

LindaPeacockMember24 February 2020 14:51:08

Hi,
This is the main reason I joined the forum, to inform fellow American ex-pats & Canadians who can also run into problems (as "accidental US persons". I have been living, studying & working in DK since 1975. My last bank has been BankNordik where I had 2 stock accounts (depots), the one with my own investments & the other a "Personlig Formuepleje" account where BankNordik administered the investments (and which made me a prime customer). January 13,2000, I was informed that BankNordik could no longer let me have my stocks with them & that I had to find another bank or the stocks would be sold. They said this was due to "new" American laws. This is not so (and they finally admitted it was because they didn't want to have to deal with the IRS). There are no new American laws & I told them that but they were insistent, even saying they were one of the last banks in DK that allowed investment accounts. After writing to a number of banks (was in the US at the time), 3 would accept me as a "US person": Jyske Bank, Arbejdernes Landsbank & Danske Bank. It's possible that Nordea would have too, but I got a definite no and then an invitation to a meeting after I had accepted Jyske Bank, which was the first bank to give me an offer.
As to my investments, I've lived & invested here for a long time. Since then the FACTA laws were enacted, which means I have to file in the USA (for that I use Taxes for Expats). As to the FACTA laws, because my holdings are in mutual funds, it's more expensive to file (even though I don't end up having to pay the IRS anything - due to the tax treaties). So, as to investments, if you invest here in DK, I'd recommend investing in individual stocks, which is also cheaper tax wise here in DK and as to accountant help filing in the USA.
I have seen on some ex-pat forums that US ex-pats have problems finding a broker in the US where they can have an account and as to that, I have Fidelity. I do have a secondary address in the US, so that may be why Fidelity keeps me on, because I have heard that otherwise, some people run into the problem in the US that they can't find a broker for their accounts "over there".
Hope this is helpful to any of you who have had problems.
PS: I obviously would not recommend BankNordik to anyone, ex-pat or Dane. I have not found them at all helpful in this process.
Linda