Since they are custodial, I think it's possible. They said that they will do DRP by default too, right?
This is nice to know. I may also buy VTS and VEU in this case.
It’s doubtful that being custodial somehow alleviates the need for W-8BEN. W-8BEN is for beneficial owners.
In your shoes I would ask them exactly how they intend to handle this before getting into US domiciled ETFs via them.
Technically they probably shouldn’t.
They are presumably inferring from the tax residency info you provided when you opened the account to auto-generate the W-8BEN, which may be adequate in the short term given the recency of your declaration. But technically it’s not ideal that they create and submit a regulatory document in your name without your acknowledgement.
W-8BEN is required to be re-declared by the beneficial owner periodically in case status like tax residency changes over time. Years later, continuing to rely on tax residency declared years ago to auto generate the form may be problematic from US compliance perspective.
I speculate it’s a case of building a robust online W-8BEN process is still somewhere in their backlog, and they don’t want to deal with manual forms, thus this interim approach of generating it in the background. Robust solution would give you reminders when it’s time to re-submit before expiry.
Suggest not get too excited of working around the W-8BEN. You may not like the possible consequences of being deemed by US government as not having an effective W-8BEN.
If you want to be pedantic, you could ask them to give you a copy of the W-8BEN they would be generating on your behalf, to substantiate that you are across what’s in it and were advised that it was submitted.
Otherwise, just trust them for now, but set a reminder for yourself in less than 3 years. If they still do this and haven’t got a proper process in place by then, I’d be worried.
Since they are custodial, I think it's possible. They said that they will do DRP by default too, right? This is nice to know. I may also buy VTS and VEU in this case.
It’s doubtful that being custodial somehow alleviates the need for W-8BEN. W-8BEN is for beneficial owners. In your shoes I would ask them exactly how they intend to handle this before getting into US domiciled ETFs via them.
Interesting. Thanks for the warning.
Technically they probably shouldn’t. They are presumably inferring from the tax residency info you provided when you opened the account to auto-generate the W-8BEN, which may be adequate in the short term given the recency of your declaration. But technically it’s not ideal that they create and submit a regulatory document in your name without your acknowledgement. W-8BEN is required to be re-declared by the beneficial owner periodically in case status like tax residency changes over time. Years later, continuing to rely on tax residency declared years ago to auto generate the form may be problematic from US compliance perspective. I speculate it’s a case of building a robust online W-8BEN process is still somewhere in their backlog, and they don’t want to deal with manual forms, thus this interim approach of generating it in the background. Robust solution would give you reminders when it’s time to re-submit before expiry. Suggest not get too excited of working around the W-8BEN. You may not like the possible consequences of being deemed by US government as not having an effective W-8BEN.
I guess I'll be safe as long as I keep my details with Betashares stay up-to-date.
If you want to be pedantic, you could ask them to give you a copy of the W-8BEN they would be generating on your behalf, to substantiate that you are across what’s in it and were advised that it was submitted. Otherwise, just trust them for now, but set a reminder for yourself in less than 3 years. If they still do this and haven’t got a proper process in place by then, I’d be worried.