Rob A. Says:
A while ago one of your columnists suggested purchasing Swiss francs as a hedge against volatility with the US dollar. How would one go about that? What are the tax implications? Would you keep assets in Swiss accounts? Purchase stock in Swiss companies?
Personal Finance Expert Jeff Opdyke Says:
Hi Rob,
That was probably me you were reading. I’ve stuffed a boatload of Swiss francs into one of my retirement accounts.
I own shares of the Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc ETF (symbol: FXF). This is easy to buy in any brokerage account since it’s an exchange-traded fund in the US.
There are no more tax implications for owning it than there would be for owning shares of a stock, since it’s an ETF.
You could also keep assets in a Swiss account, if you like. But that’s a bit of a hassle in terms of set-up, annual fees, and reporting requirements. I think going through the ETF is a much easier path.
The same goes for owning stock in Swiss companies. Again, you could but that exposes you to market risk, execution risk, management risk, etc. So again, for pure safety and simplicity I would just rather own the franc through the ETF.
Hope that helps!
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