How will FATCA affect you?

While RDR and MIFID II have taken centre stage in recent months, one topic that hasn't gained enough attention yet is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or FATCA.

For most financial advisers, FATCA should not cause too much of a headache. Financial advisers will undoubtedly be required to communicate to their clients and oversee the collection of additional client information. However, the vast burden of reporting and costs will fall on fund managers, platforms and insurance companies.  What is FATCA? FATCA is a new law passed by the current American administration, seeking to capture data on all US persons holding assets outside of the US, for example in a UK unit trust. This data will be collected by US Internal Revenue Service, the IRS. Comi...