The Short Answer
As of 2026, two major US brokerages still actively accept Americans living in Switzerland: Schwab International (its UK-based entity, which now has no minimum deposit, down from $25,000 in 2025) and Interactive Brokers, which accepts US citizens in more than 200 countries through its US-domiciled entity. Fidelity generally keeps existing accounts open but blocks new mutual fund purchases and may restrict trading once it sees a Swiss address. Vanguard is the strictest of the four — a 2025 platform migration triggered account reviews that flagged foreign IP addresses and pushed many expats toward forced liquidation or transfer.
Why This Matters More Than It Looks
Losing access to a US brokerage isn't just an inconvenience — it pushes you toward Swiss and European investment funds, which create a genuinely painful US tax problem. A Passive Foreign Investment Company, or PFIC, is a US tax category that catches most non-US mutual funds and ETFs, including the kind your Swiss bank or relationship manager will likely recommend. PFICs are taxed at your top ordinary income rate, carry an extra interest charge on gains, and require a separate Form 8621 filing for every fund, every year — often running $800 to $1,500 in preparation fees per fund. If you want the full mechanics of how this trap works, our guide to the PFIC tax trap walks through it in plain English. Keeping a US brokerage account gives you access to US-domiciled ETFs like broad US total-market or international funds, which sidestep PFIC treatment entirely because they're organized under US law, not Swiss or Irish law.
The 2026 Brokerage Landscape, Platform by Platform
Schwab International
Schwab's international arm is currently the most expat-friendly mainstream option. It explicitly accepts US citizens with a Swiss address, dropped its minimum deposit requirement in 2026, runs USD-based accounts, and offers dedicated support for account holders abroad. The tradeoff is that you're limited to US-listed securities — which, for the purpose of avoiding PFIC exposure, is exactly what you want anyway.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers (specifically the IBKR LLC entity used by US citizens) accepts residents of Switzerland and more than 200 other countries. It supports multiple currencies, which some people find useful for managing Swiss franc cash flow alongside USD investments, though the platform's interface is more complex than Schwab's. Held through the US entity, IBKR accounts are US-domiciled — a distinction that matters a great deal for your reporting obligations, which we'll get to below.
Fidelity and Vanguard: Proceed with Caution
Fidelity typically won't close an existing account just because you've moved, but it will often block new mutual fund purchases and may limit trading depending on which country you're in. Vanguard is the platform to watch most closely: its 2025 platform migration led to know-your-customer reviews that picked up foreign IP address logins, and a number of expats found themselves forced to liquidate holdings or transfer accounts out with little warning. If you're currently a Vanguard client and living in Switzerland, it's worth confirming your account status in writing rather than assuming continuity.
What Triggers a Brokerage to Notice You've Moved
Brokerages don't usually go looking for expat clients to remove, but certain events reliably trigger a compliance review. The most common ones are:
- Updating your mailing address to a foreign country
- Logging in repeatedly from a foreign IP address
- Adding a foreign phone number to your account
- A change in your stated tax residency
Don't wait for the review to happen to you
Once a compliance flag is raised, brokerages tend to act quickly and give limited notice. If you're planning a move, it's far easier to set up accounts and confirm policies while you're still a US resident than to fix a frozen or closed account from Switzerland.
Before You Move: A Pre-Departure Checklist
If a move to Switzerland is on the horizon, a little preparation now avoids a scramble later. Consider doing the following while you're still US-resident:
- Open your brokerage account(s) before your address changes, so you're already an established client
- Download and save your full cost basis history — this becomes harder to retrieve once you're flagged as a foreign resident
- Get your IRA and 401(k) provider's policy on foreign residents in writing, since rules vary by custodian and aren't always consistent with brokerage policy
- Consolidate scattered accounts into one or two platforms known to accept Swiss addresses, rather than leaving assets spread across providers with unclear policies
US-Domiciled Brokerage vs. Foreign Account: The Reporting Difference
This distinction is worth understanding on its own terms, separate from the PFIC issue. A brokerage account held at Schwab International or IBKR LLC is a US-domiciled account — it is not a foreign financial account, so it does not count toward your Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) threshold or your Form 8938 filing under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Those filings apply to genuinely foreign accounts: your Swiss bank account, your pillar 2 pension, pillar 3a, or a cash-value insurance policy, once your combined foreign accounts cross $10,000 at any point in the year for FBAR, or $200,000 at year-end (or $300,000 at any point) for Form 8938 as a single filer living abroad. For the full rules and deadlines on that side of the ledger, see our FBAR filing guide for Americans in Switzerland. Keeping your investments in a US-domiciled brokerage doesn't just avoid PFIC taxation — it also keeps your annual compliance paperwork noticeably simpler.
If You're Already Holding PFICs
If you moved to Switzerland before knowing any of this and already hold Swiss or European funds, you're not in an unusual position — plenty of Americans in Switzerland end up there simply because a local bank recommended what it normally recommends. The reporting is manageable, if tedious: each fund typically needs its own Form 8621. Our guide to Form 8621 and PFIC reporting explains what that filing involves and what your options look like for unwinding the position over time.
Where This Leaves You
The practical takeaway for 2026 is straightforward: Schwab International and Interactive Brokers remain viable, expat-friendly options for Americans in Switzerland, Fidelity requires care, and Vanguard has become genuinely risky to rely on without a backup plan. Whether keeping or opening a US brokerage account is the right move for your specific situation — including how it interacts with your Swiss pension, your visa status, or an existing Vanguard or Fidelity holding — depends on your circumstances, and that's a conversation worth having with someone who understands both the US and Swiss sides before you decide. We work with Americans in Switzerland on exactly this kind of cross-border planning, and this article is meant as a starting point for that conversation, not a substitute for it.