Returning to the UK after working in Switzerland, What to do with my Swiss Francs?
"If you ""have no immediate plans for the money and will probably not return to Switzerland for a long time or at all"" then it might be best just to exchange the money so then you can use/invest it in the UK.   Maybe keep a bill or two for memory-sake - I do that whenever I travel to a foreign country." "A general principle in finance is that you shouldn't stick with an investment or situation just because it's how you're currently invested. You can ask yourself the following question to help you think it through: If, instead, I had enough GBP to buy 20000 CHF, would I think it was a good idea to do so? (I'm guessing the answer is probably ""no."") This way of thinking assumes you can actually make the exchange without giving someone too big of a cut. With that much money on the line, be sure to shop around for a good exchange rate."
FX is often purchased with leverage by both retail and wholesale speculators on the assumption daily movements are typically more restrained than a number of other asset classes. When volatility picks up unexpectedly these leveraged accounts can absolutely be wiped out. While these events are relatively rare, one happened as recently as 2016 when the Swiss National Bank unleashed the Swiss Franc from its Euro mooring. You can read about it here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-snb-brokers-idUSKBN0KP1EH20150116 A lot depends on how much is in the account, and whether you expect to be returning (or having any sort of financial dealings) in Europe in the future. My own experience (about 10 years out of date, and with Switzerland) is that the easiest way to transfer reasonable amounts (a few thousand dollars) was simply to get it in $100 bills from the European bank.  I also kept the account open for a number of years while living in the US (doing contracting that was paid into the European bank), and could withdraw money from American ATMs. I eventually had to close the account due to issues between the bank and the IRS.  I think it was only that particular bank (UBS) that was the problem, though. This kid gives a good summary of the silver market as it currently stands, and why you should own the physical:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAK9ohz9h7M  But yes, you will do well to have bank accounts in China and Switzerland, diversifying into yuan and francs... and also jurisdictionally diversifying. The Swiss franc has appreciated quite a bit recently against the Euro as the European Central Bank (ECB) continues to print money to buy government bonds issues by Greek, Portugal, Spain and now Italy.  Some euro holders have flocked to the Swiss franc in an effort to preserve the savings from the massive Euro money printing.  This has increased the value of the Swiss franc.  In response, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has tried to intervene multiple times in the currency market to keep the value of the Swiss franc low.  It does this by printing Swiss francs and using the newly printed francs to buy Euros.  The SNB interventions have failed to suppress the Swiss franc and its value has continued to rise.  The SNB has finally said they will print whatever it takes to maintain a desired peg to the Euro.  This had the desired effect of driving down the value of the franc. Which effect will this have long term for the euro zone? It is now clear that all major central bankers are in a currency devaluation war in which they are all trying to outprint each other.  The SNB was the last central bank to join the printing party.  I think this will lead to major inflation in all currencies as we have not seen the end of money printing.  Will this worsen the European financial crisis or is this not an important factor? I'm not sure this will have much affect on the ongoing European crisis since most of the European government debt is in euros. Should this announcement trigger any actions from common European people concerning their wealth? If a European is concerned with preserving their wealth I would think they would begin to start diverting some of their savings into a harder currency.  Europeans have experienced rapidly depreciating currencies more than people on any other continent.  I would think they would be the most experienced at preserving wealth from central bank shenanigans. Some of the advantages of Switzerland: Not everything is about money. You can apply for Foreign currency accounts. But they aren't saving accounts by any means, but more like current accounts. Taking money out will involve charges. You have to visit the bank website to figure out what all operations can be performed on your account. Barclays and HSBC allow accounts in foreign currency. Other banks also will be providing the same services. Are there banks where you can open a bank account without being a citizen of that country without having to visit the bank in person Depends on country by country.  Are there any online services for investing money that aren't tied to any particular country? Get yourself a trading account and invest in foreign markets i.e. equities, bonds etc.  But all in all be ready for the foreign exchange risks involved in denominating assets in multiple currencies. Use an exchange traded fund ETF, namely SPDR MSCI Japan EUR Hdg Ucits ETF. It is hedged and can be bought in the UK by this broker State Street Global Advisors on the London Stock Exchange LSE.  Link here. Article on JAPAN ETF hedged in Sterling Pound here. "No. Switzerland is one of the few countries the United States has ""totalizaton"" agreements with (not to confuse with tax treaties) to work around this kind of thing. You can find the list of the agreements here. You can use the years you work in Switzerland to make up for the remaining  credits you need to qualify for benefits in the U.S. When it's time to retire, you'll receive a partial U.S. benefit that is proportional to the number of credits you earned in the U.S. You can learn more about all this here. For other countries, for which the US doesn't have totalization agreements, in this scenario you would get no benefits back for the money. So yes, it would be lost."