The following is a response to the memo I sent out a couple of days
ago about using to an IRA to purchase shares of a passive foreign
investment company or PFIC.

Vern

Interactive Brokers just told me on the phone that if I have an IRA
with them, I will be able to buy foreign securities. I assume that I
will also be able to buy the ETFs (PFICs) that are sold on the
German and European exchanges. Since I have not actually opened an
account and learned first-hand all that can go wrong, I can't vouch
for any of this information. However, if it works, it would probably
be the least expensive way for Americans to invest in foreign mutual
funds through an IRA.

Why an American citizen domiciled in the USA would want to do so is
another question and, frankly, beyond me. I am only interested in
this topic because German tax law makes it impossible for me to
invest in US funds (their rules on "foreign" mutual funds are worse
than the IRS's). Also, I prefer not to invest in individual stocks.

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Note: The web site of Interactive Brokers is
http://www.interactivebrokers.com