# Buying a global fund from Ukraine: domicile, broker, protection, FX > What to check before you invest from Ukraine: a regulated broker, investor protection, fund domicile, withholding tax and conversion costs. - Course: [Long-Term Investing: Index Funds, Risk and Your Own Behavior](https://productovi.com/courses/long-term-investing.md) - Module: Launching for Ukraine, and the long run - Lesson 30/32, ~25 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/long-term-investing/buying-from-ukraine ## Two kinds of Ukrainian users **Alex Tutor:** Mid-October at Zapas, three weeks to launch. As the PM you need the "How to buy from Ukraine" page, and Grace has the legal team's notes. **Grace:** First, a caveat. These notes describe the rules as of October 2027, and wartime rules change fast. Every line on the page gets that date and a "check the current rules". **Ethan:** Why not just say "Open a foreign broker account and buy our fund"? **Grace:** Because for most people in Ukraine that route was closed: under martial law, individuals generally couldn't send money abroad to fund a foreign broker. So we have two kinds of users: those investing from Ukraine, and those whose money is already legally abroad. ![From Ukraine: via a Ukrainian licensed firm within the monthly limit, units stay in Ukraine; from abroad: a licensed broker there and an EU UCITS fund.](https://productovi.com/courses/long-term-investing/diagrams/m8-l2-two-routes.png) **Sofia:** So for users in Ukraine, Zapas can only work through a Ukrainian licensed firm? **Grace:** As of October 2027, yes: within the monthly currency limit, and only with funds that firm can actually offer. Legal will check again right before launch. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** as of October 2027, a person living in Kyiv could transfer 10,000 dol. from a Ukrainian bank to open and fund an account with a foreign broker. **Sofia:** And converting hryvnias costs something too. **Grace:** Yes, and people forget it. On 9 October 2027, banks sold dollars for cash at about 0.65% above the official rate on average, about 1.1% for a round trip. Brokers' FX fees vary a lot; check them. > **Exercise:** A user converts the full monthly limit of **200,000 UAH** into dollars, paying about **0.65%** above the official rate. Roughly how much does the conversion cost, in UAH? ## Who holds the money **Ethan:** Users will ask one thing first: is my money safe with you? **Grace:** Then we answer precisely. Safe from what? From the firm failing, there are rules and sometimes compensation schemes. From the market falling, nothing protects you, and nobody may promise otherwise. > **Exercise:** An investor-compensation scheme pays out when… ## Where the fund lives **Sofia:** For users abroad, does it matter where the fund itself is registered? **Grace:** A lot. A fund's domicile decides who can buy it, how much tax leaks inside it, and what happens to your family if you die. Zapas World Stock is EU-domiciled, a UCITS fund. **US tax withheld on 100 dol. of dividends from US companies, as of October 2027** | Who receives the US dividends | Tax withheld, dol. | | --- | --- | | No treaty | 30 | | Ukrainian resident, treaty form | 15 | | Irish fund, inside the fund | 15 | *Default rate for non-US persons; a Ukrainian tax resident holding a US fund directly with the treaty form; an Irish-domiciled fund (withheld inside the fund, not reclaimable by the investor).* > **Exercise:** A Ukrainian tax resident with money legally abroad holds a US-domiciled fund directly and receives **200 dol.** of US dividends in a year. With the treaty form filed with the broker, the US withholds **15%** instead of the default 30%. How many dollars are withheld? **Grace:** And one trap few people know. A non-US person who holds US-domiciled funds directly can leave a US estate-tax bill: the estate must file if US assets exceed 60,000 dol. An EU fund holding the same US shares isn't a US asset. **Ethan:** Wait, a tax for the family? Our users are thirty years old. **Grace:** Long-term plans last decades, and people move abroad. A Ukrainian living abroad who holds US-domiciled funds for 30 years can pass 60,000 dol. without noticing. Domicile is cheaper to get right on day one. > **Exercise:** Match each fund feature to what it means for a Ukrainian investor (as of October 2027). ## The page itself **Ethan:** Then what do we write on the protection part of the help page? **Grace:** What's true, in this order: who holds your securities, what happens if a firm fails, and that no scheme anywhere covers a market fall. > **Exercise:** Which line belongs on Zapas's help page about protection? > **Exercise:** Which checks belong on Zapas's "before you invest from Ukraine" list? Select all that apply. ## Your turn: the checklist **Alex Tutor:** Write the short version for the launch help page: four lines a user can actually follow, dated, with no brand names. > **Exercise:** Write the "Before you invest from Ukraine" box for Zapas's help page: 4–5 short lines covering how investing from Ukraine works as of October 2027, the licence check, protection (and what isn't protected), fund domicile, and the FX cost. > **Key ideas** > > - As of October 2027, people in Ukraine generally couldn't fund a foreign broker; since August 2026, some foreign securities could be bought through Ukrainian licensed firms within the UAH 200,000 monthly limit and held in Ukraine's depository. Check the current rules. > - FX is often the biggest cost: about 0.65% each way at banks on 9 October 2027, more than a year of a broad fund's ~0.2% fee. > - Compensation schemes cover a failed firm, never market falls: EU at least EUR 20,000, US up to USD 500,000; none found for securities in Ukraine. > - Domicile matters: EU UCITS for retail access; 15% US withholding inside an Irish fund vs 30% by default; US estate tax on US-domiciled holdings above USD 60,000. > - Whether accumulating funds defer Ukrainian tax isn't settled: ask a tax adviser. > **Educational, not advice** > > This lesson explains how investing works; it doesn't tell you what to buy or which firm to use. Rules are as of October 2027 and change, especially under martial law: check the current rules or ask a licensed professional. Investments can fall, and you can get back less than you put in. **Alex Tutor:** Next time: taxes on investment income, declaring it, and the wartime risks a long-term plan has to survive. - Previous lesson: [The currency of your goals and the safe part at home](https://productovi.com/courses/long-term-investing/currency-of-goals.md) - Next lesson: [Taxes, declaring income and wartime risks](https://productovi.com/courses/long-term-investing/taxes-and-war-risks.md) --- Productovi Learning. Free, no sign-up needed to read.