I want to buy stocks

[JGrosman]

I have been full-timing for 20 years. No address but a post-office box of a friend that I receive mail. That has worked for drivers license, voting ,taxes, Social Security and Medicare. I want to buy stocks and they require a residence that you live in. Anyone with a suggestion? Anyone that knows how to get around the government laws?

[kerryvan]

I buy and sell stocks daily, using a fidelity account with out any issues. I’m not sure why there is an issue.

[MRUSA14]

Who is requiring a residence?

[twogypsies]

We use Fidelity and Vanguard however, we also had a street address from our mail forwarding service - Escapees; not a P.O. Box.

[JFXG]

J.... why get around? Why not just comply? Many financial entities require a real address, not just a PO box.
The Escapees Club has invested a great deal of effort in setting up a mail service system for fulltimers that is accepted by every agency we’ve dealt with, including brokerage and other financials.
Get in touch.
Escapees.com

[momdoc]

WE use Ameritrade with no problems using our St. Branden Isle mail service (has a street address). We also use this for our driver's license and voter registration.

[katydid]

It has to do with the Patriot Act that was put in place after 9/11. It is a law to prevent money laundering in terrorism. It requires financial institutions to know your land based address in case the government would believe there is some illegal activity involving your money in their institution. Some smaller institutions still haven’t fully complied due to the complexity of it. I even wrote to the Dept. of Treasury and the only clear answer they could give me was to use a relatives address for my banking. I tried three mail forwarding sites and they didn’t work... they were flagged each time I tried the addresses.

[twogypsies]

There have been many posts on this subject and I recall only one financial brokerage facility who has trouble interpreting the directions but unfortunately don't recall which one that was (Schwaab rings a bell but I'm not sure on that). We have absolute no problems with Fidelity, Vanguard, Wells Fargo, Bank of America when we used the Escapees mail forwarding address. Here is part of the Patriot Act regarding the address. :

(2) Identity verification procedures. The CIP must include risk-based procedures for verifying the identity of each customer to the extent reasonable and practicable. The procedures must enable the broker-dealer to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of each customer. The procedures must be based on the broker-dealer's assessment of the relevant risks, including those presented by the various types of accounts maintained by the broker-dealer, the various methods of opening accounts provided by the broker-dealer, the various types of identifying information available and the broker-dealer's size, location and customer base. At a minimum, these procedures must contain the elements described in this paragraph (b)(2).
(i)(A) Customer information required. The CIP must contain procedures for opening an account that specify identifying information that will be obtained from each customer. Except as permitted by paragraph (b)(2)(i)(B) of this section, the broker-dealer must obtain, at a minimum, the following information prior to opening an account:
(1) Name;
(2) Date of birth, for an individual;
(3) Address, which shall be:
(i) For an individual, a residential or business street address;
(ii) For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address, an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the residential or business street address of a next of kin or another contact individual; or (iii) For a person other than an individual (such as a corporation, partnership or trust), a principal place of business, local office or other physical location;

[Barbaraok]

Originally Posted by katydid

It has to do with the Patriot Act that was put in place after 9/11. It is a law to prevent money laundering in terrorism. It requires financial institutions to know your land based address in case the government would believe there is some illegal activity involving your money in their institution. Some smaller institutions still haven’t fully complied due to the complexity of it. I even wrote to the Dept. of Treasury and the only clear answer they could give me was to use a relatives address for my banking. I tried three mail forwarding sites and they didn’t work... they were flagged each time I tried the addresses.

And yet there are a lot of us who are telling you we can do all of this with no problem using Escapees address. Someone else mentioned St. Bernard. So what mail forwarders were you using? UPS Mailboxes?

[JGrosman]

Thanks for all the suggestions but the it looks like another government overreach. I have not had an address for 20+ years and when the try to verify me I do not show up as living anywhere. I share a private mailbox for the whole 20+ years. Patriot Act is a problem for me. I will not join the Escapees and wait years for it to get in the system just to get an address. The company was Schwab. Ameritrade has the same system. If they give you a account then they have looked at their records and yes you have a address in the system even if you have not lived there in the last few years. You are in the their system. Even though I have several rent houses and houses that I hold the notes on and money coming in I am unable to invest it which is wrong. The same thing is happening with CD's but I have been able to work around that for now. Social Security, Medicare, voter certificate, IRS, driver license, all use my po box but this is not good enough.

[Barbaraok]

Originally Posted by JGrosman

Thanks for all the suggestions but the it looks like another government overreach. I have not had an address for 20+ years and when the try to verify me I do not show up as living anywhere. I share a private mailbox for the whole 20+ years. Patriot Act is a problem for me. I will not join the Escapees and wait years for it to get in the system just to get an address. The company was Schwab. Ameritrade has the same system. If they give you a account then they have looked at their records and yes you have a address in the system even if you have not lived there in the last few years. You are in the their system. Even though I have several rent houses and houses that I hold the notes on and money coming in I am unable to invest it which is wrong. The same thing is happening with CD's but I have been able to work around that for now. Social Security, Medicare, voter certificate, IRS, driver license, all use my po box but this is not good enough.

So you are going to cut off your nose to spite your face? You won't use Escapees, which several of us has told you works as a legal, physical address. Vanguard and Fidelity both serve clients with Escapees address but you won't use them. What state gives you a driver's license with just a post office box as the physical address? Lots will have the PO Box as the mailing address, but that isn't the same as the physical address.

Anyway - tilt away.

[Dmrad]

We use St. Brendan's Isle for our mail also. We also have Fidelity. It wasn't a problem with Fidelity having our money in stocks and bonds there until we switched some of our money into a managed account with them. Then they would not accept our mailing address. We had to have a physical address. So we used a sibling's address but still have our mailing address on record for them to mail stuff to us.

[RMD3819]

I have accounts with Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, Ally, Nationwide and my credit union.

We are full time with a South Dakota address (Americas Mail Box) and haven't heard a peep from anyone.

[Old-Biscuit]

Problem is you do not exist cause you have not had a address for 20+ years

Time to GET an address in YOUR name...suggest you JOIN Escapees and get the process started
Sooner you do the sooner you get 'validated'