Like the NZX, why bother with the UK LSE if trading & brokerage fees are going to be high? Pretty much all the discount brokers in the US have no commissions on trades and no custodial fees.

Re FIF, I agree the $50K threshold is a joke. What FIF effectively does is discourages wealthy migrants abroad to continue holding their equities if they plan to live in NZ.

Establishing new accounts abroad is not simple. I'm not sure how IB handles the paperwork or simply gives the middle finger to the NZ FMA but in recent years, opening accounts abroad seems to be nearly impossible. Gone are the days you could send a fax copy of your passport / DL#, and wire TT funds are not as simple as before (ie large amounts). At least with my bank BNZ, I can no longer go to any teller to action a wire TT. It all must be done online by secure email which can take days to finalise (while the banks do their AML / police checks where the funds are going to).