I am 58 years old and moving from the UK to live permanently in France.
I am selling my residential property in the UK and have purchased a house in France.
I own a UK based software company which I will continue to work for remotely which pays me a salary and dividends. This should continue for another 5 years at least.
I have investments and a private pension in the UK with Prudential.
I understand I will become tax resident in France.
Of course, want to minimise my tax bill and I have contracted a French based tax advisor to assess my situation and make recommendations.
They are pushing me towards an assurance vie. However, I’m not keen to move my funds out of the UK as it will cost a lot to do so and the returns I get in the UK with Prudential are very good.
What have others done in this situation?
Prudential offer a non-french based AV that meets French requirements.
You need to look into running your company from France as this can be complex in terms of tax as well as your visa. You can also end up having to pay corporation tax in France .
I can ony give you this advice from my own experience. I promptly paid every tax and other demand that was made of me but not long ago was accused of avoiding social charges payments on my UK income. According to them I had declared it but in the wrong box, you have to declare it twice apparently.
If you can afford it, and it seems you probably can, get yourself a good advisor when declaration time arrives. 
@GavinWebb
Gavin, while this forum has wealth of knowledge and you should browse it, you should only rely on professional advice, preferably from multiple advisors. I’m not sure it is even prudent posting all your circumstances here because it is a forum open to the world and you could attract unwanted attention.
The problem with a French advisor (and I’m sure you are paying yours rather using a commission chasing hound) is that no matter what the problem is, their answer is an Assurance vie, I’ve two of them, which I’m very happy with because I’m blessed with an advisor I know and truest. I’ve had plonkers in the past 
They are really just investment vehicles. They may well be the answer for you too, but there is no need whatsoever for you to move your Prudential funds in the immediate future. You need a plan tailored to your circumstances. and an advisor you trust… big time, it’s your money after all. There’s more financial advisor charlatans than pimps IMO. Both sleazy and hard to spot.
As Jane wrote, working from here into the UK is already a challenge you need to address.
My advice is do nothing now, make a list, think it through and address each challenge in turn.
Good luck
I have an AV with Prudential in Dublin. My financial adviser told me that in terms of tax it’s more beneficial than a French one, but I can’t remember why at the moment.
It seems to me that the French fall back is to recommend an AV, although in my experience they don’t really talk about it as a medium-term investment.
I faced a similar decision 5 years ago when I moved to France. UK asset managers were happy to continue to manage my investments, albeit they sensibly proposed to switch them to € denominated assets to minimise foreign exchange exposure. However I decided to transfer 100% to France* being my permanent home, and I favoured simplicity. Inevitably the only long term French investment tax favoured games in town were, and probably are Assurance Vie and PEA (Plan d’épargne en actions).In retrospect the jury is still out as to whether I made the right decision.
French bank costs of running AV and PEA are rather high (typically 2.5%+) and the service is moderate at best. I’m not sure their charges really justify their average performance. I prefer the service, costs and performance of French fintechs.
AV and PEA do have the advantage that portfolio changes/disposals within the plans do not trigger tax and social charges unless and until you withdraw from the plans, and so your overall return should be better as it’s the gross that remains invested. Similar portfolio changes outside France in non AV investment wrappers would trigger annual reporting obligations and tax/social charges payments arising each time a disposal is made.
One other point. If you are married, do ensure you transfer any significant assets (that you planned to share) to your wife BEFORE becoming French resident. France (very unusually by international standards) taxes lifetime gifts between spouses above c€80k at 20%.
*Bizarrely I was questioned in my Prefecture interview to obtain a carte de séjour about the location of my investments, shortly after arrival in France. I told the agent that all my investments were being transferred to France and she nodded approvingly. It’s probably academic as the CdS application process is mainly if not entirely online now.
Good luck with your research..
Which fintechs might one look at? Asking for a friend…
Nalo, Yomani,Finary Life, Goodvest to name but 4..
I think I saw a similar question yesterday on another forum but goodness knows if my answer made it.
I well understand the push on assurance vie. Versus simple stock investment it has a lot of tax advantages after a few years and pushing a pension cash-in there can be wise. I agree with George’s comment that costs may be higher than ideal.
The other watchout in the Uk is what may happen to future pension withdrawals and restrictions. I dont want to scaremonger however I will be able to get my hands on a decent sum in a few months or so and I prefer it under my control vs risk of some Uk Chancellor changing the rules what I can get and when.
Flip side is cashing your pension will significantly restrict your ability to make future uk pension contributions. If you plan to do this be very careful on cashing your pension in.
On your business good luck…and I advise looking at the rules on permanent establishment to minimse your risks here.
How does that work? An AV is not product I have ever heard being offered to Irish residents, it’s uniquely French think, and it’s a limited number of financial services companies in Ireland that can offer products to non-residents. Were you sold it by a French broker?
It’s very interesting 
Do prudential operate in France, do they have passporting rights?
I’m not qualified to comment on your questions about assurance vie, pensions, investments, etc… but I do have experience of working in France for a UK-based company. My first question, if I may be so blunt, is whether you require a visa to work in France. You mention being from the UK, but not whether you are British.
We also have a Prudential AV that meets French criteria.
Le siège social de Prudential International est situé en Irlande à Fitzwilliam Court, 2 Leeson Close, Dublin, D02 YW24. Prudential International est le nom commercial de Prudential International Assurance plc, une compagnie d’assurance-vie opérant depuis l’Irlande. Numéro d’immatriculation : 209956. Numéro de téléphone : [+ 353 1 476 5000](tel:+ 353 1 476 5000). Prudential International Assurance plc est agréée par la Banque centrale d’Irlande. Prudential International fait partie du même groupe de sociétés que la Prudential Assurance Company. La Prudential Assurance Company et Prudential International sont respectivement des filiales directes/ indirectes de M&G plc, une société enregistrée au Royaume-Uni. La Prudential Assurance Company n’est en aucune manière affiliée à Prudential Financial, Inc, une société dont les principaux établissements sont situés aux États-Unis d’Amérique ou à Prudential plc, un groupe international enregistré au Royaume-Uni.