Are you confused in the ever-changing world of personal
finance today? So much is going on in this area that many people are
confused and hesitant, which results in directionless thinking. There
are economic crises, currency fluctuations, market turmoil, housing
crashes, recessions, mortgage problems and often new facets of personal
finance that many of you are not aware of until they break. A prime
example of this was the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
As an expat you have several advantages over people living in
their home bases, chiefly favourable tax status and very wide
opportunities to invest in areas where those back home cannot. In most
cases as an expat you also have larger amounts of disposable income,
which can be used to provide a better lifestyle and retirement in the
future. As you progress in your life as an expat you will accumulate
more wealth. It is essential to invest wisely to achieve targeted
investment returns. This will ensure you preserve your assets and future
financial security.
Many expats are confused over how they can make best use of
their advantageous position. There is a jungle of pitfalls and hidden
opportunities out there, which can spring out and surprise us. Sometimes
we are nicely surprised and at other times we are bitterly disappointed
at what can happen. While there may be opportunities that we have never
before encountered, we tend to be nervous of things turning sour and
losing our hard-earned wealth.
There are unique opportunities with, for example, the purchase
of property. International managed currency mortgages, to name one
choice, afford you the opportunity to purchase property you would not
normally consider and often not even dream of.
There are also many ways to use your ongoing disposable income
to save and invest to build up a retirement fund for your future. Many
expats either do not enjoy a pension scheme with their employer abroad,
or the scheme is insufficient to provide for their retirement needs.
These days savings schemes are very flexible and have many advantages
that many of you do not realise exist. They are often a key to the
retirement solution but with many added advantages of flexibility, total
ownership, control over benefits and heirship for the future for your
beneficiaries.
Many of you have amassed assets that you feel should be
invested to your advantage but you are reluctant to take risks in
investment markets. But which markets are you considering? We talk of
bulls and bears and the ways in which assets can be used to best
advantage during the specific periods when one beast or the other is
predominant.
Many expats are confused because they are bombarded with talk
of equities, commodities, futures, index-linked funds, hedge funds and
guaranteed funds. It can be hard to know in which direction you should
be moving at any given time. In periods such as the one we are
experiencing, markets are in turmoil. There are conservative fixed-term
deposits available for investment at very good fixed interest rates.
These are for relatively short terms. Unfortunately many of you do not
know where to find the best deal and miss the opportunity. The best and
easiest way to tap into the investment resources available is to have a
financial health check with an independent financial adviser. This will
ensure that you are aware of all the options available to you. It will
cost you nothing except perhaps the taxi fare to your adviser's office.
The assessment will deal with your current situation and projections for
the future based on your requirements and risk appetite.
Your adviser will be able to offer you sage consultation on
the best ways to use your assets and disposable income moving forward.
He will assist you in devising a strategy for the future and then manage
that strategy with you. You will have the opportunity of regular reviews
with your adviser where you can discuss the performance and possible
changes to future strategy.
There are many technical issues to be considered and each one
will be viewed in a different light depending on the situation under
evaluation. Investments all have the opportunity to change with market
sentiment, and a good independent adviser will be able to navigate
through the maze and manage your investments in the most effective manner.
-andy wool