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Investment lessons from a pandemic – Markets in a time of COVID-19

Of all the 25 years that I have been a financial adviser, 2020 goes down as the most challenging so far. To be fair, a large part of the reason for that is that it is still so fresh. In reality, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the financial crisis in 2008/2009 were probably equally challenging. However, the passing of time has lessened their impact on my psyche.

How does UK inheritance tax work when a spouse is non-domiciled?

The rules for transferring assets to a UK domiciled spouse are fairly straightforward. However, things are trickier when one spouse is non-domiciled. In general, lifetime and on-death transfers of assets between spouses/civil partners who are both UK domiciled are exempt from UK inheritance tax (IHT) without limit. However, when one spouse is not UK domiciled, the spousal exemption is limited to £325,000.

What Experience Tells Us About Markets and US Presidential Elections

The upcoming US presidential election is my 7th as a professional financial adviser. If I have learned anything from the previous 6, it is that, despite the protestations of many to the contrary, no one has a clue how markets will perform, react or move in the coming weeks. They may go up, they may go down, they may even stay the same.

Are Premium Bonds a good investment?

I was tidying my documents the other day and came across an old Premium Bond certificate that I received as a gift around the time that I was born. With fingers firmly crossed I checked the website to see if I was a lucky winner, and…… I wasn’t. Which means that in the past 46 years that I have held them, I have won absolutely nothing in Premium Bond prizes.

Can I afford to retire?

You may be keen to start learning new skills and exploring the world. Alternatively, as an expat, you may have had enough exploring the world and may be keen to settle in one place. You may have lost your job or may need to stop working due to health reasons. Or you may need to retire in order to care for loved ones. Whatever your reason, the question that you have on your mind is “can I afford to retire?”.

Should I accept a Pension Increase Exchange? The pros and cons of PIE offers

With many of the UK’s biggest private-sector employers struggling with pension deficits, growing numbers have approached their workforces with pension increase exchange offers. These proposals, also known as PIE offers, are deals to buy out some of the inflation proofing on your future pensions, in exchange for a bigger starting, but flat, income.

Keep it simple – A financial planning lesson from Marie Kondo

I was watching Marie Kondo on Netflix last night (yes, being stuck at home due to the coronavirus has become that desperate already). If you haven’t heard of her, she is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Anyway, it made me think of how a spot of tidying could be applied to our personal finances. You see, if we have too many financial products, be they bank accounts, pensions, investments or insurances, it leads to us not being…

Coronavirus scams: How to avoid falling victim to them

With news of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread as fast as the virus itself, sadly so too are coronavirus related scams. These scams are not just in the context of trying to capitalise on scarcity by massively overcharging for hand sanitiser and toilet paper but they are more subtle and pernicious tools that hackers and identity thieves are using to try to take advantage of the uncertainty.

The Basics of Good Expat Investment Advice

Historically, expat investment advice has been characterised by the focus on the sale of a financial product, e.g. a pension plan or an investment fund. While products are, obviously, a necessary feature of a wider holistic financial planning strategy, good quality expat investment and retirement advice encompasses much more than simply selling products.

How to claim UK State Pension in Poland

If you have been making social security (ZUS) payments here in Poland, then you need to claim your UK state pension here too. If you have not made social security payments in Poland, then you will need to claim your pension through the International Pensions Centre in the UK.

Expat pensions after Brexit – What can we expect?

For better or worse, we now know that Brexit is definitely going to happen (or has already happened if you are reading this after 31st January 2020). As a result, I want to look at how expat pensions might be affected now that Brexit “is done”. In particular, I will review the potential implications for expats who have UK pensions and who have already retired or plan to retire in the EEA.

Expat retirement planning: Beware the silent assassin

Are you in danger of letting your expat retirement plans fall prey to a financial assassin? It is always prudent to have a reasonable amount of cash on deposit to cover emergencies and short term expenses. However, having too much of your portfolio in cash can lead to, at the least, a loss of purchasing power in retirement and at the worst, you running out of money in later life. Why? Due to inflation.

New UK tax year (2019/2020): Implications for expats

We ticked over into UK tax year 2019/2020 a few weeks ago and this brought a resetting of thresholds and allowances for the next 12 months. This post summarises the changes that specifically affect expats.

10 financial tips for expats to ensure a prosperous New Year

With another New Year only a few days away and people feverishly working on thee I decided to replace my regular monthly update of financial issues affecting expats with some of my top financial tips for ensuring a prosperous New Year.

What does good expat financial advice look like?

Have you ever wondered what proper financial planning for retirement looks like? Before answering that question, let’s start with another. Do you actually need a financial adviser? A strange question to see on a financial adviser’s blog, right? You could be forgiven for thinking that my answer may be ever-so-slightly conflicted.

If it is too good to be true… How to learn from past investment scams

There was a story on the BBC website last week about a couple who invested their pension fund in a firm producing truffle trees; not surprisingly, the story didn’t end happily. The story reminded me of a similar incident involving the equally exotic Quadris Environmental Forestry Fund. This fund, which was launched in 2001 and was managed by a company called Floresteca, invested into teak plantations in Brazil. In total, they invested more than GBP100 million from 1,200 people

Do you remember the first iPhone?

The first iPhone was released over a decade ago (June 2007). Do you remember it? Painfully slow web browsing, no video camera, no selfies. No selfies! How on earth did we live? Now compare it to the current iPhone 13. Quite a difference, right There is a neat comparison to be made between the evolution of the iPhone and that of investment products for expats.

Are you making the most of your employer pension?

If you are one of the more fortunate expats that retain membership of an employer pension scheme, it is possible that you are not taking full advantage of the benefits that are on offer. You see, the way a typical pension works is that staff pay a fixed percentage of their wage into the scheme and then the employer pays in as well.

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