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How to protect yourself from “clone firm” investment scams

According to Action Fraud, over £78 million was lost to ‘clone firm’ investment scams in 2020 with victims reporting average losses of just over £45,000. Clone firms imitate genuine investment firms to trick people into putting money into investments that don’t actually exist. They use the name (or a name that is very similar to), address and reference number of a real, properly authorised, investment company.

What is investing? Making great businesses around the world work for you

When you invest in a globally diversified portfolio, you are harnessing the profits from thousands of companies around the world. You are investing in the company that makes the toothpaste that you use to clean your teeth in the morning, the company that makes your breakfast cereal, the company that makes the satellites that allow the Uber driver to find you via your cutting edge smartphone, the company that makes your office chair and the company that makes the pillow…

How to mitigate the financial impact of divorce

Studies show that expat divorce rates are much higher than average. In addition, while divorce is complex at the best of times, for expats it can be even more challenging. For example, there is the matter of where to get divorced. In the country of residence or the home country? What happens if the 2 parties have different nationalities? Where then? At the end of the day, every marriage and divorce is different. There are no hard and fast rules…

I’m resident overseas, but where am I domiciled?

The formal definition of domicile is “the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with.” However, domicile and residence are not the same. It is entirely possible to have lived in the same country for many years, even decades, and consider it your “home”, but still be domiciled elsewhere. This is because once you acquire a domicile, you retain it until you replace it with another.

Expat guide to UK inheritance tax

In 2021, the UK taxman collected GBP5.7 billion from inheritance tax (IHT). You shouldn’t think that, because you are an expat, this doesn’t concern you.

Using life insurance to mitigate Inheritance Tax

In recent research from Barclays Wealth, three in five (60 per cent) UK adults aged between 45 and 54 said they did not know if their investments would be subject to inheritance tax when they were passed on to family. Additionally, the survey found that a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents did not know if their property’s value would be considered separately to the rest of their financial assets for inheritance tax purposes.

Should politics influence your retirement plan?

It is hard to avoid politics these days. Whether it is Brexit, Trump, BLM or the merits of how different governments have responded to the pandemic, the political coverage is relentless. With widely polarised opinions and 24-hour news reporting, it is natural to wonder whether political considerations belong in your retirement plan.

Retirement planning lessons for expats from Robert de Niro

According to an article in the magazine Page 6, even Robert de Niro’s finances have been affected by COVID19. The issue is his stake in the restaurant and hotel chain Nobu. Obviously, their venues have been closed or partially closed for months with barely any business coming in. This has dealt a big blow to his finances. According to his lawyer, Caroline Krauss, Nobu lost $3 million in April and another $1.87 million in May.

Pension access options for expats who are considering retirement

If you are an expat of age 55 or older and you are unsure about how to access your retirement savings, then the good news is there are a number of options open to you. There is certainly a lot more flexibility in this respect than when I first started advising British expats on their retirement options 20 years ago. However, alongside greater freedom in how you access your pension comes the need to make an informed decision as to…

Who gets left holding the bag? An investing lesson from GameStop

I’ve been following the GameStop (GME) story over the past week. I don’t think that I have even seen anything like it in all of the years that I have been watching markets. The story has taken on a life of its own and as usual, when so many people are paying attention, there has been a fair amount misinformation and misunderstandings. In case you haven’t been following it, here is some background.

European Commission Pension Scheme – 10 year rule and transfer options

There is a pension scheme available for those working for the various EU entities. It is a Defined Benefit scheme. This means that when you retire, you are guaranteed an income, based on your length of service, until you die. In addition, if you pass away before your partner, they will receive a reduced monthly payment, known as a Survivor’s Pension, until they die.

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.

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