As you may well have realised by now, expatriates are in a uniquely advantageous financial position. However, getting to grips with all of the opportunities available to you, your wealth and your assets can be a daunting undertaking. But it doesn’t have to be! In the following chapters we will help you to discover many of the potential options available to you for the utilisation of taxation advantages and the advancement of your wealth offshore for example, but there comes a point when it can make sense to utilise the services of experts in the field of international and expatriate finance – this is where we can help you.
The professionals who have contributed to this guide are trusted industry experts, most of whom have been known to the author for many years, and they can be introduced to you! If you think you could well benefit from more information about any of the topics covered in this guide, just contact us and we will do our very best to assist you. Then you can tell all of your friends how you have benefitted and they can purchase one of our many planned Country specific publications.
In terms of where to seek advice perfectly structured for your special expatriate financial status, it can be very difficult to know where to start looking and how to choose the right adviser with the correct knowledge. Your previous onshore adviser may not be able to introduce you to the potentially tax saving and financially enhancing opportunities available offshore as you find that their focus and expert knowledge is based onshore, probably in the UK. Furthermore, a local adviser in your new country of residence, is unlikely to understand your unique expatriate status, how that relates to any tax saving potential in the nation in which you are residing, and how you need to structure your affairs appropriately in case you should ever want to repatriate or relocate elsewhere abroad.
Although you may speak the language of your new country of residence, seeking advice from an independent, international adviser will be far more beneficial when reviewing your finances on an international and not just local level. Plus, if you find an international adviser who specialises in working via the internet or telephone, then wherever you move to in the world they can remain your point of contact, maintaining continuity for the continued growth of your finances.
Here is what you, as an expatriate, need from your adviser:-
- You need to select an international and independent adviser who has as international a perspective as you do. There is no point finding a local adviser who will sit down with you and who you are comfortable with if you may move to another contract in another country in two year’s time. This is even more apparent if the adviser only specialises in advising clients where you are currently resident.
- You need to ensure that your adviser views your affairs in the same way as you, and provides the best advice for your international outlook and risk profile if any.
- You need an adviser who understands how your current status can benefit you, and how your future requirements may lead you to or from certain courses of action.
- You need an adviser who understands expatriates and the offshore and EU international world of financial planning.
- The adviser needs to be qualified, experienced, professional and be backed by a group large enough to have influence with the major financial institutions so that you can access and benefit from the best accounts and opportunities available and they can advise you accordingly.
- You need an adviser that is not owned or tied to any financial institution. Independent is the key!
- You need an adviser with significant presence in the industry who can help you benefit from exclusive opportunities, limited allocations and institutional bank rates etc.
- You need to know that your adviser can keep your details 100% confidential – which means outside of the UK. Did you know that reporting any suspicious activity is now a requirement by any UK based financial adviser or accountant, and that suspicious activity may just relate to the movement of a large sum of money?