Expatriate Wealth Management

The concept of wealth management is one that all expatriates should come to grips with – it is not sufficient to go abroad and ‘just’ concentrate of sorting out your taxation position or ‘just’ ensuring you bank sufficient funds when overseas to see you right in retirement.  Rather, you need to take a complete and an holistic approach to managing your entire fiscal status if you want to enhance your financial position to the best of your ability…

…and expatriate wealth management as a concept is just that – i.e., the complete and holistic management of your financial affairs – from how and where you bank to how your tax status is managed, how your physical assets are owned, where your money is invested and how you structure your affairs so that they are ‘appropriate’ for your status and position today, tomorrow and into the future.

In this report we’re going to outline the main fiscal elements that you need to consider when you move abroad, and how they all interlink when it comes to the effective management of your wealth.  We will explain why a given aspect of your financial status is important to focus on, and give suggestions about where you might begin getting the help and advice you need to effectively manage your wealth for the best possible returns.

Insurance is an Integral Part of Wealth Management

Many people think that insurance is a waste of money – it’s a non-value added expense that detracts from your bank account and does not serve to enhance your life in any way.  Well, yes, whilst those feelings may well be accurate to a degree – insurance really needs to be looked at in another way!  When it comes to the protection of your position, your status, your health and your financial status, certain insurances are essential.

Depending on who you are, where you live, whether you have dependents, significant personal or business debts or liabilities etc., you may need to consider insurances such as health, life, liability and critical illness as part of your overall wealth management strategy.  However, insurance should not be looked at independently of everything else…rather it interlinks totally with every single aspect of your financial life.

Structuring Your Tax Affairs

One of the most important benefits of being an expatriate is that you have a chance to enhance your tax status as soon as you permanently relocate abroad.  Naturally the degree to which you can enhance your position depends on many factors such as where in the world you relocate to and where you earn your money.  Hopefully it goes without saying that there is no one solution for everyone when it comes to any element of expatriate wealth management – and when it comes to taxation enhancement, never was such a statement so true.

You need to determine – ideally ahead of your move – where best in the world you can live, work, earn and invest your money for tax reasons.  You need to then determine which vehicles can assist you when it comes to the preferential positioning of your assets and the correct management of your wealth so that your financial position is not negatively affected by excessive taxation.

If you can live anywhere, maybe negotiating a fixed tax package with a given Canton in Switzerland would best suit you – or perhaps moving to live in the tax haven of Monaco could match both your wealth status and your lifestyle requirements.  Alternatively, if you’re moving overseas to a set location or you’re intending to start a business or work abroad and you cannot move to a taxation enhanced nation, there are ways you will need to work with an accountant, a tax and a financial adviser to make sure you’re making the very most of the position you are in.

Investing Wisely for Your Financial Future

One of the core elements of expatriate wealth management is of course how you invest your money!  Managing the wealth you have or are generating is integral to your financial health today, tomorrow and for the long-term.  Naturally you will have your own personal and specific preferences about how at least some of your wealth is invested – for example you may choose to have properties within your portfolio, you may want some cash close at hand and you may even wish to build a personal share portfolio that matches your own risk profile and appetite for exposure.

Working with a wealth management team or with an expatriate financial adviser, you can ensure you have all elements of your short, medium and long-term financial needs covered and met with appropriate investments.  And whilst you may be sure you’re on the right path with the investment strategy you already have in place, a second opinion will always prove valuable particularly if that is an informed second opinion.  You may find you’re introduced to new options and alternatives, you may discover ‘better’ ways to invest for tax, privacy or security reasons.  You might even discover a way to save for a tax efficient retirement or structure the majority of your holdings beneath one umbrella for ease of investment management.

Accounting and Reporting

However well you structure your fiscal affairs there may well be a requirement upon you to submit taxation returns, company records or to declare your position to certain authorities or bodies.  Ignorance is not an excuse in these matters, so you need to work perhaps with a team of accountants who can oversea the correct running and reporting of your business and personal life.

How to Bank and How to Protect

Learning about the best ways to physically bank and access your money and assets is important for expatriates – because often it makes little sense to keep assets in your old nation or to bring them onshore or remit them in your new nation of residence.  You may need a private banking solution or a straightforward offshore banking package.

Part of knowing the best way to bank and access your money will also be about deciding on the protection, privacy, security and confidentiality you want and require in terms of the management of your wealth status.  Again, this ties in integrally with every other aspect of your wealth management requirements.  Long-term protection of your assets is also important when you think about structuring your affairs for your heirs and beneficiaries.  After all, there are many things you can do in life that will protect your estate following your death.  These aspects need to be thought about sooner rather than later.

In Conclusion

As you can no doubt see, there are many interlinked aspects of wealth management for an expatriate to think about, get to grips with and implement.  The enhancement and protection of your wealth is also an ongoing process, and one that does indeed benefit from expert assistance all along the way.  It is possible we have some experts on hand who can assist you and direct your queries or pass on contacts or advice to you – so as a first port of call do feel free to get in touch.  Otherwise, ensure anyone you consider working with is indeed reputable, respected and well regulated, that they have the credentials and the experience to assist you and that they truly understand your unique expatriate status.