Offshore Investment Brokers

Summary: How is it possible for an expatriate to pick the best offshore investment brokers from the pack, which criterion should be applied to selecting the best broker? Here are five ways to ensure that you pick the best of the best.

Offshore investment brokers can often be found in large numbers in the overseas destinations most popular with working expatriates.  Countries like Dubai, Singapore, Mexico and The Netherlands for example all have both strong expatriate communities and financial adviser communities.  The expatriate workers from around the world are prime candidates for exploiting all that the offshore world has to offer them for the duration of their overseas secondment and the brokers are best placed to assist them with their investment choices - BUT...

...how is it possible for such an expatriate to pick the best offshore investment brokers from the pack, which criterion should be applied to selecting the best broker?  Here are five ways to ensure that you pick the best of the best.

1) Ask About the Safety of Your Funds

You may have a strong risk tolerance and be willing to consider some of the potentially higher returning, more volatile offshore investment vehicles available to you; alternatively you may wish to only tie money up for the short term for a guaranteed interest rate - either way the most critical factor when placing money in any form of investment vehicle is that it is fundamentally safe.  I.e., it is in a jurisdiction properly regulated and where investors are protected from unscrupulous finance houses. 

Therefore ask any brokers you’re considering investing via about the jurisdictions they favour and why they favour them.  The most reputable companies will favour tax havens like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands for example that offer investor protector schemes.

And no reputable broker or brokerage will ever ask you to transfer your savings funds to them for investment purposes...you should only ever place money directly with the investment house you select from the advice you’re offered by the broker.

2) Ask About the Reputation and Client Base of the Underlying Brokerage

If the offshore investment broker works for a reputable and well respected company he will be able to show you figures relating to the amount of funds the company has under administration, the size of their client base, the number of brokers they have and the locations they work in.  Furthermore they should have a website advertising clearly their services, they should have offices where you can always get in contact with someone to assist you, they should offer regular newsletters, contact and support and be willing to assist you with previously made investments and they should have the experience and understanding of all things offshore necessary to advise you correctly so that you don’t break any taxation laws.

Make sure you do your background research on the company.

3) Consider Relocation and Repatriation

If you know that one day you’re likely to move location or even go ‘back home’ you need to know that the investments you’re about to make can be carried over and that any taxation breaks you can benefit from whilst an expatriate will still legally be accessible to you in your new location.  Furthermore, if you make a long term investment for retirement purposes say, you must ensure that the income you later derive from that investment vehicle can be drawn in whichever country you chose to live in without any back taxation or legal implications.  You also need to know that if you move location the offshore investment brokerage you’re being advised by will continue to be able to support you and work with you to build and maintain a healthy portfolio.

Ask your offshore investment broker about the geographical coverage his company offers.  It’s no good investing via a local broker if one day you’ll move away - who’ll help you then?  Make sure your broker’s company have offices around the world or at least a central office that can look after ‘orphaned’ investors who have moved away from the coverage area offered by a broker.

Furthermore insist that your broker talks you through all the possible scenarios for your particular preferred investment vehicles - what if you relocate, what if you repatriate, what about domestic taxation responsibilities, what about if you need to en-cash early...?

Get all these questions asked and answered before you invest.

4) Consider the Costs

How much is the advice of your preferred broker going to cost you?  You need to know about any immediate fees and on-going advice fees up front and you need them in writing and you have to be 100% comfortable with them and know that you can continue to keep paying for the regular investment reviews you will need. 

Alternatively select a broker who is an independent offshore investment adviser and who works on commission for the investment products he ‘sells’ - that way the advice you receive will be free of charge and you need never worry about ongoing meetings and reviews and how much they will cost as they will also be free.

5) Ensure Independence

This is THE most critical factor when considering any offshore investment broker...an independent adviser is the key to the successful creation and ongoing success of any investment portfolio.  You have to have access to every single investment product and provider in the entire offshore marketplace to get the exact product to suit your needs and only an independent adviser can offer you this service.  An independent adviser will know about every single product available to you and be able to hand pick the best of the best from all the finance houses to build your own unique portfolio.

A tied adviser who represents one financial company will shoehorn you to fit his products - he is working for himself, an independent adviser is working for you.

Take your time when selecting an offshore investment broker to work with, do your own due diligence on him and his company and only work with someone you feel you can trust.

SHARE: del.icio.us   Digg   Facebook   Google   Mixx   NewsVine   StumbleUpon   Technorati   YahooMyWeb