Expat Financial Advice

 Connect to a performance fee-based, independent financial advisor

It all started in 1994 with the idea of a unique, smart and low-cost investment platform for the expatriate world with NO SURRENDER CHARGES or NO LOCK-IN PERIOD and YOUR MONEY FULLY ACCESSIBLE FROM DAY ONE. At expatwealthatwork, we proudly build profitable portfolio's tailored to your risk/reward profile.


Financial advice for expats is not hard to find. If you are a professional working internationally, we expect you have had some interaction with a (British) financial salesman (they like to call themselves IFA) in your career. Regrettably, the offshore financial services industry is rife with mis-selling, unsuitable advice and exploitative practices.

We are bringing regulated financial advice to the international market to raise standards and provide welcome salvation for expatriates.

Appropriate preparation and planning are key to reducing risk and increasing the chances of success. Wealth Management & Estate Planning for expatriates is no exception.

Our role is to help you think ahead - to provide guidance and support, to make sure you are heading in the right direction and to ensure you understand any and all implications based on our pertinent knowledge and experience.

To provide successful, independent advice requires high levels of professional integrity. When a client puts trust in professional advice, then integrity has to be the corner-stone of future business dealings. Certainly, this is the case with expatwealthatwork in regard to our advice on all aspects of your financial matters.

In order to provide successful and independent advice, a high degree of professional integrity is required.

INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE

At expatwealthatwork, we create more than just portfolio's. We invest for your future. Expertise makes all the difference.

Wealth Management


Our Wealth Management program takes a complete and comprehensive approach to managing all aspects of our clients' financial lives. We believe that looking at a client's financial condition in a comprehensive and complete way creates the greatest probability that our clients will make the wisest choices with their money, and therefore, not run out of it. 


The process begins with the development of a comprehensive financial plan that is tailored specifically to you. We believe that a customised, written financial plan that focuses on the actual numbers instead of pretty pie charts is the keystone to all financial decisions and your financial success. During this process, we gather your information, including goals, timelines, incomes, expenses, assets, and liabilities to see what needs to be done to secure your financial future. In addition, your plan can also serve as a reference point for examining opportunities that arise and give you the peace of mind to be able to enjoy your money. 


We update and re-run your plan annually to account for any changes in your situation and to make sure we are working with up-to-date information.


We do not see financial plans as a sales tool, nor do we believe that generic plans really give any real guidance either. With your financial plan, we can set up the appropriate investment platform account, and through a discussion about risk, invest your money appropriately so that you have the best probability of achieving your financial goals. Furthermore, we can assess your financial risks that need to be managed, as well as, coordinate your income tax return with your portfolio.


We believe that transparency is key in our clients' understanding of how their finances are doing. Every quarter, you will receive a performance report benchmarking how your portfolio has performed. We also provide our clients with a customised web portal to their account with a login that can give them immediate access to such information, as well as, any market commentary.


Estate Planning


Besides the aspects of Salary and Income Tax, expatriates are advised to also pay attention to the legal and tax aspects of Estate Planning.

Estate planning is the total process of planning your estate to make sure that the value of your assets does not decrease unnecessarily when you pass away. While also ensuring that important aspects of your estate are handled correctly.

You can start planning your estate at any stage in life. It is important to do so once you have substantial assets which you need to manage in the event of your death.


Estate plans are unique to every personal situation but will i.e. include:


  • Creating a will
  • Minimising taxes by setting up the appropriate financial structures
  • Guardianship of living dependants
  • Naming of an executor of your estate
  • Creating or updating beneficiaries on your financial plans
  • Pre-organising and potentially paying for your funeral arrangements
  • Setting up a power of attorney to direct other assets and investments

The legal requirements concern how to stipulate the will in a correct manner. In which process the projection of the kind and amount of future Inheritance Tax is relevant.

As expatriates tend to relocate, it is important to make sure that experts advise expatriates about the differences between countries and how to optimise their estate planning.

In order to determine the applicable civil law, you have to look at the International Civil Law of the relevant countries. Which can be quite difficult as for example certain personal choices in one country are not always accepted as valid in another country.


Regarding the Inheritance Tax the national regimes can be quite different. As for example the UK and Dutch system are quite stern while Sweden and Portugal have no such taxes.

It pays off to plan ahead and you can seek the best advice from us.


Lower costs, higher returns

With expatwealthatwork you do not pay entry and exit fees for investments in funds and ETFs. As a result, your return is already at least 3% to a maximum of 6% higher than with other advisers where you do have those (hidden) fees.

Contact us - info@expatwealthatwork.com - for Expatriate financial advice via telephone and email. Video calls via Zoom and Skype.

FOCUSED ON YOU

Pursuing your vision for tomorrow begins with the right guidance today.

AWARD-WINNING PORTFOLIO'S


The best investment portfolio for these times is the one you can live with. 

What if you need your money in two years, 10 years or 25 years? It makes a huge difference about how to invest. In fact, those are three very different portfolios,

If you need your money in two years, and you want to take very little risk, you're going to be in a combination of money market funds, and some high quality corporates. And that's a very low risk, very low return portfolio that hopefully just keeps ahead of inflation. Historically, we rarely see 10 years go by without a positive return. So a portfolio that makes more sense for a person who's going to need that cash in a decade is going to be something like a 60/40 classic portfolio, that's 60% broad market indexes and 40% bonds. You should see a better-than-inflation return in most 10 year periods. 25 years is a long time in the stock market. And you would want to be pretty aggressive, either 70/30 or 75/25 stocks and bonds. The reason expatwealthatwork never recommend people go all stock, even though that portfolio would do better, is exactly because of times like the Coronavirus, or '08/'09, or 2000. The optimal portfolio isn't the one that returns the most money, but it's the one that you can live with. 

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WORKING WITH YOUR RISK/REWARD PROFILE


Risk Profiling is a process of finding the optimal level of investment risk for you considering the risk required, risk capacity and risk tolerance, where:

- Risk Required is the risk associated with the return required to achieve your goals with the available financial resources,

- Risk Capacity is the level of financial risk you can afford to take, and

- Risk Tolerance is the level of risk you are comfortable with.

Each of these three risk aspects has an impact on the selection of an appropriate investment strategy.

Risk Required and Risk Capacity are financial characteristics calculated using a financial planning tool. Risk Tolerance is an analysis of your goals and the risks you are willing to take to achieve your goal.

Risk Profiling requires each of these characteristics to be separately assessed so that they can be compared to one another. Risk Capacity and Risk Tolerance both act separately as constraints on what you might otherwise do to achieve your goals (Risk Required). It is unusual for you to be able to achieve your goals from the resources available within both their risk capacity and risk tolerance.

These aspects can often be in conflict and should be plotted against one another to find a best-fit solution.

Many tools are available to help measure your risk tolerance, such as risk analysers. However, the focus should be less on the scorecard and more on the information gathered from you . expatwealthatwork take time to understand whether you like to take risks or your prefer to play it safe. Expat Wealth at Work entire focus is on understanding how you think.


 CONSTRUCTING YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO


5 steps

Constructing an investment portfolio is about choosing a range of investments that are targeted at achieving your goals & objectives at a level of investment risk that you're comfortable with. The key elements are asset allocation followed by the specific investment selection.


1. Decide on your attitude to risk

2. Decide on your objectives

3. Decide on your asset allocation

4. Choose the specific investments

5. Make the investments 

COMMON PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION MISTAKES


  1. Not establishing your risk tolerance: a portfolio should be appropriate for your attitude to risk. If you establish a 100% share portfolio looking to achieve 20% returns per year and then panic and sell out of the market if it falls in value by 20%, your investment portfolio is not appropriate for you. Investment into assets such as bonds, property and shares should always be considered as medium-to-long term investments.
  2. Over-diversification: diversification is a great risk reduction tool - it means you won't have all your eggs in one basket - but having too many investments within your portfolio (over-diversification) can mean it becomes difficult to manage and the risk reduction benefits start to reduce.
  3. Asset allocation takes a back seat: history has shown that it is the asset allocation of a portfolio that produces the majority of returns, as opposed to picking specific investments, so make sure the asset allocation decision is your first point of call.
  4. Making rash investment decisions: simply reading or hearing about a great investment and then diving in without any thought leaves you lost as to how it is helping you achieve your objectives. Investment selection should bear in mind your objectives and asset allocation strategy.
  5. Having no objective: it's amazing how many people simply invest without any real thought as to what they're trying to achieve. Not having an objective is the easiest way to lose your way with investing.
  6. Not understanding the investment definitions and terms used in the investment world.

LOW-COST INVESTMENT PLATFORM


We offer you a low-cost investment platform that combines the benefits of a private bank account with the personal customer care with a top quality financial advisor. We can access for you an infrastructure comparable to those offered by any international investment house or private bank. We provide a 24/7 online overview of your account. You can view all transactions, purchases, sales, movements and balances online. 


  • Professional management of assets from  $/€/£10,000

  • Investment process managed by us, an expert financial advisor

  • Detailed quarterly information on your assets and individual positions

  • Switch to another portfolio, if required

  • Payments, savings plans and payout plans available at any time - no lock-in periods

  • Annual income statement with all relevant data


ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH US?


At expatwealthatwork, it's not just our job to preserve and grow your wealth. It's our job to ensure that your assets under our management are exceptionally well protected in an uncertain world, and to make sure your assets are growing at the fastest rate possible, without taking unnecessary risks.


​We believe there are three key pillars of a well-managed investment portfolio: Performance, Diversification, and Liquidity. Performance makes your assets grow, diversification keeps the risk low, and liquidity ensures you can access your money when you need it. If you don't have all of these components in your investment portfolio, you're taking some very unnecessary risks.


Through our network of partner financial institutions, our clients can access institutional financial products and services at retail banking entry levels, cutting out several middlemen and improving total return whilst reducing exposure to risk. Whilst the investment portfolios of our clients are not always identical, the key components which make up the core of all our client portfolios are - and the approach we take in determining how to balance those core components for each client is always the same.


Building your investment portfolio is just the start. For it to keep performing at a maximum level, it needs to be carefully managed to make sure that as times change, as markets go up and down, and as you progress through life, your investment portfolio stays in line with your personal goals and requirements for performance, diversification and liquidity - and make sure that your investment portfolio is updated to reflect any new personal requirements as and when your own personal set of circumstances change. Being in regular contact with us ensures that you're always up-to-date with relevant information, and you can always ask any questions you have or ask for advice and guidance when you need it. 

Investing is equivalent to an action that - after fundamental analysis - promises a preservation of capital and comes together with a correct return. Actions that do not meet these conditions are purely speculative.

Contact us - info@expatwealthatwork.com - for Expatriate financial advice via telephone, e-mail and video calls.

OUR SIMPLE AND LAID-BACK PROCESS

We will complete a financial plan without cost or obligation in order for you to see the value in working with us at expatwealthatwork. This also gives us a chance to get to know you to make sure that it is a good fit both ways.


1. Schedule A Free Introductory Visit

We will get to know each other, explore your questions, concerns, and dreams. To determine if we are the right fit, we will explain how we work and draw up a simple financial plan for you so you can see the value of having a plan for your money.

2. Create An In-Depth Plan

We will dig deeper into your dreams and goals and find the why behind them, gathering the relevant data and documents. Once the questions are answered and the boxes ticked off, we will present your customised plan and share our solutions to your financial concerns.

3. Implement Your Strategy

We will take your tailor-made financial plan and implement all the details, getting you even closer to not only your goals, but financial peace of mind. Then, we will meet at least once a year to continuously monitor the results and adjust our overall strategy if necessary.


Contact us - info@expatwealthatwork.com - for Expatriate financial advice via telephone and email. Video calls via Zoom and Skype.

expatwealthatwork IS A PERFORMANCE FEE-ONLY INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM

We provide unbiased, results-oriented advice, which offers our clients the knowledge that they need to make informed decisions about their future. Because we believe issues like financial independence, estate planning, tax planning, cash flow management, risk management, education planning, wealth accumulation and preservation are completely interrelated, we develop client-specific strategies that encompass them all, concurrently.


expatwealthatwork is Conflict-Free: we are a "performance fee-only" investment advisor. We provide ongoing advice. There are several ways you can pay a financial advice firm. expatwealthatwork is "performance fee-only", which means we are compensated only by our clients if we get them the agreed performance for their investment portfolio. We don't sell financial products, nor do we receive sales commissions on any financial product or service.

Over the years, other firms have co-opted the term "fee-only" to mean "fee plus commission," or "fee-based." This happens with financial sales firms who charge a fee but also sell insurance or investments for a commission. If you are confused, that is by design.

expatwealthatwork is different. We offer all of our services, including investment advising and investment management, as part of our comprehensive performance fee-only financial advice service. We manage your investments, but we don't charge commissions. The annual performance fee is the amount the client pays us, regardless of how actively their account is traded, or how much time we spend on tax planning, cash flow planning, estate planning, college funding planning, insurance planning, or any other planning issues.

We are performance fee-only. Really.

Contact us - info@expatwealthatwork.com - for Expatriate financial advice via telephone and email. Video calls via Zoom and Skype.