Columnists Archives - Page 77 of 86

Expat Investments in a Low Interest Rate World

by Expat Focus investment partner, Tom Zachystal On August 9th Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, made an unprecedented announcement (although I guess by now we should be used to unprecedented announcements from the Fed). He announced that

How to Avoid Expat Investment Scams

by Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP), Expat Focus partner and President of Individual Asset Management You have worked hard to build a nest egg and would like to invest your money in order that it work for you to provide for

How does a QROPS UK pension transfer overseas work? (Part 1)

A number of readers have asked how the process of transferring UK pensions overseas typically works. In this part one of a two-part column we will look at the people and agencies involved in the transfer process and the various

Financial Planning for Expats Moving to the USA

There are numerous issues that need to be addressed when moving to a new country and it often seems the more “developed” your new country of residence, the more important it is to understand and follow regulations. Individual Asset Management

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) – Some Examples

In the first three articles of this series we examined what QROPS is, how it could benefit some expats (and others) and briefly how the system works. In the final analysis though, words can be confusing and there is no

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) – Qualification Issues

In previous articles we examined the principles of QROPS, and why QROPS could be advantageous to expats in certain circumstances. In this brief discussion, we’ll look at some of the ‘qualification’ and related issues that apply to those trying to

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) – Why Choose a QROPS?

In the first article in this series, we outlined a little of the background to the UK government’s decision to permit pension fund transfers out of the UK to overseas arrangements in certain circumstances. We also had a brief look

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) – An Introduction

It is always a little sad when one has to start worrying about pensions. Expats are no different to most people in that the word ‘pensions’ reminds us that aging is inexorable and that we need to think about making

France Springs Into Life

I love March. Rural France suddenly springs into life again as the temperatures rise. Here in Creuse we normally have long winters that last from early November until well into March. However, this year we swapped long for intense. The

Making Friends – Expat Style

Having a few close friends is one of the key factors that determine how happy I am in my new host country. I have learned this after being an expat in S. Korea, Thailand now Germany. I’ve also learned that