offshoreadvisor2009 has left 12 comments

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on jasz

Hola, I read your post about being interested in a pension plan. I work as an independent financial advisor here in Bogotá and would be happy to sit down with you and offer a consultation to explain your options. As an expat you have a lot more choices. William Railsback 301-784-6457 www.stjamesinternational.com

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on EPS & Pension Funds

I would be happy to talk with you about your opportunities to create an excellent pension fund, I'll send you a PM.

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Expat gatherings in Bogotá?

I'm in, would enjoy meeting some of the people from the forum in person.

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Exectuve apartment to share in Cedritos Bogotá

thanks for being a spell check..

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Taxes

Last I read we are exempt of taxes in the US for the 1st 80k of usd income if you are out of the us enough of the year to qualify as xpat.

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Offering Retirement planning and Wealth Management for expats- specializing in Offshore

In response to the questions about regulations, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey each have their own Governments and regulating bodies. Their websites are listed below. Regulations are similar if not more stringent than in the UK. In regards to Offshore brokerages being regulated, they are neither regulated nor licensed. In regards to investor privacy, the British Islands maintain strict investor confidence. They have and WILL share investor information with any Government that can show evidence that would stand up in a court of law that a client is involved in money laundering, drug trafficking or terrorism. If you want total secrecy look to Cayman or other well known money laundering centers. Institutions in the British Isles are not havens for drug money, or for Tax evaders. In regards to investor protection, the British Isles are the only AAA rated Offshore centers, and selected financial investments are protected by a 90% investor guarantee which is backed by the Government. Guarantee levels are currently $250,000 in the US; and maybe $50,000 in Colombia IF you can find anyone to actually confirm that ANY exists. If anyone actually has money to invest and would like to learn more about the options that exist as an expatriate, feel free to PM me and we can discuss your personal goals. http://www.gov.im/fsc/pvi/pvi_fr.html http://www.gfsc.gg/ http://www.jerseyfsc.org/

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Offering Retirement planning and Wealth Management for expats- specializing in Offshore

All, Again thanks for all of the interest and replies. Putting me in the same group of people that send e-mails from the Ivory Coast of Africa? That's pretty harsh! I'm as about as American as you can get, from a small town near San Francisco in northern California. If someone is interested in meeting with me and knowing me personally, talking about the 9'ers or the A's, or the best place to ski in Lake Tahoe, I'm game. In fact I already know some of your personally... My post was meant to let the expat community know that they have a local contact here in Colombia if they wanted to begin investing and saving for their future. It was not to create a debate about the merits of investing offshore. You are all experts in GOOGLE and internet research, and can certainly form your own opinions. I will be happy to share the name and website of my company, as well as a link to share a little more about investor protection. The last thing I want to do is defraud or SCAM anyone, not within my values. As far as full disclose, I totally agree. But here in a public forum? Not the correct place to share you personal info. www.stjamesinternational.com is the brokerage I represent http://www.gov.im/iomfinance/insurance/lifeassurance.xml This is from the Isle of Man government Many offshore products are wrapped into life assurance policies to gain certain financial advantages. Ahhh and one of the favorite companies I like to use, which has been in business for more than 170 years http://www.generali-gi.com/ Thanks again, I look forward to PM's from anyone that is genuinely interested. I'm more than happy to meet with you here in Bogotá to discuss your questions further in person. Best regards- William (on my way back to the Africa jaja)

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Offering Retirement planning and Wealth Management for expats- specializing in Offshore

Hello all, Well it's hard to tell which responses are actual questions, and which are just sarcasm, however I'll do my best to help everyone understand the facts that make a difference. I'm very glad to see there is a lot of interest! Taxes- any financial center in the world that offers tax free investment growth is referring to taxes collected in the Country where the institution is located, NOT the investors tax LIABILITY in their home Country. Investing in a tax free environment means that your bank or institution typically won't collect any taxes on your investment or growth nor will it report to your local Government. Thus the responsibility is on the investor to report any income to their Government and or tax authority. You can google this and find all kinds of information to clarity if needed. Confidentiality- Top rated financial centers such as the British Islands are not in the business or money laundering and have very strict guidelines as far as who they accept as a client. All clients must verify identity and domiciled address, as well as the source of the investment money. Once the client has been accepted, their identity and information would only be released in the event that the client's Government or Tax authority provided the institution with actual physical evidence of money laundering, drug traffic, or terrorism. Would you have a reason to be worried? Security (Latin America)- our company is headquartered in Spain, and we currently operate in more that 50 Countries and serve just over 70,000 individual clients, with 5B under management. Clients money never passes through our hands nor our office, it goes directly from the client to their bank or institution. S & P Ratings (from S&P.com) Guernsey Search By Keyword Organization Ratings Description Rating Rating Date CreditWatch Date Credit Rating AAA/Stable/ A-1 Feb 10, 2009 Isle of Man Search By Keyword Organization Ratings Description Rating Rating Date CreditWatch Date Credit Rating AAA/Stable/ A-1 Feb 29, 2000 I appreciate all of you're questions, and will continue to provide information to clarify the facts. There have been a lot of shady companies and dealings in the Offshore financial market over the years, and they have generated a lot of skepticism. There are a lot of places to put your money, I encourage you to do your research and get the facts. Dollars or Euros? Pesos or Yen? get the facts. Switzerland or Caymen? BVI or British Islands? get the facts. I'm happy to put you in an investment in any offshore center you like, including Switzerland if you can afford it. We're 100% independent with access to them all. We like the British Islands the most because of their excellent standards, reputation and stability. Keep the questions coming!

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Offering Retirement planning and Wealth Management for expats- specializing in Offshore

Guernsey welcomes ‘white listing’ at G20 summit outcome Fri, 03/04/2009 15:15 Guernsey’s has welcomed its ‘white listing’ by the OECD as a result of the G20 summit in London. Chief Minister Lyndon Trott (pictured) said that the Island’s inclusion on a white list with some of the world’s top financial centres cemented Guernsey’s position as an internationally compliant and transparent low tax jurisdiction. “It has been a long and hard process to get where we are today. Recognition as a jurisdiction which has substantially implemented the internationally-agreed tax standard is nothing more than we deserve,” said the Chief Minister. “We are a well-regulated, transparent, co-operative jurisdiction and the international community appears to have embraced that message. I see the news as a massive boost for business in Guernsey and the Island’s economy.

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Offering Retirement planning and Wealth Management for expats- specializing in Offshore

Thanks for your comments, I appreciate the opportunity to share light on the vast differences in financial centers that are known as"offshore". They are not all created equal. I'd like to share the following news article in regards to the Isle of Man. I'll share more but this is a great start. "The Isle of Man has been confirmed as one of the world’s leading international finance centres by both the G20 and OECD. At the conclusion of the recent G20 London Summit, the G20, in collaboration with the OCED, delivered on their pledge to detail the standing of all international jurisdictions in fulfilling their international tax obligations. The Isle of Man is now one of only a handful of offshore jurisdictions included on the OECD White List, ranking with the United States, United Kingdom and other leading nations of the world. Some of the more traditional financial centres who have failed to live up to their international obligations, such as Switzerland, the BVI and the Cayman Islands, have been placed on the OECD Grey List and branded as Tax Havens. Confirmation of the Isle of Man’s standing on the international stage is testament to the innovative, pragmatic and forward thinking approach to business of the Isle of Man Government. Isle of Man Treasury Minister Allan Bell, on release of the list, commented: “This is exactly what Treasury has been trying to achieve in all our negotiations over the years, that there needs to be a genuine differentiation between those countries which are well regulated and those that aren't” Chief Minister Tony Brown added: “The OECD white list provides recognition at the highest level of the Isle of Man’s place in the mainstream of economies that comply with the global standard on tax. This is a defining moment for us, confirming our position amongst the most responsible and co-operative countries of the world.”

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Cusco

You can fly to Lima, then to cusco most likely the same day if you time the flights correctly. Once in cusco you should take the train through the mountains to MP, as I recall it is the only way to get there and a beautiful ride. I would suggest to get to most from MP, that you fly to cusco then take the train to aguas calientes the same day. Spend the night there then take the bus to MP EARLY in the morning. All the normal tourist buses arrive around 9 or 10 as I recall, and you can get a solid hour there practically alone by doing this. I assure you that MP is much better alone then with 300 other people to trip over. Good travels- viva peru!!

offshoreadvisor2009 comments on Colombian bank ATM fees

I've been here for a year and a half, and have used my wells fargo ATM card all the time. WF dings me everytime I hit the ATM for 5 bucks, but there has never been any fee from the bank providing the ATM. When I've needed to pay rent or large expenses I go into the bank and do a cash advance, not sure what they charge for that but I believe it's small. You may want to consider an offshore bank account with ATM card, that way you pull funds in any country as needed. HSBC offers these accounts as well as other banks.