Many of us expats look forward to a new year with a renewed desire to make positive changes in our lives. From a financial standpoint, improving our circumstances largely requires instilling good habits, being consistent, getting started early, and possessing a basic understanding of finance and investing concepts. To help you enjoy a more prosperous new year, here are 12 financial New Year's resolutions. Start at the beginning and aim to knock off at least...
Someone once said that nothing in life is free, and that definitely applies to investment advice. You may not realize it, and it may not be transparent, but when expats receive third-party investment advice they pay for it in one way or the other. Unfortunately, a bewildering array of packaging and clever marketing efforts can disguise the issue and make it difficult to tell just how much and exactly what the true costs are. To...
This article originally appeared in the American Chamber of Commerce of Thailand (AMCHAM)’s T-AB Magazine 5/2016 and has been shared with permission. For many employed expats in Thailand, Thai Long-Term Equity Funds (LTFs) and Retirement Mutual Funds (RMFs) can provide worthwhile Thai tax benefits. This article discusses the merits of both types of investments, and highlights an important 2016 change to the LTF holding period. For a period of time U.S. citizens were unable to...
As you look for a holiday gift for your favorite expat, or perhaps just for some interesting reading for yourself over the holidays, have a look through our annual list of highly rated books from 2016, especially selected with the expat reader in mind. All can be easily purchased on the internet, and while some are more serious, some are just for fun. For those expats who may live far away, most of these titles...
The Wall Street Journal invited Creveling & Creveling to be part of a panel of experts for personal finance on its WSJ Expat site. The following article originally appeared on the WSJ site and has been shared with permission: Individual retirement accounts can be a great tool for those saving for retirement. The combination of tax-deductible contributions and tax deferral often allows funds to compound faster than in a taxable account. But the problem for...
Expat Americans married to foreign spouses and who have kids who one day plan to attend college face special challenges (and opportunities) when saving for higher education. One challenge is simply the costs involved. In the U.S., university tuitions have been increasing at above-average inflation rates for years. Although one option to help cut the cost may be to send your kids to a non-U.S. school, universities outside the U.S. are also not as affordable...
By Peggy Creveling, CFA and Chad Creveling, CFA This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended as specific tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for advice relevant to your situation. If you're an American working overseas who's a contractor, sole proprietor, or small business owner, you may think that there are few U.S. tax-advantaged choices available to help you save for retirement. Those expats not working for U.S. firms are...
This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended as specific tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for advice relevant to your situation. If you're an American expat with kids who one day plan to attend college or university, you've probably read or heard about how quickly the cost of higher education has been rising. Recent figures bear this out; according to the latest survey by The College Board , the...
The Chartered Financial Analyst ® designation is one of the most respected accreditations in the investment and wealth advisory industries. It is recognized by employers, investment professionals, and investors around the world as the definitive standard by which to measure serious investment professionals. With the first designations awarded in 1963, the CFA Institute now has more than 135,000 charterholders working in over 150 countries and territories across the globe. To become a CFA charterholder, individuals...
When it comes to building an investment portfolio, one of the first decisions many expats need to make is selecting an appropriate global custodian. A custodian is a financial institution such as a brokerage, asset management company or bank where you can hold your investment assets and buy and sell various global investment products. It may also provide various banking facilities, such as savings accounts, checking facilities, debit cards and other services. There are a...
Investors generally claim they value consistent portfolio returns, but in practice often act in ways that increase both volatility and portfolio risk. Why are consistent portfolio returns important? Because strategies that consistently compound modest returns outperform investment strategies that generate more variable returns but also generate the occasional home run. A more subtle reason is that consistent performance makes it psychologically easier for investors to stick with their investment strategies over the long run. Slow...
One of the first financial questions foreigners planning to move to Thailand often have is how to transfer money in and out of the country. To help expats who are new to Thailand decide on which method suits their situation, we’ve described a few of the options below: Bank Wire Transfers—Best Way to Move Large Sums: If you plan to transfer a sizable amount of money between two bank accounts and you need a record...