What can you do in turbulent times?
With rising inflation, war, political instability and the energy crisis, 2022 thus far has been a perfect storm and markets have responded. What action do you need to take to protect your wealth?
Protecting your wealth
By Portugal team
This article is published on: 20th January 2023
Review your position
The single most important thing you must do is act and not bury your head in the sand. Whether you have recently made changes or have never taken any action, you should be taking a look at:
- Structures: Are they correct for you in Portugal or are you still holding on to investments you made whilst resident elsewhere? Are you taking advantage of all the tax reliefs? Unnecessary taxation is extremely damaging to family wealth
- Cost: Check what you are paying as this is an eroder of wealth; especially when markets take a downturn. Are they convoluted and hidden in lots of paperwork? Are they competitive? Are you receiving a competent level of service for the fees you pay?
- Risk: Do you know how much you are taking? Are you being compensated for it or can you achieve the same return elsewhere without taking as much risk? A robust investment portfolio is a diversified one that is risk rated to your appetite for risk and capacity for loss
- Holdings: Are they suitable for you and your goals? Are they liquid or are they at risk of being suspended? You do not want to need money only to find you are ‘locked in’, have penalties or your investment has been frozen
- Performance: Are your investments performing well in comparison to the market? Poor performance can be a result of many factors, such as relying on past performance, excessive charges, manager performance, inaction, market movements or taxation, to name a few
Work with experts
Taking sound advice comes with a cost but could save you a lot of money in the long run. Whether that be in income, capital gains or inheritance tax, improved investment returns or preservation in the downturns. It will also provide you and your family peace of mind.
How do you take advice safely?
- History of the business: How long have they been established and what is their ethos? Where are they regulated? Are they part of a larger company but with a different name? Dig deeper, look for reviews and check your individual adviser’s history
- Impartiality: Are they impartial or do they only work exclusively with certain providers and fund managers? A variant of this is they have their own branded funds/investments that they are incentivised to put you into to get more commission
- Qualified: Does your adviser have the expertise to guide you on the complexity of cross-border pensions and investments? Do they understand the implications of selling a product to you in Portugal and your originating country? Check what qualifications they have and whether are they relevant
- Charging terms: Ask for an explicit breakdown of costs, including retrocession fees/commissions. Is your adviser willing to give you this in writing in a simple-to-understand format? Are the fees competitive?
- Service: Will you have an ongoing relationship with your adviser or will you be passed to someone else once a sale has been made? Will they provide a quality service for the ongoing fees you will be paying?
With over 30 years of combined experience in the industry and over 15 in Portugal, we are best placed to provide expert, impartial and personalised advice to expatriates. Please contact us if you wish to discuss your position.
Debrah Broadfield and Mark Quinn are Chartered Financial Planners (level 6) and Tax Advisers specialising in cross-border advice for expatriates. Contact us at: +351 289 355 316 or mark.quinn@spectrum-ifa.com/debrah.broadfield@spectrum-ifa.com