On November 22, 2010 I wrote a post about Zurich International, an insurance/investment company with a strong presence in the international expatriate community. Unfortunately, at one point in the article, I said something like this: “dogs are feathery creatures that leave ponds every winter to fly south.” OK, I didn’t write that, exactly. But one …
Category Archive: Expat Investing
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/11/zurich-international-and-friends-provident-should-you-invest-with-them/
Oct 01
Investing For Expatriate Americans in Singapore
When I was a kid, I had a red Ferrari. It was about a foot long, remote controlled, and came with a cool set of pylons for me to practice weaving in and out of. I loved terrorizing our two cats with it. Chasing tabbies all day took a toll on its battery consumption—so this …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/10/investing-for-expatriate-americans-in-singapore/
Aug 04
Singapore American School – Saving and Retirement Planning for New Teachers
(Revised, Extended and Simplified) Teachers at schools like Singapore American School enjoy financial benefits that our former Canadian, Australian, European or American colleagues in public school systems can’t capitalize on: 1. Our salaries are higher 2. Our taxes are lower 3. We have wonderful opportunities to travel to exotic places in our own backyard. But …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/08/singapore-american-school-saving-and-retirement-planning-for-new-teachers/
Jul 18
The road less travelled towards saving a fortune
Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” speaks of a narrator who came to a crossroads while travelling in the autumn woods. There were two roads to choose from: one that looked frequently travelled, and the other that was grassy, and “wanted wear.” Taking the road less travelled, the narrator reflectively suggests, enriched his life. …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/07/the-road-less-travelled-towards-saving-a-fortune/
May 31
The International Teacher’s Nine Steps to Financial Freedom For Americans
“The International Teacher’s Nine Steps to Financial Freedom” has been included as a chapter in a book about wellness for teachers, but it does have basic financial tenets that are suitable for everyone. The book is called, ‘Reviving, Retooling and Retiring for Teachers’, and is published by Michigan State University Please feel free to download this pdf document …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/05/the-international-teachers-nine-steps-to-financial-freedom/
Apr 27
“We’ve just been scammed by Friends Provident, so what now?”
I received an email from a 35 year old American couple who became aware that their financial service company, Friends Provident, was sucking from them like a 50 pound leech. The company labels itself as an “investment” insurance company, promising 101% of what an investor deposits, upon their death. Of course, that sounds good. …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/04/weve-just-been-scammed-by-friends-provident-so-what-now/
Thursday April 21, 2011 — 5:01 AM
In my last post, I argued that it doesn’t make sense for expatriate Americans to invest in actively managed funds.
For starters, the odds of finding funds that beat the stock market indexes are slim. And even if you get lucky, and end up beating a stock market index—pre-tax — it isn’t likely that you’ll beat the indexes, after taxes.
Expatriate Americans who want to invest more than $5000 a year, must direct their savings (above $5000) into non IRA, fully taxable accounts. There’s no way around that.
Where A Salesperson may lead you astray
Many of the financial advisors who service their American clients in the South East Asian region (for example) are stuffing their client’s accounts with actively managed mutual funds. Why? I could be entirely cynical and suggest that they’re acquiescing to their conflicts of interest.
But I don’t think that’s entirely true—not for all of them.
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/04/expatriate-investors-what-your-financial-advisor-probably-doesnt-know-part-2/
Apr 18
American Expatriates—What Your Financial Advisor Probably Doesn’t Know
If you’re an American expatriate, and you’ve been living overseas for some time, it’s likely that the vast majority of your investments will be in taxable accounts. As a non resident, your ability to invest in a IRA (tax deferred account) is limited to just $5000 a year if you’re under age 50, and $6000 …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/04/american-expatriates%e2%80%94what-your-financial-advisor-probably-doesn%e2%80%99t-know/
Mar 26
EARCOS Seminar 2011 – Indexed Investing
Additional Reading 1. Here are some books that I recommend, on indexed investing. I’ve categorized them from “Beginner books” to “Advanced Books” here. 2. If you’re interested in what some of the world’s greatest financial authorities say about indexed investing, you can see what I collected here. 3. Last year, I was asked to contribute …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/03/earcos-seminar-2011-indexed-investing/
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/03/how-long-does-it-take-to-prepare-for-the-series-7-certification/
Mar 03
British Teachers As Millionaires
When I met a group of Singapore-based teachers at United World College on Monday, I mentioned that if a teacher, without an upcoming pension, wanted to generate income of £40,000 a year as a retiree, then they’d likely need an investment portfolio amounting to roughly £1 million. It’s widely accepted that a maximum withdrawal rate …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/03/british-teachers-as-millionaires/
Mar 01
Retirement Planning Seminar for United World College Teachers in Singapore – Part 2
United World College Talk – Part II. Yesterday afternoon, I gave a seminar outlining how much money a person would need to invest to reach a desired amount of future income for their living expenses, upon retirement. There were loads of variables, of course, but setting objectives and working towards them is always recommended. What’s …
Permanent link to this article: http://andrewhallam.com/2011/03/retirement-planning-seminar-for-united-world-college-teachers-in-singapore-part/
Welcome to My Blog!
I'm Andrew Hallam. Many people aren't comfortable talking about money. It's not usually a conversational dinner-time topic, and its principles are rarely taught in schools. My goal is to have a "conversation" about it here, on this blog. If you read something you find intriguing, please comment or ask your questions!
I am also the author of the book, Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned at School
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February 23, 2012 (8:24) Millionaire Teacher Reviews Findependence Day Hey Jonathan, you're certainly right about Shan...
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February 23, 2012 (7:54) Tie Care, Raymond James and Zurich International’s Biggest Fear Hi Stanley, Thanks for the kind words. I wo...
February 23, 2012 (1:53) How Canada’s Banks Let Canadian Investors Down: Part 6 of 7 Hi Andrew, Thanks for the advice and quick r...
February 22, 2012 (10:13) How Canada’s Banks Let Canadian Investors Down: Part 6 of 7 Gaby, I meant to write, above, in the second to...
February 22, 2012 (10:11) How Canada’s Banks Let Canadian Investors Down: Part 6 of 7 Hi Gaby, I'm really glad that you liked my b...
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February 22, 2012 (2:27) Local and Expatriate Investing in Singapore - Part I Don't forget that if you want to invest well, y...
February 22, 2012 (2:23) Local and Expatriate Investing in Singapore - Part I Hi Wouter, Putting 25% in the PRPFX fund doe...
February 22, 2012 (11:29) Local and Expatriate Investing in Singapore - Part I Andrew, Thanks for the message. I always va...