Preserve your financial future

We work tirelessly for most of our lives to climb the career ladder, diversify our investments and build on our wealth as effectively as possible. Safeguarding your wealth to shelter your finances against risk, and ultimately find financial stability and freedom.

Many expats have several assets, from savings accounts to investment products and pension funds. Each requires a regular assessment and monitoring to ensure that your assets perform as well as possible, and are not exposed to potential losses or damage that could be detrimental to your future.

In this blog, we discuss some of the best ways to protect yourself against such risks and preserve your finances now and beyond.

Professional financial advice is the key to confident conclusions, planned around your specific investment or retirement needs. If you have any worries about the preservation of your wealth, it is imperative that you seek expert support to ensure your assets are adequately protected, ready for everything you wish to do with your life.

Consider inflation

Inflation is a component of long-term investment.  The reality of inflation will always be there. However, we can consider strategies to minimise the impact or prepare for expected inflation rates.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Switch any long-term savings to equity. This gives you a higher potential for long-term growth and a valuation above inflation.
• Study your tax efficiency. This is of the utmost importance to expats, especially expats who may be subject to cross-border or international tax schemes. Tax-efficient can mean reducing your liabilities, increasing your returns, and avoiding losses in the value of your investments.
• Smart investment management. Planning is always needed to ensure expected returns exceed inflation, yet still match your appetite for risk.

If you have considered these factors and know that your plans are responsible for expected inflation, you will be in an excellent position to ensure that your assets or savings do not deteriorate in the long run.

Regularly consider your appetite for risk

Your appetite for risk is a key factor in protecting your wealth. Every investment product has a certain level of risk.

Portfolios should always be tailored to your goals, plans and risk strategies, taking into account:

• Planned expenditure.
• Expected changes in circumstances.
• Required returns.
• Costs of living.
• Age and retirement plans.

By regularly amending your investment portfolio and balancing higher risks with higher returns and, conversely, risk-averse strategies, you may achieve maximum investment success without risk in times when you rely on your investments as a source of income.

Consider Your Tax-Efficiency

The next priority in protecting your wealth is to consider your tax efficiency and consider measures or structures which could improve your financial situation.

Taxes are one of the most important outlays for millions of investors, businesses, and families. By reviewing your tax position and identifying solutions, there may be opportunities to restructure your assets and ultimately reduce your tax liability.

Unfortunately, taxes are part of life, which affects every asset portfolio and covers:

• Succession planning and inheritance tax.
• Income taxes and wealth levies.
• Capital gains charges and investment taxes.

Evaluate Retirement Costs

Many savings products and investments are selected to provide steady income streams for retirement years.

There are many options in the areas of pension schemes and funds, including:

• Flexible access to pension wealth.
• Lump-sum withdrawals.
• Investment risk strategies.
• Tax liabilities arising.
• Fund management options.
• Pension structures and products.

Leaving pension funds untouched can cause significant concerns in retirement. Even substantial pension pots can decrease rapidly over time and make a difference to your expected pension income and retirement standards.

Lawsons Equity often consults with clients with lucrative pension funds that are not fully leveraged. Decisions about pension investments should always be made with experienced advice to ensure that they are in line with your expected retirement age, plans and budgets.

Ensure you Seek Bespoke International Financial Advice

Expats living abroad, many with assets or properties in different nations, and potentially with assets held overseas, should always seek to implement a bespoke strategy to ensure they maximise their wealth, obligations, and inflation risks over time.

Overseas legislation is different in most countries, which affects the breadth of decision-making in financial planning. This often means you have many options.

Lawsons Equity consults with expats who need dedicated support to ensure that issues including taxation, inflation, low return on investment and inadequate retirement planning cannot damage their finances. We want to implement contingency plans to ensure that our clients’ future is always safe.

To arrange a portfolio review or consider the options available to protect your wealth, contact our team at Lawsons Equity today.

Lawsons Equity – Financial Advisors Malta

Information is based on our current understanding of taxation legislation and regulations. Any levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change.

The value of investments and income from them may go down. You may not get back the original amount invested.

Lawsons Equity Limited is a company registered in Malta with company number C49564 and licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority as Enrolled Insurance Brokers under the Insurance Intermediaries Act 2006, and to provide Investment Services under the Investment Services Act, 1994.

Lawsons Equity Ltd have passported their services across the EU. To see a full list of countries click here.