THE GREAT EXPAT FINANCIAL PLANNING RIP-OFF
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EXPATRIATES YOUR MONEY IS AT RISK

 
 

YOU NEED TO KNOW

HOW Offshore Financial Planning "Experts" together with "Household Name" insurance companies hatch schemes that make money for them but can cost the trusting expatriate victim dear.
 
 
Who Will Benefit From This Information?
  
             Expatriates worldwide
             Intending expatriates
             Lawyers and other professionals who have expatriate clients
             Many who work in the offshore financial services industry
            Multinational companies concerned to protect the interests 
                        of their expatriate employees 
 

Dear Reader

                 If you'd like to be sure that your Offshore Financial Planning
                       Program will help you attain your goals.
 
                 If you'd like to learn how to avoid your MONEY being siphoned
                  off by enormous charges and penalties kept hidden from you until
                       too late.
                 If you'd like to see how really to benefit from the financial
                    advantages often available to you through being non-resident in
                       your home country
 

Then this is likely to be one of the most important documents you'll ever read.

 

HERE's WHY:

FROM
"THE GREAT EXPAT FINANCIAL PLANNING RIPOFF" YOU CAN NOW UNCOVER THE UGLY FACTS THAT THE 'INSIDERS' HAVE KEPT HIDDEN FROM YOU.

The details revealed in "The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff" are known to many within the international financial planning industry but have never before been revealed to expatriate savers and investors who are the people most vulnerable to offshore financial predators.
 
You may find it hard to believe that a substantial, well organized, worldwide  and apparently reputable operation can be at least in part little more than a cynical scam.
 
But it is true and here are Three Independent Quotations that confirm it:
 
 Independent Quote 1 - From an internet article by an experienced Cyprus based Advisor
"I would say to all my clients, do not get suckered into any of the offshore life company plans marketed as "Pensions"..... In my opinion these are inflexible and poor value. They are expensive...... Why not invest directly into the funds?" 
 
 Independent Quote 2 - Letter to 'The Nation' - a major Bangkok daily
"If any expat has been approached by some company called Xxxxx Financial Services (named in the original letter) who recommend they invest their money in an offshore retirement plan - beware.
 
The consultant said that after 3 years I could get my investment back but without telling me there would be recoupment fees, etc.
  
After 3 years I had paid in $9,360 but the company charged $6,360 fees leaving me only £3,000. When I complained they said it was not their responsibility and told me to contact the original consultant but he offered no help.
 
I did not select the term of 23 years - it was the consultant who filled in the form for me.
I hope you will publish my letter to warn all expats.........
The Victim
(Name supplied)
 
 Independent Quote 3 - From an Asian Magazine article by an ex-offshore advisor
A 32 years old expatriate was persuaded to sign up for a 30 year offshore investment plan. An automatic contribution increase of 10% p.a. was built in.
 
Three years later, through no fault of his own, circumstances changed and he was obliged to return home. Needing cash to finance his repatriation he decided to cash-in his investment. Imagine his horror when he was told that the cash value was exactly zero.
 
Three years of hard earned savings gone.
 
 
 
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE KEY POINTS YOU WILL FIND
EXPLAINED IN THE BOOK
 

    Many Offshore Independent Financial AdvisorsAdvisors (OIFAs) are little more than commission hungry salespeople high on selling skills but low on professionalism. Find
out what motivates them to be that way and how you can sort out the good advisors from the charlatans?
   "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" includes simple guidelines to help you assess the worth of your advisor or potential advisor and protect yourself from disappointment.   

    In many countries, indeed in most, there is little or no legislation to control the activities of Independent Financial Advisors. You will see how misleading claims about investor protection are used to invoke a false feeling of safety.
 
    Armed with this knowledge you will never be open to being misled by advisors' false claims that you are protected by compliance rules where no such rules exist.   

"The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" gives easy-to-follow illustrations of how commissions are ramped up to exorbitant levels. We describe the horrific penalties seldom apparent to expatriate savers and investors and which are almost impossible for the lay person to decipher from the sales brochures. 
 
Possession of this information is the key to saving you MONEY by showing just how much of your hard earned savings can be quietly diverted into the salesperson's pocket. Without this book you would never know and if you did find out it would probably be too late. 

Discover how some 'household name' offshore insurance companies that your Grandad could trust are now partners in what is little more than a conspiracy to direct expatriates into savings vehicles that enrich the insurance companies and the salespeople but probably not the client.
You will avoid a false sense of security because you will see that a famous name on the brochure does not necessarily guarantee protection. 

    Favourable write-ups about Offshore Savings and Retirement Plans in Financial Magazines can be misleading because their assessments may not be logical or disinterested.  
 
    From "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" you will learn how to make your own comparisons and trust your own judgment in deciding a product's worth regardless of any 'expert', but probably biased, recommendations. 

    A large section of "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff is concerned with advice on how to find a dependable Offshore Independent Financial Advisor. 
 
    You will know how to avoid the 'bad guys' and get the quality of guidance that will really benefit you. See especially the 5 'WALK AWAY' rules that will tell you when to say "Thank you but No Thank You".   

    All expatriates are at risk from poor financial advice and AMERICAN expats are no exception. Despite anything you may read or be told there is no legal way for an American citizen to avoid US income tax by using offshore mutual funds or insurance policies.
 
But there is one offshore investment vehicle so "IRS friendly" that it need not even be entered in your annual tax fie. 
 
    If you are an American expatriate you will learn the legal ways to benefit financially from your offshore residency and have the IRS on your side. 

    On a positive note, there are some excellent non-contractual offshore savings and retirement vehicles suitable for all expatriates but the insurance companies and the advisors keep them under wraps. They do so because these products do not generate big profits. "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" includes clear comparison tables that show how the non-contractual plans are so much better. 
    
    You will learn where to look for these savings plans and benefit from their low costs and freedom from penalties. 

    "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" includes a simple 'Reduction in Yield' ready reckoner you can use for calculating actual charges applied to a savings programme. No one should grudge a fair reward for services rendered but 'fairness' goes out the window when the advisor can, without your knowing it, double or treble the payment he receives by a stroke of the pen. 
    
    No need for you to make complicated cost/benefit calculations. You can see at a glance how much you are truly being charged for the Advisor's services and judge whether or not you are receiving fair value. 

    Contractual Savings/Retirement Plans involve big penalties if you do not complete the full programme. These penalties are often glossed over' by the sales consultants but the book provides tables that make clear the risk.     
   
    Ths means you can truly assess whether or not the proposals are right for your circumstances. 

    Who pays the Offshore Financial Advisor's commission? Is it the insurance company that issues the plan? Is it the brokerage he works with?    
 
    Nope. Surprise! Surprise! It is neither of these. "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" explains who really pays the piper. 

    When your Offshore Financial Advisor gives his recommendation for a contractual savings or retirement plan he will present an impressive 'Quotation' or 'Illustration of Benefits' prepared using the insurance company' software. 
    
    From "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" you will see why the insurance company quotation is a work of fiction. 
 
 

By now you are probably wondering how a 'scam' of these dimensions
- estimated at multi-million dollars per year -
can have gone undetected for so long.
 
 
The fact is that it has not gone undetected. Thousands have found out about it the hard way by losing out financially but they have also found that, although the actions of the sales people may be reprehensible, no laws have been broken.

In most countries it easy for slick, persuasive salespeople with little or no training or real expertise in the financial planning field, legally to set up shop as Independent Offshore Financial Advisors. They then proceed to sell to unsuspecting expatriates offshore savings and retirement programmes that make plenty of money for the seller but are very unlikely to benefit the client.
 
Most do this in the full knowledge that they are disadvantaging their clients but they also know that because of the long time-scale of most such plans, they will probably be long gone before the clients realise it.
 
It is not easy for the busy lay person to spot where the deceptions lie. During the sales process the charges and penalties are conveniently ignored or minimised. Diversions (in the book you will find them under 'Bells & Whistles') are introduced to switch attention away from the drawbacks. In the worst cases, sales consultants will simply lie.
 
Not only investors are harmed and outraged by all this. The many honest, skilled Offshore Financial Advisors of integrity are just as incensed. Often it is they who have to try and sort out the mess.
 
The offence is compounded by the fact that there are excellent alternative offshore savings and retirement vehicles available to expatriates that do not carry all the disadvantages of the contractual plans. Few financial advisors promote these benign products because they produce only a fraction of the commission they get from the ones they do sell. Where does that overblown commission come form?  The client's pocket.
 
 
 
 
HERE ARE SOME QUOTATIONS FROM THE PAGES OF
"THE GREAT EXPAT FINANCIAL PLANNING RIP-OFF"
 
Quotation 1 - From Chapter 2
...the expatriate, understandably,  turns for guidance to an 'expert' in the form of an Independent Offshore Financial Advisor (IOFA).

All too often this means the fox has been invited into the chicken run!"
 
 
 
Quotation 2 - From Chapter 3
Try this:
 
Find one, just one out of thousands of Expatriate Financial Advisors whose own  financial planning program includes one of these Contractual Offshore Savings/Retirement Plans that he sells to others.
 
 
Quotation 3 - All of Chapter 4
 
... The story of Harry Patter and the tropical gold mine
 
 
Quotation 4 - From Appendix II
 
 Towry Law International, the world's biggest offshore financial advisory company went belly up in 2004 with massive debts. Victims took steps to recover their losses through either individual or class action alleging malpractice and fraud. Court actions went on for a long time and although monies were recovered, most investors still lost heavilly.
 
 
Quotation 5 - From Chapter 14
 
 
A year after starting a contractual savings plan an investor has paid in #36,000 (#3,000 per month). Life plays one of its tricks and he has to stop the plan. 

How much of his #36,000 does he get back?

ZERO, ZILCH, NOT A PENNY
 
 
 
 
 
THE GREAT EXPATRIATE FINANCIAL PLANNING RIPOFF COULD SAVE YOU A THOUSAND OR MORE TIMES ITS COST
 
 
The potential losses an expatriate faces through choosing the wrong Financial Advisor can be enormous.

Take the simple case of a 35 years old expatriate who is persuaded to effect a Contractual Offshore Retirement Plan WIth a contribution of #750 (£,$,¥,€ is immaterial) and a term of 15 years.

Unfortunately he/she, not from choice and through no personal fault, has to stop contributions after only 10 years.
 
At that point he/she has paid-in #90,000 and total charges will have been around #9,500. On top of that the penalty for stopping contributions will be about a whopping #13,000. He may be told that there will be no penalty if he does not withdraw his fund from the plan but instead leaves it in place, without putting in any more money, until eventual maturity. 
 
AND THAT IS A BLATANT LIE !!
 
In "The-Great-Expat-Financial-Planning-Ripoff" you will learn about the hidden tricks the insurance companies use to make sure there is no way you can escape paying their severe penalties*.
 
This expatriate has been hit with hidden charges of around #22,000. You could easily and unknowingly expose yourself to similar losses. 
 
Hold on; there is one way to escape the penalty but it is not very attractive - you have to die!)   
 

NO ONE IS SAFE

Don't imagine you are immune. The victim above was not foolish or even unwise. He was in the hands of an expert communicator who many not have told a single direct lie but was prepared to manipulate the true facts in a way that would be the envy of many a professional 'spin doctor'.
 
"The Great Expat Financial Planning Rip-Off" will show you how to recognise the dangers and put your hard earned savings to work in a way that is not subject to such depredation.
 
The cost of "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" at GBP 8.65 (or equivalent at around USD15; EUR12; or AUD17) is only a tiny fraction (less than One Thousandth) of the above potential loss).
 
Whether you have effected a Contractual Savings/Retirement Plan and would like to uncover the true implications or are considering starting a savings plan you need "The Great Expat Financial Planning Rip-Off".
 
Even if saving for the future is something you plan to do later the price of "The Great  Expat Financial Planning RipOff" will be money well spent to help you avoid expensive mistakes when the time comes.
 


 SEE A SAMPLE CHAPTER
 
If you would like to read a complimentary sample chapter of
 
"The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff"
 
Please click HERE to read
Chapter 4
- entitled -
 
"The Story of Harry Patter and The Tropical Goldmine"
 
Your Back Button will return you to here
 
Here is what you get when you purchase "The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff"
 
 
As well as the invaluable contents of
 
"The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff"     
                       
you will receive
  
APPENDIX I
A handy Ready-reckoner. You don't have to waste time with tedious calculations  to see the real charges hidden in Contractual Savings/Retirement Plans.
 
Print out this Ready-reckoner and be sure to have it by you at any time you are considering an investment.
 
APPENDIX II
Size is not important. How the then 'World's Biggest Offshore Financial Advisor Brokerage" went belly up in 2004 with international investors losing hundreds of thousands.
 
APPENDIX III
Even where effective regulations of the Financial Services Industry exists caution is the keynote.
 
The  U.K. is one of the world's most strictly regulated jurisdictions for financial advisors. Even so, you will see in this appendix an indication of how often the regulators have levied fines on financial institutions for malpractice.
 
 
 
The Price of "The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff"
 
is
 
GBP 8.65
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AUD, CAN, EUR, USD, YEN
 
 
 
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We have tried to make 'The-Great-Expat-Financial-Planning-Rip-off' as informative and comprehensive and of genuine value to expatriates as possible.
 
If, however, you feel that the information is not useful to you we shall happily refund the full cost up to six months from the date of purchase.
 
So you don't have to make a final decision now on whether or not 'The Great Expat Financial Planning Ripoff' says something of value for you. Just get it and read it.
 
       IF     The book doesn't cover everything we say and more,

       IF     You don't agree that this story needed telling

       IF     You don't see how the contents can help you and other expatriates to improve your financial situation, just let us know and we'll refund every penny
                  of your money.
 
So you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
If you value your financial health, order right now!
 
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P.S. Whether you are thinking of engaging an Offshore Financial Advisor immediately or at some time in the future you need to read "The-Great-Expat-Financial-Planning-RipOff" now.
 
P.P.S. If you already have offshore plans in place perhaps you should have them checked out by a reliable advisor. "The Great Expat-Financial Planning RipOff" gives you a fool-proof method for recognising that reliable advisor.
 
P.P.P.S. You have nothing to lose -- if you don't agree that "The-Great-Expat- Financial-Planning-RipOff" provides information crucial to the safety and well being of your savings we'll gladly refund the purchase price.
 
P.P.P.P.S. Do you have family or friends working abroad? If so, do them a favour by recommending "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" (and they will get a bonus copy of "How to be an  Expatriate" as well).
 
P.P.P.P.P.S. Are you a professional? Perhaps a lawyer or accountant with expatriate clients to look after. Or maybe you work in the offshore financial services industry. This book is what you need to help you give the highest quality of service to your clients.
 
Finally, the publication of "The Great Expat Financial Planning RipOff" establishes an information base that could be used in future by expatriates and their legal representatives in seeking compensation for bad advice and/or unsuitable product sales. 
 

 
 
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

   Hugh Stevenson is the pen name of a Financial Advisor who has had over 20 years experience in the Offshore Financial Services Industry. His early  training was with an offshoot of a major, highly respected, London private bank and for the last 17 years he has worked internationally in various capacities.

   Hugh has worked in East Africa, the Middle East and throughout Asia.
 
   After 2 years as Portfolio Manager for a major Hong Kong brokerage Hugh established his own Financial Advisory practice which serves expatriates in over 20 different countries.

   In an industry not renowned for its straight dealing Hugh has built an enviable reputation for integrity and for providing quality service with real added value for his clients.

  He now resides in Asia, serves a group of clients both private and corporate, lectures extensively and has found time to draw on his experience and expertise to write this long overdue exposure of the seamy side of a profession which, correctly practiced, can offer an invaluable service to expatriates worldwide.
 
 The author can be contacted at: