Build Wealth Offshore

Global Solutions is a firm based in the Principality of Andorra offering independent Wealth Advisory and Management services for international persons, families and businesses (banking, residence, formation of corporations and family foundations…)

Why go Global?

•       Diversification and avoidance of risk

•       Flexibility

•       Currency diversification

•       Privacy and personal safety

•       Asset Protection

•       Tax Mitigation

•       Higher Yields

•       Family Office

•       International Trading

•       International Investment and Financing

•       Professional Services (know-how, consulting)

•       Intellectual property

•       Ship management and yacht ownership

•       E-commerce

•       Unbiased multi-jurisdictional advice

•       Detailed analysis of clients’ requirements

•       Recommend optimal jurisdictions and structures

•       One convenient point of contact

•       Long term relationship

For further information, contact Peter Macfarlane at www.petermacfarlane.net or info@buildwealthoffshore.com

Although private banking is not a simple business, there is a very simple model to keep in mind: “keeping rich people happy”. The definition of private banking varies but is generally understood as investment management offered on a personal basis by a bank to an individual with disposable wealth of more than, let’s say, $1,000,000.

Private banks were originally so called because they were owned by wealthy private individuals. Under Swiss law these bankers were personally liable for the obligations of the bank. If a bank failed, bankruptcy was not an option. It was disgrace and jail. As a result, no old line private banks ever failed.

With globalization and the need to serve customers abroad, almost all the old ‘private banks’ have now been bought out and are subsidiaries of bigger international banks. Though, if you have the cash and the desire, there are a few true private banks remaining. Some of them are so discreet that they don’t even have a nameplate outside their offices. All of them should offer an online savings account so you can access your funds remotely from any location on the globe. They also offer killer online bank account rates.

Anyone can get a personal private banker assigned in an elite private bank with about €300,000 opening deposit. When we say walk in, you will of course need an introduction, identification and references.

Private banks offer all kinds of accounts, from simple cheque and deposit accounts to complicated commodity and swap operations, and even – yes – investments in sub-prime mortgage-backed securities.

Private bankers normally prefer to be approached and considered as objective financial advisers or family confidants rather than as an investment salesman when starting a business. They are wealth managers, accustomed to dealing with the wealthy, and their services don’t come cheap.

Consequently private banks may

not be the most effective choice for a reasonably sophisticated a monthly basis, then private banking is just what you need. You can expect and demand above-average returns and an extremely high level of personal service.

For a complete list of private banks or to find the one best suited to your needs, contact Peter Macfarlane at www.petermacfarlane.net or info@buildwealthoffshore.com

Nobody quite seems to agree on where the word “offshore” first came from – but it most likely developed in the UK. The Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) went into the finance business soon after the end of the Second World War. Their unusual constitutional status gave them independence in all domestic affairs, including taxation and banking regulation. It didn’t take them long to realise that they could offer a safe, tax-free haven for moderately wealthy, middle class Brits who were being persecuted by successive Labour governments, desperate to pay off the debts of the Second World War.

During the 1970s, Labour governments in the United Kingdom raised taxes as high as 95% and restricted export of currency. Whilst the super rich had always looked to Switzerland, the Channel Islands provided a convenient, close, English-speaking alternative for overtaxed Brits looking to move more modest wealth “offshore.”

During the 1980s and the 1990s, dozens of Caribbean island nations renounced their status as colonies and broke away from Britain (and to a lesser extent France). On becoming independent sovereign nation states, they, too, saw financial services as a way to quick profits. Within easy reach of North America, they focused more on the US and Canadian markets, offering “no questions asked” banking services for those wishing to hide cash. We’ve all seen the movies about so called “Samsonite banking.”

Although leftist or populist politicians sometimes still try to tar the image of offshore islands with the brush of money-laundering, organized crime and tax evasion, the fact is that these economies today are generally prosperous and well regulated international financial centres that contribute in a meaningful and beneficial way to oiling the works of global commerce.

international financial centres, avoiding the “offshore” or “tax haven” appellations which they believe have negative connotations. While that may be true, the word “offshore” lives on. At The Q Wealth Report we don’t want to give in to political correctness and we happen to like the word “offshore.” It’s become part of the English language and we see no reason to change it. Most people know what we mean when we say “offshore banking” and people understand something specific… unlike “international finance” which could mean almost anything!

Anyway, getting back to our theme, although the word “offshore” was originally coined because of the small island nations involved in the business, today it has become generally accepted as meaning any place outside your home country. For example, to Brits the USA is offshore, and vice versa. Landlocked Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Andorra don’t have any sea shore at all, but they very much fit into our modern definition of offshore banking.

Peter Macfarlane

Banking Expert

It’s a great pleasure to welcome you to the fascinating world of offshore banking. It’s something I work with day in, day out. Quite frankly I am passionate about it.

No doubt offshore has an emotional side. We’ve all seen the movies. Offshore banking conjures up images of touching down in light planes on remote islands rimmed by crystal clear blue seas and white sand beaches, or of driving high up into the mountains around hairpin bends. I’ve certainly tried both, and my career has taken me to some interesting places. But most offshore banking these days is done in far less romantic places like London, Zurich or New York.

Another important emotional factor is what people around us think. There are those who suggest that taking advantage of other legal systems is somehow wrong. Personally I believe the opposite. I believe governments are parasites. That said, of course we must respect and operate within the laws of where we choose to live. After all, if we don’t like them, we can leave – right?

is to provide a purely practical roadmap for taking those first steps offshore – dipping your toes in the water. This is the how and the why and the who.

One theme I hear frequently these days is that “tax haven jurisdictions will die out.” When? Exactly when all the Big Brother, high-tax countries embrace the basic human rights of freedom and privacy, and lower their corporate and income taxes to nil, or close to it. Or when nation states as we know them cease to become the norm. I know which I think will happen first, but that’s the theme for a future article!

Despite the political and economic pressures exerted by EU, US and some of the notorious international organizations like OECD and FATF, the leading offshore financial centres have lived through, adjusted, improved and are now doing better than ever. Maybe because so many people and businesses worldwide have voted with their wallets and have chosen to do business offshore.

I do look forward to hearing from you and to helping you in your planning and choices.

Peter Macfarlane

info@buildwealthoffshore.com

Private Banking, Offshore Investment and Asset Protection is aimed at investors seeking a safe haven for their assets during turbulent times. Banca Privada d’Andorra is a traditional European private bank specializing in wealth management. The bank is based in the Principality of Andorra and has total assets of 1.2 billion euros. It also has subsidiaries in Uruguay and Luxembourg as well as in Mexico. Besides a full range of retail banking services (checking accounts, credit cards, internet banking etc) it offers a range of attractive services for the sophisticated international investor, including its own investment funds and access to third party products, precious metals investments etc, and even a fund investing in fine wines. Accounts may be maintained in all major currencies (USD, Euro, Canadian dollar, sterling, etc.) plus many emerging market currencies. Services also include the use of international asset protection, estate planning and legal tax minimization structures such as holding companies and family foundations, and tax implications of personal residency and citizenship. 

Contact us at info@buildwealthoffshore.com or at www.petermacfarlane.net to enquire further.

International asset protection, estate planning and legal tax minimization structures such as holding companies and family foundations, and tax implications of personal residency and citizenship are concerns of every individual or corporation. Private banking, offshore investment and asset protection are all services that our international banking expert, Peter Macfarlane specializes in.

Private banking is aimed at investors seeking a safe haven for their assets during turbulent times.

Besides a full range of retail banking services (checking accounts, credit cards, internet banking etc), it offers a range of attractive services for the sophisticated international investor, including its own investment funds and access to third party products, precious metals investments etc, and even a fund investing in fine wines. Accounts may be maintained in all major currencies (USD, Euro, Canadian dollar, sterling, etc.) plus many emerging market currencies.

You need private banking services if:

• You are concerned about the depreciation of the value of the dollar but don’t want to keep all your assets in your local currency either
• You are not satisfied with the level of service offered by your existing bank
• You are concerned about inheritance tax and succession issues
• You are involved in international business and would like to learn about legal ways to reduce your tax burden
• You are looking for a conservative safe haven for your savings