October 2006 Archives

Favorite Vehicle of Japanese Investors Expands to New Markets, Says Walkers

GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Walkers, the global offshore law firm of choice for investment managers, financial organizations, and international law firms, said today that hedge fund managers are increasing their use of unit trusts in structuring hedge funds. While these vehicles have been favoured by Japanese investors for years, fund managers in other markets are now incorporating them into new funds to attract Asian investors.

As ETFs become more ingrained into the financial sphere, investors and managers are becoming more creative about how to deploy their capital. Recently, in London, Commodity ETFs were released, allowing an investor to purchase futures contracts in a particular commodity as if it were nothing more than a stock.

IT IS no secret to investors and super fund managers that the growth of the listed property trust sector has been enormous in the past 10 years.

The inflow of funds, more than $2 billion every year, is seeing more LPTs being listed and venturing offshore to buy assets.

London based Antique Wine Company has just purchased almost all of the highest rated wines in the controversial sale of the Paris City Hall wine cellars - a sale of nearly 5,000 bottles of fine wine mostly that was amassed by Jacques Chirac during his time as Mayor of Paris.

FTSE Group has produced a series of Interest Rate Swaps Indices under the banner the FTSE MTIRS Index Series. The MTIRS Index Series has been set up to allow market participants to trade the index. The indices are calculated in real-time to reflect the movement in the underlying fixed for floating interest rate swaps market.

As the global marketplace develops so does the needs of the investor to create proper portfolio diversification. Until recently, traditional investment vehicles such as stocks, bonds, and real estate seemed to be sufficient for adequate diversification. With the creation of new investment vehicles, economic forces from around the world can now be combined to significantly influence your investment portfolio performance.

The recent divergence between the stock and bond markets has caused a stir among analysts concerning the direction of the economy. With the Dow hitting new highs, many equity observers have proclaimed a new bull market. Bond market analysts, on the other hand, have seen yields decline, a typical indication of a coming recession.

A savings account or CD held for a fixed-term with the understanding that the depositor can only withdraw by giving written notice. The term generally is at least 30 days.

What are the benefits?

If you live and work overseas, offshore banking could have tax benefits, i.e. interest on offshore accounts and investments is paid without the deduction of tax. Added benefits include high levels of confidentiality, security and convenience, as well as global access.

At Sentry Global Securities in association with WallStreet*E they offer you access to investment services and real time information that allow you to formulate and execute your own investment strategies.

Jonathan Curshen is a consultant in the area of international asset protection. He is a member of ITPA (International Tax Planners Association) and APOI (Asia Pacific Offshore Institute). He specializes in offshore asset management, global investing, worldwide banking, and investment strategy and counseling. It is his business to know what you need in order to utilize the valuable tools of offshore asset management and protection.

The Global Village Investment Club (GVIC) is the largest venture capital club in the world. Its PIPE investment strategy is always profitable. GVIC members see a future that includes the Mother of all Depressions. They are using their PIPE strategy to prepare for difficult economic times that they see coming in the next twenty years. The group has started its 2007 membership drive.

Price Meadows Incorporated, a boutique hedge fund administrator serving approximately 200 domestic and offshore funds, has been ranked by Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine as one of the industry’s top fund administrators. The firm was ranked #3 in the category of client service, #4 in fund accounting, and #5 in overall excellence.

Garden City - New York — TIAS.com (www.tias.com) the Webs largest online antique and collectible mall released their monthly "Hot List" of Antiques & Collectibles. The TIAS "Hot List" has been published monthly since 2002. These top ten lists are based on hundreds of thousands of searches by people using the online search engines at the indicated Web sites in the month of September 2006.

Yesterday we mentioned offshore insurance as a means to reduce tax liability, so thought it appropriate to share more information on the topic of offshore insurance bonds also known as investment wrappers are widely used by expatriates to invest offshore.

QUESTION: I have just left my company and I have $175,000 in my savings and investment account.Is there any way to transfer that money in an offshore account to grow for the next 15 years, to avoid my heavy tax burden when that money is drawn out? I am new to this, and with my low amout I need to capitalize on it to the maximum potential.

Hong Kong's foreign-exchange market can leverage its strengths to become an international centre, Monetary Authority Chief Executive Joseph Yam says.

In his weekly column Viewpoint, Mr Yam said the local forex market has adequate liquidity to cope with large orders, and its supporting infrastructure is arguably the best in the world, particularly in managing settlement or Herstatt risks.