Protect Yourself

Why would anyone want to “go offshore” anyway?

That’s a question I ask myself at this time of year, as I put the final touches on the program for my annual Offshore Wealth Summit. The event takes place this year on October 16 to 18 in Porto, Portugal.

I like reminding myself why I do what I do—and how much better off I am for it.

I hope you’ll join me in Portugal in October. This, I believe, is the single most important wealth-building and wealth-protection event on my calendar. But I can understand why you might not want to commit to the trip.

Getting on a flight is a hassle. Maybe you think you have a lot more time to put your offshore plans in place, and are putting it on the long finger… maybe you don’t know if the offshore lifestyle is really for you.

Trust me: Portugal is always worth getting on a plane for. And, as the election chaos is reaching fever-pitch with who-knows-what coming down the tracks, the time to get your “Plan B” in place is right now.

And the offshore options I bring to you… they’re for everyone, not just the tech titans, dodgy politicians, and Russian oligarchs. The “loopholes” the global elite take advantage of to protect their personal fortunes—those “loopholes” are available to the rest of us, too, to protect whatever we have squirrelled away.

I urge you to take advantage of these options and not let the rich and famous be the only ones getting ahead.

If you’re wondering what advantages you’ll get by moving some of your investments outside your home country—what advantages you’ll get by “going offshore”—here’s the list of benefits I’ve personally found.

This doesn’t cover everything, of course… but you’ll see why I’m committed to this offshore journey I began more than three decades ago.

Reason #1 To Go Offshore: Find Your Fortune

I’ve profited over and over again from overseas real estate… and you can, too.

If you want to maximize your opportunities as an investor—you can’t just look at America and Canada.

This goes back to my core message: Diversify or die broke.

There are opportunities to be found in the countries on my beat that will never, ever exist in America again… that’s precisely why these countries are on my radar.

I’m talking about the opportunity to get in ahead of the curve, to stake your claim in a particular location before it’s fully developed, and profit as it matures. Or the opportunity to profit from a market crisis.

Or simply the opportunity to find a great deal in a top city—beachfront for a fraction of what you’d pay in Florida, for example—and watch the cash flow in from rentals…

Here are some of the top opportunities I’ve personally profited from over the years:

• 80% profits in just 8 months. While others ignored Eastern Europe, I spotted this steal of an apartment. Before I could even begin renovations, a buyer came to me… cash in hand… and I almost doubled my money.

• 100% profit from a market in crisis. When Argentina imploded in the early 2000s, my research showed me that this spelled opportunity. I bought three apartments and put them up for short-term rental… fully managed by my local contacts. The result? 8% annual yields for a full six years… until I sold them for double my investment.

• 30% per year on the Spanish Costas. Again, back in the early noughties, I bought a one-bedroom pre-construction apartment on the beautiful Costa del Sol in Spain. As the unit wasn’t completed, I’d only paid 30% when an offer came in. I took the offer and made 30% a year for both years I “owned” the apartment. That’s around 60% profit on an apartment that wasn’t even completed.

These are the kinds of deals I regularly seek to bring my readers… and if you’re “in the room” at my Offshore Wealth Summit, you’ll hear about opportunities you won’t find anywhere else.

Reason #2 To Go Offshore: Rediscover True Freedom

Do you ever think about all the ways—big and small—that we’ve lost our personal freedoms in the United States?

I think about it a lot.

I wrote this in my Simon Letter advisory service more than 10 years ago, just before President Obama was re-elected: “In an effort to maintain its position as the global leader as long as possible, the United States will put policies in place that run counter to the constitution. This has already begun.”

Some of the big ways we’ve lost our freedoms include those massive government surveillance operations, where the NSA was monitoring everyone’s phone calls… pretty “counter to the constitution,” I’d say.

That’s a big way that government has muscled-in on our lives… but there are also all the small ways.

I was reminded of this during a trip back to visit my mother in rural Illinois last year. She wanted to hold a yard sale to sell some stuff.

You can’t even do something as simple as a yard sale now without approval from the government.

We had to go down to city hall and get a permit to hold a yard sale! We got an official sticker to say we had government approval to hold the sale…

The local government there gave us permission to put up two signs—no more! If you don’t take down the signs by the time your permit expires, the cops are on the lookout to fine you…

You need government approval before you can sell your own stuff in your own yard… this is America today.

Now, I’m not saying overseas is perfect. Far from it. But, in many of the places I consider top havens, you’re going to have a lot more freedom to do what you want, when you want, on your own property and in your own life…

That comes with risk… but aren’t we Americans risk-takers? A lot of people in my home country seem to have forgotten that.

Reason #3 To Go Offshore: Protect Your Assets And Your Privacy

The IRS is all-seeing and all-knowing these days but there are certain foreign assets that you still never have to report to the taxman. Overseas real estate held in your own name is one. Foreign currency is another.

It’s just another reason to diversify offshore…

Offshore corporations are something you do have to report…

But while you may not save on taxes with an offshore corporation or trust, you can certainly protect yourself against being sued.

With a properly structured offshore trust, your assets will be well-protected against litigation.

A litigant would first have to know where the assets were held… then sue you in that jurisdiction (usually too costly or too much hassle, if they could even get a judgment)… you are even protected against judgments from U.S. courts (which have no jurisdiction overseas).

As I often say, it’s a much better way to protect your money than by digging a hole in your back yard.

Join me in Portugal this October… and you’ll learn exactly how to do it. This “lawsuit shield” alone could be worth the cost of your ticket.

Stay diversified,

Lief Simon

Editor, Offshore Living Letter