Blog

By Peggy Creveling, CFA and Chad Creveling, CFA

As the new year begins, it’s a great time for expats to re-evaluate their financial positions and to make positive changes. Improving our financial circumstances largely requires instilling good habits, being consistent, getting started early, and possessing a basic understanding of finance and investing concepts. To help you thrive in 2022, here are some financial resolutions to consider as you start the year. If you start at the beginning and aim to knock off at least one each month, by the end of the year you'll be on much firmer financial footing.

By Peggy Creveling, CFA and Chad Creveling, CFA

As the year-end holidays approach, have a look through our annual list of good books from 2021.  Although we’ve selected these with the expat reader in mind, as another challenging year draws to a close, we hope everyone can enjoy a break over the holidays. While some are more serious, others are just for fun. Most of these titles have digital and audio versions available, which makes getting them to your friends or loved ones that live far away that much easier.

By Peggy Creveling, CFA, and Chad Creveling, CFA

You have to take more risk to get a higher return on your investment, or so the saying goes. The saying has its roots in the basic principles of modern portfolio theory and refers to the idea that investors should be willing to accept more short-term market volatility (risk) in order to receive a chance at a higher long-term investment return. Conversely, investors should accept lower long-term expected returns on their investments if they’re not willing to accept much volatility. How well does this theory work in practice? In what instances might taking on more risk not necessarily improve your chance at a greater return?

By Peggy Creveling, CFA, and Chad Creveling, CFA

Regular portfolio reviews are critical to investment success, especially after big moves in the equity, fixed income, and currency markets that can occur from time to time. Unfortunately, many expats never get around to reviewing their portfolios or if they do, don’t approach the process in an organized way that will get results over time. 

By Chad Creveling, CFA and Peggy Creveling, CFA

We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. - Anonymous saying

The above often-repeated saying can be applied to many areas of life. When it comes to investing, we frequently see people overestimate what they can achieve in any given year and underestimate what they can achieve in the long term - often to their detriment.

By Chad Creveling, CFA and Peggy Creveling, CFA

If you've already resolved to save more, then you're in luck: There's no better time than now to get serious about saving for your future. We've come up with the following five steps that can be followed by expatriates and their families alike.

By Peggy Creveling, CFA, and Chad Creveling, CFA

You're enjoying the change in scenery in a new country and wonder if it's time to take the plunge and purchase property while you're living overseas. Owning overseas property can be a rewarding experience, but it can also have a major impact on your finances. We've put together a list of some areas to consider:

By Peggy Creveling, CFA, and Chad Creveling, CFA

Choosing a cross-border or offshore financial advisor carefully is as important as choosing a doctor or lawyer. You'll want to find someone who is competent and trustworthy and who works in your best interest. To help you find the financial advisor who may be right for you (as well as to protect you from those who could do harm), we've put together some characteristics to look for in choosing a cross-border financial planner.

By Chad Creveling, CFA, and Peggy Creveling, CFA

Which investment would you rather own?

1. An investment in the market that has earned an average annual return of 6% for the past five years but has just plummeted by 20%.

Or

2. An equivalent investment in a property, 80% funded by a 30-year, 4% fixed-rate mortgage, which after five years is worth 20% more than you paid for it.

If you’re like most people, you'd choose the property, hands down.

But is that really the best choice for expat investors? Let's look at the numbers.

By Chad Creveling, CFA, and Peggy Creveling, CFA

It's not news that we're facing a retirement crisis. According to a recent U.S. study conducted by PWC: “There are too many signs suggesting the population is unprepared. A quarter of US adults have no retirement savings and only 36% feel their retirement planning is on track. Even for those who are saving, many will likely come up short.” PWC found that those immediately approaching retirement (55- to 64-year-olds) only had about U.S. $120,000 saved for retirement.