You can own pretty much as much offshore exposure as you like these days without having to use any exchange control allowances. There are an increasing number of unit trusts or exchange traded funds which will give you exposure to any number of geographies or themes (tech/healthcare/ESG) without you physically sending your money overseas.
But there are still reasons why you would potentially want to take your money directly offshore.
These include:
- You can separate decisions between the currency and the underlying investments you own (asset allocation).
- You can separate the sources of returns between the currency and the underlying assets. (tax efficiency).
- Your assets are physically offshore and less exposed to any potential changes in legislation or political risk.
- The variety of opportunities are broader than the offshore options in SA.
- You can invest for specific future costs or events you expect to have in another country. (Liability matching – like tertiary education at a UK university for example)
- It can be cheaper to buy exposure to the same markets on an offshore platform.
I am not an advocate of knee-jerk reactions when it comes to investment planning. I certainly don’t want to promote a service using fear tactics. However, I am aware that many people are sending money directly offshore following the recent unrest in our country.
If you have money you would like to invest directly offshore in a managed portfolio, White Investments can help you to set it up using a low-cost international platform.
To find out more please send an e-mail to info@whiteinvestments.co.za
*Terms & Conditions apply.