Financial advice
 

Making the move entails a lot of important financial decisions and it's something I think I should take professional advice on.

Have to consider the likes of:

pension
house sale or renting
endowment policies
tax implications
where to keep money
offshore banking

Can anyone put me on the right track as to which type of advisor I need to find ?
Is it just any accountant or are there more specialised people ?

Many thanks
Bix

Re: Financial advice
 

Just don't use the t*at in Port Talbot (NOT WBB, I hasten to add :D ) who I used - all he was interested in was his fee. Advised me to stick 7K GBP into a fund which lost half its value in three weeks, and then had the nerve to refuse to talk to me about it, in case I sued him! :mad: (They have it set up so that you CAN'T sue them, BTW - that little weasel clause 'the value of shares may go down as well as up...)

Be VERY careful, Bix - these guys are in it for themselves, not for you. Get some personal recommendations from people who've been dealing with someone for several years, and had good results. :lecture:

Re: Financial advice
 

Thanks Dup,
That's exactly what worries me.
I can't see there is such a thing as independant financial advice cos as you say they are making a living at it.
What fills their pocket aint necessarily going to suit mine I guess.

So, there are at least two in Port Talbot then :D

Re: Financial advice
 

:D I don't believe for a second that you've 'fallen out' with your Gaelic brother! :D

Re: Financial advice
 

Tis true - I have not - but then again I have never fallen out with anyone on the forum.

Suppose I should qualify that remark with "yet" just in case eh ?

Mind you he may be my bro but I don't care too much for his treatment of sheep :D

Re: Financial advice
 

Well, I have to say that you know what those sheep are like - they lead you on, get you all excited, and then just walk away, laughing at you.

I'm besotted with Mrs DUP. Billy's besotted with Flossie. I can relate.... :D

Re: Financial advice
 

I would highly recommend a good pair of stiff wellingtons boots.
You could also try them on the sheep :D

Re: Financial advice
 

Mrs DUP is always on about getting some wellies... I thought she wanted them for the farm.

You don't think.... ???? Nah! :D

BTW, you know your 'Bix is blue' thread? I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. I'm looking to change a 457 visa into PR. I'll let you know how I get on.

[whisper] But keep it to yourself...[/whisper] :D

Re: Financial advice
 

You got about 3 months on me there then old man. (said in quiet voice) :cool:

Yes, please do let me know how that goes.
I have now been told to go for the 457 and try for the PR once in OZ.
The PR is not out of the question cos I got a good case for RSMS due to knowledge and experience.
I am another of the paperless society you were discussing on the other thread.
Nothing like hands on experience and I got 33 years of that.
If I may blow me own trumpet for a minute I reckon there is no-one in OZ that knows as much about the clay business as I do and very few in the world.
It's a matter of convincing DIMIA though. :eek:

Re: Financial advice
 

"Exceptional talent". A LUVVERLEY loophole! Just convince your company (the one that sponsors you on a 457 visa) that you are exceptional, and you're 90% of the way there. It bugs me that people who've spent donkeys years building up their skills are arbitrarily tossed on the scrapheap at age 45! We still have TWENTY bloody years before 'normal' retirement, let alone the 'extended' retirement that the Guv want to put in. Dickheads! They've got their heads up their arses and like the view from there. Yet if you have PR here you can bring in DOZENS of your relatives, even if they have ZERO talent, and just consume!!! [/rant]

I came out here in August 2002 on a 2 year fixed term contract. I fulfilled the brief within one year, so said to my manager "As we're going to make this a permie job at the end of my contract, let's not wait, let's do it now." As they have to advertise for the position (long story - all rules and regs) there were a couple of dozen applicants for the job, and they narrowed it down to 6 interviews. They've just been held, so I'm waiting for the result (fingers, toes, arms and legs all crossed!) I'm confident that the visa will be issued, because I was 48 when I got my 457 visa. That's supposed to be a 45 age limit, too. Still, my occupation is on the MODL (it doesn't show on the MODL list, but is still included in the Employer Sponsored PR form).

Then there's always Plan B: Mrs DUP as the primary, and her doddering husband as the secondary applicant! (She's 27 and has more paper than you can shake a stick at.) Also a woman of impeccable taste... Well, she married ME, didn't she? :D :D

Still, I'd rather try doing it as the primary. It's a 'guy' thing... :D

Re: Financial advice
 

Pension. Don’t let people confuse you with their mumbo jumbo. If you think you will retire in Oz transfer it over, regardless of what sort of pension fund it is. Wait until you have a job in Oz with a Superannuation fund then contact the pension manager of your UK fund directly and ask them to initiate an overseas transfer. Only exception to this would be if you have less than, say, 10 years before you retire. Or perhaps you have a final salary scheme that you feel will be worth more leaving in the UK, although I challenge anyone to estimate that with any level of certainty.

House Sale/Rent. I would sell. Who can be bothered with the management of the property and the declaration of income in Oz and potential tax issue when you finally sell?

Endowment policies. If you have enough money in sterling to keep them going until maturity then do so. Keep them going if they are with Standard Life or you will miss out of a potential demutualisation windfall. Consider converting them to fully paid up policies if you don’t want to wear the currency risk earning AUD and paying out GBP. If it’s a real dog of an endowment (and I can speak with some authority on these!), then sell it either to an endowment broker, or as a last resort sell it back to the endowment company. No point throwing good money after bad AND adding and exchange rate risk to it.

Tax implications. If you make a clean break with all your financial stuff in the UK, there will be substantially less Oz tax implications for you to worry about. The migration process seems skewed in favour of transfer of all assets into Oz as soon as possible after taking up residency.

Where to keep money. I keep my UK money in an Internet only bank (smile). I keep a UK credit card going, but it is more or less unused. I have kept a small UK share portfolio going and some PEPs/ISAs (strictly speaking, as PEP/ISA income is tax free in UK, but not in Oz, you should declare in on your Oz tax return). For some things it is best to maintain a UK address e.g. CREST for UK shares.

Offshore banking. Never saw the benefit unless you are registered domicile in a tax haven – Monaco? Liechtenstein? Even then, most of the bigger banks will offer you more or less the same services and most (reputable) offshore banks are now governed by very similar legislation to those onshore.

You don’t need an advisor and you can manage and do all these things yourself. They don’t take up too much time.

Re: Financial advice
 

Did you see the TV last night where it said that 50% of the over 50's are unemployed ? And I'm not even registered !:D

Re: Financial advice
 

I don't watch TV. So if that's the case (assuming the usual media bias toward stretching the facts to up the ratings,) then what are these pollies talking about? If they can't even keep half the 50+s in work, how are they going to make the 65+s case any easier?

"Extended retirement". What a joke! :D

My suggestion is to be completely blunt with any financial advisor you interview.

Make sure you completely understand how your advisor(s) earn their fee...don't be shy to ask

If you do not completely understand the information being presented to you by potential advisor.....tell them you don't understand......many people just nod their head afraid of appearing unintelligent......it's not about ego...it's about financial security.

If a single advisor claims to have a complete understanding of EVERY need /issue you have raised, don't walk...run......I'm not aware of a single person expert in every area of need you have expressed.

Seek referrals(but not necessarily from the advisor) and don't be shy about asking for audited performance figures.

Vet your prospective advisor with any/every organization presented in his/her bio.

And watch out for the muppets.

Where does one start looking for advisers. I tried Westpac but the bloke was an **** and uninterested in paupers like myself.