ScottyB

Hi Mark,

I just joined the site today and noticed the HiFX section. I was on the look out for Expat money advice and was pointed in the direction of the forum by Google.

I understand that you work for HiFX and post to assist members so here goes.

I have secured a contract in Paris for 12 months, being paid in Euros.

All of my financial commitments are in the UK - Wife, kids, and mortgage etc.

I want to protect myself against the fluctuation in exchange rates by converting some of my Euros every month and putting into a GBP account.

I am looking at 17000 euros per month take home pay.

I would want to send 10000 euros back into GBP for the 12 month period.

The other 7000 i would keep in euros to pay expenses e.g. accommodation etc in Paris.

I have a Bank account set up with 3 accounts Euro/GBP and USD all with the same bank and all with access to ATM and Debit/Credit cards for each individual currency so i have minimised my additional costs that way by using the relevant card in the relevant country.

What would you recommend to protect against currency fluctuations?

Block buy a 12 month amount of currency and fix the rate with yourselves with a deposit (I think you guys are around 10% security is that correct) and then do a standing order each month to "swap" the funds from euros to GBP?

What options are open to me if the euro drops back down again towards the 1.03/1.04 mark or better still a 1:1 ratio and i want to "lock" in a better rate....

Will you guys have someone who will specificaly advise me of changes to make e.g. management to ensure i am always making best use of the exchange rate?

Account with yourselves will need to be a company account (Offshore IBC is this an issue???)

Worst case scenario my contract ends before the 12 months are out and i am stuck with a "set aside" amount of cash at my locked in rate what are the options open to me??? Sell back to the market and take a hit if the exchange rate is now against me??? If you could detail any costs etc in this scenario.

Finally out of the 7000 euros each month i would have available 5000 to "use" to try and speculate the Forex markets, something you guys could advise on?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Scott B

hitchw

Hi Scott and welcome to the site,

Although HiFx are a very well known company I actually use a different broker for all my transfers. The company I use are RationalFX, whenever I have compared them to any other brokers they always come out offering the best rates. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying HiFx or others like Currencies Direct are bad at what they do, I just find that they take a wider margin and on the amount that you are talking about (120K) a small difference in the rate can make a large difference to the final amount. I have done forward orders with RationalFX previously and they have the same 10% deposit to secure the rate. A reccomendation for you is to register with a couple of companies and basically play them off against each other. PM me if you want my contacts details.

Best of luck

Will

ScottyB

Will,

Brilliant thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

Have sent you a PM if you could forward your contact details that would be appreciated.

Have also sent an email to RationalFX requesting account opening etc.

Regards

Scott

Windsor2

Scottb

Have dropped you a PM.

Best Regards

Mark BodegasDirector - HiFX