As we’re all very busy this week with the Symposium in Hong Kong, we prepared in advance a valuable gem for those who didn’t have the chance to join us. We thought you might like to hear about two essential communication tools for PTs (Perpetual Travellers). These are services we wouldn’t be without, that make your life more private, more free, easier, and/or cheaper.

The first is primarily a privacy service. It secures all your communications on the web, not just e-mails but all your surfing, instant messaging, VOIP calls and the like. The second is a service that can save you a fortune in cellphone and data roaming charges, the only mobile phone service we know of with free incoming calls in over 115 countries of the world. And it’s anonymous to boot.

INTRODUCING CRYPTOHIPPIE

You understand that you are being tracked on the Internet and that all your data is scooped up, sifted, sorted, bought and sold. Now you want to protect your Internet traffic and that of your family and customers.

Cryptohippie gives you military-grade technology in an easy-to-use form. You don’t need to be a tech expert to use their system. It was built by top professionals but designed for average computer users. Installation takes about 15 minutes; after that, it runs completely unobtrusively in the background -  you can use the internet just as you always have, but with far more peace of mind.

Not only does this protection cost less than a dollar a day, but they will also give you a secure email account, encrypted chat and excellent tech support.

We use Cryptohippie ourselves and can’t recommend it highly enough. We have known the people behind it for about fourteen years now and we know they are trustworthy beyond doubt.

But you don’t just have to take our word for it. Simon Black calls it “the Rolls Royce of online privacy.” Mark Nestmann uses it too. Steve Sjuggerud says, “Long-story short, it makes it so nobody – not Google, not even your Internet service provider, not the government, and (theoretically of course) not a hacker – can track your Internet activity back to you. This service is not free, but it’s worth every penny.”

We won’t rave more about Cryptohippie here, suffice to say if you are serious about protecting your privacy from prying eyes, you should have it. Cryptohippie have been kind enough to offer all Q Wealth readers a week’s free trial of their service so you can test it for yourself, and see how simple it is to set up and use. This is totally without obligation, and no credit card is required. To take advantage of this offer, visit Cryptohippie here.

Of course, if you want the more technical details of how the service works, and the lengths they go to to protect your privacy, you’ll find all the details on their website.

A REVIEW OF AIR BALTIC CARD – FREE GLOBAL ROAMING

A strange name for a global telephone service, but we first discovered this one by buying an anonymous SIM card (mobile phone chip) on board an Air Baltic flight. If you’re a frequent traveler anywhere, however, you can benefit from this service, and you don’t need to get on a plane to buy it.

Simply put, it allows you to be reached on one global phone number in more than 115 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe, without you having to pay a penny for incoming calls. In other countries of the world where it is not free, and for outgoing calls from anywhere, you also benefit from rates that are much lower than most cellphone operators.

It’s a pay-as-you-go service – absolutely no fixed contracts, no monthly fees and no minimum spends.  You don’t even need to show any ID to sign up. It costs just EUR 10 to buy the card and you can get started receiving free calls immediately.

Or, if you buy EUR 50 worth of credit up front they give you the card for free. That is credit that you can use for outgoing calls, data services etc, which never expires. The only condition is that to keep your credit active you have to make or receive a call at least once every two years to keep your account active. I think if you get used to using this service, you’re unlikely to go a day without using it.

More recently, they have also started offering data roaming services. While international data roaming remains expensive, Air Baltic Card have some of the best rates, especially their low fixed rate across the entire European Union.

Another innovation is that you can divert incoming calls free to mobile or fixed lines in many countries. So let’s say you travel to a new country and buy a local prepaid SIM card, then divert your international calls to that number, people can still reach you on the same number as always.

And there’s more. If you buy 2 or more cards, you can talk mobile to mobile in any of those 115 countries for 20 cents per minute. Ideal for keeping in touch with your family and friends while on the go.

All you need is an unlocked mobile phone of the GSM type, the SIM card that you can buy online, and you are ready to go. You can buy the SIM card online here.

How does it work? Calls to the Air Baltic Card number, that has an Estonian country prefix, are relatively expensive – though not unreasonably so, we think. Calls from Skype to this number, for example, cost about $0.30 per minute. So they make money on the incoming calls, that covers the cost of the roaming.

There are SIM cards offering free roaming, but this is by far the best one we have come across. We’ve been using it for about five years and wouldn’t be without it.

We hope you enjoy our PT communication solutions, and we’ll be back with you next week with some exciting investing news from China, where I am headed next. Sign up for Q bytes, free of charge, to be the first to hear the news.

Peter Macfarlane talks about the new tax treaties signed between the UK and Switzerland and Germany and Switzerland, and about how this model is likely to be expanded to other countries. If you hold assets in a Swiss bank account you should be making preparations now.

Following the agreements made by the Swiss banks with the IRS, that effectively end Swiss bank accounts for Americans, a Swiss bankers plan called the “Rubik Project” is about to impact British and German residents who hold accounts at Swiss banks. However, we expect this eventually to be expanded to other countries, especially those within the European Union and likely also Australia, India and a few other jurisdictions that have been particularly vociferous about Swiss banking secrecy recently.

If you are resident in one of these countries, you might need to take action now to avoid a huge tax haircut on your Swiss account next year. This article tells you about steps you can take now to secure and safeguard your assets.

The Rubik Project is little known and understood. Even Swiss bankers I talked to told us they had not as yet received any guidance on the subject. Here are some of the highlights:

• The Rubik Project is originally a Swiss initiative. The Swiss have designed it as a way of appeasing other governments while (a) keeping full bank secrecy in place and (b) keeping their own access to important financial markets like London and Frankfurt unhindered.
• The Swiss banks offer to create and administer a flat rate tax on behalf of foreign governments, starting with the British and German governments, though this project is designed to be expanded to other countries. A retroactive tax is explicitly permitted, so that is a particular point to watch out for.
• The Swiss bank will automatically collect tax by deducting from the client’s account. Initially in the case of the UK the amount will be up to 50%, depending how long the account has been opened. In other words, up to half the account balance will be transferred to the foreign tax authority in one fell swoop! The payment will be transferred first to the Swiss federal tax administration, then to the respective foreign government.
• In return for this, the account remains completely anonymous, full bank secrecy is preserved, and the account holder is no longer obliged to declare the account on his or her tax return. In other words, the tax payments are calculated by the banks but the payment is completely anonymous.
• Importantly, this applies not just to natural persons resident in a treaty state, but also to legal entities of the personal/offshore holding company type, where the beneficial owner is a natural person resident in a treaty state. This includes offshore companies, trusts, foundations and the like that do not engage in any commercial or manufacturing business.
• Account holders do have the option to opt out of the anonymous tax collection, by proving that they have fully declared the funds to their home tax authority.

If you are netted by this tax, you are of course free to withdraw your funds before the date your account become liable to the Rubik tax. But the question is where to put them? Here are a few pointers:

1. Since only the USA taxes its citizens, this project only applies to residents of the treaty countries. If for example you are a British citizen resident in Spain, or a German citizen resident in Paraguay, this tax is irrelevant to you. Changing your residency might be easier than you think! The only thing you need to do is make sure your Swiss bank has up to date details on your residency status, and copies of documents to back it up.
2. Setting up a simple company to hold the account, that was always a legal way around the EU Savings Tax Directive, is not going to work any more. There are however two ways to keep companies out of the net:

 - It appears that as long as your company engages in commercial transactions then it is exempt. There is no stated minimum, so this may be just one or two commercial transactions per year, that should be unrelated to the investment activity. However we would recommend if you choose this route you get your bank to agree in writing that the company will be exempt from the haircut. It seems to me that most banks will be keen to do this in order to retain the business.

- You can also change the beneficial ownership of the company, while keeping signatory control. There are a few ways to do this, that we will cover in future. One is by using an insurance company, and another is by using trusts.

Of course, what many British and German clients are doing right now is moving their assets out of Switzerland, often even within the same bank (eg Swiss-owned banks in Singapore)

This project is a uniquely Swiss initiative and we do not see it being widely adopted outside Switzerland.

The tax justice crowd are already claiming that the treaties signed by the UK and Germany are a sell out. It seems to me, however, a very pragmatic and ultimately sensible decision on both parts. The Swiss get to keep their secrecy, including a new treaty provision that limits requests for information to a maximum of 500 individuals per year – a clause specifically inserted to avoid fishing trips. The UK gets good publicity about cracking down on tax cheats, and some people will likely be scared enough to pay the tax. On the other hand, it’s quite an easy tax to legally avoid.

Bottom line? You should be especially aware of the retroactive nature of this treaty model, and the likelihood that it will be expanded to cover other countries. You should be making plans to avoid this, right now. If in doubt, talk to a professional adviser. Paid up Q Wealth members are entitled to free referrals to banks and advisers, including a free initial consultation.

It’s certainly been a turbulent week, even by the standards of this year! Reuters, for example, is hyping about High-flying gold crashing in $100 freefall. I’ve addressed this in detail, what you should be doing (buying farmland, precious metals etc) and what you should not be doing (freaking out about short term fiat currency and metal price movements) in a special last-minute addition to the latest Q Wealth Report.

Edition 58 is available now for download here.

In it you will find for example:

• A detailed article on banking in Hong Kong. This including my suggestion on the best way to open an account… that is not what most of the HK corporate service providers will recommend. And our analysis of the Tax Information Exchange Agreements in place in Hong Kong, as well as the regulation and security of Hong Kong banks. We also cover the possibilities to open accounts without travelling to the territory.

• An article by young entrepreneur Adam Richardson on the use of internet tools in your business.  I have personally learned a lot from Adam, a Q Wealth member whom I met at our event in Cancun a couple of years back. See if you can benefit from his experience and the strategies he proposes.

• A Complete Guide to Uruguay by our recommended contact there. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to open a bank account in Uruguay, how to get residence, how to get there and around, and more… our contact’s details are included and he is happy to help out readers who are interested in knowing more.

This and much more is in the latest Q Wealth Report. If you’re not yet a member, this is what you are missing out on!

Peter Macfarlane answers a reader’s question on second citizenships

There’s a lot of misleading information out there on second passport and economic citizenship programs, and some of that misleading information comes from the very sources that you would normally trust to be accurate – like the governments involved.

One example of this is Montenegro, a small European country with some of Europe’s most beautiful coastline, into which serious money from some very serious investors is discreetly flowing (look for example at the Porto Montenegro development.) I was there last year, shortly after the Montenegrin government announced the first new official economic citizenship program since after 9/11.

Although it was formally announced in 2010, the program appears to have been semi-officially available since 2008.  The legal basis for the economic citizenship program is found in Article 12 of the Citizenship Act of 2008:

“An adult person may be granted Montenegrin citizenship if he or she does not fulfill the requirements referred to in Article 8 of this Law if it would be in the scientific, economic, cultural, sport, national, or other interest of Montenegro”.

During this time, for example, the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra received Montenegrin citizenship.

At the end of last year the program was supposedly suspended because of pressure from the European Union. It is, however, our understanding that this program remains open on a semi-official basis. Obtaining a second passport is really just a matter of approaching the government and making a substantial investment in the country. This investment is tax-free and may be in the form of government bonds, bank deposits or real estate. Of course, professional advice is a necessity in transactions of this nature.

A well-designed citizenship program, such as that operated by St Kitts and Nevis, can attract investors and badly needed investment capital to Montenegro, or to any country that decides to implement such a program for that matter.  We hope that in future Montenegro will once again see its way to relaunching this program.

Peter Macfarlane was asked to comment on the Greek/European debt crisis and the Obama jobs plan for the latest edition of Q Wealth Report, available to our paid up members. His answer was that both are basically irrelevant. Here is an extract from the latest QWR:

You wouldn’t believe how many e-mails I receive from readers asking for comments on this or that event. Unfortunately, however fascinating the topic, it’s usually difficult for me to reply, because the questions are very open-ended. For example, a typical question would be, “Peter, what do I think of the future of the Norwegian Krone in relation to the Euro debt crisis?” There is no one line answer to that.

My view is, and always has been, that we have to look at the big picture and the small picture. Forget about the medium picture. I leave the medium picture for the wild forex speculators.

The big picture is that the ‘rich’ economies of the world, and in particular their fiat currencies, are in serious trouble. The purchasing power of the world’s super-currencies – the dollar, the euro and the yen – is going down the toilet. All the central bankers talk to each other on an almost daily basis with a view to maintaining “stability”- which means they should go down the toilet at roughly the same rate so the populace doesn’t notice.

Despite many protestations to the contrary by politicians, second and third tier western currencies like the Canadian, Aussie and NZ dollars, the pound sterling, and even the Swiss Franc, have far too much interdependence on the super-currencies. That is why, for example, the Swiss National Bank decided to try to fix its currency to the Euro recently. I do not think you can seek salvation by holding these currencies, except perhaps as part of an overall diversification strategy.

The other side of the big picture is the rise of emerging economies. China, a nation of peasants that is nominally communist, is playing a major role in keeping the US afloat and even stocked up on Spanish debt recently. The biggest industrial employer in the UK is an Indian company. Brazil’s economy and currency is so far ahead that Brazilian millionaires are snapping up Florida property like there’s no tomorrow.

This big picture scenario is neither a prediction, nor an invitation to debate. It is indisputable fact – what has already happened, is happening now, and will continue to happen.

The ‘medium picture’ is the short term changes. It’s easy for people to get caught up in this, because it’s what is pumped out to us by the mainstream media 24/7.

One week Obama’s new jobs plan supports the dollar while the Euro goes down because the Greeks have spent all their money again. So what? Who cares? Next week there will be some bad news from the US, some good news from Europe, and the euro will be ‘up’ again. It is all a distraction from the big picture.

Most of the media is US-owned, and I think it’s for this reason that there is a pro-dollar bias in this kind of reporting. The US economy is just as much of a disaster zone as the European one, if not worse. At least Europe is not spending so many billions fighting wars. In fact, if you are going to lump together Europe as one economy (which has its pros and cons, that I won’t go into here) you might as well just lump in the US while you’re at it and refer to the “western” economy.

If you are a forex trader – ie someone who wants to make short term profits off currency movements – you need to pay attention to this medium term stuff for sure. But if you are like most of our readers, simply looking to protect your hard-earned assets for the long term, this medium picture stuff is irrelevant. You should try to block it out of your mind, because it only serves as a distraction from the real big picture.

Most forex traders are banks, and they make money when currencies move. Doesn’t matter which direction. They just need turbulence in the markets to make money and be happy. The politicians are happy with this turbulence too, because it distracts voters from the big picture.

I should clarify here that I’m not saying this is good or bad. I’m saying it’s the way it is, and if you want to protect your assets and be successful you had better accept it. I do not subscribe to the view that ‘evil speculators’ are responsible for the world’s problems, nor do I believe that one political party or other is responsible. Bankers are just businessmen like you and I, looking to make a buck.  It was politicians, of all colours, that created these problems over decades.

This brings us to the small picture, and it is here that you should be concentrating your thoughts and your strategic planning. The small picture is you in the global economy. Once you understand the big picture, the small picture is easy. ‘Buy farmland and gold’ says investment guru Marc Faber.  What I tell people is a play on the old real estate agent’s refrain. What matters most when buying property? Location, location and location. How do you protect your assets in uncertain times? Diversification, diversification and diversification.

That’s what the Q Wealth Report is about. We give you practical, step by step guidance on the small picture – practical advice that you can implement easily.

It’s also this small picture we’ll be talking about in Hong Kong next month at our Q Wealth Symposium. How to invest in precious metals outside the financial system. How to invest in farmland without getting your boots muddy. How to use offshore legal structures to diversify assets across different sovereign jurisdictions or ‘flags.’ Trustworthy people you can contact to implement these solutions. And most importantly, how you can do this right away – because every day you delay, the politicians and bankers are eroding your assets. So if you know you need to do something, but are not sure what, join us in Hong Kong next month. There is no time like the present!

A couple of weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with a cab driver in Zurich about Swiss monetary policy. Unlike most cab drivers in Zurich, this chap was Swiss.

We both agreed that Switzerland had become too expensive, especially for people coming in paying with dollars or euros. But I volunteered that I like the high Swiss franc. It’s not for nothing that the Swiss franc is an attractive reserve currency. Despite the bickering by chocolatiers and purveyors of plastic watches, Switzerland still looks prosperous. The plastic watches are for export… you won’t see the Swiss wearing them! You just don’t see the signs of recession there that you would driving around say Ireland, Spain or the USA.

Today’s strong Swiss franc represents centuries of stable government, rule of law, independence, and freedom, and those are precisely the reasons that I was in Switzerland doing business. Before dropping me off at the Hauptbahnhof, the driver agreed with me wholeheartedly.

An article in today’s Economist, called Francs for Nothing, covers Switzerland’s decision to try effectively to fix its currency to the Euro. The Swiss National Bank chose remarkably strong language in announcing its decision, clearly intended to jolt the market – which it did.

In the Economist’s view, which we share, this decision is regrettable – but, like the stream of proposals coming out of Washington, New York and Frankfurt – it is highly questionable whether it will work in the long run. It is just further evidence that all the financial markets are being manipulated by politicians all the time. There is one recognized world value that the politicians cannot manipulate – and that is gold. That’s why they hate gold.

Anyway, back to the Swiss franc. The last paragraph of the Economist article concludes:

Imposing a ceiling carries big risks. Central banks cannot target both their exchange rate and inflation. The Swiss monetary base is almost 50% of GDP (the equivalent figure for America is 18%), although inflation remains subdued at 0.2% in August. There are also questions about what happens if the strategy fails. The SFr20 billion losses ($23.3 billion) incurred in 2010 thanks to previous interventions have sparked calls for the resignation of Philipp Hildebrand, the SNB’s president. This looks like a last throw of the dice.

Even though the Swiss franc is no longer backed by gold, it is inextricably linked to gold in my psyche. As fiat currencies go, it’s certainly one of the best. I would consider buying some Swiss Francs right now while the SNB is keeping them artificially low, because I don’t see this policy lasting long. In fact, I just exchanged a bunch of dollars into CHF myself.

HOW TO BUY SWISS FRANCS

How do you buy Swiss francs? Simple – open an offshore bank account. If you’re not American, a Swiss bank would be an obvious solution. Unfortunately Swiss banks no longer do business with Americans. We have a Swiss private bank where Q Wealth readers can open an account with as little as CHF 5000 with no need to travel there. By arrangement with the bank we won’t name them here, but paid-up members should contact our offices for a personal referral.

If Switzerland is not suitable for you, you might want to consider the Caribbean. One of the banks we recommend there will open Swiss franc accounts by mail, with full internet banking. The same bank has also just launched a physical gold storage program that I really like, where they will buy and store gold on your behalf in your name at ViaMat vaults in Switzerland. They will also loan you dollars secured by that gold if you need liquidity. The minimum entry for a Swiss franc account is almost nothing, while the minimum entry for physical gold is just $5000. If you’re interested in opening an account with them, and you’re a paid up member of Q Wealth, you are also welcome to contact our office for a referral. If you are specifically interested in the new precious metals program you will need to tell them so in your e-mail in order to get the full details, as it is not yet on their website.

Of course, these are just a couple of our recommendations. You’ll find many more in the Practical Offshore Banking Guide 2011, available for instant download in our Members Area. If you are not yet a member, find out what you are missing by visiting this page.

The article below was originally published in Q Bytes, our free newsletter. If you are not yet on the distribution list, please click here to sign up.

One of the questions we often receive from readers is “What country does not have a tax information exchange treaty (TIEA) with Country X?”

In other words, many people have been rather freaked out by recent developments such as Swiss and Panamanian banking information exchange agreements with the US and the UK. They are naturally looking for the best offshore banks in jurisdictions that have still not signed any information exchange treaties with major countries.

My standard response is that, while there are some of these countries (Andorra, for example, has not signed up to any information exchange with the US or the UK and doesn’t show any sign of doing so in the short term), jumping from bank to bank, jurisdiction to jurisdiction as rules change is becoming an ever more hopeless task. Yes, you can move once or twice – but the trend is definitely away from secrecy. Each time you change bank, you also put your privacy at risk. It’s much better to adapt your strategy and live within the system, while choosing a private, offshore bank that has its wits about it and values its international clientele.

The news is not all bad. There are still lots of ways to keep your affairs under the radar within the system. Most people I talk to these days, while they are committed to the idea of privacy as a fundamental principle, are much more concerned about asset protection and diversifying their investments. These are the themes we cover in The Q Wealth Report members’ area. Why go offshore? Tax evasion, as I’ve often stated, is not a good reason to go offshore today.

There’s one country I know of, however, that is really off the radar when it comes to offshore banking. You can open multi currency bank accounts here, and get full internet banking – including of course the chance to send multi-currency international bank wires online. US citizens are very welcome. And everything can be set up by mail, with no need to travel there.

This country, I should warn you, is in Africa. Some people lose interest right there, but I think that is a mistake. This is actually an important gold producing nation, so not surprisingly, it’s doing well at the moment. If you think gold will keep going up in dollar terms (I do) then this country will continue to prosper. The bank I recommend there, to consulting clients, is actually based in Europe and owns a gold refinery.

The country I’m talking about is Tanzania. Here are some of the reasons I like it as a private banking haven:

• The Chinese and Indians certainly have no hesitations about Africa and have been pouring billions in here. It’s a matter of following the smart money.

• Since 2000, production of gold on an industrial scale has increased, especially from the Geita (AngloGold/Ashanti) and Bulyanhulu (Barrick) mines. The future of Tanzania looks bright.

• The Tanzanian government recently abolished a number of taxes, including Capital Gains Tax. And passed a new mining act. There is absolutely no tax on foreign bank accounts held by non-resident individuals or companies.

• Double taxation treaties have been signed with Canada, Denmark, Finland, India, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, and Zambia. Tanzania is also in the process of negotiating treaties with other countries including Belgium, Burundi, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Rwanda.

• The Tanzanian Central Bank was heavily criticized for excessively restrictive precautionary banking regulations during the last decade. The result is that the Tanzanian banking sector is strong and healthy today.

A typical structure I might recommend to consulting clients, depending on their circumstances of course, would be a Nevis LLC with a bank account in Tanzania. As I said, that can easily be set up within a few weeks, with no need to leave home. The bank account can also be used as a platform for buying and selling stocks and investments internationally, though it should not be compared to an international online brokerage account.

More information on this and many other private banking and offshore wealth protection matters can be found in the Members Area here at Q Wealth Report. If you haven’t yet signed up, click here to see a list of the membership benefits.

We’ve complained a lot about the United States trying to extend its laws extra-territorially, and we’ve warned Brits that whatever the US does, the UK will follow. The UK’s new Bribery Act is an example of this. It affects British citizens all over the world even if they never do business in the UK at all. It goes way too far in my opinion… subjecting Britons to even stricter criteria than the USA’s FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)

The Bribery Act applies not just to offences that take place in the UK, but also to British companies and British nationals anywhere in the world, including any international companies that have business operations or even mere incorporation in the UK. This means, for example, that banks present in the UK will be affected by it and will pass the resulting compliance work on to their customers.

What is a bribe? Basically, giving a financial advantage to induce the improper performance of a public function, business activity, or an act in the course of someone’s employment. It’s not just about bribing foreign government officials, but can also be extended to the private sector.

‘Improper performance’ is left wide open. The question of what is expected is based on what a reasonable person in the UK would expect. This specifically prohibits Brits from doing business in accordance with a local culture where grease payments might be the norm. In Asia, for example, commission payments are typically expected in many deals and sectors. You now need to take legal advice even on simple commission payments. The USA’s FCPA does include a safe harbor for ‘grease payments’ -  the UK’s Bribery Act does not.

What about corporate hospitality? The guidance issued by the British Ministry of Justice includes a foreword by Secretary of State Kenneth Clarke stating that nobody wants to stop companies taking their clients to Wimbledon or the Grand Prix. The concerning thing, however, is that these are only guidance notes – not the law. The law can and will be subject to stricter interpretation over time. That is the nature of laws.

The penalties for failure to comply are severe. Just as companies are obliged to have procedures in place to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, this introduces a new level of regulation. There is also a corporate offence of “failing to prevent bribery” – so you can be sure that your bankers, if they have any activity in the UK, will start asking more and more questions about payments of things like commissions or consulting fees.

The article above was originally published in Q Bytes, our free newsletter, earlier this year. Peter Macfarlane and the editorial team are currently enjoying their annual holidays so we decided to upload this article to the blog for those that had missed it. If you would like to receive our free weekly newsletter to keep up to date on matters that could affect you and your wealth, sign up here. It’s free.

Editor’s note: below we have reproduced this week’s Q Bytes newsletter, with Peter’s comments on investing and living overseas (in South America) covering Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and more. There’s also an update on the elections on the island of Nevis that will be of interest to those seeking asset protection there. Remember if you would like to receive Q Bytes every week directly in your inbox, it’s absolutely free – sign up here.

I’m writing to you this week from the heart of South America (some people might be able to guess where that is!). One interesting observation is that people here are really beginning to talk about the decline in value of the dollar. Before, most Latin Americans had unshakable confidence in the dollar. On the ground here, this is changing. Draw your own conclusions.  Anyway I thought would answer today some of the numerous questions received from readers, with a South American bias but also covering the recent elections in Nevis.

It seems that there’s still no shortage of readers from both North America and Europe who are interested in the idea of relocating themselves and/or their assets to Latin America, whether it’s the Qualified Retirement Persons program or banking in Belize, or investing in wineries in Chile and Argentina. And I think the region has lots of potential. The North Americans and Europeans are not the only interested parties however: lots of Chinese money is flowing in this direction too.

Here are some of the questions I’ve received, along with my answers…

LA ESTANCIA DE CAFAYETE AND COMMUNITY LIVING

“Peter, you wouldn’t happen to be visiting Doug Casey’s La Estancia de Cafayate in northern Argentina are you?  If you are, I’d love to hear your take on it as an unbiased observer.  The properties seem overpriced, as well as the Grace Hotel units….as for quality of life?   Well, to each their own.”

Cafayete is not on my itinerary, no.  I have great respect for Doug Casey and some of my friends have bought into the Estancia, but I’m just not particularly attracted to it. There are also a number of other comparable proposals out there, in Central and South America, at various stages of completion.

My view is strictly personal: I’m just not much of a ‘community living’ type of guy – I’m more of a lone wolf. I dislike politics of all kinds, whether it’s sitting round the barbecue complaining about Obama, or deciding which of your neighbours is going to be the new President of the condominium association.

I can certainly see the attraction of living with a group of like minds, and I enjoy attending events for example where you can get an intense dose of like minds and interesting discussions over a few days. But when you cannot get up in the morning and walk the dog without running into a few like minds, who will no doubt greet you with their opinions, well I think that would be a bit overwhelming for me and for my family.

You’ll certainly end up paying a substantial premium over local real estate prices for developments like these, but then again you will probably be getting a lot of services and facilities that are not available at any price in the local markets. Only you as an individual can decide if it’s worth it to you. And I would certainly go take a look if you’re interested. You don’t know until you go!

WHICH COUNTRIES IN SOUTH AMERICA?

“Peter, Want to wish you a safe and productive trip to South America as referenced in the below excerpt from your most recent e-newsletter.  I am very interested in South America.  Would like to ask if Ecuador, Chile, Peru or Uruguay are on your list of leads to investigate?  And if so, do you personally have any preferences for any of these countries? ”

We monitor these countries all the time. I’m particularly interested in the latter two, Peru and Uruguay, as well as Paraguay and Brazil. Ecuador and Chile are fine as places to live but for me they don’t have so much to offer in terms of investing or quality of life.

Of all of South America – you asked for my personal preferences – I would choose Brazil to live in. It’s a vibrant country with a lot to offer, variety and a very high quality of life. It has a good immigration program for retired persons, though it certainly more expensive than neighboring countries.

For investments, I think Paraguay is very attractive at the moment. I’m working on a deal investing in agriculture there right now. Paraguay has a lot less bureaucracy than Brazil, but you certainly need to either be on the ground yourself or have a very reliable and trustworthy consultant working for you. Fortunately we have a good legal team there: both our friend Robert who can help with immigration matters, and several attorneys and diplomats who can facilitate investments.

Peru is very much on my radar, mainly for investing in resources like gold, silver and rare earth minerals. I will be stopping over in Peru later on this trip.

Finally, as for Uruguay, I love it – if you’re looking for something stable, choose Uruguay. My choice would be for living in Punta del Este. It’s also a good regional banking hub. There’s a great article on Uruguay, by an expat living there, coming up in the next Q Wealth Report.

NEVIS ELECTIONS IN DISPUTE

“Peter, I know you highly recommend Nevis as a jurisdiction for incorporation of LLCs and the like, and for asset protection trusts. Is your opinion affected by the recent controversy over the election results there?”

In a word, no. Most of the world probably never noticed, but the general election in Nevis earlier this month has been disputed by the opposition, something like the last Presidential election in Mexico. There are allegations of vote rigging and improprieties, which have not yet been resolved. Frankly, this has no affect whatsoever on the offshore sector, which is pretty much insulated from domestic politics. (For example, the new VAT does not apply to provision of offshore services.)

The important thing is that pretty much every politician in Nevis supports the offshore sector. It’s well established (created in 1984), well regulated, and has a great reputation, especially in America. St Kitts and Nevis is white-listed by the OECD too.

What I don’t recommend is banking in Nevis. It’s a great place to incorporate, but the banking is really limited, so take your Nevis entity and open an account elsewhere.

SWITZERLAND BANKING UPDATE

Finally, thank you to all the readers who replied to our piece on Swiss banking a couple of weeks ago. If anyone missed out and would still like an introduction to the Swiss bank we mentioned (for non-US citizens) don’t hesitate to contact our office by e-mail.

Announcing Peter Macfarlane’s new report on how to invest offshore in rare earth metals and rare industrial metals – and how you can invest in these physical methods for privacy and profit!

With gold having reached an all time high again yesterday, and silver soaring back upwards, investors’ eyes are once again closely focused on precious metals. Our advice in Q Bytes of a few weeks ago to buy up gold has paid off handsomely again. One client recently wrote in about how surprised he is that the world seems to be going bankrupt. On both sides of the Atlantic, emotions and concerns are running high. Asia is the notable exception to the doom and gloom – which is why we are running our next event there this October. More details soon, or email us if you would like to be notified in advance.

Meanwhile, offshore banking expert and consultant Peter Macfarlane has just finished his latest new research report that he’s been busy on for the last few months. It’s downloadable as of today free of charge for Q Wealth members – just log in and look under ‘Special Reports for Members.‘. It’s about another metal investing class, one that we also expect will see substantial gains over the next few years. And once again it’s also about investing in physical, hard money assets with no reliance on banks, stock markets or the global financial system.

This report is about rare earth and rare industrial metals. These rare metals are essential ingredients in many high tech products, from iPads to solar panels. They have been called ‘green elements’ (although this report explains why that is really a misnomer) Still, we believe that the world will continue to consume and demand more and more of these metals for complex industrial processes

Investing offshore in rare metals is also an investment play on Asia and especially the Chinese economy and currency. China currently controls 97% of the world’s supply of rare earth metals. The Chinese have effectively stopped exports of these essential rare metals to the rest of the world, simply because they need their entire production capacity and more to feed the Chinese industrial giant.

This report explains how you as a private individual anywhere in the world can buy physical rare metals and have them stored in a tax-free Swiss vault. Any time you want to take physical delivery you can (subject of course to taxes and shipping costs and government restrictions.) Stockpiling rare metals seems to us like an excellent way to secure a part of your wealth offshore for the future. Unlike gold and silver, these metals are less sensitive to governments since they are not traditionally used as money. There are no reporting requirements on this asset class. In fact, there’s even a way to hold this investment completely anonymously.

For further details of how you can achieve privacy, profit and asset protection read our Rare Metals Investing page, or go directly to the report in the Members Area. If you are not yet a member of Q Wealth, besides instant access to this report you can get a whole range of other exclusive benefits that are listed here.

IMPORTANT: this report also contains a number of warnings about how NOT to invest in rare earth metals. Some classes of investment are already in bubble mode. Please take note.