Financial advice for expats - any experience of using Devere?

11POSTS

7 years ago

I've been in Vietnam for a couple of years now, I'm running the VN office of a US software company.

Since I've been here, I've been approach by a lot of different investment advisors / financial planners etc. I've spoken to one or two and they have some tips about where to put your UK pension, what housing projects to invest in etc. etc.

I'm a skeptic by nature and this industry has a poor reputation (in the UK, let alone SE Asia) ... also, the sheer number of sales people puts me off talking to any of them.

However, I could do with some genuine help because it is complex when you've accounts all over the place, school fees to pay

Any thoughts? Good/bad experiences?

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Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

6 years ago

Ask yourself this question.

If financial planners are so smart investing and planning.....why the hell are they still working.

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Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

6 years ago

jamesfromkent wrote:
what housing projects to invest in etc. etc.

I went for safe, easy, but lower return, buying sort of bank issued bond things. They don't offer all that much over the inflation rate but they're more secure and I don't have to mess around with property agents (people I see in general as little better than licenced theives).
See what simple options are available to you without planners..

Yogi007 Serial expat

948POSTS

6 years ago

Good morning James.

You & your family are the best investment here. I assume you’ve got a good job for a Multi National crew, possibly with a salary package that includes an allowance for accommodation & kids education.

Depending on how long your here ,you can capitalise on the low cost of living and save a bundle. I suppose you’ve heard all the “waffle” about 800% increases in land prices and want a piece of that action.

Unless your connected with a local that knows what’s going on , that could be risky. It’s all about timing...the bubble has popped in a lot of areas as well.

Who are you dealing with....when it comes to Reputation, Trust & Integrity , Vietnam is close to the bottom of the barrel. The best investment here is cheap living.

Earn Dollars, spend Dong.

And as for those grubby, stunted little chaps with cheesy grins ( Vietnamese investment advisors) telling you what you like to hear.......Yogi wouldn’t give them the steam of his piss.

And in this climate,,that wouldn’t be much.

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Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

6 years ago

Yogi007 wrote:
I suppose you’ve heard all the “waffle” about 800% increases in land prices and want a piece of that action.

Only waffle?

I would suggest, without actually saying it, the 800% increase is likely to be the output of a heard of male bovines after they've just had ten pints of beer and a seriously hot curry each, thus there's an especially big pile of exceptionally smelly stuff around.

There's one rule that applies in every country on this planet - NEVER trust a property agent's word unless he's wired up to a lie detector and has references from at least one pope.

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Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

6 years ago

Yogi007 wrote:
Earn Dollars, spend Dong.

yes, yes, yes, YEEEES, YEEEEES, YESSSSSSSSSS

Cigarette?

Yogi007 Serial expat

948POSTS

6 years ago

Fred wrote:
Yogi007 wrote:
Earn Dollars, spend Dong.

yes, yes, yes, YEEEES, YEEEEES, YESSSSSSSSSS

Cigarette?

You need a cold shower Fred.....

2 members reacted to this post

Yogi007 Serial expat

948POSTS

6 years ago

Devere group.

There’s a lot of bad reviews about them online....from both clients & former staff.

They have a “global presence”.....😆. Wow...... So does Yogi.

They have a fancy website .......any 12 year old kid can set that up.

Has anyone ( apart from multi nationals) ever figured out how to get the PROFIT on an investment repatriated to your home country . It’s hard enough getting your initial capital out. ??

jamesfromkent Member

11POSTS

6 years ago

#10

Thanks all for the feedback. Yes, I decided to avoid all of them and am keeping it simple: rent my apartment, send a little cash back overseas when I can.

moscowmetro Banned

83POSTS

6 years ago

#11

I have had bad experiences in the past with so called Investment experts but when I retired I had to do something with the fairly large ammounts USD, EURO, GBP languishing in my bank accounts in Singapore. So I decided to do some investments 2015 & below is a summery for anyone who is interested.

CITIBANK Singapore :- Invested in 5 like income based. They verbaly said 5% pa was achievable. Cost me 5k usd for their expert advice. Within 4 months the capital had lost value to the tune of aprox 12% & has never come back to the initial invested capital. BUT I have had 920usd every month income from the investment over the last 4 years so it works out at about 3% over that period so not bad I suppose.

AAM investment advisory Singapore...
by far the worst. The guy said 5% pa minimum but possible 12%. (nothing on paper though hahaha)....at best I have had a gain over 4 years of 2%pa & I have pulled the plug on that one!

AXA USD bond......by far the best with income of 12,000usd paid yearly over the 4 years & an actual gain on capital invested so about 14% pa so far.

Devere based at Bitexco......various investments in world wide structured notes, USD, EURO & GBP which have given me income of 1200usd per month with so far no loss on capital, so about 6.5% pa aprox.
So from my point of view De Vere have done OK so far anyways & all their investments will mature Sept & unless there is a 60% drop in the major world markets on the strike price on my investment, the invested capital is protected.
By the way although investments are done at De Vere Vietnam office, none of the investments are held in Vietnam.

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jefJones Banned

90POSTS

6 years ago

#12

If you people are so interested in investing, which seems to be a common repeating topic around here ..... You could just as easily invest in my Bank Account!!!! - Its no more or less risky than any other Viet Investment! AND you wont have to bother blaming a government for your own bad decisions! ....

wait... its my bank account ... so it is a GOOD decision!

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Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

6 years ago

#13

Diversification and patience.

Time deposit at 3 different Vietnamese banks and wait for the next world economics crash (which will come in the near future and will be violent).
After the crash, invest in shares via an investment account of a bank in Singapore.

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WillyBaldy Serial expat

739POSTS

6 years ago

#14

AkaMaverick wrote:
Diversification and patience.

Time deposit at 3 different Vietnamese banks and wait for the next world economics crash (which will come in the near future and will be violent).
After the crash, invest in shares via an investment account of a bank in Singapore.

I've recently moved a lot of portfolio to gold/silver stocks, doing well since gold went from 1300 to 1500... with all this uncertainty I'm thinking it might reach 1700 over the next 12 months, but no crystal ball here. I'm definitely going to try to liquidate a few stock and have cash on hand for Black Friday shopping in the middle of the next crisis. As always, trying to time the market is no easy task.

Cannabis stocks imploded in Canada, it's somewhat funny because many "investors" thought they'd go up forever. Ah and bitcoin back under USD$8000, same old same old.

sflxn Member

23POSTS

6 years ago

#15

Don't know what Devere is but if I understand your question about where to spend your money, it's an easy answer. Buy low fee index funds in your own country. It's the simplest way to let your money grow with little tax implication.

I've heard stories about expats getting snookered by these "investment" companies and losing loads. I've been approached by people offering services to me. I tell them I already have 30 years of investing experience and Vanguard funds can beat all of these guys over the long run so why bother? Doesn't the UK have an equivalent to Vanguard? If you want a hands off approach, it really is the easiest way. It's also the highest return approach in the funds industry.

bhspence Member

23POSTS

last month

#16

@jamesfromkent

Hi James

Time has gone now but I am interested to know if you found financial advice that you were happy with.

Sincerely

Brian

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bhspence Member

23POSTS

last month

#17

@jamesfromkent

Hi James

I have written a number of posts re finance, why not take a look.

Happy to have an informal chat

Brian

OceanBeach92107 VIP Member

7620POSTS

last month

#18

@jamesfromkent
Hi James
I have written a number of posts re finance, why not take a look.
Happy to have an informal chat
Brian - @bhspence

@jamesfromkent last connected with this forum over 4 years ago, so you might not be hearing back from him.

FYI, you can see that activity status by clicking on a person's Avatar.

Cheers!

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Cheryl Moderator

16313POSTS

last month

#19

Hello Brian,

Thank you for your message.

Please note that this thread has not been active for several years, and the members who participated in it also appear to be inactive. As a result, you may unfortunately not receive a response from them.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

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