Reporting from the Total Wealth Symposium at the Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort in Panama.
Dear A-Letter Reader:
On the final day here at the Intercontinental Playa Bonita, we wrapped up a jam-packed Total Wealth Symposium for another year. Every day we've had a little rain, a little sun, and a lot of highly useful information. Saturday was no different.
But before I bring you Saturday's wrap-up sessions, I promised yesterday that I'd finish telling you about a few of the speakers that I simply couldn't fit in - (well, not without missing cocktail hour - we have our priorities here in Panama, you know.)
Thomas Fisher of Copenhagen's Jyske Bank gave us some insight in how Denmark is ahead of the curve - or at least ahead of the U.S. - in addressing the number one economic trend looming on the horizon: the end of cheap oil.
Denmark isn't exactly a big player in the oil market. So the question at hand is: how will they survive Peak Oil - and shield themselves from the resulting energy crisis? They commissioned a study to see what it would take to switch some of their crops from food production to ethanol production. Their researchers discovered that if they convert just 16% of their farming land to ethanol production, they would produce enough to support Denmark's entire fleet of cars.
That spells Danish oil independence, which will make Denmark the envy of many other nations in coming years. Sweden has followed suit, passing a law to be independent of oil imports in the next 15 years. For the average investor, this means there will be increasing opportunities in the alternative fuels sector.
Robert Vrijhof, a Zurich-based asset manager, discussed a couple of investments he calls "sporty." That was a very Swiss Understatement, to say the least, since one of his recommendations was a Triple AAA rated sovereign bond paying over 11%!
Colin Bowen switched the topic to life insurance...well, sort of. The thing to remember when you listen to Colin is that this is not the average life insurance 'policy' as many of us understand them. Rather, an International Variable Life Policy (IVLP) is more like an asset protection account that gives access to some of the world's best performing investments, allows those investments to grow tax-deferred, can deliver big retirement payments to you and confer a tax-advantaged death benefit. This makes it one of the very best vehicles for asset protection, tax-deferral and investment returns for high net worth individuals.
And here's a great kicker. When you use the death benefit aspect of this policy, you avoid estate tax and simply pass it along to your beneficiaries. You also don't pay any taxes to the jurisdiction where the policy is issued. And the investment opportunities are far greater than what you usually get with a typical insurance policy.
Now that you're all caught up with Saturday's sessions - we're back to our global investment theme of Sunday morning with Horacio Marquez.
Horacio has spent a great deal of time analyzing the flow of global capital in emerging markets, and asking himself, where is wealth creation going to experience the largest growth?
The question lead him to what Goldman Sachs has termed 'BRIC economies.' These are the four most important emerging economies in the world. The changes predicted in these economies alone are going to have a major impact on the flow of global capital. Consider this:
- The BRICs share of world growth could rise from 20% in 2003 to more than 40% in 2025.
- Between 2005 and 2015 over 800 million people in these countries will have crossed the annual income threshold of $3,000. In 2025, it's calculated that approximately 200 million people in these economies will have annual incomes above $15,000.
- There will be a surge in demand not only for basic goods, but for higher-priced branded goods as well. According to the Goldman Sachs, two of these economies will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest car market over the next decade.
Horacio argues that if you know where global capital is going to flow, you have the key to profiting from them. For this, he's developed a 20-point 'mapping' system to follow the global money flows.
A few of those variables include: exchange rate trends, GDP growth, inflation, current account and external debt as % of GDP, openness to investment and economic integration with the rest of the world, political stability, public and private political and financial transparency, competitiveness, capacity, barriers to entry into the market, access to capital, and more depending on the market or sector in question.
Right now, his map tells him to keep front running financial trends in the BRICs - as they develop, profits will soon follow.
And one of the key BRICs he's bullish on, by the way, is China. As we've seen in the last few days, that's a country that has also attracted the attention and investment recommendations of Eric Roseman. For the other BRIC countries and investment prospects, I advise you to tune into the high-quality digital recordings of The Sovereign Society's 22nd Annual Total Wealth Symposium. (You'll learn how you can reserve your copy, below.)
Bob Bauman brought along a treasure map as well, which leads directly to Hong Kong. Last November, Bob spent a month there on behalf of The Sovereign Society, doing hands on research and due diligence to find the best opportunities and most trusted advisors available.
Bob shared that Hong Kong is rated the freest economy in the world by The Wall Street Journal , The Cato Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and The Fraser Institute. It's a former British Colony with a 157-year history of the rule of law, minimal regulation, some of the lowest tax rates and the highest per-capita income in the world.
Known as the 'financial hub of Asia,' Hong Kong is also the best gateway into Chinese investments - because Hong Kong has everything China doesn't have. Rule of law, banking privacy, accounting services, respectable lawyers, market transparency and a legal system that works well for business purposes.
Bob's laundry list of highlights about why Hong Kong is a prime business location - perhaps even for an expat lifestyle - is certainly compelling:
- Setting up a business is simple. Foreign investments are not subject to special requirements. You can register a company in an afternoon, open a bank account the same day and have the business operating within a week.
- Nearly 140 international banks operate here, including 62 of the world's 100 largest financial institutions. More than 5,000 international corporations have established regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong. There are more private companies--nearly 500,000--registered in Hong Kong than anywhere else in the world.
- The top corporate tax rate is just 17.5%. The top personal income tax rate is 15.5%. Capital gains are tax-free. Double your money on a stock, pocket the full 100%. Sell an investment property for a million-dollar profit, keep it all.
- There is no tax on personal dividends or bank interest. There is no VAT or sales tax. There are no taxes on foreign-sourced income. Receive $5,000 or even $50,000 a month from your company in another jurisdiction...that money can go right into your Hong Kong bank account, and you won't have to pay a dime in Hong Kong taxes.
- Hong Kong has a free flow of money, goods and information. You can receive currency from abroad and remit currency without restriction.
- English is an official language here and over 150,000 expats are estimated to take advantage of the offshore banking, business and investment opportunities here. Europe's onerous taxation and China's corruption and lack of financial controls and credibility have served to drive the smart money to Hong Kong. Bob says it's time that investors sit up and take notice of what Hong Kong has to offer.
Bob's special report, Hong Kong Money Secrets , comes with four Hong-Kong listed Chinese stocks recommended by Seeds of Wealth author Justin Ford, who was also on the Hong Kong and China tour. Hong Kong Money Secrets and the Hong Kong investment report are bundled together with special reports from three other asset havens - Liechtenstein, Panama and Switzerland - along with a complete set of conference recordings as part of the special conference offering, Total Wealth Havens Bundle.
EDITOR'S NOTE: You can get all of the insights - including the specific investment recommendations and other details revealed during the conference session - if you take a moment to pick up the audio recordings as part of the conference special,
Total Wealth Havens Bundle. You'll receive the complete conference recordings, plus a library of offshore investment publications (Hong Kong Money Secrets, The Liechtenstein Report, Panama Money Secrets and Swiss Money Secrets) on the leading asset havens that have been discussed here at the conference - but with even more specifics included.
The price changes at midnight on Wednesday...so click here to save over $200 and find out more about the exclusive Total Wealth Havens Bundle.
Raphael Berkien of ExactPay revealed how attendees could get both privacy - and easy access - to their cash anywhere in the world with an internet-based bank account that comes with a VISA debit card attached.
This international debit card secures your privacy. You can choose to leave your name off the front of the card if you'd like, and restrict what information goes onto the magnetic strip in the back. Even VISA doesn't have to know who you are. They will honor your 16-digit card number- but only ExactPay knows your name and your particular number. But still, you have the freedom to move money anywhere in the world, anytime of the day or night.
Our next presenter, Mark Seaton, was once simply an interested Sovereign Society conference attendee. Then he got bit by an idea about Internet privacy and security that wouldn't let him go. So he decided to do something about it, and Armor Technologies was born.
Mark told us you don't have to be a computer geek to hack into a computer and access your private information. Anyone with a little desire and initiative can readily set up shop and start scanning your computer for private information. There are even step-by-step manuals that explain exactly how to do it!
One of the most disturbing aspects of Mark's presentation is how much hackers can remotely do to your computer and you wouldn't know. They can even remotely store and disseminate child pornography! Mark provided simple solutions for making sure your privacy is protected and your computers are not used by anyone in any way you do not authorize.
For those of us who would like to stay here in Panama - or at least grab up an investment property or second home here on our way out the door, Ramses Owens and Sam Taliaferro offered closing insights into Panama investing.
Ramses Owens specifically works with real estate investors here in Panama to make sure they maximize their tax advantages and avoid paying unnecessary taxes by structuring their deal properly. He showed attendees how you can enjoy a 20-year deferment on real estate taxes when you purchase a property in Panama.
Sam Taliaferro, meanwhile, is a real estate investor who fell in love, got married, had a family - and developed an entire region into one of the hottest retirement and expat communities in Panama along the way.
I'm talking about Boquete - a mountainous region of Panama about 3-4 hours outside of Panama City that has been deemed one of the 5 best places in the world to retire in Fortune magazine's 2005 Retirement Guide.
Today, Sam focused on what is arguably the foremost question on the minds of those who might like to follow in his footsteps - is there still gold in Panama real estate?
The answer might lie in the Miss Universe pageant three years ago, which was held in Panama City. It was there that Donald Trump pronounced that Panama was going to take off...and he was going to be here. Just last month, he made good on his promise and unveiled plans for a 1.8 million square foot commercial property at a cost of $220 million. The project has since been expanded to 2.4 million square feet and will be called Trump Ocean Club.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the same day Trump made his announcement, Panamanian president Martin Torrijos asked voters to approve a multibillion-dollar project to expand the Panama Canal in order to accommodate large, modern cargo ships. That would be the canal's largest modification since its 1914 opening.
Sam's view on all this is that there is still a great deal of opportunity here - it will be a while before this market hits top values. But it's not the early, easy money it was 5-6 years ago. Come down, by all means, he said. But do it right. Use a good attorney, do your due diligence and make sure you're getting the best possible deal before you sign on the dotted line.
It Ain't Over Until The Investment Director From Montreal Sings...
OK, he didn't sing, exactly, but Eric Roseman did reveal five specific recommendations for investments which he predicts will soar in the coming months. He urges investors to focus on the top 5 mega-investment ideas that have been covered over the last few days:
Peak Oil Leads To 'Oil Wars' Scenario - Crude is heading to $125, maybe even as high as $150 - and as it does, geopolitical tensions will rise as well. While the 'easy' money has already been made on energy stocks, this trend is going to continue to generate profits. The next wave of huge gains, however, will be made in alternatives to fossil fuels. Eric's research team is eyeing the best candidates in the alternative energy field and waiting for the right entry point. Members of The Sovereign Society and the elite Commodity Trend Alert can expect recommendations in these areas in the coming year.
The Fed-Fed Rally Is Over, And The U.S. Dollar Decline Begins - Inflation is now the single greatest threat to the U.S. economy in 2006. In March, the Federal Reserve discontinued its bellweather report - the M3 data that shows the overall changes in the money supply - so we'll have no way of tracking inflationary infusions of dollars into the economy. The Fed tightening schedule is continuing beyond what many feel the economy can sustain. And budget deficits are completely, some might even say hopelessly, out of control. Eric recommends creating a global currency sandwich to hedge the falling dollar.
A Run On Precious Metals - Eric sees gold as the single most important anti-dollar, anti-inflation hedge you can make right now.
"I implore you," he said very seriously in his final remarks, "if you don't have any gold in your portfolio, get some. Now. Before it's too late." He is partial to Perth Mint Ceritificates, gold bullion, a couple precious metal ETFs, and his absolute favorite: a gold stock that is trading below $30 a share, yet could hit $100 in the next 24 to 36 months. Going forward, Eric will be giving his subscribers the best times to get into-and take profits on-each of these investments.
The Need To Feed The World - The global food supply is declining, and the drive for biofuels made from corn, sugar and other agricultural products will begin eating into supplies, creating a severe supply and demand imbalance in the coming years. These two trends are colliding and creating a powerful profit scenario for investors in the agriculture sector - you'll want to get into what Eric calls 'the breakfast club' of grains and other agricultural commodities.
Develop A Bear Market Strategy - Last but not least, Eric issued a specific recommendation that could give investors double-digit returns even in the event of a bear market. Available through one of our convenient account partners, this fund trades 125 global futures and options, and has a negative correlation to stocks. They've made 20% a year since 1996, and 50% from 2000 to 2002. It's just a $30,000 minimum to get in. During a correction week like we just had, a hedging recommendation like this one is worth its weight in gold - and was a perfect ending note for the symposium.
There's been so much to say about this conference that I'm still writing you on the plane home! But we're heading into final descent...so I'll wrap it up here. But before I go...
One last time, I'll remind you that you can get all the information we heard here in the conference sessions - including over a dozen specific recommendations for stock picks, ETFs, mutual funds and other promising places for profits in the months and years ahead. Plus, the Total Wealth Havens Bundle opens the vault to our complete library of money secrets closely-held by the world's top asset havens.
As of this final report from the conference, you can still order and save $226 - as long as you reserve yours by midnight tomorrow. Keep in mind, too, that your satisfaction is completely guaranteed. So be sure to click here and order on your way out the door.
Until next time...
Your Conference Insider,
Monica Day
P.S. After midnight Wednesday, May 24th, you'll pay over $400 if you wish to purchase all the elements of the Total Wealth Havens Bundle. Order today and save $226-get over a dozen of our global investment advisers best current investment recommendations and learn new details and strategies for protecting your wealth and privacy. Your satisfaction is guaranteed so you have nothing to lose. Yet you stand to save a great deal of money and gain the peace of mind that comes with true, total wealth.