Dear A-Letter Reader:
Americans often think of banks as places to get cash from an ATM, make direct deposits or pay your bills online. But just try and get a human being on the phone when you have a problem and you know just how impersonal U.S. banks can be.
Sure, some American banks recently have realized, finally, what European bankers have known for centuries -- that there is a real market for private banking for people of even modest wealth where you know the name of your account manager who you can get on the phone when needed.
For folks really in the know, there is an even better lure -- an offshore bank account that gives you the freedom to invest and do business without many of the suffocating banking restrictions that hogtie Americans these days.
I mention this now because in a few months The Sovereign Society is again planning, Sept. 20-29, 2006, another European Banking Tour, this time expanded to Copenhagen, Vienna, Liechtenstein and Zurich. These are the cities where we have established offshore Convenient Accounts for our members, ready made for all kinds of profitable offshore financial activity.
If you, as a U.S. person, open a bank account offshore, that allows you to make any offshore investments you desire -- either in your own name, or in the bank's name on your behalf. Plus, keeping cash offshore gives extra asset protection against back home claims or court judgments. (To be honest with you, I think that everyone should have some money outside their home country's banking system. Even if it's just as a safety net. You never know when you might need it).
One of the big pluses of an offshore account is your power to invest freely and widely in foreign-issued stocks, bonds, mutual funds and national currencies. You can have instant access to the world's best investments without being hindered by U.S. laws or SEC rules that restrict direct investment by Americans. You can buy attractive life insurance and annuity products unavailable in the U.S. Some of these help you save taxes from deferred investment earnings, capital gains or appreciation, rather than immediately being hit with taxable ordinary income.
And an offshore account can produce quick trading profits from currency fluctuations, easy ability to buy foreign real estate, and earnings from higher interest rates available in foreign countries. You even can trade gold, silver and other precious metals and tangible personal assets using your account.
With one phone call, or even just the click of your mouse, an offshore bank account will allow you to: 1) privately trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, precious metals and currencies on markets everywhere. 2) Diversify your assets out of sinking American dollars and convert them into currencies set to soar against the dollar in the volatile times ahead, like the rock-solid Swiss franc, the euro and more. 3) Buy into special types of mutual funds, which are managed by legendary, award-winning financial analysts, ranked among the world's best. These offshore fund managers have consistently proven to outperform their American counterparts, because they trade markets and asset classes far more freely than U.S. fund managers.
And, not the least, an offshore bank account gives strong, far better privacy. An offshore bank accounts guarantees a lot more privacy than is available in the U.S. these dreary days in PATRIOT Act America.
So why not join me for this great trip and meet those friendly bankers (and many other speakers and experts) in Copenhagen, Vienna, Liechtenstein and Zurich? I've known them for years and I know they will welcome you too. And you can enjoy this European grand tour while staying in luxury hotels, participating in exciting social events, (a night at the Vienna State Opera, dinner at a Danish castle, for example) and having great end-of-summer fun with interesting fellow travelers.
I hope you'll join me and my Sovereign Society colleagues, Sept. 20-29, 2006, for our European Banking Tour. But act now. Places go fast. See you there!
That's the way that it looks from here,
BOB BAUMAN, Editor
EDITOR'S NOTE: If you're interested in joining us for the European Bank Tour, click here or email us at our special conference address, conferences@sov-soc.com.