Dear A-Letter Reader:

One of the greatest threats to your wealth may be lurking deep inside your subconscious. It's called xenophobia. "Xenophobia" describes "a person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples."

And tragically, this fear stops individuals from seeking the whole world of wealth opportunities available in other nations. These well-intentioned folks store every last cent of their wealth in U.S. banks and only invest in the U.S. investments their brokers suggest.

But it's not too late to purge these xenophobic tendencies and move your assets offshore.

Here are just a few of the major opportunities waiting for you.

1. Asset protection. Lawsuits long ago reached epidemic proportions in the United States. If a creditor gets a judgment against you where you live, you could lose all your assets, your business, home, or bank accounts. In contrast, create a trust or family foundation or invest in a suitable offshore jurisdiction and your finances are essentially judgment-proof.

At the very least, the long distance between a U.S. plaintiff's lawsuit and your offshore assets is likely to encourage a favorable settlement. And keeping assets offshore avoids the U.S. asset-tracking network, which permits lawyers and their investigators to easily identify and target the assets of a potential defendant. (Revealing your offshore assets may be the best way to discourage a lawsuit. Just tell that greedy lawyer, "try and get 'em!")

Thus, prudently using offshore havens can protect you from the threat of lawsuits, civil forfeiture, bank account freezes, business failure, divorce, foreign exchange controls, restrictive laws, or political instability.

2. Financial privacy. It's only natural to want protection from the prying eyes of government bureaucrats, business partners, estranged family members, or identity thieves surfing the Internet. Financial privacy can also be the best protection against frivolous lawsuits that could end with big judgments against you. If you don't appear to have sufficient funds to justify a lawsuit in an attorney's mind, he'll probably drop you as a target. Simply put, assets you place "offshore" are off the domestic asset tracking "radar screen."

The U.S. is one of the few nations lacking a federal law that protects bank or securities accounts from disclosure, except under narrowly defined circumstances. Many disclosures are illegal in other countries, either under international agreements, or under national laws guaranteeing financial secrecy, as in Switzerland. Privacy is especially strong if you place assets in a nation with strong privacy laws.

3. Investment diversification. Many of the world's best investments and money managers will not do business with U.S. citizens or residents directly. It's easier for them to do business with the rest of the world than comply with the complicated and costly U.S. SEC rules.

4. Higher returns. There are opportunities in the traditional financial markets, such as offshore mutual funds and London-traded investment trusts with much higher returns than are generally available in U.S. markets. In spite of a recent downturn, offshore and emerging stock markets have done far better that those in America over many recent years.

5. Currency diversification. You can stabilize your portfolios and protect against the falling U.S. dollar by simply holding or trading other currencies. Example: earning nearly 20% on the declining dollar by trading it for the euro. For decades, the U.S. dollar has been losing value in relation to stronger currencies. In 1970, a U.S. dollar would purchase 4.5 Swiss francs. Since 1971, the franc has appreciated nearly 300% against the U.S. dollar. Now the dollar purchases only 1.2 Swiss francs. While U.S. investors can purchase foreign currencies through a few U.S. banks, offshore banks generally offer higher yields, lower fees, and lower minimums.

6. Safety and security. Twenty years ago, the United States experienced a wave of bank and savings and loans failures at a rate unmatched since the Great Depression. In contrast, offshore banks aren't exposed to risky investments such as third-world debt and highly leveraged derivative investments. Further, these banks are located in politically neutral countries which do not conduct offensive interventionist foreign policies (and thus are less likely to face a terrorist attack than other nations).

7. "Insurance" against closure of U.S. securities markets. We all learned the need to have part of our assets outside of the U.S. when our markets were shut down for five full trading days following September 11, 2001. But, although U.S. markets were closed, individuals with foreign accounts were able to trade securities on foreign exchanges.

8. Deferred taxes. American citizens and resident aliens are liable for annual income taxes, no matter where that income is earned or where the person lives.  But offshore annuities and life insurance, if properly created, can defer U.S. taxes until the annuity or insurance is actually paid out. And these devices may be able to save on estate taxes as well, giving your heirs a bigger share.

Relatively few investors are taking advantage of this global diversification. But here's your chance to take advantage of the impenetrable asset protection available offshore. At the very least, this is your chance to store a portion of your assets offshore just in case.

None of us can afford to be xenophobic in the 21st century. There's a whole wide world out there-offshore-and you only need to recognize that fact and act. Click here to join The Sovereign Society today.

That's the way it looks from here,
BOB BAUMAN, Editor

EDITOR'S NOTE: Superior asset protection and sexy, top-performing investments are waiting for you offshore. Discover how you can seize these opportunities by joining us tomorrow for our coverage of the Offshore Advantage Seminar in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Stay tuned.