Making the most of your overseas posting includes ongoing wealth management to meet all your goals, short, medium and long-term, says VERNE MAREE.

By Verne Maree
Issue 75 - October 2008

It could be all too easy to fritter your money away on an over-indulgent lifestyle and an endless series of holidays. A better choice is to stay on financial track and make these years profitable as well as enjoyable.

Why You Want to Be Here
Depending on where you come from, there are obvious social and cultural advantages to coming here. Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world. Its medical technology is second to none, its hospitality industry is top-notch, and it offers a plethora of opportunities for entertainment and recreation. Domestic help is freely available and of a high quality, and the education system one of the best in the world. And it’s an aviation hub, the ideal place from which to explore dozens of exotic destinations.

Before You Say “Yes!”
Do your homework while negotiating a reimbursement package. Eight years ago, for example, we were airily assured by UK bosses that $2,000 would be a sufficient housing allowance; of course it wasn’t, even then – unless we’d have been happy to live in a tiny bachelor-box in the sky, in an inconvenient area. Nowadays, it wouldn’t get you even that.

Make sure the package covers any potential loss of income. The “trailing” (accompanying) spouse or partner may be giving up a well-paid job or career; depending on the profession, he or she may not be able to continue it here, or at least not to the same degree.  For families with children, an international school education can be cripplingly expensive, and should be provided for in the remuneration package.

Frustrating Starts
Once you’ve decided to make the move, your immediate priorities include finding suitable accommodation, and setting up mobile phone, internet and banking accounts. I remember the frustration of not being able to provide the utility bills that were required as proof of address because we were still in a serviced apartment. The bank I chose was polite, but not geared to my special needs as a newly arrived expat.

Seeing this gap, a number of leading banks have created special desks to address the needs of expats here. The Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) Royal Preferred Banking team includes bankers from European and other Western countries, as well as from a variety of Asian countries. Its head of international wealth management, Hans-Peter Borgh, says it prides itself on its “expats for expats” approach. It’s no accident, he adds, that the current team includes Westerners from Britain, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Switzerland; and Asians from Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan.

If you want to do your banking with someone from your own country, the bank will provide you with one of its “relationship managers”, who hail from dozens of countries. He or she will not only speak your language – literally – but will be more likely to understand your concerns and have a basic knowledge of your tax regime.

What’s more, Hans-Peter says, they’re geared to smooth out any hiccups such as your not being able to immediately prove your address or employment status, which are required for the opening of a bank account. “We find flexible ways to substitute other, more easily verifiable details for the required information, such as obtaining statements from your employer; or even offering full banking services through an employer’s HR department, which of course knows everything about you.” What also helps tremendously is that his team has a system that enables it to verify official documents from other parts of the world.

The Longer Term
The financial needs of expats are in two broad categories:

• LOCAL
For everyday banking and credit card accounts to help you spend money and pay bills.

• HOME
For when or if you return to your home country, or if you have mortgages or financial dealings at home.

Your bank in Singapore should be able to link your accounts and such to those you may still have back home. If your bank can be of service to you wherever you are – perhaps you will have assignments in Hong Kong, Jakarta or elsewhere before you return home – it can be your long-term financial partner, instead of just a stop-gap arrangement to meet your current needs.

The products and services offered to expats are different from those offered to locals, Hans-Peter says. Currency issues can be crucial. Even if you’re a conscientious saver, if you don’t protect yourself against fluctuations in currency exchange rates you could be caught short.

That’s why it’s often a good idea to save in the currency of the country where you plan to spend the money you’re saving. For example, your daughter’s Australian university education should be saved in Aussie dollars, and if you plan to retire in Europe, the bank should be able to help you save for your pension in euros. Being here may exclude you from a government-organised pension scheme, which may be compensated for by the company’s paying out extra cash to you; but if this is not properly invested, you could end up with a “pension gap”.

Investment in property, especially if you have not yet bought a home, should not be put off indefinitely while money is poured into the bottomless pit of rentals. Your bank should be able to help you finance an investment in property, be it a condo here or a place at home.

Your bank should also be able to give you sound investment advice. Hans-Peter believes that his relationship managers, supervised and regulated by a reputable international bank and supported by a global support team bursting with expertise, is in a better position to guide you than the average independent investment advisor would be.

The New Switzerland
What’s more, Hans-Peter declares that Singapore “is not just anywhere. It’s the new Switzerland. Its development into a financial hub means there is a wide array of wealth management options for financially mobile expats to consolidate and grow their wealth even after the overseas posting has ended.”

Any final words of advice? “You’ve got to enjoy the experience of being an expat. Know that you’re not here just for the money. Whether you’re in banking or another industry, this is an exciting location with a wealth of cultural perspectives. Hardly any of the expats I’ve worked with have wanted to go home at the end of their term.”