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Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself

Alexander Consulting the Oracle of Apollo, Louis Jean Francois Lagrenée

Survey Finds Workers Seek More Help Changing Oil Than Planning Retirement

For most employees, addressing retirement issues is a costly, abstract and deeply psychological matter, which is apparent from a survey by Schwab Retirement Plan Services.

While most survey participants find their 401(k) – a workplace savings plan that lets employees invest a portion of their paycheck before taxes are taken out – a crucial benefit, with nine in 10 calling it a “must have,” most do not seek professional help to improve the plan’s performance. In fact, while 87 percent said they would seek professional help changing their car’s oil, just 24 percent would seek advice about their retirement plan’s investments.

“As a professional and rational human being, the survey’s findings do not seem to make sense, but human nature is often this way,” says Reid Abedeen, a partner at Safeguard Investment Advisory Group, LLC (www.safeguardinvestment.com).

“Health-wise, for example, we know what’s good for us, yet we often choose an option that is unhealthy. Luckily, many of us come to a point in our lives where we finally follow the wisdom of following our own advice, and I would encourage more individuals who are approaching retirement to tend to their financial plans sooner than later.”

Abedeen discusses ways in which individuals can more easily develop a relationship with their retirement finances.

• “Procrastination is the thief of time” and “Time is money.” Two simple but profound quotes – the first from Charles Dickens and the second from Benjamin Franklin – sum up the problem of neglecting retirement planning. There are issues that many of us would like to ignore and put off, both because it’s hard and complicated, and because we can. Retirement is always something that’s “down the road” – that is, of course, until it’s on your doorstep. Don’t let your future well-being, the ability to afford and enjoy the good life in your golden years, suffer. Admit to yourself that retirement planning needs your attention, Abedeen says. Find a professional you trust and take action. You’ll feel better.

• Develop a relationship with your money; find someone to talk to. Over time, adults get into a pattern with money. Direct deposit from work, direct withdrawals for bills, groceries, gas, etc. Between habit and automated banking, it’s easy to see why we might be disengaged. Find ways to engage with your finances. There are apps out there that can better connect you with one of life’s most important resources. You might think of it as a game, and it can even be fun.

  Also, treat your future well-being at least as well as your car. Find a trustworthy professional, who can help you get started with increased financial engagement and guide you over time. If you have an aversion to money matters, finding a likeable professional will be important. If you don’t like talking to your financial advisor, you may find yourself maintaining an unhealthy distance.
• Contribute as much as you can to your 401(k). Sadly, only about half of American workers have access to a 401(k), so take advantage if and while you can! While many live paycheck-to-paycheck, try contributing at least a small percentage – perhaps 5 percent of your income, and see how much you miss that money. If this means that you have to take on additional debt via credit, then the interest rate may not be worth contribution. However, retirement funding is nothing to put off, so seriously consider finding financially sound methods for maximizing this important personal investment.
• Engage yourself with knowledge; understand your 401(k). There are multiple 401(k) plans offering different options. However, when you have a 401(k) plan from a previous employer, your investment choices are usually limited. One option to consider is comparing the investment choices you have within your current plan with the investment choices you have in the previous plan or plans. You may find that the number of investment options between the plans gives you enough diversification to simply keep the money where it is and not change a thing. Another option is to take the old 401(k) from your previous employer and roll it over to an IRA or Individual Retirement Account, with a different financial institution. In most cases this will open up many more investment options to you, and more options mean more opportunity for true diversification. As with any financial changes there are some things you need to consider before rolling over your 401k to an IRA.

About Reid Abedeen

Reid Abedeen is a partner at Safeguard Investment Advisory Group, LLC (www.safeguardinvestment.com). As an investment advisor, Abedeen has helped retirees for nearly two decades with issues such as insurance, long-term care planning, financial services, asset protection and many other areas. He holds California Life-Only and Accident and Health licenses (#0C78700), and holds a Series 65 license, and is registered through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Abedeen is a family man who owes much of his fulfillment in life to his wife, Smyrna, and his three children, Yusef, Leena and Adam.

This Foreign Financial Account is the Only Tax Deferred Income on Gains & Accumulations Entity

Monetary disclosure means that multinational employers who used a Trust structure labeled as a Retirement Plan are now recognized by the IRS as non compliant and their U.S. employees are subject to back taxes, late filing fees and tax penalties.

Old methods of offshore investing no longer function

FATCA defines the difference between a savings account with a ''retirement plan'' label on it and a government regulated, registered and recognized occupational retirement plan.

The old method of opening an offshore account and putting a ''retirement plan'' label on it is not a government regulated, registered and recognized occupational retirement plan.

The comparison chart attached provides a list of the employee benefits a Multinational company achieves along with non disclosure reporting and government regulatory compliance globally.

Market Size

Total AUM in retirement plans globally is 38 Trillion and of that sum U.S. retirement plans hold over 20.8 Trillion.

Purpose:

To capture globally multinational employees, U.S. and 3rd Country National retirement plan AUM.

The Only Solution that Functions is:

Securities Law Free; No territorial restrictions to investment choice. No restrictions, restraints or blockage of an in country broker/dealer or Securities Regulator.

Tax Law Free: which is why I am telling you about this solution rather than your tax attorney or tax filer. No territorial restrictions to deferred income investing.

Foreign Employer Deductible Contributions: No limit to the size of contributions transferred as a foreign company business expense deductible contribution to an employee benefit service agreement held by a 3rd party Hong Kong government regulated, registered and recognized retirement plan administrator.

Exempt at the Foreign Financial Account exchange of information reporting level because it is W-8BEN-E box 29e registered and FATCA Identification Number regulated deemed compliant.

Exempt at the individual reporting level because it is a deferred income regulated IRC 402(b) funded as a non vested retirement plan.

Privacy & Secrecy by Hong Kong ORSO Section 77. Privacy & Secrecy in Statutory Law. Privacy & Secrecy occupational retirement plan registration IRS Form 8957 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and IRS W-8BEN-E box 29e exemption from reporting means no disclosure of beneficiary on U.S. Dollar transactions.

Protocol

This IRC 402(b) Government Regulated, FATCA Registered and IRS Recognized W-8BEN-E box 29e foreign retirement plan administrator is the Foreign Financial Account holder of plan assets for both within and from beyond the borders of the USA. For the Foreign Financial Institution their client is this Foreign Retirement Plan Administrator which is has an exempt from reporting registration in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

For the Employer this solution requires no Employer administration, fiduciary, regulatory, disclosure nor compliance responsibility.

For Employees it is flexible, accessible, portable, transferable and is internationally recognized as free from tax law and securities law.

One Plan, One Total Solution

We can effectively offer a one-stop-shop to address all employees pension issues.

This one plan delivers transparent compliance with regulatory disclosure required in the USA and all O.E.C.D. countries to include Canada, Mexico, European Economic Area and throughout Asia.

The 402(b) Administrator opens the Investment Account Platform, is deemed a professional investor, is the account holder and is exempt from FATCA withholding and reporting.

The wealth manager organize the investment strategy with the Administrator and talk to the members as many times as necessary to manage the assets successfully

Contact us today for the corresponding white paper - 402(b) and/or a free consultation.

More and more insiders are warning of a potential systemic event.

The first sign of real trouble concerned a number of investment legends choosing to close shop and return investors’ capital.

The first real titan to bow out was Stanley Druckenmiller. Druckenmiller maintained average annual gains of nearly 30% for 30 years. He is arguably one of if not the greatest investor of the last three decades. In 2010, he chose to close shop, foregoing billions in management fees.

Druckenmiller was not alone. In 2011, investment legend Carl Icahn closed his hedge fund to outside investors. Again, here was an investment legend who could lock in billions in investment management fees choosing to close up shop.

He has since stated he is "extremely worried" about stocks.

The list continues.

Seth Klarman used to manage the fourth largest hedge fund in the US. A legendary value investor (copies of his book Margin of Safety sells for over $1,500 on Amazon), Klarman returned billions in assets under management to outside investors citing “too few” opportunities in the market (again, a legend stating that the market was overvalued).

Even the perma-bulls are speaking with their actions.

Warren Buffett, perhaps the single biggest cheerleader for stocks in the last 100 years, is sitting on a record amount of cash. The reason is obvious: the market is dangerously overpriced.

His partner, Charlie Munger recently commented that he has not bought a single stock in his personal portfolio in over two years. This would once again indicate an investment legend stepped out of the market a year or so ago. Beyond the legends, institutional investors have been net sellers of stocks in 2014 and on into 2015. The same goes for hedge funds.

Do you think they’d be doing this if they thought stocks were offering a lot of opportunities and value today?

And finally, we get to today, where one of the largest asset managers in the world at Fidelity stated that we are heading for a “systemic event... similar to 2008” and that owning precious metals and physical cash is a good idea.

The punch line?

This was a bond fund manager. One of the class of investors who have poo poo’d Gold and physical cash in the past because those assets pay next to or no dividend.

And even HE is warning that it’s time to take safety and prepare.

Smart investors should take note of this now. It is a MAJOR red flag to be watched closely.

If you've yet to take action to prepare for this, we offer a FREE investment report called the Financial Crisis "Round Two" Survival Guide that outlines simple, easy to follow strategies you can use to not only protect your portfolio from it, but actually produce profits.

We made 1,000 copies available for FREE the general public.

As we write this, there are less than 15 left.

To pick up yours, swing by this page.

Client Centric Investment Management

Simplified Decision Making Process: Analytics places our clients at the center of the investment process. Communication is regularly maintained via a range of media and clients are kept fully informed and in control of investment decisions.

This client focused system generates all of the investment signals and the decision making process, allowing clients to take a passive role in the investment process. This approach reduces all opinion, conjecture and emotion from the investment selection process. Ultimately, this gives clients the opportunity to select investments more objectively.

Custom Tailored Solutions:

Unlike a traditional pension fund approach where one of thousands have to be catered for in a single universal approach. We offer the world of investment managers able to meet all client’s investment goals and risk tolerances. Each client is treated as an individual rather than merely one of a thousand. We find that clients appreciate having a much clearer understanding of how their money is being managed than a traditional pre-selected list of managers and funds approach. Tailored individual solutions with a full range of strategies able to meet your investment needs put you at the center of the investment process.

Tailored solutions are ideal for clients who wish to take more control over their investment strategies and returns. Global selection meets the objectives of the full range of investors – whether they be more income, balanced or growth focused.

We firmly believe that clients’ comprehension of their investment strategies empowers them to make the best possible decisions to reach their investment objectives from the world’s top choices.

Contact us for more information

Hong Kong is puzzled and disappointed that it has been named a corporate tax haven by the European Commission. The claim that Hong Kong is a 'non-cooperative tax jurisdiction,’ is “totally unfounded," a Government spokesman said recently...

Hong Kong is one of the members of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and underwent a two-phase peer review by the Global Forum. Both stage one and two reviews (completed in 2011 and 2013 respectively) have recognized Hong Kong's commitment to meeting the international standard on tax transparency.

Why we recommend Hong Kong

There are in excess of 1 million companies incorporated in Hong Kong. With the implementation of the Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS) on 28 February 2005, the new Companies Registry Electronic Search Services became available for checking company information. Numerous banks, stockbrokers and finance houses as well as all the major international legal and accounting firms are present in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is also well-served by local secretarial, corporate management and trust companies, while there is an efficient, modern and dynamic banking system to assist the international business community.

How We Can Help You

We can incorporate a company with your choice of name and can also check the availability of names in advance. All companies are provided with a complete company kit that includes share certificates, 4 copies of the Articles of Association, statutory registers, common seal, company chop and a certificate of guarantee of quality.

Request more information about Hong Kong Corporate services.

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