Welcome to Offshore Living Letter, Your #1 Resource for Offshore Diversification

Author: Lief Simon

11 Nov
Protecting Your Wealth Legally

Protecting Your Wealth Legally

Putting your money into foreign real estate is a more appealing strategy right now than it has ever been. Real estate has always made sense to me as an asset allocation, but I’m more persuaded today than ever that foreign property should be part of every investment portfolio. You can’t watch everything going on in […]

07 Nov
Agricultural Land Investment

Agricultural Land Investment

Last week I wrote about biofuels and the opportunity they will present in Europe over the coming years. This week a friend in the timber and agriculture business forwarded me an industry report he receives quarterly. Some of it was statistics to do with the fundamentals that you’d see in any discussion about investing in […]

04 Nov
Structuring Your Offshore Business

Structuring Your Offshore Business

A reader wrote last week asking me to name the best jurisdiction for setting up an offshore entity. I can’t answer that question, at least not simply, especially for a U.S. person who has complicated tax rules to consider. Before trying to identify where might be the best place for you to open an offshore […]

31 Oct
Invest In Sustainable Energy Sources

Invest In Sustainable Energy Sources

I’ve been focused on agricultural land investments for some time, but, lately, I’ve launched an aggressive new search for new opportunities of this kind. I am more convinced than ever that productive land is the smartest place to be putting your money right now. It is also the best possible store of value and provides […]

28 Oct
Banking And Champagne Tasting In France

Banking And Champagne Tasting In France

Traditionally, the sediment was removed by hand. However, this meant that a fair amount of champagne was lost. As each bottle was opened, the built up effervescence pushed out the sediment but, of course, some of the wine, too. The process was slow and very inefficient. Then, sometime in the 1970s, someone had the big […]

24 Oct
Looking Ahead To A Possible Financial Meltdown

Looking Ahead To A Possible Financial Meltdown

At the end of September, the national bank of Panama shut down the entire ATM system countrywide over a weekend to upgrade the programming… Small inconvenience at the time. Now, a month later, the situation has moved from minor inconvenience to big pain in the neck. People using foreign debit cards to try to withdraw […]

21 Oct
Medellin Opportunity

Medellin Opportunity

Kathleen and I were in Medellin for the weekend taking time to clean up some administrative things to do with our apartment there and also helping our kids, Kaitlin and Jackson, connect with local contacts for their emerging Trader Jack’s Bazaar business. The continued vibrancy of the city (well, at least of its El Poblado […]

17 Oct
Panama Investment

Panama Investment

The path of growth for the foreign investor and retiree in Panama has moved steadily over the past dozen years from Panama City westward along the Pacific coast. This path of progress continues still and is reaching now to the western-facing coast of the Azuero Peninsula. From our position here on the ground, we see […]

16 Oct
International Tax Review

International Tax Review

“You’ll notice that Lief is in his office as usual,” I wrote this morning to our Panama City staff. “However,” I continued, “he asks that you pretend that he’s not. That is, except in case of critical emergency or dire need, please steer clear of Lief’s desk today.” Tomorrow is Tax Day for us and […]

07 Oct
Moving Overseas: Easing Into The Expat Life

Moving Overseas: Easing Into The Expat Life

The Best Place To Take Your First Steps Offshore Panamanians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and, while they have it, Halloween’s not a big deal. As a result, the stores are all stocked with Christmas decorations by the end of September. Thanks to the long U.S. influence in this country, you can find Halloween candy in some [...]