Our low-cost easy portfolio service for portfolios under $100,000 is aimed at giving those expats an easy portfolio guidline based on risk tolerance.
I am now offering a portfolio option for those under $100,000 as these are built in model portfolios that will get rebalanced on a quarterly basis. For those looking for a low cost low maintenance account.
Benefits
- I have done this as my aim is to get low cost to the expat market.
- Large name index fund (Vanguard, Ishares)
- Low-cost ETFs
- Cost around 0.8%* * depending on funds (see fund cost)
What we have done is use an FCA regulated platform and a reasonable cost (0.3%) and con-structured portfolio for three levels of income.
Why Have I Set This Up?
I often get asked can you deal with our accounts which have sub $100,000. To be honest, I find it difficult to validate our time with our fee based model with accounts under this. The numbers for the business don’t stack up to make it sustainable. For those looking for fee based advice paying 3% up front and 1% a year advisor fee on top of the platform fee (we charge 0.5%) for amounts below $1 million for us seems crazy as most advisors are just building portfolios and no specific advice is worth paying 3% upfront.
I have written a number of articles on the cost of fees over time. My aim is to bring a low-cost option for those in the expat market that just want a built in portfolio.
Common Frequently Asked Questions
What platform do we use?
Novia Global Please see more information below.
What do you pay?
- 0.3% Platform fee
- 0.25% Manger fee
- 0.2% Fund cost* (this does vary depending on the funds see below)
Dealing cost and withdrawal cost as well $5-$12 a trade but aim to keep this minium once dealt in.
Can I withdraw?
Yes, you can. The platform has no restrictions on what you can withdraw and when.
What is the minimum?
The minimum is $15,000 for an account like this.
How can I invest?
Email info@investmentsforexpats.com so I can send you a data capture form and I will need a copy of your valid identity, proof of address, and source of where the money is coming from. Usually a payslip.
For T&Cs please read the disclaimer which will be sent with all the legal conditions in terms of data protection.
How often do you change the funds?
No certain answer, but our ideology is to buy good funds and hold so it keeps the dealing cost low. My aim is to rebalance it every quarter so your portfolio is in line with the asset allocation the FCA recommends.
What currency can I invest in?
Euro/USD/GBP
How are my funds protected?
From the platform, they have protection with BNY Mellon Pershing
Please read below
https://novia-global.com/what-we-do/keeping-client-assets-secure/
How are the portfolios constructed?
We have done 3 levels Conservative, Moderate and Growth. All these have used financial planning guidelines for asset allocation and come in USD/GBP/EUR.
Which one should I select?
The table below will help you gauge your risk tolerance.
Where do we invest?
Note that all these can be looked up on independent websites such as Morningstar or by looking on the fund’s own website.
Also, on the platform, you will get a fact sheet of the funds. But we invest in large funds such as Vanguard and Ishares.
Conservative Portfolio
| SECTOR | INVESTMENT MANAGER | INVESTMENT NAME | PERCENTAGE % | Charge |
| Global large cap U.S equities | SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Global Equities | 10 | 0.09% |
| Mix assets | Vanguard life 40 | Mixed Assets | 30 | 0.22% |
| Fixed Interest | Vanguard Global bond index hedge | Global Bond | 20 | 0.11% |
| Real Estate | Vanguard Real | Real Estate | 10 | 0.22% |
| European Bond | Vanguard European zone bond | European government bond | 10 | 0.12% |
| Alternative Gold | Invesco Physical gold ETF | Alternative metal | 3 | 0.12% |
| Fixed Interest | Ishare corp bond Hedged | Fixed Interest corporate | 7 | 0.17% |
| Fixed Income U.S | UBS Fd Sl Bloomberg TIPS 1-10 UCITS ETF | Global fixed Interest single country index linked | 7 | 0.2% |
| Cash | Cash | Cash Access | 3 |
Moderate Portfolio
| SECTOR | INVESTMENT MANAGER | INVESTMENT NAME | PERCENTAGE % | Charge |
| Large cap U.S equities | SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Global Equities | 7 | 0.09% |
| Global Equities | Vanguard Property | Property | 15 | 0.22% |
| Fixed Interest | Vanguard | Global Bond Index Hedge | 15 | 0.11% |
| Alternatives Emerging Markets | Vanguard Asia Pacific ex Japan | Large cap Asia | 15 | 0.22% |
| European equities | iShares MSCI Europe UCITS ETF | Large Cap European equities | 15 | 0.12% |
| Alternative | Baillie Gifford Worldwide Global Stewardship | Global large cap | 12 | 0.36% |
| U.K. Equity income | HSBC FTSE 250 | Single country income | 8 | 0.15% |
| Fixed Income U.S | UBS Fd Sl Bloomberg TIPS 1-10 UCITS ETF A Acc | Global fixed Interest single country index linked | 10 | 0.2% |
| Cash | Cash | Cash Access | 3 |
Growth Portfolio
| SECTOR | INVESTMENT MANAGER | INVESTMENT NAME | PERCENTAGE % | Charge |
| Large cap U.S equities | SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF | Global Equities | 7 | 0.09% |
| Global Equities | Vanguard property | Property | 15 | 0.22% |
| Alternative | Ishares Health care | Alternative sector specific | 15 | 0.40% |
| Alternatives Emerging Markets | Vanguard Asia pacific ex Japan | Large cap Asia | 15 | 0.22% |
| European equities | iShares MSCI Europe UCITS ETF CHF | Large Cap European equities | 15 | 0.12% |
| Alternative | Baillie Gifford Worldwide Global Stewardship | Global large cap | 12 | 0.36% |
| Equity income | HSBC FTSE 250 | Single country income | 8 | 0.15% |
| Alternative | Ishares short duration high yield corp bond | Global fixed Interest corporate | 10 | 0.45% |
| Cash | Cash | Cash Access | 3 |
This will not include any extra financial advice as a lot of the funds are passive. I will conduct quarterly reviews with you so that you are kept in the loop of your investments and so you are aware of what might be the next step should you agree. Outside of that, I limit the amount of advice offered as it’s a fee-based service.
If you are interested in an investment like this, then please email me at info@investmentsforexpats.com and then I can send you the data capture form so that I can assess whether it would be a good investment for you to make.
After this, I will then speak to you about the application process of setting up a platform and then look at getting you set up with the investments in your account.
Please be aware, your money doesn’t come to me, it will be in your Novia account which you can access and view at any time.
