News & Insights

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal* suggested that now might be the time for investors to invest in commodities, particularly as part of a longer-term strategy such as a retirement plan, perhaps. The article stated that the best time to invest in an asset class is typically when its performance is at its worst. Given the recent and extended travails of commodities, it contended, they currently make for a potentially attractive prospect.

Commodities are raw materials that are either consumed without processing or are used as the foundations for other products. Examples of commodities range from timber, oil, nickel, gas or gold, to oranges, corn, coffee wheat, cattle and sheep.

Non-resident aliens and other expats living in the United States have many complex issues to overcome in order to ensure their pensions are both optimised in their best interests and compliant with the rules and regulations of their relevant cross-border jurisdictions.

However, even outside of these considerations, there are many potential retirement planning pitfalls.

Commentators have expressed concern that stocks could be getting too expensive, with some predicting that if the trend continues it could lead to an unwelcome and "nasty" correction*. This follows both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recently hitting historic highs, while the Dow is only a half-percentage point rise from the same.

Edward Yardeni, a respected analyst of many years' experience, recently released his market brief for November 2019 and warned that if the S&P forward earnings multiple reaches 19 or 20 – it is currently at 17, while a figure of 15 to 16 is more typical – it could be a sign that equities are significantly overvalued.

The Federal Reserve has made its third interest rate cut of 2019, leaving the Federal Funds rate at between 1.5% and 1.75%. What, if anything, might this mean for your wealth and retirement plans.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told FOX4 that the move is designed "to help keep the U.S. economy strong in the face of global developments, and to provide some insurance against on-going risks".*

A number of United States Regulators have joined The Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) – an alliance comprised of more than 50 financial organisations from across the globe – in what is likely to prove a positive development for non-resident aliens and other cross-border individuals in the United States.

In an October press release made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) it was announced that the SEC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have all become members of GFIN.*

The single most important retirement question faced by most British retirement savers boils down to what they should do with their pension. Yet for British nationals living in the United States this decision is likely to be even more profoundly important. Not only must they grapple with the usual questions regarding a potential pension transfer or drawdown, they must also consider the complexities inherent in their cross-border situation. All in all, the stakes are high and, in these circumstances, planning and advice are everything.

For some non-resident alien retirement planners in the United States municipal bonds represent a useful way to preserve wealth while also creating a tax-free income stream. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they are an item "of income excluded from gross income, without regard to the U.S. or foreign status of the owner of the income".*

Ever since the 2015 introduction UK pension freedoms, pension transfers have been central to the wealth management and retirement planning strategies of hundreds of thousands of individuals with UK-based defined benefit pension schemes.

However, given that it is only four years since their introduction, it is safe to say that these pension freedoms remain in their infancy and there is, perhaps, room for further evolution in this area.