Did you know you can use your existing offshore investments to access added capital – in the form of credit, like a secure bank loan in another country – to diversify your wealth portfolio even further?

This is called accessing liquidity through leveraging – a technical term used in financial circles that sounds more complicated than it is. Shane Singh, International Specialist at Nedbank Private Wealth (NPW), explains: ‘It sounds complex, but it’s easy to understand. Let’s say you’ve been investing in stocks, bonds or funds in the United Kingdom and these investments are doing well. You want to take the opportunity while your investments are doing well to diversify into the international property sector to spread your investment risks. You can use your existing investments as leverage to access property finance in the UK.’

Why invest in assets internationally?

Singh says if you’re already investing overseas using an offshore bank account, it makes sense to leverage existing offshore investments to unlock more funds to secure added investments. You can use your leveraged capital to invest in assets like property, or more stocks in companies, or you can use your funding to invest in businesses overseas.

‘We’ve helped clients unlock funds by bringing their existing international investments onto our platform, as we are a registered financial services provider with a presence in the Isle of Man. We perform the necessary due diligence to ensure their existing investments are sound enough for us to provide them with a credit agreement, which then allows them to reinvest in their overseas businesses,’ he explains.

Investing internationally enables you to diversify your interests away from the shocks and impacts that might affect your investments in South Africa. NPW clients can open an offshore bank account in the Isle of Man, London or Jersey via our Focus platform and transact in 15 different currencies.

Opening an offshore bank account

If you want to diversify your investment portfolio in the international market, you will need an offshore bank account. The Focus Account is the ideal solution if you want to keep US Dollars or British Pound Sterling in a transactional account that can be used for seamless overseas transactions. 

‘The Focus Account protects clients from currency fluctuations in one particular market. For example, you can protect some of your wealth in US Dollars in the account, away from the performance of the South African Rand. Focus also unlocks access to foreign stocks, overseas property investments, mutual funds and other investment opportunities and financial instruments that cannot be accessed if you only have a South African bank account,’ Singh adds.

To open a Nedbank Private Wealth Focus Account, you must:

• be 18 or older,
• provide proof of identification (identity card if South African),
• provide proof of tax compliance (tax number),
• have a minimum of R1 million as an opening deposit.

Buying international assets from South Africa

With a Focus Account, you’ll be able to diversify your investment portfolio with international stocks, bonds, exchange funds or properties. The benefit of being an NPW client is that you don’t have to navigate the international investment market on your own. A Nedbank private wealth manager is on hand to help you with a full spectrum of services. We’ll help you transact, invest and plan for your and your family’s future with advice about estate planning and legacy protection.

‘We offer clients a tremendous amount of support when it comes to managing international asset investment. We call it global fiduciary structuring and advice. You can count on us as wealth specialists to critically engage with you on investment opportunities so that any risks you take to grow your wealth are calculated risks,’ Singh says.

If you’re considering buying an investment property overseas, or diversifying your investments internationally through stocks or other financial instruments, set up an appointment with one of our NPW specialists who will guide you through the benefits of a Focus Account and how to get the best from it when leveraging your international investments to buy assets abroad.