By using our website you have entered into a binding agreement to accept our terms of use. Please read these terms carefully. They affect your legal rights and limit our liability. If you do not agree to be bound by every one of these terms, please exit our site immediately.

MODIFICATIONS

We may modify these Terms at any time without notice to you. The latest Terms will be posted on our Website. By using the website after we have posted modifications, you agree to be bound by the modifications. If you do not accept the Terms as modified, do not continue to use the Website.

LIMITED LICENSE

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license, without any right to sublicense, to use our Website strictly in accordance with the Terms. You may use the Website solely for personal, non-commercial purposes, and not for republication, distribution, assignment, sublicense, sale, preparation of derivative works, or any other use. Commercial use of any content on the Website is absolutely forbidden. You may not print out or use an electronic version of any part of our Website. You agree not to copy materials, content or any other information on the Website, reverse engineer or break into (hack) the Website, or use materials, products or services in violation of any state or federal law.

LAWFUL USE

You agree to comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our Website. In addition, you agree not to manipulate or otherwise display the Website by using framing or similar navigational technology. You agree not to access the Website by any means other than through the standard industry-accepted interfaces. You will not use the Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the Website in any manner which could damage, disable, interrupt, over burden, or impair the Website or WLIM’s network or servers, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Website. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Website, other accounts, computer systems or networks connected to the Website, through hacking, password mining or any other means. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the Website. In addition, you shall not register, subscribe, attempt to register, attempt to subscribe, unsubscribe, or attempt to unsubscribe, any party for the Website if you are not expressly authorized by such party to do so.

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOU

You and we are independent contractors. This Agreement in no way creates any agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship between us.

OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All content on the Website, including but not limited to designs, data and databases, text, graphics, images, photographs, illustrations, audio and video material, artwork, proprietary information, client-side code (e.g. HTML, JavaScript, etc.), server-side code (e.g. active server pages, VBScript, databases, etc.), information and statistics concerning the use of the Website, and all copyrightable elements of the Website, and their selection and arrangement (collectively, “Content”) are the property of WLIM. Our Content is protected by U.S. copyright law, international treaties and other intellectual property rights. Except as otherwise stated herein, Content may not be copied, transmitted, displayed, performed, distributed (for compensation or otherwise), licensed, altered, framed, stored for subsequent use or otherwise used in whole or in part in any manner without our prior written consent, except to the extent permitted by the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. §107), as amended, and then, only with notices of our proprietary rights. You may, however, download the information in the Website and print out hard copies for your own personal, noncommercial use, so long as you do not remove any copyright or other notice as may be contained in the information as downloaded.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This Website is intended for adults aged 18 years or older. Any registration by, use of or access to our Website by anyone under age 18, is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. By using our Website you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and that you agree to and to abide by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

[WLIM has sole right and discretion to determine whether to accept a Client, and may reject a Client with or without explanation.

If you become a Client, you will receive a password that will allow you to access to a secure section of our Website. You agree to maintain the confidentiality of your password and are fully responsible for all liability and damages resulting from your failure to maintain that confidentiality and all activities that occur through the use of your password.

You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or any other breach of security. You agree that our Website cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with password security as discussed herein.]

FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND OTHER ADVICE DISCLAIMER

Your use of the Website creates no professional relationship of any kind between you and WLIM. Nothing contained in our Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice to or for you. You hereby agree that you shall not make any financial, investment, legal and/or other decision based in whole or in part on anything contained in our Website.

USE OF INFORMATION

We reserve the right, and you authorize us, to use and assign of all of your information regarding your use of our Website in any manner consistent with our Privacy Policy.

All remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information communicated by you to us (collectively, “Submission”) is considered assigned to us and is as such considered our property. We will not be required to treat any Submission as confidential, and will not be liable for any ideas (including without limitation, product, service or advertising ideas) and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in our future products, services or operations.

Without limitation, we will have exclusive ownership of all present and future existing rights to the Submission of every kind and nature everywhere. We will be entitled to use the Submission for any commercial or other purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you or any other person sending the Submission. You acknowledge that you are responsible for whatever material you submit, and you, not us, have full responsibility for the message, including its legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality, and copyright.

We may assign these Terms and our rights hereunder, in whole or in part, to a third party, in our sole discretion, in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of substantially all of our assets, or otherwise. You may not assign, sublicense, or delegate any of your rights hereunder.

PRIVACY POLICY

Our Privacy Policy is considered part of this Agreement. You should review this Privacy Policy by clicking on this link.

Evaluating A Financial Advisor

Read the text from the article below. To read the PDF, click here.

It always amazes me that people will spend more time researching a new restaurant than choosing an investment advisor. The world of financial advice contains many traps for the uninitiated, an it’s always smart to do some comparison-shopping before choosing an advisory firm to manage your life savings. The quiz below is geared toward US expats and is meant to complement their research process or help them assess existing advisors. A high score should give them a greater level of comfort whereas a low score could be a cause for concern. As a starting point, these questions could be useful in any frank discussion with an advisor.

  1. Is the advisor’s firm registered with the SEC and did the advisor pass a Series 65 exam?

  2. Does the advisor have one of the following professional designations or an equivalent and can this be verified independently? Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Analyst, Personal Financial Specialist, Charter Financial Consultant, or Chartered Investment Counselor.

  3. Is your advisor required to adhere to a fiduciary standard, which requires that they put their client’s interest above their own?

  4. Is your advisor required to disclose conflicts of interest in their advice and will they verify this in writing?

  5. Would you buy a used car from the advisor and would you recommend that your mother or best friend co-invest with the same advisor? Gut feel is important.

  6. Is the advisor registered and regulated in the country where you live? Know where you can file a complaint if needed.

  7. Does the advisor provide comprehensive international/cross-border financial planning advice or only sell investment products?

  8. Can the advisor recommend any type of investment such as a low cost index fund?

  9. Can the advisor recommend and buy funds in both the US and the country where you live?

  10. Has your advisor been with his or her firm for more than five years?

  11. Are you a typical client of the firm? In other words, does the firm specialize in working with American expats?

  12. Are there early termination or withdrawal penalties for the investment other than the loss of value due to market fluctuations?

  13. Can you find written complaints online about the firm or the advisor, or any disciplinary events on the FINA website?

  14. Did the advisor contact you by cold call?

  15. Does your advisor or the firm have the authority to take money out of your account other than their fees?

  16. Does the advisor get paid a commission based on the “advice” they are giving or products they are selling?

  17. Is the advisor recommending only one fund based on its past performance?

  18. Is the advisor selling a “tax advantage” based on the offshore nature of the investment? If yes, have it verified by an independent tax professional.

  19. If the advisor gets a commission, is it above 2% of the value of what you are investing?

  20. Will the advisor pay a referral fee to anyone if you invest with them?

 
 

For questions 1-5: award 2 points for a Yes answer and 0 points for a No answer.

For questions 6-10: award 1 point for a Yes answer and 0 points for a No answer.

For questions 12-16: award 2 points for a No answer and 0 points for a Yes answer.

For questions 17-20: award 1 point for a No answer and 0 points for a Yes answer.

 
 

Tally up your points!

With a score of 26-30: Your advisor appears to be near the top of the class in professional practice. This is a good sign but make sure you have completed your research before proceeding.

With a score of 20-25: Your advisor appears to be credible and could be considered, although more research and detailed questions may be warranted.

With a score of 10-19: Your advisor is. a”D” student or below. Exercise caution if you move ahead, especially if they are very likable.

With a score below 10: Moving ahead with this advisor is like buying a lottery ticket.

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