As financial advisors, we ask ourselves the question several times every day: ‘What if…? If “a fire would break out in this relationship”, what are the financial consequences? Or if this customer retires, what will be his or her income? For families, for example, the question arises: “What if one of the parents dies unexpectedly”? …
Investing is necessary for most people in this day and age. The reasons may be familiar to you: The pension schemes are being reduced and therefore equity is needed to supplement your ‘income for later’. Inflation causes your future buffer to decrease too much and so a return is needed. The savings interest rate is …
Five insights to improve your investments’ return Read More »
A disagreement is easy to arise and if you are open to the opinion of another person, it can end with the observation that you do not agree and that everyone goes her / his way. Without going into the reason, we all know that a disagreement can grow into something bigger, something that can …
In recent weeks, considerable unrest has arisen in the financial press and Dutch politics about the Dutch wealth tax. Taxpayers with mainly savings have been hoping for years against paying taxes on a theoretically determined, and in recent years way, far too high, return on that conservatively invested capital. Of a slightly more recent date …
More than one in three Dutch marriages ends in divorce. We therefore regularly encounter this with couples that we advise in the field of insurance and mortgages. The house In addition to emotions, a divorce often leads to questions in the financial field. For example, the question of which of the couple can continue to …
Saving used to be a virtue. This was rewarded with an interest on the amount of savings. But times have changed. At the moment, you receive virtually no interest on your savings. Is your “piggy bank” a bit fuller? Then both the tax authorities come along with wealth tax and the bank with a “savings …
Beware of the financial pitfalls when looking for returns Read More »
In the past 12 months we have been providing you with a number of financial topics to consider. For many of you, managing your mortgage costs have been important in especially the second half of 2020. It still is an important item for most but we see many have taken the opportunity to lower their …
Many of our international clients do not only build their capital during their Dutch stint. They may have inherited money or goods in their country of origin, or have built capital before they arrived here. Almost all international clients are extensively being advised on their tax management. That is: mostly only income tax. The Dutch …
Why giving away your future inheritance can make sense Read More »
Many expat clients do not participate in a Dutch pension scheme. Sometimes the employer does not offer participation in such scheme because its Dutch size of business would make it very expensive to set up. Or it elects not to make decisions for the employee and leaves arranging/saving for future income to the employee. A …
In a few weeks from today the new normal for having more than €100,000 in a Dutch bank account means you have to pay your bank to hold that money for you. No wonder savers are pushed to alternatives of which the stock market is everybody’s best friend it seems. Being forced to accept risk …
If you are motivated to make your money matter more and invest in so-called ESG funds or impact funds you expect your money will be put to work in activities that will make the world a better place. Right? MSCI provides this concise overview of motivation drivers here. Let’s assume there is a fund open …
Can you have a day without your mobile phone? Or do you already slightly panic if it is missing for a while? The mobile phone is essential in our lives. It has become our main source of information. Whether it’s checking our bank balance quickly, checking our mail or knowing what the latest news is: …
Sorry to barge in like this. This is a snippet from Dolly Parton’s famous song D.I.V.O.R.C.E. It was unfortunately true for one of our clients. Her marriage ended almost a decade ago and the former spouse obstructed about anything you can think of on the road to settlement of assets and liabilities. One of the …
After a death, the widower / widow has a lot to worry about. Most Dutch homeowners have a mortgage and one of the tasks is to notify the mortgage lender that the partner has died. Sometimes this notification results in part of the mortgage being repaid from a pledged term life insurance policy. The result …
We will not soon forget the year behind us. An invisible virus has radically changed our lives. Collateral disappeared. Much suffering unexpectedly came our way. With the advent of a vaccine, we dare to look ahead carefully again. As a financial advisor, we are also thinking about tomorrow. About what we, in our field, can …
We are more vulnerable than we feel comfortable about Read More »
