HELP! Investment advice please!

[bassman]

Diversify, diversify, diversify! Put some of your cash in money market accounts that yield low interest but are relatively stable, these are the funds you will need to spend to keep your living standard up. Put most of the relatively interim money in a more long term portfolio that pays good dividends as well as show some increase in equity, needed for the interim. If you are feeling speculative gamble what is not needed in higher risk on the hope that they will come through.

But diversify and keep your budget projections out of Thailand.

[Suradit69]

Invest in Blue Chip UK companies. You could expect a return of 3 to 7 percent on selected companies which would give you an income of about 10,000 GBP per annum.

You should aim to build up a portfolio of 20 companies at least, as in the past year or so some highly rated dividend payers have had to substantially reduce/cut their dividends (e.g. Tesco).

If you can live on 10,000 GBP a year you will have an increasing dividend stream for life.

Check out the Motley Fool for one source of advice, but be aware that once you become non-resident of the UK you not be able to use UK based brokers for your investments.

At any time this would be bad advice for someone of limited means needing to be financially secure in a currency other than GBP. Exchange rate risk is just too great. Swings of 30% between currency pairs are not uncommon. It's particularly bad advice at a time when a stock market "correction" (meaning crash) is widely predicted as QE comes to an end.

There are far better ways to achieve diversification than to invest in 20 individual companies (e.g. invest in City of London Investment Trust). Plus, monitoring 20 companies takes a lot of effort.

There's no guarantee that dividends will increase in the future. I believe (but can't immediately prove) that dividend yield on the FTSE100 has fallen over the last few decades. More recently, the FTSE All Shares dividend yield in 2008 was over 5%. It subsequently fell to less than 3%. (Source: https://timetric.com/index/ftse-all-shares-yield-month-end-monthly-ons/ )

And some stockbrokers will continue to allow you to trade after you leave the UK. Last time I checked the following did: Alliance Trust, Halifax, Hargreaves Lansdown, Strawberry, TD Direct. However, the only UK broker I'm aware of that may allow you to open an account as non-resident is Barclays, and this policy was under review last time I asked.

That said, I was able to open an account with Transact whilst non-resident using an offshore (Guernsey) trust. I believe this option is still available, but you have to go via an IFA.

"There are far better ways to achieve diversification than to invest in 20 individual companies (e.g. invest in City of London Investment Trust). Plus, monitoring 20 companies takes a lot of effort."

Yes that would amount to creating your own mutual fund/investment trust without the expertise or ready access to manage it well.

To maintain a retirement extension the O/P will need to show Baht 800,000 (about £16,500) in a Thai bank or Baht 65,000 ( about £1,350) a month verifiable by the British embassy ... or a combination of the two, each year when renewing the extension.

Probably better to keep £50,000 as a buffer in an easily accessible bank account in UK, put Baht 800,000 in a Thai account and invest the balance in a fund or funds that can pay income directly into that British bank account. Not sure if the British embassy would be willing to issue an affidavit re the investment income, so the O/P may have to keep topping up the Thai baht account until the pension kicks in.

You DO NOT want to try to manage the rental of property from a distance even with some agent. I've known Brits who tried that and ended up with headaches and sleepless nights (and with expensive damage to the property that ate up their not reliable income stream).

Edited March 3, 2015 by Suradit69

[carter1882]

So many experts from the doom and gloom merchants to the whizz kids making a fortune in stocks! The thing really is that the OP gave no indication of what his spending might be. I mean, if his accommodation and food are paid for already, then 200k in deposit accounts in Thailand, as risk free as you can get, will yield 3% net or 25,000 baht a month. Is that enough....for me I could live very nicely in Bangkok on that. As he gets to know more about Thailand he could shift to other ways. This is the easy, no brainer approach.

[Time Traveller]

...I wouldn't invest a penny in Thailand......far too many scammers, unscrupulous stockbrokers, suspect banks, shonky property/real estate/financial advisors/dealers........etc etc etc....leave it in the UK.

Yes, there are no scammers in the UK. A nation full of honest people. Kind hearted stockbrokers, law abiding banks, and upstanding real estate/property dealers.

[Nbarch]

As no one can predict the future, let alone professional advisors, the simple answer is spread your risk, widely.

Buy some shares in big blue chip companies, boring but safe.

Buy some Premium Bonds, you never know?

Buy a cheap property in the UK and rent it out through a good letting agent. A good agent can offer rent insurance guarantees etc. (works for me)

Keep some cash handy for emergencies, it will happen.

Do not invest in Thailand! This place looks like it is going south and that mean the Thai Baht will fall.

Check out the ThaiVisa website, full of experts.

[Jonmarleesco]

You need something low-risk (no such thing as no-risk): something along the lines of post office income bonds, insurance-linked income bonds, which are fairly tax efficient, or a diversified mix of low-to-medium-risk investments, with income distribution, or capital growth which enables you to draw down profit as needed.

FTR, your state pension isn't due for 12 years (66); that could become 13. You will need 35 years - as opposed to the current 30 - NI contributions in order to qualify for the maximum; and residence in Thailand currently means no annual increases from the time you claim - you can defer.

[recycler]

I've got no investment advice but that 18 grand a year for 11 years and that more than enough until the old pension comes through, but if I was you I'd by a property here in England with it, live of the rental income for 11 years then sell the property which will increase in value and make more profit , this why your have more then 200000 and that with you pension fund make you a happy man In Thailand, I wish I had your 200000 grand happy days

Fully agree, or some condo's in a good place to rent out, than you spread your risk.

Anyway, don't invest more in Thailand than you can finish in 2 weeks, such as the contents of a good fridge!

Thailand is fairly insecure from a point of ownership of your investments already and the political, safety and economical outlook are not too good.

[peterpop]

Place B800,000 in a long term time deposit account to cover the requirement for renewal of your extension of stay based on retirement (must still be in account 2months prior to renewal 1st year and 3months second year). Set up online banking with Bangkok Bank ,or whatever bank you choose, as your main bank. Place B1,000,000 in a mutual fund that pays daily interest and allows any sums to be cashed in on a daily basis. This will be your emergency/living fund. Keep B100,000 in your savings deposit account as a float coupled to an ATM card and linked on line. Top your savings deposit account up as required from your mutual fund account. Open a Stock Exchange Investment account with Maybank Kim Eng Brokers with say B7,000,000. Until you get to know what you are doing, invest in safe blue chip stocks that will increase in value over time, have a high dividend and plenty of liquidity. I invested B6,000,000 in 2010 and have made B22,000,000 over 4 years which is 360%. The stocks I invested in were mainly BTS, Advance, Intuch, which pay around 7-8%/annum (1 year Advance paid 17%). The value of the shares has also risen considerably. They also still have a long way to go the triggers being award of contracts for extension lines/new lines for BTS and decision on 4G Auction for Advance/Intuch.

Even an amateur can easily make 20%/annum safely. Plan to come out the stock exchange by 2019 as that is when the 11 year cycle of boom and bust will cause the World Stock Exchanges to drop. Then you buy again in 2020.

P.S. Steer clear of Expat Financial advisors too many scam artists and do it yourself.

Good advice, pretty much what I do and I live very happily on my earnings from Thai SET investments. However if you are a novice investor you have a lot to learn. Go slowly. Do NOT buy from so called professional advisors, dont go for QROPs it is a huge swindle. Do not buy property here for at least 2 years, very hard to sell, too many ownership issues. I am self insuring. Health services are good and cheap but Accident insurance may be a good idea.

[thedude82]

heres a tip...dont bring serious cash into a nation with almost 20 coups in 50 years. people who lack the ability to tell bad news (especially investment performance), the work ethic is mai pen rai, the police are corrupt top to bottom. do not take thailand seriously, its a childrens mentality here. i went wrong here when i tried to make it work here and take it seriously. do yourself a favor and come here once a year for a week or two for a vacation and then go right back home with good images of thailand. in reality this place is a dump where you are only tolerated because of your money. remember only your money welcome khap...

[rethaier]

If you want to lose money, give it to me.

[AyG]

So many people willing to offer advice either without reading/understanding the OP's situation (he needs income in THB, not GBP), or are utterly clueless about the real risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations.

Still, at least free advice is worth what you pay for it.

It appears you are the one reading without understanding.

The OP has no need for income of any sort in the next 11 years.

200k divided by 11 gives him a generous amount to live off (18k/year = 75,000bht/month).

No need for any investment risk at all (zero percent in a UK bank is good enough for me).

I have several friends living comfortably off less than 20kbht a month (that's 5,000UKP a year)

But they all keep their money in their home countries in banks, and transfer to their Thai banks once or twice a year.

OP hasn't specified pension details, but for all we know it's an index linked company pension paying 30KUKP a year.

Investment = risk

UK Bank = safe (to be precise 200k would need 3 UK banks to be safe as each bank will only guarantee 84K)

Why be greedy when you have no need?

Uh, the OP needs some sort of income to cover additional expenses in Thailand beyond accommodation and food. Of course he needs income - and in THB.

If he burns his way through GBP 200,000 he'll have no money to cover emergencies such as accidents and major illness. It would be ludicrous for him to use all of it to finance his lifestyle for 11 years.

Money in a UK bank is not zero investment risk. The major risk is changes in the exchange rate between THB and GBP. Ask people who retired here on 75 THB to the GBP how they felt when the rate dropped below 50.

As for "friends living comfortably off less than 20kbht a month" are they also going to be dying comfortably off less than 20kbht a month if they get cancer or have a stroke?

[Daniel Ingalls]

This is probably the best advise, first off keep your mouth shut about investing. Too many opportunist that are both local and foreign here. The safest is in a bank drawing 2.2-3.% interest. Keep away from people who are looking for a patsy with a lot of money to invest in anything with anyone who will listen to your story. Be aware of friends of friends who want to help you, just being a nice friend. Don't drink with strangers. open your own bottle of beer, and keep an eye on it at all times...Stay away from mixed drinks. Don't brag in bars

how much money you have. Do the research on investments your self. Be a where there are

scam artists of all kinds out there. The cheap nickel and dime ones, and those who will hit you with thousands at a time. In this country here everyone is the enemy, so keep your guard up, and trust no one. The advise from Estrada below seems very wise. Good luck!

Place B800,000 in a long term time deposit account to cover the requirement for renewal of your extension of stay based on retirement (must still be in account 2months prior to renewal 1st year and 3months second year). Set up online banking with Bangkok Bank ,or whatever bank you choose, as your main bank. Place B1,000,000 in a mutual fund that pays daily interest and allows any sums to be cashed in on a daily basis. This will be your emergency/living fund. Keep B100,000 in your savings deposit account as a float coupled to an ATM card and linked on line. Top your savings deposit account up as required from your mutual fund account. Open a Stock Exchange Investment account with Maybank Kim Eng Brokers with say B7,000,000. Until you get to know what you are doing, invest in safe blue chip stocks that will increase in value over time, have a high dividend and plenty of liquidity. I invested B6,000,000 in 2010 and have made B22,000,000 over 4 years which is 360%. The stocks I invested in were mainly BTS, Advance, Intuch, which pay around 7-8%/annum (1 year Advance paid 17%). The value of the shares has also risen considerably. They also still have a long way to go the triggers being award of contracts for extension lines/new lines for BTS and decision on 4G Auction for Advance/Intuch.

Even an amateur can easily make 20%/annum safely. Plan to come out the stock exchange by 2019 as that is when the 11 year cycle of boom and bust will cause the World Stock Exchanges to drop. Then you buy again in 2020.

P.S. Steer clear of Expat Financial advisors too many scam artists and do it yourself.

[bikerbri]

Put your money in QOPS pension scheme before you leave the UK. Get a financial adviser to set up a package off shore bond with Ascentric ( my returns are 18% as I write.) Overseas Pension and trust will keep you right. You can draw down on this if you wish and take 25% cash up front. You will avoid any UK tax on this amount if you act quickly.

[kinmaew]

Are you mad? There is no investment in Thailand that is secure. Take your sterling and buy a small house in a place like Berkshire which is a uni town and rent the thing out for a few years, in 10 years you can live off the capital growth.

[lvr181]

How to make a small fortune in Thailand? Invest a large fortune

[ronwparker]

You have left it a bit late

1. Rent do not buy

2.consider Vietnam or cambodia

3.or buy a condo in a good place-position-if it is second hand make sure you get the chanote

[Wat dee]

Buy beer bars. Not to have all the eggs in one basket, you should buy at least 4-5.

For extra safety! Safety is important! Buy 1-2 from BKK. 1 from Pattaya. 1 from Phuket and 1 from Chiang Mai.

This way you have spread you portfolio and minimized all the risks. Reliable staff is no problem, Thais are known to be loyal employees.

Now just imagine your self cruising care free around the kingdom, collecting paychecks. Now that's life.

[fletchsmile]

There's no guarantee that dividends will increase in the future. I believe (but can't immediately prove) that dividend yield on the FTSE100 has fallen over the last few decades. More recently, the FTSE All Shares dividend yield in 2008 was over 5%. It subsequently fell to less than 3%. (Source: https://timetric.com/index/ftse-all-shares-yield-month-end-monthly-ons/ )

And some stockbrokers will continue to allow you to trade after you leave the UK. Last time I checked the following did: Alliance Trust, Halifax, Hargreaves Lansdown, Strawberry, TD Direct. However, the only UK broker I'm aware of that may allow you to open an account as non-resident is Barclays, and this policy was under review last time I asked.

Taking my investment in Invesco Perpetual High Income Fund as an example, the distribution per unit was 12.0 p per unit in the tax year 2009/2010 and this has steadily increased to 25.2 p for the current year.

So the distribution has doubled in 5 years. However due to the current 'high' value of the units, the current yield has dropped to about 3.2 pc.

Having been invested in this fund for more than 10 years I am more than happy with the consistent annual income growth. However for the last 12 years I have been paying a management charge of 1.7 pc a year for this fund, which translates to a capital 'loss' of about 20 pc over the period.

I just wish I had 'gone it alone' and started making my own stock investments all those years ago. I could have made some poor investment decisions and not necessarily have been worse off.

I have now two trading accounts which allow share dealing by non-residents. One is TD International in Luxembourg and the second is HSBC Expat Banking Jersey. I would love to find another trading site because I can't stand HSBC and would love to dump them.

Your theory on compounding distributions is sound, especially with a great fund like the one you mentioned under the tenor of a great manager like Neil Woodford - now left.

Your assumptions that you/most people could do better yourself are statistically far away from reality. A few things to bear in mind:

- Often the people that promote self investing directly in shares directly to others are the very same people who are making money out of them one way or another. That may be through brokerage fees, subscription to news letters (some of the more honest methods), or in worse extreme cases using you for momentum on recommendations they themselves hold, and in worst case simple "pump and dump" stocks. Someone like Motley Fool mentioned earlier is actually one of the more reputable ones. However, they are still making money out of people one way or another. All these share research services have a tendency to promote their successes and keep quiet on the failures.

- It's common knowledge that the average fund manager or most funds under perform the market - because of charges. It amazes me though that even knowing that retail investors who know next to nothing think they will do better than professional fund managers, by saving a bit on fees but expecting superior returns. While most fund managers fail to beat the market, even fewer retail investors beat the market and that's even adjusting for fees. Even experienced retail investors often struggle to beat funds or the market.

I'm all for taking charge of your money, learning about investments and gradually doing more direct if and when someone proves them self. Unfortunately being an investor myself for 30+ years I can tell people that sort of experience doesn't come over 1 year, 2 years, 3 years etc. Perhaps when someone has proved them self through a cycle and a crash such as 1987/1997/2008 - these wipe out amateurs and burn them often beyond repair - and still beating markets after the cycles and crashes over long term then maybe. So doing it oneself as brokerage fees work out a bit cheaper will not work for most people. Subscribing to research services helps a bit, but often the decent fund management houses will have better research departments still.

I'd say there's a reasonable chance if you went it alone you might have paid lower fees as your brokerage fees might have been lower. I'd say there's a 95% chance you would not have beat Neil Woodford's fund just on a bit cheaper charges, if you were investing in similar markets. He happens to be an excellent fund manager that consistently outperforms the market, but don't forget the research at his disposal and other resources you won't have. I'll quite happily and honestly say in the UK markets in similar investments I would likely have not done better. My strategies tend to revolve around acknowledging that and finding best of breed managers or the best way of investing in different markets where direct investment is sometimes better. i.e identify people who are better than you.

There is money in equity investing. "Most people" or your "average person" would be better off not doing it themselves with their investment portfolio, particularly if starting from zero, and especially until they understand the markets.

In order: If someone doesn't know what they are doing and doesn't research and learn they'd probably be better off in unit index funds or index tracking ETF. If they're prepared to research and learn they might do better in active managed funds in some cases. I'd leave the direct share investing to the ones that have researched and learnt even further, or as a small % of someone's total worth.

So congrats on picking a great fund, and having learnt from it some good principals on compounding distributions. Don't worry too much what could have been or what you might have missed out on. Like for like in the same markets, I'd say statistically you would have been worse off going it alone in direct equity investments, as would OP.

Cheers

Fletch

Edited March 3, 2015 by fletchsmile

[KittenKong]

3.or buy a condo in a good place-position-if it is second hand make sure you get the chanote

I would want the chanote for a new condo also.

In fact I would say that there is more risk buying off-plan than buying used.

[jamestip2013]

My advice is Not to invest anything in Thailand. Have a term account in a Thai bank with 800000 bt in it for 3 months for your retirement visa. Even if you marry keep that account at 800000 bt as a fixed deposit and get your visa as a single man . you will get about 2.5% (20000 bt. pa.) minus 15% tax.. Believe me this is the hassle free way to keep a retirement visa going. Bring enough money as well for a scooter(60000 bt) or less if u want a second hand one. Same applies to a car. 400000bt for a second hand Toyota Corolla accent or Chev Sonic 2 years old or similar.. More if you want a new one. (one2car.com) I run a Toyota Corona which cost me 135000 bt 3 years ago . Converted to LPG . good and cheap to run and still good...

Back to money..What I am saying is bring your start up costs plus about 300000 bt in as local bank and then BRING INCOME..No MORE money. Your money is safer at home than in Thailand.. and you have what Mr Bush never had .. THAT IS AN EXIT POLICY.. after you have sold your car and bike your EXIT POLICY IS CALLED "SUITCASE" .. YES you can have an easy exit if you need to ... Regards

[MaeJoMTB]

So many people willing to offer advice either without reading/understanding the OP's situation (he needs income in THB, not GBP), or are utterly clueless about the real risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations.

Still, at least free advice is worth what you pay for it.

It appears you are the one reading without understanding.

The OP has no need for income of any sort in the next 11 years.

200k divided by 11 gives him a generous amount to live off (18k/year = 75,000bht/month).

No need for any investment risk at all (zero percent in a UK bank is good enough for me).

I have several friends living comfortably off less than 20kbht a month (that's 5,000UKP a year)

But they all keep their money in their home countries in banks, and transfer to their Thai banks once or twice a year.

OP hasn't specified pension details, but for all we know it's an index linked company pension paying 30KUKP a year.

Investment = risk

UK Bank = safe (to be precise 200k would need 3 UK banks to be safe as each bank will only guarantee 84K)

Why be greedy when you have no need?

Uh, the OP needs some sort of income to cover additional expenses in Thailand beyond accommodation and food. Of course he needs income - and in THB.

If he burns his way through GBP 200,000 he'll have no money to cover emergencies such as accidents and major illness. It would be ludicrous for him to use all of it to finance his lifestyle for 11 years.

Money in a UK bank is not zero investment risk. The major risk is changes in the exchange rate between THB and GBP. Ask people who retired here on 75 THB to the GBP how they felt when the rate dropped below 50.

As for "friends living comfortably off less than 20kbht a month" are they also going to be dying comfortably off less than 20kbht a month if they get cancer or have a stroke?

Seeing as how 75bht/GBP was near the top of a fluke market, hard to see how anyone could expect it to remain at that level.

Exchange rates can go up or down, when it goes down in this country, just move to a more favourable country.

Accidents and illness, accidents covered by insurance, illness covered by the NHS in the UK.

Why not use it up in 11 years?

That takes him to 65 years old .... how much longer do you think living will be fun?

I'm 60, 65 would seem achievable, 70 doesn't seem to be worthwhile.

(I'm talking from the experience of seeing my friends in the 50-70 age range)

As for cancer,

On a very personal note here, treatment for older people seems entirely and absolutely worthless (just my opinion).

Several of my pals have had it in later life (50+), those who died quickly seemed lucky, those who hung on don't seem to be having enjoyable lives.

[smotherb]

I've got no investment advice but that 18 grand a year for 11 years and that more than enough until the old pension comes through, but if I was you I'd by a property here in England with it, live of the rental income for 11 years then sell the property which will increase in value and make more profit , this why your have more then 200000 and that with you pension fund make you a happy man In Thailand, I wish I had your 200000 grand happy days

Rental property? That's a little over $300k; what is that a normal house or a couple of cheap flats? Minus taxes, insurance, management fees, and repairs, that ought to be a great life in Thailand.

[Nowisee]

1. DO NOT buy land or a house here. I have talked to MANY guys from the UK that lost all that to Isaan girls. Why is it the UK blokes get hooked?

2. I would open a brokerage account in UK that you can access online in LOS and invest in high dividend stocks. The key here is diversificationon. Investing in real estate is far riskier than stocks or ETF's if you desire. You can always punch out of a position in stocks, not so easy in real estate, not to mention all the cost associated. Stocks are far easier to get in and out of. If you do it right, the risk is not as many claim.
3. Live on the cheap for a couple of years to get used to it. You can live (rent/food/entertainment/transportation) here for under 30.000 baht...depending.

4. Buy NOTHING...rent everything. Find a place for under 6,000 baht/month. The only rule against rent everything is you can buy a cheap used scooter.

5. After 3 years you might just want to bail out and get out of here... maybe move to another country.

Ask yourself why are you in Thailand. Ask yourself what are your doing here and what do you expect. Ask yourself every 6 months, are you happy. If not, get the hell out.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Nowisee

[MW72]

I've got no investment advice but that 18 grand a year for 11 years and that more than enough until the old pension comes through, but if I was you I'd by a property here in England with it, live of the rental income for 11 years then sell the property which will increase in value and make more profit , this why your have more then 200000 and that with you pension fund make you a happy man In Thailand, I wish I had your 200000 grand happy days

I would agree with happydude. Like any investment the value can go up or down but at least with property you have an asset that can earn you a steady income. My house in Scotland is worth roughly the same as your nest egg and I get £650 a month in rental income. That's a bit over 30,000 THB a month at current exchange rates and enough to survive in Thailand although not extravegantly. If I decide to move back to Scotland I have somewhere to go and if not then I can sell it when I am a bit older as I have no pension.

It all depends where you live I suppose. For the price of my 3 bedroomed house with large garden in the north of Scotland, you probably couldn't buy a garden shed in London. You could probably rent out a garden shed in London for more than my house.

[joboss]

Buy beer bars. Not to have all the eggs in one basket, you should buy at least 4-5.

For extra safety! Safety is important! Buy 1-2 from BKK. 1 from Pattaya. 1 from Phuket and 1 from Chiang Mai.

This way you have spread you portfolio and minimized all the risks. Reliable staff is no problem, Thais are known to be loyal employees.

Now just imagine your self cruising care free around the kingdom, collecting paychecks. Now that's life.

Haha!! Wat dee f****.

[Time Traveller]

My advice is Not to invest anything in Thailand.

Too many people take the same view. And that is why thailand in the past has delivered higher returns than the "safe" markets.

The less people like an investment, the better the return the investor is likely to make.

[Stjohnm]

Keep the money in UK assets if you can a B2L (buy to let) is the safest and the rental income will be more than enough to live on in Siam if you get it Mortgage free & it's in a good state, I suggest you look in Birmingham or Leeds or your hometown 200k won't get you anything in London. Remember you'll need TH฿800k on deposit in a Thai bank if a Thai spouse is not in your future. KEEP British residency, use the B2L as a mailing address & stay on the voters roll, you don't want to loose entitlement to the NHS any cost to you re this (ie Council Tax) can always be clawed back by sticking a fiver on the weekly rent.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Stjohnm

[fletchsmile]

At least with interest rates at historic lows and the GBP/THB rate poor at the moment, hopefully we won't get the posters we used to get saying keep it all at home in your base home and live off the interest in your bank account that's enough as Thailand is cheap. Those people saw their income decimated by falling interest rates and further eroded by worsening exchange rates. If you did a search there are some famous ones from a few years back where people used to earn 6% and GBP was at 70 compared to 1% and 50 now. In their view people with GBP150k to GBP200k were set for life. Fortunately now it's also had time to go thru the cycle so US citizens, Aussie, Europeans have all seen first hand the problems - and their currency wasn't immune.

What sort of yield you get from your money and how you invest it is a big question, but one thing on that amount you'll need to do is at least manage some of the FX risk. You probably can't afford significant drops in the GBP/THB exchange rate. Nice if you get gains, sure, but it's the downside risk you need to protect.

As to what to do. There really is a lot of info missing to give anything more than high level ideas. I'd add the following to the above though:

- Work out a budget of what you actually need to live off (then add in some slack). Without that you've no chance of identifying the right level of risk and return and how much income you need to generate.

- Similarly Identify how much your pensions will be worth when you retire and how much of your expected expenditure they will cover. If all of it, then you can afford to dip into some capital. If not, at the other extreme you probably want to get by only on the income. eg if your pensions will likely cover all then you could probably take a sizeable chunk of capital say 110k and just divide by 11 for 10k = THB 500k a year. On the other hand if your pensions are very small you may not want to take out more than 1k or 2k a year or even no capital take out

- Bit surprised you say your pensions are only accessible at 65. The state pension yes. Again if state pension is your only income, then that's not likely to be enough to live off alone here so you need to conserve capital. Don't forget as a Brit your state pension will be frozen at the level is starts out at because you live in Thailand.

- If you have other pensions than state pensions, it may be possible to take some of those earlier. For private pensions like SIPPs it can be as early as 55. Even company schemes defined contribution/ money purchase can be as early as 55. Income drawdown could be a serious option from 6 April 2015. Even defined benefit schemes can usually be taken earlier. eg I had one in the UK where it used to be 50 earliest, 60 for standard. I could draw earlier but lose about 4% for each year early. Of course the minimum age is now 55. For some people the opposite may pay of deferring a year or two for an increased pension.

So understand your pensions fully, as well as understand what your outgoings are and what your incomings may be down the line, whether 55, 60 or 65 when your state and possibly other pensions come in. From their you'll have a better idea of the gaps you need to fill. How much extra income you need now, and how much in the future, This will most likely help drive your decisions as to where you put the 200k.

Get used to thinking in THB as well as GBP. It's as important to think of you having THB 10mio as it is GBP 200k

Some suggestions here:

1) - Look into investing more in UK pensions. You are at an ideal age for timing. I've not been a big fan of UK pensions for many years, but from 6 April this year, it could very well work in your favour.

A basic strategy would be put money into a pension fund, claim the tax relief, and then set up a draw down plan. Ball park you could take 25% tax free as a lump sum, and up to 10k a year tax free covered by allowances.

To be honest you might be a bit short on that sort of money as other posters have mentioned, using a pension to get instant extra money via tax relief could be just what you need.

As an idea, say you put 50k or even 100k a year in, if you were a 20% taxpayer, you'd get 10k or 20k tax relief. You could then take out 12.5k to 25k at the appropriate time, and up 10k a year after that until you get your money out in full if you want. You could then take up options you think are sensible from other posters.

What you have done though is add 10k to 20k to your pot.

No idea on your tax rates could be double 20k or 40k if you're a higher rate tax payer. Also there are limits on what you can put in each year, and you have to adjust for any existing pensions.

If like most people you haven't used all your allowances in previous years, you likely have carry forward allowances

Key points:

- You will get extra tax relief added to your pot. This is the key driver

- As you're moving to Thailand and have said you have no other income in UK until pensions 11 years later, you'll be able to take up to 10k tax free, not long after 55

- The tax year ends 5 April, so it would be very feasible to put some in say a SIPP before then and get tax relief, then some on 6 April in the new tax year and get more tax relief

- You're ideally placed at an age where SIPPs can be taken (55 onwards) and new drawdown rules start this year

- Sounds like this is not your area of expertise, and you really would need some advice and a bit of tax planning/ calculations. It may be you couldn't put as much as that in or could be more

- Stay away from people over here selling QROPs on this occasion. You'd be looking for a simple SIPP with tax relief from the UK you can then drawdown

- What you actually invest in with the SIPP could be anything from cash to bonds to equities to property based, that fits your risk profile. i.e same as anything else just topped up with tax relief

Might be worth contacting someone like Hargreaves Lansdown, they are very good in this area. Don't waste time given only a few weeks from the end of the tax year, but explore it.

2) Move some money over here and eliminate some exchange rate risk. Stick it in a decent bank account earning interest in THB. Check out the interest rate thread on here. 2.3% to 3% is attainable.

You'll need 800k in a bank account for your visa anyway. That's GBP 16k. Tuck that GBP 16k away in a separate account. Don't touch it, except for interest, so you can show immigration as and when needed.

Then look at other accounts in the 2.3 to 3% range on top of that.

Without understanding your full financial status it's hard to say how much. 2-3 years expenses isn't a bad start, which again brings you back to understanding your expenses and current/ future income.

You also need emergency money for the unexpected.

Altogether, I could easily see something like GBP 40k - 60k equivalent just kept in cash, i.e THB 2 - 3mio

3) Personally I'd consider dividend paying Thai equity funds, as part of your money, as they're a great way to build THB assets, generate income that will grow over time. With the following conditions though:

i) This should only be money you know you will not need to touch. You should already have your emergency fund and cash reserves. If you think you may need it, don't invest in equities

ii) Spread it over a few quality dividend paying funds. Ask for distributions to be paid gross, and on the amounts I'd advise as max you would have no further tax to pay anyway. Spread them out over the year. Only spend the dividends, leave the capital intact to grow in line with inflation

iii) Don't invest as a lump sum. Phase in your investments gradually. eg spread over 2 years to build your funds gradually. eg if you decided THB 2.4mio was the right amount, invest THB 100k a month for 24 months. While this will mean in all likelihood statistically your returns will be a bit lower, it will significantly reduce risk. When I've run the calcs in the past 85% of the time+ if you pick a 5 year period at random, your money will be worth more in 5 years time. Well over 90% over 10 years. If you spread it over 2 years, and just leave it you avoid a fall just after you put it in, and average your cost. You won't get the highest/best return this way, but you will also not get a return that wipes you out either

iv) Probably shouldn't be more than about 25% of your money, i.e no more than about GBP 50k/ THB 2.5mio. Will depend on all the other factors above. Something like 10% may be appropriate, i.e GBP 20k/ THB 1mio

Over time this should generate more money than cash, and a rate of say 7% p.a. + is not an unreasonable expectation. It will be in THB so no currency risk to you, and will grow over time. It will be volatile though and may fall by 40% in a single year, or even rise 100% in a year. This is why you must only put money you do not need to touch.

Your pot is a bit low so somewhere you need a bit of extra yield

Pensions + cash + Thai equities would be 3 core factors to me

For someone who says Thai equities are too risky, I'd say you do need to take a little risk to get a decent return, and you are eliminating currency THB risk. The idea I gave you on pensions may result in a tax benefit whereby you could consider that that free uplift is what you take the risk on.

i.e shown you how to maybe get GBP10k GBP20k extra, so it's justified in return to take some risk

Thai cash gives your stability and removes the exchange rate risk.

The pension as well as providing a possible uplift, will likely be accessible at a reasonable speed. It also means:

i) You will have a wide range of investment choices from equities to binds to cash to property

ii) You keep some money in the UK. I believe strongly in keep some money where you came from just in case, but keep money here too to avoid currency risk. (Also some offshore/ elsewhere if you have a decent pot)

AyG mentioned insurance. Well worth considering, in addition to emergency cash/ cash reserves. Stay away from the reimburse every outpatient visit though. Protect the high cost low probability tail risks. You can afford THB 2,000 when you have a cold so no point paying to cover that, it's expensive. You probably can't easily bear THB 2mio from a month in ICU.

Ball park ideas - as there's so much info missing, but to give a flavour, and they're not cast in stone

Keep say GBP 100k / THB 5mio in UK where you came from

Around GBP 50k to 80k maybe in a pension for the extra tax relief. Look into it.

Bring GBP 100k / THB 5mio here

Stick THB 800k in a cash fund acc for retirement

Stick THB 2-3mio in other cash accounts spread around

Consider THB 1mio to 2.5mio in dividend paying equity funds. But zero if you think you'll need the capital

Cheers

Fletch

Edited March 3, 2015 by fletchsmile

[steven100]

Just hook up with a nice honest Thai bar girl and buy a good safe beer bar down Nana somewhere.

All your troubles will be taken care of ...

[fletchsmile]

BTW Couple of other considerations:

Do think about the what if's. You say now you've no intention of finding a Thai partner and having kids. I know very few people here that as time goes by haven't ended up in a Thai relationship of one kind or another or several

Worth considering an English teaching qualification. Could be a good investment for a couple of USD'000. I did one a decade or so back. Thoroughly enjoyed it, although never used it to earn money. Made some good friends, and know I also have another string to my bow if need be.

On the money your talking an extra income could be useful. There's a big difference between living of investment income and not earning, than earning some extra disposable income. Finding other jobs here won't be easy, so maybe consider it early on after arriving.

I've always said the best return on investment for many people her in Thailand could be a vasectomy. THB 20k operation vs THB 500k per annum in school fees is a very rapid payback. Not to mention the peace of mind on many other levels. Cynics would also say it significantly reduces the chances of some of the various scams out there

Cheers

Fletch

Edited March 3, 2015 by fletchsmile