The media reports that the American financial crisis, a weak U.S. economy and increased domestic competition for jobs are sending an untold number of banking, financial and other professionals running for the border -- literally.
Executive recruiters say more professionals, especially those in finance, have been inquiring about opportunities abroad in the past few months. Some undergraduate finance and MBA students are refocusing their job searches away from Wall Street to offshore venues. In a number of cases, people with families say they would pull up roots for the sake of job stability.
A Major Exodus
The fact that Americans are fleeing this country is hardly news to Sovereign Society members and readers. It's a hot topic I've commented on more than once.
For the decade since our founding, we at The Sovereign Society have noted sadly that each year hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and resident aliens have been leaving America to make a new home in other nations. Some estimate that upwards of 3 million leave the U.S. annually.
The August 5, 2008 issue of U.S. News and World Report noted that many younger people are leaving the United States. These young emigrants are taking their young families and seeking their fortune or an easier life in foreign lands.
If data collected from 2005 and 2007 is correct, it's possible that three million U.S. citizens are going abroad to live each year. Assuming that number is accurate, that's a huge increase over recent years -- and the current economic downturn may increase that exodus.
Better Jobs Offshore
Recent surveys from executive search firm Korn/Ferry International found that 53% of 438 respondents believe the best job opportunities are in developing economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China. Another showed that 20% of 718 respondents said they are more likely to accept an overseas work assignment now, in an economic downturn, than in a stable economy.
Although foreign markets are suffering as a result of the spreading credit crisis, the financial job market abroad hasn't been damaged as severely as it has been in New York and other U.S. financial hubs. U.S. employers cut 159,000 jobs in September, and that figure doesn't take into account the newest wave of job losses on Wall Street. Recruiters say job opportunities for finance professionals in Asia, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe still abound.
"There has been a gold rush to places like Dubai," says Alex Alcott, partner and head of U.S. investment banking at Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search firm. He cites Beijing, Shanghai and Moscow as areas of opportunity for finance professionals.
Asian Hot Spots
I've often written about financial job opportunities in Asia, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore where I visited as few years ago.
Over the last decade, the city-state of Singapore has built up an impressively financial services industry that challenges their rival, Hong Kong and is attracting lots of mutual fund and hedge fund business, including prime brokers and big international banks. Singapore is now Asia's third largest financial center, after Japan and Hong Kong, and it's quickly gaining market share.
Private banking has emerged as a leading source of revenue for Singapore. In fact, over the last five years, Singapore has matured as a leading private banking destination for international investors, drawing deposits away from kingpin Switzerland.
Unlike Switzerland, where an estimated one third of all private banking deposits are held, Singapore is not under constant political pressure from the European Union's (EU) Financial Action Task Force, which is constantly attempting to strip away Switzerland's tax advantages and privacy. And that's lured many European and international investors to Singapore.
Indeed, just as the current banking crisis has driven safety-seeking billions in deposits out of European and American banks, the European Union tax directive had a similar impact when it took effect in the 28 EU nations, plus Switzerland, in 2005. After all, money is a fungible commodity and it seeks both profits and safety.
Roadblocks to Freedom
One major worry I have about this free global movement of cash, investments -- and even individuals seeking foreign residence -- is what the next U.S. president and U.S. Congress may do to impede the freedom of international movement we now enjoy.
Candidate Barack Obama has made attacking offshore financial freedoms a constant theme in his campaign, He is a co-sponsor of radical anti-tax haven legislation that would disrupt Americans' rights to bank and invest freely where they wish.
It's well to recall that on the subject of the right of persons to travel freely, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
Article 13 – Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Article 15 – Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
However these "rights" of free movement, travel and residence have been, and are, systematically violated by many nations, including both dictatorships and democracies. The United States and the United Kingdom have been among the worst violators when it suits the political convenience of the government in power at the moment.
All of which suggests that you, like those worried financial professionals, might want to consider relocating your money or yourself, while you still can.
Looking for Your Own Road Map Abroad? We Can Help
If offshore interests you, we can help you. The Sovereign Society exists to give advice and direction for those interested in "going offshore" in many different ways.
We can offer you a road map to offshore freedom, including legal ways to protect your assets, lower your taxes, expand profitable investments and how (and where) to move your residence and/or citizenship offshore.
If you're contemplating expatriation, I have the information to help you on such a global course in two of my books. I can tell you how to secure a second passport, and how to plan your finances abroad. Both books explain in detail how to live well offshore under what we call "the ultimate estate plan" - expatriation. And it's all legal.
As the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz had one of his Peanuts say: "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
And in Singapore, Hong Kong and many other places offshore.










