Well, another investing year is behind us and the usual clichés are being tossed aroung. "We see great improvement moving forward", "It can only get better", "The new year will bring great promise"....Why should this year be any different? Are all horse races the same? No!

So now we will tell you!

The research department at Global works long hours to come to "our own" conclusions as to how our clients and we should be positioned starting the year and throughout the year. We, however, are not so proud that we do not change our recommendations till it is too late - like others do. Once we make a commitment with our client's money we are always double-checking and rechecking to make sure to make the right move. If markets or companies change outlooks we are always one step ahead of all others. The extensive data we collect allows us to use everyone's information to make a real forecast. We will never subscribe to one single theory or just one prediction.

So, here it now comes!

Global Investments sees a tremendous growth opportunity towards the second half of 2002. We are now positioning our clients to reap the maximum benefit from this. The 11 interest rate cuts in America from Alan Greenspan (Chairman of the Federal Reserve in America) will start to improve the world's largest economy. When this happens all other economies will also start to rebound. This one factor will make all others pale by comparison. We also predict that the industry leaders that are now seeing the demand for their products pick up to also contribute significantly to the recovery. 2001 saw inventories at all-time highs and demand slipping to a less-than-average year. The glut of inventory is slowly being replaced by a real demand for products. The global technology and life science fields are picking up to reach acceptable levels again. Some significant sector leaders ("Blue Chips") are selling at all-time lows both in price and PE. This should make return acceptable in 2002, to say the least.

Also not to be discounted is China's acceptance into the WTO in 2002. Markets are ever more leaning towards "Global" companies and not so much selective country stocks. The global investor will have a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on this fact. 2001 saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the index of the 30 leading Wall Street stocks) close at 10,021.57 - this was a loss of 765.28 points or 7.1 % over the year. In 2000 the Dow lost 6.2 % (Prediction for 2002: 10,800 - 11,800). The Nasdaq was hit harder than all the other major indexes in 2001. 2001 saw the Nasdaq close at 1,950.42, a loss of 520.1 points or 21.05 % over the year. In 2000 the Nasdaq lost over 40 % of his value (Prediction for 2002: 1,900 - 2,300). The after effects of September 11, 2001 are still being felt today. However, we at Global feel that good companies that make money will always treat their shareholders, bondholders and noteholders well. As the saying goes - to close with a cliché - "You Have To Be In It To Win It!"

Do Your "Host" Countries Want To Keep Your Money?
Of course they do, that's why they make it so difficult to move it abroad.

Are You Going To Let Them Have It? No way! Unless you want to build up your money in foreign currency and expose yourself to the currency risk of devaluation, as seen over the past years. Do you really believe that it won't happen again in 2002...Argentina!

• Wouldn't you rather hold your spare cash and emergency funds in a "real" currency like US Dollars, or perhaps Sterling or Euros?
• How about opening a tax-free bank account? Or maybe you like paying tax?

To help you answer these very difficult questions Global Investments has surveyed the world of offshore banking, and here's what we found out:

If you have a dozen different bank accounts in a dozen different countries you needn't bother. Make life easy on yourself, centralize your cash. Have one monthly statement sent to your present home address and not a forwarded statement that's already 3 months old.

Some people think of offshore banking as an investment for wealthy people, when in reality you can open an offshore bank account with as little as $1. All of the regular banking facilities are open to you, such as:

• Cheque books
• Offshore loans
• VISA or MasterCard debit or credit cards
• Extremely competitive rates of interest

But with so many financial institutions in the market, which one do you go for?
Well, for a start, why would you ask yourself that question?Ask us. We've done the research which means that youdon't have to.

Let's start with Abbey National's Offshore Gold Account, a high-yielding money market account based at the Isle of Man. This is a high interest paying, personal day-to-day global account that can be used anywhere in the world, providing customers with global access to funds by phone, fax, cheque book and a Gold VISA Card. Available in "real" currencies - US Dollars, Sterling or Euros - the account offers free banking as there are no charges for normal banking transactions.

Earn interest on money already spent!
By using your Gold VISA Card, which continues to pay interest on money spent with the card until the end of the month. With access to your money whenever you need it from over 627,000 VISA cash machines throughout the world and over 19 million outlets worldwide.

But the advantages of having an offshore bank account do not stop with great benefits and a fantastic service.

What if you have offshore investments?
Your offshore bank account will act as the building block for offshore assets, or "Mother Account", as we call it at Global.

Let your tax-free bank account realize your investment gains, rather than some greedy taxman. Think of how much money can be saved.

So, what are the disadvantages?
Well, you won't be able to stand in line for 30 minutes and have somebody tell you that you can't deposit money into your bank account until after lunch time.

• Don't you think you have a right to make decisions with YOUR hard-earned money?
• If you want to move your money somewhere or buy a house or a car in a foreign country, don't you have a right to do so without having to hurdle the various exchange control obstacles put in your way by the government authorities?
• If you are taking risks with some of your investments, don't you deserve the full reward, instead of giving so much of it to the taxman?

In short, if you don't have an offshore bank account, then why not let Global Investments arrange one for you?