Established 1994

International Investments

International Investment Guides

425 in-depth guides covering international investment vehicles and strategies for expats and globally mobile investors — from global equities and offshore bonds to alternative assets and portfolio construction.

Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, private credit, and passion assets from fine wine to whisky.

Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Absolute Return Funds and Liquid Alternatives: What They Promise and What They Deliver

Absolute return funds and UCITS liquid alternatives promise hedge-fund-style returns in a daily-dealing wrapper. This guide examines the main strategies, the performance record, where they fit in a portfolio, and how to evaluate them.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Alternative Investments for International HNW Investors

Alternative investments extend the investable universe beyond listed equities and bonds, offering potential diversification, illiquidity premiums, and inflation protection — with higher complexity and longer lock-up periods.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Alternative Investments: A Comprehensive Guide for HNW Investors

From private equity to hedge funds and infrastructure, alternative investments offer diversification, illiquidity premiums, and access to uncorrelated return streams. This guide covers the full landscape.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Alternative Risk Premia: Systematic Factor Harvesting Beyond Equity Beta

A guide to alternative risk premia (ARP) for sophisticated investors: what distinguishes ARP from traditional factor ETFs, the key premia across asset classes, the 2018–2022 underperformance and subsequent recovery, and how to access ARP funds.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Angel Investing for HNW Individuals: Deal Mechanics and Portfolio Strategy

Angel investing offers direct access to early-stage companies with SEIS/EIS tax relief, but requires rigorous due diligence and portfolio diversification. This guide covers deal structures, valuation methods, syndication, and realistic return expectations.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Art Investment Funds and Fractional Ownership: A Guide for HNW Investors

Fractional art ownership platforms and dedicated art funds have lowered the minimum for fine art exposure. This guide covers fund structures, AIFMD regulation, valuation methodology, art lending, import VAT, and cultural property due diligence.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Art, Collectibles, and Passion Investments: A Guide for International Investors

Art and collectibles can appreciate substantially and offer genuine portfolio diversification — but they are illiquid, costly to own, difficult to value, and require expertise that purely financial assets do not. Understanding the economics before investing is essential.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Art, Wine, and Collectibles as Investments: What HNW Investors Need to Know

The global art market turns over around $60 billion per year. Fine wine, classic cars, and watches offer uncorrelated returns — but liquidity, authentication, and storage risks make these specialist asset classes.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Asset-Based Finance: Invoice Finance, Trade Finance, and Supply Chain Lending

Asset-based finance — lending against receivables, inventory, trade flows, and supply chains — offers short-duration, self-liquidating returns with low correlation to equity markets. This guide covers the mechanics, structures, and HNW access routes.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Catastrophe Bonds and Insurance-Linked Securities: A Guide for HNW Investors

Catastrophe bonds (cat bonds) and insurance-linked securities provide near-zero equity correlation and floating-rate returns, but capital is at risk from natural disasters. This guide covers ILS mechanics, trigger types, the Swiss Re Cat Bond Index, and access routes.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Classic Car Investment: The HNW Investor's Guide

Classic cars combine passion with portfolio diversification. This guide covers the wasting asset CGT exemption, insurance structures, storage and maintenance costs, auction mechanics, and what the data shows about long-run returns.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Co-Investing Alongside Private Equity Funds: Opportunities and Risks for HNW Investors

Co-investments allow sophisticated investors to back individual PE deals alongside established managers, often at reduced or zero fees and without the J-curve. This guide explains the mechanics, deal flow sources, selection bias risk and typical minimum investments.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs): Managed Futures and Crisis Alpha

CTAs — managed futures funds using systematic trend-following strategies — delivered their best returns in years during 2022's market turmoil. This guide explains how the strategy works, the key managers and how to access it via UCITS funds.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Distressed Debt Investing: Bonds at Discount, Loan-to-Own and Creditor Rights

Distressed debt investing involves acquiring bonds or loans at deep discounts to face value, with returns driven by recovery through restructuring, asset sales or plan of reorganisation. This guide covers the mechanics, strategies and risks for sophisticated investors.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Distressed Debt Investing: Buying Bonds and Loans at Cents on the Dollar

A guide to distressed debt investing for sophisticated investors: types of distressed instruments, recovery rate analysis, loan-to-own strategies, UK restructuring proceedings, and how to access this specialist asset class.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

EIS and SEIS: Tax-Efficient Investing in UK Early-Stage Companies

A comprehensive guide to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) — two of the UK's most generous tax reliefs for investing in early-stage companies — covering qualifying criteria, income tax relief, CGT exemptions, loss relief, and the risks investors must understand.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

GP-Led Secondaries and Continuation Vehicles: The Fastest-Growing PE Strategy

GP-led secondary transactions — where private equity managers extend their ownership of portfolio companies beyond a fund's normal life — have grown from a niche to a mainstream transaction type. This guide explains the mechanics, conflicts of interest, and investor considerations.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Hedge Funds for Internationally Mobile HNW Investors

Hedge funds employ sophisticated strategies to seek positive returns in all market conditions, but high fees, liquidity restrictions, and wide return dispersion mean they require careful scrutiny before inclusion in an international portfolio.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Hedge Funds for Sophisticated Investors: Strategies, Fees, and Reality

Hedge funds employ sophisticated strategies unavailable in conventional funds and aim to generate positive returns regardless of market direction. The reality is more nuanced: average hedge fund performance has disappointed, but the top quartile has delivered genuine value. This guide explains the strategies, the fees, and how to access hedge funds intelligently.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Insurance-Linked Securities: Cat Bonds, ILS Funds and Longevity Swaps Explained

Insurance-linked securities offer returns uncorrelated with financial markets, but carry unique tail risks. This guide explains cat bonds, ILS funds, sidecars and longevity swaps for sophisticated investors.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Investing in Africa: Opportunities and Risks for International Investors

Africa offers compelling long-term investment themes — the world's fastest-growing population, rising middle classes, and technology leapfrogging. But investing requires navigating political risk, FX volatility, and capital controls. Here is how to approach African investment intelligently.

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Alternative Investments & Private Markets

Investing in Fine Wine and Collectibles: The Case For and Against

Fine wine, whisky, art, and other collectibles can deliver equity-like returns over the long run while providing enjoyment of ownership. But storage costs, provenance risk, illiquidity, and complexity require careful consideration before investing.

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Our guides explain the investment vehicles — but the right choice depends on your residency, tax position, currency, and risk profile. Book a free review with one of our international investment advisers to get guidance specific to your situation.

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