RBS Warns of Cataclysmic Year – Ensure Your Funds Are Internationally Diversified
One of the biggest banks in the world, RBS, just warned that 2016 will be a “cataclysmic year” and has told clients to “sell everything.”
RBS said that major stock markets could fall by a fifth and that oil may plummet to $16 a barrel Getty Images RBS has advised traders to “sell everything” in an alarming research note that warns of a global deflationary crisis. That would mean prices start to decline, creating a vicious cycle where people hang onto their money rather than invest it in the economy. -UK Independent
RBS said, “This is about return of capital, not return on capital. In a crowded hall, exit doors are small.”
We've been saying this for months but it is interesting to see RBS, which made a similar warning just prior to the 2008 crisis, on board with this message.
And RBS makes a VERY astute point in saying that for many it isn't about getting a return on capital, at times like these, but realistic worries about a return OF your capital.
Coincidentally, although unreported in the mainstream media (surprise, surprise), the Eurozone passed “bank bail-in” legislation on January 1st of this year! This legislation is similar to what was done in Cyprus in 2013 when all banks were closed, overnight, and didn't re-open until 50% of all major depositor's funds were taken. It was a daylight bank robbery, literally.
Since then, the Greeks saw their banks shuttered for months and capital controls have gone into effect all across Europe.
I've warned this is just the beginning. What happened in Cyprus and Greece will happen in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and many other countries… eventually causing a financial crisis that could see banks across the West shuttered.
For this reason we've warned people to get as far outside of the financial system as possible. Of course, holdings like precious metals were made for times like these. And, bitcoin, which went up 10 times in price during the Cyprus bank bail-ins could go stratospheric as larger countries have their financial systems collapse.
Aside from precious metals and bitcoin, however, is having your banking outside of the large, indebted Western countries. Cypriots with bank accounts outside Cyprus probably had a lot less of their money stolen. When Greek ATMs were shuttered, they remained open to “foreigners”… or people with a foreign bank card. Offshore bank accounts would have helped Greeks mightily.
It's incredibly easy to get an offshore bank account… you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Yet, most people don't make this prudent common sense move to ensure their safety during the coming crisis. It seems people usually wait until after the crisis, when everything is closed, before looking to do so.
Bitcoin caught on wildly in Greece AFTER their crisis. If Greeks had used bitcoin BEFORE the crisis, they wouldn't have cared about shuttered banks.
It's not just bank accounts that are going to have a “cataclysmic year” though. It'll be many things. An example is the IRAs in the US.
The US government has made many hints that IRA funds could be nationalized and forced into Treasury Bonds, paying nearly no interest… it is my prediction that as things get worse that will happen as the US government scrambles for more funds.
As easily as opening an offshore bank account, you can easily turn your IRA into a self-directed IRA. Once it is self-directed you can place all the funds offshore… out of the easy grasp of the US government. You can even buy foreign real estate, for example… that'd be very hard for the government to seize and make you repatriate!
Simple steps like getting an offshore bank account and moving your IRA funds offshore could mean the difference between losing everything or not. You'd think millions would be doing it. But just like the Greeks, most people have normalcy bias and figure that if it hasn't happened in recent memory, then it won't happen. You may get called crazy by your friends, or even your financial adviser, for taking such prudent steps; you'll be crazy like a fox when the financial system implodes.
I recently interviewed Paul Seymour, the managing director of TDV Offshore. Paul is what we call a Perpetual Traveler (aka. Prior Taxpayer) and has enormous insights when it comes to working with the biggest financial corporations and banks, living tax-free, setting up offshore companies and self-directed IRAs while avoiding wealth confiscation and legally mitigating tax burdens.
A lot of the things we talked about is what offshore consultants charge hundreds of dollars per hour for. You can get these insights free right here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTW6rwVy7So
Paul will also be a speaker at the upcoming TDV Internationalization and Investment Summit (IIS) to be held on February 18th in Acapulco, Mexico.
We’ve priced the IIS summit at a ludicrously low price to make sure you have no excuses not to come. And once you do, you’ll want to stay for the three-day Anarchapulco Conference as well. Many of the experts will also be staying on for the conference and it will be an excellent time to get to know them informally and glean further information about your own particular situation.
Who knows… a single conversation with the right individual about something you were not aware may save you five or six figures. That'll pay for your attendance many, many times over.
RBS thinks this year will be cataclysmic and so do we. And the solutions to surviving it will not come from traditional financial advisers whose idea of diversification is 50% stocks/50% bonds. We are nearing a crisis that will demand true diversification around the globe. To get information on how to do that, check out the video above and consider joining us on the beach in sunny Acapulco at the IIS conference with numerous experts on international diversification.
Now is not the time to procrastinate about your financial future. To find out more about the subjects mentioned above, you'll want to attend our conferences. But you can also visit TDVOffshore.com or email Paul Seymour directly at [email protected].
