Moving to the South of France has so many advantages particularly when it comes to quality of life, weather, great food, culture…the list goes on. However, as most of us expats have experienced, the finances, investment strategies and tax system in France can be very tricky to understand and navigate. We have asked Nicolas Sost, co-founder of Patrimea, an independent financial and wealth management company, to share just a few investment tips for us, as well as, some alternative ideas to traditional gift buying for the holidays.
First, why did you set up Patrimea?
Finance is pretty daunting and it is difficult to get truly independent advice. We set up Patrimea.com so that there was a place to get Independent financial advice on-line and a website to research products before you (customers) invest. Here’s what we advise our clients even before they move to France.
Can you Share Your Top 3 Investment Tips for Expats living in France?
- Get an appointment with a financial adviser (conseiller en Gestion Patrimoine) so you understand all the implications (financial, fiscal, succession, etc) of moving to France. This should be done before you take up residency in France.
- In most cases (for example, excluding American Tax payers) I would advise opening an Assurance Vie contract as it is the most tax efficient wrapper.
- Since the beginning of the crisis we have been recommending our clients to invest in quality real assets, for instance, commercial real estate, offices space that is well located, vineyards of sought after regions (Bordeaux, Champagne & Burgundy) and forests. These assets have performed really well as interest rates are low and getting lower and are seen as flight to quality solutions. These investments can be mutualised i.e. can be bought in smaller units.
Do you have any smart investment Gift Ideas for the holidays or resolution ideas for the New Year?
What could be a better Christmas gift idea than an investment in a quality vineyard and a return on investment consisting of great bottles of wine? Patrimea has a number of quality vineyards to invest in and they can be simply bought though a GFV, GroupementFoncierViticole (or Wine Property Group). An excellent investment choice at an affordable entry level is located in the prestigious Châteauneuf du Pape region, with a minimum investment of 4,400€ the investor receives 6 bottles of their delicious wine per year, which is the equivalent of 4.25% return on your investment. The real estate capital of the investment can be kept or sold like a regular real estate mutual investment.
Thanks, Nicolas, for sharing these tips. May be a good idea for the New Year ahead as well.
For more info: Patrimea.com, Wealth Management & Investment Strategy (Provence and Paris) – Bilingual English & French +33 (0) 1 83 62 38 72; +33 (0) 4 84 25 09 66; contact@patrimea.com
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