AboutAlexander J. Hay Expertise questions on international investing for the nine institutional investor
Experience I am a U.S. attorney with offices in the United States and Belize. I have experience helping to protect assets, reduce taxes, and improve investment performance by utilizing global investment techniques.
Education/Credentials Harvard University, A.B. degree; University of Houston Law Center, J.D. Degree; Fulbright Scholar
Question With all that is happening I see a pattern of a weakening US dollar and where it stops nobody knows. I would like to exchange some of our savings into foreign currency such as the British pound. How would a beginner like me with no investing experience do this in a safe and legal way? Would a site like E-trade be the way to go? Also should the money be held in an offshore account?
Answer Well there are a number of ways. Many people just buy gold and silver as the ultimate "foreign" currency. You can just go buy foreign currency and keep it in a safe place. Or you can open a bank account to do that. In the USA there are not a lot of banks that will hold foreign currency for you. I don't know why this is so difficult. Foreign banks generally make it very easy for you to have multi-currency accounts, but it is often very difficult to open such an account unless you actually go to that country.
