The latest episode of the Expat Focus podcast is now online!
Foreign exchange broker Simon Hilton talks about currency transfer issues for expats. Learn about the factors which affect exchange rates and how currency brokers can help protect their clients from exchange rate volatility. Also, learn how to choose a reputable broker to make sure your money is safe when being transferred abroad.
Listen to the Expat Focus podcast here.
Showing posts with label currency transfer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label currency transfer. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Currency warning for festive season house buyers
By Elisabeth Dobson, head of private clients, World First
Property buyers looking to buy over the festive season may be in for a shock – exchange rates can be extremely volatile during December, January and February. Many people do not plan for or even realise the impact of currency fluctuations on foreign house purchases.
Property buyers looking to buy over the festive season may be in for a shock – exchange rates can be extremely volatile during December, January and February. Many people do not plan for or even realise the impact of currency fluctuations on foreign house purchases.
The knock on effect of the Christmas and New Year period historically sees rates vary by as much as 5% between the end of November and mid-February. This means a €300,000 purchase could cost up to £20,000 more if the exchange rate moves against you and varies dramatically from the rate first used to calculate the cost of buying abroad. An extreme example is that a property valued at €300,000 would have cost £244,160 in November 2008 but the same property would have cost £287,081 at the start of January 2009. This is an increase of a massive £42,921 and all just down to exchange rate moves!
Of course there’s also the possibility that rates could move favourably for UK purchasers. However the exchange rate risk at this time of year is huge. Undoubtedly a number of Brits will be due to complete on their property purchases over the Christmas period and it is important they know the implications currency fluctuations can have. One move in the wrong direction and a dream property can climb out of reach if the price moves outside your budget...
Read more at http://www.expatfocus.com/currency-warning-for-festive-season-house-buyers
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Interview with Simon Hilton, foreign exchange consultant
Simon Hilton is a senior foreign exchange consultant at World First specialising in assisting private clients and companies with their foreign exchange transactions. Simon is authorised by the FSA to offer foreign currency options.
To contact Simon directly for currency transfer information or a no-obligation quote please click here.
Expat Focus: Simon, can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to work for World First?
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I have a BA hons degree from the University of Reading in History and Politics and joined the company in 2006. I have since undertaken regulatory exams and obtained FSA approval to advise our clients on hedging their foreign exchange risk.
Expat Focus: What services does World First offer and what is your own role?
World First offers a foreign exchange service for currency transfers as well as a range of foreign exchange products. Clients can purchase currency at ‘spot’ (for an immediate transfer) as well as being able to fix the exchange rate for up to 2 years in advance with a forward contract.
Our regular payment plans can be quite useful for those with commitments back home such as mortgage payments or if you receive a monthly pension which you would like to convert and receive in the country where you are an expat. You may also like to send part of your salary back to the UK on a regular basis.
World First has recently launched a new range of Currency Options. These products are suitable for transfers over £100,000 and allow you to fix your rate in advance but benefit if the rate subsequently improves.
I am responsible for assisting individuals with their currency transfers. I will take clients through the process from start (first contact) to finish (receiving the brought currency) and I will explain the different products and services we offer. I am also in charge of managing currency options and offering them to our private clients. As these are specialised products we have had to undertake regulatory exams and are authorised by the Financial Services Authority in the UK...
Read more at http://www.expatfocus.com/simon-hilton-271009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Special Report - Sterling Crashes and Burns
The following special report is provided by the official Expat Focus foreign exchange partner, World First. To request further currency transfer information or a no-obligation quote please click here.
Sterling Crashes
Given the volatility that sterling has experienced recently, we thought it only prudent to advise you all on what could happen to sterling in the coming weeks and months. We would say that 1.10 and 1.60 are near term targets for GBPEUR and GBPUSD respectively however the prospects of falls below these levels are very strong given the momentum behind the movements we have seen over the past week. A break below these levels could easily see 1.07 and 1.55 which were the lows of the previous range.
We still believe that those of you who need to buy either euros or dollars with sterling for overseas property purchases, emigration or other reasons should be thinking about hedging around these levels through ‘currency options’. Should GBP continue to fall as we expect it do so then the levels achievable will no longer be attractive.
We would therefore advise all reading this to contact the Private Client team here to find out how to protect yourselves against further adverse shocks.
‘Currency options’ like forward contracts, allow you to exchange one currency for another on a future date. However, with an option you can fix a ‘worse case rate’ and unlike a forward contract, if the rate moves in your favour you can benefit.
Below is a graph of GBPEUR 2 weeks ago detailing the ongoing trends in GBPEUR while below that we have GBPUSD.
The top line is a trend of 2 years whilst the lower is that of the past 7 months. GBPUSD seems to be capped on at these levels with many analysts predicting that a break of 1.60 will see this brief rally over and a move back to 1.55. Our expectations that the market would obey the longer term trend has come true.
That trend has broken now as shown below.
GBP is Overbought
Going further in you can see that this is a regression to the middle
ground over the past year.
by Jeremy Cook, World First
To request further currency transfer information or a no-obligation quote please click here.
Disclaimer: The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author's own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are "interbank" i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts.
Sterling Crashes
Given the volatility that sterling has experienced recently, we thought it only prudent to advise you all on what could happen to sterling in the coming weeks and months. We would say that 1.10 and 1.60 are near term targets for GBPEUR and GBPUSD respectively however the prospects of falls below these levels are very strong given the momentum behind the movements we have seen over the past week. A break below these levels could easily see 1.07 and 1.55 which were the lows of the previous range.
We still believe that those of you who need to buy either euros or dollars with sterling for overseas property purchases, emigration or other reasons should be thinking about hedging around these levels through ‘currency options’. Should GBP continue to fall as we expect it do so then the levels achievable will no longer be attractive.
We would therefore advise all reading this to contact the Private Client team here to find out how to protect yourselves against further adverse shocks.
‘Currency options’ like forward contracts, allow you to exchange one currency for another on a future date. However, with an option you can fix a ‘worse case rate’ and unlike a forward contract, if the rate moves in your favour you can benefit.
Below is a graph of GBPEUR 2 weeks ago detailing the ongoing trends in GBPEUR while below that we have GBPUSD.
The top line is a trend of 2 years whilst the lower is that of the past 7 months. GBPUSD seems to be capped on at these levels with many analysts predicting that a break of 1.60 will see this brief rally over and a move back to 1.55. Our expectations that the market would obey the longer term trend has come true.
That trend has broken now as shown below.
GBP is Overbought
Going further in you can see that this is a regression to the middle
ground over the past year.
by Jeremy Cook, World First
To request further currency transfer information or a no-obligation quote please click here.
Disclaimer: The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author's own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are "interbank" i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts.
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