The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing by Andrew Hallam is not a dry, send-you-to-sleep type of guidebook for those interested in the labyrinth of global investment products. Zzzz. Instead it is a pleasant read and does not make you go to sleep, quite the contrary – you may spend the night pondering over your financial future. My nightstand is normally loaded with novels or kids’ books, and occasionally professional literature that makes me fall asleep in a blink. This is definitely the first time in history that an investment guide found its way there, but it turns out this one was worth letting in.
Andrew Hallam’s first book, Millionaire Teacher, was a bestseller and it doesn’t surprise me why. He writes wittily – and by following his own advise became a millionaire at an age where most people are struggling with their mortgage. In this second book he has taken up a topic that should be close to the heart of all expats, and actually everyone else who is not covered by a foolproof pension scheme. I am all for taking advise from a man who retired from a teaching job in his forties.
The messages in the book are very simple: don’t be fooled by what Hallam calls ‘silver-tongued’ investment advisors. Invest in bond and stock indexes. Nobody has a crystal ball that can tell where the markets turn. He backs his arguments with impressive facts and uses real life examples that work well with people with non-MBA brains.
With his simple investment models that are aimed at securing your retirement and not to speculate Hallam has managed to convince me that by spending one hour every year I can make successful investments. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not one of those books that make you believe in miracles, quite the contrary. It gives you tools to make the most of your savings (yeah, that’s the trick) and shows you the dirty tricks of the financial service industry – that according to Hallam pretty much exists only to line the portfolio managers’ pockets.
I am yet to calculate the target for my pension savings according to Hallam’s very simple instructions but will do, once I feel brave enough. And start saving. Yep.
*We received a free copy of the book for this review.
