Buying gold is one way of moving money out of Sterling.

Given the way the UK economy is going, would it be a wise move for me to move some of my savings into another currency? (say 15%)

Swiss Francs is the option that first springs to mind (no interest paid though, but that's OK) although I've seen Canadian dollars mentioned here as well.

Is it a good idea or just a waste of time?

(I ask as very much a newbie in this area.)

A quick look at this: for GBP -> CHF reveals the pound gliding a bit lower against the swiss franc over the past five years.

http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

But take a look at 1990 thru 1995!

Really, it depends on what you think the BoE will do with interest rates in the near future. American rates will be going up for at least a little longer, and rates in most other Western nations will have to do the same... Britain is the only Western nation I know of where there's any significant risk of a rate _cut_ in the next year.

The main reason I transferred most of my savings to Canadian dollars is because I'm hoping to be moving there in a bit over a year, but so far the exchange rate has been going up and down with oil price and the US dollar. I'm hoping the rate will drop by the end of next year so I can transfer whatever I've saved between now and then, but if the US dollar doesn't crash and oil keeps going up and/or the BoE don't raise interest rates (or, God forbid, cut them), it may well be worth more.

Chinese Yuan might be a good idea?

They make everything we buy today - everything cheap like DVD players, TVs, other electrical stuff, clothes, - this cant remain forever. So in theory the value of western currencies will eventually fall in relation to Yuan.

In the long run, quite probably. In the short run, it's far too much of a political toy for my tastes... if the Chinese government decide that cutting the value of the yuan is a good way to increase exports and boost their economy, they will.

A very handy site indeed, cheers for the link.


Personally I would hope to see a rise in interest rates but I fear that any that there are will be put off for far too long. The BOE and its decisions don't fill me with confidence.

Ditto. That's why I moved most of my savings out of Sterling a few months ago.. I've no idea how long it will be before reality reasserts itself at the MPC and rates go up.

And the latest appointee to the MPC doesn't seem to indicate any improvements are likely for a while.

Bart - have you found any info about offshore accounts, at all?

I heard that Royal Bank of Scotland let you open a Swiss bank acct but I can't find any information on their site.

Google searching seems to reveal that, in general, this wouldn't be an easy exercise???

HSBC certainly do offshore accounts, but they take a while to set up: not sure about Swiss Francs, but the Canadian dollar account also has a minimum balance of 10k pounds. Natwest do them too, but I think the minimum balance is higher.

I'd guess most banks will if you look in the right place on their web site.

Hi megaflop

I've looked at the Bank of Scotland option and they do indeed offer accounts in various currencies but (from what I can gather from their site) you have to contact them for further details.

http://www.bankofscotlandinternational.com...nts_fixed.shtml

As MarkG says, HSBC also offer accounts in foreign currencies, including Swiss Francs.

http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/1/2/internati...deposit-account


Australian dollars
Canadian dollars
Danish krone
Euro
Hong Kong dollars
Israeli shekels
Japanese yen
New Zealand dollars
Norwegian krone
South African rand
Swedish krona
Swiss francs
US dollars

The Fixed term account requires a minimum of £5000 to open an account (they do a Premier account which also offers the above currencies, but you need at least £60,000 for this one).

Another option, which has been mentioned favourable on these boards, is Citibank:

http://www.citibank.co.uk/uk/bankingproduc...rency/index.jsp

They offer accounts in:

Australian Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Euro
Hong Kong Dollar*
Japanese Yen*
New Zealand Dollar
Singapore Dollar*
Swedish Krona
Swiss Franc*
US Dollar

* Non-interest bearing accounts

Their terms are:

You must either:
Earn over £20,000 annually and pay your salary into your account monthly, OR
Earn over £30,000 annually and pay your salary into your account monthly or make an initial deposit of £2,000.

As an HSBC customer I probably ought to favour them but Citibank seem to be more geared to these kind of accounts.

What I'm wondering is if overseas investments, e.g. Asia Pacific, Europe or India are independent of sterling if made through UK based unit trusts or trackers?

Seems logical that they would be safe but can anybody confirm this?

Hi Bart,

Thanks for the links.

The Citibank is a bit restrictive for me. Why would you want to pay your salary into one of these???

I work for a Japanese company, maybe they can pay me in Yen!

Just testing the new avatar. Can anyone identify the ship?

Dunno. Is it the Bismarck?









Hey - You're taking this thread OT!

The Turbina?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbinia

Good question. I've emailed Citibank to try and get this cleared up. I'll post any reply I receive.

Well done! It's Turbinia, actually. You know your technical heritage. Odd nowadays to think of Britain pioneering the world. 90% of the world's electricity is still generated by steam turbine. I wonder what Parsons would make of that.

Hello Bart of Darkness,
I trade currency Futures which more often than not reflect the inter-Bank rate. So here is a just back from the Sunday session wild guess.

The British Pound December Future(B6Z5) could climb to 18550 or thereabouts around the 28th of November. If it does, and it's a BIG IF, then there is a chance that it could then trend down to the 16350(B6Z6) area mid July '06 before the uptrend resumes.

What to convert your money into if the pound tanks next month ? Well I think the Japanese Yen could reverse and begin trending upwards at the beginning of 2006. Of course it's a bit early to say, but perhaps the Yen may offer the best gains from January '06 to July '06.

There are no guarantee's with any type of market analysis (especially after 5 Caiprinha's) and fortunes can be lost believing otherwise. You could lose out by converting your hard earned into another currency, but you could also lose out just by doing nothing and leaving your money in British Pounds. Bit of a bugger really.

Anyway, you can check US Futures here; http://sites3.barchart.com/pl/vsn/cc.htx

Just enter the correct symbol, time period etc;
December British Pound - B6Z5. (until 19/12/05, then use B6Z6)
March Japanese Yen - J6H6.
March US Dollar - DXH6


Disclaimer:
If you listen to me you could lose all your money...and more.






I've been steaming since 8 o'clock. I wonder what Parsons would make of that !


---

if you look at the chart of cable, you will see it my well have formed a short term and mid-term double bottom

What traders are focused on is the short term effects of interest rates, central banks and growth to determine the market value.
To bet on any currency rising means that you bet ;

That productivity/its OUTPUT will grow.

That should be your long term guide to the real exchange rate of any currency.

Italy devalued by over 70% in just 8 years when faced with the consequences of expending its public sector with non jobs. We have many more years of Brown ahead of us.

deleted. wrong thread, bugger.