British expat Adam Loosley was talked into investing in a 25-year investment plan after contacting a UAE financial advisory firm about writing a will in March 2014. “After my initial request, it all just snowballed,” he says.
Mr Loosley, who moved to the UAE in 2007 and works as a project manager for an audiovisual company, was advised to set up a 25-year offshore savings plan.
Despite telling his adviser he wanted complete flexibility and transparency, he ended up with neither. “I was told it was similar to a pension and it seemed the right thing to do, but it wasn’t.”
Like so many expats before him, the 37-year-old had locked himself it into a poor-value product that would run for decades. “A friend pointed out that I had made a huge mistake and when I took a closer look at the paperwork I was horrified. My signature was above all the elements that make these plans inflexible and expensive but at no point were they highlighted.”
His friend suggested that he contact the advisory firm AES International for help. He has been advised to continue paying into the plan because the charges for cancelling are too punitive and he has taken on higher risk options to build up the fund’s value at a faster pace.
“I technically need to pay in for 25 years, but I hope I can stop paying in once the fund’s value is greater than the fees,” says Mr Loosley, who has since also invested a lump sum within a low-cost online investment platform and opened an offshore account. “I was cynical about advisory firms but still fell into the 25-year trap. I hope others can avoid making the same mistakes.”
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