Poor returns from local markets, the recession and government policies on land reform and the mining charter may be leading you to think about exporting some of your hard-earned investments to foreign lands. Advisers will tell you these aren't the best reasons for investing offshore, but none will deny that diversifying your investments is a good idea.
Investing offshore gives you access to markets and industries that are not available in SA, away from shares and bonds that are often subject to market sentiment affecting emerging-market countries.
Investors are spoilt for choice when it comes to investing in rand-denominated unit trusts and funds that invest in foreign markets and across foreign asset classes.
South African managers have funds managed from an office here or abroad and they offer feeder funds that accept rands and buy into an offshore-domiciled fund of a carefully chosen offshore partner.
Investing in funds that are registered in other countries (foreign-domiciled) and are denominated in currencies other than the rand can protect your investments in a hard currency and, if you plan to use the money overseas without bringing it back into rands, can potentially protect you from political and economic events at home.
However, it has until recently been the place for investors with larger sums - between $3,000 and $25,000 (about R44,880 R150,000) - to invest. For example, if you want to invest in dollars, Coronation's global equity fund needs $15,000, Foord's requires $10,000 and Nedgroup's $4,000...