The world’s economy is growing ever more global. Is yours?

Governments, corporations and wealthy investors have been investing globally for decades.  Even Mom & Pop paper asset investors practice international diversification through foreign stocks, bonds and currencies.

But real estate investors tend to be very geographically focused.  Many only invest in the particular area they happen to live in.  Maybe it just seems too daunting or troublesome to invest the time and money to figure out how to invest out of area, much less out of country.

However, there’s a reason why most non-real estate investors have a global strategy.  So doesn’t it stand to reason real estate investors should think about it too?

To find out, we sit down and visit with two international experts.

On location at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada:

• Your international host, Robert Helms
• His homely co-host, Russell Gray
• The original international man and renowned global investor, Doug Casey
• A purveyor of international properties that come with an amazing bonus, Jon Green

One of the first rules of investing is diversification.  After all, no one can predict the future.  And there are so many wild cards, how can you know how any investment will really come out?

You can’t.  So the wise thing to do is organize your investments in such a way that if one or more components of your portfolio fail, it doesn’t completely wipe you out.

And according to many of the pundits we’ve spoken to, for Americans especially, going global is more important than ever before.

They point out that for many decades, Americans have enjoyed a unique position in the world, but things are changing.

Specifically, since 1944, the United States has enjoyed having the dollar holding the envious position as reserve currency of the world.

After World War II, the U.S. had the biggest gold hoard, the strongest economy, the biggest army and the most stable government.

Most of all, the U.S. dollar was backed by real gold.  And because you could exchange $35 of your dollars for an ounce of gold, the dollara was literally “as good as gold”.

After 1971 that changed, but the U.S. still had the world’s strongest economy, the largest storehouse of gold, and a strong balance sheet.

Today, it seems apparent that China could very easily pass up the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy.  Uncle Sam is also no longer the biggest creditor, but instead is the world’s largest debtor, owing nearly $20 trillion…not counting unfunded liabilities which could run the total well over $100 trillion.

To top it all off, there are several fairly credible industry watchers who suspect that most of the U.S. gold supply is effectively gone.  That is, it may physically be in the warehouse (though no one knows for sure, since they won’t show it to anyone), there may be multiple claims on all of it.

So who knows what will happen?

No one.  Which is why it’s important to diversify.

The point is that based on the substantial changes in the global financial landscape, there are different risks…and OPPORTUNITIES…that didn’t exist before (at least not on the same scale as today).

So it’s no wonder that corporations and wealthy individuals have established a presence in multiple jurisdictions.  And it isn’t just for tax benefits, privacy, asset protection and escape from burdensome regulations.

There are also great opportunities which present themselves when people, money and industry move around.

Doug Casey tells us about several real estate purchases he made going back to the 70’s.  As you’ll hear, Doug did quite well.  And it was simply a matter of recognizing economic and demographic shifts and getting in front of it.

Those changes are continuing.  In fact, it could be argued they’re accelerating.  Certainly, the ability for every day investors to discover these opportunities is greater today than ever before simply because of the speed at which information flows.

Also, some Americans are looking to invest off-shore not just for the return on investment.  They’re looking for a different kind of diversification.  Specifically, they want to have citizenship, a passport and a home in another country.

Some may think that’s radical.  Others might think it’s cool.  But for the people who do it, it’s a strategic move to give themselves a plan B….a way to move around the world, own assets or establish a life outside the United States.

Why would anyone want to do that?

Because no one knows what will happen.  And when you’ve built up enough wealth, you grow concerned about how to protect it from failing currencies and financial systems, or confiscatory taxation, or asset seizure by overly indebted governments.

If you don’t have enough wealth yet to worry about this, then we hope you’re on your way.  To help you know what to do when you get there, listen in to our conversation with international man, Doug Casey and economic citizenship concierge Jon Green.

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