Expat financial advisors in Ghana – what is the best option?

Expat financial advisors in Ghana – that will be the topic of today’s article.

I will compare some of the options available locally, alongside more portable, online and international options like what we offer.

For any questions, or if you are looking to invest as an expat, you can contact me using  this form, or via the WhatsApp function below.

It makes sense to have a portable option as an expat, as opposed to a localised one, and that is something we specialise in. 

Introduction

Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is located in West Africa. It stretches along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by the Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq m) with a population of 31 million. It is the second most populous country in West Africa after Nigeria; Accra is its capital and largest city.

Ghana is an average resource-rich country with industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and precious metals. It is an emerging designated digital economy with a mixed economy and emerging market with 8.7% GDP growth in 2012. It has an economic plan target known as the Ghana Vision 2020. The plan calls for Ghana to become the first African country to become a developed country between 2020 and 2029, and a newly industrialized country from 2030 to 2039. 

This excludes other members of the Group of 24 and sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, which is a newly industrialized country. 

Ghana’s economy is also tied to the Chinese yuan and Ghana’s huge gold reserves. In 2013, the Bank of Ghana began distributing the renminbi in Ghana’s state-owned banks and among the people of Ghana as a hard currency, along with the national cedi of Ghana as the second national trading currency. 

Between 2012 and 2013, 37.9 percent of rural residents experienced poverty, while only 10.6 percent of urban residents. There are more employment opportunities in urban areas, especially in informal trade, while almost all (94 percent) of poor rural households are employed in the agricultural sector.

The Volta River Government and Ghana’s National Petroleum Corporation are the two main producers of electricity. The Akosombo Dam, built on the Volta River in 1965, provides hydropower along with the Bui Dam, Kpong Dam and several other hydroelectric power plants. In addition, the Ghanaian government has sought to build a second nuclear power plant in Africa.

The Ghana Stock Exchange is the 5th largest in continental Africa and the 3rd largest in sub-Saharan Africa with a market capitalization of £ 57.2 billion or RMB 180.4 billion in 2012, with the top South Africa JSE Limited. The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) was the second most efficient stock exchange in sub-Saharan Africa in 2013.

Ghana also produces high quality cocoa. It is the second largest cocoa producer in the world and is projected to become the world’s largest cocoa producer in 2015.

Ghana is classified as a middle-income country. Services account for 50% of GDP, followed by manufacturing (24.1%), mining (5%) and taxes (20.9%).

So Ghana is a pretty popular country for expats, and also investors, for people who have free funs to invest and benefit from it. In this article we will mainly talk about financial advisors as a great tool for expats in Ghana, how they can help you and try to show you where to start, how to understand you need a financial advisor and discussing three main types of financial advisors, help you understand which one is a best match for you financial goals.

Who is a financial advisor?

A financial advisor is a financial specialist who provides advice and advice on the finances of an individual or legal entity. Financial advisors can help individuals and companies achieve their financial goals faster by providing their clients with strategies and ways to increase wealth, reduce costs, or eliminate debt.

The role of a financial advisor

A financial advisor can help both individuals and companies, to achieve their financial goals in the following ways.

For individuals

In the case of an individual, a financial advisor can provide insight into how he can save more and increase his wealth. This is often done by creating an investment portfolio that is well suited to the client’s attitude to risk. Some clients are more willing to take risks if the prospect of potentially greater rewards is more attractive to them than the prospect of potentially losing money.

Conversely, there are clients who are no longer risk averse and would like to have a portfolio with less risk, even if that means potentially lower returns.

Determining a person’s attitude to risk can be difficult as a person’s attitude to risk can be influenced by many factors. Thus, a financial advisor can ask about things like a person’s age, income, marital status, debt, or savings in order to get a solid picture of their client.

For companies

In case of providing assistance to companies, financial advisors can help with a neutral perspective on corporate development projects. For example, if a company is considering expanding its operations by building a new plant, financial consultants can help assess the profitability of the project on their own.

After completing the assessment, the consultant can present his findings to the company’s management with a view to analyzing them to provide management with a valuable second opinion.

What does a financial planner do?

The financial advisor looks at the “big picture” by taking a holistic approach to financial planning. A financial planner will help you figure out what you want out of life and then create a plan for how to get it done.

The financial advisor focuses on you and your goals, your money and your investments.

Working with a financial advisor puts you in control of your finances while providing clarity and confidence in your financial future. A financial advisor will draw up a financial plan that provides a roadmap for your financial future. A financial plan will show you where you are today, where you want to be, and then create a strategy to help you get there.

A financial strategy may include financial products such as ISA or retirement, investment tools, however, these are simply things to get the job done.

How much does a financial planner cost? Most financial planners work with a fixed fee, with an average commission ranging from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000. This usually includes customizing any financial products. In most cases, hiring a financial advisor is a better option, especially for expats, or investors who moved to a country and do not have any idea about that country, they will definitely need some kind of help from a professional. 

In this case that professional is a financial advisor, but which type, is up to you. In this article we will talk about three main financial advisor:

• Bank financial advisors
• Local financial advisors
• Online financial advisors

These are the most common and available financial advisors, and finding them will be the easiest part. Let’s now review some of them, understand each pros and cons, and also try to discovers ways to invest in Ghana.

Bank financial advisors

The bank’s financial advisors help their clients determine how best to manage their money through short-term and long-term investment planning. They often work with individual, financial or corporate clients as employees of a bank or other financial institution. Most of them have bachelor’s degrees in areas such as finance, accounting or business and have completed related courses such as risk management, taxes, and real estate planning. Certain positions, such as those requiring the sale of stocks and bonds, require licensing, and professional certifications are useful for advancing a career.

Bank financial consultants can work as consultants to the bank through which they work, or for individual and corporate clients of the bank. Either way, a financial advisor works closely with their clients to determine how best to manage their money and assets. 

Financial advisors primarily provide clients with investment advice and help with long-term financial planning. 

Services to individual clients often include the creation of college retirement plans and funds, stock recommendation, or portfolio management. However, the services required depend entirely on the type of client base that the consultant supports.

• Marketing

It is stated that most of the financial advisor’s time is spent building a client base. Financial advisors need to be able to sell their services well and communicate with potential clients in order to sell their services. They will also need to meet with existing clients at least once a year to check and keep them informed of the financial prospects of their investments.

• Specialization

Financial advisors can decide to meet all the financial needs of a client or specialize in one area. For example, a financial advisor may decide to manage only investment risk. Those wishing to work in banks can focus on areas of particular interest to corporate or high net worth clients. For example, a bank may not find college funds advice as useful as advice on portfolio management and diversification.

• Sales

One aspect of a financial advisor career includes selling various financial products such as stocks, bonds, insurance policies, and other financial instruments offered by a bank or financial institution. 

In some cases, consultants may be required to obtain one or more licenses to conduct or advise on these types of business transactions. The experience and licensing of various financial products and services usually increases the earning potential of a bank financial advisor, especially one who works on commissions.

The bank’s financial advisors work with clients on ways to manage their money. These consultants can be generalists or they can specialize in one aspect of personal finance. In some cases, a license may be required.

But as you can see from the last point, the bank financial advisors mainly try to sell you the bank products, and put it in the first place. 

Anyways here are some of the best Ghana bank savings accounts you can use while moving there.

OmniBank’s Savings Account

If you are aiming for the absolute highest interest rate that OmniBank offers – historically it seems that they always have the highest interest rate of any bank in Ghana, currently around 12% -> 13%, however personally we have no experience with by this bank.

This bank is good and trustworthy, however, it is less complex in terms of technology (online platforms are a little outdated / sloppy looking) and their physical branches / branches are not scattered all over Ghana, or even the whole of Accra – which makes it quite difficult to deposit money into an account often unless you have a reliable vehicle that can travel many kilometers to one of their locations.

SC’s Savings account

If you are looking to save in a currency other than cedi, then this is probably the best account for you – this is definitely our choice.

Standard Charter savings account is best suited for foreign exchange as that is essentially their specialization as a multinational bank. Interest rates for most foreign currencies are between 1% and 3.5%, however some are slightly lower – but remember that these rates are lower than other banks mentioned here as they are in different currencies. Cedi deposits offer higher interest rates as the inflation rate is higher.

Local financial advisors

Choosing the right savings account isn’t the only challenge expats face when moving to Ghana. One of the most popular things is sending money to Ghana and receiving money from Ghana.

In this case, the challenge is to choose the best way to do it in order to minimize the loss of currency, taxes and time. In this case, expats will need the help of a local financial advisor, to understand which international money transferring company is the best and most cost-effective.

Today, there are more than a dozen of money transferring companies, and each is actively promoting their services. But it is very hard to understand which one is best for you. The main selection criteria can be the cost of the transfer, the currency of the transaction, the speed of enrollment, geography and convenience.

The cost of services for all systems is open information, so it will not be difficult to find out the exact amount of the transfer commission and choose the most advantageous offer.

Some international money transfer systems are very widespread and can be found almost everywhere, even in small towns. But in Ghana we have available one of the most popular companies: Western Union.

Also take into account the size of the commission. All systems charge a fee for their services: usually the sender pays, but some systems share the commission: the sender pays a part, and the recipient pays a part.

When making a transfer, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises, specify the amount of the commission.

Another important point is the transfer currency. In what currency do you send money, in what currencies will your addressee be able to receive it and at what rate is the conversion, if these currencies are different?

Finally, find out how quickly your recipient will receive the money. The question is not idle: depending on the system and the type of transfer, the expectation of the receipt of funds can range from 5 minutes to a day or even more. Let’s see how you can send money through Western Union.

How to send money yourself from Ghana abroad using Western Union?

• This process is used to transfer money to someone overseas so that the person can collect it from any Western Union agent in the destination country. 
• Find a Western Union agent on the official Western Union website. 
• Complete and complete the Western Union Money Sending Form. 
• Visit the nearest agent from the list of agents on the website and give him / her the completed forms along with the appropriate funds (including transaction fees). 
• Keep your receipt and tracking number (MTCN) as they will be required before the recipient can receive money at the destination. This code can also be used to track the progress of your translation. How to send money from Ghana abroad using Western Union to a bank account abroad This method is also used to transfer money directly to the recipient’s bank account abroad.

How to send money from Ghana abroad using Western Union online?

• Log into your Western Union profile and, if you do not have an account, make sure you have an operating system. 
• Choose the destination country, and the amount you want to transfer and the delivery method (cash or transfer to a bank account). 
• Enter the full name of the recipient. Be sure to enter the name on the recipient’s valid national ID. 
• Select a payment method and pay.
• Upon successful completion, your confirmation will be emailed to you. This will include the MTCN that the recipient will use when receiving the money.

Online financial advisors

Online financial consultants are interested not so much in selling a specific financial service as in meeting your needs, since they are independent of any organization and work individually with their clients from different parts of the world.

The orientation of an independent consultant to client requests allows him to represent the interests of the client, successfully cooperating with several banks, insurance companies at once, choose the most suitable one, contact the best mutual funds and pension funds, taking into account the most important thing. – your interests.

The main advantages of virtual financial consulting that expats in Ghana can list are the flexibility and convenience offered by this service. In traditional financial consulting, clients and consultants must agree on a meeting time, with one or both parties traveling a certain distance.

If the client uses an online financial advisor, travel is not required and the meeting can be held via video conferencing anytime, anywhere throughout the day. This option is effective for clients who travel frequently, or for expats who moved to another country but don’t want to change his financial advisor.

Clients looking to retire often spend time visiting their families and spending seasons in different climates. Online financial advisor gives his clients the confidence to know that they can always contact their advisor and get investment management advice whenever they want.

For many people, working with an online advisor has a number of potential benefits, including:

• A wider range of talented and qualified financial advisors to choose from, regardless of geographic restrictions.
• The ability to work with a consultant wherever you are.
• No need to waste time traveling to a consultant’s office for a meeting. This can take a lot from your time to schedule an appointment with your advisor. If the trip to the consultant’s office involves a lot of traffic, it will take more time and add stress.
• The ability to meet with your advisor on a schedule that suits both of you. If you both agree to have a meeting or call at 10:00 pm, you can both do so from the comfort of your location. Likewise on Saturday morning or any other time that might suit you.

Make sure you are looking for a financial advisor with a sense of trust and professional experience to help you achieve your financial goals. Expanding the pool of possible advisors to include those who work will provide a wider range of advisors to choose from.

In conclusion, financial advisors play a key role in the lives of people striving for smart budget management and because of the variety of services they offer and the multiple lines of business you can get in touch with, it gives expats many opportunities to meet a financial advisor who meets their requirements. convenience, interests and, of course, goals.

This is all we have prepared for you, in any case, online financial advisors will be the best option for expats in Ghana. Fortunately, the Internet nowadays can give us huge benefits, including that you can keep in touch with you personal online financial advisor, wherever he is or you are. 

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