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Sterling deposits are linked to the performance of the S&P United Kingdom Index.\u00a0\u00a0US dollar deposits are linked to the performance of the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. Finally\u00a0Australian dollar deposits are linked to the performance of the S&P \/ ASX 200 Index<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Where are Standard Bank products sold?\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/h4>\n
Around the world, but South Africa, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and other expat-focused cities have many Standard Bank clients. Typically, Standard Bank is sold through brokers rather than directly.<\/p>\n
What are the positives of Standard Bank\u2019s products?<\/b><\/b><\/h4>\n
It is a well-regulated bank and the current accounts are an excellent option for expats.\u00a0 Optimum Accounts are cheap provided you have a balance of\u00a0 $4,000 or more, you aren\u2019t charged for account management.\u00a0 The current account is one of the best options in the market, despite the foreign exchange rates being relatively high and the online system needing improvement.<\/p>\n
Many of the options available in the UK market aren\u2019t available for expats, so when assessing fees and charges, you need to compare apples with apples, and not apples with pears.<\/p>\n
What are the negatives of Standard Bank\u2019s products?<\/b><\/b><\/h4>\n
When it comes to the investment options, having 40% paying out a \u00a0guaranteed 2%-3% sounds good, but it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The US S&P, and other main stock markets in the US, have regularly produced 10% for over 200 years. Some years are good and some are bad, but the long-term direction of the market is clear.<\/p>\n
Having 40% of your money getting just 2%-3% doesn\u2019t make sense, compared to having more money in government bonds and equities.<\/p>\n
Remember $10,000 invested in the US S&P in 1941 would be worth a cool 51 million USD today\u2026.having a 60%-40% portfolio would have ensured you missed out on millions.<\/p>\n
As the late and great Jack Bogle remarked, cash is one of the few investments that are guaranteed to lose you money.\u00a0 It struggles to keep pace with inflation. It is just less volatile. \u00a0Too many people confuse volatility with stability and safety.<\/p>\n
However, as most people are more focused on avoiding losses rather than maximizing gains, too many DIY investors lose out on returns.<\/p>\n
In addition to that, Standard Bank have many complicated products linked to structured notes, which increases complexity and risks.<\/p>\n
Standard Bank during the 2020 crisis\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\nAs many people know, global stock markets haven’t performed well after hiring record highs (in the case of US markets especially) in February.<\/p>\n
That isn’t a problem for the buy and hold investor. Markets will recover as they always have done historically.<\/p>\n
What will be interesting will be how their structured products hold up during moments of huge falls for markets.<\/p>\n
What about the alternatives to Standard Bank?<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe likes of HSBC compete with Standard Bank for offshore business and I review the options here:<\/p>\n