Expat financial advisor in Tunisia – 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 localized one, and that is something we specialize in.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Tunisia – the official name is the Republic of Tunisia – a state in the far north of Africa. The population, according to the results of the 2021 census, is 11,935,766 people, the territory is 163,610 km². Ranks 82nd in the world in terms of population and 91st in terms of territory.
A small but actively developing country, more and more foreigners are attracted. Despite the fact that 99% of the population is Muslim, adaptation takes place quite quickly. Whether it is obtaining citizenship by marriage, or running your own business in this country. The main thing is respect for the local culture.
Life in Tunisia is very versatile. Good climate conditions, developing economic environment, promising prospects. Despite the fact that Tunisia is the most secular country of the entire Maghreb, guests who do not profess Islam find it not very easy there at first.
Living in Tunisia has its advantages and disadvantages: therefore, it is important to prepare well in advance for a completely new way of life. We will help you to create an imagination about the level of life in there.
Although Tunisia’s health care system is not the same yet as the system of most Western countries. In addition, expats from Western countries should be aware that the vast majority of staff in most public hospitals do not speak English, and therefore communication in French or Arabic will be the only option. Public hospitals are often overcrowded and poorly equipped.
Since usually people for hospital treatment, everyone living in Tunisia should obtain private health insurance. In private clinics, it is much easier to find English-speaking doctors, and the quality of specialized institutions will be much higher.
About the transportation – get away from densely populated areas and expect to find extremely hazardous driving conditions, animals on the road, and no light after sunset. Moreover, if you are planning any wilderness travel, be sure to inform the authorities in advance.
Safe driving is essential on busy roads. It should also be noted that the Tunisian police are quite unpredictable when it comes to stopping people. Just make sure you obey, regardless of whether you think you did something wrong. You can drive a car with an international license or exchange a national license for a local one if you have been living in Tunisia for a long time.
However, public buses are often the best way to get around. They are available both within the city and between cities, and they are all very convenient and cheap.
If you are outside the resorts and tourist attractions of Tunisia, caution is highly recommended. For foreigners living in Tunisia, the main risks are associated with theft, pickpocketing or robbery. Expats should be careful with their handbags and wallets.
Unfortunately, street harassment of women is a problem in Tunisia. While there are no religious restrictions on how women dress, clothing with a lot of skin can draw negative attention. Another problem is kidnapping, a crime that persecutes both local residents and expats. The best advice is to stick to busy areas where there is usually a large police presence.
In general, Tunisia has not that low cost of living. It is a good place to live with high ratings for housing, business freedom and security.
The cost of living in Tunisia is below 10 percent of most cities in the world. Average living costs are significantly lower compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Tunisia is likely to lower your daily living expenses.
What to do in Tunisia?
It all depends on the level of your security and long-term plans for life. In this country you can:
- retire;
- study;
- do business;
- invest;
- work.
Obtaining the permit for staying in Tunisia a long time is connected with the registration of a residence permit. Long-term visas in the consular departments of the Tunisian Embassy are very reluctant to issue, while employees personally determine the dates of entry into and exit from the country based on the justifications you provide.
If the time will be not enough, then the visa can be extended once. The maximum renewal period cannot exceed the validity period of the visa itself. That is, if you have an entry document that is valid for 3 months, the maximum you can count on is another 90 days of being in the country. After this time, it is necessary to unambiguously obtain a residence permit.
As you can conclude, Tunisia can be more suitable for those who want to invest, or register their business, or came here to work or study. To complete right financial steps in a foreign country such as Tunisia, you may need the help of a professional – financial advisor. Later in this article we will try to understand who is a financial advisor, what he can offer expats and discuss its two main types: local and online.
Who is a financial advisor?
This specialist provides its clients with finance-related advice or strategy. Financial advisors can offer different services as investing, tax planning, real estate planning, retirement planning, education planning, or even simple budgeting. These people can offer everything from portfolio management to working with insurance products.
Financial advisor is actually a term with no specific responsibilities. Stock brokers, insurance agents, tax preparers, investment managers, and financial planners – all of them can be under the “financial advisors” name. Real estate planners and bankers can also fall under this name.
However, an important distinction can be made: the financial advisor must actually provide advice and guidance. A financial advisor can be distinguished from a stockbroker who simply publishes transactions for clients, or a tax accountant who simply prepares tax returns without advising on how to maximize tax breaks.
Typically, a financial advisor is an independent practitioner who acts as a trustee, in which the client’s interests prevail over his own.
Some agents and brokers choose to practice in this capacity as a trustee in order to attract clients. However, the structure of their remuneration is such that they are bound by the contracts of the companies in which they work.
What does a financial advisor do?
A financial advisor helps the client plan both short-term and long-term financial goals. These goals may include saving for retirement, college education, and ensuring that the client has an appropriate insurance plan to ensure a stable financial future. Their main purpose is to advise on financial security issues.
To become a certified financial advisor, a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, accounting, business mathematics, or law is required. The Master of Business Administration will definitely improve your career opportunities. It is highly recommended to take courses in investment and risk management along with courses in tax and estate planning.
Financial advisors assist clients in their financial planning. The client’s life can also suddenly change, so a financial adjustment will be required. For example, it can be a death in a family, marriage or divorce, a chronic illness or disability, or a person can receive a large amount of money.
A financial advisor can help plan college preparation for herself or her children. While most financial advisors work in offices, a quarter of them are self-employed. They can attend conferences and seminars to communicate and promote themselves to meet potential clients.
The heavy responsibility of investing in personal savings and helping them secure retirement requires both financial knowledge and interpersonal skills. Personal financial advisors provide advice on investment, home ownership, real estate planning and more to help people manage their finances and plan for the future. Personal financial advisors start their cooperation with the client by identifying his financial needs and goals and of course the level of risk they are ready to take, and then help them set short and long term goals.
Financial advisors are experts on the benefits and limitations of many different types of investments, such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds, real estate, and related topics such as insurance and the tax implications of various investments. Marketing their services to potential clients is a constant part of the job. To expand the client base, personal financial advisors run workshops, participate in networking events, and seek referrals from current clients. Typically, consultants meet with clients annually to discuss their investment portfolio and make changes.
Most personal financial advisors work in finance and insurance, while many others are self-employed. They usually work in offices full time, and some may meet with clients in the evenings and weekends.
Usually, personal financial advisors must have a bachelor’s degree, specializing in finance, economics, accounting, or law, all the mentioned are suitable. Finance is a highly regulated area: certain licenses are required to sell various investment or insurance products.
Financial advisors cannot be universal. They receive different degrees and certificates. They come from different origins and offer a wide range of services. Because of this, they can do much more than just explain the convoluted jargon and help you choose mutual funds.
Simply put, financial advisors can help you with all kinds of financial planning, which means they can help you with any financial activity, from budgeting to retirement savings.
Think of the term “financial advisor” as an umbrella term for different types of financial professionals. This is similar to what we call the “doctors” of most healthcare professionals, although they specialize in different areas of medicine.
How a financial advisor can help you in Tunisia?
Here are several different types of financial advisors that you can meet on your financial journey in Tunisia:
- Managing your funds
- Real estate plan
- Investing
Managing your funds
We all need someone in our corner to remind us of the big picture and to cheer us up as we work towards our goals. A financial advisor, especially a financial coach, can help you figure out what actions you need to take to achieve these long-term goals, whether you want to send your kids to college, buy a new home, or pay for adoption.
But just having goals is not enough. To do this, you need to use a zero budget, which means that you are giving away every dollar on an assignment. By strategically telling your money where to go, you can start planning a budget to achieve those big goals and making your dreams come true.
Real estate planning
Talking about planning at the end of your life may seem downright depressing, but it doesn’t have to. Whether you bought your first home or run your own business for 30 years, you can choose what to do with the assets you have worked so hard on.
These things are too important to be postponed until tomorrow! For most people, making a will and getting a term life insurance is enough – and you can always adjust and adapt as your life circumstances change.
But if your situation is more complex, you just need to work with a financial advisor (especially an asset manager if you’re managing millions of dollars of real estate) or a lawyer with experience in estate planning. They can give you the guidance you need to create a plan to make sure your wishes are met. You can’t put a price on the peace of mind that comes with this!
Investing
Some financial advisors are also investment professionals. They can help you determine which mutual funds are right for you and show you how to manage your investments and make the most of them. They can also help you understand the risks and what you need to do to achieve your goals.
When it comes to diving, an experienced professional can help you stay on the roller coaster. They know that falling investment funds are likely to rise again. Because they can remain emotionally neutral, they can be a voice of reason reminding you to look at your attachments through a lens. They offer a level of service that makes their experience an integral part of any retirement plan.
To accomplish all of these tasks and achieve your financial goals, from small to really large investments, as mentioned above, we will try to consider two main types of financial advisors.
Local financial advisors
A local financial advisor may deliver a professional service approach and a specific product approach. Of course, a wealth of local experience is an asset.
Having a local financial advisor has one key benefit. Selecting a local financial advisor allows you to meet with someone who will advise you on the rules of a particular location.
National firms cannot afford this. Even if you are comfortable doing business online, there will inevitably be times when you want to meet and speak honestly with the person who is giving you advice.
Other financial consulting companies usually distribute their workload to separate departments. Your “advisor” is most likely an account manager who acts as a buffer between you and some of the other people in the back office who are actually doing the work.
Your “planning” probably comes from the planning department; your investment analysis most likely comes from an analyst who is far from what really matters in your life, and those who actually implement the strategy usually see you as just a bunch of “purchases” and “sales” that they make each shopping day. You simply won’t be able to meet with a real “advisor” because these responsibilities are divided among several people in different offices.
On the other hand, you should be able to meet with a consultant if you choose an independent service-oriented consulting firm. Again, hiring a local financial advisor is optional, but for most, face-to-face meetings bring a host of benefits.
Most “consultants” at large financial companies such as banks will receive some or all of their compensation for selling you a product, be it stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance policies, or annuities.
This creates an inevitable conflict of interest. The securities laws in this country recognize this fact and require these “advisors” to be at a lower level. This is called the “suitability” standard, which means they only need to consider whether the products they sell are suitable for your broad investment profile.
The highest standard is the “fiduciary” standard. An independent consultant, whether online or local, who agrees to abide by this standard must by law always put your best interests first.
These consultants never sell products, take commissions, or do anything else that could cause a conflict of interest. They weigh all the factors in your situation before making any recommendations. Their advice is 100% objective. Whether you hire a local financial advisor or not, what really matters is that he is objective and puts his clients first. Speaking of online financial advisors, let’s talk a little about them.
Online financial advisor
Online or virtual financial advisor is a new concept of this century. An online consultant helps clients select investments and develop short and long term financial planning strategies.
In this role, you usually do not meet with your clients in person; you communicate with customers via phone calls, email, video conferencing and chat applications.
The work of a financial advisor includes assessing the current financial condition of your clients by analyzing their assets, investments and other financial decisions they make, such as retirement plans and life insurance policies.
After you have evaluated their finances, you define an investment and budget plan to meet your client’s financial goals.
The plan may include regular savings deposits to increase their emergency funds, open college accounts for children, or invest in retirement plans. Below are some of the benefits you will get by working with an online financial advisor.
Save your time and money
You never have to interrupt your day or travel to get to a meeting. Everything over the Internet, from weekly meetings to documentation. Of course, all of this will be confidential and secure. This means not printing documents or written meeting notes.
It’s easier to be true
In a stuffy office, you might be hesitant to tell your financial planner that you want to save money on a botox party or calf implantation. It’s hard to interrupt slang when looking at a suit in a conference room.
Joining a virtual meeting from a familiar location allows you to be honest about your situation, goals, and things you don’t know about. And to be successful in your financial game plan, you must be honest with your financial planner. With us, every online financial planning meeting is non-judgmental, and simple advice is our bread and butter.
Online communication is still good
A virtual tip should also not be confused with a high-end call center or low-cost customer service center. This is not a digital edition. Rather, it is a continuous financial consulting model that replaces the personal consultant and offers a different value proposition for a specific segment of consumers.
In fact, the ideal experience is pretty simple – you want to feel like you’re chatting with a good friend who is simply talented at money. There is no need for a large conference room.
They are on your side, they are fun to talk to, and they tell you everything you need to know in easy-to-understand language. Because if you are truly an expert, can’t you drop the jargon and just explain things? We think so.
A virtual tip should also not be confused with a quality call center or service center for low-value customers.
Is it worth hiring a financial advisor?
Yes, if you are not familiar with all financial products and services in Tunisia or want to invest there. Typically, a financial advisor will charge between 1% and 2% of the portfolio value.
For investors who are not versed in the range of financial products and want to invest, choosing a financial advisor is the best option.
However, investors who are knowledgeable about the products and do not have the time to monitor them regularly can also appoint a financial advisor. They will help you periodically monitor and revise your portfolio to keep up with changing market scenarios.
Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 295.8 million answers views on Quora.com and a widely sold book on Amazon
