Felicity Glover | June 22, 2012
Financial literacy – in particular the lack of it – has long been an issue that we have made a priority in our coverage of personal finance in the Emirates.There were times, especially in the beginning, when it felt like we were a one-man (sorry, woman!) band. But slowly, we began to see some change – and a validation of what we were trying to achieve: empowering UAE residents to take control of their personal finances with smart money management skills.Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank last year launched a campaign to teach its customers about the fundamentals of financial literacy, such [...]
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Felicity Glover | June 15, 2012
Imagine this: it’s a year or two before the financial crisis is about to hit. You have arrived in the UAE as a new expat and start living big. You borrow up to your eyeballs to fund your new, luxury lifestyle, which requires a host of accessories: the luxury SUV, the expensive villa complete with pool, five bedrooms and just as many bathrooms, brand-label clothes, nights out in costly restaurants and clubs, long weekends away; a few quick trips over to Europe or Asia for good measure.And then, suddenly, you are teetering on the financial edge. It’s reality-check time. The [...]
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Felicity Glover | June 8, 2012
In a country where car insurance is mandatory, it’s incredible to learn that only 5 to 10 per cent of the UAE’s population have bothered to take out home contents insurance. I guess that’s because many people think that the country’s relatively low crime rate and lack of rain negate the need – and expense – of protecting their belongings.But the recent spate of apartment block fires in Sharjah – and today’s fire in a tower of flats in Dubai Marina – prove just how important it is to have home contents insurance. Not only does it mean you can [...]
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Felicity Glover | May 17, 2012
I’ve been thinking a lot about Facebook’s IPO lately and what has struck me most is that “mums and dads” investors have been left out of the world’s biggest tech listing. It’s all very well for Mark Zuckerberg, the social-networking site’s chief executive, to court institutional and wealthy retail investors as it seeks to raise up to US$16 billion.But what about the core of Facebook’s nearly 900 million users? Who are they? They are mums and dads investors, the very people who have helped Facebook become the success it is today. Without them, where would Facebook be?I’m sure they’d also [...]
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Alice Haine | April 17, 2012
National Bonds now has more than 100,000 customers under the age of 18. That’s incredible when you consider the entire customer base stands at about 660,000. Work out the percentage and the under 18s make up 16 per cent of the total number of bondholders. According to the organisation’s chief executive, Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, not only are the number of young bondholders increasing, but the amounts they are saving are going up as well – by 25 per cent no less in the past year. This year alone, 7,000 youngsters have already signed up to the scheme and the [...]
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Felicity Glover | April 11, 2012
It’s ironic that just last weekend, I wrote about the high cost of cybercrime in my On The Money column last weekend. While banks have a responsibility to protect their customers from the likes of phishing (bogus, but realistic-looking websites set up to “lure” people into revealing their user names and passwords), online scams and card fraud, I lectured, we, the people also were responsible for protecting ourselves. I’d like to think I’m pretty aware of the dangers of cybercrime and have managed to avoid getting stung by Nigerian e-mail fraudsters and other ruses to get my personal information. Unfotunately, [...]
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Alice Haine | April 4, 2012
Companies and individuals with any legal concerns can have their worries dealt with for free by a top lawyer at a pro bono clinic organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts. The clinic, which was first launched in February to help those with limited funds gain access to the best legal advice, will be held on April 12 at the Monarch Hotel in Dubai. Scott Hutton, a senior associate at the Dubai office of the US law firm, Kilpatrick Townsend, volunteered his time for the first session and says he heard enquiries related to real estate, employment and banking [...]
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Alice Haine | April 1, 2012
This weekend’s cover story in Personal Finance looks at the benefits of going to university. While the education system stresses that getting a degree is the only way to build a good career, many have proven that they can achieve the same success, if not more, by skipping college and going straight into the workplace.To prove this point, we interviewed Simon Dolan (pictured above), one of the UK’s leading entreprenuers and the author of How To Make Millions Without A Degree. Mr Dolan, who left school at 16 without any qualifications and now heads a £100 million (Dh585.76m) empire, says [...]
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Alice Haine | March 27, 2012
It may sound too good to be true but Union National Bank (UNB) is offering a free-for-life Platinum credit card at a monthly rate of 0.54 per cent. That’s an annual rate of just 6.48 per cent! With the majority of credit cards in the Emirates offering annual rates of 30 per cent or more, this is by far the lowest rate currently on the market. When I called the press office to find out why, they told me: “It’s because we’re the bank that cares.” I probed further, still incredulous that such a rate exists in today’s market and [...]
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Alice Haine | March 25, 2012
With the UK budget still fresh in our minds, we spoke to James Thomas, the regional director of Acuma Wealth Management, to find out how it affects you. Here are some of his thoughts: Pensions The main area that affects expats relates to pensions, and specifically, Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pensions Schemes (QROPS). The so-called “condition 4″ amendments now form the requirements that a QROPS has to meet to be considered an overseas pension scheme. In essence, this requires that where relief in respect of pension benefits is available to a non-resident member, the same or substantially the same relief must also [...]
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