Trustnet Magazine Issue 31 July 2017 | Seite 14

/ A PLACE IN THE SUN /
ongoing maintenance. There may
also be cross-border agreements with
your country of residency.
A THORNY ISSUE
There are longer-term
considerations, such as the thorny
issue of foreign inheritance tax. In
France, you can’t disinherit your
children, even if you make a will,
though new rules allow you to use
the inheritance tax rules of your
country of habitual residence.
Every country comes with its own
set of rules. Again, a solicitor can
advise whether it is worth making a
separate will for any foreign assets.
Capital gains tax is another
consideration. Foreign property
will not count as a “principal
private residence” and therefore
capit al gains tax is payable on any
increase in the value on sale. Kidd
says foreign buyers must be alert
to currency fluctuations: “If you
sell a house for the same price you
bought it for, but there has been a 20
per cent currency gain, that will be
considered a capital gain when it is
converted back to sterling.”
Herein lies one of the biggest
problems for those buying abroad:
currency movements. This has been
a particularly difficult issue this year.
Colin Dewar, currency specialist
at Hargreaves Lansdown, says:
“There has been a big sterling/euro
movement since Brexit. The day
before the vote, it was possible to get
1.31 euros to the pound, afterwards
it dropped as low as 1.2 and its
12
“There are
longer-term
considerations,
such as the
thorny issue
of foreign
inheritance tax”
12-month low is 1.09. Volatility has
been the watch-word and that is
likely to continue.”
WILDLY UNPREDICTABLE
He points out the pound has proved
receptive to different scenarios
– Theresa May’s decision to call
a general election, for example,
and recent comments by Bank of
England governor Mark Carney;
nevertheless, it has also proved
wildly unpredictable.
For those looking to buy a place
outside the UK, this has a huge
impact. For a €200,000 house, it is
the difference between £154,000
(at €1.3) or £182,000 (at €1.1). For
those with a mortgage or who
receive a pension, it can create real
unpredictability month to month,
meaning income and outgoings can
fluctuate significantly.
There are options to help. It is
possible to fix the rate, for example,
for three or six months down
the line. It is also possible to buy
Courage and commitment - that’s the
futures, which can put a floor on
falls in the currency. You can buy a
future at, say, €1.25 for six months.
If the price drops below this level
at any point during the six months,
you have to honour the contract,
but it means that the exchange
won’t drop below it.
FP CRUX European Special Situations Fund
BE VIGILANT
You also need to be vigilant.
Kidd says: “It is not like changing
money for a holiday, where you
can panic-buy at the airport. You
need to be vigilant on an ongoing
basis, ensuring you take advantage
of good rates when they happen.”
Your bank is likely to be among
the worst options; currency
specialists are a better bet.
It is possible to take your
pension with you: once you
qualify for the UK state pension,
you can claim it no matter where
you live. There will be currency
considerations for this as well,
however. If you are considering
a permanent stay abroad, you
can transfer into a Qualifying
Recognised Overseas Pension
Scheme (QROPS). There may be
tax advantages, but it is complex
and requires financial advice.
In buying a property abroad,
it is important to recognise you
may be vulnerable and therefore
truly independent advice – from
solicitors, financial advisers and
accountants – is important in
preventing your idyll from turning
into an abyss. 
trustnetdirect.com
Return on £1,000 invested 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years Since launch*
- 30.04.17
CRUX European Special Situations Fund £1,284 £1,370 £1,507 £1,651 £2,172 £2,629
Sector average : IA Europe ex UK £1,261 £1,252 £1,334 £1,534 £1,929 £1,910
Index : FTSE World Europe ex UK £1,288 £1,237 £1,324 £1,520 £1,947 £1,872
Cash : Bank of England Base Rate £1,003 £1,008 £1,013 £1,018 £1,023 £1,036
Source: FE © 2017, bid-bid, £1,000 invested, cumulative performance to 30.04.17. *Launch date 01.10.09.
Active managers who invest in their own funds
Active investment management requires confi dence,
courage and commitment in every investment decision,
something the managers of CRUX’s European Special
Situations Fund have plenty of.
They are also committed to aligning their investment
aims with that of their clients by investing meaningful
amounts of their own assets in their funds.
As you can see from the table above, it’s an approach which
is delivering strong performance and over the years they
have achieved an impressive track record.
The Fund has comfortably lapped the index and most
of the tracker funds that follow it nearly every year over
the past fi ve years, as shown in the table above. So if
you’re investing in Europe put yourself on the podium
with active asset management, not in the slow lane with
a passive investment.
Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The
value of an investment and any income from it are not
guaranteed and can go down as well as up and there is
the risk of loss to your investment.
Consult your fi nancial adviser, call or visit: 0800 30 474 24
www.cruxam.com
Fund featured; FP CRUX European Special Situations Fund I ACC GBP class. The Henderson European Special Situations Fund was restructured into the FP CRUX European Special
Situations Fund on 8 June 2015. Any past performance or references to the period prior to 8 June 2015 relate to the Henderson European Special Situations Fund. This fi nancial
promotion is issued by CRUX Asset Management, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London
E14 5HS. A free, English language copy of the full prospectus, the Key Investor Information Document and Supplementary Information Document for the fund, which should be
read before investing, can be obtained from the CRUX website, www.cruxam.com or by calling us on 0800 304 7424. For your protection, calls may be monitored and recorded.