Swiss IRA's / Swiss Annuities

[Texarkandy]

Swiss IRA's & Swiss Annuities

So, should I decide the sky is falling & to don my tin-foil-hat for good - what are these?

If one's faith was shaky in the good ole US dollar, seems to make sense (in concept) to move ones already very conservatively invested retirement $ to Swiss francs, no?

What are these things? Is this something that's do-able, advisable?

 

[DblDoc]

Betting on currency fluctuations is much riskier then the stock market and with the current weakness of the US dollar you would be selling low and buying high.

DD

 

[FIREd]

So you want to convert some $ into S. Fr.:

Why not use a S. Fr. CD? They are available at Everbank. BUT: you need to invest $10K min. and they currently pay less than 1% APY for a 12-month CD. Also, unlike US CDs that offer 100% principal safety, foreign currency CDs carry an important risk: Currency Exchange risk. Are you willing to take that risk and do you understand it? The S. Fr. has already appreciated 80% against the $ in the past 7 years, so are you sure this trend will continue in the foreseeable future? Because a brutal trend reversal could lose you a bundle.

I have a good chunk of cash invested in Europe but: 1) I am earning a 4% guaranteed APY on that money (and have been since 1997). 2) This stash was built slowly in 1997-2003 when the dollar was still relatively strong. 3) I don't currently add any money to the stash because I believe that we are close to a $ bottom. I travel to Europe a lot and based on purchasing power parity I am convinced that the dollar is way undervalued.

As far as Swiss IRAs are concerned I had to google them to find out what they were. I had heard of Swiss Annuities before but I would very much hesitate to buy one right now based on what I wrote above.

 

[Htown Harry]

If I invest in Swiss francs, will it improve my chances with Miss Switzerland?

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/pin-ups-37185.html

 

[haha]

If I invest in Swiss francs, will it improve my chances with Miss Switzerland?

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/pin-ups-37185.html

Might, depending on how much you invest.