A question often asked by our readership is where we come up with some of these alternative investment ideas. Well, besides being bombarded by a ton of financial related snail mail and newsletters, we get quite a bit of investment newsletters that we are subscribed to. If we see something interesting, we will take a closer look and write about it.

Unfortunately, we also get a ton of unsolicited emails regarding investing opportunities as well. Some are either promoting their programs or asking us to review it. It’s a jungle out there in the online investment world and we are not always capable of doing an in depth due diligence on every single one of them.

Here is an example of a recent paid advertisement for NetVestFund.com that was attached to a newsletter that we are subscribed to. This is neither an endorsement nor a recommendation by OWI, just information. We have not done a complete due diligence on this company. Attached below is the actual email ad from the newsletter.

PAID NEWSLETTER ADs: (Full registered Investment company)

Investors from around the world seeking alternatives to investment in US based Equities and Real Estate, have found that http://www.netvestfund.com operates a fully regulated and transparent fund for investors. It offers opportunities with funds paying two, three, and four times as much as they are receiving from most US-based funds and financial services groups. Visit their website at http://www.netvestfund.com, and their sister site-developing daily, and investment programs at

http://www.theNVFund.com.

Panamanian-based and administered http://www.theNVFund.com offers an alternative to the historically acceptable “average HYIP fund.” With regulations in place and professional management running the fund, choices have never been clearer as to the exponential upside available to investors.

Accounts Director Steve Chez, VP of Trading Services Sheldon Mackinnon and Fund Manager Terrence House offer one stop shopping with funds generating double digit increases and investments diversified throughout the world.

Unlike other HYIP investments that offer only email addresses-and a hope and a prayer that they are legitimate, www.theNVFund.com offers full information on the principals, their track records, and the upside potential the fund represents.

http://www.TheNVfund.com is offering 3 daily programs to meet your cash generating needs

The Cash Creation Daily — The Market Edge Daily — The Flying Eagle Daily
For more information on our portfolios and our referral set-up please contact us anytime!
The NetVest Investment Fund, Inc. — The World’s Premier Investment Portal

http://www.thenvfund.com
phone 1: +1-347-482-1717
phone 2: +1-519-342-5341
fax: +1-519-488-1199
Skype ID: NetVestFund
Yahoo ID: NetVestFund

A quick glance at their website gives a sense of legitimacy with published contact details. The mailing address is in Canada, while the Articles of Incorporation is in Panama making this program offshore. There is one thing that needs a bit of clarification. This is what the home page says:

“Our Portfolios offer various rates of return that range from an average of 1% a month all the way up to 15% a month!

We have portfolios that offer compounding for the longer term investor, and we also offer portfolios that can offer a monthly income, also knows as “Cash Generating” portfolios.”

We appreciate the fact that they can generate such returns and it’s possible in the realm of FOREX trading, but are we missing something here from the charts shown on the page about the returns for their various funds?

Maybe is much ado about nothing, however, there is a 10 year performance chart but a quick WHOIS check on NetVestFund.com and TheNVFund.com shows that both sites have been registered this year in March and July respectively. Are they saying they have been around for more than 10 years?

A closer look shows that NetVestIF.com is also related to this program which was registered in June and has the same mailing address as NetVestFund in Canada.

We cannot say for certainty that this is a safe and legitimate offshore investment. The one pause we do have is the appearance of NetVestFund advertisements and paid forum sponsorship on a number of “HYIP” forums and websites that historically has a bunch of short lived scam programs advertised.

There’s enough information here that if an investor wants more due diligence, feel free to do some “Googling” and calling the company. If anyone has some positive or negative experiences with this company, please share.

[Editor's Note] We were contacted by one of the company’s principal to remove information from the article that they said was no longer valid. To our loyal subscribers, we recommend you thoroughly do your research on this company before making an investment.

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It should be noted however, that there is a big difference between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion. You can read more about this topic here, “Legal Tax Avoidance vs Criminal Tax Evasion”.

While taxation is one reason why many individuals may decide to go offshore, other individuals and businesses find the following advantages as important reasons why having accounts offshore as a part of their wealth protection strategy.

• Privacy
• Tax Efficiency
• Asset Protection
• Regulatory Advantages

Below is the explanation for each of the advantages of “going offshore”. (Source: www.offshore-library.com)

Privacy
To protect the free flow of your personal information and dealings. An offshore entity has no obligation to release your personal or business information, affording you with a great deal of privacy & confidentiality.

In general terms your personal information will not be divulged to any governing body or tax authority unless suitable evidence can be shown to prove that you have been involved in criminal activities, such as money laundering or drug trafficking.

Financial privacy is becoming a thing of the past. Almost every single transaction made at a bank or ATM, by law, must be recorded and filed. Consumer credit agencies maintain databases full of sensitive information that is used and shared by other organizations and agencies. Asset collectors routinely advertise their ability to locate bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and real estate and business holdings. Should asset collectors find substantial wealth, the individual or corporation becomes an easy target for a lawsuit.

Unless ethical and legal steps are taken to insure privacy, sensitive and confidential information could easily get into the wrong hands. Placing your assets, investments, savings bank and brokerage accounts offshore will keep them off the asset collector’s radar screen. Consumer credit agencies and government departments do not have access to foreign account records or transactions. Domestic property may be held in the name of a foreign corporation (IBC) or trust. This insures that asset collectors and agencies cannot locate it. By taking advantage of these methods an individual or corporation becomes a smaller target and the likelihood of being sued is reduced. Utilizing offshore tools to protect privacy could mean the difference between keeping and losing what is rightfully yours.

Tax Efficiency
As stated above, your savings, investments, assets or business profits can grow almost free of any form of taxation. This does not mean tax avoidance, it simply means whilst your assets are held offshore they will benefit from very favourable tax advantages. There will for many however, be a potential tax liability when you look to repatriate your assets to your home country. This will depend on your nationality and your country of residence at the time of repatriation.

Asset Protection
There are many methods in which to protect your assets using an offshore structure, in the form of an investment product, an IBC (International Business Company) or a offshore trust, or even a simple offshore bank account.

These will protect your assets from:

• Protection from invasive bureaucracy
• Protection against lawsuits
• Protect your assets from seizure

The simplest form of protection offshore is the nature of the offshore privacy rules. What isn’t known can’t be attacked. The basic form of offshore privacy combined with a IBC or Trust is a very secure method to legally protect your assets from prying eyes.

Lawsuits are filed every week. Ex-spouses, ex-business partners, disgruntled employees or predatory lawyers may file a suit if they believe a potential defendant is an attractive target. Losing such a lawsuit could cause a lifetime’s worth of savings, investments and real estate holdings to be lost. In light of this, placing assets offshore is a wise and effective means of protection from frivolous lawsuits.

Once your assets are held offshore they are unreachable by domestic courts. In the event of a lawsuit, a defendant may be forced to forfeit domestic assets, but offshore assets will remain untouched. Offshore courts do not recognize or carry out domestic judgments. This insures that assets sent offshore will remain confidential, secure, and permanently in the hands of their rightful owners. Moving assets offshore will create peace of mind that what’s yours will always be yours.

Regulatory Advantages
The regulations in force within most high tax countries, are there to protect investors, and rightly so. However, due to the very strict nature of these regulations, fund managers feel as if they are wearing a financial straight Jacket. It is difficult for them to compete with the returns of their offshore-based partners who enjoy less restrictive regulation. Many offshore jurisdictions have very mature regulatory systems in place, often based on those present within the US or the UK, yet they allow fund managers great freedom to add value for their investors. This is why offshore funds nearly always outperform their onshore equivalents.

Within the high regulation onshore countries, excessive rules and bureaucracy often plague domestic businesses and operations. Valuable resources are diverted away from the productive process in order to monitor compliance as a result of the restrictions imposed. Curing this problem is as simple as moving to friendlier shores. Offshore jurisdictions are intentionally business-friendly and have regulations that are straightforward, simple to understand and inexpensive to comply with. Moving a business offshore and enjoying a more pleasant business climate may require nothing more than forming an offshore corporation and transferring assets from the domestic corporation to the foreign one.

Is all of this legal?
Do you trust your current bank or investment provider? Chances are that they too have an offshore operation; most of the world’s major banks and investment companies have an offshore present. Do you honestly believe that a triple A credited rated investment company or bank would operate in an illegal activity?

Companies such as Merrill Lynch, HSBC, ING Barings, UBS, Barclays, Deustche bank, ABN Amro all have offshore operations. It is not the offshore industry itself that is illegal, it is only the devious activities of certain individuals who may give the offshore industry a poor reputation. It is also true that the due diligence, and money laundering checks performed by offshore companies is increasing, especially after the 911 terrorist attacks. Which will ensure that it becomes difficult for criminals to abuse the offshore industry

In fact the offshore industry is probably one of the fastest growing sectors within the financial services industry. Many of the worlds most talented fund managers and analysts are leaving their well paid positions as onshore fund managers, to set up their own offshore funds, due to the greater flexibility and choice they can offer to their clients.

As a result of all of this, the offshore market place is no longer the exclusive territory of the rich and famous. Nowadays due to the reduced costs and entry levels, almost anyone can own a offshore fund, investment, bank account or company. Most people are still unaware of the opportunities open to them within the offshore marketplace, which is mainly due to the lack of information available.

For more information on the above topic and other financial matters, visit and the Financial Bookshop which contains over 4000 financial books and CD ROMS.

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A new investment program just launched on June 6 called Tradedfund.com and supposedly it is not like the other “HYIP” scams online. These are only our observations; we do not endorse or recommend any “hyip” programs. The final decision and risk taking is up to the investor.

“What we will provide you with is a steady and stable return of 7% monthly uncompounded. This allows 84% each year. Making your total profit of 252% in 36 months. These returns are based on 12 yearly payments. The term of investment is 3 years, after which you can WD your principle.” – TradedFund

It has to be noted that this new investment opportunity was started by former members of the PIPS Ponzi fiasco. One of the principals in this program is the admin and owner of the investing forum, ROLClub.com, which has been running for a few years. (Maybe after losing money in PIPS, they can do better.)

Keep in mind that because they have been scammed in previous “hyip” programs does not mean they will be successful in running their own investment fund. While it may give those that want to invest some comfort knowing that the program administrators have firsthand experiences of less than legitimate investments, it cannot be assumed that theirs will be legit either.

Even though the returns they are suggesting appear doable and not some outrageous pie in the sky numbers, it gives us pause as to how similar the site is to the common “hyip” scams. Here are some observations and questions we have:

1. “These returns are based on 12 yearly payments.” – We think they meant 12 monthly.

2. In the FAQs: Q: Do you have a referral program?
A: No, we currently do not offer a referral program. It is at our discretion whether or not we choose to offer a referral program in the future.

In “Cancelation” under the Rules:

“Any TradedFund member can cancel or terminate his/her Account(s) at any time and without any notice. This will mean that the member will no longer receive referral commissions but will continue to receive dividends as stipulated within the “Plan” until such time that the particular “Plan(s)” has/have reached maturity.”

So which is it, referrals or no referrals?

3. “It is what it is..” – We do not like the idea of not knowing where the investor’s money is going. The funds are being piggy backed on what they are investing in.

“We have been asked what OUR OWN “Personal & Private Portfolio” consists of, or even what we are ALREADY currently involved in ….. FIRST of all people, it is what it is ….. OUR OWN “Extremely PERSONAL & 100% PRIVATE Portfolio” !! However, this DOES vary, as it largely depends on what is available at any given moment in time !?! >”- TradedFund

4. Limited methods of deposit. At this time, it’s only Liberty Reserves.

5. In the FAQs: Q: Is Tradedfund Legal?
A: Legal and clean! Although every country has different views on foreign investments, TradedFund operates in a jurisdiction where it is 100% legal to manage private funds internationally. Again people, you must ALWAYS realize / understand the fact that YOUR funds SIMPLY “piggy-back” on our own “Personal & Private Portfolio”!! If you are unsure whether you are allowed to participate in your country, please ask a registered advisor of your rights to participate in private investments, private “Clubs”, funds and loan clubs (these are the categories it legally falls in).

We question that considering the site is hosted on 64.15.73.90 which through a reverse DNS shows as being in Canada. Securities laws in Canada are similar to those of the U.S. in regards to the management of investments for individuals, so caution should be taken here.

6. The use of “hyip” Monitors as a rating service is in poor taste with the all the negative history of such so called monitoring sites like Talkgold had with self promoting scammers rating their own sites to get more victims.

7. We are not sure how they can offer a “guarantee” that the principal is protected. If that is the case, then the investment is literally risk free. We have seen many programs that have claimed that or said a smart part of the investors funds was put into a second pool account for “safer” investments to protect or recover the principal in case of catastrophic losses. That turned out to be untrue in when the program collapsed.

If you have been burned one too many times already, ask yourself what makes this program any different from all the other “hyip” scams. Is it the faith and trust in the admin who have also lost money in the scams and finally wants to do something good for others?

There is a 50/50 chance here with this program. Either it does what it says or it will fail like the rest of them. A lot of people are going to try to “test” this investment with a minimum of $100. That is a safe gamble, however, 36 months is a long wait to get the total of your profits and principal back.

As always, do your due diligence and be prudent in your investments. We will see if they are still around in 3 years.

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If you have a big pile of capital sitting around and years of business experience under your belt, consider being an Angel Investor and invest in startups or early-stage businesses. This type of investing can be both financially and socially rewarding. Imagine being one of the first investors to help an unknown business become the next international powerhouse.

The average Angel investor deal commands 7 to 10 times ROI for the investor over a period of 5 to 7 years. Promises of a huge return on investments can be enticing, but do you really have what it takes to be an Angel Investor? It takes a lot more than just being an accredited investor to be an Angel Investor.

Most investments in startups or early-stage companies will require long term patience, a high-risk tolerance and hands on approach from the Angel Investor. This usually means not only capital funding, but business acumen in providing guidance and mentorship to help the entrepreneur in growing his venture.

It is possible to be a passive Angel investor, however being involved in mentoring, advising and consulting to ensure its success will help protect your investment. The first step is to learn more about Angel investing and see if it is right for you. The next step is finding a venture that is in need of funding and partnering with one that is compatible to your experiences.

A good rule of thumb is to invest in what you know. It is unlikely that your business knowledge in building a medical device company will translate into useful advice to an entrepreneur hoping to start an organic farm or record label. Success in Angel Investing depends more on the synergy of the investor and entrepreneur than the idea or business.

Two of the best online resources about Angel investing and finding entrepreneurs seeking Angel investors can be found at www.go4funding.com and www.gobignetwork.com. If you are ready to take the plunge into Angel Investing and network with the thousands of investors and entrepreneurs, these are two great starting points.

About Go4Funding:

“Go4Funding.com is an online platform that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and business experts from around the world. In the “Funding Needed” section of our website, new entrepreneurs and existing business owners can post their capital requirements. In the “Looking To Invest” section, investors, who are looking to invest, can post their profiles so that entrepreneurs can find them easily. Sometimes entrepreneurs may not need capital but may seek business partners or the opinions of other experienced investors or entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can post these requests in our “Business Ideas” section. In the “Need An Expert” section, entrepreneurs can find experts in their field of industry by posting their requirements. They can even advertise work for equity jobs for experts (e.g. CEO, CFO, or marketing manager).”

About Go Big Network:

“The Go BIG Network is an on-line marketplace that connects the startup and small business community. The company allows startup companies, investors, advisors, job seekers and service providers to post requests for help on-line and have those requests routed to other members of the Network who can help them.

The Problem We Solve

The startup community is highly disconnected.

Startups, investors, job seekers and service providers all need one another to survive and grow yet at the same time they are hindered by their own lack of connectivity.
Go BIG allows members of the startup community to connect faster by exposing all of the demands of the startup community in one place.”

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HugeROI.com is not the typical investment club as defined by the SEC therefore not required to be registered. While they do have several membership levels, the fees are just club access fees. No funds are collected, used or invested for the members in securities or investments. So what do the members get for joining? Here is what their website has to offer.

“Since 1999, HugeROI has been fulfilling dreams for more than 15,000 members. Our proven investment opportunities have earned some members up to a 2,500% return on their investment. We are a registered company in Tennessee (Registration# 0536953).”

“How do we do it? HugeROI connects you with some of the hottest investment opportunities available. When you join HugeROI, you will have access to lucrative programs and the knowledge of eight millionaires from around the world who have made their fortunes through smart investments. You will learn their source and secrets in just a few hours after signing up.”

If you are thinking of signing up for access to this database of “hot” investments, you may want to wait a bit longer to see what is coming down the pipe. We have signed up for this service and must say we are disappointed. This extensive “database” of investment opportunities has not changed much in almost 2 years. Some of the opportunities are now defunct and others are out of reach for the average Joe either because of minimum requirements or geographical restrictions.

There are about 2 dozen or so investments listed and maybe a handful are worth additional efforts in due diligence and investing in. If you consider several of the items oneworldincome.com has talked about like “Bet on Markets” and “Reverse Pension Plans” as an alternative investment, then this site is for you.

For a club that has 15,000+ members the forum appears to be not frequented much by its members if the 600+ registered users are of any indications. Maybe they need to have more than the two categories that they have listed to get people talking.

We are not totally negative on their concept, since this is what we are striving to do ourselves here at OWI, but free information to all that visits. HugeROI.com does have some decent investment ideas like some offshore mutual funds, however, that is probably not the high yields we are all looking for.

To be fair to HugeROI, they have announced that they are revamping the site and will be adding more investments content to the mix. That was a few months ago… So far, nothing has really changed except the launch of their own in-house investments. Now, that will change its classification on the type of investment club it is. Based in Tennessee, we are not sure how they will address the SEC requirements. Being registered as a Tennessee business is not the same as being registered with the SEC to sell securities or managing investments for passive investors.

In our opinion, save your money for now, and wait to see how things develop before joining. If curiosity is getting the best of you, you can always sign up for the $19.95 five day trial.

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