Offshore Advantage: A Canadian Guide to Wealth Creation, Asset Protection and Estate Planning

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

Gordon Laight was a vice-president of Fidelity Investments Canada and a
vice-president and offshore financial adviser for Norshield
International before he moved to the Bahamas to work with an
international investment management company. This book is designed to be
a straightforward source of information about offshore investing; part
of its purpose is to de-romanticize and de-mythologize the business of
offshore investments.

The author provides thorough discussions of what “offshore
investing” means, who would benefit, legal aspects, offshore corporate
and trust structures, good offshore jurisdictions, how to avoid the
wrath of the taxman, private banking, and frauds and scams. His book
includes a guide to offshore investment companies and consulting firms,
as well as a guide to countries that have tax treaties with Canada.

Laight recommends that you have at least $250,000 to invest (after
you’ve made your basic investment, such as RRSP) before you consider
investing offshore. He describes the various offshore investment
strategies, ranging from buying mutual funds to moving to a tax haven.
He also asks investors to consider, before they move to a tax-free
jurisdiction, the ramifications of giving up such benefits as universal
health care and good public education.

Offshore investment is a rapidly changing field. The chapter entitled
“The Euro is Coming!, The Euro is Coming!” is already dated.
However, books that cover offshore investing from a Canadian perspective
are a rarity. Recommended for interested individuals and for academic
and public libraries across Canada.