Productivity | Strategy | Profitability
MATT PIEPENBURG
On record highs in gold and BTC seduction
MICHAEL PENTO
Discusses the great impact of inflation
DAVID MORGAN
Looks at silver as a hedge against fiat
CAREL VAN DUUREN
Sustainability and profitability in social insurance
Gregory Mannarino discusses central bank policy, capital markets, U.S. Treasuries and risk for affluent clients
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
John Marshall
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EDITORIAL
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World Market Crisis 24
Our cover feature and CEO Profile on World Market Crisis explores financial markets, central bank policy and geopolitics with Gregory Mannarino, renowned capital markets Trader and Founder of TradersChoice.net
Sustainability in building 20
Executive Global’s bespoke series of interviews on Productivity, Strategy, and Profitability. Carel Van Duuren, CEO, True Modular Building on providing build-to-rent housing solutions.
Michael Pento, CEO, Pento Portfolio Strategies, examines the current situation with US debt.
Golbacks and Gresham's Law 18
Shannon Berkley reports on the company providing fungible, divisible, spendable gold.
The modern economy 22
David Morgan, CEO, The Morgan Report, discusses the landscape for precious metals.
The debt trap and BTC seduction 28
Egon Von Greyerz and Matthew Piepenburg on world economic conditions in relation to gold.
Seven growth strategies
Richard C. Wilson, CEO, The Family Office Club, outlines some ways to scale your business.
Abel Gomez, Gomez Tomiczek International, on cost, residency and lifestyle tips for expats. Trust legislation Cayman Islands
Cheryl Jones reports on the many benefits that this jurisdiction offers to wealthy clients.
Thomas Hughes explores developments in banking and securities legislation.
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BVI: The premier jurisdiction 38
Elise Donovan, CEO, BVI Finance, explains why the BVI is preferred by trusts and family offices.
Business in Armenia 40
The Government has created an attractive business environment. Thomas Hughes reports.
Tourism in Dubrovnik 42
Rachel Smith explores tourism in one of the largest economies in Southeast Europe.
Silver's innovative new application 44
Oliver Taylor comments on the amazing new EV battery technology developed by Samsung.
The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 46
This thrilling drive running on a V12 engine uses a supercapacitor. Oliver Taylor tell us more.
Powering off the grid with Bluetti 48
Thomas Hughes reviews the portable and powerful solar power station for resilience.
Korean Air 50
Oliver Taylor explores the past, present and future of South Korea’s premier airline brand.
Eating while flying private 52
Flying private provides more options. Thomas Hughes looks at culinary delights in the skies.
Pets on the jet 54
Rachel Smith on important considerations for pets and lapdogs in the lap of luxury.
Helping Business Schools 56
Herman Aguinis, professor of management, GW School of Business, on research methods.
Exemplary Schooling 58
Thomas Hughes explores the advantages of sending your children to international schools.
A gateway to global excellence 60
Martin Harris, Executive Director, ULIS, reveals why this leading school in Lisbon thrives.
Building a loyal following 62
Andrew Main Wilson, CEO, AMBA & BGA, reviews business school activities during the last year.
Small tips for success with Airbnb 64
Thomas Hughes explores considerations for successfully running your short-term rental.
The History Supreme yacht 66
Cheryl Jones reports on the $4.8 Billion luxury yacht made with 100,000 KG of pure gold.
The finest luxury in Ontario 68
Shannon Berkley on why this region presents a varied canvas for wealthy visitors and investors.
Niagara-on-the-lake 70
Leeanne Weld, Johnston & Daniel Brokerage, on what makes Niagara-on-the-lake special.
Luxury bathroom design essentials 72
Simplicity carried to an extreme, becomes elegance. Cheryl Jones tells us more.
PRE - K (3 YO) TO GRADE 12
PRE - K (3 YO) TO GRADE 12
Discover United Lisbon International School in the heart of Lisbon Offering a modern English-language education for ages 3-18, culminating in the prestigious IB Diploma, our vibrant 6,500 sqm campus and diverse global community prepare students to thrive in a changing world.
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217 Butler Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
$5,250,000 | 5 Beds | 6 Baths | 5,500 SQ. FT
LEEANNE WELD
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER 2022
TOP 5 DOLLAR VOLUME & UNITS SOLD GAIRDNER AWARD WINNER 2004-2023
C 416.566.8603 | O 416.489.2121
E leeanne@leeanneweld.com
W leeanneweld.com
Exceptional opportunity to own a rare estate lot of nearly an acre in the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake! Beautifully situated on the corner of Queen and Butler with stunning views overlooking the golf course and Lake Ontario. Surrounded by Niagara-on-the-Lake’s finest homes. Charming and spacious principal rooms, over 5500 square feet above grade. Tasteful restoration/ renovation and additions. This quintessential white clapboard house has a separate Annex with one bedroom, living/dining room, den/bedroom, and kitchen. Multiple fireplaces (both gas and wood). Numerous walkouts to vignettes throughout the garden to follow the sun. Incredible grounds, complete privacy with mature trees, English gardens, a large inground pool, and flagstone patios. Irrigation system and landscape lighting. Steps to Queen Street shops and restaurants. This is a special property that would make a wonderful full time residence or recreational property to invite family and friends to make lasting memories in all the Niagara Region has to offer!
SIS BUNTING WELD
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
LIFETIME GAIRDNER AWARD WINNER PRESIDENT’S AWARD WINNER 2021 W johnstonanddaniel.com O 416.489.2121
Foreword
The world’s central banks currently find themselves at the helm of a ship steering desperately away from an untenable predicament that has been created through reckless monetary policy.
Financial experts like Gregory Mannarino have stated that in order to have a successful economy with prosperous economic conditions, we must have strong currencies and corresponding rates of high interest that will encourage capital accumulation, enabling the population to save and actually generate wealth. Ever since 2007, the advocation of stability through sound monetary policies that support economic growth and wealth formation, has seemingly been abandoned in favour of a new paradigm called ‘crisis management economics’.
Under this paradigm, a system that requires an infinite amount of quantitative easing just to keep the world financial system afloat, finds inconspicuously timed ‘crises’ serving as the scapegoat, mechanism and justification needed to continue the monetisation of debt. From the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, to Brexit, the health event of 2020 and the Ukraine war, central banks gallantly riding in on horseback to offer ‘debt monetisation and liquidity as the solution’ to our problems (and thereby position themselves as our ‘saviours’), only serves as a temporary fix and shot of monetary morphine to keep things ticking over before we revert back to square one. As currencies are being devalued every day against real assets, the central planners’ proposed megalomaniacal solution of Central Bank Digitised Currencies, is essentially nothing more than the digitisation of that very same system. It is anathema and a horror to free market price discovery
The U.S. Federal Reserve cannot meaningfully raise internet rates as a result of excessive debt, and although consumers would benefit from a discount in real estate prices in the long-term with higher rates providing a market correction, even a slight percentage point increase would result in obligations that are equivalent to half of the government’s income. However, if central banks lower interest rates, the significant debasement of current specie in circulation is inevitable, with inflation persisting as central banks continue to rob purchasing power from the masses via the printing
press. As Chinese policy makers face calls to reduce their financial system’s exposure to dollar assets and Russia divests their holdings of U.S. Treasuries, the petrodollar continues to face considerable pressure as a result of the increasing circumvention of BRICS nations in bi-lateral trade.
To avoid a complete breakdown of the world financial system, we must return to a wealth based and commodity backed financial system in order to maintain any semblance of prosperity. No ifs, ands, or buts. No compromises. If central banks continue to proceed with their current course of action through quantitative easing and debt monetisation, the cost of living will continue to inexorably rise as asset bubbles balloon, and the hyperinflation of fiat currencies is an absolute mathematical inevitability. 5,000 years of political and monetary history tells us that central bank policy is headed in the wrong direction. From the Lydians, to the Athenians, to the Spartans, to the Romans, to the Phoencians, to Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe- there have been over 10,000 currency collapses throughout history.
The risks posed by the complete debasement of the monetary supply are clearly acknowledged by these institutions who for all of their faults- understand the paradigm better than anyone. As they bet against their own system by quietly accumulating gold at the fastest pace since official records were kept, strategy for executives in 2024 means copying the smartest people in the room in order to stay ahead of the curve. EG
John Marshall
John Marshall Editor-in-Chief, Executive Global
The Executive Global Awards celebrate the most exemplary standards of professional achievement, innovation, and excellence internationally, championing the world’s premier organisations and were conceived to deliver a fundamental insight into the finest institutions and truly enterprising individuals that are critically shaping their industry for the better
Best High End Luxury Architecture Firm - Saint Barthélemy Allem Nefra Architectes
Most Innovative Automobile Manufacturer - Italy Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.
Sustainable Finance Executive of the Year - Germany
Carsten Zielke - Zielke Research Consult GmbH
Best Banking Group - Hong Kong HSBC
Best First Class Airline Lounge - Japan Japan Airlines
Best Commercial Bank - Norway Nordea
Best Wealth Management Bank - Switzerland Pictet
Most Sustainable Insurance CEO - Switzerland Ricardo Garcia - Promea Sozialversicherungen
Best Luxury Watch Manufacturer - Switzerland Rolex SA
Best Legal Technology CIO - Gulf Cooperation Council Tejas Gajjar - Meysan Partners
Portfolio Stratgies
Despite the rosy economic headlines cheered by the mainstream financial media (MSFM), the real challenges people feel in this economy can be summed up in one word: Inflation
Article by Michael Pento CEO, PENTO PORTFOLIO STRATEGIES
The current administration counters that the inflation rate is going down, but remember that it is not so much the rate of change of inflation as it is the level of prices. And it’s the price level that has rendered most consumers without savings, cash flow negative, and pushed asset prices to the brink of collapse. It is the primary reason consumer confidence is failing, and small business owners are burdened with a record amount of uncertainty
The average American’s desperation when they go to the grocery store is in the data, just below the well-publicised talking points. For instance, the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is trending down with increasing consumer inflation expectations for the near term. Consumers also predicted inflation will be around 2.9% next year, up from their estimations in the prior month. Higher prices have remained a top concern, as 44% of consumers reported this as the primary reason their finances are perilous.
It is the same frustrating battle with inflation that is crushing small businesses. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index continues to fall below the 50-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index recently climbed to 103, the highest reading recorded. Nearly one-quarter of all small businesses said inflation is their number one problem. Again, not so much the pace of increase but the level from which it is rising. The fact that it is increasing is just salt in the wound.
US Consumer Delinquency Fears are the Highest Since April 2020, according to the recent Fed survey of consumers. The anticipated probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months continues to rise, according to the New York Fed’s monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations results.
The US Conference Board Leading Economic Index continues to decline. Over the six months
between March and September 2024, the LEI fell by 2.6%, more than its 2.2% decline over the previous six-month period (September 2023 to March 2024). “Weakness in factory new orders continued to be a significant drag on the US LEI in September as the global manufacturing slump persists”, according to the Senior Manager of the Index.
According to Redfin, existing home sales recently hit their lowest level on record aside from the pandemic’s start. Pending home sales have shown some strength as home buyers submitted applications to buy a home in anticipation of the Fed’s oversized 50bps rate cut, which was supposed to be the start of a rate-cutting campaign that would lead to cascading mortgage rates. In sharp contrast, mortgage rates have not only not declined, as hoped for and advertised by the lemmings in the MSFM, but rather have surged past 6.8%, from just 6.08% on the day of Powell’s panic rate cut.
And this gets to the heart of the matter: interest rates are ramping up across the board, from Treasuries to Munis to MBS, because of
the insolvency, illiquidity, and inflation issues associated with holding long-duration bonds. Indeed, the benchmark US Treasury bond has surged to as high as 4.3%, from just 3.6% on the day the Fed decided lower interest rates were precisely what the doctor ordered.
So, let’s unpack this as they say.
On insolvency, total US debt is out of control, racking up almost $500 billion in a matter of a few weeks. In comparison, the entire budget deficit was under $200 billion before the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Uncle Sam’s interest payments were over $1 trillion this fiscal year. The national debt is now $36 trillion, 125% of GDP. And, looking ahead, the debt will rise to nearly $60 trillion in the next 10 years. That is, if everything goes unbelievably perfect. In other words, there will be no recession or inflation for the next decade. Of course, that does not include any of the bread and circuses schemes promised by our next President. So, you’ll have to add in whatever spending Kamala wants to do if she is allowed to send checks to everyone who wants to start a business, buy a first-time home, or have a child.
Bi-partisan estimates for Kamala’s spending plans will add $3.5T to the debt over the next
decade. That figure is $7.5 for Trump. I estimate a lot less for Trump because his policies are more prone to spur growth. However, the main point here is the US is insolvent and getting more so by the day. That condition will worsen unless our next President has the guts to cut SS, Medicare/ Medicaid, and Defense. But nobody is talking about that. Instead, both candidates promise to keep the status quo.
The Fed is doing QT on the Liquidity front while the RRP facility has been neutralised. It is just the TGA left, which should be exhausted by Q2 of next year. The free money pass is over, and the Treasury needs to issue new debt and roll over existing debt, sopping up all available funds.
On the inflation front, we have a Fed that has given up the fight for the middle class even though inflation has wiped out their purchasing power and prices continue to rise well above its asinine target. I say asinine because the Fed’s target should be 0 inflation, not 2%. Inflation has been above 2% for the past 43 months, and our central bank wants it to go higher. That is blatantly ridiculous! The bond vigilantes say that if the Fed no longer cares about inflation, we must care a lot more.
INVESTORS FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW WILLING THE FED IS TO REDUCE THE COST OF MONEY AT THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF TROUBLE IN THE LABOUR MARKET AND THE ECONOMY.
Wall Street has already front-run all of the rate cuts in the pipeline. This means further interest rate cuts on the short end of the yield curve, which the Fed controls, will only push higher rates on the long end of the yield curve – and that is precisely what is happening.
For example, when the Fed started cutting rates in the summer of 2007, the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) was 5.25%, yet the 10-year note was still slightly above 5%. In a normal rate-cutting cycle, both short and long-term rates fall. This reduction in borrowing costs lowers the burden on consumers and corporations’ debt service costs; thus, it helps remediate the recession.
In sharp contrast, this current rate-cutting cycle began with the Effective FFR at 5.3%, but the 10-year note had already anticipated Powell’s welltelegraphed cuts and was trading with a yield of just 3.6%, not 5%. Even if we have a soft economic landing and inflation gracefully retreats to the Fed’s target, nominal GDP growth should be around 4%. Historically, that is where long-term rates tend to trade. Long-term interest rates are most concerned about inflation and insolvency. With $2 trillion in deficits, $1 trillion in interest rate payments, and a $35 trillion national debt (125% of GDP and 720% of revenue), significant solvency concerns have become manifest. In addition, we have a Fed that is now aggressively trying to push the inflation rate higher even though the level of prices is crushing the bottom four quintiles of consumers, and CPI is still well above Powell’s 2% target.
This is why the 10-year Note yield has increased since the Fed cut the FFR on September 18th. That isn’t supposed to happen after a panic rate cut on the overnight interbank lending rate. Do not forget that fixed-rate mortgages are tied to 10year Treasury. That is not good news for a housing market, which is already frozen shut.
The bursting of the bond bubble isn’t going to go well for the most expensive stock market in history either. Looking at the most important and accurate valuation metrics of price to sales and the total market cap to GDP, the market is in unchartered bubble territory. In fact, Treasury T-bills pay more interest (4.9%) than the future earnings yield of stocks 4.7%, and trounces the 1.3% dividend yield of the S&P 500. The truth is; passive, indexed, target date and buy-and-hold funds, have left households dangerously exposed to a stock market correction. Households now hold 42 percent of their entire total financial assets in equities That marks the highest level of those domestic holdings in equities since records began in 1952.
Investors fully understand how willing the Fed is to reduce the cost of money at the slightest hint of trouble in the labour market and the economy. In Pavlovian style, bond investors anticipate rates will be reduced to zero percent if needed. They have been well taught by Greenspan, Bernanke, Yellen, and now Powell that the Fed stands ready to take the bottom out of rates with alacrity. Therefore,
Spiking bond yields are the Achilles heel of this market. If they continue to rise, it could freeze up the repo market, leading to a bear market in equities. For now, investors should enjoy this bull market higher. Nevertheless, they need to also keep a close eye on the credit markets for the signal to cash out before the inevitable reality check begins. EG
For further information, please visit: www.pentoport.com
Sir Thomas Gresham was a wealthy 16th Century English financier and principal economic advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, who was an advocate for the importance of stable coinage to ensure export competitiveness and the management of public debt, writes Shannon Berkley.
Gresham’s law is the monetary theory named after Sir Thomas Gresham, which highlights the principle that ‘bad money drives out good’- this essentially means that if there are two forms of commodity money in circulation which are accepted by law and have a similar face value, the more valuable commodity will end up disappearing from circulation, as it is hoarded. Although there are at least 180 currencies in existence today, there have been thousands of now defunct fiat currencies that were formerly used as a medium of exchange throughout history, along with more than 55 instances of hyperinflation since the year 1900.
Hyperinflation is characterised by a very high and accelerating inflation that quickly erodes the real value of currency, as the prices of goods and services increase. During these conditions, the rapid and continued escalation in nominal prices, nominal cost of goods and supply of currency all become alarmingly noticeable. As general price levels soar in excess of the money in circulation, the local currency in question becomes a hot potato- as people desperately attempt to rid themselves of the devaluing money as soon as possible. This also renders savings and pensions in the hyperinflated currency worthless.
During the Weimar hyperinflation of 19221923, central banks used more than 30 paper factories, 1,800 printing presses and 133 companies to print banknotes and pay German workers. This resulted in skyrocketing prices, with workers being paid twice daily, just to keep up with the extraordinary level of debt monetisation. A loaf of
bread costing 250 Reichmarks in January 1923, ended up costing 200,000 million Reichmarks by November of the same turbulent year.
During the chaotic hyperinflation under the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the government ballooned the money supply, resulting in monthly inflation catapulting to 313 million percent and prices doubling every day and a half. The black market was the only place where weekly essentials like bread and milk could be acquired.
Throughout the tumultuous period of hyperinflation under Robert Mugabe, runaway inflation shot up from 100,000% in January 2008, to a whopping 1,000,000% by May, and subsequently skyrocketed to 250,000,000% in July. This was also due primarily to the Federal Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s reckless monetisation of currency, among other factors. As a result, Zimbabwe’s citizens were turned into poverty billionaires, capable of filling wheelbarrows full of cash- which had little value. Their purchasing power was stolen by the manic monetisation of a central bank, which eventually issued treasury bills with denominations as high as one hundred trillion dollars!
Unfortunately, these are just but a few examples of the havoc that quantitative easing wrecks on economies and on private citizens. From the Lydians, to the Athenians, to the Spartans, to the Romans, to the Phoenicians; the concept of monetary debasement precipitating economic collapse, has been exemplified throughout history
all over the world for millennia. Great empires historically used sound money in the form of pure gold and pure silver coins to drive their economies, but over time- would chip away at the gold and silver content, adding other materials and making these coins worth much less. This incremental process of debasement continued until the currency was worth nothing, and the formerly great empirecrumbled. An economy is officially considered to be in hyperinflation when prices increase 50% per month, with the introduction of a new currency being required to end the hyperinflation.
AN EXTREMELY FUNGIBLE FORM OF GOLD THAT CAN BE USED IN THE EVENT OF A FINANCIAL CRISIS OR BARTER ECONOMY, GOLDBACKS MAY BE THE PERFECT SOLUTION.
Having been knighted by the Queen in 1559, Gresham’s plan to quell inflation following the ‘Great Debasement’ under King Henry VIII, required the recall and remint of all debased silver coinage in England. At the time, the purity of gold and silver coins produced by England’s issuing authority had been declining incrementally by decree of the Crown, in an effort to increase revenues. After the general public gradually realised that newer minted (bad) coins had less purity than the usual money that was in circulation, they hoarded their older (good) coins, choosing to spend the newly debased currency in the marketplace and hence- ‘bad’ money was driven out by ‘good’ money.
Far removed from the days of physical money as of 1971, there is a great debasement going on- an invisible war waged by central banks on the people of the world. Over 40% of all dollars in existence from the founding of the United States, to present day- were printed in 2020. £500 billion was printed by the Bank of England in recent years- a GILT trip worthy of attracting criticism from retired governor Mervyn King. The European Central Bank’s balance sheet reached a historical high of €7 trillion in 2020. All of this unfortunately (according to math and 5,000 years of human history) will not end well, as the maniacal monetary
wizards fan the mother of all bubbles they have pumped up for the last several years- towards a pin factory. According to the painstaking research by Mike Maloney in his critically-acclaimed Hidden Secrets of Money series, real money must possess seven critical attributes which are:
Money must be a Store of Value - It must be capable of retaining your purchasing power over long periods of time.
Money must be Fungible - Each unit is of equal value to the next. My pound is worth the same as your pound.
Money must be Divisible - It must be capable of dividing equally into smaller units and of making change.
Money must be a Medium of Exchange - It should be used as an intermediary in trade.
Money must be a Unit of Account - Able to be numbered and counted.
Money must be Portable - It should be easy to carry or transport.
Money must be Durable - Has a long useable life.
Goldbacks are a highly divisible inflationresistant local currency like no other, and were manufactured by Valaurum, Inc, in an effort to democratise gold ownership. Created out of 24-Karat gold, with the lowest denominated
note containing 1/1000th of a troy ounce and the largest 50 Goldback note containing 1/20th of an ounce, they are small enough for use in daily transactions. Unlike fiat currencies which are backed by nothing and from which central banks can print an infinite amount to destroy a currency’s purchasing power, Goldbacks cannot be manipulated in the same way because they are made of gold! They are are a spendable form of gold that was created to preserve the purchasing power and financial stability of individuals, families and communities. Issued in jurisdictions where the Aurum® precious metal technology can be considered ‘legal coin’ under local statutes, Valaurum also counts various authorities from countries like Gabon, The Republic of Cameroon, Tanzania, The Republic of Ghana, and the Cook Islands amongst its financially sophisticated clients, and these nations all have their own unique legal tender designs.
The Goldback transaction calculator on their website displays exchange rates and enables you to work out exactly how much Golddbacks you owe, or how much change you should receive in any given transaction. Not only is it the most aesthetically beautiful currency you will ever see in a 100-mile radius, but it solves a 2,600 year old problem by allowing gold to be spent in small, interchangeable increments, which is why every American man, woman and child ought to be using them every day to preserve their purchasing power and monetary sovereignty, against the backdrop of global debt monetisation.
As an extremely fungible form of gold that can be used in the event of a financial crisis or barter economy, Goldbacks may be the perfect solution You would not be able to trade two 1/2 ounce gold eagle coins for a full 1 ounce gold eagle coin, because the way premiums are calculated on their sizes gives these metal weights different prices. However, five 1 Goldback denominated notes can be traded in for one 5 Goldback denominated note, and vice versa. The technology is extremely difficult to counterfeit; they are created with 5th Generation vacuum deposition technology have government-level security features and individual serial numbers, all embedded in the note with the metal. Mike Adams went through meticulous testing processes to determine the authenticity of the gold contained within the notes at VerifiedGoldBacks.com
Superior to CBDCs in every conceivable way, Goldbacks are portable, durable, fungible, divisible, a unit of account, a medium of exchange and a store of value, which make you wonder- if CBDCs, UBI, ‘programmable money’ and ‘tokenisation’ of debased fiat currency are all forms of ‘bad money’ and trial balloons for the control mechanisms that will hold a gun to our collective heads, threatening our livelihoods, privacy, monetary autonomy and wealth- isn’t now a great time to ‘drive out bad money’ with ‘good money’ alternatives that are capable of doing the opposite, while hedging against inflation? Just a thought! EG
True Modular Building
with Carel Van Duuren CEO, TRUE MODULAR BUILDING
Our special interview with CAREL VAN DUUREN, CEO at True Modular Building, highlights the contribution of the innovators who are resolving the global housing crisis with eco-friendly build-to-rent (BTR) solutions. Executive Global finds out how this leading firm in the Netherlands is making the building of affordable housing a viable proposition for profit, people and planet.
EG How is True Modular building innovating to address the current challenges faced by the building industry and what role does sustainability play in this as the world population expands?
CVD TMB’s drive is to revolutionise the way homes are built. We focus on developing proprietary construction systems to minimize waste and maximise efficiency. Buildings are designed with simple interchangeable components. Size, weight, dimensions and structure can be adjusted to local and changing circumstances to ensure that our products stay competitive. Building components are releasable and reusable without rework.
EG What are some of the advantages associated with modularisation and componentisation when compared with other conventional methods of building?
CVD TMB has optimised its construction method for design, fast development, high-speed precise production and assembly using quasivertical integration. Standardized building components enable mass customisation. The modular construction system reduces material waste and optimizes the use of resources, contributing to the reduction of carbon footprints throughout the construction lifecycle.
The construction system focuses on design for manufacturing/disassembly and use of planet friendly materials. We have created highly insulated, airtight building envelopes, which significantly reduces the need for heating and cooling.
EG As inflation continues to exacerbate the global housing crisis, tell us why affordable housing is only truly possible through modularisation, and how your value proposition keeps you far ahead of the competition?
CVD Truly industrialised construction (MMC) using a kit of parts requires precision engineering, which reduces waste. Every piece needs to fit perfectly. Building components can be shipped flat-packed in containers and quickly assembled on-site without the need for skilled labour.
Modularisation, reverse engineering and breaking product architecture down into standardised components enables mass customisation. TMB can produce a variety of building types with the same flexible, demountable propriety building system.
EG Your product catalogue has over 75 building types to choose from. Tell us about The Orange Kit and how your building processes differ across single family residential to mixed apartments, social housing and multi-family types of properties?
CVD We created Orange Kit, a modular kit of parts platform. Key to Orange Kit are smart interfaces and add-ons. The building process does not differ much across the various building types. There is no single technical solution that works for every project; however, projects contain repeatable components and platforms. Our sustainable demountable superstructure can configure different levels of vertical and lateral load-bearing capacity. Building components have the same dimensions, however the characteristics like weight, materials used, and strength will differ because of their function.
EG What does sustainability in building and construction mean to you?
CVD Our core belief is that industrialised sustainable smart hybrid construction is the future of building. Our drive is to build longer lifespan buildings. TMB buildings can adapt to
changing circumstances, all components can easily be released and reused without any rework.
Building components, such as walls, flooring, and beams are filled with bio-based insulation materials like hemp fibers or flax fibers, can be used repeatedly, this will help transform the building industry from a source of greenhouse gas emissions into creating residential buildings that store carbon for generations.
EG How may institutional investors who wish to participate in aiding the sustainable and affordable housing market, benefit from the award-winning service you are providing at True Modular Building?
CVD We see funding as a marriage and offer an above average return on investment and a wide range of asset-backed investment solutions in residential real estate projects for different investment needs, tenures and risk appetites. At present, TMB is self-funded.
EG Where so many developers focus on profit, your company is leaving a legacy that benefits mankind in the long-term. Why is it so important to give back after you have been so successful?
CVD Housing is a vital need and central to economic development and quality of life. The world is experiencing a global housing crisis, an energy crisis, a climate crisis, and high emission of CO2. Real estate consumes 50 percent of the global energy, emits 40% of the world carbon dioxide and utilizes 40 percent of our planet’s raw materials. The amount of CO2 and waste created today by construction makes it imperative to think outside the box and create new building methods for real estate based on sustainable materials. EG
For further information, please visit: www.TrueModularBuilding.com
Housing is a vital need and central to economic development and quality of life.
The Morgan Report
TArticle By David Morgan PUBLISHER & CEO, THE MORGAN REPORT
hroughout history, gold and silver have held significant roles as stores of value and mediums of exchange, consistently rising in importance during times of economic uncertainty.
Today, with increasing concerns over inflation, currency devaluation, and financial instability, these metals are again drawing attention. Their recent all-time highs reflect this, as investors seek reliable, tangible assets in the face of global market volatility. Precious metals not only hold historic appeal but also a modern relevance in hedging against economic turbulence and the potential erosion of fiat currencies. Most importantly, they have no counter-party risk and therefore no liability.
Recent surges in gold and silver prices, reaching nominal highs, highlight how these metals are valued as safe havens. For example, after the 2008 financial crisis and during the COVID-19 event, both metals saw spikes as central banks worldwide introduced extensive stimulus measures. Such policies increased concerns about inflation and currency devaluation, driving demand for assets that retain intrinsic value Current price trends indicate that both gold and silver remain relevant and reliable assets, particularly as traditional financial markets face the pressures of ballooning debt, persistent inflation, and fluctuating monetary policies.
The industrial demand for silver, however, raises unique considerations distinct from those for gold. As an essential component in electronics, renewable energy technologies, and various hightech industries, silver’s practical applications are growing. Industries like automotive and solar power generation, heavily reliant on silver, continue to expand, pushing demand to new heights. As the
push for green technology intensifies, so does the need for materials like silver, vital for conductive and reflective applications. This increased demand raises the question of whether silver mining can keep pace, as supply chain constraints, regulatory challenges, and geopolitical concerns place additional pressures on silver-producing regions.
In this context, silver mining companies are positioned to benefit from a potential surge in demand. Silver’s inherent volatility relative to gold means that its prices tend to experience rapid increases during times of heightened demand, creating lucrative opportunities for silver miners Investors see silver mining stocks as high-risk but high-reward assets, particularly attractive when prices surge. Nevertheless, these investments come with challenges, from environmental concerns to potential resource scarcity, all of which add layers of complexity to silver mining’s viability as a sustained high-return investment. Yet, the explosive growth in demand positions silver mining as a potentially transformative sector within precious metals.
Understanding the broader economic backdrop, including M1, M2, and M3 money supply measures, provides further insight into the conditions influencing precious metals. M1 includes liquid cash and checking deposits, while M2 adds savings deposits and money market accounts, with M3 encompassing large time deposits and other large liquid assets. Recent years have seen significant expansion in these money supply metrics, as central banks attempt to stimulate economies by flooding markets with liquidity. This increase in money supply, while stimulating short-term growth, raises long-term inflation risks, diminishing purchasing power and creating a heightened sense of urgency around inflation-hedged assets like silver and gold.
While gold has traditionally served as the ultimate store of value, there are strong arguments
THE LANDSCAPE FOR PRECIOUS METALS BECOMES EVEN MORE COMPELLING WHEN VIEWED ALONGSIDE BUBBLES IN REAL ESTATE, EQUITIES, AND PRIVATE CREDIT.
for silver potentially outperforming gold under a new monetary system. Silver’s dual role as an industrial metal and store of value makes it uniquely positioned to benefit from both economic shifts and technological advances. Unlike gold, silver is not held by central banks, suggesting it remains undervalued in comparison. Should a transition to a new monetary system occur, silver’s accessibility and practical utility could make it an attractive alternative or supplement to gold as a financial reserve. Although it is unlikely that central banks would hold silver as a monetary reserve, nations may very well hold it as a strategic reserve.
The global silver market also reflects the unique consumption and production trends in countries such as Mexico, Russia, and India. Mexico stands as one of the world’s largest silver producers, its mining policies and output directly impacting global supply. Meanwhile, India has a cultural affinity for silver, using it widely in jewellery and religious artefacts, and a means of savings. As its economy grows, so does its demand for silver, placing pressure on global supplies. Russia, too, both consumes and produces silver, though geopolitical considerations add layers of complexity to its trade and supply chains. Together, these countries significantly influence silver’s availability and pricing in the global market, creating an interconnected web of supply and demand factors.
The landscape for precious metals becomes even more compelling when viewed alongside bubbles in real estate, equities, and private credit. Over the past decade, low-interest-rate policies and aggressive monetary easing have fuelled these sectors, creating asset bubbles that many economists worry may soon burst. If or when these bubbles deflate, it is likely that investors will flock to tangible assets like gold and silver for stability. Silver, being more affordable than gold, could see a particularly pronounced uptick in demand as a result, attracting a broader range of investors seeking a safeguard against market losses.
In recent years, cryptocurrencies have entered
the arena as digital assets that some argue can serve as alternatives to precious metals. Yet, many investors and economists argue that cryptocurrencies fall short of the real wealth status that physical assets like gold provide. Unlike gold, which has intrinsic value and centuries of recognised stability, cryptocurrencies are digital constructs subject to volatility, regulatory changes, and technological vulnerabilities. While they have revolutionised aspects of finance, cryptocurrencies lack the tangible, universally acknowledged value of gold, which has been proven to hold wealth through history.
Some analysts even foresee an inevitable rise in silver prices, possibly reaching triple digits. This potential for triple-digit silver is driven by increasing demand across industrial and investment sectors, limited supply, and the persistent threat of inflation. History shows that silver can experience rapid price escalations, as evidenced by the 1980 spike when prices briefly exceeded $50 per ounce. Today, the convergence of industrial demand, inflationary policies, and investment interest could once again lead to a rapid increase, pushing silver toward unprecedented price levels.
Political leadership also plays a critical role in shaping the precious metals market, with potential implications from both a Trump and a Harris presidency. Under a Trump presidency,
policies favouring deregulation, tax cuts, and a more isolationist trade stance could drive the dollar higher or lead to inflationary spending, depending on fiscal priorities. Conversely, a Harris presidency may pursue higher taxes, increased social spending, and a focus on environmental policies, which could boost demand for silver in renewable technologies. Both administrations could impact the value of the dollar and, indirectly, demand for silver and gold as safe-haven assets.
The Federal Reserve’s role in the potential devaluation of the U.S. dollar cannot be ignored By maintaining low-interest rates and pursuing aggressive quantitative easing, the Fed has effectively flooded the market with liquidity. This strategy has spurred economic activity in the short term but raises concerns over long-term purchasing power, national debt, and asset bubbles. Critics argue that these policies are eroding the dollar’s value and could lead to increased reliance on precious metals as protection against currency devaluation.
Considering the Fed’s actions, steps to strengthen the dollar are hotly debated, especially in the current political season. Measures that could reinforce the dollar include reducing government spending, controlling inflation, and incentivising domestic production to lessen reliance on imports. Such policies are unlikely to be implemented but will be discussed by the political class. These measures could stabilise the economy and temper demand for safe-haven assets, but achieving these goals would require substantial fiscal discipline and long-term planning
Innovation in silver technology adds an exciting dimension to its potential. Samsung’s development of silver-based batteries, for instance, suggests that silver’s role in the tech industry could grow significantly. If these batteries gain traction in consumer electronics or electric vehicles, demand for silver could see another significant rise. However, the timeframe for this boon has been exaggerated. Samsung is still in the development stage and any true impact is not taking place soon. China’s demand for silver, particularly in the automotive industry, indicates that silver’s role in technology and energy sectors will only grow. As China expands its electric vehicle production, its silver requirements are likely to increase, creating yet another driver for silver demand.
In conclusion, gold and silver remain valuable assets amid economic uncertainty and shifting market dynamics. Silver holds explosive potential due to its dual industrial and investment appeal, alongside trends in green technology and evolving monetary policy. Whether driven by demand from industrial applications or investment interest, silver is poised to play a critical role in the future of wealth preservation. The confluence of rising demand, constrained supply, and economic challenges suggests that silver will continue to attract attention, and possibly rise to new heights, as investors and nations alike, seek stability in an uncertain financial landscape. EG
Gregory Mannarino
Founder & Trader, TradersChoice.net
Our special interview on World Market Crisis with GREGORY MANNARINO, renowned capital markets trader, financial analyst, author, founder and owner of TradersChoice.net, examines world developments in finance, geopolitics and economics. Executive Global caught up with the ‘Robin Hood of Wall Street’ to discuss central bank policy, precious metals and macroeconomic risk.
EG Your article Global Debt and the Human Bubble, warns about an impending catastrophe ensuing as a result of the debt bubble bursting, which you say is the greatest threat to mankind. How significant of an impact has debt had on world population growth, and how do we minimise the devastating consequences of population collapse caused by a future debt market meltdown?
GM Indeed yes. Today the people of the world are sitting on a time bomb, which is growing larger and more powerful every day- A Debt Market Global Hyper-Bubble. This IS the greatest threat facing the world today as a clear, ever-present, and ever-growing risk to survival. A danger which is continually being fuelled 24/7. The mechanism here is simple. By pulling cash ‘into the now’ from the future, (borrowing it into existence), resources which would not be available now, magically become available. Therefore, this mechanism creates an alternate reality.
The fatal flaw of this debt-based system is eventually the relentless and exponential currency/ debt creation methodically steals purchasing power from the currency until there is none left. And the system dies. The world population has grown in tandem with exponential debt expansion. And with that, once this global debt hypercycle ends, which I define as a “Maximum Saturation Moment,” it is a time when the system is fully debt saturated. Then, the flow of credit/debt stops. Therefore, the ability to borrow debt into existence, and therefore
the ability to acquire what were readily available resources- also stops. This mechanism will precipitate a rapid world population growth deceleration, and many people will die. To minimise the fallout from this event, people need to become much less, VASTLY less reliant on the current debt-based system. The fact is this; the system is dying now Henceforth why the world today is seeing inflation run rampant, currency devaluation, and why central banks continue to increase the global money supply.
EG With bi-lateral trade agreements continuing to isolate the United States, what is the probability of us experiencing a World Market Crisis where sovereign nations begin dumping U.S. Treasuries and interest rates go parabolic?
GM It is certainly no secret that the US is being isolated on multiple fronts. As one example of that, we can just look at the US trade deficit which is hyper-ballooning. Sadly, the US has become an import economy nation. I often ask people what they believe is the US largest export product, and invariably I get a variety of answers. The truth is this; the #1 US export product is inflation, and here is how that works. Being that the US dollar is at least for now still the world reserve currency, and clearly the US dollar is being deliberately, systematically, and methodically devalued by the Federal Reserve, nations around the world are frankly, and rightly so- tired of having to deal with it. As a result, more and more nations are circumventing the US dollar in trade.
•
Gregory Mannarino
Founder & Trader, TradersChoice.net
My best estimate is the DOW bottom is near 8,000. That would mean $8,000 gold. I see a gold/silver ratio reaching 1:15, possibly even 1:10.
Brooklyn, New York
ALMA MATER Wagner College
EXPERIENCE
2024 Financial YouTube vlog has now gained worldwide acclaim and continues to grow.
2012 Began talking about finance and economics on YouTube, exposing the system.
2010 Left medicine after 20 years of practicing, circling back to finance and economics.
1990 Pursued a career in medicine. After getting a degree I practiced for 20 years as a Physician Assistant (PA).
1987 Went to work for Bear Sterns, learning a lot about the ‘‘dark side” of Wall Street and how the system really works.
1986 Became very interested in the world of finance after seeing Wall Street with Michael Douglas.
» PRODUCTIVITY
Focus on the BIG PICTURE first! Ask yourself, what is driving the current environment?
» STRATEGY
Always have a strategy/counterstrategy, FOCUS ON IT.
» PROFITABILITY
Take action ONLY when the time is right and be willing to take on risk.
EG You state we are in a full blown liquidity crisis and central banks are now evidently rushing to accumulate gold at the fastest pace in human history, alongside ravaging inflation. How are these institutions positioning themselves to ultimately become the buyers and lenders of last resort?
GM Liquidity crisis. The vast majority of people have no idea that simply to function , the current debt-based central bank run system can only operate in a perpetual vacuum. Meaning, it can never be made whole, and debt MUST expand. At the very moment that this mechanism is interrupted, the credit/debt markets “lock up” and economic activity STOPS.
EG Throughout history, 1/10th of an ounce of silver represented twelve hours of hard human labour. You have stated that silver is one of the most undervalued assets on Earth. Can you expand upon this?
GM Today, world stock markets via the mechanism of artificially suppressed rates are hyperbubbles- and hyper-bubbles which will eventually burst. So, how I chose my price targets for both gold and silver is by attempting to discern where the real bottom for the Dow Jones Industrial Average is. I believe that a DOW/Gold Ratio of 1:1 will be reached because of a debt market meltdown. My best estimate is the DOW bottom is near 8,000. That would mean $8,000 gold. I see a Gold/Silver Ratio reaching 1:15, possibly even 1:10.
EG Does the ridiculous anti-American concept of a ‘tax on unrealised gains’ represent nothing more than a savage attack on the middle class and on private wealth accumulation? Shouldn’t kleptocratic governments just declare themselves ‘Masters of the Universe by the Powers of Greyskull’, while they’re at it?
GM The idea of a tax on unrealised gains has been floating out there for years. If you are referring to Harris’ “plan,” it would require that taxpayers with a net worth above $100 Million pay a minimum tax on unrealised gains. Do I believe that is a good idea? No. Regarding the system itself, it has been turned into a perversion on a grand scale. A system which creates both nation slaves and individual slaves to the debt-based system, which is run by central banks. The REAL “Masters of The Universe,” are the central banks. It is not Presidents, Kings, Queens, Dictators, or Monarchs who are
in charge of the world financial system. Central banks have become the government.
EG Considering hyperinflation of currency in Venezuela, Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe, alongside 5,000 years of human history, why may an economy and currency backed by a bi-metallic standard actually be far better for Americans and for the people of the world?
GM In economics and finance there are only TWO fundamental truths. To have a strong economy you need 1. A strong currency, and 2. You need a correlating rate/interest rates high enough to make cash harder to obtain (which gives the currency its purchasing power). The current debt-based central bank “fiat” or “public trust” system is an abomination. ANY debt-based system, simply to function- demands that debt increase exponentially. This mechanism is enormously currency purchasing-power negative. A return to a wealth based/commodity backed system IS THE ONLY ANSWER. The issue is that central banks’ power resides in only one thing- THEIR ABILITY TO ISSUE DEBT. And without a REVOLUTION OF THE PEOPLE, central banks will never give up that power.
EG You have an immaculate knowledge of Wall Street trends and technical analysis. How may your book Tracking & Trading Stock Market Patterns for Maximum Profit (2013), deepen the insight of market traders?
GM It’s really too bad that book is out of printhowever, there are other books like this which are still available that cover the same basic principles. It comes down to this; cash moves through the markets in predictable patterns based on several factors. By understanding for instancemarket seasonality, investors can have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
EG You often advocate for people to ‘become their own central bank’. If we take all of the world’s debt and liabilities and divide this by the total world supply of gold, where do you see the true value of this asset today in 2024?
GM In my opinion, especially in this current environment of massive and deliberate central bank currency devaluation and artificially suppressed rates, commodities across the board are ON SALE relative to vastly expanding debt.
Gregory Mannarino Founder & Trader, TradersChoice.net
Gregory Mannarino is a Wall Street expert, financial analyst, author and physician, as well as an active and full-time trader of capital markets. He is the founder of TradersChoce.net, with an acclaimed vlog that has amassed over 110,000,000 views. Dubbed ‘The Robin Hood of Wall Street’, he is the inventor of the Mannarino Market Risk Indicator (MMRI).
» Created a worldwide family at TradersChoice delivering actionable info on how investors can make the financial system work for them.
» Established Wall Street expert and renowned trader of capital markets.
» Created the Mannarino Market Risk Indicator (MMRI) as a tool for gauging bond market risk.
» Attained rank of Lieutenant serving in United States Medical Service Corps.
» Author of more than seven books on finance, global economics and equity trading.
» Successfully practiced medicine for over twenty years after acquiring a medical degree.
EG If you were Secretary of the U.S. Treasury tomorrow, what would be your five major legislative acts be concerning banking, taxes and fiscal policy, and why?
GM My first order of business would be to return the US to a constitutional money system, a commodity/gold backed structure. Second, and this would be directly connected to my first move of returning to a constitutional money system, I would revalue gold. Third, regarding banks. Customer deposits should, (in the case of publicly traded commercial institutions), be paid a share of overall bank profits. Fourth. People SHOULD NOT be taxed on their income, but only on their purchase of goods and services . Fifth. As for fiscal policy, here is a concept- HAVE A BUDGET!
EG Tell us more about the Mannarino Market Risk Indicator (MMRI) and why it is such an incredibly useful tool for gauging risk?
GM The MMRI is a tool which is used to gauge stock market risk based upon debt market action. Everyone is fixated on the stock market, but what people should REALLY be focused on is what drives stock prices. Today, world equity markets are NOT driven by fundamental factors. For example. P/E ratios, balance sheets, forward guidance, etc. Today, stock prices/entire stock markets, are being driven by; 1. Currency devaluation and 2. Artificially suppressed rates. Currency/central bank issued notes ARE UNITS OF DEBT. With that, the MMRI is comprised of 2 basic metrics. The MMRI takes the US Dollar Index (DXY), and the US benchmark US 10-Year yield, and via a simple equation, which is (DXY) * (US10YR) / 1.61 = MMRI. The 1.61 is known as “The Golden Ratio.” I personally first and foremost, look at debt market action to gauge where the stock market is likely to go moving forward. I believe that the MMRI is the most useful tool which has ever been created to gauge risk in the stock market.
EG You mention that ‘in life, there are sheep who live in fear, and lions who capitalise on it’. Explain how the lambs are being led to the slaughter with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)?
GM Fear is a control mechanism as old as time. Fear is paralysing and overcomes rational thought. Fear is a primal instinct. When people are afraid, invariably, they make poor decisions. Right now, and this has been going on for years, people are being conditioned to not use cash for transactions. If fact, they are being incentivised to NOT do it. For example, people are offered “perks” for swiping those credit cards. Very few people today use cash, it’s now all largely just ‘ones and zeros’ moving through cyberspace. The current system globally, is deliberately being destabilised. And make no mistake, we are already in a full-blown liquidity crisis
EG When the dust settles, all the smoke has cleared and the distortions across the spectrum of asset classes violently revert back to fair market value - what does that world look like?
GM The effect of this singular event is going to change the landscape of the world. The result of the stopping of the flow of credit, which will come about as a direct result of a debt market meltdown, is going to lead to a scarcity of resources situation worldwide. Pandemonium in the streets will be a result. Regarding the financial system, a massive rebalancing will occur. Risk-on, that is cash moving into risk assets/stocks, will abruptly turn risk-off and cash will simply move into risk-off assets-commodities. EG
For further information, please visit: www.TradersChoice.net
As we approach year-end on a year marked by record highs in gold in a setting of headline-making elections, ever-expanding sovereign debt levels and a BRICS+ coalition moving ever-so-carefully away from the USD, there is a great deal on our minds.
FArticle by Egon Von Greyerz FOUNDER, VON GREYERZ GOLD
acts, as we know, are stubborn thingsand our opinions can only change as the facts change.
Debt: The Same Ol’ Same Ol’
As for global and US debt, sadly, the facts, and hence our opinions, are only becoming more entrenched. With interest expense on Uncle Sam’s IOUs breaking 28-year highs ($882B owed on $37.5T in public debt), it’s becoming mathematically clear that Uncle Sam can’t afford a “higher for longer” Powell at the Fed.
Thus, the recent rate cuts by the FOMC are and were no surprise, as we’ve promised throughout 2024. In essence, the Fed’s oh-so-predictable move from rate hikes, to a rate “pause” and then rate cuts was effectively right on schedule. These patterned moves in the Fed Funds Rate also confirm that Powell has and will lose the “war on inflation”—as these cuts occurred well before hitting his “data dependent” and “targeted” 2% inflation goal.
A Simple/Sad Choice
Powell, of course, can’t and won’t say the scary part out loud, but like all debt-cornered policy makers throughout history, when forced to chose between debasing the currency (inflation) and saving the bond market, the currency will always be the lamb sacrificed to the alter of sinful debt.
This is not fable but fact, and follows a scenario forewarned from David Hume to von Mises. In sum: No surprise at all. Such an inflationary (i.e., currency debasing) end-game, however, does not
Article by Matthew Piepenburg PARTNER, VON GREYERZ GOLD
mean dis-inflationary forces (from a market meanreversion to an officially recognised recession) can not occur in the interim. Either way, however, the central bank will respond by expanding the money supply alongside a litany of direct or indirect QE measures, which, alas- are inherently inflationary.
A Global Fiat Sandwich
The foregoing direction for the USD is, and will be, equally true of all fiat currencies, as Western central banks, almost without exception, follow the Fed’s lead in cutting rates to support their shared debt addiction and forced marriage to the World Reserve Currency. Again, the pattern, choice and end-game are now obvious: Sacrifice the currency to support the debt addiction
East vs. West
The facts confirm, however, that central banks in the East in general--and among the BRICS+ coalition in particular—have seen the writing on this fiat wall for long enough. The net result is that they are (and have been) slowly but clearly moving away from the UST as a strategic reserve asset, choosing instead (like our clients in over 90 countries) to save in physical gold rather than US paper/promises.
This is an historically staggering trend largely (and understandably) ignored by the Western media since 2014. However, with even the BIS granting gold a Tier-1 status in 2023, it is becoming obvious that far-sighted nations (including oil exporters like Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are stacking gold as both a savings and net-settlement
trade asset. Such central bank gold stacking is not only an open vote of no confidence in the oncemighty (and still liquidity-relevant) USD, but far more importantly, helps explain the 30%+ rise in the 2024 gold price.
What About Silver? The Miners?
Silver, though climbing higher in 2024, has yet to see rocket-like moves north nor a gold-silver ratio compression akin to 1980 or 2011, and this is largely due to the simple fact that central banks are not buying silver but gold. That said,
EITHER WAY, HOWEVER, THE CENTRAL BANK WILL RESPOND BY EXPANDING THE MONEY SUPPLY ALONGSIDE A LITANY OF DIRECT OR INDIRECT QE MEASURES...
the fundamentals of basic supply and demand still favour, and point toward, a silver rise, as obvious supply constraints are moving toward rising demand forces.
Open pit mining restrictions in Mexico and political volatility in Africa, help explain four-year supply deficits in the metal at the same time that demand forces (from solar to India) are climbing. Despite these bullish forces and all-time-highs in the golden cousin, the miners in the precious metal space continue to be the lowest-priced sectors in the S&P despite enjoying the highest cash-flow metrics in the Index.
Why the Mis-Match?
Some will argue that price-manipulation via futures contracts on the New York and London Exchanges continues to place levered paper pressure on the physical reality/price of the metals. This is a fair point, but generalists on the street will also cite distrust of the operational and management profiles of the unloved mining sector as a primary concern.
That is, despite 40%+ FCF waves in the mining space, the long-standing reputation for self-dealing, shareholder indifference and seemingly constant under-capitalisation by mine operators has kept the sector perennially unloved. Regardless of such bullish and bearish forces/arguments, it is hard to
imagine a future in which silver does not reach and surpass $200 for those who have the patience (and stomach for volatility) to make silver an investment.
The BTC Wave—Sink or Swim?
Of course, as tanking faith in fiat money and fiscal drunk-driving at the sovereign levels explain the obvious reaction in the anti-fiat gold price for 2024, BTC, as always, has tagged along on this anti-fiat narrative to enjoy record highs as well for 2024.This too is no surprise, as the “digital gold” narrative for BTC is a brilliant and seductive way of hiding what is essentially a triple-levered tech stock behind the mask of an alternative, anti-fiat money “asset.” We clearly have our bias when it comes to gold vs. BTC, but this does not mean we mock the speculators in the BTC space who are rightfully enjoying the rewards of their conviction.
The Speculation Ride of a Generation
But let us be clear: BTC is not a reserve asset, anti-fiat solution nor alternative form of money; it is the speculation ride of a generation—which means it has the profile of both the sublime and ridiculous.
Money, debated passionately as to its meaning and role, comes down to being: 1) a store of value; 2) a unit of account and 3) a medium of exchange. BTC has none of these characteristics, but in all
fairness to the BTC camp, the same, they say, can be said of gold. But in fact, that’s not quite correct
Nature’s Anti-Fiat
Gold has been a store of value for over 6000 years, and central banks stacking that metal today (yesterday and tomorrow) at record levels are not stacking, well, BTC at all…
Furthermore, gold has also been money many times throughout history, including within the post-1944 Bretton Woods US, which Nixon welched upon in 1971. More importantly, gold is clearly serving as a medium of exchange at eyeopening and critical levels as a net-settlement asset among the current and projected BRICS+ practices. One simply cannot and should not underestimate, for example, that China is buying oil from Russia in Yuan, which Russia then converts to gold on the Shanghai exchange. The implications and ramifications of what such practices (in the gold-energy space) mean for the USD and gold over the coming years are simply immense
In short, gold literally has and does operate in a manner which confirms the qualities and characteristics of real money in quantifiable ways in which BTC clearly does not, despite its admittedly clever “digital gold” façade.
That said, there’s no denying BTC’s eye-watering annualised return of 60+% since inception (aided by a 5400% move in 2013). No asset, including gold, can compare to such a price move or return statistic. Not one
But then again, one must be equally aware that BTC’s maximum draw-down includes four 80% “corrections” and a standard deviation (i.e., volatility score) of greater than 150%, which are the classic profiles of a mad speculation asset and not even close to a “store of value.” Again, we applaud those who can speculate and profit in the BTC space without getting burned, but we remain unwilling (by facts rather than bias) to confirm its profile as “digital gold” yesterday, today or tomorrow.
As for gold, many are rightfully wondering if, after such a momentous price climb in 2024, it has peaked? Naturally, we cannot and will not say that the gold price will only go in one direction.
Of course, there will be spikes and pull-backs in the gold price as headlines, yields and new policies and politicians rise and fall. But as gold investors (i.e., owners) rather than gold speculators (renters), we hold gold to preserve wealth rather than trade price direction. We measure that wealth in grams and ounces rather than dollars, euros, yuan or pesos
Toward that end, we are more than confident in the longer-term direction of the gold price, only because we are soberly realistic of the historical direction of debt-soaked fiat money. In essence, we are seeing (and yes enjoying) what is in fact a fiat bear market rather than a gold bull market, and for all the reasons touched upon above, are confident of our choice EG
For further information, please visit: www.VomGreyerz.gold
Right now founders and investors are facing a unique investment environment. Many investors have seen real estate deals halt distributions or suffer damage due to high interest rates. Additionally, valuations have had to decrease to close funding rounds for many private company acquisitions and recapitalizations.
Article by Richard C. Wilson FOUNDER & CEO, THE FAMILY OFFICE CLUB
At the same time there is great opportunity, some assets are discounted due to the economic environment, some teams force appreciation of assets they acquire even in these markets, and some platforms are growing faster than ever before in this environment.
SEVEN WAYS TO SCALE FASTER RIGHT NOW
1) Deal Structures: Your attorney likely is not helping you design creative deal structures, they often want you to follow a template or do things how everyone else does them. You need to know your most common investor, are they most concerned about income, security, leverage, long-term maximum returns? You then need to dial in your deal offer and structure to hit them between the eyes so your investment structures sweat for you every day. If you are a member of our club or decide to join, let me know and I will get you a link to our 5 hour deal structures workshop to learn more.
2) Due Diligence Packages: Are thorough due diligence investment packages pre-prepped for investors required? No. Do they help? Yes. They show this is not your first rodeo, you have nothing to hide, it saves them time, and shows you are here to build something that will scale. What does your due diligence package look like?
3) Capital Raising Craft - Evolution: What
is your team or you doing to constantly sharpen your ability to work with investors, meet them, and dial in your structures, offers, materials, oneliner, videos, position, and CRM? Many stop improving in these areas, hit a certain level and then stop learning, and if times are not easy that can be used as fuel to improve many times faster out of necessity. What if you had coffee with 100 people who have raised $100M+ each and asked them for 15 minutes to share their insights? That is what we did and we recorded it. Go deep on influence, positioning, be institutional quality, and the class act professional who consistently delivers and follows through typically is who wins long-term in the family office space.
4) 10 Billionaire Books to Buy Today (Extremely Valuable): I have read 110 books authored by billionaires, and I have a list of the top 10. If you do not own all 10 of these books I encourage you to purchase them all (ideally on Audible), and perhaps you have a entrepreneurial family member who could use one as a gift for the holidays: https://billionaires.com/books/ - Yes we know you may not want to read all 245 books authored by billionaires, but could you read these top 10?
5) Artificial Intelligence Experiments: I do not think that in the near term my role or your role or many of our team’s roles will be “replaced” by AI, I think they could be replaced by someone just like you and me who leverages AI though. For sure. Do you use Fireflies for your team calls, Email Meter for response rate analysis, GumLoop, Grok or GPT, Bland, or other tools in your business? If you do not have a CRM yet - I would at least start there (we use ActiveCampaign currently and Elizabeth there is awesome if you need an
intro). We are going to do an investor mastermind networking event in Q1 focused all on discussing our tech stack, what we use in AI, what our participants and investors use, etc. so we can all share best practices and what works today. You do not need to learn how to program (nobody does now thanks to AI), you just need to play with some tools, have a solid CRM, and have analytics on where your time is best spent. Focusing AI tools on what can 1) Grow Revenue or Bring in Investors 2) Save You Time - means you will get an ROI on tinkering with it.
6) Meet Challenges with Optimism: If you and your team can plant many high quality relationship seeds, be politely persistent, turn challenges into innovation, and keep a clear head and focus on action, you will scale now or as the market improves. As Tony Robbins says, “monitoring and managing your % of time in peak state” matters more than picking up new strategies sometimes.
7) Meet In-Person + Make it Real: You cannot believe voices or videos so much anymore, they are easily fabricated. Before that was the case, though it was scientifically proven already that meeting in
person was 16x as likely to be effective in convincing someone to make a purchase. For a large investment of say $500K or $2M+ and now in this world of AI (everything can be faked seemingly) do you think it is more or less important to meet in person?
It is exponentially more important. If you are looking to attract clients or investors, use video vs. text or audio, meet in person vs. doing a zoom, and
YOUR ATTORNEY LIKELY IS NOT HELPING YOU DESIGN CREATIVE DEAL STRUCTURES, THEY OFTEN WANT YOU TO FOLLOW A TEMPLATE OR DO THINGS HOW EVERYONE ELSE DOES THEM.
show your device or asset operating by giving an in-person tour, or shipping an example model of it to them so they can feel and see it themselves. In a tough market only high trust, high conviction people and concepts make their way forward, and the more “real” someone feels that value and recognises the more you will be set apart from others. This is why as our digital reach spreads, we host in-person investor events, not just virtual events.
1) Free Books & Capital Raising Tools
Package - If you have never heard Richard C. Wilson’s book on capital raising, his book on family offices, and would like access to those resources, you can request them here in 10 seconds - https:// familyoffices.com/book/
2) Investor Club Access - Join our investor club in two minutes through our application to get access to the 100 recordings of our talks with $100M+ capital raisers, and to access our in-person and live streamed investor summits, investor masterminds, and over 1,000 investor mandate/
profiles in our mobile app: https://familyoffices. com/join/ or checkout our next event, the agenda, investor ratios, speakers, and more. The application to join can be found on that page as well - https:// familyoffices.com/super/
3) LinkedIn Newsletter Subscription [Free] - We have over 45,000 subscribers to our LinkedIn newsletter called Investor Club Insights. Catch our newsletters a few times a week here - https://www.linkedin.com/ newsletters/7144302057456300032/
4) Setup a call with our team - To discuss how our investor club operates and if our flagship investor summit December 10th-12th or our Q1 investor masterminds or summit may make sense here: https://familyoffices.com/#contact
5) YouTube & Podcast - Subscribe to our YouTube Channel or Family Office Podcast
Thank you for following our work, and have a great Thanksgiving if we don’t speak before then. EG
For further information, please visit: www.familyoffices.com
Article by Abel Gomez FOUNDING PARTNER, GOMEZ TOMICZEK INTERNATIONAL
Dreaming of an endless summer, affordable living, and a welcoming culture? Panama could be the perfect destination.
Known for its affordability, quality of life, and easy residency options, Panama is a haven for expats, retirees, and adventurers alike, all drawn by the promise of a high quality of life without breaking the bank. Here’s everything you need to know about setting up your life in Panama.
Living Affordably in Panama: Cost of Living Breakdown - One of Panama’s biggest draws is its flexibility with budgets. You can choose a lifestyle as simple or as luxurious as you want. Whether you’re seeking a bustling city apartment with ocean views or a cozy home in a mountain town, Panama has affordable choices to match your goals and resources.
City vs. Country Living - In Panama City, the country’s vibrant capital, you’ll find a cosmopolitan lifestyle with great amenities, but it comes with a premium price tag. Rent for a comfortable onebedroom apartment typically costs around $1,000 monthly. For premium locations like Punta Pacifica or Costa del Este with ocean views, expect to pay $1,500–$2,000, depending on amenities.
Rural towns like Boquete and Volcán offer a completely different experience, and they’re perfect if you’re looking to save. A one-bedroom rental in these areas might only set you back $300–$500,
giving you more freedom to budget for travel, entertainment, and local experiences.
Day-to-Day Expenses - Where Panama really shines for expats is in its day-to-day affordability. A typical grocery bill for a couple runs around $300 monthly if you focus on local produce and pantry staples. While imported items can be pricey, Panama’s fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish are affordable, plentiful, and delicious. Stick to seasonal produce like pineapples, bananas, and papayas, and you’ll enjoy great meals without breaking the bank.
Dining out is another area where expats enjoy big savings. A meal at a local fonda (small restaurant) costs about $5–$8, while a mid-range restaurant meal in Panama City costs around $15–$20 per person. In smaller towns, prices are even lower, making eating out both enjoyable and easy on your wallet.
Utilities and Other Bills - Electricity costs in Panama vary based on location and lifestyle. In Panama City, where air conditioning is often a necessity, monthly bills can range from $100 to $150. However, if you’re in cooler, breezier areas like Boquete, bills may only be around $35–$55 a month. Internet typically costs about $40 monthly for a basic plan, while faster plans are available for a bit more.
Public transport is reliable, affordable, and perfect for city dwellers. In Panama City, a one-way bus fare is around $0.35, and the Metro charges less than a dollar per ride. For those who prefer the independence of a car, fuel prices are similar to those in the U.S., and a decent used car will set you back around $10,000. If you live in Panama City,
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, A COUPLE CAN LIVE COMFORTABLY ON $1,500 TO $2,000 PER MONTH IN PANAMA, WITH COSTS DROPPING FURTHER IN RURAL AREAS.
you may find it easier to walk, use public transport, or hail an Uber than deal with city parking.
All things considered, a couple can live comfortably on $1,500 to $2,000 per month in Panama, with costs dropping further in rural areas These lower living costs mean more room in your budget for weekend trips, cultural festivals, or even extra nights out with new friends. It’s easy to see why Panama attracts expats from all over the world!
GETTING YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE IN PANAMA AS AN EXPAT
If you’re planning to explore Panama, having a car is a fantastic option, especially in rural areas. Here’s what you need to know about getting a Panamanian driver’s license:
The Tourist Period: Tourists can drive using their home country’s license for up to 90 days from the date they enter Panama. This grace period gives you time to settle in before needing a local license.
Residency Requirement: Once you’re officially a resident, you’ll need a Panamanian driver’s license to drive legally. To start, have your foreign license validated at your home country’s embassy in Panama. Then, bring it to the Licensing Office (SERTRACEN) along with your residence permit, passport, and a completed blood type test. After submitting these documents, you’ll receive your Panamanian license.
With your Panamanian license in hand, you’ll be set for convenient and flexible travel, whether it’s running daily errands or visiting friends across town. Having a car in Panama opens up countless options for getting around with ease.
Banking in Panama is stable, accessible, and offers a range of services suited to expats. The banks here have a reputation for reliability and cater to various needs, from personal checking accounts to high-interest savings accounts and fixed-term deposits (CDs). Here are the main types of accounts for expats in Panama:
Personal Checking and Savings Accounts: Many expats opt for a basic checking or savings account to manage day-to-day expenses, make local transactions, and pay bills. These accounts typically
come with debit cards and online banking access for added convenience.
Fixed-Term Deposits (CDs): Panama’s banks offer competitive interest rates on CDs, typically ranging between 3.5% and 5% depending on the term. Since Panama uses the U.S. dollar, interest rates are influenced by the U.S. Federal Reserve, aligning returns with U.S. market conditions. Thanks to Panama’s tax-friendly policies, interest earned on CDs is also tax-free, making this option especially attractive for expats looking to grow their savings in a secure environment.
Opening an account requires a few essential documents:
• Passport
• Second form of ID (such as a driver’s license)
• Proof of address (like a utility bill)
• Reference letter from your bank back home
• Proof of income
Some banks even allow you to open accounts remotely, a useful option for those who want to set things up before they arrive in Panama.
RESIDENCY PROGRAMS: PANAMA VISA
ITALIA AND FRIENDLY NATIONS VISA
Panama’s residency programs are one of the major draws for expats. Here’s a breakdown of three popular options that make long-term residency in Panama easy and attractive.
Panama Visa Italia - Italian citizens benefit from the Panama Visa Italia, a fast-track residency option that’s part of a bilateral treaty. The visa allows Italians to secure permanent residency in Panama with fewer requirements and a streamlined application process, making it one of the most straightforward options for Italians who want a second home in Panama.
Friendly Nations Visa - Panama’s Friendly Nations Visa is available to citizens of over 50 countries, including the U.S., Canada, and most of Europe. This visa offers two main pathways:
1. Real Estate Investment: Qualify by investing a minimum of $200,000 in real estate, an appealing option for those interested in owning property in Panama.
2. Certificate of Deposit (CD): Alternatively, a $200,000 deposit in a local bank qualifies applicants. This option is ideal for those wanting a more liquid, hassle-free investment without the commitments of property ownership.
Pensionado Visa - Perfect for retirees, the Pensionado Visa requires proof of a lifetime pension of at least $1,000 per month. With no minimum age, this visa is highly popular with retirees seeking a comfortable lifestyle in Panama. In addition to offering residency, the Pensionado Visa also provides discounts on medical services, flights, and entertainment, enhancing Panama’s already affordable lifestyle.
Maintaining Your Residency Status - Once you’ve secured residency, you need to spend at least one day in Panama every two years to keep your residency active—a minimal requirement that offers plenty of flexibility for expats who wish to travel frequently or live part-time in Panama. For those looking to stay indefinitely, Panama also offers a pathway to citizenship after five years of permanent residency.
Why So Many Expats Fall in Love with Panama - Panama offers a remarkable balance between quality of life and affordability. Whether it’s the welcoming culture, attractive tax advantages, or endless summer climate that draws you here, Panama has something for everyone. Its stable banking system, flexible residency options, and lower cost of living make it a top destination for expats worldwide.
In Panama, you can live life at your own pace, surrounded by natural beauty and a vibrant community. From the vibrant city life of Panama City to the peaceful charm of mountain towns like Boquete, Panama provides a lifestyle that’s rich in experiences yet gentle on your wallet. For many, Panama isn’t just a destination; it’s the place they call “home.”
READY TO MAKE THE MOVE?
So, why wait? If you’re dreaming of a place where the good life comes at a fair price, Panama might just be the new chapter you’ve been looking for. Pack those bags, get your documents in order, and start envisioning life in this tropical paradise. Your Panama adventure awaits! EG
For further information, please visit: www.gomitom.com
Long regarded as a premier location for creating trusts, especially among High Net Worth Individuals, the Cayman Islands offers unparalleled benefits for asset protection, wealth management, trust and estate planning, writes Cheryl Jones.
It is well-known for its solid legislative framework, tax neutrality, and sophisticated financial services infrastructure. Recent legal changes like the abolition of the rule prohibiting perpetuities have enhanced its competitiveness on the global scene. The fundamental features of Cayman Islands trusts, their benefits over foundations and corporations, and present legal developments affecting their use in 2024, are all important topics that need to be explored for better understanding.
As a major offshore trust jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands draws high-net-worth individuals seeking to control and protect their wealth. Many factors help to explain its appeal. As a tax-neutral jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands has no capital gains, purchase, sales, corporation, or VAT taxes. This is perfect for cross-border wealth management and this tax-neutral environment guarantees that assets inside a trust develop free of taxation. Trusts in the Cayman Islands provide a high degree of asset protection. As long as the trust was not created with the intention of defrauding, they guard assets from creditors, litigation, and other claims when built properly.
In estate planning, Cayman trusts provide flexibility and let settlors keep control over their fortune even when assets are passed to beneficiaries. Trusts also facilitate the development of customised succession plans considering complicated family dynamics and global elements. The 2024 change to the perpetuities statute eliminates the time limit for ordinary trusts, allowing them to continue perpetually. This breakthrough increases their usefulness for long-term asset preservation. Cayman trusts offer significant privacy safeguards. Trust information, including settlors and beneficiaries,
is not made public, allowing HNWIs to exercise discretion.
While foundations and enterprises are essential tools for wealth management, Cayman trusts offer distinct benefits:
Tailored Asset Distribution - Trusts provide flexibility in asset distribution that corporations and organisations cannot match. Settlor instructions can specify how assets are divided to beneficiaries, taking into consideration individual requirements, ages, and situations. Foundations and businesses frequently have more stringent asset allocation regimes.
Greater Privacy - Foundations and corporations often require more public disclosure than trusts. Trusts are controlled by private agreements, making them a popular choice for those who value confidentiality.
Estate Planning Flexibility - Cayman trusts are extremely adaptive for estate planning. For example, STAR (Special Trusts (Alternative Regime) trusts permit non-charitable and mixed purposes, which foundations and corporations cannot. STAR trusts are especially useful for maintaining interests in family businesses or managing specialised asset types.
Simplified Legal Structure - Trusts, unlike companies, do not have shareholders, directors, or board meetings. This streamlined structure minimises administrative complexity while maintaining the desired level of control.
Asset Protection - Cayman trusts typically outperform enterprises or foundations in terms of asset protection. Trusts can keep assets separate from the settlor's estate, protecting them from
future claims, marital conflicts, or insolvency.
The Cayman Islands stand out when compared to other trust jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands, Jersey, and Belize. This jurisdiction has a strong common law framework and current Trusts Law, ensuring legal certainty. Recent legal changes, like as the perpetuities reform, reflect the jurisdiction's willingness to adapt to global demands.
The Cayman Islands courts specialises in trust law, resulting in fair and predictable conflict resolution. This level of trust law specialisation is
THE CAYMAN ISLANDS OFFER HIGH-QUALITY SERVICES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES, MAKING IT AN AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS.
not always accessible in competing jurisdictions.
The Cayman Islands offer high-quality services at competitive prices, making it an affordable option for high-net-worth individuals. STAR Trusts are unique to the Cayman Islands, allowing for a mix of charity and non-charitable purposes, offering unparalleled flexibility. The Cayman Islands' zerotax structure for trusts is another big draw, despite other jurisdictions offering tax advantages.
Trusts are critical in estate planning, with advantages over private firms and foundations:
• Succession Planning: Trusts facilitate the orderly transfer of wealth across generations. By bypassing probate, they reduce delays, costs, and legal complications.
• Control: Settlor-controlled trusts, such as discretionary trusts, enable continuing asset management while providing for beneficiaries.
• Avoidance of Forced Heirship regulations: Many nations have forced heirship regulations that dictate how assets are dispersed. Cayman trusts avoid these limits, providing the settlor more control.
The most major legislative change in 2024 is the elimination of the rule on perpetuities for ordinary
trusts, which can now remain indefinitely, allowing families to create dynastic institutions to protect riches for future generations
Emerging trends
• Increased Use of STAR Trusts: These trusts are becoming more popular due to their ability to hold complicated assets such as interests in family businesses or intellectual property.
• Integration with Family Offices: Cayman trusts are increasingly being used as part of asset management strategies. These arrangements enable integrated asset management while maintaining anonymity.
• Digital Assets: The Cayman Islands is updating its trust legislation to include digital and blockchain assets, maintaining its relevance in today's financial context.
While trusts are an important part of Cayman's financial services, the territory also benefits from a booming banking sector, tourism industry, and the expansion of family offices.
• Banking: The Cayman Islands are home to a large number of multinational banks, which allow for seamless integration of trust structures and
worldwide asset management.
• Tourism: The strong tourism industry adds to the jurisdiction's general economic stability, which indirectly benefits the financial services sector.
• Family Offices: Many family offices select the Cayman Islands because of its sophisticated legal structure and trust services, which provide full wealth management solutions.
The Cayman Islands remain a popular choice for HNWIs looking to establish trusts because of its tax-neutral environment, versatile trust structures, and strong legal framework. Recent legislative reforms, such as the elimination of the law prohibiting perpetuities, have increased its appeal, allowing for long-term wealth preservation plans.
Trusts in the Cayman Islands have several advantages over companies and foundations, including targeted wealth distribution, privacy, and greater asset protection. As global wealth becomes increasingly complex, the Cayman Islands modernise to meet the needs of modern estate planning and asset management. Cayman trusts offer an unparalleled option for today's HNWIs, whether they are protecting family wealth, managing cross-border assets, or guaranteeing long-term financial security. EG
The strong banking and securities legislation system of the United Kingdom is well-known for balancing investor protection, market integrity, and financial stability, says Thomas Hughes.
Mostly under the control of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the UK system keeps its global leadership as a financial center. Recent legislative and regulatory changes, however, point to changing opportunities and difficulties for market players.
Designed to improve the stability of main UK banks, the Bank of England's 2024 Resolvability Assessment Framework marks a notable recent shift. This structure forces banks to show that they can continue to be functional without taxpayer bailouts through financial crises. New capital regulations implemented in September 2024 also seek to ease regulatory load on smaller banks, so encouraging innovation and possibly competition.
Additionally noteworthy changes in securities law have come from improved disclosure rules for listed businesses, and new clauses aiming at cryptoasset control mirror the proactive attitude of the UK toward newly developed financial products. Particularly in view of world volatility and previous high-profile crypto market collapses, the FCA has underlined openness and investor protections.
The legal system of the United Kingdom is commended for its flexibility and concentration on market integrity. Its regulatory environment draws international business and provides institutions of all kinds with clarity and efficiency. The system does not, however, present no difficulties. Smaller banks sometimes point to excessive compliance expenses, which the new capital guidelines seek to reduce. Navigating post-Brexit financial rules— especially those that differ from EU norms—also adds uncertainty for international business.
The UK's leadership in fintech and investment banking presents plenty of opportunities. Reduced capital requirements for smaller banks could result in more lending and more competition, therefore helping consumers as well as the larger economy. Threats like global market volatility, cybersecurity concerns, and the necessity to follow international rules could, however, compromise these benefits.
BY CONTRAST, SMALLER BANKS GAIN FROM LOWERED CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS, WHICH HELPS THEM TO MORE SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE IN LENDING MARKETS.
control. Although the UK is flexible, some contend that uneven control could result in enforcement gaps. The closing of Kraken's NFT market has drawn attention to crypto-asset rules since the FCA probably will increase supervision. Litigation concerning securities misrepresentation is still a major focus, which emphasises the need of proper attention and openness.
When comparing countries, the US's more rules-based system and the EU's harmonised approach stand against the UK's principles-based
Under the Resolvability Assessment Framework, bigger banks come under more scrutiny to guarantee stability amid systemic crises. By contrast, smaller banks gain from lowered capital requirements, which helps them to more successfully compete in lending markets. The foundation of the financial dominance of the United Kingdom still is its banking and securities legislation. The UK is positioned to keep its global financial leadership status by tackling new issues and encouraging innovation, therefore providing chances for institutions of all kinds. EG
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is continuing to go from strength to strength as an international financial centre.
Article By Elise Donavon CEO, BVI FINANCE
Our ability to attract and facilitate global financial operations is underpinned by our dedication to providing stability, transparency, and a business-friendly environment to our clients. This dedication has not only sustained the BVI's standing as a top offshore jurisdiction but cemented our status as the favoured location for international investment.
Last year alone, the BVI attracted $39 billion in foreign direct investment inflows according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with our financial services offering being central to our success. Our latest report, Beyond Globalisation: The BVI's Contribution to the Global Economy, revealed how the BVI plays a crucial role in facilitating international business. An estimated $1.4 trillion is held by BVI business companies - this equates to 1.5% of the world's total GDP.
Our role in the global economy is why many are selecting the BVI as their jurisdiction of choice to manage their Family Offices and Trusts. In the current climate, there is a soaring demand not only for business investment, but for wealthy individuals and families to effectively protect their wealth and implement structures to ensure a seamless transfer of assets. For these groups, it is a necessity that they use a jurisdiction that can meet their unique set of needs. The BVI is a financial centre that is both at the core of international capital flows and can offer the ideal frameworks required for these groups to navigate the current financial ecosystem.
Family offices are not new. But we have seen them emerge more prominently in recent years. These discreet entities, traditionally serving the complex needs of the ultra-wealthy, include financial oversight, tax strategies, charitable giving, and asset protection.
The landscape for family offices has transformed markedly due to a concentration of wealth among a few individuals and families who are globally mobile, necessitating advanced wealth management solutions. This has led to the proliferation of family offices to manage and protect these considerable fortunes. There has been an evident shift in capital flow demand, with many with family offices now seeking alternate investment routes for more control and insight into their funds. This trend is driven by the pursuit of flexibility, superior returns, and a want to making meaningful economic contributions.
From our international clients, we have seen an increasing demand for intergenerational wealth transfer and succession planning services. Since COVID and the ongoing uncertainty from shifting geopolitical tensions, wealthy individuals and families are looking for a solution that ensures protection of their assets and ensures smooth succession planning – a solution that offers both stability and flexibility.
The BVI has a strong and well-coordinated infrastructure that enhances our position as an ideal financial hub for family offices. This includes our robust legislative framework and environment, a strong regulatory system, access to experienced professional and business services and overall positive and stable social and business environment.
WITH THIS DIVERSE SERVICE OFFERING, WE WELCOME ANY REQUEST FROM OUR CLIENTS, HOLDING THE CAPACITY TO ESTABLISH BOTH SINGLE AND MULTI-FAMILY OFFICES.
We recognise that each family office is unique and has its own distinct requirements. Due to this, our clients have access to a comprehensive suite of services that cater to any combination of multi-faceted needs. Our services extend from establishing trust and estate structures to succession planning, which are supported by expert advice on the most suitable approach for wealth preservation and intergenerational transfer. This includes the formation of trusts and private trust companies, as well as the structuring of various fund arrangements, such as incubator or approved
funds, which can operate independently or within a larger set of entities like partnerships. Additionally, family offices in the BVI can benefit from wealth management services, which are complemented by property and maritime asset management, ensuring a holistic approach to asset stewardship.
Legal expertise is readily available to provide guidance on the creation of philanthropic or charitable structures, and to assist with the intricacies of trust and estate litigation. With this diverse service offering, we welcome any request from our clients, holding the capacity to establish both single and multi-family offices.
As a jurisdiction, we provide an advanced legal environment for setting up trusts, underpinned by progressive, client-friendly legislation. Trust law in the BVI takes its cue from English trust law, incorporating both the principles of English common law and equity, which are further complemented by local statutory law.
We have also continued to progress our legislative framework to support family offices and trusts including the Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act (VISTA), which is globally recognised for modernising trust law, and the BVI Business Companies Act, tailored to the international
business community's needs. The Private Trust Company regulations additionally provide a flexible regime for BVI companies acting as trustees, and the Trustee Act, has been amended to incorporate sophisticated provisions, protects against forced heirship, offers tax exemptions, and allows for the creation of various types of trusts, including extending the perpetuity period to 360 years.
These legislative elements, coupled with a robust regulatory framework and access to skilled professionals, position the BVI as a leading jurisdiction for trust establishment and intergenerational wealth transfer.
Further to this, while the structures we instate for succession planning are in place to avoid disputes altogether, we understand that sometimes they can be an inevitability. To this end, our on Island and internationally based experts are leading intermediaries that can help avoid or resolve disputes, should the need arise. The availability of this expertise from around the world, and particularly in major markets, is a distinguishing feature of our offering for our clients.
Should any dispute require further action, the BVI holds a clear legal framework that supports the necessary next steps. The court system in the BVI
is integrated into the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, with the High Court serving as the court of first instance for civil matters. This includes the Commercial Division, commonly known as the Commercial Court, which is headquartered in the BVI and specialises in adjudicating international and large-scale disputes. The BVI Commercial Court is supported by the Arbitration Act, which empowers it to assist arbitrations seated globally without interference, including the provision of interim relief and the enforcement of tribunal orders and directions.
Appeals from decisions of the High Court, including those from the Commercial Court, are escalated to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. Subsequent appeals can be made to the Privy Council in London. The BVI also hosts the International Arbitration Centre, and it is common for leading Caribbean and English QCs to appear in BVI cases. The specialist nature of the Commercial Court and its support for arbitration underscore the BVI's commitment to providing a comprehensive legal framework for the resolution of complex disputes.
We appreciate that any dispute, particularly within a family structure, is of a sensitive nature. Having this expertise and infrastructure available as a contingency is a comfort that the BVI can offer, further solidifying us as a jurisdiction of choice.
The international business landscape is dynamic. The state of capital flow and trends of investment will remain ever-evolving, especially with emerging geopolitical tensions driving international planning. With this, we remain vigilant and adaptive to the global economy as it stands today and for the future.
By example, we have seen the emergence of decentralised finance and financial technology companies, and with it a whole new generation of business leaders with akin desires to manage this acquired wealth and establish secure succession planning. We have reacted swiftly to accommodate this, having our Commercial Court recognise cryptocurrency as currency. Additionally, the BVI has implemented new legislation for the licensing of digital assets businesses, with a rigorous yet clientfriendly approach from the BVI Financial Services Commission.
We are committed to the future of wealth and finance; in whatever form it manifests. As the global economy continues to change, we will be ready to support our clients to navigate this.
Families want to protect and mature their wealth to guarantee that it can be passed as efficiently and seamlessly as possible to the next generation. Our approach to family offices, with our diverse service offering and continued advancement of our legislation to meet current and future needs is why, in addition to our leading international business facilitation, we are the premier jurisdiction for family offices and trusts globally. EG
For further information, please visit: www.bvifinance.vg
The Government of Armenia has an open door policy for investors in all sectors, and facilitates an attractive business environment by treating both local and foreign investors equally. Armenia is also one of the leading countries in the world per capita in terms of the number of companies founded, with registration of companies and self-employment being a very fast and simple process, according to Thomas Hughes.
Officially known as the Republic of Armenia, this landlocked country is part of the Caucasus region bordered by Georgia to the North, Turkey to the West and Azerbaijan to the East. Armenia achieved an impressive GDP growth of 8.7% in 2023, which was the fastest in Europe and this illustrates a consistent level of progress, as FDI inflows into Armenia stood at $998 million in 2022. Again, this was almost three times the level recorded in the previous year. With an economic freedom score of 64.9, Armenia is a multi-party democracy with a rich and ancient cultural history, and is the 47th freest nation in the world according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2024 Index of Economic Freedom
Home to one of the world’s oldest capitals, Yerevan was built 29 years before Rome, is the largest city, financial, industrial and cultural centre of Armenia. The city is full of cafes and boulevards, and has an ancient manuscript repository that stands as one of the cornerstones of Armenian cultural heritage. Yerevan is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities, dating back to the 8th century BC, and the modern layout was redesigned by famous Russian-born architect Alexander Tamanyan. Other key industrial bases in the country include Gyumri and Vanadzor, also playing critical roles in the country’s economic landscape.
Armenia is situated between Eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat, and Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion in the 4th century. It is written that Noah landed on Mount Ararat in his ark after the waters of The Great Flood subsided, and many Armenians still believe that Noah’s Ark remains embedded at the icy peak of this mountain.“And the Ark rested in the seventh month on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.”
(Genesis 8:4) Today, Mount Ararat is a central feature of the Armenian national emblem, is considered to be a sacred place and has been depicted on the coat of arms since 1918.
According to the World Bank, Armenia ranks highest in terms of FDI appeal above all other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. This appeal has been fostered by creating an environment of macroeconomic stability and the pursuit of reforms aimed at establishing a favourable market economy. Political stability, sustained economic growth, a skilled, highly literate and inexpensive workforce, and low inflation, are all major advantages. Measures implemented by the government include free economic zones for hightech sectors that incentivise preferential treatment on corporate tax, VAT and real estate taxes, freedom to repatriate profits, limited intervention as well as the lack of restrictions one foreign ownership.
Caucasian Tiger is not unfounded. According to Forbes, citizens of Russia opened more than 3,400 companies in Armenia, including 2,000 individual entrepreneurs in 2023, and this comes from of a
MOUNT ARARAT IS A CENTRAL FEATURE OF THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL EMBLEM, IS CONSIDERED TO BE A SACRED PLACE AND HAS BEEN DEPICTED ON THE
COAT OF ARMS SINCE 1918.
Photo: Ruslan Harutyunov / Shutterstock.com
total of 3,874 registered entities. Armenia clearly offers numerous advantages to foreign companies looking to expand their operations.
Since acquiring independence and shaking off the remnants of an inefficient and burdensome Soviet economic system, the nation has undergone a radical transformation , battling various challenges to become a competitive uppermiddle income, industrial-agrarian country. It was quite the turnaround from inheriting the worst predicament of all countries in Transcaucasia, having no favourable geographical position or natural resources. Being heavily dependent on the Soviet central planning system, the economy was primarily based on manufacturing and highly dependent on outside resources. Today the general regulatory framework is efficient, with policies supporting open markets.
Privatisation began in 1991 and today the country has diversified its GDP across sectors including construction, industrial production,
manufacturing, agriculture, mining, tourism, mechanical engineering, food processing, as well as information and communications technology. Russian is the preferred language. The currency is the Armenian Dram, which translates from Greek into English as ‘money’, formally being issued by the Central Bank of Armenia in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Armenian Dram remained relatively stable against the US dollar, euro and ruble in the first half of 2024. While much energy is produced with fuel imported from Russia, there are abundant renewable energy resources in hydroelectric and wind power. With more than 100 hydroelectric stations, energy prices remain low and stable.
Armenia has recently emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors because of the simplified procedures for registering legal
entities. To open a Limited Liability Company (LLC), you are only required to have a passport, fill out an application and submit documents to the State Register of Armenia. The process for starting a company takes a maximum of one hour and no fees are charged to setup an LLC. Foreign entrepreneurs can also setup a joint stock company, a branch office or representative office. The requirements to establish each of these entities are:
Armenian Limited Liability Company - This entity requires one director and one shareholder of any nationality. Minimum paid-up capital required to complete incorporation is €1. All Armenian LLCs have to submit annual audited financial statements to the commercial registry. This is best for smaller businesses with fewer than 10 employees and for companies not distributing dividends more than once per year.
The Armenia Joint Stock Company - The entity is typically used by investors who would like to trade shares on the stock exchange. The Armenia JSC must appoint one director and one shareholder of any nationality. Annual audited financial statements must be submitted and paid up share capital to complete incorporation is €1.
The Armenia Branch Office - This entity may be 100% foreign owned, scope of operations are defined by the parent company, the branch must have a registered office in Armenia, and the appointed manager must have power of attorney of the branch on behalf of the company. The branch office may perform all necessary business functions and activities on behalf of the parent company.
The Armenia Representative Office - This entity may be established by foreign companies who wish to operate in Armenia and is bound by the rules and regulations of the foreign legal entity. They are not permitted to carry out income generating activities in Armenia, but may engage in market research and promote the business of the parent company.
Operating or owning an Armenian company can also open paths to residency status for you and your family. Doing business in Armenia is simplified further as dormant companies are exempt from taxes and renewal fees. Under general naturalisation rules, approximately three years of residency can lead to you becoming eligible for Armenian citizenship.
From 1st January 2020, Armenia switched to a flat income tax system charging a flat rate of 23% on wages. As of 2024, the personal income tax in Armenia was slashed to 20%, applying to all forms of compensation, irrespective of the amount involved. Corporation tax is 18% and the tax on dividends for non-resident companies has been slashed to a mere 5%. Micro businesses are exempt from all kinds of taxes other than income tax, which stands at 5,000 drams per employee. Although tax revenues in the first half of the year were lower than projected, the Armenian government expects economic growth to be approximately 6% by the end of the year. EG
Croatia is one of the largest economies in Southeast Europe by nominal GDP and is a developed mixed economy with a high quality of life, dominated primarily by its tertiary service sector which accounts for 70% of GDP, according to Rachel Smith.
The primary sources of FDI investment into Croatia come from the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Hungary, with the major industries receiving the most inflows being financial services, manufacturing, real estate, wholesale and retail trade, as well as tourism. With no foreign direct investment screening scheme in place, both national and foreign investors are able to benefit from access to a high quality infrastructure, educated workforce and strategic position at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Straddling a third of the Western Balkans coastline, Croatia is situated in a location that remains critically important for all trade coming out of the Mediterranean to Central and Eastern Europe, providing numerous advantages including access to major European markets, a short route to Western Europe and Asia, and developed maritime routes, particularly in the Adriatic.
The nation adopted the euro on 1st January 2023, becoming the 20th member of the Euro area with a fixed conversion rate set at €1 = 7.5345 kuna, and is an open economy that is significantly dependent on international trade in Europe. Croatia is also an emerging energy power, possessing strategic investments in liquified natural gas, geothermal power and electric automobiles. Tourism is a considerable source in revenue during the summer season and dominates the service sector, with the majority of the industry concentrated along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The country has benefited from one of the highest tourism growth rates in the world since the 1990s, and this no doubt could be as a result of the many islands, diverse beaches and clear waters Croatia has, which give it one of the most indented coastlines in the Mediterranean.
The beautiful ancient city of Dubrovnik is one of the most renowned destinations for tourism in Croatia, featuring walls that run 2 kilometres around the city, as well as a 13th century Dominican Monastery resembling a
CROATIA IS ALSO AN EMERGING ENERGY POWER, POSSESSING STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS, GEOTHERMAL POWER AND ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILES.
fortress which houses a church, cloister, pharmacy and an art museum. Located in the southern tip of the Dalmatia region, Dubrovnik has many leading hotels such as Rixos Premium Dubrovnik, Valamar Argosy Hotel, Sun Gardens Dubrovnik, the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, and the Valamar Tirena Hotel. A seaport and the epicentre of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the city has a history dating back hundreds of years and was renowned for its skilled diplomacy, eventually becoming the cradle of Croatian literature during the 15th and 16th centuries. Dubrovnik’s insurance law was validated in the year 1395, three centuries before Lloyds of London was established, and it is said that the world’s first commercial pharmacy opened in Dubrovnik in 1317. Fascinatingly, the pharmacy still operates today- offering contemporary medicines, alongside tried-and-trusted herbal teas, creams and recipes originating back from the 1300s. EG
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A brand new solid state battery designed for electric vehicles has been recently announced by Samsung. With a 600-mile range, a twenty year lifespan and a capability of charging from 10% or 20% to 80% of full capacity within a mere nine minutes, the revolutionary technology is set to be a game changer not only for the viability of sustainable automobiles, but for silver investors as well, reveals Oliver Taylor.
Silver is an asset that is rapidly diminishing in supply because whereas gold is constantly recycled, silver is a byproduct of mining other metals and large amounts of it are either lost through use, or dumped into a landfill. As geopolitical tensions continue to flare up between BRICS and Western powers, countries around the world may consider procuring strategic silver stockpiles to safeguard their economies in anticipation of a separation between the BRICS alliance with Western financial systems, governments and central banks. The leading silver producing countries include Peru, Russia, Mexico and China, although the United States currently has a small silver stockpile when compared with other BRICS nations.
PHENOMENAL EFFICIENCY
Being approximately 79% reliant on silver imports for industrial requirements, the time window for the United States (and frankly, other Western nations) to acquire enormous amounts of the grey metal at relatively cheap prices might soon be closing. The silver market is in deficit because of industrial demand which comes primarily from solar panel manufacturers, and the annual consumption of silver is always higher than the supply. This comes at a time when the biggest ever news to hit silver and technology industries dawns upon us, in the development of a civilisational-shifting breakthrough.
With an ordinary battery like the one you have in your car, there is a liquid electrolyte that energises ions- and this is what causes power. With a solid state battery there is no liquid, but instead you will find a solid core which can be smaller, with greater density and energy efficiency. At the SNE Battery Day 2024 Expo in Seoul, the world was given a glimpse of true sustainability and at what could be one of the most important elements to fundamentally charge
and underpin a futuristic economy. Silver’s unique properties make it ideal for many EV components. Its excellent conductivity, corrosion resistance and thermal management capabilities, make it a vital component in the production of high-performance EV batteries.
As a name that is now synonymous with innovation and technological prowess, Samsung and their latest electric vehicle battery has the potential to become the lifeblood of electric mobility, propelling us into a bright future of zero emissions and endless possibilities. Driving range anxiety is a real concern for many electric vehicle buyers, but Samsung’s new Silver EV battery could open us up to a future where you could drive from New York to Miami, making pit stops only for coffee and doughnuts- and not due to the requirement of having to charge your car Boasting a significantly longer lifespan than its counterparts, the Samsung Silver EV battery would ensure that total costs of owning an electric vehicle are dramatically reduced, while enabling drivers to travel far longer distances on a single charge.
In a world where time is a priceless commodity,
the ability to rapidly recharge is extremely valuable, while the durability and long lifespan of the battery, presents a long-term investment in sustainable mobility that provides tremendous value for money . Samsung’s oxide solid-state battery technology delivers an energy density of 500 Wh/kg, which is almost double that of mainstream EV batteries. Moreover, the potential with these batteries means this figure could even double to 1000 Wh/ kg with certain improvements added to the way they operate. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Samsung’s development in this realm could completely shift the direction of the automobile industry within the next decade. This would be a worthy successor to the replacement of diesel engines and there is no reason why every automobile manufacturer on Earth would not want to utilise this technology. With the potential to outstrip all other battery components, this breakthrough is almost as big as the discovery of the combustion engine
Commodity investing expert Kevin Bambrough, made a rather interesting discovery pertaining to current demand pressures on silver. Samsung’s revolutionary battery technology incorporates a silver-carbon (Ag-C) composite layer in its anode, allowing for a higher energy density, which stores a lot more power in a smaller amount of space than with other EV battery technologies. With each battery cell potentially needing up to five grams of silver, the typical requirement for a 100 kWh car battery pack would be one kilogram per vehicle. With key drivers such as drastically improved battery life, charge times, range and safety increasing electric vehicle adoption due to this new technology, and with global automobile output standing at approximately 80 million vehicles per annum, it would take just 20% of these automobiles adopting Samsung’s new solid-state battery to require an estimated 16,000 metric tons of silver- and this would all be depleted and used in the production of only 16 million new electric vehicles What is even more startling is that when you consider that current global silver production is approximately only 25,000 metric tons per year, the realisation of an exciting new electric vehicle industry powered by Samsung’s new technology, would deplete a significant proportion of the world’s silver assets before any other industrial
SAMSUNG’S OXIDE SOLID-STATE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS AN ENERGY DENSITY OF 500 WH/KG, WHICH IS ALMOST DOUBLE THAT OF MAINSTREAM EV BATTERIES.
application can even be considered! This would take 67% of all the annual global mining of silver from current supply levels. How will the solar, aerospace, military, jewellery, and robotics manufacturers respond to being sidelined? The pressure exerted on the price of this asset in order to simply compensate for the insatiable demand by industry, would be immense
The major bottleneck however is infrastructure, and 600 kW (or faster) fast chargers will need to be retrofitted to support the development of this technology. Solid State batteries are about three to four times more expensive to produce than Lithiumion batteries, with Samsung planning only to
allocate to premium electric vehicles for the next few years. They have signed an agreement with Toyota and will begin mass production of the batteries in 2027, with Lexus vehicles scheduled to become the first cars to integrate the new technology. This is when we may truly feel shockwaves in a disrupted silver market, due to the combination of several factors which are all extremely bullish for the metal. Battery makers that understand the significance of this breakthrough in technology, are very likely to begin accumulating and stockpiling silver at current affordable prices- before others begin doing the same. The silver supply has already been forecast to run out from the COMEX depositories in 2025, because of surging demand from military, aerospace, solar power, electronics and many other industries. With a greater need for silver for solid state batteries, technological advancements in the automobile industry alone, will further exacerbate the supply-demand imbalance, as companies begin ramping up silver inventories now to ensure that they have enough for production for 2027. Hyundai, Ford, Nissan, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and GM, are already testing their own prototypes for solid state batteries. Indeed, the silver market seems to be poised for a significant supply crunch that has not yet been fully reflected in its price. All of these variables ultimately make the case for silver investment a no-brainer today. After all, investing in the asset which will power our future economy is now not only a financially prudent decision— it’s good also for the environment! EG
TECHNOLOGY
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A
Under the skin, the Lamborghini Sián has the same platform, same suspension and same V12 engine as the Aventador SVJ, albeit with the addition of some titanium intake valves and an exhaust, which raises the engine’s output. With a total power output of 602 Kw, this car is the fastest and most powerful Lamborghini vehicle of all time, but also one of the rarest and most exclusive models. The origin of the name Sián is derived from the Bolognese word for ‘flashes of lightning’ that appear in the skies above Northern Italy, and was chosen due to the fact the car is the first production vehicle to include a hybrid supercapacitor.
A SUPERCAR WITH A SUPERCAPACITOR
This name also emphasises the main attribute of this vehicle, being an incredibly fast car that exceeds 220 mph (350 km/h), while the suffix FKP 37 relates to the initials and date of birth of Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Karl Piëch. Only 63 of the limited-production Lamborghini Sian FKP 37s were ever created— all of which sold out at approximately £2,6000,000 each, before the official unveiling at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. Lamborghini’s Ad Personam program enables buyers to fully customise their Sián from the external car paint, to the interior stitching. Each vehicle is a rare one-of-a-kind masterpiece in its own right—every last one of the 63 Sián vehicles has its own uniquely identifiable colour. You’ll never spot two of the same vehicles on the road!
Whilst not being your average hybrid vehicle geared towards environmental concerns, the combination of Lamborghini’s iconic V12 engine, power and beauty, are merged with an electric boost to create what is an absolute marvel in technology, representing the finest in automotive engineering. Highly customisable and sleek, with a luxurious style that is evocative
The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 is the first midengine hyper car powered by a mesmerising V12 engine and hybrid technology that relies on the use of a supercapacitor instead of a traditional lithium-ion battery. With wonderful steering and a polished exterior, this stylish vehicle is car that exemplifies technological excellence, reports Oliver Taylor.
of the Bologna region, the car features a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine combined with a 48volt electric motor, to produce a mind-blowing 819 horsepower. Lamborghini engineers chose to select a mild-hybrid option which allows the Sián FKP 37 to mount an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, in order to keep the car’s weight down. The engine is also connected to a 7-speed automated manual transmission, which employs an electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system, with a rear mechanical self locking differential to improve handling. The rear-wheel steering system enables the car to turn with incredible precision, and the advanced suspension function ensures a stable drive even on challenging roads. Lamborghini’s engineers have fine-tuned every detail to ensure the car is planted and responsive in any situation.
The electric motor is incorporated into the gearbox and assists the V12 at low speeds to deliver instant torque without any drop during gear shifting, and this provides a responsiveness that traditional combustion engines alone simply cannot achieve. A normal battery stores electricity in chemical format and has to convert electricity into a chemical- and this is why the battery takes time to charge. A supercapacitor stores electricity as electricity without the need for this conversion process- and this enables instant power . The supercapacitor provides consistent power and faster charging, and this innovative technology
powers the electric motor with instant boosts during acceleration.
Another interesting feature are the autonomous vent flaps which open independently through expanding springs- without the aid of electric controls and sensors when the temperature around the exhausts rises above a certain threshold. When the engine cools, the springs contract and the flaps close and this is just another example of how the Lamborghini Sián takes traditional automotive technology and marries it with cutting-edge development to create something entirely unique
The supercapacitor extends the full width of the car, is three times more powerful than a battery of the same weight, while being three times lighter. The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 also includes a highly advanced regenerative braking system that was specially developed to recharge the electric motor and the Sián’s energy storage system is fully recharged every time you brake. With a hybrid system weighing only 34kg, rapid charging and discharging is possible without overheating. Whereas a traditional lithium-ion battery can take hours to charge, the supercapacitor in the Lamborghini Sián is fully recharged in just 63 seconds. Because the battery recharges itself on the move via the regenerative braking system, there is no plug-in element to the hybridisation. The innovative use of energy storage technology with supercapacitors in the Sián FKP 37 is also a world first. Moreover, with a mind-blowing acceleration increasing from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in less than 2.8 seconds, this automobile happens to be the fastest accelerating Lamborghini ever made. It is quite evident that the more you look through the Sián’s features, the more the vehicle finds ways to justify its seven digit purchase price.
The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 took shape under the guidance of talented German automobile designer Mitja Borkert, a former designer at Porsche from 1999-2016, who also designed the Aventador S and the Countach. The body of the futuristic vehicle is created with carbon fiber, elegantly sculpted with sharp, aerodynamic lines and an unmistakeable silhouette, while the electrochromic moving surfaces and roof are controlled by smart materials. The roof panel is switchable
between clear and opaque at the touch of a button on the dashboard. A large car wing extends whenever needed, providing extra downforce and raising automatically with the increase in performance along the road. The fixed rear wing has the number ’63’ embossed on its winglets in honour of Lamborghini’s year of incorporation. The exterior design of the car incorporates the trademark wedge shape of renowned automobile designer Marcello Gandini, and the Y-shaped daytime running headlights on the car were originally designed for the Terzo Millennio concept vehicle.
Luxurious Italian craftsmanship can be expected behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Sián, which features a sleek design inspired by the Lamborghini Countach. The interior is dominated by sharp lines and geometric shapes. The comfortable seats and cockpit are designed to put you at ease, with a digital dashboard providing intuitive controls and instantaneous performance data for an enhanced driving experience. High end materials such as carbon fiber, Alcantra and leather, are harmoniously combined in a modern cockpit layout, which present a luxurious interior that is very functional. The fully digital instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment system are an incredibly convenient tool, along with safety-orientated driver assistance features, such as adaptive cruise control, parking sensors and lane departure warning. The dashboard is also customisable, offering a choice of different display modes to suit driver preferences.
The world’s first hybrid Lamborghini is an absolute thrill to drive, and the Sián is an exceptional achievement in engineering, considering that it is the first time Lamborghini have used electrification in their cars. This automobile gives us a glimpse into what could be on the horizon for sportscars, supercars and hypercars. While being the fastest and most powerful Lamborghini ever produced in the world, the Sián also holds the title of having the best power-to-weight ratio of a V12 model in existence. Lamborghini’s 6.5-litre V12 engine is simply a masterpiece, surging beyond 8,000 rpm in a way that no other engine is capable of replicating. The supercapacitor in this Lamborghini is the very first ever used in any supercar in world history, and the Sián represents a commitment to innovation, quality and sustainability. EG
Bluetti
Solar power harnesses the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power, with solar panels using the photovoltaic effect to convert light into an electric current. Thanks to today’s technological advancements, going off-grid and not using or depending on the supply of public services like electricity is no longer a tremendously complicated feat, says Thomas Hughes.
In 2023, solar power generated 5.5% of the world’s electricity and more than 1% of primary energy. Some of the notable materials which account for the majority of contemporary PV systems include nickel metal hydride, nickel-cadmium, and lithiumion, with rechargeable batteries comprised from the latter element being used in many devices such as laptops, smart phones and electric automobiles. Lithium-ion batteries deliver numerous advantages over standard batteries such as a shorter charging duration, higher energy density and a longer time to discharge. However, due to their potential to overheat and catch fire, Lithium-ion batteries currently present a greater safety hazard.
An even more efficient technology named LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) serves as one of the fundamental components required for delivering the ideal solution for off-grid power storage. LiFePO4 cells present a remarkably safe, reliable and powerful tool that has changed the landscape of the renewable energy industry, and the technology is now widely used in caravans, grid connection, marine applications, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as for solar energy storage. The numerous advantages this new incarnation of battery technology offers over its traditional lithiumion predecessor includes enhanced safety, a long life cycle, stable thermal and chemical structure, high cycling performance and high efficiency. However, despite these advantages- the production and disposal of LiFePO4 batteries may present a significantly greater burden on the environment.
Spearheading an energy transition for a greener planet and sustainable future, BLUETTI is a technological innovator in clean energy, providing green energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use. The company has been committed to offering a plethora of energy solutions for off-grid
living, homes and commercial enterprises for over a decade, and is now a dominant force that is trusted by 2,500,000+ families worldwide. Originating from a R&D team established in 2009, BLUETTI has grown from strength to strength, pioneering a number of world firsts, including the world’s first lithium energy storage solution for home backup in 2011, the world’s first 2kW portable power station supporting EV charging in 2020, and the world’s first portable fridge with swappable battery and four ways to charge in 2024. BLUETTI’s main mission since its inception, has been to provide clean energy to mankind. They certainly are moving in the right direction today.
Retailing at approximately £499, the BLUETTI EB70 is a portable power station possessing a massive 716Wh capacity with lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery and a 1000W inverter that packs a powerful punch! With a 1400W surge capability, this nifty tool can be fully charged by directly plugging into your AC wall outlet at home in 3-4 hours, through using 12-28V 200W solar panels in 3-4 hours, or with a 12V car port in 7-8 hours (your vehicle’s cigarette lighter can be used). BLUETTI does not specify how long the device can maintain this 1400 watts, although if you overload the AC outlets you can simply press their power button to reset. The EB70’s premium batteries retain 80% of their capacity after 2,500+ life charge cycles, which means that even after 6-7 years of moderate usage, this device will still provide you with a sufficient and reliable source of power Whereas conventional gas generators run on fuel, have harmful emissions, a noisy operation and costly maintenance, the BLUETTI EB70 with its 1000W pure sine wave inverter, allows you to run or charge any electrical device that draws less than 1000 Watts in a manner which is clean,
THERE ARE 10 OUTPUT PORTS TO MEET A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT NEEDS, AND THE 15-WATT WIRELESS CHARGING BASE AT THE TOP OF THE EB70 IS A USEFUL FEATURE...
quiet, and environmentally friendly, with minimal maintenance.
With a very stable, large and long-lasting battery, the EB70 offers pass-through chargingenabling usage by your passengers while you are driving, and the unit can be replenished
simultaneously while power is being used. There are 10 output ports to meet a variety of different needs, and the 15-watt wireless charging base at the top of the EB70 is a useful feature for cellphone charging that works a treat. This is another feature that many power stations do not have today. If you have yet to acquire solar panels, the EB70 comes with a 12V car charger and a power brick which can be relied upon as the main method of charging via the AC wall outlet at home. In ECO mode, the device automatically detects periods of inactivity and low power demand, turning off its inverter to reduce power consumption so you are able to go longer on a single charge.
In addition, the cables allow you to attach to solar panels via renewable energy industrystandard MC4 connectors and rather than restrict your options to the BLUETTI brand, these MultiContact 4mm connectors (also called Stäubli Electrical Connectors) enable you to utilise any choice of solar array you wish. However,
BLUETTI solar panels are certainly worth a look, because when used in conjunction with any of their rechargeable portable power stations, you have a formidable solar power generator system at your disposal. BLUETTI panels have an efficiency of 23% and were created with the primary objective of being able to convert as much sunlight into clean energy as possible. The build quality of the EB70 is very good, coming well-packaged in an appropriate box, while its compact design with foldable handle makes it extremely easy to lift and carry the 9.7KG device around with you with just one hand. Rubberised feet prevent slippage on a hard surface, while delivering a sturdy and reliable performance. A true display of ergonomic excellence, it is clearly evident that serious consideration was taken with the design, as you can easily squeeze the portable EB70 into a small space in the back of your car.
On the right hand side of the BLUETTI EB70 are two AC ports and on the left hand side, USB and DC ports, with a cigarette lighter connection. The EB70 also includes an LED light with half,
full and SOS modes to provide emergency backup lighting. The simple, easy-to-understand LCD screen displays battery life in 20% increments, as well as how much power is coming in, and how much power is being drawn out in watts. As soon as the power is drained below 20%, the flickering red battery icon will indicate that it is time to recharge the device. From smart phones, stereo speakers and laptops, to slow cookers, tablets, drones, small refrigerators, power tools and televisions, the EB70 has enough power and sockets to charge multiple devices at a time for dozens of cycles. As a result of its extreme portability and lightweight construction, the EB70 is the perfect companion for boating, RV trips, on-location photography, camping, hiking and any outdoor leisure activity that requires independent off-grid power. When charging through your desired selection of solar panels, you will be able to deliver power to all of your items for a reasonable cost and never have to worry about electricity consumption. Generally speaking, thanks to BLUETTI- the future, looks bright, greener and sustainable. EG
Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance and has today become a respected brand in the world aviation industry. Since its initial acquisition by Hanjin Group, the state-owned Korean Air Lines was renamed by the South Korean conglomerate on March 1st 1969, writes Oliver Taylor.
Beginning operations with Cho Junghoon, President of Hanjin International serving as one of the first executives, Korean Air introduced long-haul trans-pacific freight operations, and passenger services to Los Angeles International Airport followed just a few short years later. The flag carrier of South Korea which began with only eight planes, is now the largest airline based on international flights, fleet size and international destinations, expanding to 159 planes and serving 40+ countries in over 120 destinations. As one of Asia’s largest and most influential airlines today, Korean Air’s journey is one of resilience, innovation and growth
The airline’s initial fleet lineup consisted of modest propeller aircraft, with operations limited to a few regional routes. Under Hanjin’s ownership, Korean Air embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, modernising its fleet with jet aircraft and including new routes to cities in Asia, Europe and North America. The airline brand is now a major player in the trans-pacific passenger travel and cargo markets. While being regarded as a leading airline in Asia, the history of Korean Air has been significantly shaped by the post WWII reconstruction and the Cold War.
Korean National Airlines (KNA) was
established by the government in 1946 to serve in the capacity of a cargo passenger airline for domestic flights alone, until the breakout of the Korean War divided the Korean peninsular. With the North being Communist and the South remaining a sovereign democratic nation with the support of the United States, Korean National Airlines would progress to add flights to Hong Kong in 1957, and Seattle in 1959. In an effort to boost the economy of South Korea, the state facilitated greater industrialisation of Korean companies, and Korean National Airlines soon afterwards became a government-owned brand renamed ‘Korean Airlines’ in 1961.
Paris was the first destination to benefit from a European service in 1973, with the airline brand becoming one of the earliest to operate Airbus aircraft across Asian routes, through the purchase of three Airbus A300s. This wide body aircraft enabled Korean Air to offer long haul services to destinations around the world. Flights to New York were subsequently added in 1979, charting the beginning of a successful period of international expansion that would follow throughout the next decade. From the 1980s, routes to the Americas stabilised, while expanded routes to Europe would include Seoul to Frankfurt in 1984, Seoul to London Heathrow in 1988, and as a result of
the increase of Korean construction companies entering the Middle East and North Africa, many other locations became available for travel, including Baghdad, Kuwait, Jeddah, Bahrain, Tripoli, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
By the mid-1980s, Korean Air had established itself as a major player in the international aviation market, adopting the well-known Taegeuk symbol on its aircraft (a Korean representation of ‘balance’ or ‘great polarity’) and skyblue aircraft livery design. Korean Air would go on to establish dedicated cargo facilities in Los Angeles, New York and Seoul, in addition to introducing the Boeing 747-400 to its fleet. Pressure to hire pilots due to their rapid expansion during the 1980s, brought onboard many staff without the necessary qualifications, in addition to Korean Air Force veterans promoted to senior positions. These pilots tended to ignore warnings and advice from their perceived ‘rookie’ junior copilots. This period of growth was not without its challenges, with a number of serious incidents and accidents temporarily damaging the
reputation of the airline.
However, Korean Air diversified its services, expanding its cargo operations, eventually investing in a $200 million programme to improve pilot culture, safety standards and later bringing onboard retired airline industry veteran David Greenberg to assist in running operations. With the concerted effort to improve standards, there was a significant improvement in safety, with consultants from Boeing and Delta Airlines playing a major part in their success
New routes to Sydney, Sao Paulo and China opened up in the 1990s, with new aircraft such as the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 also being added to the fleet. By the end of the 1990s, Korean Air had become one of the pre-eminent airlines in Asia and had established a reputation for its punctuality. The turnaround from its woes were remarkable; from reported losses of $352 million USD in 2000 and $452 Million in 2001, to phenomenal profits of $77+ Million in 2002. Growing from strength to strength, the Federal Aviation Administration later
WHILE BEING REGARDED AS A LEADING AIRLINE IN ASIA, THE HISTORY OF KOREAN AIR HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY SHAPED BY THE POST WWII RECONSTRUCTION AND THE COLD WAR.
far cry from previously being notorious for having an abysmal safety record!
Being no strangers to investing today, Korean Air now own five hotels including in the Waikiki Resort in Hawaii and the InterContinental Hotel in Wilshire Grand Tower, which is the tallest building in Los Angeles, and the 15th tallest building in the United States. The airline also has interests in other aerospace and defence ventures, producing military planes and helicopters. Korean Air offers economy, first and business class flights, which earn Korean Air Skypass miles according to which fares are purchased by flying with Korea Air or its partner airlines. Miles earned are based on the distance and booking class of flights. In addition, Korean Air’s Family Plan allows five family members to pool their miles together which can be redeemed for a future flight.
The airline offers three kinds of first class, (Kosmo Suites, Kosmo Suites 2.0 and KosmoSleeper.) and four kinds of business class options, in addition to the standard economy class. First class passengers may access the KAL First Class Lounge, while Business class passengers are able to access the KAL Premium Class lounge. Korean Air’s Excellent Boarding Pass offers a number of shopping and tourism benefits, while the Grand Hyatt Incheon provides a premium arrival shower service for customers flying with Korean Air. This includes a spa service for transit customers. The showers and restrooms in the lounge are perfect for freshening up before a long journey.
Korean Air recently introduced a new business class product named Prestige Suites 2.0 for their Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners. These are Prestige Class seats which prioritise privacy and comfort for 36 business class travellers in a staggered 1-21 configuration. These independent seats have aisle access with an open top, and are each able to recline into a bed in excess of 75 inches long. The suites come with state-of-the-art flight technology including 23.8-inch ultra-high definition personal screens with remote, ultrafast USB charging ports, wireless charging pads and Wi-Fi.
The pre-order in-flight meal service elevates customer satisfaction while improving the efficiency of Korean Air’s meal preparation process, by enabling first and business class passengers to have more control over their inflight dining experience. The pre-order service allows passengers to choose their meals in advance, offering a variety of Korean, Western and vegetarian dishes and featuring 4-6 ‘exclusive’ menu items. This service is available on eight international routes departing from Korea, including Frankfurt, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Paris, London and San Francisco.
restored South Korea’s downgraded aviation safety rating, as a result of the billions of dollars invested by Korean Airlines to install new technology, upgrade its fleet, improve safety standards and completely overhaul its corporate culture. This is a
With a rich history spanning 60 years, Korean Air is poised to continue connecting people and cultures around the world, as it navigates the challenges as opportunities of the 21st century. The airline is focused on delivering exemplary service and fostering a sustainable future for air travel. EG
Aircraft Dining
Most airline meals are prepared on the ground before take-off by specialist airline catering and will typically be served to passengers on an airline service trolley. According to Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Albright College, higher altitudes may alter the taste of food and the taste buds, writes Thomas Hughes.
When flying commercial at higher altitudes, food may actually seem drier and less flavourful than normal because of pressurisation, with human perception of saltinesss and sweetness actually decreasing 30% while in the air. Because of this, airline meals will tend to be well-seasoned in order to enhance the taste of food. However when flying private, a far wider palette of options than usual will become available.
Catering for private jets will tend to be affected by a passenger’s schedule, aircraft and dietary requirements. However, the minute details matter, and are a part of delivering a premium experience for VIP travellers. As a jet owner, you are prepared to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on private planes and so the last thing you want is secondary food. When you fly private, you fortunately do not have to be concerned with long lines at airport restaurants and can indulge in gourmet cuisine that is prepared with the finest ingredients from around the world.
The menu dishes served on board a private plane can vary widely according to customer preferences, availability of ingredients in certain regions, culinary trends as well as the absence or presence of cabin crew. Some of the most popular private jet food options include grilled chicken, caviar, wagyu beef, lobster, pastries, truffle dishes, cold meats, smoked salmon, pasta, filet mignon, sushi and sashimi, an assortment of sandwiches, salads and fresh fruits, prepared to 5-star hotel standards. Flight attendants may also stock the aircraft with delightful items like Swiss or Belgian chocolates and champagne as a part of the package. Certain restaurants such as Hakkasan in London and Cipriani in New York,
Photo: Hydr Ercn / Shutterstock.com
SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR PRIVATE JET FOOD OPTIONS INCLUDE GRILLED CHICKEN, CAVIAR, WAGYU BEEF, LOBSTER, PASTRIES, TRUFFLE DISHES, COLD MEATS, SMOKED SALMON...
cater to private jet passengers, with specialised packaging to retain food quality on board the aircraft. Eating onboard the jet also conveniently removes the hassle of packing snacks or bringing food from home!
Vistajet is ahead of the crowd, focused on seasonality and continuously evolving its menus for all tastes, no matter where you are flying from. Providing delectable flavours with a table higher than Mount Everest at 45,000 feet, hot dishes are freshly prepared by hand and par-cooked. You can expect the sourcing of your specific favourite ingredients to take a full day, while at least six hours are required to take food from the kitchen to the jet. VistaJet flies from 1900 airports in 187 countries and is able to suit your fine dining requirements across 96% of the world. Bon appétit! EG
Bringing together leading legal talent in the Middle East and the United Kingdom, Meysan is an ambitious, focused international law firm, designed with one thing in mind: to deliver the best outcomes in deals and disputes.
COMPETITION AND REGULATORY CORPORATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PRIVATE WEALTH
Pets are an important part of our families. When flying private, one of the benefits is having the freedom to bring your trusty four-legged companion along with you on your adventures as you travel. Four million pets are transported by air around the world every year, according to the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association, writes Rachel Smith.
VistaJet reported an 86% increase in pet travel in recent years, prompting the leading business aviation brand to expand its comprehensive VistaPet program, ensuring dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and other guests are able to benefit from the same quality of service that pet owners expect. Even the finest boarding organisations cannot fully alleviate the separation anxiety and stress that pets can experience by unusual surroundings, weather conditions, loud unfamiliar noises and unexpected movements. For pets, this can lead to depression, withdrawal and a refusal to eat.
Distress is caused for both pet and their owners by the fact that several carriers require animals to travel as cargo due to size restrictions, but unlike with commercial flights, when travelling on a private jet there are no major limitations that would force you to leave your pets at home or alone in a cargo hold. As such, the pets of private jet passengers have the freedom to roam the cabin with people they are far more familiar and comfortable with, turning the travel experience into one that is far more relaxed and enjoyable. Sometimes reaching your destination faster while leaving the trauma of commercial flights behind is just worth the extra money!
Air Partner are passionate about pets, offering personalised, pet-friendly private flights tailored to their every need, ensuring your dogs, cats or other animals travel in the lap of luxury. NetJets will go the extra mile to treat your animals with the utmost respect and care, offering the peace of mind that your pets are protected in their capable hands. LunaJets has an aviation advisory team accessible 24/7, which can source private flights for you and your furry companion at the best prices on the global market.
YOUR PET MUST ALSO BE IN GOOD HEALTH AND NOT BE EITHER TOO YOUNG OR TOO OLD TO FLY, IN ORDER TO MINIMISE THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH AIR TRAVEL.
They take care of all the administrative procedures to ensure a seamless travel experience and can easily find an aircraft to fulfil your specific requirements. The team at LunaJets has experience flying many different kinds of animals from various dog and cat breeds, to parrots, chickens, hamsters and cockatiels, on both long and short-haul flights.
It is important to ensure that your pet is fed and hydrated the night before your flight and has had adequate time to do their business before boarding. Your pet must also be in good health and not be either too young or old to fly, in order to minimise the risks associated with air travel. In the United States, your pet must be over eight weeks old, dogs are required to be immunised for rabies and it is recommended to visit a veterinarian before embarking on your paw-some journey. EG
Article by Herman Aguinis PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, GW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Business schools are navigating a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges in research practices. Faculty face intense pressure to publish in top-tier journals with high rejection rates, with about 75% of published research being non-replicable, raising concerns about the credibility of scholarly work.
This situation often leads to questionable research practices aimed at securing publication and career advancement rather than impact. Herman Aguinis’s book, Research Methodology: Best Practices for Rigorous, Credible, and Impactful Research, offers a comprehensive guide to improving research quality. It emphasises methodological rigour, ethical conduct, and broader societal impact, aiming to help researchers, reviewers, and academic leaders elevate the standards of business research.
Business school research practice challenges include the intense pressure faculty members face to publish in top-tier journals with high rejection rates, the concerning fact that about 75% of published research is not replicable, and the ongoing quest for definable and measurable scholarly impact. This confluence of issues can be likened to the perilous journey of the fishing boat Andrea Gail in the movie The Perfect Storm, leading to a situation where faculty may resort to questionable practices to secure publication and advancement, often sidelining the true impact of their work. The alarming rise in article retractions highlights the severity of the crisis.
In response, the book Research Methodology:
Best Practices for Rigorous, Credible, and Impactful Research aims to guide researchers, reviewers, and academic leaders towards adopting high-quality methodological practices, thereby fostering research that is both credible and impactful. This comprehensive resource seeks to elevate the standard of business research, emphasising the importance of methodology, ethical conduct, and the broader impact of scholarly work. Business schools are facing at least three critical researchrelated challenges:
A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES
1) Faculty at all career stages face increasing pressure to publish almost exclusively in highly competitive journals that reject more than 90% of the manuscripts they receive
2) About 75% of published research is not replicable (i.e., different researchers conduct the same study but are unable to obtain the same results reported in the original one.
3) Business school leadership continues to look for the ‘Holy Grail’ of scholarly impact (i.e., everyone wants to have an impact, but impact is not clearly defined, measured, or rewarded)
These three challenges create what we labelled ‘the irresponsible research perfect storm’ in a Journal of Management Studies article (Aguinis, Archibold and Rice, 2022). You probably watched the movie The Perfect Storm, in which the fishing boat Andrea Gail is at the heart of an unforgettable saga. The story unfolds as the crew, underwhelmed by their recent catch, return to shore only to face the stark threat of unemployment from the company’s owner. This ignites a fiery resolve in Captain Bill Tyne, who vows to safeguard his crew’s livelihoods and shatter expectations by hauling an unprecedented catch. Persuading his crew to undertake one final voyage before the winter sets
in, they embark on a journey that promises great rewards. Their determination bears fruit as they net a colossal catch, but their triumph is short-lived.
The journey home turns perilous when the weather takes a menacing turn, positioning a lethal trap directly in their path. Fuelled by the allure of financial gain, the crew braves the storm, unknowingly sailing into the clutches of a catastrophic convergence. A low-pressure system’s warm air, a highpressure system’s cool and dry flow, and the tropical moisture from a nearby storm intertwine to spawn the ultimate tempest. Despite their valiant efforts, the Andrea Gail succumbs to the relentless power of the sea, taking with it the lives of six brave souls. Had the crew faced only warm air from a low-pressure system coming from one direction, they may have survived. They may have survived if they had only faced the cool, dry air flow generated by high pressure from another direction. They may have survived if they had only faced tropical moisture from a tropical storm. But, the combination of these three factors simultaneously led to their demise.
Business schools face a similarly dangerous perfect storm based on the above-mentioned challenges. Combined, they result in faculty feeling pressured to tailor their research so it can be published in one of the ‘A’ journals (Aguinis, Cummings, Ramani and Cummings, 2020). In
addition, these simultaneously existing factors result in faculty doing ‘whatever it takes’ to publish in those journals to avoid being fired and to achieve promotion and other rewards. What is the net outcome? Nature reported that more than 10,000 articles were retracted in 2023 (a new record), and retractionwatch.com provides detailed information on the increased use of questionable research practices leading to retractions across numerous business fields. Of course, impact becomes an afterthought, particularly given that promotion and reward systems do not usually
include impact explicitly but mainly focus on ‘counting A publications’.
How can business schools avoid drowning and successfully swim out of the irresponsible research perfect storm? How can researchers engage in trustworthy and valuable research? What is the role of journal editors and reviewers? What is the role of university and business school leaders? To provide some answers to these questions, I wrote a book titled Research Methodology: Best Practices for Rigorous, Credible, and Impactful Research (SAGE Publications, 2025).
SO, THIS BOOK ON METHODOLOGICAL BEST PRACTICES TAKES A 360-DEGREE VIEW, COVERING TOPICS PERTINENT TO AUTHORS, REVIEWERS AND RESEARCH CONSUMERS.
Much like in any other profession – from electrician to doctor – there are ways of doing things right and ways of doing things wrong. In business research, this refers to putting our methodological tools to good use so the resulting research is trustworthy and also valuable for society. If research is done well and with impact in mind, it will likely be published in good journals. So, researchers can learn and implement high-quality methodological practices without engaging in questionable research practices. More importantly, high-quality and relevant research is more likely to be impactful inside and outside academic circles. This book is the product of my 30+
years of experience in research methodology as a researcher and research consumer. It is also the product of my experience as an evaluator of research quality in my capacity as former editor-in-chief of Organizational Research Methods, which is devoted entirely to research methodology, as well as having served as an editorial board member for more than 25 journals and as an evaluator for grant proposals in the United States and many other countries around the world (e.g., Austria, Belgium, Israel, Romania, United Arab Emirates).
To swim out of the irresponsible research perfect storm, authors need to learn how to do research well, reviewers and editors need to learn how to evaluate such research, and university leaders need to be able to recognise good research to encourage and reward it (Aguinis, Yu and Tosun, 2021). So, this book on methodological best practices takes a 360-degree view, covering topics pertinent to authors, reviewers and research consumers. Its content is intended to serve undergraduate students, graduate students at the master’s and doctoral levels, junior and seasoned researchers, and organisational leaders and policymakers. It is intended to serve as a one-stop companion for understanding and doing research, helping readers become expert researchers, reviewers, and consumers of research.
The first goal of this book is to synthesise this vast body of work on methodological best practices in a user-friendly manner. The reason for this approach is that most business school researchers are not methodological specialists – nor do they want to take on such a role. Instead, most researchers are methods users as we conduct our own research, and methods consumers as we read the research produced by others. In addition, this book presents material and best practices, mainly in the form of checklists. In other words, I wrote this book like a tutorial to include ‘how-to’ and ‘dos and don’ts’ guidelines so you can understand the extent to which methodological best practices are being followed – and so that readers can follow best practices in your research.
Each chapter includes figures and tables to make the material easier to digest. In addition, each chapter (a) describes why the particular methodological topic is essential for doing rigorous, credible, and impactful research; (b) explains and expands upon the summaries, checklists, and steps in the figures and tables; and (c) provides examples and applications to demonstrate that the bestpractice recommendations are actionable and implementable and not just wishful thinking.
To swim out of the irresponsible research perfect storm, we also need to expand our framework for defining the craft of doing research. So, the book covers the entire research process from the beginning (i.e., how to generate and test good theory) through to the end (i.e., how to report results openly and transparently). In addition, it includes chapters on design, measurement, and quantitative and qualitative methods. EG
For further information, please visit: www.globalfocusmagazine.com
Selecting the right school for your child to attend is one of the most important decisions you will ever make as a parent, writes Thomas Hughes.
Academic institutions like preparatory and international schools often attract highly talented teachers who will nurture and adapt, in order to get the very best out of their students. International schools are growing in popularity among parents and are known for their cultural and linguistic diversity. They attract students from several nationalities and create a multicultural environment that enables children to develop a global perspective.
Smaller class sizes allow students to grow in an environment where they are strongly supported with teachers providing a personalised educational experience. Within this setting, students tend to gain a deeper understanding and mastery of subject matter, as teachers are able to dedicate more time to each student and ensure that each individual learning need is met. A successful start in life, often begins with a stellar education and statistically, international school students achieve higher examination marks compared with the global average. It is of course, no surprise that many of the world’s most powerful and influential people will only send their children to the kind schools that will prepare them through a rigorous and challenging framework of academic and extracurricular activities.
Studying at an international school provides several advantages which must be seriously considered. They are quick to embrace technologies which facilitate a higher quality of learning and embrace an international curriculum that opens children up to a world beyond what they have seen. It is an investment that ensures they are well-prepared to step into their roles as the executive leaders of tomorrow. The International Baccalaureate program is widely recognised by institutions globally, helping students develop critical thinking and analytical skills, while offering improved admission prospects with educational programmes that will put students on the fast track to some of the highest ranking universities in the world. Students are also able to experience different cultures and ways of thinking that enable them to develop empathy and tolerance.
ACS Cobham offers a unique educational experience, characterised by a bold international approach that nurtures independent learners.
THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM IS WIDELY RECOGNISED BY INSTITUTIONS GLOBALLY, HELPING STUDENTS
DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS...
United Lisbon International School is a modern, innovative school that provides children with a well-rounded education to prepare them for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. Built upon fundamental pillars of education spanning a range of areas including Technology, Global Citizenship, Entrepreneurism, Sports and Arts, their philosophy is centred around nurturing each individual student, offering a diverse range of opportunities to grow both personally and academically.
A number of institutions stand out from the crowd. ACS International School Cobham is an international day and boarding school underpinned by core principles of community, positive change, excellence and internationalism.
There is no doubt that education is the key to unlocking the world, and a passport to freedom Having an international school education is a privilege offering a myriad of benefits. They ultimately play a critical role in shaping the next generation of empathetic leaders who will be fully equipped to steer us towards a more sustainable, equitable and resilient world. EG
The CBS EMBA is a transformational journey that sharpens your strategic mindset, boosts your leadership skills and enhances your ability to navigate the complexities of today’s business landscape.
DISCOVER M ORE. DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE OR REGISTER FOR ONE OF OUR UPCOMING INFO MEETINGS AT CBS.DK /EMBA
Tel: +45 3815 6002 E-mail: mba@cbs.dk
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
United Lisbon International School
Article By Martin Harris EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ULIS
Situated in Lisbon’s thriving Park of Nations district, United Lisbon International School (ULIS) combines academic excellence, cultural diversity, and cutting-edge facilities to create a premier learning environment.
This dynamic neighbourhood, home to multinationals like Microsoft and a burgeoning start-up community, offers an exciting backdrop for families relocating to Portugal. With a student body representing over 50 nationalities and 6,500 square meters of outdoor space, ULIS provides children with room to grow, explore, and thrive in a vibrant international community.
Our curriculum is designed to meet the needs of globally mobile families, blending the best international frameworks. From the International Early Years Curriculum to the International Primary and Middle Years Curriculums and the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) program, we ensure continuity and adaptability for students transitioning between educational systems. This seamless approach fosters confidence and equips students with the skills they need to excel.
At ULIS, our five core pillars define an innovative and holistic educational experience. Technology is a cornerstone, equipping students with critical digital skills and creativity through coding, robotics, and digital content creation. Artificial intelligence (AI) also plays a key role in personalising education; teachers use AI tools to analyse student performance and tailor instruction, while students learn to engage with AI critically and ethically—preparing them to lead in an evolving, tech-driven world.
Creativity is equally central, nurtured through a robust arts program that encourages students to express themselves through visual arts, music, and drama. Sports programs focus on teamwork, discipline, and resilience, promoting physical well-being alongside personal growth. Entrepreneurism is embedded throughout the curriculum, challenging students to think critically and transform ideas into impactful solutions. Finally, global citizenship is woven into every
additional resources for curriculum development and mentoring, Dukes ensures that ULIS remains a leader in international education.
TAILORED ONBOARDING PROGRAMS, LANGUAGE SUPPORT, AND A PARENT MENTORSHIP NETWORK HELP FAMILIES INTEGRATE SEAMLESSLY INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
Supporting families through their transition to life in Lisbon is central to our mission. Tailored onboarding programs, language support, and a parent mentorship network help families integrate seamlessly into our community. With nearly 20% of students coming from Portuguese families, ULIS reflects Lisbon’s unique role as both a global hub and a local treasure, blending perspectives from around the world.
aspect of school life, inspiring students to embrace cultural diversity, develop empathy, and contribute positively to their communities.
A cornerstone of ULIS’s success is its partnership with Dukes Education, a globally renowned network of schools. Dukes offers access to cuttingedge expertise, including personalised university admissions support and career counselling tailored to students’ aspirations. Through this partnership, ULIS graduates are better guided and prepared during the admissions process to top universities across Europe, North America, and Asia. With
Our location further amplifies these advantages. Proximity to the Lisbon Oceanarium, the Science Museum, and leading tech companies provides students with enriching hands-on learning experiences, connecting academics with real-world applications. These opportunities ensure that ULIS students are not just prepared for the future—they are ready to shape it.
United Lisbon International School is more than just a place of learning—it is a supportive, inclusive community where excellence, innovation, and values come together to prepare the next generation of global citizens for a fast-changing world. EG
For further information, please visit: https://www.unitedlisbon.school/
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As we approach the end of our AMBA & BGA financial year, I am very pleased to report that of our 292 AMBA-accredited schools, we have not lost a single one voluntarily over the past 12 months.
Article by Andrew Main Wilson CEO, AMBA & BGA
Only two have reluctantly left the AMBA family: one due to the tragedy of severe social unrest in their country and another because of the enforced closure of its MBA programme.
This strong loyalty to the association can, I believe, be largely attributed to the powerful benefits of AMBA accreditation. Our organisation is currently an exclusive community of just 292 leading business schools worldwide; fewer than two per cent of the world’s business schools have AMBA accreditation.
Some 129 AMBA schools have also achieved the prestigious triple-crown accreditation – i.e. having been accredited by AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS – something that fewer than one per cent of business schools globally can claim to have achieved.
AMBA is the only international accreditation organisation providing free membership services and benefits for an accredited school’s MBA students and graduates. In fact, more than 70,000 students and graduates are already members. Since this is the case, AMBA has much greater brand awareness amongst alumni than any other accreditation body. The clarity of our brand name –the Association of MBAs – also helps in this regard.
AMBA is the only international accreditation organisation whose accreditation panel includes a senior, full-time AMBA executive. This significantly reduces both the time and resources required to manage an accreditation, both from the school’s perspective and in terms of our accreditation panel’s processes and workload.
AMBA accredits a quality business school’s entire MBA portfolio, as well as some MBM programmes too. Many deans tell us that their AMBA accreditation process was much more insightful in terms of advice and future strategic growth ideas for their MBA programmes than
comprehensive market research data on global and regional annual MBA application and enrolment statistics; these include application-to-enrolment ratios by country, plus male/female and domestic/ international student ratios.
In the last issue of Ambition, I mentioned the reality of the ageing demographic profile that is facing most countries within the AMBA network. I expressed my belief in the importance of our AMBA schools providing lifelong learning modules or stackable certificates for all those who have graduated from their programmes over the past 15-20 years.
other international accreditations. Apparently, they inevitably comment only briefly on the MBA portfolio because they have to analyse all those issues associated with the whole school.
We provide our AMBA-accredited schools with
As population demographics reduce the number of young students, it naturally increases the amount of working-age managers and directors. We are currently looking at ways of supporting our schools with best-practice advice and potential endorsement of such lifelong learning programmes. EG
For further information, please visit: www.mbaworld.com
Oulu Business School at University of Oulu is an international research and educational institute for economic sciences. Oulu, Finland, a modern growth centre, creates an inspiring and stimulating environment for business studies, work and leisure. www.oulu.fi/oulubusinessschool
Airbnb, Inc., is an American company that operates an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays and experiences in many countries around the world. It is the world’s most well-known company for shortterm housing rentals, acting as a broker and charging commission from each booking, writes Thomas Hughes.
Today, AirBnb has become an increasingly attractive platform with many guests finding short-term rentals to be a lot more spacious, cheaper, personalised and to be a far cosier experience than staying at a hotel. Among the 7 million+ properties listed on Airbnb as of 2024, there are approximately 90,000 cabins, 2,000 castles, over 1,600 private islands, 300 lighthouses and even more than 140 igloos, where guests across more than 220 countries and regions around the world can spend the night. From skylodge adventure suites in Peru, to ecofriendly bamboo houses in Bali, the rise of vacation rental listings around the world, has empowered Airbnb hosts to get creative with their service offering to guests. In September of 2023, Airbnb was the third most visited travel and tourism website in the world, with approximately 89 million visits in that month alone. There have been 52 million downloads of the Airbnb app worldwide and in October 2020, Airbnb hosts collectively raked in a combined $110 billion in earnings. When renting out your property to guests as a short-term rental, there are many important factors to consider.
The standard buy-to-let property market in the UK has been subject to a number of regulatory changes in recent years, making the Airbnb market seem like a much more appealing proposition for landlords. 'Airbnb has higher profitability when compared to renting out a buy-to-let property with the usual Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement, with average yields around 10%. This is particularly the case when situated in a popular location for tourism or in a densely packed city with universities and a thriving local economy. Cities like Newcastle and Liverpool can offer impressive yields like 25%, while coastal areas in Wales and Yorkshire can yield in excess of 30%. Because the nightly
price charged to guests is higher, Airbnb rentals can easily generate more income than conventional buy-to-lets, as long as you choose the right area.
‘Location, Location, Location’, isn’t just a nice British reality tv show to watch on a Sunday afternoon! Indeed, there is a reason for the popularity of the old adage, often attributed to real estate magnate Harold Samuel- in that it always matters! This factor is often overlooked, but is one of the most important elements to consider in real estate and whether your strategy is for running an AirBnB, House of Multiple Occupancy, or standard buy-to-let, the location of where you choose to locate your business can determine whether you succeed or fail miserably before you even get started. The bottom line is that everything else that may go awry ‘can be fixed’, except where the Airbnb is physically located. If there is a lovely restaurant, cafe, or coffee shop a mere three minute walk from your property, this will have a positive impact and have an affect on your reviews. It is important to choose a location that you either reside in, or one that is a 30-minute drive from where you live for best results.
There are Airbnb facilities in every major city today- it is important to do your market research by going onto the Airbnb website to determine which locations have the most bookings. You also need to know when your local events are, where your local events are, and seasonality, because in some seasons with higher occupancy you can raise prices at the last minute, whereas in other seasons with low occupancy- you may just have to lower prices well in advance to secure bookings before anybody else. When viewing the Airbnb website, prices for stays on weekdays and weekends are visible on the
calendar. If you see that a host has a lot of varying prices but a completely open calendar, their prices are wrong, because they have no bookings. This provides an insight into which hosts are charging too much, as even the finest listings will not get consistent bookings if they are too expensive. However, if a calendar is completely full with little variation in pricing, this is a baseline indication of what fees to change at the lower level.
On average, a guest will spend only five seconds looking at a listing online before moving on to the next. Six out of every ten guests will skip right to
IF THERE IS A LOVELY RESTAURANT, CAFE, OR COFFEE SHOP A MERE THREE MINUTE WALK FROM YOUR PROPERTY, THIS WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT AND HAVE AN AFFECT...
the photos when they are choosing where they want to stay. High quality photography is absolutely essential for maximising results with your Airbnb, and is the window to your business that allows your guests to elicit feelings of relaxation, safety, warmth and luxury upon first glance. It would be sensible to invest in a professional photographer as Airbnb will push up listings that have gone the extra mile higher in their algorithms. This in turn leads to higher bookings, so ensure that your property is well and evenly lit, capturing the entire room and be prepared to use Photoshop or Lightroom where necessary!
AirDNA tracks the performance of 10 million Airbnb and Vrbo vacation rentals across 120,000 global markets. It is an intuitive platform that can take the hassle out of finding the right spot for your Airbnb, and is an extremely useful tool which calculates expected short-term rental income, occupancy and the nightly rate of a given location. AirDNA provides information on seasonality, monthly revenue breakdowns and competitor performance, giving you a competitive edge in the marketplace and enabling you to position yourself as an industry leader, armed with accurate insights. It is a good idea to personally stay at some highlyrated Airbnbs that are similar in quality to the properties that you plan to acquire or manage, in
order to gain information on how competitors handle conflict resolution, communication processes, and the property management experience. It is also important to understand how to manage housekeepers and how they do their job in creating that wonderful first impression on your guests. A great way of doing this is to hire a housekeeping team and stay in the property while they are cleaning, supervising as you take notes. Because of the higher turnover of guests, there is a lot of extra maintenance with short-term stays that do not factor in with long-term rentals.
With over 50,000 clients across 150 million properties, Mashvisor is one of the world’s most trusted sources of residential real estate data, allowing hosts to gain critical insights in order to maximise Airbnb earnings. Mashvisor delivers thorough market research and rent comparison analysis tools that allow you to set the right nightly rate for your Airbnb investment property, while streamlining property management processes. This is another indispensable tool for hosts.
Insurance is essential to cover your property for damages and contents. Airbnb’s AirCover provides up to $3 million in damage protection, with up to $1 million in liability insurance. Booking.com offers €1 million in liability insurance and Vrbo
provides coverage of up to $1 million in liability insurance for owners and property managers. As of October 1st 2023, if you own an Airbnb in England and Wales, you also need to ensure that there is a written fire risk assessment which covers all aspects of fire risk within your property. Without this, you cannot legally accept any paying guests and Airbnbs are now required to be on par with the same fire safety standards as hotels. The fire safety risk assessment should be conducted by a specialist fire safety expert and must be reviewed annually upon completion. It should also be displayed somewhere in the property in a place that is accessible to guests.
Your Airbnb should also possess FD30 or FD60 special fire doors- that is, durable doors that can easily open and close, as well as withstand the spread of fire and smoke in the property for ether up to half an hour or for one hour. In addition, a heat alarm must be present in your kitchen and laundry rooms where applicable, smoke detectors must be present in bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, corridors, staircases and dining rooms leading to the main fire exit. In addition to this, the escape routes must be free of obstruction, with escape signs clearly signposted and BS EN 1838 lighting that can provide a suitable level of illumination in the unlikely event of a mains failure during a fire. It’s truly better to be safe than sorry! EG
LUXURY LIFESTYLE
Luxury Yachts
In the world of luxury yachts - excess is the norm and nothing is out of bounds. Yet, one name sticks out: the History Supreme Yacht. Costing an amazing $4.8 billion USD, it is advertised as the most expensive boat ever sold and exudes magnificence of almost mythical proportions, says Cheryl Jones.
Designed by prominent luxury designer Stuart Hughes, known for his Midas touch, the History Supreme is owned by Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok, proprietor of the Shangri-La hotel empire. Constructed of almost 100,000 kilogrammes of pure gold and platinum, the 100-foot vessel more closely resembles a floating treasure vault than a yacht. James Bond’s arch-nemesis Auric Goldfinger would find great comfort in this kind of vessel. Shirley Bassey said in Goldfinger, “He loves only gold... oooonly goooooold!” And with a yacht this size, the owner’s passion for gold seems unquestionable.
But is History Supreme real? What does it represent in the grand scheme of luxury boats, and how does it compare to other prominent vessels? Let us delve into the fascinating tale of the History Supreme and the luxury yacht world it inhabits.
THE LEGEND OF HISTORY SUPREME
The History Supreme is more than just a boat; it’s a declaration of unmatched wealth and a tribute to precious metals. Its design reportedly took three years to complete, with Stuart Hughes acquiring rare materials from throughout the world. Its construction incorporates gold and platinum.
• A solid gold hull that gleams in sunshine.
• Precious metals line interior surfaces such as the dining room, bedrooms and staircases.
• A master suite with a meteorite rock wall and a statue made from authentic Tyrannosaurus Rex bones.
While its interiors are shrouded in mystery,
rumours claim that every inch of the yacht exudes elegance worthy of its price tag. However, critics and industry professionals have frequently questioned whether the History Supreme is more myth than fact. Some argue that the outrageous price is more about marketing than material value, but it remains a cultural symbol of luxury.
Luxury Yachts: Extravagant Features - The History Supreme isn’t the only yacht attracting attention with its splendour. Many boats in the luxury yacht market blur the line separating mechanical wonders from artistic creation. With facilities ranging from submarine docks to helipads and infinity pools, these floating residences appeal to the richest people on Earth.
Other Noteworthy Luxury Yachts - Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich owns the 533-foot Eclipse, which reportedly cost $1.5 billion USD.
Some of its striking features are a missile defence system, two helipads, and an onboard disco. The royal family of Abu Dhabi owns the world’s largest yacht, Azzam, measuring 590 feet. The estimated cost is $600 million USD, including bulletproof master rooms and its own submarine.
Alisher Usmanov owns Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht estimated at $800 million USD. The vessel is known for housing the largest swimming pool ever constructed on a boat. The Dubai royal family commissioned a $400 million USD yacht measuring 531 feet in length.The concept has a glass staircase, a helipad, and expensive mosaics.
WHILE THERE ARE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ITS LEGITIMACY AND FEASIBILITY, THE APPEAL OF A VESSEL DECKED OUT IN GOLD AND PLATINUM IS UNDENIABLE.
Having a luxury yacht marks only the beginning; maintaining one calls for ongoing expenses. Usually ranging between 10-15% of the value of the yacht, annual maintenance expenses indicate that a vessel such as the History Supreme would spend at least $480 million on maintenance alone.
Key areas that require attention are:
• Hull Maintenance: Even a gold-plated hull requires regular inspections to avoid corrosion or wear from seawater.
• Luxury yachts frequently employ full-time
personnel, such as captains, chefs, and stewards, to ensure smooth operation.
• Interior Preservation: To keep their lustre, exotic materials such as meteorite rock and gold must be cleaned and cared for specifically.
• Technology Upgrades: Modern yachts include cutting-edge navigation and entertainment systems that require frequent updates.
Renowned yacht designers like Lürssen, Feadship, and Benetti help to keep these boats at the forefront of innovation and grace. These businesses specialise in customising boats, creating designs catered to ultra-high-net-worth clients’ particular needs.
The incorporation of gold and platinum into the History Supreme’s architecture was symbolic rather than purely ornamental. Gold has traditionally been linked with wealth, permanency, and exclusivity. Investing in such a vessel may have been a wise financial option for an owner such as Robert Kuok. After all, looking at gold prices adjusted for inflation, the value of this vessel could have risen, making it both a personal statement and a profitable asset. Imagine Kuok strolling aboard his
yacht, money gleaming in the sunlight, thinking, “If only my ancestors had invested in Bitcoin instead!” But, let’s be honest: if your yacht can fund a small nation, you’re probably doing OK!
The words “luxury yacht,” “superyacht,” and “megayacht” are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences for connoisseurs. Luxury yachts are typically above 80 feet long and prioritise high-end design and facilities. Superyachts, which measure more than 120 feet, frequently incorporate amenities such as gyms, spas, and private cinemas. Megayachts are massive vessels exceed 200 feet and function as floating cities, complete with everything from submarines to basketball courts.
The History Supreme is classified as a luxury yacht because of its size (100 ft), yet it defies conventional categorisation due to its remarkable materials and price. As technology progresses, luxury ships are adopting sustainable solutions without sacrificing luxury:
• Eco-Friendly Designs: Solar panels, hybrid propulsion systems, and water filtering systems are
increasingly common.
• Smart Yachts integrate AI and IoT to automate temperature management, lighting, and security.
• Yachts now provide adventure-based facilities, including underwater observation chambers and helicopter platforms for remote exploration.
The History Supreme’s gold-plated splendour is unrivalled, but modern yacht owners also value functionality and sustainability.
The History Supreme Yacht is still an enigma in the luxury yacht market, a sparkling image of wealth that has captivated minds and headlines alike. While there are ongoing discussions about its legitimacy and feasibility, the appeal of a vessel decked out in gold and platinum is undeniable. Whether real or fabled, it represents the incredible possibilities that emerge when wealth meets creativity. As the price of gold continues to grow, one can only picture the financial bonanza that the owner of this golden marvel will have in the coming years. After all, as Shirley Bassey once sang, “He loves goooooooooooold!” Who wouldn’t want to be associated with the History Supreme? EG
LUXURY LIFESTYLE
Ontario Tourism
The most populated province in Ontario, Canada, is a lighthouse for high-net-worth individuals looking for a fusion of opulent living choices, cultural refinement, and natural beauty. From worldclass real estate and great dining to famous sites and active business possibilities, Ontario presents a varied canvas for the wealthy visitor or investor, thinks Shannon Berkley.
Ontario's travel scene is sophisticated yet energetic. Renowned for its luxury hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, and exclusive events, Toronto, the busy capital, is both a cultural and financial center. Just two instances of Ontario's dedication to provide a luxurious hospitality experience are The Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and The Ritz-Carlton. The city also features internationally praised sites including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, which regularly feature events attracting to top worldwide audiences.
Often called the "prettiest town in Canada," Niagara-on-the- Lake is a refuge for people looking for peace mixed with luxury. Along with luxury hotels like the Prince of Wales Hotel, boutique stores, and fine dining restaurants, its little alleyways are dotted with among oenophiles, the area's wineries—Peller Estates and Inniskillin—offer private tours and special tastings. Showcasing world-class theatre, the Shaw Festival enhances the cultural appeal of this perfect town even more.
Driven by finance, technology, and manufacturing, Ontario's strong economy offers a steady backdrop for investment. Among the most rich real estate markets in North America, Toronto is unique. Neighbourhood luxury homes in Yorkville and Rosedale appeal to discriminating consumers looking for luxury and uniqueness. Among Toronto's top real estate brokers, Johnston & Daniel focuses on luxury homes. Their unmatched knowledge and wide range of work makes them a reliable partner for wealthy purchasers trying to land top real estate in this energetic city.
Ontario's gastronomic scene competes with that of world premium travel destinations. Toronto has a great range of Michelin-starred eateries with great dining experiences including Alo and Sushi Masaki Saito. Beyond Toronto, areas like Niagara-on- theLake are praised for farm-to-table cuisine, usually
cottages, and immaculate lakes. Toronto has the glitz of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which draws the world class every year.
DRIVEN BY FINANCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MANUFACTURING, ONTARIO'S STRONG ECONOMY OFFERS A STEADY BACKDROP FOR INVESTMENT.
accompanied with award-winning local wines Ontario's mix of cosmopolitan living and natural beauty attracts celebrities and high net worth individuals. Muskoka, also known as "the Hamptons of the North," is a playground for A-listers including private retreats, opulent
Mega-projects like The Well in Toronto, Ontario is projected to remain a magnet for luxury travel and real estate given ongoing urban growth as this one. According to statistics, Toronto alone makes a major contribution to Canada's GDP; real estate and tourism are especially important. The province's commitment to sustainability and creativity guarantees its attraction to travellers and investors who care about the surroundings. Ultimately Ontario offers an unmatched mix of cultural, financial, and ecological attractions, therefore embodying the height of Canadian luxury. Whether it's the calm getaway of Muskoka, Ontario, the vivid luxury of Toronto, or the elegance of Niagara-on-- the Lake, Ontario continues to enthrall and satisfy the most discriminating people worldwide. EG
LUXURY LIFESTYLE
Johnston & Daniel Brokerage
Nestled at the mouth of the Niagara River, just a short distance from the United States border, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is a town steeped in history and natural beauty. Known for its charming atmosphere, picturesque landscapes, and vibrant arts and culture scene, this quaint town is a popular destination for both tourists and those seeking a serene retreat.
Article By Leeanne Weld LUXURY REALTOR, JOHNSTON & DANIEL BROKERAGE
Niagara-on-the-Lake holds a special place in Canadian history, having been the first capital of Canada. The town’s strategic location along the Niagara River played a vital role in both trade and military operations during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly during the War of 1812. One of the most significant events in the town’s history was the Battle of Queenston Heights, fought just outside of Niagara-on-theLake. This was pivotal in Canada’s struggle for independence from American forces. The hero of the battle, Major General Sir Isaac Brock, was killed in action and is commemorated at Brock’s Monument, which overlooks the Niagara River.
Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake is world-renowned for its wine production. The region’s unique climate, with warm summers and cool lake breezes, provides the perfect conditions for growing grapes. The area is home to more than forty wineries, producing a variety of wines, particularly known for their ice wine, a sweet dessert wine made from grapes frozen on the vine. Many of the wineries offer tours and tastings, allowing visitors to experience the craftsmanship behind some of Canada’s finest wines. Some of the most popular wineries in the area include Peller Estates, Inniskillin, and JacksonTriggs, which not only offer premium wines but also host events like harvest festivals, culinary experiences, and live music.
For those who enjoy outdoor activities, Niagara-on-the-Lake offers a range of recreational opportunities, especially in the realm of golf. The town boasts several top-rated golf courses, such as Whirlpool Golf Course, Legends on the Niagara Golf Course, Thundering Waters Golf Club, and the 9-hole course at Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club, which is one of the oldest golf courses in North America, dating back to 1875. Biking is also a popular activity; the even and scenic roads
throughout the region are ideal. The town’s mild climate, beautiful scenery, and proximity to Lake Ontario make it an ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is also known for its thriving food scene, particularly its farm-to-table restaurants. With an abundance of local produce, meats, and cheeses available from nearby farms, many of the town’s restaurants emphasise fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Visitors can enjoy a diverse range of dining options, from casual eateries to fine dining establishments like the acclaimed Treadwell Cuisine, Two Sisters, and Big Head Wineries.
One of the town’s crown jewels is the Shaw Festival, a renowned annual theatre festival dedicated to the works of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries. The festival began in 1962, when a small group of theatre lovers sought to bring Shaw’s plays to the Canadian stage. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest repertory theatre festivals in North America, attracting thousands of visitors each year. The festival is held at several venues, including
the Festival Theatre, which has been a central hub for the performing arts in the town.
The town’s scenic beauty, combined with its rich history, excellent healthcare facilities, and laidback atmosphere, has made Niagara-on-the-Lake a sought-after retirement community. With its tree-lined streets, historic buildings, and views of the Niagara River, it is easy to see why many choose to settle here. The proximity to Toronto, just an hour and a half drive away, also makes it an appealing option for those seeking a slower pace of life but with easy access to urban amenities. As well, being near the border fosters a thriving tourism environment. With its combination of history, natural beauty, and modern attractions, Niagara-on-the-Lake offers something for everyone. Whether you’re drawn to its historic sites, world-class wineries, vibrant arts scene, or simply its picturesque surroundings, Niagara-on-the-Lake remains one of Ontario’s most beloved destinations EG
For further information, please visit: www.leeanneweld.com
“Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance” according to Jon Franklin. When it comes to luxury bathroom design, elegance is essential, writes Cheryl Jones.
Bathrooms are an important room in the house, playing a significant role in how a buyer perceives your home and therefore, has the potential to make or break a sale. A high quality, luxury bathroom design is what many buyers are conditioned to focus on, and can create an emotional attachment that has a highly positive impact. With many surfaces, finishes, fittings and fixtures, a tired bathroom may cause a vendor to think twice before buying a property and so it is optimal to turn this space into more of a chic hotel setting. Every surface needs to be clear, with a small selection of toiletries on display. The ideal bathroom space will present as an ultra luxurious spa-like sanctuary where guests can relax and unwind from the stress of working life.
One of he first steps to upgrading your bathroom to a spa-like luxury experience is to declutter, removing unnecessary objects that will make the room look more visually appealing, lighter, bright and airy. The sight of shampoo, soap bottles, free standing soap dishes, and other clutter creates stress, but clear counters enable a clear mind. Space is always something that buyers will crave and you need to ensure bathroom cabinets are clean and beautifully organised, using baskets to organise and store items on shelves, as this presents a clean and tidy appearance. Try to leave as many open spaces as possible in order to create a modern, minimalist aesthetic.
Overhead lighting is a fantastic way of brightening up the entire room and is an entirely underestimated tool, while mirrors can be particularly useful for refracting and multiplying light in small bathrooms. Dimmable lights are a great idea, while old shower curtains should be removed, ideally being replaced with sliding glass doors. Plants can be used to purify the air, providing decoration, colour and personality. A freestanding bathtub is
itself a statement, providing the distinctive look seen in high end hotels and spas. This can be placed facing windows for a stunning view while bathing with a nice glass of wine, or when reading fiction novel. Plush, high quality Egyptian cotton should be the only consideration when it comes to your towels! A heated towel rack and a plush Persian rug, along with the utilisation of various essential oils like lavender and chamomile to evoke the feeling of a boutique luxury experience, would add an extra layer of comfort. Tiling the walls from floor to ceiling with marble, creates a stunning opulent effect and it would be a good idea to upgrade to a rainfall shower head. To present the best impression, every inch of your bathroom should be sparkling clean. EG
TILING THE WALLS FROM FLOOR TO CEILING WITH MARBLE, CREATES A STUNNING OPULENT EFFECT AND IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO UPGRADE TO A RAINFALL SHOWER HEAD.
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28306 NE 24th Avenue | Ridgefield | WA 98642
$4,750,000 | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 7,825 Sq ft. MLS# 24246975
Timeless elegance! This beautiful home is a perfect blend of a Spanish style exterior w/tried-and-true traditional design. Situated above the Lewis River in Ridgefield, it offers breathtaking views of the majestic Mt. Hood & Mt. St. Helens. & is surrounded by 15 acres of pristine level property. The exterior of the home features a classic Spanish appeal, with stucco walls, a clay tile roof, and elegant arches. The large picture windows throughout the house were curated perfectly to capture the view from almost every room in the house. As you step inside, the grand marble entrance and picturesque staircase welcome you to the timeless formal dining room, living room, and office.
3707 SE 147th Court | Vancouver | WA 98683
$4,395,000 | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 7,554 Sq ft. MLS# 24615302
THIS dreamy estate is what dreams are made of! This exquisite home is nestled on a picturesque landscape and has undergone a meticulous transformation that showcases timeless elegance and modern luxury. With its prime location overlooking the majestic Columbia River, this stunning .89 acre property offers panoramic views of the great NW. This sophisticated home blends classic and contemporary and is adorned with lush gardens, a private stream, manicured lawns and mature trees creating a serene oasis. The grand foyer and its soaring ceilings set the tone for the open floorplan that seamlessly connects the various gathering spaces in the home.
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