About


We did it!

As I sit down and write this book, with the help of my wife and partner Monica, I can’t help but being amazed at the beautiful scenery right outside my window. Waiheke Island is by far, the most beautiful land that we have ever visited.

I am continuously amazed that we’re actually here in N.Z. While living in Hawaii, we had a NZ friend do a “Google Earth” on Waiheke Island. He showed us Waiheke’s beautiful beaches, which reminded us of Maui. Our house lease was expiring, and our investment club members knew we could take care of them just as well from NZ. So, with clear conscience, we called Air New Zealand, and we were on our way.

We really didn’t intend to stay in N.Z. for any great length of time, as we loved Maui. However, the longer we stayed, the more we did not want to leave. Our clients, and investment club members needed to know how the NZ- Australian investment scene worked. They wanted to know how to get their investment and savings, safely out of the U.S. before capital controls set in. This required us to stay for at least three months.

Three months went by, and we got hooked. NZ is great; it’s people gracious and caring, and the scenery and countryside second to none. It is civilized, has a great banking & investment system, and they speak English! Adding it all up, we made our decision to stay. We rented a nice place, got our three-year Visa, and began working towards residency.

We did return to Maui once to say our final good byes to all our friends and clients. That was in mid 2010.

Gaining permanent residency in NZ is challenging. We were advised that there were a few ways to gain permanent residency. One, is to work for a NZ company in your specialized field. This didn’t apply to me (us) as we were over the age of 55. The other route that seemed to fit, had to do with establishing your own business. This was called the “entrepreneurial work visa” program. We chose that route, and started NZ Trans Global Investments, Ltd. While establishing a financial advisory company in NZ is easy, getting one’s financial license is not! After a year of intense study, and examinations, I was awarded the highest accreditation, the title of “authorized financial adviser”

As an “authorized financial adviser”, I was permitted to join the prestigious “custodian firm”: Aegis, Ltd. Custodian firms are unlike any financial firms in the U.S. Neither the firm, nor the adviser, have access to the client’s investments, or funds,only the client!

This is a far cry from US standards, which apparently enabled MF Global to have allegedly, run off with 1.1 billion of client’s funds. Custodian firms in NZ, safeguard the client’s assets; they could not possibly gain access to client’s funds, even if they wanted to. The custodian firms here in NZ, and there are two, have no liabilities, and are not permitted by law, to risk their, or their client’s assets. Surprisingly, there are only two: First NZ, Ltd. and Aegis, Ltd. As many of you know, many foreign banks, and custodian companies do not welcome American accounts. Aegis did welcome American accounts as long as the adviser did their “due diligence”. Thus, we chose Aegis for our account, and recommended that our clients do the same.

Our clients were advised that they could easily open an account with Aegis. Once the account is opened, they could purchase CD’s (term deposits), stocks, and mutual funds; actually almost any investment on world markets. Money market accounts in NZ are called “overnight accounts”, and pay about 4%. Compare this with US money market accounts that pay virtually nothing.

Now that we had access to Aegis, Ltd., and their superb financial platform, we started to bring our Maui accounts over. Our clients now love the NZ-way of doing business. Not only is it safer, but custodian firms “pool” commissions for better (lower) rates.

The purpose of our book is to show our clients, club members, and readers, exactly how we made the transition. Prove to them, that what we have now is better, and safer, than investing in the US. Americans can now diversify their investments safely, easily, overseas, with our help.

Whether you use Aegis, or not, you should join our “international investment club” (investmentclubinternational.ning.com). It’s free, and will keep you advised of any new reporting requirement. Not only that, but you will be able to meet and communicate with other investors, worldwide.

The essays that I picked out for the book, are written by the best in their field, and the information, is current. You will find that their chapters are “timely” and “pertinent” to our subject matter. Some of the experts that made the book possible, include: Simon Black, Porter Stansberry, Gerald Celente, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, John Williams, David McAlvany, Chris Waltzek, and James Puplava.

At the end of each chapter, Monica & I, present our comments, and advise how “we” handled, or are handling, each topic.

John Miller is a Graduate of Georgetown University with a Master’s Degree In Public Administration. John served as an artillery army spotter-pilot during the Viet Nam Era (serving in both Korea & the U.S). After military service, he began his career on Wall Street, working for many of Wall Street’s top firms (Dean Witter, Interstate Securities  & Lehman Brothers). After twenty years in the securities business, he started his own investment firm, Miller & Associates. The firm began operations in Florida, and subsequently relocated to Maui, Hawaii. John presently manages Miller & Associates, in Maui, Hawaii, and NZ TransGlobal Investments, in Auckland, NZ.

John & his wife Monica moderate of the “Investment Club International. This Internet socialinvestment club is unique. It has over 600 members worldwide, is free, and educational in nature. John writes for the Club Blog each week, and does his best to answer questions from the membership.

He resides, with his wife Monica in Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The club’s Blog is: investmentclubinternational.ning.com.

Monica Miller’s, career involved work as an International sales, marketing, and product development professional, for the Spa & beauty industry. Besides the US, she traveled frequently throughout Asia, and Europe.

Monica was instrumental in forming, and moderating the Maui Investment club. She & John hosted the popular “Maui” radio talk show: The Investment Club. The show’s format was similar to the popular “Doland’s” radio show. It used old Time Radio Skits to teach the fundamentals of investing.