« Prior to their departure and their return, expats need to ask the right questions, » interview with Sylvie Pregevole, founder of wealth management firm, Maison Pregevole 1968.
Sylvie is the daughter of expatriates and has been taking care of French nationals based abroad for over twenty years. In 2009, Sylvie found that she was frequently approached by expatriate women who sought her advice about their finances. In fact, this was such a common occurence that one thing led to another and…Maison Pregevole was born. Now, they are based in Lyon and have two main objectives: helping women to rebuild their careers upon return from expatriation, and preparing expat couples for their departure. They also work with companies and startups
Who do Maison Pregevole Work with?
When they first started, Sylvie found that she was primarily approached by women who had returned from expatriation in worrying situations. For example, women who had gotten divorced, some who had not been contributing to pension funds and others who thought that mistakes had been made in their pensions. The majority had left behind promising careers to follow their partners for as many as 15 years abroad. When they returned to France, those who had gotten divorced were not prepared. Many of these women had children to look after, they no longer had a professional network in France, and the gaps in their CVs made it difficult to find employment.
Maison Pregevole works exclusively with French nationals who are based abroad and manages their money, insurance, and retirement. Their team also includes family and tax lawyers, all with experience of working internationally. The paperwork and formalities of expatriation are all coordinated by Sylvie and her team. They perform an audit, create a plan of action for the wealth management of clients, and see this plan through. Maison Pregevole meets with their clients multiple times a year, and at least once to assess their management strategy.
Above all, the company was founded for women, Maison Pregevole also work with single expat men and expat couples too.
This might interest you too: Divorce during Expatriation: Interview with Guillaume
What’s the Biggest Challenge that Sylvie and her Team Face when Preparing Expats?
Making expats aware of the difficulties they may face during expatriation is a big challenge. « It’s difficult to manage your private life, take charge of your career, and make sure to think ahead when it comes to money. It’s our job to show people what options they have. »
« A lot of people think that they need to wait until they have enough money in order to start managing it. What they don’t realise is that whatever they decide to do with their first paycheck is already wealth management. »
What’s the Best Case Scenario for Expat Couples?
When expat couples (often those who have been the children of expats) approach Sylvie around a year before their first expatriation. Sylvie gave the example of a couple who approached her 5 years ago when they were 26 years old. Now, they are 31 and have already invested in property in France, they have scheduled payments to their retirement funds and savings. They also meet regularly with Sylvie’s team to discuss updates on their finances.
« We tell expats that they are likely to be working for about 40 years in their lives. Over that time period, they will have an average of 5 jobs. This means 5 different employers, 5 different positions, 5 pension schemes, etc. Yet, they will only ever have one retirement, so it’s important to prepare and to make it count. »
You might this helpful too: Interview with Angela Isamat, Expatriation Expert
What Support do they Provide to Companies?
They have created an ‘expat box’. Designed for multinational companies, it helps to make expats aware of how they should manage their wealth and to prepare them for retirement. In 92% of cases, employees expect the support for their expatriation to come from their companies. Moreover, 75% do not sufficiently prepare for their retirement.
N.B: This article is not sponsored by Maison Pregevole. preparing finances for expatriation preparing finances for expatriation
Read more here: The Difficulties of Being an Expatriate Spouse
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