Ideally, a financial advisor helps a client maintain the desired balance of investment income, capital gains, and acceptable level of risk by using proper asset allocation. Financial advisors must understand a client’s financial situation as well as their need for financial stability. Investment opportunities are increasingly made available on a global scale and to see that a client’s risk is minimized, and that money is maximized, a broader view of the world’s investment opportunities and finding new landscapes within the established risk boundaries is very desirable.

Since Alfred McIntosh of McIntosh Capital Advisors, Inc. has an established goal of helping people reach above and beyond their hopes and dreams, he’s literally gone beyond boundaries and taken journeys to other parts of the world to explore new vistas in order to share the discovered bounty with his clientele. One recent venture was to Russia under the auspices of People to People, a movement founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. It is based on his firm belief that direct interaction between ordinary citizens around the world can promote cultural understanding and world peace.

The People to People Citizen Ambassador business program that Alfred participated in promotes personal interaction to explore differences in business and culture. By this interaction and an exchange of ideas, discoveries are made to understand the unique features of market-driven vs. centrally-planned economies and understand the influence of foreign markets on ours in the U.S. There were unique opportunities to establish relationships with new business colleagues and visit their places of commerce. By doing this, Alfred was able to view firsthand the changes occurring in business as a result of 21st-century technology and recognize the up and coming investment opportunities of the future.

Amongst the several panel discussions and cultural tours the major focus of the exchange was on the immense opportunities in Russia and other CIS markets — and making sure that international investors have access to those opportunities. Since Russia’s stock and bond markets developed in the early 1990s there’s a commitment to developing their securities markets to be open, transparent, and efficient. Because Russia is an emerging market, the philosophy is that by helping guide the markets to global standards, they then build the credibility of the their market, and ultimately benefit many times over relative to pursuing shorter-term objectives to build Russia as an economic and financial leader globally. Other topics of exchange included:

  • Russia’s burgeoning energy industry
  • New financial institutions created to deliver financial services to Russian families and the emerging middle class
  • Establishing new private pension funds that enables individuals to manage an accumulative part of their pensions that have gained 9.5% compared to the 5.9% of state pension funds

By understanding international financial structures; the challenges and future opportunities, added to his two decades of financial services experience, Alfred McIntosh is better equipped and able to be a resource for your financial planning — to help you achieve your goals and enhance your life, as people in Russia are just beginning to realize!