They can freeze investorsā accounts, especially if you have any connection to a āblack-listedā country. Often the banks do not even give you a reason, just a blank statement: āFor security reasons, you account has been blocked/suspended/closedā.
Will you please share with me the lawyer firm you are using? Are you happy with them?
Iām using JoĆ£o GonƧalves w/ SBPS. Heās been great and would recommend.
I found a lot of posts on Chinese social media Rednote. After entertaining a few round of personal information update requirements, accounts had still been frozen so people could not receive their rental payments or even Portugal based salaries. Not sure if only Chinese golden visa investors are targeted.
We are very happy with the attorney we are using. Small firm. Very knowledgeable and personable.
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Yes. I went the Fund route. I used Optimize. I thought it was the most conservative investment. I wired the funds to them directly and did not open a bank account. I wired in US dollars as Optimizeās bank had the best exchange rate and fee structure by far. If you wire US dollars be sure to send extra as it takes some time for the wire to go through internationally and the US dollar is loosing value daily.
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Someone just DMed me the same question, so Iāll paste it in here as well. Iāve heard good things about Optimize. I did research Optimize extensively, but ended up going with 50% Oxy, 30% Iberis Greytech and 20% Iberis Greentech. I wanted to split my money between PE firms and open ended funds. I chose Oxy over Optimize, because they invest 60% in Portuguese and 40% in other European companies, which I felt was a more diverse approach. I chose Iberis, because I liked the companyās track record and the goals of those two funds. Itās too early to tell if I made the right choice, but Iāve got nothing to complain about yet.
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No, former Russians are not fairing all that much betterā¦ 
I too opted for Optimize, and they helped me determine the correct amount of US dollars to wire, and it all went well.
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I did not need LLC due to the SDIRA company ability to investment directly, and the investment was to Optimize, so no bank account needed either.
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@Tatley thanks for the response! Please keep us posted on your progress with acquiring the GV. I spoke with some lawyers at EDGE and PE investment firm Oxy and they expressed doubt about qualifying for the program without opening a PE bank account. I really like the simplicity of the Optimize option, but want to make sure this method is admissible per AIMA guidelines.
@Tazlon Were you able to make a direct investment from a SDIRA with these funds? Hoping to find an option in addition to Optimize that allows that sort of investment
I didnāt go the SDIRA route, and I would only consider it if you donāt have funds available elsewhere. One big reason to avoid the SDIRA route is that Portugal does not recognize the account as tax-sheltered. This means you would have to pay taxes to Portugal on any gains from this account. I would also recommend diversifying your portfolio. Keeping all your money in one fund may be convenient, but personally, I would choose at least two different funds. A good lawyer should be able to assist with all the legal requirements for setting up an SDIRA.
We are considering IRA Financial. Of course Optimize recommended them. What was your experience like using IRA Financial? Were they good to work with? Would you use them again?
Iāve been happy with IRA Financial so far. My only complaint is their website is kind of basic, but overall Iāve had good response times from all departments so far. I just signed the forms to move my investments from them to Optimize, so this will be the final step!
The tax sheltered concern does no appear to be an issue as a foreign tax resident. Time will tell, but according to multiple sources there should not be taxes due because this is not a distribution of your IRA.