Portugal GV Fund Comparison?

Wanted to update the group on my GV application timeline, in case it helps others to plan:

  1. My initial application went to SEF in late December and was approved (with the fund split) this week. So, about 11 weeks total start to finish.
  2. Far up the message chain here, there was a discussion about whether you can invest in 2 (or more?) funds, so long as the total investment come to ā‚¬350k. People seemed to get mixed messages about that from their legal reps. I invested in 2 funds and the application was indeed approved. So anecdotally, the splitting of funds seems to be ok with SEF.

Now I need to schedule biometrics in PT but the SEF offices are currently closed and not taking appointments so no idea how far out they will be scheduling once they reopen. Fingers crossed it is before 2022!

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Thank you so much for letting us know that you were successful in splitting funds and receiving pre-approval. Up until very recently, my impression from this forum was that it was not recommended. I recently reached out to every attorney, fund, and bank that Iā€™d spoken to in the selection process and while most said that they donā€™t expect it to be an issue, only one attorney and fund confirmed that they have an investor that did so and has received pre-approval. You confirmation is very helpful and confidence inspiring as I am planning to do the same.

me as well. Duarte said he had people that had been pre-approved but that was it.

Hi guys
My nameā€™s Alex. Just joined the nomadgate community today

I am looking for an investment of 350k in one of these funds.

I am not really looking for a high return but a safe investment. I am chasing after the citizenship tbh .
Which one of the funds that would you recommend ? Can you share your experiences ?

Cheers

Alex

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There is really quite a bit of information in the thread if you read from the top of the thread - spreadsheets, listings, reviews, etc. Grab the little slider on the right and scroll all the way back to July.

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6 posts were split to a new topic: Legal fees for GV, impacted by splitting fund investment?

2 posts were split to a new topic: Fund investment and ā€œeffective connectionā€ citizenship requirement

Hey everyone! I have to say, Iā€™ve read through a lot of this thread and am incredibly impressed with the amount of research thatā€™s been done with regards to GV funds. Thereā€™s truly a lot of useful information on here!

Iā€™m currently in the process of preparing a comparison of the funds for others and Iā€™d like to ask those of you who have invested and/or are considering funds:

  1. Which fund characteristics are/were the most important and relevant for you to ultimately make your decision?

  2. Which elements did you discover during your research that really made you rule out a fund?

  3. Did you speak to several funds independently or did you manage it through a centralized source (e.g. an immigration lawyer)?

Thanks in advance!

  1. Asset class and investment type eg. real estate re-development vs real estate rental vs equity and track record
  2. See #1
  3. I spoke to them each individually after receiving presentations through introduction made by Nomadgate: List of all investment funds qualifying for the Portuguese Golden Visa 2022

Foremost, I would definitely speak to the funds independently and not manage it through a central source. Iā€™ve figured out potential GV have a golden target on their backs so to speak and there are all sorts of ā€œsupportā€ industries that will be happy to provide you with unnecessary support for a significant fee. For example, we had one attorney volunteered that he did not want to be responsible for offering an opinion on the quality of an investment - but he knew of an advisor who for 9,000-12,000 euros would help you select the ā€œbestā€ fund.

We are hoping to split between 2-3 funds (create a fund of funds so to speak) so we wanted to know their minimums. Weā€™ve also leaned toward funds in which: the advisors are investing their personal funds; funds where at least several of the key players are from (and have a history in their sector in) Portugal; we felt akin to what they were targeting and agreed with their strategy and approach. Weā€™ve inquired how many non-GV investors they have because we want a solid investment first - something weā€™d entertain anyway as we have other VC funds in other countries - not something created just for GV. But that later is a solid strategy many are using (go for capital preservation in a GV investor only fund).

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Congratulations Larry!

I have noted your comments on several of the threads and appreciate your decision making process.
Iā€™d love to know if you considered more than 2 funds at any time, and if you are willing to share either here or via DM which funds you actually selected as well as what attorney or attorneys were your final/top choices?

Do you plan on aiming for citizenship or residency in the end?

Thanks,
Cynthia

We did consider 3 funds briefly but felt it would be pushing it too far potentially with SEF, and adding too much complexity to the whole process, so we ultimately decided against it. That said, so long as the total equals ā‚¬350k, it should technically be ok. We felt we added some diversity by doing two, with only minimal added complexity for ourselves.
We do plan to ultimately move to PT and to pursue citizenship. May do permanent residency for a period and may do citizenship before or after we move there, not sure yet. GV was perfect for us because we canā€™t move there yet but can still begin the clock to residency/citizenship.
Feel free to DM me.

It is very helpful to learn your thought process on this - had been toying with 3 but started to sense it could be pushing it a bit and adding more headache than the additional diversification benefit would bring. And we are in a similar situation: canā€™t move yet and wish to get the clock ticking.
Will DM you but Iā€™m new to this forum and tech un-savvy, so if you donā€™t receive the message please let me know!
Thanks.

Dear Susama Yang,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I am looking to make an investment in a fund. Could you please recommend me the best 5 funds that you found out from your point of view. I need to subscribe in a fund which have previous success story & stable and have good reputation. I am looking more about the stability and security of the fund more than the interest that they will offer to me.

Regards,
Khaled

Dear Larry Ward,

Could you please share with us which 2 Funds that you already choose and can you please give us a summary why did you choose them?
Also could you please share with us the lawyer that you selected.

Regards,
Khaled

Dear Cynthia Weissasher,

Thanks for your comment. Can you please share the lawyer & advisor details. Which funds that you are considering right now. I am looking for the safest option and something has the lowest risk possible. I prefer a fund which have a success story and a long history as much as possible.

Regards,
Khaled

Hi,
First - thank you to the community posting on this topic. There is a wealth of information here and it is well worth the time to read all the posts.
I am curious if any of you has retained the services of an ā€œindependent financial advisorā€ in Portugal. I think it may be worth the fees to have someone independent (and local) to help me evaluate the available funds keeping my interests in mind. What do you think?
Thanks.

Hi Everyone,

This is a very informative thread, thank you all for the information shared.

I have been in between several funds during the past months and almost decided on the Next Fund. This fund is managed by the same guys who run Nest Fund. Before I take things any further, I wanted to check if there is anyone who invested with Optylon Krea or Nest Fund before.
I would love to hear any positive/negative feedback.
Thanks,
Osman

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I was honestly turned off by Optylon. I know they received a lot of investment in NEST Fund but I found them to be big time salespeople and didnā€™t really trust their information. More importantly, I didnā€™t agree with their focus on high end retail development.

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None of the funds have a long track record since the GV fund category was only created in ~2018.

They all have risk. They are private venture capital funds. There are funds that ā€œguaranteeā€ return of your money but it is unclear that those guarantees are worth the paper they are written on.

The only one Iā€™ve seen that Iā€™d call as having a long track record is the one that is 60% invested in Square CAPC and 40% in a JPMorgan global gov bond fund. I forget which one that is . You pay for the privilege of course but at least the underlying assets have a long track record that you can review. But some of us question the underlying management regulations.