The investment company based in Lisbon Fundbox, as well as the negotiation platform, Kvarn X launches the KvarnPortugal Fund, a cryptographic product all the first of its kind based on the Coindesk 20 index which helps people who invest at least 500,000 euros in the fund which easily establish the residence there.
Here, Jason Dominic, co-founder of KvarnPortugal, and Anders Bjorkman, an asset manager of the fund, explain why many homes worthy of high quality now flock to Portugal, and how their new fund makes them simple to create a rescue plan for the unpredictable world of today.
Question: Can you tell us what was the genesis of this product?
Jason: We realized that there was this great evolution in progress in Portugal around Fintech and the Crypto and that our fund is also eligible for the “Portuguese Gold Visa”, which grants residence rights to people who invest at least 500,000 euros in the country. So we thought, wouldn’t it be great if someone could really marry the two together and be able to call on this new market that emerges? So, if you want to invest in Bitcoin and the Coindesk 20 index, we have combined it in a single fund where you put the minimum amount for a golden visa, then because it is 100% invested through a Portuguese company, it is eligible for the golden visa.
We have associated ourselves with the Coindesk 20 index because it gives you a beautiful diverse spread. There is now a huge request for Portuguese residence via such an investment product, and the United States is the number one market in the world for Portuguese golden visas. And there are also synergies with this in terms of crypto growth, in particular with what is happening politically in America. Still in Asia, you have China, which is the second largest market for Portuguese golden visas. Hong Kong has also officially adopted Crypto with the Coindesk consensus event massively assisted there. The financial secretary gave an opening speech welcoming cryptographic companies in the city and, in his new budget, has just announced new policies to achieve this. Hong Kong should be a major hub for cryptographic assets in the coming years.
Question: What is so attractive about Portugal at the moment?
Jason: In the past five to six years, Portugal has mainly become Swiss Latin. There has been a real evolution of wealth that has progressed in the country, as well as growing entrepreneurship. And this is linked to the restructuring of the economy after the economic crisis, in which the Government has brought all these new tax reforms and made it in tax franchise for people for ten years on certain income abroad, and has made investments such as crypto completely free of tax in many cases. There is therefore a huge migration of wealth on the world and Portugal is one of these main hubs, in addition to Dubai.
Anders:: There is also a flourishing cryptographic community here – many meetings, projects, etc. And many people involved in the crypto in the Lisbon region. It is the best place for crypto throughout Europe, if you ask me.
Jason: The thing about people of ultra -high net value is that they tend to need mobility. And if you look at how this product works, they should only be in Portugal for 35 days in five years, then they will be eligible for a permanent residence or a passport. Everything is mixed in a single product and it is free of tax, which they always seek. It is for people who want to have a plan B, or they want to have another residence without too much strings.
Question: Why do many wealthy people seek to establish a residence these days?
Jason: This year promises to be a record year for the migration of wealth. The latest studies expect around 142,000 ultra high individuals to move mainly from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, South Africa and Vietnam.
The reasons are a mixture of things. First, there is all this global instability, and it is similar to the way wealthy people had holiday homes; Now they want to have a second passport option for the family. In addition, perhaps their governments become very fiscal, like what has just happened in the United Kingdom in recent months, for example, more than 10,000 multimillionaires have left the United Kingdom due to changes in tax regime with the Labor government. In China, this has to do with geopolitical changes and the desire to diversify in other assets. With Covid and the locking that went there for almost two years, many ultra-high people in China want to have the option, if it happens again, to be able to get on a plane and go to Europe and not have to worry about obtaining a visa.
In the United States, this is done with what is happening politically because things have become so polarized. People just want to have a safe outing strategy if they need it. It is therefore essentially to do with what is happening in the world – the world becomes much more unpredictable and unstable. Portugal is now a well -established refuge.
Question: How Fundbox, the manager of the Kvarnportugal Fund, differentiates from its rival asset managers?We are very cautious with integrated customers. We make sure that everything is done correctly with reasonable diligence, according to all the regulations of the Portuguese regulator. No matter where you come from and how much money you have – if you do not meet the legal criteria, then you are simply not allowed to invest. There is a large team. There are around 33 people in the office and it is a multidisciplinary company. So we have lawyers, compliance officers, the integration team, etc. In addition to investment managers.
Question: Do you have to be a candidate for the gold visa to invest in your fund?No, the fund is not only open to ultra-high individuals. The minimum investment is 100,000 euros. It therefore takes place similar to an ETF like BlackRock, for example, where you can put lower quantities. And if you just want to sit down and manage your fully managed cryptographic investment, it’s an easy way to do so.
For more information, visit: https://www.kvarnportugal.com/.
The opinions and opinions of the authors are the their own and not associated with the Coindesk indices. The interview was conducted by Coindesk Indices and is not associated with Coindesk Editorial.
