Alternative to Opening Foreign Bank Deposits

1

149oaks

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Having been involved with discussions re opening Foreign Bank A/C's and coming to the conclusion that they may not be worth it due to (a) having to travel to open 1, (b) making a pre-arranged appointment to open 1, (c) quoted annual charges of 60 to 125 euro per a/c (and in most cases you need 2 - a deposit a/c and a current a/c for online access) what would people think of an alternative strategy of investing in funds which are quoted in currencies other than the Euro.
I have a smallish investment in Quinn Freeway Funds and recently whilst getting completely out of the Euro fund I discovered that all the Funds except UK (sterling) and China (HK Dollar) are traded in US Dollars. So on point of purchase or encashment only then are Euro's involved. I know there are 2 risks here - currency and the Funds.
However thinking about what we're trying to achieve - protecting against possible future devaluation losses if Ireland leaves the Euro would a strategy of Fund Investment achieve this bearing in mind:
- We've now invested in a non Irish controlled Euro currency ( box ticked),
- But if we don't leave the Euro the potential is the euro weakens due to its unstability,
- Finally we're taking a punt on Investing in other economies who "may" come out of recession earlier than the Euro.
 
Ye I see now the protection has been covered. Guess I was just getting at how difficult it is to open Foreign Bank A/C's without travelling (seems can only be done with keytrade) and to beware of the associated costs.
 
I recently posted this other alternative of buying German Govt Bonds

German Deposit A/C V German Govt Bonds
Given the difficulty in having to travel to set up Deposit A/C with German Bank - what about the option of buying German Govt Bonds thro your stockbroker.
In the event of break up of the Euro, or a default by Irish Govt on sovereign or bank debt - would holding German Govt bonds achieve everything that a German deposit A/C would achieve, in terms of security of your money, money being in a strong economy if there is a two tier Euro, the same conversion to Dmarks if the Euro folds.
Is there any extra downside to German Govt bonds versus German deposit A/C.
For diversification you could split your money into Govt bonds in France, Netherlands, Luxemburg.
Any views on this appreciated.
 
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