There is a saturation of travel search engines these days that will do everything from find a cheap flight to offering tips and advice on best hotels, restaurants and sights to visit.  So how does one stand out from the rest?  On this episode, Jason Hartman talks with one of Momondo’s partners, Martin Lumbye. Launched in 2006, there were fewer travel search engines, but today, the web is crowded with them. Momondo has very sophisticated search technology, but being based in Denmark posed a challenge to becoming a global brand.

Thanks to the media, they succeeded. As the market became more saturated, Momondo’s leaders came up with a unique, but user-friendly and contemporary approach for travelers to find the best flight comparisons and destinations around the world: a color-coded system to match a traveler’s emotions/mood for travel.  For instance, if traveling with children to a city, you would choose green for a list of family-friendly destinations. If you’re looking for something trendy and vibrant in a city, you would choose hot pink.

Martin Lumbye is a Partner of Momondo, which was launched in Denmark in September 2006. His role at Momondo encompasses: marketing, communications, business development and all commercial arrangements. Momondo has rapidly become one of Scandinavia’s most popular travel meta-search sites. Today it is an international site with a very compelling range of services which enables consumers to quickly search for and book a trip. Services include: flights, car rentals, hotels, travel guides, multi-destination booking and many high-speed rail routes.  

One popular concept today is creating a bucket list of things to do throughout life. Some of the activities may be quite grand and expensive adventures, while others are fun, simple things. This bucket list tends to gain importance in the later years. Jason Hartman is joined by Donald Vaughan, co-author of 500 Things to [...]

Jason Hartman is joined by Yapta President and CEO, James Filsinger to talk about how Yapta is able to save travelers millions of dollars in airfare and James demystifies the automated yield management systems used by airlines to establish pricing.

James explains how the Yapta website works, from finding the best deal on a flight to obtaining a refund or credit voucher if Yapta finds a cheaper flight than a traveler first booked. James’ knowledge of the business sheds light on the complexity of searching for the best airfares. He defines airline change fees, explains why airfare prices fluctuate, and talks about “Guaranteed Airfare Policies.” Yapta recently launched FarelQ, an airfare price tracking solution for companies with large travel volumes.

James has more than 16 years of experience in the travel industry with proven success in CEO, M&A and Business Development roles within global startups and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Yapta, James was CEO of EZYield.com, Inc. where he was responsible for orchestrating the sale of the company to TravelClick in November 2011. Earlier in his career, James was CEO and General Manager of Moneydirect, an international joint venture between Sabre Inc. (USA) and Amadeus IT (Spain) that processed over $2.5 billion in travel payment transactions annually. Prior to Moneydirect, he spent more than a decade at Sabre Holdings where he served as VP of New Business Ventures, among other roles within the organization.

Kevin Wessell is the president of The Hope for Congo Foundation, which is dedicated to the belief that education is the best way to break the cycle of poverty to give children around the world hope for a brighter future. He believes that every child should have the opportunity to have an education. Mr. Wessell has been an advocate for the free enterprise system because, when operated properly, it has proven to be the best system in the world for providing for the needs of the widest segment of the population.

Kevin teaches seminars in the US and Canada on subjects ranging from asset protection to real estate investing, primarily educating attorneys. With the lopsided lawsuit count in the United States compared to other countries of the world, it just makes sense for a US person to erect and maintain a legal fortress to ward off such an attack. By holding assets properly, you can live a comfortable lifestyle, yet, as the lyrics of the Bob Dylan song "Rolling Stone," say, "When you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose."

A discussion about how the international travel is being adversely impacted by the global threat of terrorism. Robert feels the terrorism threat is very real, describing it as an easy way to have your way when you can’t have your way democratically. Robert advises people to travel light because of the long security lines in airports around the world. International terrorism plays a part in Robert’s new novel, which, in essence, describes how easily things can get out of hand and how complex the terrorist factions are around the globe.

Jason and Robert also talk about TSA issues. Robert feels there will be continued body searches and profiling, but that travel will become easier and terrorism less of a threat over time. In conclusion, Robert and Jason discuss Cuba, Burma and North Korea, contrasting the good and evil in some of the most beautiful places. Robert hopes that through books like his people will continue to be curious and seek the beautiful and interesting places in the world.

Born in Hungary, Robert Landori (whose full name is Robert Landori-Hoffmann) was, for most of his professional life, a senior public accountant, mergers and acquisitions specialist, and a trustee in bankruptcy in the Cayman Islands. But behind the facade of the quiet man of numbers lay a life of intrigue and mystery. He traveled widely throughout South America and the Caribbean, where he came into contact with international financiers, notorious con-men, well-known artists, famous entertainers and members of several countries’ intelligence communities.

The Seychelles are one of the few jurisdictions in the world which continues to maintain its clients’ privacy, despite pressure from the U.S. government. Bobby explains where to start depending on how and why a client wishes to set up an offshore or domestic asset protection plan.

Bobby Casey is the Managing Director for Global Wealth Protection, LLC. He is an entrepreneur, investor, and student of life. He travels the world and visits several countries each year, allowing him to seek new information and opportunities that benefit both him and his clients.

Bobby holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro: a BS in Finance with a minor in Economics and a BS in International Business with a minor in Russian. Additionally, he holds a Masters in Entrepreneurship from MIT. Bobby began his first business at the age of 21 in the consumer services industry. The company was grown organically and through acquisition over the years, and was subsequently sold a few years ago. He has also owned a restaurant and a commercial real estate investment firm.

Bobby says that entrepreneurs and investors are the drivers of the world economy. Wealth creation and preservation is the only way to truly improve the world in which we live.

The power of the mind is a fascinating thing, a complex circuitry that scientists endlessly explore and attempt to understand. Jason Hartman is joined by Eldon Taylor, host of Provocative Enlightenment and best-selling author of I Believe, for a discussion of beliefs. How are beliefs acquired?  How many are conscious or unconscious?

Eldon describes the brain’s need for stimulation and how the media has systematically desensitized people. He also talks about conditioning and how much science has advanced in the study of the brain.

He gives the example of an MRI study being able to show up to six seconds in advance how someone is going to react to a given situation. Eldon talks about the influence of personality on physical characteristics and conditions. He shares examples of numerous situations where beliefs have had an influence on life, including physical phenomena in multiple personality disorder, eye color changes, and changes at the molecular level.

 

Eldon Taylor is the host of the popular radio show, Provocative Enlightenment. He’s an award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of more than 300 books and audio and video programs. His most recent works include Choices and Illusions, Mind Programming, What Does That Mean?, and What If?

 

Eldon is also the inventor of the patented InnerTalk technology and the founder and president of Progressive Awareness Research, Inc. He has been featured as an expert in films, print, television, and radio. He’s been called a “master of the mind” and has appeared as an expert witness on hypnosis.

How do you choose a country in which to relocate or invest? In Part I of this interview, Gary Scott, publisher of Ecuador Living, urges people to “seek the places they love instead of running away from the places they fear.” By way of global travel and investing, Gary and his wife Merri found Ecuador in the 1990s, when it was still a little known place.

They found phenomenal business opportunities in real estate. The prices in Ecuador were better than anywhere else and included the benefit of spectacular weather year round. Gary shares his global investment experiences leading up to this, beginning in the 1960s with Hong Kong’s emergence in the markets. His goal is and always has been to stay on the leading edge of investments. His primary interest is in real estate, catching the emergence of real estate markets around the world.

The asset protection industry has been growing by leaps and bounds with more and more financial companies recommending moving assets offshore to protect oneself or business from high taxes and lawsuits and a variety of other reasons.

There is a growing number of instruments to choose from to accomplish this and on this episode, Jason Hartman talks with Wayne Kurtz, President and CEO of Karlsberg International Insurance Corporation LTD, regarding a unique strategy to grow and distribute assets tax-free in Belize. Wayne explains how FACTA compliant offshore life insurance works, which ultimately allows clients’ continued ownership of assets inside of a universal life insurance policy.

 

Wayne also discusses the benefits of offshore protection in Belize, and defines the requirements and disclosures that are necessary to set up a plan. Wayne Kurtz has 24 years of senior level experience in financial services organizations including operations management, marketing/sales, fiscal planning, M&A, P&L management. He has been recognized for articulating vision and direction, turning around poorly performing divisions, guiding joint ventures, and establishing strategic alliances.

Jason Hartman is joined by Larry Grossman, Managing Director of Sovereign International Pension Services, for a lesson on offshore IRAs and why anyone would want to diversify their assets outside of their own country, particularly the United States. Larry shares the many reasons for this, including concern people have with the direction of our country’s economic future.

He states that IRAs are the most common to take offshore and are least likely to raise red flags with the IRS. Larry defines offshore plans as actually having the assets, the investments and the custody of the assets outside of the United States. He also defines “Custodian,” “custody,” “administrator,” and many other technical terms associated with IRAs and pension plans.

Larry attempts to untangle the complicated web that is often the case with IRAs and pension plans, and talks about options people have for moving their retirement funds offshore, including some of the most popular places that assets are moved to throughout the world. Some of the options are quite interesting, including reforestation projects. Of course, real estate is a leading offshore investment.

Jason Hartman interviews real estate broker, Tay Oz about what is making the Dominican Republic more and more attractive to foreigners. Tay says the D.R. is the least expensive in the Caribbean, with temporary and permanent residency much easier to obtain.

The cost of living is even more affordable than America, with a slower paced lifestyle. Tay shares that many Americans are expatriating or investing in the Dominican Republic because they’re fed up with the political climate in the United States and tired of working to live. Jason and Tay also talk about the business and investment climate, which is currently thriving with retirees and expats moving to the D.R.

Join Jason Hartman as he interviews Josh VanDyk, investment adviser located in the Cayman Islands, about life in the Cayman Islands, where there are nearly 600 banks and trust companies, including 43 of the world’s 50 largest banks. Jason and Josh discuss the scrutiny by the U.S. government, the reasons people wish to invest offshore, and some of the best options and advantages for going offshore.

They also talk about the necessity and risks of asset protection, addressing different mechanisms for moving the assets out of your name and how to access it. Josh explains the various types of products available for international investors. Due to so many regulations in the U.S., hedge funds, mutual funds, etc, find it too expensive and too tedious to do business in the United States, so many funds are tailored for international investing. Jason and Josh also explore the reasons why so many people are taking their IRAs offshore and what is involved in doing so.

Joshua VanDyk specializes in offshore hedge funds, portfolio/asset management, foreign currencies, natural resources, precious metals, and brokerage. His services assist in raising financial capital for IPO’s, private placement and investment banking. After completing studies at Michigan State University he moved to Chicago, and began working as a licensed broker in the futures and currency markets. He spent four years in GFT’s private client group advising clients on futures and currencies markets. He went on to obtain his Series 7 license for stocks, bonds and options trading and began working in the active trader group at TradeStation Securities.

Join Jason Hartman as he interviews Investment Director and Editor of The Sovereign Individual, Jeff Opdyke. While the middle class is shrinking in the United States, Jeff shares his global observations of a new emerging middle class in other previously oppressed countries, such as Asia and Africa, and how online international trading is becoming so much easier to do.

Jeff and Jason talk about the various pockets in different countries that are becoming more attractive to foreign investors, the ease or difficulty of investing in real estate in those areas, and how rates of return compare with the United States. Despite the economic condition of the United States, investing here is still the easiest and most affordable, offering higher rates of return on investment. But as things continue to change around the world, more and more global markets may become friendlier to foreign investors. Jeff says looking for these lucrative pockets is one way to approach real estate investing overseas.

Jeff D. Opdyke is the Investment Director and Editor of The Sovereign Individual, and an Emerging Market Strategist and Global Growth Strategist. As a lifelong world traveler, Jeff has been investing directly in the international markets since 1995, making him one of the true pioneers of foreign trading. These days, he is the editor of the Emerging Market Strategist investment advisory and The Sovereign Individual, the Sovereign Society’s monthly asset protection and investment newsletter.