In contrast to the Stirling, the Australian Dollar is performing well but Director of Halo Financial, David Johnson, says there are still ways to take full advantage of currency spikes and make your money mean more when you emigrate to Australia.

Although we speak the same language (give or take a vowel or two) and drive on the same side of the road, there are very many differences between Australia and Britain. Barbeques in Britain are sporadic and a little damper, Australian prawns would be called lobsters in a British restaurant and thongs are worn on the feet in Australia (don’t ask).

But currently, the other very significant difference between the UK and Australia is where each economy sits in its economic cycle. That’s important because it is directly affecting the value of your funds as you move them from Sterling into Australian Dollars to start your new life Down Under. 

As well as being 10,000 miles apart, Britain and Australia are a world apart in the condition of their respective economies. Technically speaking, Australia didn’t actually fall into recession, unlike the UK which is still in decline; Australia exports a wide variety of raw materials used by manufacturers in the Far East while the UK is largely an importer of far eastern finished goods and Britain’s exporters mainly rely on Europe and America as overseas markets but neither of these economies are completely free from recessionary pressures.

The other major difference is that the Australian authorities only felt compelled to heft AU$20 billion into the economy to avert the impending recession whereas the British authorities have already provided £200 billion of quantitative easing and some 40 billion of bank support.

That gargantuan hole in the books of the UK government and the decades that it will take to balance the books again are very worrying for investors who are steering clear of the Pound and, lured by the high and rising level of interest available on Australian deposits, are investing in Australia in their droves.

Consequently, until there is a seismic change in the state of the UK economy or until other interest countries hike their interest rates sufficiently to compete with Australia, we have to consider any spikes in the Sterling - Australian Dollar exchange rate to be AUD buying opportunities. I tend to agree with Whitney M. Young, Jr. who said “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” That preparation in this instance is to make use of the resources available to you.

Be prepared and take advantage of opportunities

Making use of a specialist currency provider like Halo Financial means you will not only know how high the exchange rate is likely to rise and be able to have a target exchange rate monitored on a 24 hour basis but even if that advantageous exchange rate occurs before you are ready to convert your funds, a specialist will be able to help you secure that rate by booking a forward contract for settlement on a date that fits in with your plans.

There are numerous other services that a specialist can offer but which are not generally available from high street banks but the most crucial is the fact that Halo Financial’s clients receive exchange rates which are much closer to the real market prices rather than the bureaux de change type exchange rates or the rather expensive ‘rate for the day’ that many high street banks offer for these kinds of transactions. 

In fact, just like the UK and Australia, it could be said that the services available from banks and currency specialists are worlds apart but at least you don’t have to take a 24 hour flight to test out the services that Halo Financial offers. Those are just a phone call or the click of a mouse away.

- Halo Financial is a leading specialist provider of commercial foreign exchange services for both international business and private individuals who require foreign currency and need expert assistance in successfully managing their foreign exchange exposures. They are a partner of Australian Visa Bureau, an independent company specialising in helping applicants emigrate to Australia.

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