An expat founder earns USD, pays local costs, and borrows in USD to “stay safe.” Then local revenue dips and the hard-currency debt becomes the killer.

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The fix is not predicting FX. It is matching instrument access to mobility profile, then building a balanced 4-currency view.

Market and capital reality check

FX liquidity varies widely; turnover is a proxy for liquidity in major FX surveys. In many Tier 2/3 settings, the binding constraint is not “pricing”, it is convertibility rules and documentation, tracked at a high level in the IMF AREAER.

The 4-currency balance sheet

  • Income currency
  • Spending currency
  • Asset currency
  • Liability currency

Goal: avoid a structure where liabilities are hard currency and cash flows are not resilient.

Decision Matrix

  1. What is your status? US person, EU resident, GCC resident, local resident only.
  2. What access do you have? Brokerage, derivatives, offshore accounts, multi-currency lending.
  3. What is your FX mismatch? Income vs liabilities.
  4. Choose from a hedge menu based on what you can legally access.

Hedge Menu

  • Natural hedges: match costs to income currency
  • Hard-currency revenue structuring where feasible
  • Buffer liquidity in spending currency
  • Staged conversions over time
  • Selective derivatives only where legally accessible and understood

Deal and Product lens

This is a household and corporate treasury issue. It also affects private credit underwriting, especially DSCR under devaluation stress.

Access and next moves

Start with a one-page currency map, then review FX documentation requirements for transfers and conversion.

“Status does not predict FX, it determines what tools you can use when FX moves.”

Key datapoints

  • BIS survey: April 2022 FX turnover averaged $7.5tn per day globally, a macro anchor for liquidity discussion.
  • AREAER: baseline reference for exchange restrictions.

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Execution steps

  1. Build your 4-currency balance sheet.
  2. Stress test a 20–40% devaluation scenario.
  3. Remove hard-currency debt that is not naturally hedged.
  4. Document legal transfer pathways.
I-Invest disclosure: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, tax, or migration advice. Markets, regulations, and outcomes vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Readers should seek independent professional advice before making decisions. References to companies, deals, programs, or products are descriptive and not a solicitation or endorsement.

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Written by

Stephanie Nelson
Stephanie Nelson
Founder of I-Invest Magazine. She builds global wealth systems linking private credit, real estate, and mobility pathways that turn high-income professionals into institutional investors with generational impact.

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