Joel Nagel shares how he built his legal and business work around serving clients and focusing on asset protection. He also discusses transparent planning, long-term investments and preparing his children to manage wealth.
Guest views are their own.
About the guest
Joel Nagel. Joel Nagel is an international asset protection attorney who has worked in 43 countries over 34 years. The transcript describes his work in real estate development and international banking, and says he has served on 30 boards.
Key takeaways
- Nagel says he differentiates his work by helping people save, protect, preserve and pass on wealth, rather than focusing on making money.
- He says building trust starts with understanding a client's situation, which means asking many questions and taking time when possible.
- He advises entrepreneurs to focus on a primary objective and use spare time to build expertise and visibility, such as by writing articles and speaking at conferences.
- Nagel credits teams for business success and says his bank took 20 years to receive a regional award.
- He describes international asset protection as transparent and compliant with legal reporting, rather than hiding assets or avoiding taxes.
- He says asset protection and estate planning should be done before a dispute arises, when there is no pending claim.
- For a teak plantation investment, he says the team bought degraded land with river rights and accepted a long time horizon for the trees to grow.
- Nagel says trust documents can be accompanied by a memorandum of wishes to guide trustees about the grantor's intentions for future distributions.
- He says he wants his children to understand the advantages they received, develop their own capabilities, and take part in the family businesses.
Best quotes
"I show up at investment conferences and tell people how to save and protect preserve and pass on what they already have"
"when I represent a client you know that that's you know you know my universe the sun rises and sets around that client"
"we really start by just asking them a million questions about themselves because I I'm not really qualified to give you advice on anything if I don't understand your situation first"
"you need a lawyer to help you you know stay within the law"
"do things the right way the legal way uh the transparent way and and that's really what's going to give you the protection going forward"
"you have to do this type of planning when the Sun's shining when the skies are blue"
Educational only. Nothing on this site is investment, tax, legal, accounting or other professional advice, or a recommendation on any security, manager, structure or allocation. Speak with qualified professionals before acting.