ICYMI: Secret Bay Webinar on Global Citizenship & Building Wealth Through Investment
On Thursday, October 15, The Residences at Secret Bay hosted the first episode in its new webinar series, titled Global Citizenship & Building Wealth Through Citizenship by Investment. The virtual discussion — which delved into the benefits of investing in The Residences at Secret Bay, an astute real estate offering and qualifying investment for Plan B Citizenship and a second passport — was moderated by F. Ron Smith, co-founder of the Smith and Berg Partners, top-producing real estate team at Compass and ranked nationally by Wall Street Journal. Featured speakers included Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan, Head of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Unit; Gregor Nassief, Chairman & CEO of GEMS and proprietor of Secret Bay; and two current investor-owners, couple Diana Castanos and William Brainbridge, whose primary citizenships are Cuba and the United States, respectively.
Moderator F. Ron Smith kicked off the discussion with a video overview featuring Dominica, known as the ‘Nature Island of the Caribbean’, followed by an introduction to Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan. Ambassador Nanthan gave viewers an in-depth overview of the many important attributes of Dominica’s renowned Citizenship by Investment Programme, which, for the fourth year in a row, was named “Best Country for Citizenship by Investment in the World” by The Financial Times’ subsidiary Professional Wealth Management. The Head of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Unit likewise gave further credit to The Residences at Secret Bay as the nation’s most coveted and sound opportunity to achieve a second passport.
Next up was Secret Bay’s proprietor Gregor Nassief, who was introduced by F. Ron Smith after featuring a short film on The Residences at Secret Bay. Mr. Nassief — who has personally acquired the land that The Residences and Secret Bay reside on for the past 17 years — took center stage and shared a personal overview of his award-winning resort, which was recently named the #1 Resort Hotel in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas and the #6 Hotel in the World in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards. In his presentation, backdropped by the serene sounds of the rainforest at Secret Bay, Mr. Nassief highlighted the four key reasons why Citizenship by Investment via purchasing real estate at The Residences at Secret Bay is an unrivaled path to citizenship and a second passport, including its stature as an existing operation with a ready project, competitive exit strategy, established success and global exchange program.
Gregor also shared a first look at Secret Bay’s future amenities, including an architecturally distinct welcome structure that will serve as a drop-off point where guests will transfer from petrol to electric vehicles that will take them directly to their private villa; an Art Barn, complete with a bar, restaurant, art gallery and micro-brewery; and a funicular that will transport owners from the beach to their hillside villa — all set to be completed by the end of 2021.
The final speakers were two current investor-owners — Diana Castanos and William Bainbridge, hailing from Cuba and the United States — who shared how and why they chose to invest in The Residences at Secret Bay. From opening an irresistible door to travel to presenting an array of fiscal opportunities, The Residences at Secret Bay offered the married couple a sound investment in an existing, successful project.
The webinar concluded with F. Ron Smith taking questions from the audience — from those regarding the process of applying to others about obtaining whole ownership — and both Gregor and Emmanuel offered their two cents to round out the webinar’s concluding Q&A session.
Thank you to all who joined us for our first webinar episode, Global Citizenship & Building Wealth Through Citizenship by Investment, and for those who missed it, we invite you to experience it for the first time via the embedded recorded program below. If you have any questions that were not addressed during the presentation, please feel free to email us directly at [email protected]. We hope you’ll join us for our second episode in the near future.
WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS
2:35: Welcome and introductions from F. Ron Smith, co-founder of Smith & Berg Partners at Compass Real Estate
4:05: A video overview of Dominica from Commonwealth of Dominica
5:30: Emmanuel Nathan, Head of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Unit, provides an overview of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme
21:40: F. Ron Smith introduces Gregor Nassief, Chairman & CEO of GEMS and proprietor of Secret Bay, and shows an overview video of The Residences at Secret Bay
26:35: Gregor Nassief provides an overview and project status of The Residences at Secret Bay
46:20: F. Ron takes a question from the audience regarding whether financing is available, which Gregor answers, and introduces a video from investors
47:20: Investors offer insight into how and why they sought out Citizenship by Investment at The Residences at Secret Bay
51:30: F. Ron takes more questions from the audience and both Gregor and Emmanuel answer
