NEWS
Hong Kong brokers told to
disclose commission 3
UK Sipp providers losing
out to QROPS 3
Generali pulls Vision from
Netherlands, Belgium 3
Vam embarks on UK
sales drive 5
Guernsey, Jersey urged to
unite to win business 5
DSP unveils Lux version
of euro hedge fund 5
Pru launches risk-rated
funds for offshore bond 6
Former Close MD banned
from financial sector 6
Italy extends offshore
amnesty to April 8
Globaleye appoints
advisory board 8
Caymans seek to halt
brain drain 9
Luxembourg and Dubai
sign MoU 9
Standard Chartered plans
global trust expansion 11
Natwest Int’l rolls out
Navigator plan 11
Malta sees upswing in
fund business 12
Hartigan to lead Zil’s
Middle East business 14
RL 360° appoints
Malaysia head 14
HMRC extends tax break
for non-EU imports 48
60 licences revoked as
UAE tightens regulation
BY DANIEL JUDGE
The licences of more than
60 UAE insurance brokers
have been revoked in a
clampdown that advisers
believe signals the
beginning of a new era
of increased regulation for
their industry.
The brokers, who included
financial planners as well
as insurance intermediaries,
were penalised for failing
to meet a 24 December
deadline to provide an
AED1m (£168,000) capital
adequacy guarantee.
The deadline was
imposed by the UAE
Insurance Authority, a relatively
new regulator created
through a 2007 law.
Equity Trust challenges QROPS decision
BY SIMON DANAHER
Equity Trust, trustee of
the Panthera ROSIIP pension
fund, is taking the UK
tax authority to court to
challenge the removal of
Singapore’s QROPS status
in May 2008.
The trust company,
which established Panthera
in a joint venture with Credit
Suisse subsidiary Clariden
Leu, said it has tried to
come to a mutual agree-
Intermediary profile 27-28
Christchurch
Investment
Management The
lowdown on this
relative newcomer
to the international
market
FEBRUARY 2010
For Distributors of International Fund, Life and Banking Products www.international-adviser.com
Features – page 2
Fund selector 17-20
UK equities An
analysis of the
best-performing
funds in the sector
from OBSR’s
investment director
Peter Toogood
Revoking the licences was
the first significant action it
has taken, though numerous
new regulations are
expected from it this year.
The suspension of the
licences can be seen as part
of a wider drive by UAE
institutions to impose more
coherent financial services
regulations.
Many UAE advisers complain
of a lack of clarity
with regard to the institutions
they should be regulated
by in order to sell different
products. Some hold
licences from the Ministry
of the Economy, others the
Central Bank or Insurance
Authority, while a few hold
no licence at all.
Last January, another
ment with HMRC over the
future status of the scheme
but has so far failed.
In a letter to policyholders
dated 20 January,
Equity Trust said it issued
a letter to HMRC under the
‘Pre action Protocol’ within
the Civil Procedure Rules
in December but received
no response. It has subsequently
made an application
to the UK’s High Court
for ROSIIP to be restored
to QROPS status.
financial regulator, the
Emirates Securities and
Commodities Regulator,
was established, sowing
further confusion among
advisers, some of whom
have been told they must
seek a licence from it
as well.
In addition, the so-called
‘free zone’ of the Dubai
International Financial
Centre (DIFC), grants licences
to a range of businesses,
including wealth managers
and financial planners. One
Dubai-based expat adviser
said: “There is definitely a
wind of change blowing.
People are telling us to see
this or that regulator now.
Before, no-one was telling
us anything.”
The letter from Equity
Trust director Fredrik van
Tuyll also said ROSIIP
had always been managed
within QROPS legislation.
The reasons for the decision
to bar Singapore have
never been fully explained
due to the Revenue’s silence
on the matter. Industry
sources suggested at the
time the problem could lie
with Singapore’s taxation
of pensions, rather than a
single scheme’s actions.
Nucleus turns
provider after
buying insurer
Nucleus Euro-Advisers, the
Luxembourg-based pan-
European financial adviser
network, has turned product
provider after buying
an insurance company, and
set its sights on challenging
heavyweight rivals.
NEA managing partner
Vincent Derudder said
the acquisition of small
Belgian insurer Patronale
Leven would result in more
choice for advisers based in
Europe, as well as giving
them a greater say in the
construction of products.
NEA, according to
Derudder, will transform
Patronale from a specialist
domestic operation primarily
serving the industrial
company that established
it, to a financial services
provider for IFAs across
the continent.
The move marks a
change of strategy for NEA,
which was set up as a
pure adviser network in
2005 and has some 2,500
members.
“We have decided to
move in a new direction,”
said Derudder, noting regulation
and “poor service”
from existing insurers were
drivers for the acquisition.
He explained: “We
know the needs of advisers
and can deliver better
products than an actuary
sitting in Glasgow.”
Technical briefing 33-34
UK Offshore
Funds Regime
A run-through of
the changes for
investors that this
new framework
has delivered
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