FPI shuns glamour of Paris
for the delights of Butlins
by daniel judge
Question: What do Paris,
recognised the world over
as a centre of arts, culture,
history and fine cuisine,
and Bognor Regis, the
West Sussex seaside town
perhaps best known for its
annual bird man competition
where contestants leap off
the pier into the sea in selfpropelled
flying machines,
have in common?
Answer: Both have played
recent host to the Friends
Provident International
(FPI) senior sales management
team meeting.
While the 2008 event
was held amid the glamour
of the French capital, the
credit crunch has meant
austerity is now the watchword
at FPI. So its sevenstrong
senior sales team
last month jetted in from
The credit crunch has
come to the Gulf, a survey
conducted by Zurich
International Life (ZIL)
has found.
Those interviewed – a
cross-section of 600 Arab
and non-Arab male and
female expats 20 years of
age or over, who live in
the United Arab Emirates
and Bahrain, and earn
monthly salaries of at least
8,000 UAE dirhams or 600
Bharani dinars, respectively
– said they are using financial
advisers more and relying
on family and friends
less than a year earlier.
While 60% of those in
the UAE said they believed
their lifestyle had been
48
butlins: how the FPi team could have enjoyed a relaxing moment
around the globe to stay at
that most quintessentially
English low-budget holiday
resort Butlins, where they
spent three days discussing
sales strategy, new products,
leadership skills and
other essential business
matters.
A spokesman for FPI
said: “Friends Provident
International wanted to
find a location that was
convenient and cost effec-
compromised by the impact
of the credit crunch, only
25% of those in Bahrain
felt it had. But both groups
– 10% and 27% respectively
– said working abroad
was “less lucrative” than it
was a year earlier.
75% of UAE residents
and 50% of Bahrainis
“are concerned they are
not saving enough,” ZIL,
said, quoting from its third
Wealth Monitor .
Perhaps because of
this, more than half of
the respondents surveyed
said they did not see any
changes to their retirement
plans attributable to the
economic crisis.
“While 60% have less
tive in the current economic
environment.”
When not talking strategy,
FPI executives were
able to unwind by enjoying
Butlins’ many attractions,
including quasar laser
shooting, ten pin bowling,
a spa, go-karting, karaoke
and the Splash waterworld
– and who can argue that
is a line-up even the City
of Light would struggle
to match.
Zurich survey shows the impact of the
credit crunch in the UAE and Bahrain
disposable income, more
than half (54%) now recognise
the need to change
their lifestyle”, Zurich
International noted.
The two markets had
different savings priorities,
with putting money aside
for children’s education
named by those in Dubai
as their most important priority.
While in Bahrain, residential
property remained
the favoured invest-
ment choice.
In Hong Kong, where
a similar poll was done
about the same time, local
residents cited topping up
their retirement fund as
their favoured investment
strategy (95%).
www.international-adviser.com
OPINION
Panning for gold in Dubai
before the bubble burst
“Men (and women) from
all walks of life travelled
from as far away as New
York, the UK and Australia.
Surprisingly, a large proportion
were professionals,
such as teachers and
doctors, even a mayor or
two, who gave up respectable
careers to make the
journey…”
Was this a report on
Dubai in 2003? The stampede
from Europe, the
Americas, Africa and the
Arab world to Dubai was
enormous – the expatriate
British population grew
from a reported 50,000 in
1998 to 200,000 at the peak
of 2008, South Africans
grew from a low base of
5,000 to well over 80,000
at the peak and Lebanese
(renowned for the export
of their people) grew from
25,000 in 1998 to an astonishing
500,000 in 2008.
But the above article
was not written about
Dubai… it is an (edited)
extract from Wikipedia on
the Klondike, the famous
1897 gold rush. You can
be well excused to think it
referred to Dubai as there
are many similarities.
The Klondike brought
in every manner of people,
from the professional to
the downright criminal, all
forging their markets and
staking their claims. Then
came the more experienced
people, the better trained,
the better prepared, but all
Robert Parker, chief
executive, Holborn
Assets, says the gold
rush may be over but
it remains very much a
case of buyer beware
in Dubai
had one thing in common
– it was a dog eat dog
society.
By 2008 Dubai, the new
Klondike, became overcrowded
with unscrupulous
‘advisers’ selling their
grandmothers to earn a
living. The proverbial high
commission-paying 25-year
plan (one size fits all) sold in
bucket loads in an unregulated
world… Constant cold
calling – often to the same
person several times – with
no concern for reputation,
By 2008 Dubai,
the new Klondike,
became overcrowded
with unscrupulous
‘advisers’
“
”
just the fast-buck merchants
plying their trade.
Fortunately, the
Holborns, Acumas,
Synergys, Mondials and a
few other respected brokers
who were the early
settlers in Dubai 12 or
more years ago carry the
flag for professional advice.
Eventually, regulation will
come in some form and
the criminals will have to
leave, but in the meantime
it is still very much a case
of caveat emptor.
After all, gold rushes
have a very limited time
before the bubble bursts
– and that happened in
Dubai in 2008.
INTERNATIONAL ADVISER [www.international-adviser.com] MAy 2009
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