NEWS
HMRC’s NDO tipped to
raise more than £1bn 3
UAE moratorium on
insurance licences 3
Doubts over fate of
Keydata International 3
Hong Kong banks in $6bn
mini-bonds payout 5
DeVere & Partners
unveils fund platform 5
Jersey launches first
foundations 5
New sales head for Scot
Widows/Clerical Med 6
Singapore banks in
structured products ban 6
Africa long/short fund
from Thames River 6
Ex-Montfort trio start
QROPS firm 8
eHedge says hedge
fund attrition slowing 8
Tax threat sees Assured
Fund move to Brussels 9
Resolution’s Friends
Provident bid fails 9
Go-ahead for Jersey bank
compensation scheme 10
Aussie expats targeted
by Standard Chartered 10
M&G rolls out
Guernsey bond fund 11
FPI appoints Middle East
bancassurance head 12
Argyll launches Clarion
Property Income fund 44
Financial Partners splits
to beat global downturn
By daniel judge
Financial Partners, the offshore
financial adviser with
over $1bn under advice,
has sold its Japanese operation
and is splitting into
a network of independent
regional businesses in a
cost-cutting measure triggered
by the recession.
The company experienced
a 40% drop in sales
in the three months following
the height of the
meltdown last year and
has drawn up the plan in
order to “survive”.
Sean Kelleher, chairman
of the FP group, said sales
had picked up since then
but explained: “In this envi-
Hong Kong beefs up investor protection
By Helen Burggraf
A raft of new regulations
designed to protect Hong
Kong investors is being
imposed on banks, insurers
and financial advisers.
All ‘registered institutions’
(RIs) in the former
UK colony are expected to
implement a number of the
rules, issued in response
to the financial crisis and
Lehman mini-bonds scandal
(see story on page 5).
The regulations govern
Fund selector 19-22
Thematic With
such a wideranging
number
of asset classes,
returns can vary
wildly in this
diverse sector
August 2009
For Distributors of International Fund, Life and Banking Products www.international-adviser.com
Features – page 2
Feature 14-16
IA offshore life
office roundtable
Seven leading
figures discuss
the issues their
industry is
currently facing
Kelleher: ‘survival is main aim’
ronment, the primary aim
of a financial services business
is to survive, making a
profit is secondary.”
The company is to
“move from the expensive
fixed costs of a centralised
business” towards
a network-based model,
the way IFAs, banks and
insurance industry representatives
sell products to
their retail customers.
Measures include ‘health
warnings’ on structured
products, a requirement
that risk assessments of
clients are undertaken by
non-sales staff and a rule
that audio recordings of
client meetings are made.
Further regulations, including
one requiring sellers
of investment products
to disclose all commis-
with advisory businesses
serving three core regions:
UAE/India, Hong Kong/
China and southeast Asia.
Each will run independently
and buy in services
previously provided by the
centralised group, including
asset management,
compliance and finance.
Kelleher said the devolution
process was expected
to take several more
months to complete.
Arch Financial Products,
the UK-based fund manager
that last year took a 48%
stake in Financial Partners,
will remain a shareholder
in each of the separate
businesses. Growth plans
are now on hold.
sions and other fees to
clients, are also likely to be
implemented.
Francine Fu, president
of the Institute of Financial
Planners of Hong Kong,
said the rules will help
“raise the standards of the
practitioners” who sell
investment products, as
well as educate consumers
about financial planning.
A list of the new regulations
can be found in the online
version at www.international-adviser.com
FEIFA group to
provide IFAs a
voice in Europe
A trade association for
IFAs doing business with
expats in Europe has been
established.
The Federation of European
Independent Financial
Advisers (FEIFA) aims to
give English-speaking advisers
a representative voice at
national government and
EU level for the first time.
It has five founder
member firms employing
some 50 advisers, operating
across ten mainly EU
countries.
Paul Stanfield, UK-based
chief executive of FEIFA,
said the financial crisis had
proved a catalyst in the
decision to establish the
organisation in order to
restore credibility and consumer
confidence in the
financial advice sector.
“Membership is only
available to individuals
and companies that meet
certain criteria. All membership
applications from
IFAs will be subject to
a thorough due diligence
process,” he said.
MEMbErS
Fraser Macklinlay (Cyprus);
Blackden Financial (Switz);
Imperius Asset Management
(Ireland, Russia, Netherlands);
Offshore Investment Brokers
(Spain); Spectrum IFA Group
(France, Portugal, Spain, Lux,
Netherlands, Switz)
Country profile 26-27
Hong Kong We
look at the impact
of the lehman
Brothers collapse
on Hong Kong
financial services
and local investors
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