BY HELEN BURGGRAF
Generali PanEurope, the
Ireland-based cross-border
insurance provider, is to
enter the Swedish market
this year with a range of
its best-selling regularpremium
and single-premium
investment products,
redesigned specifically
for Swedish clients,
International Adviser can
reveal.
The first products to be
offered are from Generali
PanEurope’s Vision and
Professional Portfolio
ranges, giving Swedish clients
access to some of
the world’s top international
funds, inside an insur-
FEBRUARY 2012
For Distributors of International Fund, Life and Banking Products www.international-adviser.com
NEWS
Globaleye shuts Brazil
office, opens in China 5
Business Class Group
adds to PFS offering 5
Elite Capital Solutions
departs Dubai for Asia 5
ILI to become SEB Life
International in rebrand 7
STM prepares QROPS
for US-resident expats 7
Tax specialists say GAAR
should not be feared 7
Spanish law amendment
could lead to higher tax 8
DeVere grows European
business operations 8
Burstow to run Barings
global mining fund 10
Axa to close Ipac in
HK and Singapore 12
Dubai warning over
investment bank scam 13
ING’s Gupta switches
to Lombard Odier 15
Maltese regulator slaps
fine on Bank of Valletta 17
Munroe takes reins of key
Newton global eq funds 18
Irish investment funds
hit �1trn milestone 18
Manulife’s HK sales
force tops 5,000 21
Royal Skandia wins
disclosure case in HK 21
US family offices help
on personal security 60
Features – page 4
Generali PanEurope to
enter Swedish market
MPF revision opens door to HK advisers
BY SIMON DANAHER
An overhaul of the mandatory
provident fund scheme
in Hong Kong, which will
allow employees to choose
which MPF provider they
use, is being eagerly anticipated
by advisers.
Employees currently
contribute 5% of their salary,
capped at HK$1,000 ($130)
a month, to a retirement
account. This is matched
by employers, who also
choose the MPF provider.
News analysis 22-24
Kidnap and ransom
insurance As the
global focus on
income inequality
increases, concerns
over personal safety
are growing
O’Flynn: ‘suits mindset’
ance wrapper that provides
them with the potential
for financial planning
opportunities, Generali
PanEurope said.
Vision is the company’s
regular-premium
investment plan, while
Professional Portfolio is a
In November, the MPF
Schemes Authority is due
to introduce Employee
Choice Accounts, which
will put the choice of
provider in the hands of
employees, opening the
market up to financial
advisers to help with that
decision.
The government hopes
the scheme will put performance
and fee pressure
on MPF providers.
Under the MPF
system, IFAs can advise
Special feature 36-39
QROPS With the
UK’s Q-day near,
we take a look at
how jurisdictions
that administer
QROPS are likely
to fare
single-premium investment
product.
Both are designed to
give investors a choice
of options from a global
range of product providers
and fund houses, according
to the company.
Targeted at so-called
“mass affluent” and high net
worth clients, the Swedish
Generali PanEurope ranges
are designed to be distributed
through independent
financial advisers in
Sweden.
Cillín O’Flynn, Generali
PanEurope’s head of
wealth protection, said
the product range being
introduced to the Swedish
Continued on page 7
clients on their MPF
investments by sitting
the MPF Intermediaries
Examination. According
to Harpreet Sajjan, head
of portfolio management
at Platinum Financial
Services, many are now
taking the exam in order to
be eligible to advise clients
on this “new” market.
But Mark Rawson, chief
executive of The Henley
Group in Hong Kong, is
sceptical about the motivation
some advisers have.
Supplement
Trust and estate
planning Few
Britons take action
to mitigate their IHT
liability – providing
advisers with an
opportunity
Guernsey pins
QROPS hopes
on new regime
The States of Guernsey
is to introduce a new,
one-size-fits-all pensions
regime, open to islanders
and non-residents alike, in
an effort to ensure the survival
of its thriving QROPS
industry.
It will treat Guernsey
residents and non-residents
the same – with
no Guernsey tax due on
benefits paid – in order to
address a fresh set of concerns
raised in December
by the UK’s HM Revenue &
Customs, sources told IA.
The new, as-yetunnamed,
Guernsey pensions
regime was expected
to be unveiled formally at
the end of January, and to
be approved by States of
Guernsey lawmakers when
it is put to them for a vote
in early March.
As reported in IA last
month, HMRC surprised
QROPS providers and
advisers around the world
on 6 Dec with a package
of proposed changes to
the rules governing how
UK taxpayers may transfer
their UK pensions overseas,
when they move
abroad permanently.
The changes were seen
as an effort by HMRC to
try to limit the misuse of
QROPS and strengthen its
oversight of the industry.
Continued on page 5
SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT
FEBRUARY 2012
TRUST & ESTATE
PLANNING
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.