Advice on Royal Skandia Bank and so called Savings and Pensions account?

Hi there,

I believe I can shed some light on this situation.

As it turns out I used to work for an IFA company in Botswana before taking on a more challenging assignment as a Wealth Manager in South East Asia. The company I worked for in Botswana also represents these products from Royal Skandia (Part of the Old Mutual Group), Friends Provident, Generali and the rest.

What I can tell you is that the problem is NOT with the product, but rather the advisor and the firm he worked for and more so the investment funds that you were in.

Chances are good that the funds were probably picked out FOR you by your financial advisor there. Now, the sad truth is that Botswana is a non regulated area and non of the "financial advisors" there needs to have any qualifications to be able to sell those products.

What ends up happening is that many of the guys end being product salesmen instead of really know how the products work.

Royal Skandia can only invest and act on what is on the paperwork, and if your advisor put you in to some crummy funds, its not Royal Skandia's fault I am afraid.

Royal Skandia is one of the biggest companies in the world with an impressive track record.

Its seemingly too late now, but there would've been a fairly simple solution. Al you needed to do was :
1) Change of advisor / advisor firm (no cost to you)
2) Rebalancing of your portfolio / fund switching by new qualified advisor(no cost to you)

I understand how you feel, but we can't blame the manufacturer of the car when we get a flat tyre or run out of oil and the engine blows up. These investments do need monitoring and regular reviews / checkups by the person who sold it to you to make sure things are on track.

Markets change all the time, things go up and down ALL the time. Its really not that difficult but your advisor clearly did not know what he/ she was doing.

The products are really fantastic savings vehicles and if applied properly will outperform any bank account and inflation sometimes with way above average results !

I can guarantee you that fighting with RSK will get you no-where, as contractually you agreed to terms and conditions that will cover investment gains and losses.

I'd be interested to know who you worked with in Botswana.

Best regards,
Daniel van Niekerk- CII
Private Client Wealth Manager

Dear Connie, Daniel and others, thank you for your contributions but please refrain from insults or from promoting personal websites. 
 
All expats should be conscious that there are unscrupulous as well as honest financial advisors all over the world and that they are not well regulated in most countries. The UK for example has tightened up on regulation over the last 20 years but in most countries there is little or no regulation. Daniel, which country do you practice in and who are you regulated by?
 
Investors should also be very wary of products offering incredible returns with no risk. Cleary any product which offers very high returns also comes with huge risk. A product offering, “Capital guaranteed, 9.5% per quarter” sounds enticing but think about it… would you really get 38 percent a year with no risk!! Always read the small print and always be conscious that anyone selling you any product has to be making money from it.

Tom

Don't believe a word of what Daniel says. The fees with these RS accounts are ridiculously high. He probably sells them - or perhaps some equally crap plan - for a living. There are many, many sad stories like yours, Connie. Companies like Skandia allow these armies of half-witted salesmen to flog their lousy products, usually preying on expats abroad.

Dear Mr Anonymous,

1)What a brave chap to hide your identity and posting the typical low quality-, uneducated comments that ill informed, anonymous posters like yourself often post.
2)You obviously earn a salary, I pay them.
3)I don't sell anything, I provide investment solutions and council to people all over the world,
4)I am a director in a registered wealth management company. So tell me, what difference did you make in the world today?

"Companies like Skandia"? That's fresh, but again...it shows your lack of knowledge.

Some of these fortune 100 companies you're referring to including the likes of Generali International, Royal London 360 and others have over 300 billion Euros under management and have over 3 million clients, very successful and very WEALTHY clients I might add.

So, I guess there are 3 million high net worth idiots out there and you seemingly got the inside scoop, am I right?  Are you for real??

I have assessed Connie's situation, we exchange some options and ideas and I think given her current UK residency status, I believe she made the correct decision for her personal situation.

I don't usually get personal in public or forums as I am a professional...but I don't appreciate being insulted in public by a misinformed individual that hides his identity.

Dear Readers and clients,

I've had quite a few enquiries off this initial article by Connie, and I have a good and solid recovery strategy that I have offered- and can offer to other clients that will NOT affect your actual Royal Skandia policy or cost you any additional monies.

I have a Capital guaranteed, 9.5% per quarter income option amongst other fantastic solutions.

Did you know? : You can change advisory firms at NO COST to you, without affecting your policies, portfolio and/or any exisiting terms.

Don't be bullied into sticking around with non performing IFA's using 'things will recover' or other creative excuses. All it actually means is; "Sorry, I don't know what I'm doing !" Commissions have been collected long time ago already, so we all know what that means.

Join others and let's get you out of the poor performance or 'losing money' situation asap.

Contact me for more info.
 

Dan

Hello Daniel, The truth is that, it is a fraud for Royal Skandia to indirectly send out their armies and patners in crime and big time global fraud racket probably like yourself to bring funds into their vaults without getting directly involved at the onset only for them to trade excuses of the 'small prints'. As an expat in NL, I lost money but one thing I have promised myself is to spread the information to expats and potential expats around me never to be scammed by you rouges feeding fat on the sweats of the unsuspecting public. I'm in total agreement with the fellow you labelled anonymous hence I'm joining this string - thanks to internet platfom through which I can warn others to BEWARE of the fraudsters! Jacob Adaramola

Daniel, The truth is that as an expat in Netherlands, I fell victim to this scam, thanks to the foot soldiers of fraudsters like yourself that RS is keeping in the trade. As long as I'm opportuned, I'm there to warn others to BEWARE of you crooks feeding fat on the sweats of unsuspecting expats. Jacob Adaramola

Dear Jacob,

The reason why I'm actually PROMOTING this thread is because I've managed to help quite a few people with existing RSK policies to get out of trouble...most with very little effort, and NO COST to them except perhaps sending off a doc or two in the end.

I don't change or switch their current products ,which would usually be commissionable and enough incentive for most IFA's to strongly recommend changing product providers. "You know  that BAD Skandia and all...geeesh, lets change to XYZ !"   I merely change their structures and enhance their investment options which pays (if it does, depends on the structure) a LOT less, but is in the clients interest !

Unfortunately most of the 1000's of offshore IFA companies who send their new recruits on their in-house week long induction "training" never cover these strategies as these guys all just end up being scripted to the hilt, sweaty-palmed policy salesmen with targets and quotas to meet, much like the insurance industry.

1) I do not work for Royal Skandia, nor ANY service provider and so I can provide unbiased advice as all times. Tied agents on the other hands work for Company X and will have a mandate to push Company X's products naturally.
2) Royal Skandia like most of the other major life companies operates through a broker channel, so they don't have their own IFA's army or foot soldiers selling these offshore solutions. Company X (ie the broker that sold the RSK product to you) will have terms of business with Royal Skandia,  BUT it is not  Skandia's responsibility to police salesmen who comer and go and work for their master brokers. There IS an effective grievance procedure that can be followed if there was a legitimate case of gross miss selling or misrepresentation etc.
3) I'm an expat as well, and as much as you'll read the fine print of your mortgage and/or lease agreement, even MORE so you should be checking on investment paperwork and ANY fine print. It would be very unwise and very naive NOT to do so and to just put your trust in someone you just spoke on the phone a few times. There are many IFA's out there who flat-out lie about stuff, but 90% of them would just neglect to mention crucial information to cover themselves leaving the responsibility to you to familiarize yourself with what you're about to get involved with.
4) My clients are at the top of their game, some of them are the best at what they do and they expect NOTHING less from their investment council. Some of my largest transactions have taken up to 10 months to come off. WHY? Because I build lasting and personal relationships with my clients. I get to know them, their families and their children and a base of trust is formed over time. This does not exactly make you very popular with the competition as I go totally against the typical "this is how we have done it for the last 10 years" IFA grain. 

Jacob, I'm afraid that you're not offering anyone any help or contributing anything of significance in any which way. I'm afraid that you'll be disappointed to know that you're NOT the hero of "the people" , nor have you been deputized or dubbed to spread a seemingly new gospel that's actually as old as the mountains.

This is perhaps not the platform, but ideally you should be mentioning the company that sold you the investment product and put the screws on them. There's nothing wrong with the investment solution (Ie Skandia, Friends Provident, Generali, Royal London 360 etc), its the application of the solution that's at fault. Sure, some or better than others....some features and options may differ...but they all do the same job at the end of the day.  I have two words for you: FUND CHOICE. Did you choose funds, or were you involved with- or briefed on a a fund choice with a proper reasons why? If not, then your "advisor" most probably played "eenie meenie minee mo" and randomly picked some funds for you. It makes no difference to his commission at the end of the day and besides, the next prospect is waiting....can't spend too much time on this ! (Sad truth !)

We can't say water is bad thing just because someone went into a deep pool and drowned as they didn't take precautions and/or could not swim. Nor can your blame your car manufacturer when you get a flat tire and don't have a toolbox or wheel spanner in the car on top of it all.
 

As for the rest, I just think its in poor taste really...nothing more to say about that I'm afraid. I can understand you're very upset, but I'd like to think we're all grownups in here.

I'm really sorry about your misfortune, but there was more than enough time to do something about it I'm sorry to say.Why did you not ditch your IFA and get a 2nd opinion? There's not charge, cost or risk in doing so as there's NO contractual obligation between advisor and client unless entered into separately and knowingly.  I personally have NEVER seen a case that can not be turned around if dealt with promptly.

How come when the roof of our house is leaking, our car engine is faulty or the car brakes are worn out we're very quick to make work with this and get it fixed or sorted out?  Why not do the same with our hard earned cash and investments??

There is much hope for those who act swiftly, and I'm available at all times.

Daniel van Niekerk




 

I'm form Costa Rica and it is a scam!!! Don't beleive what this piece of crap of Daniel says!

Looks like we have another 10yr old hiding behind  "Anonymous". Unless you're all related somehow?

Where are all the MEN these days? You don't have to be a GREAT man put down your name.....just be a man. Grow a set already gringo.

Wonder what I ever did to you to suddenly be a piece of what...crap? Do I know you?  haha. Well, fortunately I'm big enough to not be affected by such low class etiquette.

I must say, this is BIG news, you must also have an inside contact, ey? I read the international advisor and many other financial news and papers...this is SUCH news to me, wow!! A scam...really?

It must be the biggest multi Billion, multi jurisdictional, highly respected "scam" with Old Mutual at the helm of all time? haha .

You ARE talking about THE Royal Skandia at http://www.skandiainternational.com/royalskandia/ , the one who has licence to operate in just about every country, part of the Old Mutual Group founded in the 1800's..surely?

Not Skandee-a, your brothers company?

I see you're FORM Costa Rica and people must not BELEIVE me?  I finks,  better your stays theres an lern to spel popperly befor yous write rubbish and wast all of our perfessional people times.

Si usted es hispano, entonces usted es una vergüenza para la cultura ... tío asqueroso! Crecer e ir perder algo de tiempo de otras personas. Este es un lugar para los adultos y ustedes, la bienvenida no está aquí.

Aaah well, all sorts hey people? Gotta love the variety out there. Bless his poor soul.

Thank you all !

I do realise that there's a lot of unscrupulous salesman and brokerages out there, some of them quite significant in size and representation... but to directly attack someone who is picking up the pieces for others is really in poor taste.

I think blatant ignorance and being misinformed is a real problem...and then I'm not even talking about those who just like to jump on forums and show the world how low class they really are.

Grown ups air valid grievances (ie like Connie Murtagh and some people who contacted me directly and chose not to post in here) and we deal with it like professionals...the way it should be.

But, we roll with the punches as they say and separate the wheat from the chaff. People who know me and work with me understand and appreciate the value and benefits I offer. Its all in a days work.

Bring it on !

Dan

I Must say, knowing Daniel he is one of the best at what he does. Regrettably for some it means correcting a previous bad or miss judges investment. The guys who spat the dummy after being 'scammed' over the telephone for no doubt a get rich quick IPO pink slip, sorry to say it but you deserve it. Why would anyone ring you with the stock pick of a life time?? Keep up the great work Daniel and look forward to our next meeting. Richard Mason SalisburyInvestmentPTE part of SalisburyGroupPLC

Having dealt with Daniel personally, I do know he spends a great deal of time correcting and re advising folk that have been regrettably mislead. The guys who are posting anon, WOW!! you seem to have a lot to stay from behind your mask! What are you hiding? the fact you actually don't know what you are talking about. The guys that have been scammed, come on!?! Why would someone call you up out of the blue with the next get rich quick stock pick IPO..... think about! Obviously you didn't More than welcome to answer anyones questions or alternatively meet and discuss, I am in Marina Bay, Singapore and my contact details are on my company website. Keep up the good work Daniel! Thanks Richard Mason

Hi, I agree completely with Daniel. I am locked on to a similar fund with Royal Skandia for the next 15 years. I was told that there will not be an exit fee by the broker at ACUMA in Dubai. It was my fault that I trusted the agent completely and did not read through the fine print. So at present the funds doing badly combined with heavy exit penalties leaves investors with not much options. All the broker wants to do is sell the product - nothing else matters. Royal Skandia just acts on my instructions. I find them very professional and timely in terms of reports and response to questions. What needs to be done is that Royal Skandia needs to monitor who the approved agents are unlike the unethical ones like ACUMA Dubai. Skandia advised me that there is an option to reduce premium that can invite a lesser penalty but worth looking into. So I have taken up that option for now. Broker or no broker its up to the investor to make sure he/she reads all information before making an investment. Regards, Santosh

Hi Santosh,

Thank you for the post, I'm sure it will help someone somewhere.
I can appreciate people don't always like to leave their details, but for the sake of credibility if I can perhaps ask if any and all of you just post at least an email address ie. a yahoo or hotmail or something.

Sometimes people want to verify claims and /or information and you know how people get...just now they think I posted the post to make myself look good or something.

Anyway, we appreciate the time you took to post .

Daniel
THE PROFIN GROUP

Hi all, please can I ask that you refrain from personal attacks and calling other people names on this forum, especially in another language, as these comments will be deleted. Expat Arrivals aims to assist expats in their transition abroad and we aim to help people rather than provide a platform for arguments and insults.

Thanks!

Dear All, The business model adopted by RSK is very effective. They in fact authorise salesman to sell their products. The salesmen in turn mislead investors and when the matter is raised with RSK, they say "sorry, the financial advisor is your agent, not ours - anyway there is a provision about charges in one of our brochures" (which the salesman never sent to you). Please do not be intimidated by RSK. I am organising a website on behalf of investor duped by their salesman with a view to collecting enough support to bring an action through the courts in the Isle of Mann. If we do nothing, this will simply continue into perpetuity. So, if you have ever suffered any charges or penalties with RSK, do please respond and let's get in touch through the website which I hope to have up in a week. msadope

Dear msadope is it??

I really can't understand why someone with such a seemingly noble cause would not want to put their name down.

My personal business is about integrity and transparency and most do try to uphold this philosophy.

I would question any anonymous persons motive in what would seem like a name gathering excercise.

I also don't want to rain on your parade, but what you're suggesting would be a waste time and money. Its like suing your mother in law because YOU divorved your wife and things didnt work out..can't see that working out well.

What if the loaded mother-in-law in lap slaps back with defamation or damge to her good name or something? Its not her fault that you rushed into a realtionship that might not have meant to be...convincing 'partner' or not.

The answer is simple. Do your homework, know who you get into bed with and what the conditions attached are. Don't just have a quick look at the mother, and then its thumbs up without you knowing your 'partner' and how she ticks. That's blatantly looking for trouble right there.

Like with a physical partner, your investment partner needs to be by your side, be communicated with, there are things need to be adjusted at times as you both mature and your needs change and evolve....you need to care for an look after it.

If I had to put it any simpler, it would get a bit rediculous.

We don't need heros's or knights in shining armour to rescue us from insurers that are 100 yrs old+ with billions under management. We need people who can read and edcuate themselves and take responsibility for their actions.

There is a clear defined path and complaints procedure with these Life companies, and where there's valid cause, they WILL look into situations what deserve attention....although personal relationship issues between you and your IFA is not their problem. You are free to switch advisors at ANY time at no cost to you...in fact, you can also self manage your portfolio with advice from your life cmpany directly.

Even in cases with merit, (and there are !)  I still have to hear that a gun was held to anyones head when they had to sign the documents. You don't HAVE to sign anything, no "Jedi- mind trick" can force you to sign in those 3, 4 places. If you sign, you're saying "I'm good...I know what I'm doing and I take responsibility."

Dan

Daniel, The reason I am showing up anonymous is because I have not registered. I am not trying to hide my identity and whilst I would have been happy to share my identity with you, I am now weary of you given your analogy involving your mother-in-law - but I am not judging. Doing what you do, I understand why you would want to protect the business model. So the way i read what your saying (leaving aside your comments about your mother-in-law which is something purely between you and your psychiatrist...and possibly your mother-in-law) is that the investor must bear 100% responsibility notwithstanding that the products are sold through a salesman? So, I can authorise you to sell my products in any way you deem fit to any adult and even if you lie, cheat, steal and forge documents so far as I am concerned, the victim still has to pay me, my fees, charges, penalties etc for the next 20 years? Well done. ANONYMOUS

Well Mr "ANONYMOUS"

As far as I can see a few people up here are not registered either, so there’s nothing stopping you jotting your name down at the end. But I guess registering would mean putting your real name down in most cases, not so?

Lets try another example.....

If the "car" was broken, yes...take it back to the place you got it from, but don't SUE the place for getting a flat tyre 6 months down the line, or because YOU drove into a pole OR the engine gave in 4 years later because you did not have it serviced ! That "car" was 100% fine when you got it.

Now if you STILL don't understand the mother in law example, or get the car thing (my 4 yr old does)...I do have flash cards as well.

I really don't mean to be condescending, but people like you offer NO insight, strategies or suggestions as to how to resolve possible problems in the system whatsoever. These pointless rhah-rhah Brave-Heart tactics that I’m afraid will get you nowhere.
 
How come I was able to help some people turn their situations around? If this was such an inherent “evil” as you’re trying to make it out to be, this would not be the case, surely?
 
There are 100’s of thousands of people with Skandia and other Life company products, most of them very HAPPY clients making fair to good ROI. Like I mentioned before, investments and managing it properly are for focussed individuals who know what they want out of life.

Yes, there are crooked brokers and IFA in the world as there are crooked sales people probably in ALL industries...I mean, let's not be naive here.If you go about complaints the right way in a timeous fashion and you have a valid claim, there is resolve. Making stupid decisions or not knowing what you get yourself into is not one of them.
 
Honestly I don’t know what more to say to you. Had you actually ask for help, we could’ve handled this differently, but this childish back and forth is counter productive and I am a busy professional.

Daniel, Many salesman refer to themselves as professionals without understanding exactly what that means. Your analogies are childish, perhaps that's why your child says s/he can understand them. You clearly have no idea of the larger legal issues at play here. For the rest of you, please stand by for the website. ANONYMOUS

Hi James,

Well, I guess you're suddenly the trained expert and authority on these issues here and I obviously must have it all wrong, I really have to apologise. 


Perhaps we should let you run this forum?

Also, I see you forgot to mention your name, again? You seem to conveniently sidestep this issue...pretty much similar tactics some of the “operators” you’ve come to despise so much probably uses.
 
Perhaps once your website is up you'll grace us all with your credentials....or are you going to shroud that in secrecy and anonymity as well? 
 
You know what...it does not take a BIG man to put his name down, just a man.

So far, you have:

1. Not given us your name
2. NOT stated any details of your personal gripe with Skandia
3. NOT contributed anything of value
4. Wasted our time…

 
Time to perhaps put your big boy pants on and take charge.
 
I’m here to help people, and have successfully done so with quite a few.

You clearly don’t need any help, and although these posts generate very welcome SEO results due to activity, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from posting any further senseless nonsense in my section.

Thank you
 
 
 
 
 

Dear Mr "ANONYMOUS" PL-EEEESE get over yourself already! Good heavens, are you like 5 ??? Go and waste someone else's time, we don't your endless string along nonsense in here ! Daniel is a professional, no one CARES about your stupid website. You sound like a guy taking a knife to a gunfight, (go figure) and from what I can see you're going to fly solo on this as well. As from what I understand there's a CLEAR grievances and complaints procedure. This is not a anti SKANDIA recruitment pool,so I'm not sure what you think you're going to achieve with your lost cause. Romano

Hi there Tom,

Thank you for your message. I'm originally from Cape Town myself.

I worked in Botswana in the offshore financial services business and got a CII (Chartered Insurance Institute UK) certification while working out there. I actually worked for the same company that Connie got her Skandia from (although before my time) 

I got bored of being a policy hawker (99% of the time the same product) and moved my family from the then-cowboy land to another...Thailand ! haha

A few companies over there are so-called "FSA" regulated, but lets be fair...that means nothing in Thailand or the rest of SE Asia I'm afraid. Some IFA’s have branches in Malaysia and Singapore and there Labuan licencing and MAS regulators takes care of them, although nothing stops them from doing what-ever they want over the border in a non regulated jurisdiction.

Anyway, I spent about 2 years and a bit in Thailand working with some reputable firms more in the high net sector and I recently partnered up with the Profin group, which is the oldest and largest IFA in Africa with its roots in Old Mutual back in the late 1980's

Our company is regulated in ALL the countries we operate in, where-ever such regulation exists. Botswana is the last English speaking country we're set to 'conquer' , and I'm happy to report that local regulation also tightened up since I left in 2010.

We just finalised local incorporation formalities...in fact our papers came back today. Monday we will be submitting our application to the local regulator NBFIRA, who takes care of the non banking financial services sector over here.

We’re not in the mass market policy writing business like many of the other companies around, its just not how we work.
 
Our clients includes the like of KPMG, de Loitte, Ernst & Young, US AID, the US Embassy, Murray & Roberts, The United Nations, PWC as well as a few central banks in Africa that does big business, and we’re talking structured products of $100 million and more.  

We handle the pension schemes for these above mentioned companies and various others all over Africa. In countries we do NOT handle their group scheme, we usually look after the partners and/or directors personal pensions.
 
My purpose is not to name-drop, and as you’ll see in my previous posts I refrained from doing so, but PROFIN really does operate on another level and we literally dominate our market. When a company like de Loitte introduces you to their clients, there a very powerful relationship based on trust and mutual respect in place.
 
I am the designated expert in this section since Stephanie was at ExpatArrivals quite some time back.
 
I’m always happy and keen to see where I can help.

Regards,
Daniel

Hello, I see that my enquiry has generated a lot of debate and sometimes not so good interaction. I have read all these comments and agree that I should have been more aware and asked more questions at the time. It is over now, and I have moved on. I am also a lot more educated in these matters and will, I hope, not be lured into anything I am not certain about again. Thank you Daniel for your advice and all the other advice I have received. Connie Murtagh

Hi there Connie,

Only a pleasure !

You might not realise it, but you unknowingly helped quite a few people who stumbled across this thread looking for answers, many of whom contacted me directly and didn't bother posting.

You're a sweetheart, and so I really appreciate the notion !

Take care now & cheerio
Daniel

Dearest Romano, I'm not sure that anyone was addressing anything to you but thank you for your insightful, intelligent and very mature comments. Taking a "knife to a gun-fight"? You understand the issues do you. What are they? Why don't you offer your insightful legal analysis seeing that according to you no-one is interested in listening to me. The fact is, I can post whatever I want (subject to the hosts rules) and I'm afraid that you, Daniel or his mother-in-law can't do much about it. ANONYMOUS

Excellent question - Daniel, who is your regulator in SE Asia? So if someone has an issue with you, who do they go to?

Dear who-ever you are

From my experience in life, people who has nothing to hide don't mind playing open cards and being transparent.

You come in here guns blazing attacking me of all people (like you know me or something) , claiming to be the expert suddenly...I mean, for real, James?

Somehow you manage to bestow on yourself self imposed financial "knighthood" and decree yourself ombudsman over me and my company...and you say WHO are you???

You clearly have NO clue how this business really works and yes, you have wasted enough of our time.

Your feeble attempts to sow discontent and draw out senseless arguments by personally attacking me whilst contributing absolutely nothing of value is not working and is a clear sign to all of us...its time to move on from here.

And just to answer you question, before you accuse me again of avoiding the question. There IS no regulator in Thailand for the offshore business, and yes it does leave the door open for cowboys to do what they want to with MANY a fly by nighters around.

The company what I'm with is the oldest and most established IFA company in Africa. If anyone ever has an issue with me personally then they can contact the CEO. Our company does not employ crooks OR people who couldn't make it as ESL teachers or washing machine salesmen.

We've just been asked by  major bank in one of the African countries we operate in to put IFA's in their main branch, how often do you hear about that?

If you want a reference about me personally, as it seems your focus is now shifting to me...then go to my professional profile on linked in.

google me

Have your website and do what you feel you need to do, just please stop harassing the rest of us in here. It’s a bit obsessive, very distasteful and getting a bit weird quite frankly.

Thank you.

Romana, I am in Juba, South Sudan.  I will leave this blog - because you two are aggressive and boring - and Daniel needs to get back to promoting his unregulated self and business, and his pals like Romano saying "I know Daniel, he is a professional". 

Btw, for closure, the minimum RSK commission paid to a salesman for these managed products is, as I have discovered today, the first year's premiums in full and they frequently have promotional bonuses of up to an additional 40%. So, if you are investing 10k a month, the salesman will, as commission, receive $120,000 plus another $50,000. Is it possible that there could be a possible conflict of interest, between that of the salesman and the investor? Food for thought... I'm out.

I very much doubt this is true - I imagine it is 100 percent of the fee, not the total sum invested. Can anyone shed some light on this?

All I can say is that almost ALL the Life Companies pay the same commission to the master broker (company), and yes commission is paid upfront...have been for many, many years.

Quoting those figures YOU are quoting would've seen me retired  long time ago already !

The commissions do not come straight to the advisor. The advisor merely gets a % and the company he works for gets a percentage. What-ever those percentage splits are is between the company and the advisors usually based on experience and competence etc.

Most IFA companies pay their advisors premium x 12 x term (yrs) x 2.3 % on average on regular premium business.

Lump sums can be between 2 -5% comm of amount invested depending on advisor level of experience. Anything additional ie portfolio management is agreed upon between advisor and client.

Fee based advisors work differently, but there are no set rules with payment or charging structures in the financial services industry. Best to shop around perhaps.

Someone could charge you 8 GBP, and another professional could charge 250 GBP per hour in the UK.

The best advice is, make SURE you know how your adviser gets paid and that you are comfortable with the charging and fee structure.

-Dan

What the salesman's company pays its staff is irrelevant. The point is, they get paid a massive commission. The commission is paid up front and the sales rep is out, and the client is stuck with the product for 25 years. All the salesman wants to do is get the sale - to make the commission - then he is out of it. The model is great for RSK and the salesman. If you raise a concern with RSK, they say sorry, "fees were set out in the brochure (which the salesman never gave you). If you raise a concern with the salesman, he says "sorry, your contract is with RSK." The investor is left with absolutely no where to go. The model is great for RSK and the salesman - huge profits at the expense of the life savings of the investor. Morally, and potentially legally, the model is flawed and will be exposed in due course. Please see below reproduced article from South China Daily verbatim. by Nicky Burridge, Feb 27, 2012, South China Morning Post A common but poorly understood category of investments has had some harsh scrutiny recently. A wealthy businessman took his financial adviser, the Hong Kong-based Clearwater International, to court over the high commission he paid on a class of products called investment linked assurance schemes (ILAS). Jeremy Hobbins, a director of trading firm Li & Fung, was shocked when he found out how much Clearwater had been paid by insurer Royal Skandia on the ILAS products it had sold him. He complained to the court that he paid almost US$1 million in fees over eight years. According to court documents, Hobbins traded actively through Clearwater in transactions involving tens of millions of US dollars. Hobbins claimed that, while Clearwater had disclosed it would be earning commission, it failed to specify exactly how much this would be, according to court documents. Click for larger image. The Clearwater case was closely watched by Hong Kong's independent financial advisers, given that their industry depends quite heavily on the sale of ILAS plans to individual investors. These complex and high-fee instruments are viewed with some ambivalence by the financial advisory community. While the plans can pay advisers a lot of commission income, they are a source of client complaint. Hobbins was the rare client who actually sued his adviser - in December 2011 - over the scheme. He alleged that by recommending the ILAS plans, Clearwater was not acting in his best interests, but "acting solely so Clearwater could profit from commission and fees paid by Skandia and other insurers", according to the court documents. A director of Clearwater International - who asked not to be named - says: "Clearwater made it clear that it would be earning commission, and there was no evidence that the money it received was higher than was normally paid." In January, Justice Anselmo Reyes of the Court of First Instance, found against Hobbins, but added: "The practice of insurers paying commission to insurance brokers may or may not be unsound. It ought possibly to be strictly regulated or even prohibited." The Hobbins case made public the many criticisms that are often made about ILAS products. First things first: what is an ILAS? An ILAS is an investment-linked plan sold by insurance companies. It includes an insurance component but commonly takes the form of a savings or pension plan. The schemes are common. One adviser estimates that about 75 per cent of investment products sold to individual investors in Hong Kong come under the ILAS umbrella. The money paid into an ILAS typically is invested in a range of funds picked by the investor. The products are offered by the major insurers, such as Friends Provident, Generali International, Aviva, Zurich International Life and Royal Skandia, as well as banks, including HSBC and Citibank. It is sold through financial advisers and insurance brokers. Like many insurance products, clients typically sign up for long periods - as long as 30 years - and commit to regular premium payments. Early withdrawal, or a failure to make a premium payment, can involve steep penalties. The product is not always labelled as an ILAS. It is sometimes referred to by other names, such as unit-linked life insurance, an offshore pension, or just a pension. An example of an ILAS is Generali's Vision Plan, another is HSBC's WealthInvest Insurance Plan. The product has its supporters. "These plans definitely have a place. I have a couple of them as retirement plans myself," says Robert Flux, a Hong Kong-based director of Simmonds (International) Financial Associates. Flux says the plans can be good for investors who want to frequently move their money to different funds without incurring the fund houses' full upfront charges. And, so long as the plans are held to maturity and investors do not miss too many payments, they can offer decent value: "In the long run they can be quite economical," Flux says. But while an ILAS enables consumers to access a range of investment funds and helps to instil the discipline of regular saving, it has disadvantages, such as the high levels of commission that come with the product. It is not unusual for a client to see his first full year of contributions to an ILAS paid out to cover commission costs - money that goes to the person who recommended the plan. Money Post reviewed an "introducer agreement" document produced by Generali International that breaks down the fees the insurance giant pays financial advisers for selling its Vision product, which is a savings plan. The document explains that an agent (introducer) will receive the equivalent of 3 per cent of the first year's premium for each year of the policy's term. So, for a 25-year plan into which a consumer pays HK$10,000 a month, Generali would pay the adviser selling the plan an upfront commission of HK$90,000. There are many complexities to this. For example, advisers may receive an extra fee in the form of an "override commission", which essentially is an extra incentive insurance firms pay to those who sell ILAS. This can increase the commission from the sale of an ILAS product by about 40 per cent. Chantal Tighe, manager of marketing for Generali International, says of the Vision plan that "any commissions paid are in line with market practice". Indeed, financial advisers say the commission paid on Vision is standard for the industry. Tighe adds: "Commission is a recognised and lawful means of remunerating an intermediary and generally preferred by clients to upfront fees." But it is fair to say that insurance firms often structure these products with a large upfront commission. The main issue in the Hobbins case was whether an adviser needed to disclose the commission he earned on a transaction, so the client could see if there was a conflict of interest. Financial advisers say many insurance firms ask them to tell clients they earn commission on an ILAS sale. The insurance companies also tell advisers to disclose their commission income, if a client asks. Privately, advisers are sceptical such guidelines are fully followed. So commission income on ILAS plans can be high, which raises the possibility that a financial adviser is selling a product to earn a fee, not because it is right for the client. How are ILAS plans able to pay such high commissions? Well, they can carry high fees. A managed savings account offered by Skandia International gives a sense of the size of the fee charged on a typical ILAS. Skandia says, "Every time you pay a contribution, we deduct a single bid/offer spread charge. This can be up to 7 per cent of the amount invested." The firm adds that it also charges a 1 per cent management fee, and the fund managers will charge another fee, "usually between 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent a year", and there are other charges. "Unlike the case of companies who employ their own agents, Royal Skandia products are distributed through independent advisers. Clients choose their adviser, and the adviser identifies and ensures the client's needs are matched with the right products. This includes fee structures and any further investments," says a Royal Skandia spokesman. Why do clients agree to such high commissions? Unlike the clear language seen on the Skandia product above, ILAS products tend to be complex and jargon filled. Even financial advisers can have a hard time interpreting the language of an ILAS document, especially the fee breakdown. This raises the possibility that clients agree to fees they simply do not understand. Tony Noto, a Shanghai-based financial adviser, attempts to break down the fees of the Vision plan offered by Generali International. The Vision plan has many variables (premium holidays, death benefits, bid-offer spreads, bonus offsetting, surrender values, discontinuation fees, administrative charges), making it hard to understand what an investor will pay in fees in a given year. This is despite the fact that ILAS products are commonly marketed to novice investors. Tighe of Generali says Vision's marketing and offer documents are approved by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). "Each customer is issued with an illustration ... which shows years one to five and every five thereafter and is completely transparent. All clients in Hong Kong would need to sign their illustration before proceeding. There are plenty of warnings on the opening page and the surrender values are shown for the first five years together with the total premium paid," she adds. The SFC does indeed review the marketing and offer documents used for ILAS products, which is what insurance firms mean when they say they are offering an "SFC-authorised" product. However, SFC's authorisation does not imply official recommendation or endorsement of the ILAS. The SFC does not regulate those who sell ILAS products. The Insurance Authority performs the function with a number of self-regulated industry bodies. People who invest in ILAS plans my find themselves disappointed by the returns, as the high fees often seen on the instruments will deplete returns. ILAS products offer little in disclosure documents about the expected yield of the plans. Financial advisers say that many investors often do not hold the plan to maturity, partly because they are unhappy with the returns of plans and do not like to see so much money locked up for so long. "There is possible abuse with people encouraging clients to put more money into ILAS products than perhaps they should, knowing full well that they won't be able to maintain the level of savings through the whole contract," says Flux of Simmonds. Peter Hatz, a director of One Axcess, an online trading platform, estimates that only 7 per cent of ILAS products are held to maturity. Furthermore, the fact that an adviser gets paid his commission in one, large, upfront payment means the adviser has little incentive to stay with the client after the sale. "Earning an upfront commission and selling someone a product with a 25-year term, then earning no further income for the next 25 years, means there is no incentive to maintain the relationship," says Hatz. "The structure is fundamentally flawed." South China Morning Post, Feb 27, 2012

100% of year 1 premiums and regular additional incentive of 40% - paid upfront when the salesman signs up the investor. This is the truth - no-one can deny it. Some companies offer 200% of the first year premiums plus incentives - no joke. All the salesman wants to do is make the sale! That's all and the commissions are huge!

thanks, that is very helpful/ interesting. I think it is right to say that all reputable advisors will give a very detailed breakdown of the fees in advance - if they do not you should ask them for this.

The issue is a little more complex. The payment of a commission by RS to a so called adviser undermines the whole relationship between the advisor and the client. Under the law, the investor and the financial advisor are supposed to be in a fiduciary relationship. That is, in theory at least, the financial advisor is supposed to be a professional - in the legal sense of the word. A professional such as doctors, lawyers and the military. This means that they are supposed to act in the interests of the client above their own. So, when you go to a doctor with an illness, the doctor is supposed to do what is in your best interest, not what is in his best interest. Under the law, a doctor cannot receive any commission (or any other gift or benefit) from a pharmaceutical company for prescribing their medicines - because the law recognises that this is a conflict of interest and inconsistent with the fiduciary relationship. Similarly, if you are involved in a legal dispute with someone or in a big transaction, you see a lawyer. A lawyer is not paid by the person on the other side of the dispute or the transaction - because this would be a conflict of interest and the law prohibits this. Both doctors and lawyers are highly educated, trained in ethics and closely regulated. The situation is completely different to a car salesman (or Dan's mother in law). We all know that a car salesman is there to sell a car. And you cannot go against a car manufacturer because of something a cheap dodgy salesman did. However, the financial advisor is supposed to be your fiduciary. In the same way that your doctor, lawyer and national military is - this is the law. However, no-one (particularly the salesman) understands what this means. How can you be your client's fiduciary if you are being paid by the client's opposition (in the case of an investor, RS). To call your self a financial advisor, you can do various courses - none of them are university courses. Whilst some are regulated in more mature jurisdictions, the ones operating in ex pat hotspots are generally not. So, a so called financial advisor is not a financial advisor at all - but a sales agent for RS. When there are such massive incentives to make the sale, do you really think the sales rep gives a damn about anything but the commission? That's why they tell people things like you can reduce premiums after 24 months etc (which is generally false) - don't stop before then etc, because that is the clawback period for the commission. So if the client stops payments within that period, RS can clawback its commission from the sales rep and it scares them to bits! The business model is morally and probably legally flawed and needs to be challenged. Insofar as "advisers" are concerned, are they really your advisers or commission sales agents for your opponent? I think the latter.

Hi there,

Yes, that is absolutely right.  

You can't go shopping for an expensive item, NOT making sure of the price....then in ignorance swipe you credit card (guessing the price)  and later find out there was VAT (or some other tax) added at the point of sale, and then your bank still charged you 3% on the electronic card transaction as well.

No offence, but taking on the banking system and how they charge and make their money because you feel done IN by is not going to change the fact that you still signed that credit card slip probably without even looking properly.

I mean, its a silly example...but the same principle. Some of our Life providers have 3 million clients, some are LARGE corporate institutions...I mean, c'mon now. 

The unhappy people are always a very small minority...(and I'm not talking about those who has legitimate claims and we're deliberately conned or outright lied to) so that should tell its NOT the whole system that’s corrupt, it’s a few corrupt people and companies out there, straight up.

As long as there's a sun shining, you will ALWAYS have both sides of the coin.

Cheers,

Dan
 
 

Dan, Judging by your statement, you have no idea what I am talking about. The whole point is about the fiduciary relationship and the conflict of interest. The law says that pharmaceutical companies cannot pay commissions to doctors for prescribing their drugs to patients. Do you understand? How can you act for one party when the other party is paying you (a huge commission) to sell their products to your client. That's like a lawyer acting for an injured person, who sues the insurance company. The insurance company says to the lawyer, if you get your client to settle this claim for $1 million, I will pay you $200k as commission. The law doesn't allow this for any fiduciary profession - so, if financial advisors are fiduciaries, they should not be allowed to accept commissions from people like RS. If they are not fiduciaries, then than should be made clear from the start, so a client is aware that they're dealing with just another insurance salesman. It seems that for whatever reason, they have the best or both worlds and get away with murder; and companies like RS exploit this to make billions off the back of hardworking mum and dad investors.

You obviously have issues that are way beyond us "little people" and this forum out here, so lets leave it at that. This is just going around in circles and unless you DO what I do, I think you're the one who does not have a clue how things work.

I suggest you do your website or lobby Skandia directly or both. Quite frankly I do not know WHAT you expect of me, as if I am personally responsible for your grievances.

I can appreciate you have concerns and gripes and all the rest, but rest assured and I can GAURANTEE this...you do not speak for any of my clients and those are the ones who matters to me and deserve my time.
 
Thank you for stopping by, take care  and thank you for your comments.

Wishing you all the best !

Cheerio

Tssk Dan, You have referred to yourself as a "professional" on a number of occasions throughout this chain implying that anyone who didn't accept what you had to say was not, and make absurd statements like the following: "2)You obviously earn a salary, I pay them. 3)I don't sell anything, I provide investment solutions and council to people all over the world, 4)I am a director in a registered wealth management company. So tell me, what difference did you make in the world today?" It's interesting that above you say that you're an owner of a IFA but when it comes to talk of commissions, you revert to implying that you're an employee and the company gets all the commission. You've chosen to engage in this debate and have been aggressive and rude to a number of people who haven't agreed with your justifications. It seems that when the weakness of what you're saying is exposed, you want to end the debate (but you were very happy to continue when you thought you were winning). Anyway, I hope that because my and a few other contributions people have a better idea of what is involved. All the best Dan "Da Un-regulated" Man.

Upon reviewing what I have written it seems that I have been distracted by personal attacks and innuendos as opposed to getting my point across. The point is: (a) X cannot be Y's advisor if he is receives a massive commission from Z for convincing Y to buy Z's product; and (b) Z should have some responsibility if X cheats Y - because Z has incentivised X to cheat Y and also obtains a financial benefit if Y is cheated by X. In expat hotspots, X will be unregulated. Y will not be able to take any action against X. And if Y cannot take action against Z, he is left with nowhere to go. While Y should be careful, he cannot be blamed for relying on the advice of X, his fiduciary. If you go to a doctor, you should not be expected to second-guess the doctor's recommendation that you should have some bed-rest; you are not expected to independently research your symptoms and read medical journals so check if the doctor is right or wrong. So if you cannot take your financial advisor at his word (I understand you have to be reasonable), then why have them? I'm not holding you responsible for my grievances Dan. You have been out of line several times. So you're right, let's just end this because it's getting nowhere. ANONYMOUS Adios

People, in cricket they tell you to 'play the ball, not the man'. So instead of attacking the anonymous person with childish and innapropriate insults, why don't you respond to the things he or she is saying. A lot of what's been said was completely unexpected, but interesting I think. So why don't you try not insulting anyone who contributes anonymously and try respond to the substance of what they're saying.

Hi I am a bit worried about my managed funds,I used 20% split into 5 funds over the years into these areas such as Agro/fertilizer,Energy and or Alternative energy,Precious metals/mining;BRICS type investments,emerging markets in eastern europe via scandia over last 6 years yet my fund is approx 25% below my contributions. can someone please explain and help me,I cant understand a few years when oil was 38usd and has risen to over 90.00; gold at 1200 and now approx 1800 and food and fertilizers have increased significantly,etc how can my account as of last month bee 25% below my total contribution,I have asked for a contribution holiday,is this a good thing? I am only concern at maturity in 6-8 years to get back all my monies if lucky,I have given up on their projections.I do my own stock market investment and averages a 15% ANNUAL AVERAGE LAST 4 YEARS AND I am no financial wizard but a small businessman who built something from nothing in 20 years so Iam confused that all these sophisticated and MBA's makes a mess with my little risk monies I entrusted to them, can someone please explain. surash harripersad fund holder

Hi All, I have read about half the thread, including wasting time on the in-fighting, but living in the Middle East (not UAE) and working for an IFA, whatI see in the clients is a fundamental lack of understanding amongst the Brits. Let me explain. If you're resident and domiciled in the UK, you pay into personal and employer pensions and you're not allowed to get that until a specified date in most circumstances. Obviously there are often early partial encashment in some of these vehicles, but they are termed, contractual products. What I see out here is expats who have been working abroad so long, they don't realy understand the UK pension system, so they want to treat RSK Savings/Pension plans like an ISA or bank account. It is not. If the client has a decent IFA, all documents will be provided and the onus is on them to read the T&C. It is also up to them to choose the term and stick to it. Circumstances change and that is why companies like RSK offered options for loans, withdrawals, and premium reduction. That said, RSK is a company like any other and they have to make money, so by early encashment or surrender, they are going to get their pound of flesh, something you (the investor) committed to. It appears to be that 1. IFAs sell unreasonably long terms. I know an IFA who used to work for a term that pushed to sell 30 year savings plans. Commission only goes to year 25, so what is the point? Our firm pushes for shorter savings terms in the hopes of contract renewal and return business, because when you're selling promises and fresh air, and rely on word of mouth recommendations, this is a huge component to success. I sincerely wish that consumers would read the T&C when given the brochure instead of just shooting from the hip and saying "yes, crack on with the paperwork and I'll sign." What that means for us is we have happier, well-informed clients and are able to serve them more effectively. Kind regards, Kait

Hi the Kait,

Well said. I usually find its much more cost effective for clients with larger premiums to do 5-yrs stints at a time...this would mean shorter initial periods for them as well...just all round better values and business for everyone.

The company I'm a director with is not in the mass market-, policy salesman-, banging away on the phone cold calling type of business...so its refreshing to deal with people who know what they want and just need the appropriate vehicle to do so,

Being the oldest and largest IFA in Africa, with roots in Old Mutual before they divested in 1986, our company has come a long way with a wealth of experience I’m happy to say. These parachute-in, week-induction-training & throwing-out-there-and hope-for-the-best tactics still employed by a big number of IFA firms just ruins the reputation of the industry at the end of the day allowing inexperienced, ex-washing machine salesmen to cut their teeth on expats hard earned money.

It’s all about educating clients, making sure they're well informed...knowing EXACTLY what they're getting in to. When you have the kind of reputation we have to uphold and the footprint we as a company all over Africa, then ones clients expect nothing less from their investment counsel. It’s the way it should always be.

Thank you for your comments in our thread !

Best regards,
Daniel

I know this will be delayed because I haven't officially joined up here, so apologies for the late reply and I hope it is pertinent when approved for posting. This thread had had many, many sweeping generalisations about investors, companies, IFAs, etc. What I can tell you, is like every used car or lawyer (to use older analogies), IFA must be judged on their actions and performance, but so must the client. Where there has ever been any misunderstanding or malcontent is where the client has failed to do their own due diligence, has taken a lazy route and asked the IFA to "sort it, and I'll sign when we next meet" - something I find common in expats as we often get used to doing only our job and having someone sort the rest of our lives out (eg, I have a cleaner who basically acts like my wife (cooking, cleaning, ironing, looking after the pets, twice a week out here! haha). Much like cars AND lawyers, research not only into the firm, but also the companies, IFAs, and products must be investigated by the client themselves to better understand where they stand vis a vis their pension/savings provision. As IFAs, all we can do is lead the horse to the water and hope they drink - and that includes, meeting the client, doing a finance fact find, writing up a bespoke recommendation and then suggesting products/vehicles based on what the client needs now and in the future - which are certainly not limited to OM Group companies. Again, it comes back to the client to review all of this and confirm whether going ahead is worth it. People keep banging on about RSK, but this could be any product, with any company, in nearly any country across the world. You wouldn't send a "Nigerian Prince" your bank details would you? No, because we all know it to be a scam. Because it has been going on so long and others fell victim to it, so we have learned. Why then would you look at an IFA and say: here are my details, go spend my money, without any research. And (humourously) unlike IFA courses, which are designed to help you understand UK laws on resident and non-resident clientele, Nigerian universities actually offer a 419 class for more effective scamming. So take that as you will. But unlike the Nigerian scam, where it is all nameless and faceless and they move on to the next random target, we IFAs live in small-ish communities, where news and gossip travel like wildfire. If we mess up, there is a good chance other clients will hear about it - so we make sure we don't. And that means service long after the initial sales point. Consider this vis a vis the commission, you lot used massive amounts, but I will go lower as we have regular clients with regular incomes, nothing fancy. £1000 pcm x 12 x 10 years (fairly standard case) = 4% to the firm, which must be divided amongst the company, the Country Manager and (for example) myself, the Biz Dev guy. £120,000 @ 4% means we split £4800. Doesn't go very far and yet we continue to look after the client's every need in the hope of 2 things: increase in premiums (usual recommendation £100-250) and recommendations to their mates. This is how it works in one of the biggest cities on the planet and by playing it straightforward and always being there to look after your clients (which can be a 24/7 job) is what makes a firm successful. But again, client due diligence is key... Unit-linked and non-contractual, Kait

Hi there Kait,

I appreciate your comments and good intentions, but much of this has been convered before.

Most of the people in here are victims of clever policy salesmen working for the usual suspects...and when you SAY the usual suspects... a good number of people usually know exactly who we're talking about.

Transparency is important, however your income formula differs from company to company and is not a standard calculation used all over the industry.

I think the solutions that most expats would appreciate outright:-

1) STOP cold calling me (where'd you get my number anyway?? Some people get 3-4 calls a day from different IFA's !)
2) STOP lying to my office receptionist saying you're calling from expat magazine or some nonsense and if you could send the expats in the offices each a free copy....BUT that you would need their names and numbers.
3) STOP the sales banter about bow supposedly the largest in the world you are and the other rubbish that follows
4) STOP trying to solicit personal information and 'qualifying" me over the phone...PERIOD.

The only "problem" is...that should these be implemented, most IFA firms employing these tactics will go out of business.

Many expats are coerced into products by clever salesmen and WELL thought out sales tactics, honed over a decade or more....so let's not kid each other here... 95% of offshore IFA's do NOT do this business the way it should be done.

IFA's can try and  come up with all kinds of clever reasons why they do things the way they do....but it's just laziness and a lack of the qualifications or the proper financial skills at the end of the day.

Many IFA firms are pressured to meet quotas and the need to make up for the 80% of new clients that fall on the way-side and default because of their questionable tactics,  and so they hire any Tom, Dick or Harry that have sold just about ANYTHING in their lives...make a few wild and empty promises....ship them off to Qatar, Thailand (or you pick the country) with totally inadequate training to go and hawk / peddle their financial products.
 
We can go on and on, I’m not going to change the world…but our company is pround of the fact that we are indeed different.
 
There ARE some good guys out there, you just have to look. Google the company and the guy (Google me for that matter as well !)…and see for yourself WHO you are dealing with.
 
Cheers,
Daniel

I had a similar experience with the company and a big bank whose advisors are no better than the investors. The brochure mentions that all details are in account terms. you receive account terms in post after signing and sending first payment. Anyway, I understand if one stops paying then 1% service charge is payable per annum suggest you check the term you signed for. For a 10 year term after 7 years there is a 5% penalty. check below artical which is more intelligent http://www.expatarrivals.com/article/off-shore-pensions-the-truth

I must be honest, I cannot see that referring to a self promotion article as being "being the truth of offshore" would inspire any kind of confidence in potential investors , especially when you also state that "The company does not normally hold face to face meetings with clients."

No sophisticated investor I know of will do business with a faceless website, with no personal relationship and accountability being in place....it just sounds too much like these other online hit-and-run, pull-the-plug when things go wrong type of setups.

My business is based on long term relationship building, and no matter how technology evolves, I cannot see that personal touch being replaced by anything like this when it comes to tailor made bespoke wealth management solutions.

The website also has an overwhelming UK bias, so perhaps its aimed at Brits primarily?

Before a client invest a single cent though our solutions there is a detailed process which must be followed and adhered to including a very detailed recommendation, a reasons why, very CLEAR explanation of charges, projections and scenario illustrations etc.

We will NOT enter into a business relationship until our clients FULLY understand all aspects of their tailor made proposal and recommendation(s).

We have retention rates which are literally off the charts BECAUSE we pay attention to the details and our clients also become our friends.

Dan