Client briefs
HSBC provides one-source service for offshore clients
The HSBC Group has integrated two offshore operations aimed at intermediaries catering to the needs of wealthy individuals.
A Dublin life insurance operation will be combined with funds offices in Jersey, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands under a single HSBC Offshore Global Funds and Insurance operation. The range contains over $4bn (E3.6bn), with the lion’s share invested in “capital secured” products.
The idea going forward is to offer clients a portfolio of funds with an insurance wrapper through a single source.
Distribution is currently through 50 group entities in 45 countries and a network of 200 external distributors. This is increasingly being skewed away from smaller independent advisers to larger bank distributors.
“We are looking for entities who will sell a reasonable amount of our products per year, rather than small IFAs,” said Darren Wilson, senior manager of the new department.
Third party providers for HSBC’s multi-manager service include Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Invesco, Martin Currie, Merrill Lynch, Gartmore, Morgan Stanley and Threadneedle.
Do-it-yourself investors say they will ditch managers
Rich investors are becoming increasingly self-reliant, according to a report researched by the Tru-Est Group on behalf of IBM Business Consulting Services.
“Many wealthy individuals claim they will dispense with the services of wealth managers over the next five years, a finding that suggests they are dissatisfied with the value for money they receive,” said Tru-Est’s chairman James Anderson.
But paradoxically, those clients who received and implemented advice on strategic allocation from wealth managers fared much better than others during the bear market, according to the report.
