Single premium bonds boost Q3 sales for Skandia Int’l
From Life Nov 3 2011 BY: Simon Danaher
, Online News Editor
, International Adviser
Skandia International said gross sales of its single premium portfolio bonds helped it to continue to grow total sales, despite continued volatility in global markets.
The offshore arm of Old Mutual Wealth Management said gross sales of its life products in the third quarter were up 24% on the same period last year at £554m, driven mainly by sales in Europe and Asia. Specifically, the company said the growth was a result of very strong sales of its single premium open architecture portfolio bond sales which were up 55% in Q3 2011 compared to 2010.
Skandia said the sales took total gross life sales to £1.5bn for the first nine months of 2011, an increase of 4% on the same period in 2010. Net sales meanwhile remained positive at £0.5bn over the same period.
However, funds under management decreased by 6% since the end of December 2010 to £15.8bn, as at 30 September.
Steven Levin, chief executive at Skandia International, said: “Sales momentum has been encouraging in Q3 2011. Our customers continue to face uncertain stock markets and our products give them the flexibility to work with their financial advisers to manage their portfolios and switch investments in line with the level of risk they want to take.
“As a result we have seen significant demand for our open architecture offshore bonds and we have continued to enhance our range of trust solutions to ensure customers can take advantage of a wide range of tax planning opportunities.”