Speaking exclusively to International Adviser, Hong Kong based Friends Provident International managing director, James Tan, said retirement is a focus for the company's business in Hong Kong and Singapore where it caters mostly to the needs of affluent expat clients.
Friends Provident’s recent survey also revealed retirement emerging as a number one saving priority, for affluent investors.
When asked whether the company is planning to roll out any products catering to this segment, Tan said: “We obviously are looking at this very carefully. That is one of the key strategies for us as a company. We are definitely keen to develop something new. We are looking at various aspects like retirement and protection products.”
He added the insurance company is allocating more resources into its Hong Kong and Singapore offices and already has a proposition team in place in Hong Kong, which reviews the needs of the market and customers to develop propositions and products accordingly.
On whether the product is likely over the coming year, Tan said, he “hoped so”, taking into consideration the evolving regulatory regime in both countries.
“It really depends upon the new regulations in Hong Kong, on what further requirements are needed from the insurance companies,” he said.
“We are constantly in a process of either refining our existing propositions or looking at new propositions. It really depends on how or when the market is ready and how the regulations have evolved. The regulations are still evolving and we still are expecting a number of changes this year.”
According to recent reports, Hong Kong regulators are looking to further tighten the sale of investment linked insurance products and may make it mandatory for all insurance companies selling ILAS products to confirm they have internal controls in place to ensure the products are fair to investors.
This follows last year's news in Hong Kong that mandated financial advisers to disclose commission to their clients, which took a toll on sale of investment linked assurance schemes.
In Singapore too, authorities are also working on norms that could raise the standards of practice in the financial advisory industry and improve the efficiency in the distribution of life insurance and investment products. Apart from review of commissions, the Financial Advisory Industry Review norms also include initiatives such as a scorecard remuneration framework for advisers, direct marketing channel, and a web aggregator.
Yesterday IA reported that FPI is looking to target non-resident Indians as part of wider plans to focus on specific client groups. Click here to read the story
