Cyprus-headquartered Woodbrook Group has bolstered its investment offering for American expats and US connected persons.
It will use the recently launched products of Irish solution provider Universal Access Bonds (UAB), which rolled out a series of bonds under its own name that are available for any firm to use.
Woodbrook will use the bonds to help US expats deal with tax regulations, such as Fatca (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), which have affected their financial planning and investment capabilities.
The bonds will be managed by a number of international financial institutions, with the process will be overseen by financial adviser firm Woodbrook Group.
Michael Doherty, Woodbrook Group chief executive, said: “Universal Access Bonds are a game changer for American expats living across the globe.
“They are a remarkably simple solution for expats and US connected persons who are looking to invest in a diversified portfolio managed by top-tier investment managers.”
Details
The bonds will give expats of any nationality access to the benefits of investing in a diversified portfolio through underlying funds.
The two underlying funds are:
- UBP Cautious – UAB aims to achieve modest appreciation over the longer term coupled with limited volatility in returns by reference to the UBP Cautious Fund. The reference fund is intending to invest in asset classes; and,
- UBP Adventurous – UAB aims to achieve significant capital gains over the longer term by reference to the LodeStar UBP Adventurous Fund. The investment policy of the reference fund will be to generate long term capital growth by investing in a mix of asset classes globally.
Woodbrook Group is not the only institution to become involved with the bonds.
In May, financial advisory firm United Advisers Group said it will be using the recently launched bonds to support their American and US connected clients living outside the US.
Solving a hard problem
Robert Rigby-Hall, Universal Access Bonds’ chief executive, said: “Financial planning and investing for Americans has become harder in recent years with the IRS [Inland Revenue Service] and Fatca causing Americans to be unwelcome at many financial institutions.
“UABs wrap underlying funds allow expats, including Americans and US connected persons, easy and compliant access to the benefits of investing in a diversified global portfolio though underlying funds in multiple currencies.”
Increased offering
The UAB bonds are not the only product for US expats on the market, several firms have upped their respective offerings in the past few months.
In March, Belgium-based Dunhill Financial partnered with Praemium to provide investment models built solely with US investments.
A month later, a US-compliant Sipp was added to Momentum Pensions’ range, with London-based wealth manager James Hambro & Partners unveiling an investment service for Americans and their families living in the UK in June.
In July, Saranac Partners launched a wealth advisory, investment management, lending solution and tax reporting service for US expats.
