International savings provider Hansard achieved new business sales growth of £80.1m ($102.7m, €92.2m) for the six months to 31 December 2019, up 8%% from £74.1m in the same period the previous year.
Group chief executive Gordon Marr attributed the growth to “good momentum in the business with particularly strong new business levels in Latin America and the Middle East”.
Global sales and marketing director Graham Morrall told International Adviser: “Q2 was up 24% on Q1, so we’ve gathered momentum going into the second half of the year”.
An enhancement to a savings proposition was one of the drivers behind this growth, he added.
“Coming into what is our third quarter, that theme of growth is contining,” Morrall added.
Profits were impacted by a £900,000 decrease in investment income, however, due to foreign exchange movements and lower deposit interest rates.
But “our underlying revenue is improving and we have made a number of cost savings in order to fund our investment in other parts of the business”, Marr added.
Assets under administration remained unchanged at £1.08bn, compared with 30 June 2019.
Notwithstanding the potential impact that covid-19 could have on Hansard and its distribution partners, the firm expects to see current regional sales trends continue over the next six months.
Arriving in Asia
Hansard has been repositioning its business in Asia to focus on locally-licensed operations, Morrall added.
“What that means is, we have exited from a fair number of lines of business, mostly in north Asia, and taken that resource to put into Japan.”
The firm secured a long-await licence in the country in June 2019, with a general manager appointed in early July.
The company said its newest operation “continues to progress, as we build and sign-off operational models with selected distribution partners”.
The focus for 2020 remains on two key strategic projects, Marr said: “Launching our new investment product in Japan and replacing our policy administration system.”
“We’ve got our branch established, we’ve got our lience and nine people now in Japan, including three sales people,” he told IA. “So, we’re starting to build up our capacity.”
The priorities at the moment are the firm’s operating model and discussions with potential distribution partners, he added.
“We will anticipate that we will be in business by the end of this calendar year,” Marr said.
Morrall added: “For the first time, we will be working with banks. The products and the way we are putting things together for Japan is easily transferrable to banks anywhere in the world.”
This opens up possibilities for the future, but Morrall added that “it is unlikely there will be anything” like it in other regions in the near-term.
Regional plans
The word on the lips of every firm in and around the UAE has been ‘BOD49’, which will see big changes hit the financial advisory sector.
Morrall said that Hansard is “well through implementing” the necessary changes and its strategic alliance with Union Insurance is still going strong.
In Latin America, following on from strong growth, the firm has “added resource to look at a few opportunities we haven’t had a chance to look at yet”, Morrall added.
Litigation update
The savings provider also gave an update on the litigation linked to its closed book operation Hansard Europe.
Additional Italian claimants and movements in the fair value of supporting investment assessments have seen costs rise slightly to £20.8m from £19.4m
“Our insurance coverage position has become clearer, however, with litigation defence costs for our largest case in Italy now being covered by our insurers,” the firm added.
Overall insurance coverage is expected to be in the range of £6m to 13m of current claims.
