Blevins Franks has merged its two QROPS plans into one as the ‘vast majority’ of the business has only gone into one of them.
The Malta financial Services Authority said in a statement on 20 August that “Blevins Franks Trustees had requested the Malta Financial MFSA to accept the termination of registration of the Expatriate Retirement Plan as a Personal Retirement Scheme in terms of the Retirement Pensions Act, Cap. 514.”
The island financial regulator said it had accepted the company’s request, further stating that the “termination is entirely voluntary and does not arise as a result of any regulatory action taken by the MFSA”.
The plan will no longer be registered with effect from 2 September 2024.
In a statement to International Adviser, Blevins Franks said: “Historically Blevins Franks have had two QROPS plans. The vast majority of QROPS business has only been placed with one of these plans and it made sense, in terms of future cost savings to merge the two plans into one.
“This internal exercise will have no impact on clients (other than the positive one of future cost savings for those merged into the remaining plan) or the future availability of QROPS in Cyprus, France, Malta, Portugal, Spain.”
Blevins Franks also updated International Adviser regarding one of its key providers, Lombard International, which is in the process of being acquired by Utmost Group ,with anticipated completion at the end of 2024.
Blevins Franks said: “In terms of the Utmost-Lombard transaction, we have successfully worked with Utmost and Lombard (as well as other product companies) for many years. We have been very satisfied with the product solutions from the various jurisdictions where they are both based and that each provide, to meet the financial planning needs of our clients.
“At this time, we see the merger of the two companies as having no impact in terms of the territories Blevins Franks operate in, which is in turn governed by our own internal business strategy.”
