Customer-focused guides aimed at helping NRIs with financial planning have been produced by FPI’s Isle of Man technical team, headed by Brendan Harper, after qualitative and quantitative research in the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong late last year.
The plan is to launch similar technical and marketing support initiatives for three other customer segment groups later this year.
Cernik, who has previously worked at Standard Life and Zurich, said one of the aims is to give financial advisers confidence in supporting NRIs.
There will be a dedicated FPI team serving this client group, backed by detailed technical literature and other material including blogs.
“FPI is structured on customer lines these days and this is an important differentiator compared with our competitors, who are still operating a centralised model focused on promoting common products to multiple markets.
“Our focus has shifted to adding value in the segments that offer us the most opportunity, and where we think we can add the most value for the end customer,” he said.
Cernik added that the products are also being tailored to particular client needs, for example in the case of NRIs who may be considering a return to their home country.
The guides for NRIs cover a range of different topics that, accordingto its research, are fundamental for many NRIs’ financial planning requirements.
FPI research found the following:
- Average earnings of non-resident Indians are 40 times the national median in India.
- Fifty-seven per cent of Indians are planning to retire back to India.
- Indians in Singapore are the most concerned about losing their jobs.
- Eighty four per cent of Indians say they consult friends and family about financial planning first.
In April, FPI launched a UK focused trust product offering flexible encashment and contribution options with tax mitigation benefits. It also added decreasing term assurance to form part of its existing International Protector Middle East protection plan.
