The live poll at this year’s International Adviser Fund Links Forum on Wednesday found that more than half (56%) said sub-Saharan Africa was the second best region for future growth, with Singapore (20%) and Hong Kong (20%) trailing behind at joint third.
The survey also found though the majority of the leading figures in the offshore life sector were optimistic or neutral about the future of the industry, around 27% had a negative outook amid declining market share and rock-bottom yield levels.
When asked their view regarding the long term prospects of the offshore life industry, around 37% of the delegates at the IA conference said they were hopeful about the future.
Around 35% of delegates said they had no strong opinion about the future.
The delegates included some of the industry’s most prominent figures such as Zurich’s Walter Jopp, Axa’s Simon Willoughby, Generali Wordwide’s Nick Griffen and Old Mutual’s Marcel Bradshaw.
Brexit
When asked what impact Brexit will have on the cross-border life industry, almost 40% said it would have a negative influence on the industry, while just over a half (51%) expected Britain’s exit from the European Union to have no effect on the sector.
Around 9% said it would have a positive impact, expecting new opportunities to arise as a result.
Non-expat market
Remarkably, 64% of offshore life offices said they were putting significant resources into expanding into the non-expat markets in their international jurisdictions, signalling another potential growth area.
However, more than a third (36%) said they were not investing in this area.
