The company, which also this morning revealed a 16% increase in profits for 2011, said the new “end-to-end” wealth management service, called Wealth Interactive, is being launched in response to changes in regulatory environments around the world.
Skandia International has so far invested more than £21m on the service which it said will “re-engineer the way it works with financial advisers and customers” in particular, through being able to respond more quickly to the needs of investors across the multiple territories in which it operates.
Furthermore, the company said it will “power Skandia International’s offshore proposition into the UK” by providing products compliant with the impending Retail Distribution Review which comes into effect on 1 January next year.
Phased launch
Beginning in the second quarter of this year, Skandia said Wealth Interactive will be launched via a phased programme on a region by region basis. Over time, all of Skandia International’s existing portfolio bond business will become integrated with the new service.
Steven Levin, chief executive at Skandia International, said: “Historically customers have had a rather fragmented view of their offshore wealth and the international nature of our industry has inhibited the development of really efficient business models. We believe this needs to change in order to cater for evolving adviser and customer requirements."
Part of the new proposition will be the introduction of a capability which will enable advisers to manage their Skandia clients’ investments online. Specifically, advisers will be able to use the service to transact online on behalf of their clients as well as extract a range of information including illustrations, investment values, details of correspondence, switching activity and full transaction history.
Clients will also be able to access information regarding their investments online, including details of transactions, performance and valuations.
Increased profits
Skandia International also posted its results this morning, revealing a £78m increase (16%) in profits in 2011 over the preceding year. The company said this was driven largely by an inceased focus on higher-margin portfolio bonds and lower costs.
Its top three regions for the year by sales volume were Europe, the UK and the Middle East, although it said Asia, Latin America and South Africa “continue to feature heavily and represent string growth opportunities”.
“2011 saw challenging market conditions so it is very encouraging to report robust sales and improving profit,” said Levin.
“We have a well diversified geographic footprint which gives us access to both established and growing economies. Retail investors remain cautious around the world but with conditions and sentiment improving this year we are well positioned to meet their needs. We continued to evolve our proposition during 2011 and this year we will roll-out a significant step change in the way we do business with financial advisers and customers.”
