Having just obtained full insurance licence approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate in the defined market segment, there will be an official opening in the central business district next week.
The chief executive and principal officer of this new Singapore branch of Standard Life International is Neal Armstrong, who joins from rival Zurich where he was a director and principal officer of Zurich International Life in Singapore.
Standard Life’s Alan Armitage, who is in charge of developing the Asia and emerging markets retail investment business, said from day one the branch will be operational with a mix of sales, marketing, admin, and finance people who are representative of the different target client groupings, such as western expats, local Singaporeans, and non-resident Indians. There will also be a service hub in its already established Hong Kong operation.
Three products in the initial offering will be tailored to the high net worth clients required by the licence, comprising two regular savings plans and an investment bond with access in time to 29 external fund managers and 16 Standard Life funds.
The first tranche of funds are currently getting approval from MAS and the aim is to be actively selling funds from next month as the distributor deals are finalised, Armitage said.
He added that the process of obtaining the licence with MAS was “very collaborative and we have had a number of discussions on certain points.”
As a late entrant into Asia, albeit with a fast growing Hong Kong operation, Standard Life’s experience of going through the UK retail distribution review and its “strong ifa branch franchise gives us extra tees to work with on our distribution base.”
