Skandia International Expands its Business in Singapore

LONDON - Skandia International, the offshore and cross border business of the Skandia and Old Mutual Groups, is expanding its business, on the first anniversary of opening a branch in Singapore.

Despite almost unprecedented turbulence in the global stock markets recently, Skandia International believes that the current stock market volatility can offer excellent buying opportunities to build a diversified investment portfolio.

“There is a great deal of demand for the sort of investment solutions we offer. Our global presence and enviable track record among financial advisers and investors around the world has contributed massively to what has been a very successful first year for us in Singapore. We are seeing affluent and high net worth investors continue to start open-architecture investment accounts with us, to be ready to take advantage of buying investment opportunities when they arise,” said David Macdonald, Royal Skandia’s Principal Officer for Singapore.

“Royal Skandia’s Investment Account will enable financial advisers to recommend a market leading open-architecture investment solution to a broader range of clients. We are confident this Singapore version of our internationally popular investment solution will be an exciting option for investors wanting to construct an investment portfolio, without restricting the fund selection to one fund management company or being restricted to a particular asset class or geographical region.”

Last year, Skandia International successfully launched the Executive Investment Account (EIA) for accredited investors. The EIA only caters for one section of the market and so Skandia International has expanded into the non-accredited market with the addition of the ‘Investment Account’.

The ‘Investment Account’ assists investors in accessing global stock markets through a range of locally approved investment funds. These funds, approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), can be combined to build tailored portfolios within the Investment Account, which meet their individual needs.

The new product works alongside the EIA so that if an investor’s status changes through an increase in net worth or income, from non-accredited to accredited, as defined by MAS, the account may be amended to enable access to collective funds in addition to those approved by MAS.

Skandia strongly believes that investors should seek financial advice prior to making any long term financial decisions. For this reason, the company distributes its products through professional advisers only.

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Source: Skandia International

Media Contact: Mr Alex Jones, +44(0)7834499534, alex.jones at skandia.co.uk