There are now 70 partners and advisers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, up from 51 at the start of the year.
Iain Rayner, commercial director at St James’s Place, told International Adviser in an update that this presence gives the potential to access around 40,000 UK expats in each city.
Each regional office supports a number of advisers experienced in understanding the specific issues that affect the expat community, assisted by a team of managers and technicians, both locally and in the UK.
He also said that after close liaison with the different regulatory authorities a suite of St James’s Place products had been developed to meet specific expatriate demands and is now being offered to clients living and working in the territories.
“These products are also beginning to attract interest and investment from new and existing clients from the region”, he said.
Rayner added that there have been “many lessons learnt in these new territories which have provided us with the blueprint for further overseas expansion – a strategy that is a priority for the rest of 2015, and 2016”.
In particular, he cited the United Arab Emirates as “an exciting opportunity to expand our international business in one of the largest Middle Eastern economies. We think there is a clear gap in the market for providing expats with quality financial advice in the UAE backed by a strong, well-known brand.”
UK based St James’s Place expanded its operation into Asia in June 2014 with the acquisition of The Henley Group, the wealth management advice business in Asia which had £400m in assets under management.
