Blacktower expands with US and German businesses

European IFA firm Blacktower Group has launched two separately regulated companies – its first US business and a second operation in Germany.

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With head offices in the UK and Gibraltar, Blacktower currently has operations across Europe and the Cayman Islands.

The group’s first US business, Blacktower Financial Management, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will provide pension and financial planning advice to both US expat residents and nationals.

With offices already established in New York and Miami, Blacktower Financial Management is looking to quickly expand its service offering, the group said.

Board director Ally Kerr is relocating from the Cayman Islands office to lead and assist with the whole region’s management and growth.

He said: “We had a vision 10 years ago to strengthen and develop our overseas business and we wanted to be able to offer financial solutions to expats and locals throughout each region.

“This resulted in the opening of further offices in Spain, Canary Islands, Malta and Scandinavia. So, having experienced this significant growth in Europe, the next stage of our progression was going to be the US and Caribbean and we are in a fabulous position right now globally, as we continue our rapid expansion.”

German expat solutions

In addition to breaking into the US, the group has launched Blacktower Expat Solutions in Germany, which specialises in providing advice and German domestic pension and investment products.

The business is jointly headed up by Mathias Wolf, a specialist in German-based domestic advice, and Paul Brown, one of the Blacktower Group’s main board directors.

Brown said: “Being part of a ‘broker pool’, we have access to all products available on the German market. However, we have also formed direct links to several reputable insurance companies; including the German subsidiaries of international insurers such as Canada Life, Standard Life and Swiss Life to name but a few.

“This project is a new approach to a mature market that we hope will provide access to efficient local solutions for far more people and change the way expats in Germany save and invest for the future.”

According to the group, the German business is “unique to the international market” as it offers a comprehensive palette of products and services to the expat market in Germany, which historically has been excluded from investing in fully tax complaint domestic arrangement.

Blacktower Expat Solutions joins an existing German advice operation based in Frankfurt.

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