IOMA has a long history. What does having a 30-year history mean for clients of the company?
IOMA Group was set up by our chairman in 1977 as a general insurance business founded on the traditional values of integrity, honesty and professionalism.
These principles continue to run through the business and we have grown to encompass life assurance, pensions, investment management, general and captive insurance, and fund administration services.
Our growth has been based on providing niche retail and bespoke institutional offerings to the insurance and wealth management industries.
Our expansion in service offerings has been led by the requirements of our clients.
Despite IOMA being well established, it would be fair to say it is not as well known as some large international life and trust companies. Why is this?
IOMA has always been a boutique provider and we have never sought to compete directly with the larger institutions where the market is dictated by price.
Instead, we have sought to work with a number of key relationships within the advisory community to offer technically robust products that satisfy a client’s needs. For example, in the UK we have generated significant interest in our range of inheritance tax (IHT) solutions.
Throughout 2014 we will be increasing people’s awareness of the group and our capabilities in the high-net-worth individual (HNWI) space and delivering our strengthened product proposition.
To that end, we recently announced a number of board promotions and senior appointments.
Our revitalised vision for the future makes us perfectly positioned to become the service provider of choice to the insurance and wealth management industries.
Do you foresee any difficulties?
We have been under-confident in explaining the strength of our business and how the interaction between insurance and wealth management is such a powerful combination.
How does your company differentiate from its competitors?
As a privately owned company, IOMA Group is able to take a longer view on propositions and not be a slave to short-term targets. We have managed to attract a technically and commercially strong team on the basis that this is an intellectually interesting business to work in.
What are IOMA’s main offerings?
We offer a broad range of services through our life assurance, pensions, investment management, general and captive insurance, and fund administration divisions. This includes:
- UK IHT planning – a range of products designed to mitigate with trust and insurance solutions.
- Offshore (Isle of Man) insurance bonds for UK and international clients.
- We can create client-specific structures in collaboration with their advisers.
- General insurance scheme underwriting, rent a captive services, insurance company incubation.
- International pensions including QROPS and QNUPS.
- Fund administration. l Investment management within IOMA wrappers.
What types of clients does IOMA have and where are the majority of them based?
Historically, the group’s income has been overwhelmingly international.
However, the recent growth in our UK proposition has meant the business is now approximately 50:50. Over the next year, however, we are anticipating growth in business from the US, Scandinavia, South Africa and Switzerland.
Are there any plans afoot to launch new products? If so, what are they and who will you be targeting?
Karen Barretto, our head of technical services, has developed a new product called the Legacy Gift Plan, which is aimed at clients liable to UK IHT.
It enables a client, typically a grandparent, to gift their assets into a trust while retaining the ability to not have a child beneficiary retain all assets upon turning 18.
It also enables access to the assets while the beneficiary is still a child, for liabilities such as school fees. The plan will be launched in the coming months with a series of technical briefings around the country.
Are there any plans to introduce the brand to any new sectors or geographic regions?
We are looking to expand our existing product range and reconnect with our contacts in Switzerland, Scandinavia and South Africa as there is a real demand for internationally viable insurance-based products, and these are areas we have been actively involved with in the past.
The growth in the UK means IOMA has been less present internationally, and we have made active measures to change that with recent management changes and additions to the team that bring with them international experience.
We are also looking to diversify our administration base by expanding our jurisdictional presence in the coming months.
What are the biggest challenges you have identified for the coming year for your business?
This year is going to be exciting for IOMA Group. Our strategy is to grow the business and expand our product lines. Any growth strategy brings a variety of challenges to ensure we are clearly communicating who IOMA Group is and what we stand for to our target audience.
We have a varied skill set, and with a particular focus on servicing the mass affluent and HNW segments, we need to be really clear about how our products service our clients’ financial planning needs. We are also keen to grow existing relationships with key intermediaries and form new ties with reputable partners.
From an industry point-of-view some of the broad issues that will be on the agenda in 2014 are concerns around pension liberation, the ongoing adjustments on RDR and Solvency II continuing to create uncertainty for insurers.
Conversely, where do you see the greatest opportunity?
We take a pragmatic approach when looking at developing new products by responding to client needs and market demands identified by the advisory community. As such, we will launch a series of new products that are consistent with our history as an innovative boutique.
The growth in our core markets means IOMA Group is in an excellent position to recruit senior staff who are disillusioned by the ‘big corporate’ culture. For example, the recruitment of Debbie Mahanta and Barretto in 2013 really signified one of the first steps in our new phase of growth.
Mahanta joins the group as head of business development with responsibility for developing its private client network and portfolio of corporate partnerships.
Barretto joined as head of technical services with responsibility for enhancing and adding value to the firm’s existing suite of structures.
Both will be working to develop the group’s product proposition in line with our core values, drawing on their wealth of industry experience.
Which products sold best last year and which region saw the biggest growth for IOMA?
Over the past five years, IOMA has seen compound annual growth of 42% pa in its UK-focused service lines. This has come about in tough markets while the industry manages a series of regulatory changes.
As such, we are excited about the UK market and cautiously optimistic about the potential for growth in our international proposition.
You distribute mainly through IFAs, private banks and tax advisers. Will there be any significant changes to your distribution model?
Our aim is to remain an independent, high-quality provider of solutions to the insurance and wealth management industries. The nature of our business means IOMA Group’s proposition is always a ‘technical sell’. As such, we work with our financial, accountancy and legal counterparts so that they are best able to utilise our range of products.
We have a loyal introducer base and will look to replicate this with some key new relationships, and we intend to remain a trusted service provider in these areas.
Will IOMA be doing anything radically different this year?
The group has gone through some exciting changes over the past few months in the Isle of Man and by setting up the UK company. Our new board appointments and senior level hires have put us in a position to really propel the business forward.
We are well placed to strengthen our brand and we would like to think the groundwork has been substantially completed. We plan to develop new innovative products and continue to create wealth solutions for the HNWI community.
However, some things will never change and that is consistently exceptional customer service underpinned by our core values of integrity, honesty and professionalism.
