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DeVere says it has handled over a third of QROPS transfers

The deVere Group, the Zurich-headquartered, internationally-focused advisory group which claims to be the world’s largest, said it has handled more than a third of the assets transferred out of the UK and into qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes since QROPS were created in 2006.

DeVere says it has handled over a third of QROPS transfers

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The company said it has more than £500m under advice in such schemes, on behalf of its clients, which is roughly 39% of the total of £1.3bn said to have been transferred into QROPS as of the end of 2010 by HM Revenue & Customs.

The HMRC data was obtained last year by Guernsey-based QROPS specialist the Concept Group.

“Since the QROPS inception in 2006, the deVere Group has been at the forefront of the UK pension transfers business, providing its clients unique product offerings thanks to its strong strategic alliances with leading providers in the industry,” deVere said in a statement on its website.

In the statement, deVere Group founder and chief executive Nigel Green is quoted as saying that the company was continuing to develop its expertise, in order to “advise expatriates and international investors on financial products that we truly believe will suit their plans for the retirement that they deserve”.

“With an estimated 10 million UK expatriates around the world, our commitment remains to be within easy reach for our clients, wherever they may be.” 

As reported, the data obtained last year by Concept, through a Freedom of Information Act request, revealed the total value of pensions transferred into QROPS as of 2010 was £1.3bn ($2.1bn). The value of transfers made has increased every year since 2007, when it totalled £121.5m, and almost trebled the following year, according to the figures.

2011 data might change percentage

Of course, if the QROPS transfers from 2011 were added to the £1.3bn total, assuming the deVere figure is current, the deVere share necessarily would shrink. In an interview last September, Concept Group managing director Roger Berry predicted that the QROPS transfer total for 2011 would approach “half a billion pounds”,  assuming a 6% increase over 2010.

If this were the case, then the current total of pensions transferred thus far would actually be around £1.8bn – of which deVere’s share, at £500m, would be closer to 28%. 

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