Guardian Wealth Management had announced in February 2016 a “strategic review” of the Middle East, having gained a broker licence with the region’s Insurance Authority.
Guardian Wealth Management group’s joint chief executive David Howell said in a short statement: “We are exiting Qatar and winding the company up. As part of the process it’s normal business practice to appoint a liquidator.”
The court notice “in the matter of Guardian Wealth Management Qatar LLC (in liquidation)”, published in the local Gazette, stated that “at 9am on Tuesday 24 April 2018, the court will hear an application filed by the liquidators pursuant to Article 137(1) of the QFC Insolvency Regulations 2005 that their remuneration in connection with the discharge of their duties as liquidators be increased.”
The notice added that “if any creditor, or any other interested party, wishes to have sight of the application and/or be heard in relation to this matter, they should contact the Registrar of the Court” within 14 days of the date of the notice.
Exit plan
Howell had said in 2016 that the board of Guardian Wealth Management Qatar undertook a strategic review of the business, which has been in the Qatar Financial Centre for six years.
He said that while the Qatar regulatory authority (QFCRA) had offered “a strong regulatory framework based on transparency and qualification requirements, GWM believes that to continue with its current licensing arrangements will prevent it from offering holistic financial planning advice in an ever-changing industry landscape with continuously evolving client requirements”.
Guardian Wealth Management currently has two offices in the UAE, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and recently named James Ferguson as the new head of its Abu Dhabi office after John Green returned to rival the deVere Group.
In October 2017, Globaleye also ceased operations in Qatar citing the “ongoing geo-political situation”.
