Offered out of Dublin, the new unit-linked life assurance policy called the Swedish Executive Portfolio will allow investors to keep their assets with a local bank, discretionary fund manager or with multiple custodians under one life assurance contract.
“Sweden is a market where the majority of business is managed by custodians, such as investment managers. This market leading proposition will enable clients to hold multiple investment managers within one life assurance contract, helping them to diversify the custodians looking after their wealth,” said Marcel Bradshaw, sales director for OMI.
OMI said over 90% of its sales in the region use an external custodian due to a preference by Swedish investors to use investment professionals to manage their portfolios or have their bank continue to hold their assets.
“With the new Swedish Executive Portfolio, investors can diversify their investments across multiple portfolios, without having to rely wholly on one investment professional. Using the new portfolio bond, investors can select up to three different custodians,” OMI said in a statement.
“Under local Swedish tax rules this arrangement can be very beneficial as it allows the investor to transfer between investment managers without it being treated as a new premium and is therefore not subject to additional tax,” it said.
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The bond will also enable investors to pass wealth on to the next generation. “As the bond is designed specifically for Swedish investors, it can be used in unison with Swedish rules governing private property when nominating beneficiaries,” OMI said.
The new bond will produce a tax report annually, which will support advisers who often help their clients with their tax forms.
Old Mutual International is part of old Mutual Wealth which oversaw £98.7bn ($138.2bn, €127.3bn) in customer investments at 30 September 2015.
Old Mutual Wealth is part of Old Mutual, a FTSE 100 group that provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance. Old Mutual has over 16 million customers worldwide and a total of £319.4bn in assets under management at 30 September 2015.
