The fall in gross sales for the international operation from £931m to £892m was helped by higher numbers in the UK, Latin America and South Africa, Skandia parent company Old Mutual Wealth reported in its Q2 statement today.
It said that “momentum is expected to improve over the second half of the year” following the recent launch of a new high net worth life cover product in Hong Kong and Singapore called the Silk Life Plan, targeted at private banking customers and distributed by Jardine Lloyd Thompson.
There was still commitment to “expanding its reach into Africa via its Middle East office” and product and operational enhancements “should see sales effort across all the international regions strengthen further during the second part of the year”.
International Adviser reported in July that Skandia International’s sales director Victor France had left the business after almost three years in the role, during which Skandia stated that he had put in place a number of strategic initiatives and reorganised the sales force.
Old Mutual Wealth, which comprises Skandia, Skandia International and Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI), saw net client cash flow increase by 50% in the first half of the year to £1.2bn (H1 2013: £0.8bn).
The increase reflected “strong demand for Old Mutual Wealth’s investment solutions via its new Skandia WealthSelect offering, as well as funds offered by OMGI, in particular UK Alpha and Global Equity Absolute Return,” the company stated.
Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, said the acquisition of Intrinsic during the period was “a significant milestone in our plans”.
He added that “preparations are well under way for us to start using the Old Mutual brand in the UK at the end of September and internationally at the beginning of next year. This marks a tipping point in our transition from primarily a platform provider to a broader investment solutions provider.”
