The main regulator of life companies in the UAE has confirmed it will go ahead with a ban on indemnity commissions, limits to fees and charges on industry products and tighter rules on financial advisers.
The directors of two companies have been banned for a total of 26 years for selling worthless land as an investment, in a scam that netted £2.2m ($2.7m, €2.5m) of which the directors retained £1.3m in commissions.
St James’s Place, one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers, has come under fire for paying its advisers using an ‘air miles’ type system which rewards them with trips and jewellery for bringing in high levels of client investment.
Having avoided the high commission trap, Isle of Man-headquartered IOMA Group is well placed to thrive in the new world of fee disclosure and transparency, says managing director Chris Kenning.
South African advisory firm deVere Acuma has confirmed that it did not disclose commission charges of nearly £65,000 ($81,114, €75,198) taken from a client’s portfolio over four years, reports local news feed Moneyweb.
Singapore’s 55% cap on commission payments “has still not been practically implemented” despite being due to come into force in January 2017, an industry source told International Adviser.
When it comes to disclosing commission, Isle of Man-based life companies have revealed at least six different ways they pay intermediaries and asked the regulator to be clear on what it wants them to disclose, according to industry responses to a consultation paper.
Life insurance companies on the Isle of Man must provide broad commission disclosure from 1 January 2018 and policyholder specific commission disclosure from 1 January 2019 under the proposed new Conduct of Business Code.
Life companies based on the Isle of Man will have to disclose client commission worldwide from January 2019, the head of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (IoMFSA) has confirmed.
The Australian government has passed a law that will significantly reduce the upfront commissions paid on life insurance products and cap ongoing charges.
The impact of Singapore’s 55% cap on commission payments may not be as severe or restrictive as once thought, and may even see some advisers slightly better off, an industry source told International Adviser.
Fund distributors in Hong Kong will have to disclose any monetary benefits they receive prior to, or at the point, of sale, under new proposals from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
