Although based in the UK, Platform One offers advisers both UK and international platform capabilities.
The Melita scheme is provided to Platform One through TMF’s Malta-based Custom House Global Fund Services operation.
The announcement of the deal comes as advisers are reported to be piling into Maltese QROP schemes in the wake of last week’s publication by HMRC of a revised list of approved qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes, which saw hundreds of schemes dropped as changes to the rules governing how pensions may be transferred abroad – unveiled by HM Revenue & Customs in December – took effect on 6 April.
More than 3,000 funds
The Melita QROPS accessed via Platform One gives clients, through their advisers, a choice of more than 3,000 UK and international funds, equities and ETFs, as well as offshore bonds, international pension schemes and Section 615s, Platform One said.
Platform One managing director Michael Fordham said the availability of the Melita QROPS on the company’s international service would allow advisers "to gain the combined benefits of a compliant QROPS solution, an English language international platform to manage the underlying assets as well as the ability to manage their clients’ other investments, and establish an ongoing revenue stream for doing so".
The international service makes use of the administration facilities and services of Moventum, the established Luxembourg offshore fund platform provider, which has as its custodian the Banque de Luxembourg.
As reported, Platform One was launched last August, in response to what the company’s founders saw as a neglected area in the fledgling, but rapidly growing, platform market.