Content area
Full Text
The Abacus director David Ferguson says UK IFAs should be channeling their expertise into the Continent
How big is the offshore market? The real answer lies in understanding where the boundaries lie and what is included.
When it comes to European distribution, the UK market has historically underachieved in product manufacturing and distribution.
As we drift toward a more integrated Europe, it continues to intrigue me how little depth there is in the financial services links between the UK and mainland Europe. We have a number of life insurers and investment banks with meaningful UK operations but there remains a distinctly different way of doing business on either side of the Channel.
Perhaps it is instructive and a reflection of cultural and legislative differences that none of these big European corporates have ever really taken hold of the retail market in the UK as they have on the Continent. In addition, they have typically experienced difficulty with a less controlled distribution mechanism in the UK - the IFA market. Even the offshore companies only offer slightly greater penetration, with the subsidiaries of UK providers typically achieving very little in Europe.
Aside from the notable exception of Lombard, I do not believe any of the current UK-owned businesses has yet derived significant value from...