deVere forecasts 50% more business in 2016 and launches HNW division in UK
We’re anticipating a significant rise in business levels in the UK this year and this week we’ve launched a High Net Worth Division.
2015 was a record-breaking year for deVere United Kingdom and our detailed forecasts show that 2016 is set to be even more successful.
As such, and with client demand across both our brands – deVere United Kingdom and deVere Mortgages – experiencing a continual rise, we expect at least a 50 per cent increase in our business in Britain within the next 12 months.
As I was quoted as saying yesterday in FT Adviser, City Wire, International Adviser, Financial Reporter, Portfolio Adviser, International Investment and Mortgage Finance Gazette amongst others, due to deVere Group’s global presence, the majority of this soaring demand for deVere United Kingdom, which specialises in areas including retirement planning, overseas pensions, life assurance, investment planning and succession planning is from returning British expats. The new pension freedoms have also added to the increase.
Furthermore, deVere Mortgages reports a month-on-month rise in enquiries since its launch as a standalone brand in January last year. Over 70 per cent of these enquiries are from foreign nationals or indeed British nationals living overseas, 60 per cent of whom currently reside in Switzerland, UAE, Qatar and the Far East.
As a result of the bullish forecast for this year, a number of key developments and efficiencies have been put into place in order to cater to the current and expected client demand.
We will also be recruiting more graduates from the deVere graduate programme, as well as additional staff, including a new Senior Paraplanner, Peter Cook, who has four decades of experience. Peter’s appointment brings deVere United Kingdom’s total number of Fellows of the Chartered Insurance Institute to four.
Some of our central individuals within the organisation will also fulfil new roles. Kevin White, former Head of UK Financial Planning, is moving to our Head of Distribution role; Lee Grimshaw, former Senior Paraplanner, becomes Head of Proposition; Chris Barry, Head of the Pension Review Team becomes Head of Retirement; and Mitch Hopkinson, former Head of East Midlands becomes Head of Advice.
Mitch Hopkinson will also be heading up the new High Net Worth division, specifically designed to cater to the country’s highest earners, typically with over £1m in investable assets. As demand from HNW individuals rose considerably in 2015, creating an exclusive division to serve their specific and specialist financial planning and wealth management requirements was a natural advancement.
I wish the team the very best in their new roles and I’m looking forward to even greater success for deVere United Kingdom in 2016!
