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The Blacktower Group obtains Cyprus licence

‘After the decision for the UK to leave the EU was made, we could not risk any impact to our advisers’ EU passporting status. We took immediate action to Brexit-proof the business and our Cyprus office has been operational for some time. It is a testament to the work of the team on the ground that this licence has now been approved.’ says John Westwood, Founder & Group Managing Director of the Blacktower Group.

‘We remain committed to Gibraltar; we have a strong operations team working from there and are constantly seeking ways to promote the benefits of this jurisdiction. All EU resident clients though will be moved to the Cypriot entities during 2020, enabling us to continue to service our clients in Europe, while Blacktower Financial Management (International) Limited will maintain a book of non-EU clients.’ he confirms.

The development follows the launch of Blacktower Cayman Limited back in November 2019, along with the expansion of the Group’s IFA network, Nexus Global, into the US and precedes plans to expand into Australia, South Africa and UAE later this year. 

 

 

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

New Cayman Islands retirement planning laws

Street view from CaymanThe Cayman Islands is currently experiencing an exodus of overseas workers looking to leave the autonomous British Overseas Territory before it closes a loophole which currently allows expats to convert their retirement savings to cash before they leave.

The law previously allowed expats to access pension accounts of $5,000 or more once they had been living outside Cayman for six months and had not made pension contributions for at least two years.

From 31 December, 2019, it will only be possible to receive payouts at retirement age. Those who want to take their pensions early must leave the Cayman Islands by the end of 2017.

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Why are our pensions in crisis?

Official figures have revealed that pension funds have plummeted a further £25 million into the red. The fall in bond yields – on which pension funds rely – has increased the pressure on the pots available to support final salary scheme pay-outs. At the end of May, the pension backstop PPF (Pension Protection Fund) revealed that the roughly five and a half thousand pension schemes it monitors have a combined deficit of nearly £295 billion. This is almost £25.5 billion worse than a month earlier.

Fears for the robustness of pension pots have been highlighted by the widely reported BHS deficit.  They come as a separate study reveals some of Britain’s biggest companies are paying shareholders a dividend bonanza despite huge deficits of their own. The Pensions Regulator have issued a similar warning in the past, saying: ‘It is important that employers treat their pension scheme fairly. We expect trustees to question employers’ dividend policies where debt recovery contributions are constrained.’ 

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