(R01) Financial services, regulation and ethics
(R02) Investment principles and risk
(R04) Pensions and retirement planning
The qualification is designed to benefit pension transfers on both the domestic and international stages. As such it will be open to candidates from across the world, including those who specialise in pension transfers in Grand Cayman. However, much of the course’s content will relate specifically to fund transfers in the UK so it is anticipated that most of the course’s intake will be drawn from UK based fund managers and advisors.
However, the original content of the course, AF7, will be of interest to an international audience as it focuses on many of the practical skills and challenges associated with international pension transfers.
The Chartered Insurance Institute said that it is confident the new qualification will fill a void in the market while also helping to safeguard the interests of parties looking to make the most of the flexibility and freedoms on offer as a result of the government’s pension reforms.
“Greater freedom and choice for retirees and tighter controls around who needs to seek advice mean that pension transfers and related advice are now more relevant than ever. It is against this backdrop that we are stepping up our support, with a dedicated pension transfer qualification and exam unit,” commented CII development director Steve Jenkins.
It may be that pension transfers specialists in Grand Cayman will be among the first to enrol in the new course; the island has been recently taken aback, first by the result of the British EU referendum and then by the election of Donald Trump, with Premier Alden McLaughlin expressing concern about the impact of both political events. It is possible that the results could lead to a surge in the numbers of people from Britain and America looking to transfer pensions to Grand Cayman before the cold hard realities of the new transatlantic political paradigms set in.
A pension transfer is not for everyone and there will be many factors to weigh up before making the decision to transfer from an existing scheme into a QROPS, SIPPs or other structure.
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