FNTC is a global resort and property manager based in the Isle of Man, which manages more than £2.5bn of property assets in addition to working with more than 300 resort and leisure real estate developments. It is a part of the First/Names Group, also based in the Isle of Man, which describes itself on its website as “a global, independent provider of trust, corporate and fund administration services”, with offices in such other jurisdictions as Jersey, Cyprus, Switzerland, Ireland, the UK, the British Virgin Islands and Japan.
For three years until the end of last month, Lightfoot had been a technical director of Kleinwort Benson (Guernsey) Trustees Ltd, where he oversaw the company’s international retirement planning and trust wrapper business, and was responsible for the front- and back-office operations of its pensions business across Guernsey and South Africa.
Prior to being named technical director, he was KB’s chief operating officer for its Offshore Distribution Partners business unit, which focused on distributing KB’s offshore trust, funds and pension wrappers through international intermediaries.
Lightfoot came to Kleinwort through the Close Offshore Group, which was acquired by Kleinwort Benson in 2011.
For Lightfoot, his new role with FNTC means a return to the Isle of Man, where he is originally from, and where he began his career and lived until the end of 2009.
During his years there he was, at varying times, MD of IOMA Horizons Ltd, a QROPS start-up; an official with the Isle of Man Government’s Insurance & Pensions Authority; and an international financial adviser, among other roles.
At FNTC, Lightfoot said, he will continue to be involved in the QROPS and UK self-invested personal pensions markets, but from the perspective of handling pension scheme investments in such structures as fractional property ownership entities, rather than from the QROPS-marketing side.
QROPS market rebuilding
Since the axe came down on Guernsey’s QROPS industry last April, some 34 schemes have been added to HMRC’s list of approved QROPS, which may be viewed by clicking here, bringing the total number to 37.
