Tell me about your first client, Momentum, and why it partners Provisca?
The way the international market is developing led us to seek a modern online investment platform as our first product partner.
Momentum Wealth International in Guernsey has a successful platform that is one of the best product secrets in the international market. The platform had built assets under administration of almost $2bn but had not really been marketed outside of the South African domestic offshore market. We therefore approached Momentum and offered them the opportunity to be Provisca’s inaugural product partner.
Momentum is one of the strongest financial brands in South Africa. It is part of MMI Holdings, the investment and insurance giant which is the third-largest listed insurer on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with AUM of $48bn, an embedded value of $3.2bn and a market capitalisation of $4.1bn.
Momentum partnered with Provisca because the management team believes this will enable the company to build a strong presence in the cross-border market.
How do you intend to build the portfolio of products on your distribution platform?
The Momentum interactive online platform already offers international advisers global access 24/7 to information and reporting, with online tools to help build and manage investment portfolios and independent fund information provided by Morningstar. IFAs’ clients can also log on securely and view information about their portfolios.
There are currently two Momentum products on the platform. The Personal Portfolio is a general investment account that offers investors maximum flexibility and easy access to their offshore investments. The International Portfolio Bond is an open-architecture bond that combines all the tax-planning advantages of an insurance product with an online investment platform and a broad choice of underlying investment funds.
Both life insurance and capital redemption bond options are available, with a flexible range of charging structures.
The platform can also administer investments for international pension plans such as Rops, offering a panel of pension providers based in all key jurisdictions that are already set up to manage trustee investments on the platform. It can also facilitate IFAs outsourcing investment management to discretionary fund managers.
We expect to add a Momentum corporate savings product to the platform later this year that will enable IFAs to offer an effective employee savings scheme to employers in jurisdictions around the world.
Which markets do you see as key targets?
We plan to build Provisca’s distribution reach across all key international regions and on a multi-channel basis. We will develop a stable and long-term sales capability of around 20 people servicing IFAs in all the main international business centres.
