THENorwichUnion group has teamed up with Australia’s largest independently-owned dealer group, Professional Investment Services (PIS), ahead of the planned launch of its flagship master trust, Navigator, in Singapore.
Navigator chief executive Marc Mengler has confirmed the group will link up with PIS’ network of financial advisers in Singapore in order to distribute the investment platform after its July launch in Singapore.
According to Mengler, Navigator has worked closely with PIS on the design of the Singapore master trust, which is a scaled-down version of the investment platform in Australia.
The planned launch of the master trust in Singapore coincides with PIS being granted the equivalent of a dealer’s licence by the Singapore Monetary Authority. The licence will allow PIS to push ahead with growth plans for its Singapore-based planning arm, Professional Investment Advisory Services (PIAS).
PIS bought PIAS, then the Insurance Corporation of Singapore, from Norwich Union’s global parent, CGNU, late last year.
In Australia, Norwich Union owns a small slice of PIS after selling the IFMA life brokerage to the dealer group in exchange for PIS shares in early 2000.
PIS is also one of Navigator’s biggest clients, investing more than $1 billion in the investment platform in Australia.
Mengler says Navigator and PIS plan to work together to capture a bigger slice of the financial services market in other parts of Asia.
“[PIS] has a good skill set in market distribution, so if there is a reasonable opportunity to do things [in other Asian markets], then we will examine ways to work with them.”
