Professional Investment Services(PIS) has made the first concrete move of its expansion plans in Singapore, with the acquisition of the 195 member strong agency sales force of Insurance Corporation of Singapore (ICS).
PIS chief executive Robbie Bennetts concluded the deal last week, for an undisclosed sum, and in picking up ICS’s sizeable sales team, makes it one of the larger life insurance brokers in Singapore.
Bennetts says PIS’s commitment to Singapore is more than $5 million and says despite the market facing tough times in terms of redundancies and the overall economy, the group still sees opportunities.
The group’s Singapore subsidiary will take on the name of Professional Investment Advisory Services (PIAS), and has applied for investment adviser and dealer licences with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. PIAS also hopes to secure an insurance brokerage licence in the near future as well.
However, PIAS says it did go the long way in attaining the licences, as it could secure a single licence under the Financial Advisers Act, which is due to come into effect in the first quarter of next year.
PIAS says it chose this path despite having a few more constraints, as it was determined to prove the group was in the market for the long-term, and had the expertise and financial backing to make the new group work.
ICS’ new chief executive, Keith Perkins, says its sales force will remain as ICS agents through a transition period, which is due to take some months. This would cover the time PIAS needs to gain its licences and retrain the agents. Until this is completed, PIAS has been contracted by ICS to manage the sales team.
