STANDARD Life has launched an investment management business targeting millionaires.
The new Edinburgh-based discretionary investment management service, Standard Life Wealth, is for clients with at least £2 million of investable assets, of which a minimum of £1m must be liquid. This means the value of someone's main residence will n
ot be taken into account when calculating their wealth.
Tailored investment portfolios will be pitched at wealthy individuals, charities and small or executive pension schemes.
Clients are likely to include high-profile sports people, senior executives, high-flying professionals and entrepreneurs.
Despite the market turmoil in investment markets caused by the ongoing credit crunch, Standard Life believes there is enough money swirling about to make it a viable business.
It said there were almost 500,000 adults living in households with on average £2.3m and around 1,500 charities with liquid assets in excess of £2m.
Standard Life Wealth will offer its services through independent financial advisers (IFAs), other professional advisers and direct.
The firm said it will give clients access to investment methods previously only available to institutional investors in Standard Life Investments' funds, such as "absolute return" strategies.
Standard Life Wealth chief executive Richard Charnock said: "Our investment expertise, client-focussed approach and competitive fee structure will make us an important player in the discretionary investment management market."
Graeme Lind, a wealth adviser at Towry Law, a firm of IFAs, said: "We are not surprised that Standard Life has taken this step. There is an increasing trend for life assurance companies to buy their own channels of distribution and be more involved in direct distribution.
"In our experience, private individuals with liquid assets of £1m and above appreciate independent advice and so a proposition such as this, which does not offer that, is likely to resonate less strongly."
Scotland is seen as an attractive location for businesses trying to attract very high net worth individuals.
Earlier this month, HSBC Private Bank opened an office in Edinburgh. It marked the firm's first presence north of the Border and will see it compete with the likes of Adam & Company.
HSBC Private Bank said it offered an "unrivalled" international perspective to banking, trusts, investment estate planning, property, trade finance and wealth management.
Joss Mitchell, director of HSBC Private Bank, said that, while Standard Life is offering an investment service, HSBC is also providing a range of lending and banking facilities primarily for wealthier clients with around £2m of investable assets.
The full article contains 416 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
