
FOLLOWING on from last month’s news item on the LM debacle where people have lost their lifetime savings due to bad investment advice, this article focuses on South East Asia Capital, whose principles of only using a panel of Regulated, Qualified Preferred Investment Partners are producing the right results for their clients and also giving them peace of mind.
Who are South East Asia Capital Limited?
The three founding Directors formed the company in 2013, after being disenchanted with the Expatriate Financial Services industry in Thailand in general. All three Directors were qualified professionals in the UK Financial Services industry before arriving in Thailand, with over 80 years of combined industry experience, something that sets them apart from most of their peers.
What makes South East Asia Capital different from other companies advising expatriates locally?
We have based our business model on the UK Retail Distribution Review (RDR) that was introduced in 2013. This model is client focused, whereas nearly every other Advisory Firm here is commission focused, putting their profits before the clients.
To explain further, none of our Preferred Investment Partners funds we use have initial fees or exit penalties, making us fairly unique. We also disclose all fees and charges to our clients, standard practice in the UK, however rarely done here.
Like the UK, our Preferred Investment Partners pay us a small ongoing fee from their funds under management, taken out of their annual management charge. Of course, if they fail to grow the client’s investments the client can elect to switch out at any time without charge.
Therefore South East Asia Capital can only grow as a company if our clients are happy with the performance of their investments. This creates a long term commitment to the client to ensure their savings and investments grow.
Why use Qualified, Regulated Discretionary Fund Managers?
We all know your most important asset is your health, which is why if you are sick you go to a regulated, qualified doctor, not a witchdoctor.
After your health, the rest of your life and of those dependent on you, is controlled by your wealth. However, many people still entrust the crucial role of managing their money to people who are not regulated or qualified, financial witchdoctors who gamble with the hapless investor’s assets while charging high commissions.
We recommend you visit www.seac.asia and click on the bar at the bottom of the home page “Key Questions to ask any Financial Adviser,” all self-explanatory.
The three founding Directors formed the company in 2013, after being disenchanted with the Expatriate Financial Services industry in Thailand in general. All three Directors were qualified professionals in the UK Financial Services industry before arriving in Thailand, with over 80 years of combined industry experience, something that sets them apart from most of their peers.
What makes South East Asia Capital different from other companies advising expatriates locally?
We have based our business model on the UK Retail Distribution Review (RDR) that was introduced in 2013. This model is client focused, whereas nearly every other Advisory Firm here is commission focused, putting their profits before the clients.
To explain further, none of our Preferred Investment Partners funds we use have initial fees or exit penalties, making us fairly unique. We also disclose all fees and charges to our clients, standard practice in the UK, however rarely done here.
Like the UK, our Preferred Investment Partners pay us a small ongoing fee from their funds under management, taken out of their annual management charge. Of course, if they fail to grow the client’s investments the client can elect to switch out at any time without charge.
Therefore South East Asia Capital can only grow as a company if our clients are happy with the performance of their investments. This creates a long term commitment to the client to ensure their savings and investments grow.
Why use Qualified, Regulated Discretionary Fund Managers?
We all know your most important asset is your health, which is why if you are sick you go to a regulated, qualified doctor, not a witchdoctor.
After your health, the rest of your life and of those dependent on you, is controlled by your wealth. However, many people still entrust the crucial role of managing their money to people who are not regulated or qualified, financial witchdoctors who gamble with the hapless investor’s assets while charging high commissions.
We recommend you visit www.seac.asia and click on the bar at the bottom of the home page “Key Questions to ask any Financial Adviser,” all self-explanatory.
What every Investor needs to know – The Difference between “Mark to Market” and “Mark to Model” Investments. ALL underlying funds and assets that South East Asia Capital’s Preferred Investment Partners use are vetted by the relevant regulators and priced daily on recognized global indexes. This is what is known as “Mark to Market” because the assets our clients hold may be sold at any time for the quoted market price. |
South East Asia Capital does not guarantee investment returns as that is impossible. However, we do guarantee experience with integrity, providing our clients with low cost, highly regulated, liquid, transparent investments that suit their individual risk profile.
By contrast, nearly all the funds that have collapsed taking the clients’ money with them are “Mark to Model” funds. This is where the fund has invested in property or some form of investment that has not been traded, and will only sell at some future date. Clearly in the uncertain world we live in, that future value cannot be guaranteed. However, the fund manager may apply a future value based on a business “Model”, which is often optimistic.
Of course, by using this “Model” the fund can then boast of high returns, often falsely guaranteeing them. They then offer unregulated, unqualified financial advisers a high commission to promote these funds. Furthermore, these funds are often regulated in small jurisdictions that do not meet South East Asia Capital’s standards of due diligence.
Often these small jurisdictions will allow the fund manager to be very optimistic with his business model, promising very high returns to lure in the vulnerable investor.
In our experience, people only find out about exit penalties on these types of funds when they try and switch their investment due to its poor performance, inevitably stunted by all the upfront and ongoing commissions taken from the investment. Too often these charges are not made clear to the unfortunate investor at point of sale.
By contrast, nearly all the funds that have collapsed taking the clients’ money with them are “Mark to Model” funds. This is where the fund has invested in property or some form of investment that has not been traded, and will only sell at some future date. Clearly in the uncertain world we live in, that future value cannot be guaranteed. However, the fund manager may apply a future value based on a business “Model”, which is often optimistic.
Of course, by using this “Model” the fund can then boast of high returns, often falsely guaranteeing them. They then offer unregulated, unqualified financial advisers a high commission to promote these funds. Furthermore, these funds are often regulated in small jurisdictions that do not meet South East Asia Capital’s standards of due diligence.
Often these small jurisdictions will allow the fund manager to be very optimistic with his business model, promising very high returns to lure in the vulnerable investor.
In our experience, people only find out about exit penalties on these types of funds when they try and switch their investment due to its poor performance, inevitably stunted by all the upfront and ongoing commissions taken from the investment. Too often these charges are not made clear to the unfortunate investor at point of sale.
Who are your “Preferred Investment Partners”?
We currently have a panel of three Discretionary Fund Managers who look after our clients investments:
• http://apollomultiasset.com/ Apollo Multi Asset Management (MAM), UK regulated, Financial Conduct Authority Number 487458.
• http://www.newportpw.com/ Newport Private Wealth (NPW) Australian regulated, Australian Financial Services License Number 451820.
• http://www.skfm.com/ Siam Knight Fund Management (SKFM), Thai regulated, Ministry of Finance License Number 0007/2003.
What is Discretionary Fund Management?
Quite simply, you tell the manager what your risk profile is, the currency you wish to invest in and whether you want income, growth or both, and then leave all the underlying investment decisions to the professionals, literally to their discretion.
The use of Discretionary Fund Managers is fast becoming the industry standard for the UK financial services industry, with over 680 billion GBP to date now invested this way, a majority of the UK investment industry, and growing steadily.
This is largely due to the UK RDR implemented in January 2013, requiring higher qualifications from the individuals giving investment advice and thus raising the standard of advice given. It also makes the investment advice focus on growing the clients’ investments.
South East Asia Capital demands these same high standards of advice and service for their clients.
Can South East Asia Capital help people whose Investment Fund has been suspended or, worse, the Fund has collapsed altogether?
Yes, with suspended funds we can tell people the truth on whether they will receive anything back in the fullness of time and manage expectations accordingly. When a fund has ceased trading altogether, we can advise them on any group litigation that has been organized against the fund’s owners or Directors in an attempt to recoup some cash.
Can you advise people on their existing investments if they are unsure of the advice they have received?
Yes, we have Terms of Business with all the major investment wrapper providers, like RL360, Friends Provident International, Generali, Skandia (now rebranded Old Mutual) and also some of the smaller ones like Cornhill and Investors Trust. We can also introduce our preferred investment partners to people who hold direct investments with fund houses and they can also benefit from some professional, regulated advice.
