Offshore award winners announced

Skandia International and Fairbairn Private Bank are two of this year’s major winners in the International Fund & Product Awards 2011.

Axa Isle of Man won Best International Life Group selling into the UK and Jersey won Best International Fund Centre. Standard Life won Best International Product for the UK market with its International Bond while Standard Bank Offshore scooped Best International Bank and Allianz Worldwide Care Best International Healthcare Provider. For the first time, the awards recognised the growing contribution of the Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) sector with the introduction of Best QROPS Provider award. This inaugural award was won by Fairbairn Trust Company’s, Overseas Pension.

Boal & Co was given a Special Award for Technical Innovation in the QROPS Sector. A further Special Award went to Canada Life International for Excellence in Service Standards in recognition of its longstanding, but ground-breaking no-quibble service charter with non-performance penalty system.

The awards, which are in their 12th year, are judged by an independent panel of industry practitioners and experts. The judging process is a mixture of quantitative and qualitative assessments, of which the questionnaire is an integral part. The fund management category uses an initial performance screen compiled by Morningstar before the investment judges look at qualitative elements such as fund manager research capabilities and the depth of fund manager talent. Support to independent financial intermediaries. is also taken into account. This year’s Best International Fund Group was awarded to Aberdeen Asset Managers for its Luxembourg range.

“There is no doubt that standards have improved dramatically in both the transparency of products and education material on offer to those investing offshore. The judges were extremely impressed with the level of detail offered by entrants, which made it a tough decision in many categories,” commented Deborah Benn, chair of the judging panel.

The winners were honoured in a presentation held in London on June 16th.

The full list of winners in this year’s awards can be obtained at www.offshoreawards.com