Research Shows Boost In Referrals To Offshore IFAs

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

10 September 2003

Research conducted by AXA Isle of Man has found that financial advisors carrying out offshore business have experienced a boom in referrals from professional advisors in the past year.

According to the findings, reported by Isle of Man Online, more than one in four offshore IFAs are presently receiving business referrals from contacts in the legal and accounting professions, and of these over half say they have noted a marked increase in referrals in the last twelve months.

The financial advisors themselves cite various reasons for this recent trend, including improved marketing techniques and better communication between themselves and advisors from other professional groups. Added to this, nearly 20% of those polled noted an increase in the number of financial products requiring referrals, such as schemes used to offset inheritance tax. Another 15% thought that many professional advisors had expanded their businesses in recent months.

Meanwhile, about a third of IFAs were anticipating more people to invest offshore after the small increase in the inheritance tax threshold which took effect in Gordon Brown's last budget.

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