Earlier this week, Utmost Group acquired Quilter International from Quilter plc.
Quilter International will become a part of Utmost International, their international life assurance and investment business.
The price tag is £483 million.
Following on from the acquisition, the combined group will manage £54 billion for 220,000 clients.
What we will cover in this post
Why are Quilter plc selling their international division?
Simply, they want to focus their attention on their UK wealth management division, which is their core business.
Who are Utmost Group?
Utmost Group is a specialist life assurance group established to be a leading consolidator for the UK and international life insurance markets.
The core divisions of the Group are Utmost International who serve the international market and Utmost Life and Pensions (previously branded Reliance Life) who serve the UK market.
Utmost is backed by Oaktree Capital Management. Oaktree is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies.
What does it mean for existing Quilter International policies?
I do not expect anything to change.
Utmost Group conducted a similar exercise a couple of years ago when they acquired Generali Pan-Europe and Generali International.
While the branding changed to Utmost, their terms and conditions in relation to existing plans stayed exactly the same. The same applies to the range of investment options available.
Additionally, the existing policyholder protection scheme and regulatory measures remain in place.
What should I do?
In general, I think that this acquisition is positive. Quilter International were active in a number of jurisdictions where Utmost were not present. The combined group now has a really interesting suite of tax efficient solutions for international investors.
That being said, if you are a Quilter International client, this represents a good opportunity to review your policy.
As I mentioned in a previous post, investment products are continually evolving and it is always worth reviewing them to a) make sure that they still meet your needs and b) see if there are newer better options now available.
Feel free to contact me if you would like a non-committal second opinion on your Quilter International policy.
