Two steps ahead of the competition

The power shift from manufacturers of financial products to distributors has always been more in evidence internationally. Getting access to clients on an international basis has too often been the achilles heel of fund management and insurance groups, with providers going for a mixture of strategies such as supermarket link-ups, joint ventures and bank distribution deals. On the advisory side, strength in numbers is the favoured strategy with the existence of networks such as the European Independent Advisers Network (EIFAN). Such networks have existed in the main to meet the needs of the...