Customers want guarantees in offshore bonds, says the Hartford

The main reasons for not doing so were a lack of knowledge on the product (58% of respondents), belief that they had insufficient funds to invest (56%) and concerns about investment risk (45%). Addressing the first point, Andy Marks, managing director of sales at the Hartford UK, said IFAs were key to the decision to invest offshore, and there are historical prejudices around cost and safety that IFAs are passing on to their customers. “I’m not saying offshore is the fit for everyone, but from a financial planning perspective, there is a wider range of customers than is perceived in the m...