Wealth management firm NPG and its life assurance company Private Estate Life will now operate under one brand name as it looks to simplify the group’s structure.
NPG Wealth Management, which specialises in life assurance advice, provides cross-border financial solutions through Private Estate Life.
The two firms have now adopted a single shared name, OneLife, which it hopes will boost growth.
According to Marc Stevens, chief executive of OneLife, the firm has simplified the group structure over the past two years in a bid to improve quality and efficiency.
The group also hopes to “overturn conventional attitudes” to life assurance by developing solutions for increasingly mobile wealthy clients, he said.
Mr Stevens said the firm is looking to increase its presence in the UK, where he sees a bulk of opportunities in the life assurance space, from the company’s base in Luxembourg.
OneLife is launching two new products for the UK market this month: a life assurance contract called Wealth UK offering full portability to internationally mobile clients, and Capitalisation UK, a capital redemption bond which will provide tax benefits without the need for lives being assured.
Mr Stevens said: “Changes in the UK wealth management marketplace, from a clampdown on aggressive tax avoidance schemes to new restrictions on access to resident non-domiciled status, are making compliant tax deferral vehicles more popular than ever.
“Both of the new products offer considerable benefits over traditional asset portfolios, including the absence of capital gains tax liability on asset switches.”
OneLife, which has €6bn (£4.7bn) in assets under management, relies on a network of selected partners, including private banks, family offices and independent financial advisers.
Blair Cann, financial planner at Hertfordshire-based M Thurlow & Co, said: “This is a niche market company based in Luxembourg dedicated to servicing the ultra rich.
“I have to say that I have never heard of either of the two parts now being joined and I don’t anticipate coming across it very often in its new guise.
“I much prefer to deal with household names, not least because our client bank is relatively conservative and in the main would be uncomfortable with such an organisation.
“I also think you need more than a name change to boost your growth.”
katherine.denham@ft.com
