Australian financial planner ipac has officially launched its Hong Kong operations. The company, which was acquired by AXA last year, has also recently opened an office in Singapore. Asia Pacific's largest financial planner, with $4.6 billion of funds under advice, ipac is head quartered in Sydney with offices in eight countries around the world. It also has offices in Taipei and Manila.
The firm believes that people will increasingly turn to professional advisors for investment advice. The introduction of the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme has also raised awareness for the need to make proper provisions for retirement. Arun Abey, executive chairman and one of the founding directors, says that he can see financial planning emerging over the next 20 years as a key profession, perhaps second only to medicine in terms of social importance.
The MPF will only provide a portion of needed income on retirement if people are to maintain a lifestyle they are accustomed to. Even if an individual was only 30 when the MPF was introduced it will only provide 57% of a person's pre-retirement income. It is the need for people to fill this funding gap that ipac sees as an opportunity for the business to succeed.
ipac's advisory fee is transparent and disclosed up-front, with professionally qualified advisors providing clients with ongoing financial advice that sticks to a best-of-breed approach. The firm uses products from fund managers such as Alliance Capital Management, Barclays Global Investors and Capital International.
