Royal Skandia Bank and so called Savings and Pensions account
I would like some advice on what I can do with regard to a Managed Savings and pension account that I took up with Royal Skandia when I was working in Botswana. I believe I was misled into believing that it was a savings account which would grow over the years. In fact, this account has been losing money over the 6 years that I have had it. Now that I have decided to surrender it, in fear of it losing all the money that I am hoping to save for my retirement, Royal Skandia have taken more than half of the money I have saved as penalty. I was not informed at the time that I would incur penalties should my circumstances change or should I decide to cease paying if the account is not viable any more. I cannot understand why I am being penalised for Royal Skandia misinvesting my savings and losing my money. Why am I being punished because I am refusing to continue to pay into a savings account which has been losing my savings and retirement nest egg. I am 51 and cannot, in all fairness, take that kind of risk. In addition, the booklets which were given to me on opening this account do not contain any information as to the rate of the penalties should circumstances change, the information is vague. I believe that Royal Skandia has misled me, cheated me and I would like to know if I have any legal rights to have this investigated. I have since returned to the UK and would like to know what contacts I can make for information and help. I cannot accept that Royal Skandia has a legal right to basically cheat and mislead people and get away with it. I thought they were a reputable insurance and investment company.
Read more posts about The United Kingdom
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
I believe I can shed some light on this situation.
As it turns out I used to work for an IFA company in Botswana before taking on a more challenging assignment as a Wealth Manager in South East Asia. The company I worked for in Botswana also represents these products from Royal Skandia (Part of the Old Mutual Group), Friends Provident, Generali and the rest.
What I can tell you is that the problem is NOT with the product, but rather the advisor and the firm he worked for and more so the investment funds that you were in.
Chances are good that the funds were probably picked out FOR you by your financial advisor there. Now, the sad truth is that Botswana is a non regulated area and non of the "financial advisors" there needs to have any qualifications to be able to sell those products.
What ends up happening is that many of the guys end being product salesmen instead of really know how the products work.
Royal Skandia can only invest and act on what is on the paperwork, and if your advisor put you in to some crummy funds, its not Royal Skandia's fault I am afraid.
Royal Skandia is one of the biggest companies in the world with an impressive track record.
Its seemingly too late now, but there would've been a fairly simple solution. Al you needed to do was :
1) Change of advisor / advisor firm (no cost to you)
2) Rebalancing of your portfolio / fund switching by new qualified advisor(no cost to you)
I understand how you feel, but we can't blame the manufacturer of the car when we get a flat tyre or run out of oil and the engine blows up. These investments do need monitoring and regular reviews / checkups by the person who sold it to you to make sure things are on track.
Markets change all the time, things go up and down ALL the time. Its really not that difficult but your advisor clearly did not know what he/ she was doing.
The products are really fantastic savings vehicles and if applied properly will outperform any bank account and inflation sometimes with way above average results !
I can guarantee you that fighting with RSK will get you no-where, as contractually you agreed to terms and conditions that will cover investment gains and losses.
I'd be interested to know who you worked with in Botswana.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to look me up or contact me at http://www.expatarrivals.com/users/danielvanniekerk
Best regards,
Daniel van Niekerk- CII
Private Client Wealth Manager
http://www.financial-advisor-thailand.info
Don't believe a word of what Daniel says. The fees with these RS accounts are ridiculously high. He probably sells them - or perhaps some equally crap plan - for a living.
There are many, many sad stories like yours, Connie. Companies like Skandia allow these armies of half-witted salesmen to flog their lousy products, usually preying on expats abroad.
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
1)What a brave chap to hide your identity and posting the typical low quality-, uneducated comments that ill informed, anonymous posters like yourself often post.
2)You obviously earn a salary, I pay them.
3)I don't sell anything, I provide investment solutions and council to people all over the world,
4)I am a director in a registered wealth management company. So tell me, what difference did you make in the world today?
"Companies like Skandia"? That's fresh, but again...it shows your lack of knowledge.
Some of these fortune 100 companies you're referring to including the likes of Generali International, Royal London 360 and others have over 300 billion Euros under management and have over 3 million clients, very successful and very WEALTHY clients I might add.
So, I guess there are 3 million high net worth idiots out there and you seemingly got the inside scoop, am I right? Are you for real??
I have assessed Connie's situation, we exchange some options and ideas and I think given her current UK residency status, I believe she made the correct decision for her personal situation.
I don't usually get personal in public or forums as I am a professional...but I don't appreciate being insulted in public by a misinformed individual that hides his identity.
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
Dear Readers and clients,
I've had quite a few enquiries off this initial article by Connie, and I have a good and solid recovery strategy that I have offered- and can offer to other clients that will NOT affect your actual Royal Skandia policy or cost you any additional monies.
I have a Capital guaranteed, 9.5% per quarter income option amongst other fantastic solutions.
Did you know? : You can change advisory firms at NO COST to you, without affecting your policies, portfolio and/or any exisiting terms.
Don't be bullied into sticking around with non performing IFA's using 'things will recover' or other creative excuses. All it actually means is; "Sorry, I don't know what I'm doing !" Commissions have been collected long time ago already, so we all know what that means.
Join others and let's get you out of the poor performance or 'losing money' situation asap.
Email me at dwhvn@hotmail.com for more info.
Dan
Hello Daniel,
The truth is that, it is a fraud for Royal Skandia to indirectly send out their armies and patners in crime and big time global fraud racket probably like yourself to bring funds into their vaults without getting directly involved at the onset only for them to trade excuses of the 'small prints'. As an expat in NL, I lost money but one thing I have promised myself is to spread the information to expats and potential expats around me never to be scammed by you rouges feeding fat on the sweats of the unsuspecting public. I'm in total agreement with the fellow you labelled anonymous hence I'm joining this string - thanks to internet platfom through which I can warn others to BEWARE of the fraudsters!
Jacob Adaramola
Daniel,
The truth is that as an expat in Netherlands, I fell victim to this scam, thanks to the foot soldiers of fraudsters like yourself that RS is keeping in the trade. As long as I'm opportuned, I'm there to warn others to BEWARE of you crooks feeding fat on the sweats of unsuspecting expats.
Jacob Adaramola
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
Dear Jacob,
The reason why I'm actually PROMOTING this thread is because I've managed to help quite a few people with existing RSK policies to get out of trouble...most with very little effort, and NO COST to them except perhaps sending off a doc or two in the end.
I don't change or switch their current products ,which would usually be commissionable and enough incentive for most IFA's to strongly recommend changing product providers. "You know that BAD Skandia and all...geeesh, lets change to XYZ !" I merely change their structures and enhance their investment options which pays (if it does, depends on the structure) a LOT less, but is in the clients interest !
Unfortunately most of the 1000's of offshore IFA companies who send their new recruits on their in-house week long induction "training" never cover these strategies as these guys all just end up being scripted to the hilt, sweaty-palmed policy salesmen with targets and quotas to meet, much like the insurance industry.
1) I do not work for Royal Skandia, nor ANY service provider and so I can provide unbiased advice as all times. Tied agents on the other hands work for Company X and will have a mandate to push Company X's products naturally.
2) Royal Skandia like most of the other major life companies operates through a broker channel, so they don't have their own IFA's army or foot soldiers selling these offshore solutions. Company X (ie the broker that sold the RSK product to you) will have terms of business with Royal Skandia, BUT it is not Skandia's responsibility to police salesmen who comer and go and work for their master brokers. There IS an effective grievance procedure that can be followed if there was a legitimate case of gross miss selling or misrepresentation etc.
3) I'm an expat as well, and as much as you'll read the fine print of your mortgage and/or lease agreement, even MORE so you should be checking on investment paperwork and ANY fine print. It would be very unwise and very naive NOT to do so and to just put your trust in someone you just spoke on the phone a few times. There are many IFA's out there who flat-out lie about stuff, but 90% of them would just neglect to mention crucial information to cover themselves leaving the responsibility to you to familiarize yourself with what you're about to get involved with.
4) My clients are at the top of their game, some of them are the best at what they do and they expect NOTHING less from their investment council. Some of my largest transactions have taken up to 10 months to come off. WHY? Because I build lasting and personal relationships with my clients. I get to know them, their families and their children and a base of trust is formed over time. This does not exactly make you very popular with the competition as I go totally against the typical "this is how we have done it for the last 10 years" IFA grain. Some of my best clients are Dutch nationals incidentally and you can read what some of them say about me: http://th.linkedin.com/in/financialadvisorthailand
Jacob, I'm afraid that you're not offering anyone any help or contributing anything of significance in any which way. I'm afraid that you'll be disappointed to know that you're NOT the hero of "the people" , nor have you been deputized or dubbed to spread a seemingly new gospel that's actually as old as the mountains.
This is perhaps not the platform, but ideally you should be mentioning the company that sold you the investment product and put the screws on them. There's nothing wrong with the investment solution (Ie Skandia, Friends Provident, Generali, Royal London 360 etc), its the application of the solution that's at fault. Sure, some or better than others....some features and options may differ...but they all do the same job at the end of the day. I have two words for you: FUND CHOICE. Did you choose funds, or were you involved with- or briefed on a a fund choice with a proper reasons why? If not, then your "advisor" most probably played "eenie meenie minee mo" and randomly picked some funds for you. It makes no difference to his commission at the end of the day and besides, the next prospect is waiting....can't spend too much time on this ! (Sad truth !)
We can't say water is bad thing just because someone went into a deep pool and drowned as they didn't take precautions and/or could not swim. Nor can your blame your car manufacturer when you get a flat tire and don't have a toolbox or wheel spanner in the car on top of it all.
As for the rest, I just think its in poor taste really...nothing more to say about that I'm afraid. I can understand you're very upset, but I'd like to think we're all grownups in here.
I'm really sorry about your misfortune, but there was more than enough time to do something about it I'm sorry to say.Why did you not ditch your IFA and get a 2nd opinion? There's not charge, cost or risk in doing so as there's NO contractual obligation between advisor and client unless entered into separately and knowingly. I personally have NEVER seen a case that can not be turned around if dealt with promptly.
How come when the roof of our house is leaking, our car engine is faulty or the car brakes are worn out we're very quick to make work with this and get it fixed or sorted out? Why not do the same with our hard earned cash and investments??
There is much hope for those who act swiftly, and I'm available at all times.
Daniel van Niekerk
http://www.financial-advisor-thailand.info
I'm form Costa Rica and it is a scam!!! Don't beleive what this piece of crap of Daniel says!
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
Where are all the MEN these days? You don't have to be a GREAT man put down your name.....just be a man. Grow a set already gringo.
Wonder what I ever did to you to suddenly be a piece of what...crap? Do I know you? haha. Well, fortunately I'm big enough to not be affected by such low class etiquette.
I must say, this is BIG news, you must also have an inside contact, ey? I read the international advisor and many other financial news and papers...this is SUCH news to me, wow!! A scam...really?
It must be the biggest multi Billion, multi jurisdictional, highly respected "scam" with Old Mutual at the helm of all time? haha .
You ARE talking about THE Royal Skandia at http://www.skandiainternational.com/royalskandia/ , the one who has licence to operate in just about every country, part of the Old Mutual Group founded in the 1800's..surely?
Not Skandee-a, your brothers company?
I see you're FORM Costa Rica and people must not BELEIVE me? I finks, better your stays theres an lern to spel popperly befor yous write rubbish and wast all of our perfessional people times.
Si usted es hispano, entonces usted es una vergüenza para la cultura ... tío asqueroso! Crecer e ir perder algo de tiempo de otras personas. Este es un lugar para los adultos y ustedes, la bienvenida no está aquí.
Aaah well, all sorts hey people? Gotta love the variety out there. Bless his poor soul.
I have many investment. I before had the Royal Skandia with other broker, he made bad fund selection, but was fixed for me with other good adviser, no problem. I have much respect for the Royal Skandia, and many of the people in my big country have this good investment solution.
Is not problem with product or company, is problem with the adviser and his company.
I think the "Anonymous" people is stupid and make idiot comments. Mr Daniel is correct, you waste all of the time of the professional people.
I'm Russian, excuse the grammar about me but I congratulate Mr Daniel fro his work.Many people is out there like me who need the help.
Da
Alexander
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
Thank you Alexander, well said !
True, who are these Anonymous whackjobs ??
Geeesh, the outright ignorance !! Grow up you woosies ! Investments are not for sissies....NOT for people who can read and write either !
Its one of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the world....SCAM? LOL. What a freakin joke. My Skandia is doing very, VERY well thank you. Its about management and control.
I did not get it from Daniel, but I sure as hell know where to go if there's any problems ! Big up Dan !
Romano
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
I do realise that there's a lot of unscrupulous salesman and brokerages out there, some of them quite significant in size and representation... but to directly attack someone who is picking up the pieces for others is really in poor taste.
I think blatant ignorance and being misinformed is a real problem...and then I'm not even talking about those who just like to jump on forums and show the world how low class they really are.
Grown ups air valid grievances (ie like Connie Murtagh and some people who contacted me directly and chose not to post in here) and we deal with it like professionals...the way it should be.
But, we roll with the punches as they say and separate the wheat from the chaff. People who know me and work with me understand and appreciate the value and benefits I offer. Its all in a days work.
Bring it on !
Dan
I Must say, knowing Daniel he is one of the best at what he does. Regrettably for some it means correcting a previous bad or miss judges investment.
The guys who spat the dummy after being 'scammed' over the telephone for no doubt a get rich quick IPO pink slip, sorry to say it but you deserve it. Why would anyone ring you with the stock pick of a life time??
Keep up the great work Daniel and look forward to our next meeting.
Richard Mason
SalisburyInvestmentPTE part of SalisburyGroupPLC
Having dealt with Daniel personally, I do know he spends a great deal of time correcting and re advising folk that have been regrettably mislead.
The guys who are posting anon, WOW!! you seem to have a lot to stay from behind your mask! What are you hiding? the fact you actually don't know what you are talking about.
The guys that have been scammed, come on!?! Why would someone call you up out of the blue with the next get rich quick stock pick IPO..... think about! Obviously you didn't
More than welcome to answer anyones questions or alternatively meet and discuss, I am in Marina Bay, Singapore and my contact details are on my company website.
Keep up the good work Daniel!
Thanks
Richard Mason
Hi,
I agree completely with Daniel. I am locked on to a similar fund with Royal Skandia for the next 15 years. I was told that there will not be an exit fee by the broker at ACUMA in Dubai. It was my fault that I trusted the agent completely and did not read through the fine print. So at present the funds doing badly combined with heavy exit penalties leaves investors with not much options.
All the broker wants to do is sell the product - nothing else matters.
Royal Skandia just acts on my instructions. I find them very professional and timely in terms of reports and response to questions.
What needs to be done is that Royal Skandia needs to monitor who the approved agents are unlike the unethical ones like ACUMA Dubai.
Skandia advised me that there is an option to reduce premium that can invite a lesser penalty but worth looking into. So I have taken up that option for now.
Broker or no broker its up to the investor to make sure he/she reads all information before making an investment.
Regards,
Santosh
Living in:
From:
Daniel's Website
Thank you for the post, I'm sure it will help someone somewhere.
I can appreciate people don't always like to leave their details, but for the sake of credibility if I can perhaps ask if any and all of you just post at least an email address ie. a yahoo or hotmail or something.
Sometimes people want to verify claims and /or information and you know how people get...just now they think I posted the post to make myself look good or something.
Anyway, we appreciate the time you took to post .
Daniel
THE PROFIN GROUP
http://www.theprofingroup.com
Post new comment