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If you have a mind towards investments and long-term financial planning, then you might have heard about Hansard Global.
Hansard Global is a financial services company based out of the UK in the Isle of Man.
The company focuses on financial planning for individual investors, and offers a wide variety of products for expats all over the world including in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
If you are looking to invest as an expat or high-net-worth individual, which is what I specialize in, you can email me (advice@adamfayed.com) or WhatsApp (+44-7393-450-837).
In this article, we will look at the company, what it offers as products and services, and if you should invest in them.
Do note that this article is intended for informational purposes only. If you wish to invest with Hansard Global, or if you wish to know whether their products are good for you and your goals, we recommend seeking the services of a financial planner or adviser you trust.
Table of Contents
What is Hansard Global?
With a 35-year history since the company was founded in 1970, Hansard Global started out as the Liberty Life Assurance Company when it was established by American Dr. Leonard Polonsky.
The company is a specialized provider of long-term savings, with the main goal being to make it possible for financial advisers and organizations to offer their clients—individual and corporate investors—savings and investment products that are enclosed in safe insurance wrappers in order to achieve their long-term financial goals.
Hansard Global provides customer service representatives who can help clients with any questions and who speak in different local languages for ease and comfort.
The company divides its products and services into two subsidiaries: namely, Hansard International and Hansard Worldwide.
The two international life companies, serves the needs of Hansard Global’s Policyholders and their Advisors globally, offers Hansard’s savings and investing products.
Hansard International Limited (Far East) offers products are offered through advisers throughout East & Southeast Asia and are governed by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA).
Meanwhile, Hansard Worldwide Limited is under the regulation of the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas (ICB). Hansard Worldwide is based for significant markets in South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors, an association of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions that oversees 97% of the world’s insurance premiums, includes both the ICB and the LFSA as members.
After a $357 million float that brought in £99 million for its founder, Hansard Global was publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.
What are the products offered by Hansard Global?
Hansard Global offers both insurance and investment services, including life insurance policies as well as pensions, annuities and retirement plans for individuals.
Many of their products are unit linked insurance products, which are investment policies that give you the opportunity to invest your money and have it matched with a life insurance policy or other types of protection policies like critical illness, disability, and death.
Since these products can be complex to understand, it’s important to do your research first before investing in them.
What are unit linked insurance plans?
A unit linked insurance plan is a versatile instrument that provides investing exposure in bonds or stocks in addition to insurance coverage.
Policyholders must regularly pay premiums for this product. A portion of the premiums is used to pay for insurance coverage, while the remainder is combined with the assets of other policyholders and invested in either stocks, bonds, or a mix of both equities and bonds.
They come in different shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: they’re held in a vehicle that holds other investments. These vehicles can include pension schemes and personal savings accounts (PSAs).
Many expat savings plans are also unit linked insurance plans.
Unit-linked policies can be found within these vehicles, but there are also unit-linked funds, which are similar but not exactly the same.
Unit linked funds are standalone investment funds with their own management teams, whereas unit-linked policies generally make use of existing asset managers within the group’s umbrella company or parent organization.
A unit linked insurance plan may be used for a number of things, such as life insurance, asset accumulation, retirement income generation, and funding for children’s and grandchildren’s education.
They are frequently opened by an investor to benefit their heirs. With a life insurance plan, payments would be made to the beneficiaries after the owner passed away.
The investment possibilities of a unit-linked insurance plan are set up very similarly to mutual funds in that they combine investments with those of other participants.
As a result, the assets of a unit linked insurance plan are managed with the goal of achieving a certain investment objective. Shares in a single strategy or a variety of market-linked plans and funds can be purchased by investors.
While purchasing unit linked insurance, policyholders are required to make an initial lump sum payment. Thereafter, they must make annual, semi-annual, or monthly premium payments.
We have discussed the benefits and drawbacks of these plans before. Although the requirements for premium payments vary from product to product, they are always proportionally allocated to a certain investment mandate.
Regular premium payments allow policyholders to steadily increase their principal faster than they might if they waited for returns to tally. Additionally, many plans include the option of “topping up,” or increasing the balance with sizeable lump payments.
These plans can also offer protection insurance policies like critical illness, death in service and income protection, with the amount of the payment depending on how long you have been paying into the policy.
Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer or heart attack. Death in service insurance pays out a death benefit if you die while working for your employer (or before retirement).
Income protection insurance provides monthly payments if an employee cannot work due to sickness or injury while still being employed by their current employer.
Vantage Platinum
Vantage Platinum Worldwide, a regular contribution unit-linked fixed term contract designed for medium to long-term savings and retirement benefit planning, is one of the company’s products.
Vantage is a global regular savings program that commits you to regular savings of a predetermined sum. It is a contribution unit-linked insurance contract with a fixed term that is chosen up front and can range from 5 to 35 full years.
There is also room for further lump sum contributions.
Clients who avail of Vantage must be between the ages of 18 and 65 on the start date, and it can be written on single life, joint lives, first death, or second death basis.
Applicants from the United States of America and citizens of the member states of the European Union are presently not eligible to avail of this product.
By investing your contributions over the course of the contract into the Hansard unit funds, a selection of unit-linked investments that are developed, priced, and managed by Hansard International, you can potentially profit from a medium- to long-term increase in the value of your savings.
Vantage Platinum II is designed for wealthy clients and want to save frequently (for at least five years).
The standard sum insured, in the event that the life assured passes away before the specified maturity date, is equal to 101% of the combined value of the initial and accumulator units.
Unless fully surrendered before the end of the period, which must be agreed upon at the beginning, the contract will mature when the term expires.
A minimum of 10 years and no more than 25 years must pass during the period. Contract holders who will be older than 75 when their contracts mature should not use Hansard Vantage.
You should only commit to a regular contribution level that you can maintain for the duration of the contract term because the contract is structured to have all regular contributions paid at the chosen level for the whole time.
Recurring donations may be made every month, every quarter, every half-year, or every year.
In Hansard Global’s unit fund lineup, units are distributed to a selection of about 180 unit funds. These are mirror funds that span 20 various asset and sector categories from about 30 asset managers.
A mirror fund is a specific kind of mutual fund that lets investors access the mutual funds of another firm through their insurance coverage. Mirror funds are primarily managed by life insurance companies. These kinds of funds typically include additional costs and fees.
A maximum of 20 separate unit funds may be linked to the contract when it is taken out. There is no maximum beyond that.
The plan is offered in the majority of major currencies, and you can alter the contract’s currency denomination at any time at the current conversion rate.
Recurring donations may be made via a credit card, a bank letter of instruction, a bank account set up for direct debits, or another method. Through bank transfer, further lump sum contributions may be made.
One or more contract owners may be the proprietors of Vantage Platinum II. They will carry out directions from either contract holder, unless otherwise directed.
This contract for life insurance must have at least one life assured and may have two. After your contract has begun, these cannot be modified.
The life assured (or oldest if there are two) must be at least 18 years of age, shall not have reached the age of 65 on the date the contract commences, and shall not have reached the age of 75 at maturity.
When the life promised dies (or, if there are two lives assured, when the first of these dies), the death benefit will become payable, and the contract will then come to an end.
The death benefit is increased to a particular amount if you choose to add an additional guaranteed sum assured, which is an option. The usual death benefit sum assured is 101% of the contract value.
The currency of contributions and valuations will depend on whether the contract is purchased in GBP, USD, or EUR. Contributions made in a currency other than the contract currency will have their value converted at the current exchange rate.
The minimum contribution amount is determined at the time the contract is placed into effect by converting the GBP limit to the preferred contract currency.
Policyholders may make contributions in the majority of freely convertible currencies. Future contributions may be decreased or waived after two years of contributions, if certain requirements are met.
Increases to Hansard Vantage contributions are directed to a new contract and are permissible at any time. When the base contract is in effect, there is no service fee assessed on the new contract. The new contract’s term must be an exact number of years.
The return you receive from the plan will be impacted by a number of fees and charges, including the Yearly Management Charge, Service Charge, Switching Charge, and Extra Unit Allocation Statement.
- Yearly Management Fee: 1.5% for the initial units and accumulator (reflected in the quoted unit price).
- First units are subject to a 5.5% annual extra fee (reflected in the quoted unit price).
- Monthly service fee: GBP 7.25 For fully paid contracts, the monthly rate is GBP 12.25.
- switching fees for each unit fund. All are currently available online for free.
- Manual unit fund switches cost GBP 45.
Charges are carried forward, interest-free, in the early years of the contract until there are enough accumulator units to cover them.
By applying bonuses, such as loyalty bonuses and initial bonuses, based on the length of the savings term selected at the outset, Hansard, through the Hansard Vantage Platinum, will offset costs. If you don’t keep the plan going for 5 years, you lose these initial perks.
In essence, you are charged both for maintaining the plan and for not doing so. Although the idea of being “paid-up” is frequently promoted as a positive, it illustrates the need to take into account the lack of flexibility, access, and costs.
It does not provide a complete selection of trackers, direct stocks, or discounted funds for investment.
Following the payment of the first two years’ contributions, the appropriate number of accumulator units are surrendered at their full unit value at the relevant unit bid prices upon early withdrawal from or full surrender of a Vantage contract.
This effectively means that the first two years’ worth of premiums are lost upon surrender, if not entirely.
The contract must have an accumulator unit value of at least GBP 1,000 after a withdrawal. There is a fee for withdrawals. Starting units are worthless before the chosen term is over or a death occurs. At any time, a withdrawal must be at least GBP 100.
Capital Builder Worldwide
Another product offered by Hansard Global is Capital Builder Worldwide, a unit-linked insurance contract that enables flexible investment of lump-sum contributions on a one-off, ad hoc, or regular basis.
Throughout the course of the first three years of the contract, a minimum total contribution of GBP 15,000 is necessary.
By investing your contributions over the course of the contract into the Hansard unit funds, a selection of unit-linked assets that are developed, valued, and managed by Hansard International, you can potentially profit from a medium- to long-term growth in the value of your savings.
The performance of the Hansard unit funds that you choose will determine the overall value of your contract after deducting any relevant fees and levies.
Clients 18 years of age or older who have at least GBP 15,000 to invest over the first three years and may prefer to invest additional sums on a flexible basis over the medium- to long-term to accomplish a financial objective can consider Capital Builder Global.
The contract is designed to appeal to clients who are interested in doing business globally because it is not bound to your current country and allows you access to a wide variety of foreign investment alternatives in different currencies.
Although there is a higher level of risk involved, this has the potential to yield more returns than you might otherwise be able to.
What benefits are paid out upon death depends on whether the contract is set up as a life assurance or capital redemption contract (depending on availability). Nothing can be altered later on. Your independent financial advisor can let you know which choice is offered in your area.
Contracts for life insurance must have one life assured at a minimum and may have two. After your contract has begun, these cannot be modified.
When the life assured passes away, the contract will come to an end, and the death benefit will start to be paid out (or for joint lives assured, either the first death for joint-life first-death or the second if it is joint-life last-survivor).
If the life assured is older than 75 years old on the commencement date, or if either of the lives assured is older than 75 years old for a joint-life first-death contract, or if both of the lives assured are older than 75 years old for a joint-life last-survivor contract, the standard death benefit sum assured will be reduced to 101% of the surrender value.
The duration of a life assurance contract is unlimited; it lasts as long as the lives assured are still living or until the contract is surrendered.
Contracts for capital redemption have a fixed length of 99 years but no life assured. Ownership of the contract falls to the contract holder’s personal representatives or beneficiaries upon death of the contract holder(s), and the contract remains in effect for the balance of its initial term or until it is relinquished.
You can begin your contract with a one-time payment or ongoing installments that can be made on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual basis (subject to the minimum contribution amounts).
If you are contributing on a regular basis, you may raise the amount at any moment. There is no minimum increase and there are no consequences for stopping or cutting back. Subject to the minimum contribution amounts, you are always welcome to make additional lump sum contributions.
You may not receive a complete refund of your payments to Capital Builder Worldwide because there is no guarantee or capital protection provided. Several levels of risk and volatility are present in the investing alternatives offered by this contract. Their moral standards could drastically shift every day.
There is no compensation program for policyholders at Hansard Worldwide Limited. There are no investor compensation plans or depositor compensation plans that apply to investments made in the Hansard unit funds.
During the cooling off period, you are free to cancel your contract without incurring any fees, but if the contract’s value has decreased, you could still lose money.
You can get a unique risk profile and illustration from your independent financial advisor. These illustrate how contract fees affect prospective growth based on your risk tolerance.
If your situation changes, it might be necessary for you to terminate your contract early or remove money from it. Contractual limitations that prevent you from borrowing money when you need it run the danger of giving you back less than you put in.
If your independent financial advisor is acting on your behalf and has recommended Capital Builder Worldwide to you, be aware that their assessment and comprehension of your financial situation and future requirements served as the basis for their suggestion.
There is a chance that this product may not be appropriate for you if you have not given your independent financial advisor all the necessary information or if their analysis does not meet your expectations.
Capital Builder Global offers you the chance to potentially earn bigger returns than you might otherwise be able to in exchange for a higher level of risk. You must be willing to embrace the possibility that you may not receive as much in return as you have given.
There are various features and risk profiles among the Different unit fund alternatives that are available for this product. Depending on the Hansard unit funds you select, the level of risk and potential investment return will change.
Make sure you are knowledgeable about the risks and have read the pertinent fund literature. It is your obligation to choose the Hansard unit funds that best fit your risk profile, working with your fund advisor.
If, for instance, your contract, contributions, or Hansard unit funds are in a different currency than the one in which you intend to get the future benefit from your contract, you may also be exposed to a currency risk.
Hansard Worldwide Limited and Hansard International are the parties to your contract, which is reinsured. You might be subject to counterparty risks, which could affect the continuation of Hansard International’s services, the value of your contract, and your ability to withdraw money, among other things.
When a donation has been made, Capital Builder Global requires that the investment be retained for at least five years; otherwise, further fees will be assessed.
Taking withdrawals or terminating your contract within five years of a contribution payment may result in you receiving less money back than the illustrated fund value and maybe less money back than the total amount you deposited.
There is a cancellation period during which you may end the contract without incurring any fees if you change your mind once your new term begins.
You will have 30 calendar days from obtaining the documents for your new contract that outline how to end it to make your request. Hansard will release the documentation for your new contract.
You can also withdraw your agreement before receiving your contract paperwork by getting in touch with the business or your independent financial counselor.
Hansard promises to return your money if you wish to cancel, unless the value of the Hansard unit funds you have invested in has decreased, in which case you will only receive the value of the Hansard unit fund that is accessible at that time, which might not be the whole amount you paid in. No contract fees or penalties will be subtracted.
Any additional donations you might make are similarly subject to these cancellation rights, starting on the day each contribution is assigned.
A yearly limit is provided by Capital Builder Worldwide, so withdrawals up to this amount are free of further fees. Each year, the allowance is determined by adding any unused allowance from the previous year to 10% of the total contributions paid during the preceding five years.
After a contribution has been made, the allowance may be carried forward for a maximum of five years, at which point all of the units still associated with that contribution are available for withdrawal without extra fees.
Any surrender or withdrawal during the five years following a contribution that exceeds the allowance that is then available will result in the discontinuation charge that is applicable to each donation. In all cases, Hansard will prioritize taking withdrawals from the units associated with the oldest contributions.
The value of all units kept, less any discontinuation charges and additional charges, if any, will be the surrender value of your contract.
Worldwide Personal Portfolio
Hansard Global also offers the Worldwide Personal Portfolio, a unit-linked insurance contract that enables flexible investment of lump-sum contributions on a one-off.
By putting your contributions into a variety of assets offered and managed by Hansard International or by outside investment managers, or into a discretionary managed account, you can potentially profit from a medium- to long-term increase in the value of your investments.
The performance of the assets you choose will determine the overall value of your contract after deducting any relevant fees and levies.
The Worldwide Personal Portfolio is appropriate for customers who are 18 years of age or older and have a lump sum to invest over the long term to meet a financial objective.
The contract is made to be suitable for clients with an international outlook. You can develop a flexible portfolio of assets to suit your current and future demands thanks to its independence from your present country and access to a wide variety of foreign investment possibilities in different currencies.
Although there is a higher level of risk involved, this has the potential to yield more returns than you might otherwise be able to.
Similar to the earlier plans, this contract can be set up as either a capital redemption contract or a life assurance contract (depending on availability), and this will determine what benefits are paid out in the event of death.
Nothing can be altered later on. Your independent financial advisor can let you know which choice is offered in your area.
Contracts for life insurance must have one life assured at a minimum and may have two. After your contract has begun, these cannot be modified.
When the life assured passes away, the contract will come to an end, and the death benefit will start to be paid out (or for joint lives assured, either the first death for joint-life first-death or the second if it is joint-life last-survivor).
If the life assured is older than 75 years old on the commencement date, or if either of the lives assured is older than 75 years old for a joint-life first-death contract, or if both of the lives assured are older than 75 years old for a joint-life last-survivor contract, the standard death benefit sum assured will be reduced to 101% of the surrender value.
The duration of a life assurance contract is unlimited; it lasts as long as the lives assured are still living or until the contract is surrendered. Contracts for capital redemption have a fixed length of 99 years but no life assured.
Ownership of the contract falls to the contract holder’s personal representatives or beneficiaries upon death of the contract holder(s), and the contract remains in effect for the balance of its initial term or until it is relinquished.
Your contract must begin with a lump sum contribution, which can be made in cash by bank transfer, in the form of assets currently held in specie transferred into your new contract, or a mix of the two.
You are always welcome to contribute more. Depending on the fee choice selected, different minimum contribution levels apply.
The Worldwide Personal Portfolio does not feature any guarantees or capital protection, and you might not get your money back in full. Several levels of risk and volatility are present in the investing alternatives offered by this contract.
During the cooling off period, you are free to cancel your contract without incurring any fees, but if the contract’s value has decreased, you could still lose money.
Make sure you are completely informed of the level of risk associated with the assets you have chosen as well as any applicable investor protection regulations. Due to the possibility that the contract may be tied to the assets chosen by the contract holder, Hansard Global makes no warranties or representations of any kind.
Additionally, any instruction from you (or on your behalf) to invest in the chosen asset shall come with a deemed representation that you fall within the guidelines outlined in the chosen asset’s particulars if the asset is targeted at a particular group of investors or is subject to certain preconditions or restrictions.
Please be aware that the assets contained in a Worldwide Personal Portfolio contract are held as “institutional investor” owned assets because they are owned by Hansard International.
There is no compensation program for policyholders at Hansard Worldwide Limited. Investments placed into the Hansard unit funds and other assets housed inside Global Personal Portfolio are not eligible for any depositor’s or investor’s compensation programs.
If your situation changes, it might be necessary for you to terminate your contract early or remove money from it. Contractual limitations that prevent you from borrowing money when you need it run the danger of giving you back less than you put in.
According to their study and comprehension of your financial situation and future goals, if your independent financial advisor is acting on your behalf, they have suggested Global Personal Portfolio.
There is a chance that this product may not be appropriate for you if you have not given your independent financial advisor all the necessary information or if their analysis does not meet your expectations.
What are the benefits of the Hansard Global Personal Portfolio?
The Worldwide Personal Portfolio offers the chance for potentially better earnings than you might otherwise be able to earn in exchange for a higher level of risk. You must be willing to embrace the possibility that you may not receive as much in return as you have given.
The investment alternatives offered for this product have various characteristics and risk levels. The assets you select will determine the degree of risk and the possible performance of your investments.
Make sure you are knowledgeable about the risks and have read the pertinent fund literature. It is your duty to choose the assets that best fit your risk profile, working with your fund advisor.
If your contract, contributions, or assets are valued in a different currency than the one in which you want to realize the future benefit from your contract, you may also be exposed to a currency risk.
Hansard Worldwide Limited and Hansard International are the parties to your contract, which is reinsured.
You might be subject to counterparty risks, which could affect the continuation of Hansard International’s services, the value of your contract, and your ability to withdraw funds from your investment, among other things.
Early Contract Termination for the Hansard Worldwide Personal Portfolio
The Worldwide Personal Portfolio is intended to be a medium- to long-term investment, and early contract termination may result in additional fees based on the pricing option chosen.
It is crucial to remember that you can receive less money back than the shown fund value and possibly less than the total amount you invested if you make withdrawals or if you relinquish your contract during a charge period.
There is a cancellation period during which you may end the contract without incurring any fees if you change your mind once your new term begins.
You will have 30 calendar days from obtaining the documentation for your new contract, at which point Hansard will provide information on how to end your agreement.
You can also withdraw your agreement before receiving your contract paperwork by getting in touch with the business or your independent financial counselor.
Unless the value of the assets you have invested in has decreased, in which case you will only receive the value that is available at that time and may not be the whole amount you paid in, Hansard promises to return your money if you decide to cancel.
There will be no deductions for contract fees or penalties; nevertheless, any administrative costs related to each asset, such as dealing fees or entry and exit fees, will still be due.
Any additional donations you might make are similarly subject to these cancellation rights, starting on the day each contribution is assigned.
The discontinuation charge and any annual management charges incurred for the portion of the quarter that has passed since the withdrawal was made, if applicable, may be included in the fee.
The contract is cancellable at any moment for the value of the assets assigned to it, however there could be a surrender fee. The discontinuance charge, along with the annual management charge and the service charge collected for the portion of the quarter that has passed since the surrender was made, is included in the surrender charge, if applicable.
Hansard Global has been providing these types of insurance policies for over 35 years. In addition to these products being sold through independent financial advisers, they’re also available directly from Hansard Global itself via its website or call center operations around the world. This makes it easy for customers who want access to these kinds of plans but may not have a financial advisor themselves.
Should you invest in Hansard Global?
Reviews are mixed at TrustPilot, which gives Hansard an overall score of 3 out of 5 stars based on 13 reviews as of January 2023.
Many of the reviews say they’ve had good experiences with the customer service department, but some also mention a lack of transparency with their investments.
However, Hansard Global unit-linked insurance products could provide decent returns to long-term individual investors if their insurance plans fit your particular needs. Be sure to consult your financial advisor for the best course of action should you choose to invest in them.
Hansard Global is a reputable financial services group with a long history of success. Hansard Global offers products that could provide decent returns to long-term individual investors who are looking for protection against market volatility or inflation but have modest investment goals.
However, there are better options out there for those seeking greater returns from their investments than what Hansard products offers them.
Pained by financial indecision? Want to invest with Adam?
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