While there are many positives associated with this investment, there are superior options out there.
If you have an RL360 investment you aren’t happy with, we can also optimize the policy or suggest alternatives.
If you are thinking about getting an RL360 PIMS Plan, make sure you thoroughly grasp the local taxation situation and assess any benefits against the lack of flexibility, access, and costs, which are frequently not stated. This RL360 PIMS analysis will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the product as well as giving a detailed evaluation of the features and costs associated with it.
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).
The RL360 PIMS supports a variety of commission structures, which is important to understand because one consultant may charge significantly less than another for what looks to be the same product but is not.
Depending on the adviser you employ, the RL360 PIMS can be more expensive than a pure platform plan.
Moreover, any purported tax advantages may be overshadowed by fees. For the purpose of offsetting high recurring costs, a commission rebate must be taken.
It does not provide a complete selection of discounted funds, direct shares, or trackers to invest in. Not in the USA, and not in any type of pension planning, do we encourage it.
Read a comprehensive review of RL360 PIMS, focusing on its Personal Investment Management Service.
Table of Contents
What Is RL360?
With a team that has expertise focusing on client needs to provide solutions that others might miss, RL360 is a reputable company that has a presence worldwide.
The company is headquartered in the Isle of Man, a hub for offshore finance, from where we conduct business across the world, including in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and the UK.
IFG Ltd (IFGL) includes RL360 in its portfolio. With 216,000 customers, USD 26 billion in assets under management, and more than 550 staff members, IFGL offers investing, savings, and protection products to foreign investors all over the world.
The business has a B+ grade and a 5-star service rating from the actuarial consultant AKG, which specializes in providing ratings for the financial services sector. The rating is the highest of any offshore life operation.
RL360 website can be accessed here.
Why Choose RL360?
A pleasant and secure future for its clients is what RL360 hopes to promote.
Regional offices of RL360, an Isle of Man-based company, are located throughout the Middle East, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Far East. They are a component of International Financial Group Ltd, which has more than 70,000 clients in 170 different nations.
With the top management team owning a portion of the company, they are able to give their clients with the greatest offshore savings, protection, and investment options. This vision is already taking shape as their market share has tripled over the past five years.
RL360 presently manages over $11 billion in customer assets.
In 2017, AKG, a UK-based independent actuary, granted RL360 a B+ grade, the equal highest of any worldwide life business. RL360 was classified as a ‘financially strong stand-alone enterprise with extremely good operating features’ by their financial strength evaluation.
RL360 also received ‘Best Life International Life Group (Non-UK)’ at the International Fund & Product Awards in 2017 and 2018.
What Is Personal Investment Management Service?
Personal Investment Management Service or PIMS is a single premium offshore/international savings insurance offered by RL360 Insurance Company Ltd (RL360) on the Isle of Man.
A portfolio bond called RL360 PIMS gives investors the option of totally open or guided architecture. It comes in seven different policy currencies.
It was established to make it possible to link a lump sum of money to a variety of assets, or to any currently held, suitable investments that you own. In the medium to long term, it also has growth possibilities.
PIMS allows for the appointment of a discretionary fund manager or an investment adviser and can be utilized in trusts. Almost all attitudes toward risk are catered for by investing possibilities.
In the medium to long term, it offers a variety of tax-efficient investment alternatives with the potential for growth.
In accordance with the tax laws of your country of residence, the RL360 PIMS plan seeks to provide the client with the chance to invest cash and/or any other permissible investments they may currently have in order to achieve tax-efficient capital growth, income, or a combination of the two.
You must commit to contributing at least GBP 50,000 (or the equivalent in another currency) to your PIMS plan before you may create an account, or you must have assets that are acceptable that are worth at least this amount.
PIMS need to be seen as a medium- to long-term investment (for at least 5 to 10 years).
Who Is Eligible For RL360 PIMS?
As long as they are not subject to any laws that forbid them from making an investment, PIMS is open to people, businesses, and trustees. To apply for PIMS, people must be at least 18 years old.
RL360 does not accept applications for 85 years or older as the youngest life assured if the policy’s basis is life insurance.
What Are The Two Policy Bases That PIMS Can Be Issued On?
Life Assurance
One of two configurations is possible for a PIMS life assurance policy:
- Single life – There is just one life assured, and when they die, the insurance expires.
- Joint life last death – The insurance can cover up to six lives, and it expires when the last life assured dies.
When the plan is approved, the youngest life guaranteed cannot be older than 75 years of age.
What Happens With Life Assurance Upon Death?
1. In the case of a life assurance plan where the assured life has passed away
Your RL360 PIMS plan will expire when the life assured dies or the last life promised on a multiple life last death basis dies. Before paying out, RL360 will need formal confirmation of the decedent’s passing and adequate supporting documents (known as “probate”) to be provided to their headquarters address.
2. In the case of a life assurance plan where the assured lives are alive, but the plan owner has passed away
For life assurance plans where the plan owner has died, but lives assured remain
If there are joint plan owners, only the surviving plan owner will retain exclusive ownership of the plan.
Ownership of the plan falls to the executors or administrators of your estate if you are the only party holding it.
Prior to the appointment of a new plan owner, RL360 will need that written notice of death and sufficient supporting evidence be delivered to their headquarters address. An amount equal to 100% of the surrender value will be paid as the death benefit.
Capital Redemption
The surrender value will be paid out by RL360 in addition to the guaranteed sum of GBP 100 or the equivalent in other currencies when a capital redemption basis RL360 PIMS plan reaches maturity after 99 years of operation.
What Happens With Capital Redemption Upon Death?
When a plan owner passes away, capital redemption plans do not immediately terminate. The personal representatives of your estate may choose who owns anything.
A formal notice of death and sufficient supporting documents must be received to RL360’s headquarters before a new plan owner may be designated. When it has been issued, your plan’s premise cannot be altered.
What Happens With Capital Redemption Upon Maturity?
Once the duration of the plan, as shown by the Plan Schedule, is complete, RL360 will:
- Halt all routine withdrawals and any other scheduled activities;
- Sell every investment you have linked to it, and deposit the proceeds into the Plan Basic Currency Cash Account; and
- Figure out the plan’s ultimate Maturity Value.
What Is The Minimum Contribution To RL360 PIMS?
Premiums are subject to the policy currency’s minimum premium levels, which in GBP are £50,000 initial and additional £5,000. Initial and extra premiums can be paid into PIMS in any currency accepted by RL360.
What Is The Difference Between PIMS Focused And PIMS Flexible?
PIMS’ guided-architecture version, PIMS Focused (formerly known as PIMS Select), provides a selection of investment funds that span a broad and diversified range of investing styles, asset classes, currencies, and risk ratings.
On the other hand, policyholders with PIMS Flexible can invest in any investment that RL360 accepts.
What Are The Investment Options For RL360 PIMS?
Policyholders with PIMS Focused coverage have a limited selection of about 1,000 investment funds to choose from. As a result, PIMS Focused has a more affordable billing structure than the completely open-architecture PIMS Flexible.
A variety of investment funds are available from reputable fund houses. You may pick from 999 funds that represent all the important global economies and investing categories.
The funds area includes fund fact sheets for each fund as well as monthly performance statistics and daily fund price updates. They will take more outside funding after consideration.
What Are The Risks Of Having An RL360 PIMS Plan?
Just like other plans, RL360 PIMS also has risks. You can receive less money back than what you invested since the value of the investments connected to your plan could increase or decrease.
Your plan will bear the loss if the provider of an investment connected to it goes bankrupt or is unable to pay its obligations for any other reason.
Your plan will incur a surrender cost if you cancel it during a time when there is no early surrender fee.
As PIMS is a medium- to long-term investment, you can receive less money back if you surrender in the early years than you put in. This is due to the possibility that the growth realized may not equal the costs incurred.
If the investments connected to your plan’s investments do not increase sufficiently to support the withdrawals, you can receive less money back from your plan’s withdrawals than you put in.
What Are The Key Features Of RL360 PIMS?
According to RL360, the foundation of PIMS (Personal Investment Management Service) is a straightforward idea of choice, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
RL360 PIMS has the following salient features:
- The plan may be set up in any one of seven different currencies, including the British pound sterling (GBP), the euro (EUR), the dollar (USD), the Swiss franc (CHF), the Australian dollar (AUD), the Hong Kong dollar (HKD), and the yen (JPY) (JPY).
- It can be customized with life assurance and capital redemption (which we will look into shortly).
- With the opportunity to raise later, you can start investing with GBP 50,000 (and the currency equivalent).
- RL360 and PIMS claim to be open to new investment possibilities when presenting themselves. PIMS does not have a set fund range.
- The Personal Investment Management Service advertises that one of its advantages is straightforward financial management. All of your transactions, including charges, withdrawals, purchases, and sales of assets, will be tracked in one location with the PIMS cash account(s).
- You may access your plan 24/7 using PIMS and make recurring or one-time withdrawals.
- It offers 10 complimentary trading transactions.
What Charges And Fees To Expect From RL360 PIMS?
You have the freedom to select the PIMS fee structure that best matches your needs by choosing whether to pay the major fees upfront or gradually over the course of the plan.
Upfront Charge
You may choose to pay the entire establishment fee upfront when you choose the upfront charge option.
The amount you have available to invest if you choose this option will be less than the amount you have paid since RL360 will deduct the whole setup price from your first lump sum payment.
In the event that you select this option, RL360 will apply 100% of your money, less the upfront fee, to your plan. An early exit fee would not be imposed in this situation.
Establishment Charge
The establishment fee might be spread out over 5, 8, or 10 years. The setup charge was created to cover the costs associated with setting up your plan, including paying any commissions owed to your financial advisor.
Servicing Charge
Your plan will be charged a USD140 quarterly service fee as long as it is in effect. The maintenance fee, which rises annually in accordance with inflation to pay the plan’s related operating expenses, is levied.
Dealing and Custody Charge
The firm will assume responsibility if you choose not to designate a discretionary manager or investing platform.
They will provide you 10 deals for free, but after that, they will charge you USD28 for each additional deal. Moreover, they will charge you a custody fee of USD56 to cover the expense of keeping your possessions.
Percentage Administration Charge
This is calculated as a portion of your premium, or the current plan value, whichever is larger, throughout the course of your policy. You have a choice of 8 or 10 years, and there will be an early surrender cost.
Flat Administration Charge
In accordance with the Isle of Man Retail Price Index, information about which may be acquired by contacting RL360, the flat administration price is a set sum that is applied for the duration of your plan and rises annually. The fee is still being collected as long as the plan is in effect.
Stockbroker Fees
If a chosen asset necessitates it, a stockbroker may be required to purchase or sell the asset; any brokerage costs will be taken from the PIMS cash account.
On request, RL360 will provide the most recent brokerage costs. The brokerage fees charged by RL360 do not apply in cases where your plan has designated a discretionary manager or investment platform.
About their brokerage costs, you could inquire with your discretionary manager or investing platform.
Investment Adviser Fees
The PIMS cash account can be used to pay an investment adviser’s fees if you decide to do so.
It is possible to request an investment adviser charge of up to 1.50% of the plan value, payable every quarter. Depending on additional costs, the amount accessible can be less than this.
Understanding the Costs and Implications of the RL360 PIMS Plan for Offshore Investors
The RL360 PIMS Plan resembles several others on the offshore market. The RL360 PIMS Plan may end up being more expensive than a pure platform plan in the wrong hands, such as those of an inept or unreliable salesperson.
Whether directly compared to platforms or direct offerings from fund companies via the UK or the USA, the typical RL360 PIMS Plan funds have substantial recurring costs. Early access fees under the RL360 PIMS Plan may be quite expensive.
With an RL360 PIMS Plan, you may not get all of your money back, and there are no assurance that the portfolio will produce the returns you expect. However, if the charging structure is based on your adviser’s maximum commission earnings, any attempt to withdraw money from the plan before it has fully matured will incur penalties.
The commission received will really have a negative effect for years since the fees are imposed annually in arrears, which lowers fund performance.
Some people, however, want to purposefully lock-up their money; they need assistance in making disciplined selections and comprehend that they cannot get hold of their plan unless they pay the surrender fee first.
Potential investors must thus compare the advantages of locking up their assets against the inability to access such assets early without incurring surrender fees.
The adviser has the option under the RL360 PIMS Plan to bill a fee rather than a commission to the customer.
If this alternative were taken, the performance of the total investment may benefit significantly since the decreased charges that would arise would have less of an influence on the portfolio’s growth. It is not usually provided, so ask your adviser for further information.
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