Le Tour de Finance Gayda October 2016
By Derek Winsland
This article is published on: 9th October 2016
On Friday 7th October, 62 invited guests attended the 113th Le Tour de Finance event, once again staged in the beautiful setting of Domaine Gayda, in Brugairolles in the Aude. This is the seventh time The Spectrum IFA Group has returned to Domaine Gayda, and after the presentations guests were able to sample some of the wines produced there.
On arrival, guests were treated to coffee and pastries before listening to six presentations on a range of financial subjects including Assurance Vie, Pensions, Financial Markets and Currency Exchange and French Tax issues. The presentations were delivered by industry professionals and commenced with a presentation by Michael Lodhi CEO of The Spectrum Group who immediately drew the attention of the attendees by addressing the issue uppermost in the guests’ minds, that of the EU Referendum result and how it would impact the expat community. Michael then went on to highlight the other main theme of the day, that of the state of the UK pensions industry, scheme deficits and the options open to pension members.
Michael then made way for Jeremy Ferguson of SEB Life International who spoke about Assurance Vie, its tax advantages in France both for income and inheritance tax, and demonstrated the product’s flexibility in adapting to changes in the policy-holder’s circumstances. This is always a popular presentation, and didn’t disappoint.
Following Jeremy, we heard a presentation on the current situation in the financial markets delivered by Robert Walker from Rathbones, who shared the ‘house’ view on the impact of Brexit on the investment markets, and on the value of the pound. Of particular interest were his views on where the true value of the pound lies and the timescales before those values are likely to be restored.
Following Robert came a short presentation by George Forsyth of Prudential who presented the Prudential International Assurance Vie and how it differs from the SEB Life International contract. Majoring on the strength of Prudential’s investment funds and how this allows the returns to be smoothed out, rather than suffer the periodical fluctuations of the investment markets, George was able to convey the view that the volatility in global markets can be successfully managed without causing the investor sleepless nights.
There was a noticeable sitting up in seats when the next speaker stood up to speak – Paul Foreman from Momentum Pensions. Speaking about the developments in pensions brought about by last year’s change in legislation, it was clear this was a subject of great importance to the attendees. There is clear concern being expressed currently and this was confirmed to us in feedback received after the event. Paul delivered a highly informative presentation that inevitably raised more questions than answers, but an opportunity to ask those questions came over lunch.
Pippa Maile of Currencies Direct then delivered a typically entertaining presentation on the different transaction opportunities available through the Currencies Direct online portal. Once again this was of particular interest to the room.
Finally, guests were introduced to Rachel Thomas-Bonnet whose company Perfide Albion provides help and support in a whole range of aspects to ex-pats, ranging from help with property purchase, entering the French healthcare system and (noticeably more reluctantly) re-registering your car in France. Rachel also helps with completion of tax returns, and through her work with Notaires coupled with her legal training she has built up a reputation as the go-to person for all aspects legal. It was clear that Rachel was a popular speaker by the comments made by the attendees and the number of people who made a bee-line for Rachel over lunch.
The presentations were then wound up by Michael Lodhi who invited all to stay and enjoy the lunch provided by Domaine Gayda and to sample some of its wines.
To all of us there, it was evident that the guests had found all the presentations highly informative and of value to them. Once again, a very successful Tour de Finance.