Blevins Franks ? 35 Years Of Trusted Wealth Management

The last 35 years have seen unprecedented change in the financial world; in particular recently through the global financial crisis. We have entered an era where we have less confidence in the ba

The last 35 years have seen unprecedented change in the financial world; in particular recently through the global financial crisis. We have entered an era where we have less confidence in the banks than we used to have; we have seen some very high profile financial frauds; taxes are on the rise as governments try to repair their deficits and the crackdown on offshore centres has put paid to financial secrecy.

Over these 35 years, Blevins Franks, a leading pan-European wealth management group advising UK expatriates, has grown from a chartered accountancy practice into a group of financial services companies employing around 150 members of staff. It has specialised in international tax and investment planning and is regarded as a pre-eminent tax and wealth management provider. Through its offices in France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta, the international division of Blevins Franks Financial Management Limited is the leading provider of investment advice to the British expatriate community living within these countries. It currently advises on over ?1 billion worth of assets.

While the last two years have been particularly tough for the financial services industry, Blevins Franks has gone from strength to strength.

David Franks, Founding Director and Chief Executive, commented:

?Against this backdrop I am delighted to be able to say that at Blevins Franks we have increased our presence and support by opening more new offices in Europe; we have extended the range of our services to private clients and we have invested to further improve the ongoing support and advice that we offer to our clients.?

Over the last two years Blevins Franks has opened three new offices in France ? in Provence, Toulouse and recently in Niort – and has been increasing its presence on the Cote d?Azur. It has also expanded in the Algarve and Mallorca.

Blevins Franks? central operation for all investment administration, trust administration, compliance and marketing is in Malta, and in March this year it relocated to newly built offices in the centre of the island. The move not only provides clients and employees a better environment to plan their future and work in, it also confirms the Group?s success in Malta and reflects confidence for future growth.

During a visit to the office by the Malta Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Minister for Finance, the Economy and Investment Tonio Fenech, David Franks stated:

?We are totally behind the country?s vision to turn Malta into a financial services centre of excellence. That is the vision we also share for our business and client base, holding our heads high in the knowledge of providing an excellent service from our base in Malta and our overseas offices.?

At the same time, Blevins Franks has introduced new services for its clients. This includes tax planning for expatriates who are returning to the UK, foreign exchange, Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) which offer many benefits to expatriates, and recently Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS). Blevins Franks was one of the first companies to advise on these new schemes which can reduce local taxes and UK inheritance tax on expatriates? investable wealth.

Last year, Blevins Franks Financial Management Limited was selected by the Telegraph Media Group to provide specialist services for the newly launched Telegraph Expatriate Wealth Service ? a partnership which is proving very successful. The service provides tax, wealth management and pension services to expatriates and UK residents planning to move overseas or who own assets or property outside of the UK.