Fancy sending your money to St Lucia? They apparently now have their own private bank.

DeVere launches private bank after acquisition
deVere Group launches its first private bank

"Facilitated by the acquisition of the St Lucia arm of Arton Bank, I’m proud to say deVere Group Bank St Lucia is the first private bank to be owned by an independently-owned financial advisory organisation. ... The Bank will become a fundamental part of our business, and share deVere’s client-first ethos."

Is it just me or is this a contradiction? How can you be independent if you happen to own a bank and most likely earn more by selling your own products than somebody elses?

So I had no idea who they were when they called my office line... had a coffee with them (at their expense) and then met them again at their office to do a "discovery" exercise (free for me) of whatever UK pensions I may have. I can then choose to move that to a SIPP or walk away.

Glad I found this thread now... let's see what they can find on my UK pensions before I walk away

M.

I actually have a second LinkedIn account especially for people like that so they can call one another.

Is the person you're dealing with provably qualified to advise you on your financial affairs and how much commission would they and the company take on what they're recommending? I would suggest getting the answer to the latter in a form comprehensible to you and in writing.

You might want to consider these:
BBC Panorama: Who took my pension? (also BBC Panorama Pension plans and hidden charges, Pension rip-offs exposed)
'Publish at your peril' warns financial giant
Pensioners put £285,000 in woeful 'low-risk' funds
'Financial advice made my pension dive from £89k to £20k'
Investment giant buys angry reader's silence
Licence suspended following probe
Conduct brought into question overseas
Fined HK$2.5m by regulator
Pays 190k for misselling
DeVere investigating options over Strategic Growth Fund
Belvedere ponzi
Accused of using unlicensed funds in South Africa
More from International Adviser

I have changed my approach with these monkeys, and always tell them I will meet them in a bar or hotel down town and they pick up the bill. They then seem less encouraged to meet me.

If they do meet me and pick up the bill, the moment they tell me, they can offer tax efficient savings...out comes my Swiss German tax form, I indicate the box I put my third pillar tax efficient savings and if they could indicate where I would put their product on this form.

Needless to say they are unable, then if you ask how exactly is it tax efficient if it cant be added to the tax form, this is the point where their hard sell training runs out and they are free wheeling

I had something similar.

Asked the guy to tell me how to put this on my tax form.

He wheezed and panted and said he doesn't know because he doesn't fill out his own tax form. He has a tax consultant.

So I asked, what sort of expert on saving taxes are you if you don't do your own tax form, or at least know what's on it.

He wheezed some more, and said, actually he does do his own tax form, but he's not invested in this thing himself.

So, I said, you're recommending something to me that you wouldn't buy yourself.

The he got angry at me for wasting his time, almost broke out in tears, and said he'd driven all the way from Geneva just to see me, and this is how I treat him. He even called me a f&cking bar steward.

Which didn't prevent one of his colleagues from calling me again about 6 months later.

I was called on my mobile by Christian Hartley of Guardian Wealth Management. I give someone a chance unless I believe I'm being lied to. On this call, I had the full bullshit bingo checklist ticked off in 30 seconds.

Smelly statement 1 - "It's great to catch you again".
Truth - I may be old and slow, however we've never spoken or met before.

Smelly statement 2 - "I've been at your offices meeting with lots of your colleagues these past few weeks".
Truth - If he knew our offices, he'd know it's a physical impossibility.

So I ask my new best friend, Christian if he understands the requirements for FINMA registration and could he share Guardian's registration number with me.

Smelly statement 3 - "You'll find all the details on our website".
Truth - There is regrettably no FINMA registration on Guardian Wealth Management's website and no record of their registration on the FINMA website.

There is an official looking registration name on their website for the OARG, a self-regulating organisation against anti-money laundering. And, they do have an entry on the Registre du commerce.

Fact - Guardian Wealth Management SARL does not hold the legal right to cold-call Swiss residents and try to sell products that are not regulated in Switzerland.

Buyer beware.

I've had another couple of companies recently too .. Latest was an email to work address, they probably just guessed it..

From the secretary of some triple barreled name dude who is none other than the managing director of the company - charles huntingdon-farqueson-smyth or something riduculous like that.

Really keen to speak with me, understands my situation and can really make my investments work for me.. blah blah. When would be the best time to meet this week?

One of these days when I can be bothered I'll play along and go through the motions and let them know right at the end that I have only 100chf to invest.

So, given that, were people to record the conversations, what punitive measures could be taken against these charlatans?

Can you remember the company names?

Andrew Lumley-Holmes at Chase Buchanan by any chance?

Same MO.....guessing email addresses and an assistant trying to set up a meeting with boss Andrew

Whenever I get an unwanted call, I'll ask them from where they got my number. Their answer usually isn't satisfactory, so I'll friendly remember them to delete my number, followed by a quick hangup. I rarely get any calls (despite my number unfortunately being fairly well known) - and from what I can tell, almost no repeated calls at all.

I feel if they report "isn't interested and knows what he's talking about", the shit indeed ends.

Yeah that'll be the one.. Chase Buchanan.. Based in Cyprus.

I can't remember the name of the assistant who wanted to setup the meeting, I added them to my office spam list.

I never had a call from these guys. I feel left out. Who am i supposed to practice my (very limited) Dutch with now?

Dutch or Deutsch?

If you want to practice Dutch, give me a call :-)

Dutch

And considering that only know the numbers and basic greetings, cold callers are a more appropriate victim... emmm listening partner

You make a fair point. In the last 6 years, I receive a call a quarter on average. When I first arrived in Switzerland, I used to ask at reception if they could not pass sales calls to me. This resulted in relentless calls, until they got past the gatekeeper.

Saying "no, not interested". Hmm. They hear the words, however they are paid not to understand the meaning.

Sometimes, the calls went away for a few months, then they start again, or yet another player enters the market with the same brainwave to search for Brits in Switzerland, using Linkedin.

When an organisation advises on financial products that can profoundly impact the lives of people, the obligation to behave ethically is overwhelming.

These people actively target the pension funds of British expats.

In every call I've ever received, they demonstrate zero integrity. If they had values, they would not cold call, they would be regulated and qualified to sell products and they would not get caught telling such obvious lies.

Shame on them and shame on Linkedin for turning it's platform into a spamfest joke and shame on insurance companies who allow these clowns to sell their products and pay them a large commission in the process.

I see that the Swiss commercial registry site, where it used to be possible to see a company's details, including its sphere of activity and the CEO's/directors'/partners' names (therefore whether they were connected to other companies and thus clues to potential conflicts of interest), has disappeared. The closest thing to it seems to be the Bundesamt für Statistik's far less informative register of companies active in Switzerland, which does not show the sphere of activity or individuals' names. No sign of Chase Buchanan there.
https://www.uid.admin.ch/Search.aspx

Companies/individuals which prefer to conceal their connections must love this reduced transparency for consumers.

Cold calling financial advisors to be banned in the UK...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7902561.html