Guernsey's expertise in financial services was highlighted recently as three Guernsey firms scooped awards at the 2018 Global Financial Services Awards, organised and hosted by International Adviser.

At a ceremony at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Thursday 11 October, Sovereign Group, Trireme Pensions and Generali Worldwide all walked away with the top prize in their respective categories.

A shortlist of firms in each category was put forward by the independent financial adviser market. The awards were judged and selected by a mixture of industry experts and leading international financial advisers.

Trireme were winners in the Best International Retirement Product Category for their innovative, contract-based pension offering originally designed in Guernsey, their second victory having won the International Product Innovation of the Year Award and International Adviser's Product and Service Awards in 2016.

"This clever planning can avoid issues with trusts generally and has particular application into the EU from Malta and Guernsey as well as giving us planning advantages into the UK, predominantly from our Guernsey pension business," said Trireme Director Richard Garrod. "We are really pleased to win this award - it's the second award we have won in as many years which recognises our strength of product offering and innovation in the pension space.

"It certainly shows that Trireme are at the forefront of innovation in the pension space and we were also praised for our administrative excellence. This reflects well on Guernsey, too, being at the forefront of development, particularly in pensions."

Generali Worldwide was named Best International Employee Benefits Provider. CEO Giorgio Daboni was delighted to have won in such a tightly contested field.

He said: "At the heart of our proposition are customisable solutions that are developed with the end user in mind. Central to our approach is personalised engagement, exceptional customer experience and simplicity of content. We achieve this through dedicated account management, flexible products, a comprehensive investment offering, specialist in-house investment management and dedicated client education programmes.

"Generali Worldwide has been providing customised solutions to multinational and mid-sized employers for over 30 years. Guernsey has been a centre for international finance since the mid-1960s and has an enviable reputation for high standards, product innovation and service quality. Generali Worldwide is proud to be part of this vibrant sector on the island of Guernsey."

Sovereign Group was also awarded the top prize for Best International Trust and Estate Planning Firm, having demonstrated financial stability, probity, professional competence and integrity of staff, robustness of its systems, and the high volume of supporting services required to maximise opportunities and achieve long-term sustainability for its clients - including asset management, accountancy, retirement planning, insurance and specialist tax advice.

"The Sovereign Group is delighted to have won the International Advisor award for International Trust and Estate Planning Firm of the Year," said Managing Director Kyra Romano-Scott. "This reinforces Sovereign's commitment to compliant structuring and staff development in an increasingly changing global legislative environment."

For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.weareguernsey.com.

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