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Views From The Summit #6
Colin Mitchell, President of Great Pacific Group
This episode is the sixth installment of the ‘Views from the Summit’ series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management chats with today’s guest Colin Mitchell, President of Great Pacific Group. Colin shares his perspective on the captive industry, with his background in working in several different capacities in the industry. He also discusses his transition to living and working in Barbados, the impact of the pandemic on captive insurance clients, and the benefits of Barbados as a domicile.
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Video Outline
• 00:15 - Colin's career journey
• Economics degree, accounting designation, desire to work operations of companies
• Joined Marsh McClennan in Toronto, in the captives space with them for over 10 years
• Moving into a more entrepreneurial brokerage opportunity
• 3:50 Viewing captives from a broker perspective
• Captives as an opportunity and not a threat
• Synergy between the consulting/brokerage and captive management
• 4:30 Working with Great Pacific Group
• Great Pacific moved into captive management business, for self-management, then decided to extend to external clients
• A match made - management (Great Pacific Group) + brokerage (HUB)
• 5:20 Colin's move to Barbados
• Growth in clients - more back and forth between Canada and Barbados for meetings
• Eventually, decided to relocate with family
• Barbados - more than beach, a place for work not just play
• 7:53 New role at Great Pacific
• Change in gears - from consulting and brokerage, to now operations and management
• COVID challenges - learned to adapt to remote interactions
• Return to face-to-face welcomed
• Credits to great team at Great Pacific to support growth in client base
• 9:58 More about Great Pacific Group
• Focus on substance - in addition to accounting and legal services, underwriting and claims management done locally
â—‹ Active underwriting
â—‹ Overseas touch for relationship management
• For clients who want to get into insurance - provides vertical integration
• Independent player approach
â—‹ Relationships with brokerages who need captive management
â—‹ Entrepreneurial spirit and backing
• 14:40 New client experience
• New clients still moving ahead despite lack of face to face due to hard market in insurance
• Clients getting to come down as countries open up - Great Pacific facilitates
â—‹ Great Pacific organizes meetings for clients - meet your team (banking, IM, auditor)
â—‹ Depth of talent - clients often surprised by quality of financial services in Barbados
• 17:30 Investment management (IM) observations
• Colin's background as a CFA
• Accounting view vs investment view of a captive - blending the two
â—‹ Need for return on capital of a captive
â—‹ Managing income streams - premium and investment income
â—‹ Conservativism in asset allocation driven by maturity level
â—‹ Flexibility, innovation within portfolio constraints is key
â—‹ Canadian captives with largely property liability risk - liquidity management is also important
â—‹ Volatility management with opportunity to earn yield is the goal
• 23:25 Trends in IM for captives
• Often, newer captives will default to working within known relationships
• An opportunity under ES for local investment management
• Majority of clients do tend to outsource IM
• A good selection of on-island choices for IM
• 26:03 Value proposition of captive industry to Barbados
• Barbados Risk and Insurance Management Conference (BRIMs) - raising Barbados' profile in the global industry
• The industry offers well-paying jobs, talent development, can help Barbados reduce brain drain
• Clients enjoy Bajan hospitality when visiting
• Knock on effects - clients go back and spread the word, both socially and professionally
• 28:55 How can a young professional get into captive insurance?
• Accounting and legal opportunities which are the usual ones people think of
• But also, opportunities in insurance - possible career path is to get offshore experience in insurance industry and come back
• 30.55 Colin's blue-sky ideas for advancing Barbados' ranking in captive industry
• Who are we really competing against for reinsurance business? Bermuda vs. London model
Opportunity - widening the insurance markets locally, focusing on bringing quality reinsurance markets to Barbados at a cost effective rate
Views From The Summit #1
Wayne Fields, President of DGM Financial Group
This episode is the first installment of the ‘Views from the Summit’ series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management chats with today’s guest Wayne Fields, President of DGM Financial Group. Wayne talks about his long and successful career in the Financial Services industry in Barbados, what the industry means to him and his thoughts on the way forward.
• Wayne's career in accounting and now in international financial services
- Coopers and Lybrand to PWC and now DGM Financial Group
• What drives him to keep going - 3:23
- Importance of training and succession to providing excellent client service
• Leading an independent brand such as DGM - 6:00
- Market reach - Canada, US and UK
- Range of financial services, including insurance management
• Barbados as an option for UK clients - 8:12
- Name recognition - opportunity to raise awareness of local financial services
- Cost advantages versus other nearshore options
- Recognition of Barbados Stock Exchange by the London Stock Exchange
- Listing of digital assets
• The Barbados International Financial Services Experience - 10:35
- Benefits for clients
- Benefits for Barbadians
• "Captive Insurance" - What is it and what are the career prospects? 13:40
- Breadth of Insurance, beyond captive relationships
- Variety of industry roles - trust, accounting, etc.
- Day-to-day experiences
• Investment Management for captive insurance companies - 17:20
- Trend of outsourcing to investment advisors vs. in-house
- Importance of benchmarks and fees
- Variations in portfolio mix - mature vs new captives
• Wayne's views on opportunities for Barbados' captive insurance industry 21:35
- OECD substance rules
- Spreading the knowledge to key markets, collaboration between public and private sector
Views From The Summit #2
Vinston Hampden, AON Insurance Managers (Barbados)
This episode is part of the ‘Views from the Summit’ series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management chats with today’s guest Vinston Hampden, Managing Director – AON Insurance Managers (Barbados), who shares a number of insights from his successful career in Captive Insurance.
• Vin’s background and destination in the Barbados Captive Insurance Industry - 00:10
- What is captive insurance?
- From engineering to insurance
• Genesis of Aon and Barbados Captive Insurance Industry - 11:00
- Changes through the years
• The Aon Barbados Client Experience - 18:45
- Typical client base
- Additional benefits to Barbados
• New Markets Ahead? - 30:30
• Investment Management for Captives - 31:47
• What lies ahead - opportunities and challenges for Barbados and the industry - 38:58
• Vin's reflections on his next steps - 45:45
Views From The Summit #3
Neil Jamieson, Chairman of TCFC Advisory Services
This episode is the third installment of the ‘Views from the Summit’ series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management chats with today’s guest Neil Jamieson, Chairman of TCFC Advisory Services, who shares insights from his successful career in Canadian Financial Services and more recently in the Barbados Captive Insurance industry, and his transition to living and working in Barbados.
• Neil's transition to Barbados 0:00
- International Treasury Facilitation
- Mind and Management
• Neil's background and career path 6:30
- Financial Services – Corporate and M&A Advisory, Portfolio Management for Pension Plans
• Rationale for captive insurance 7:30
- Beyond tax management - the business case
- Changing perspectives
• How Neil views his experience in Barbados with the captive insurance sector 14:00
- Growth and innovation
• Investment Management for Captives 16:35
• Charm of Barbados for Clients 20:00
- Contribution to wider economy
• What can the industry in Barbados do to advance? 25:00
- Integrating management into parent objectives
- Multi-cell captive insurance opportunity
• Neil's reflections on choosing and living in Barbados 32:00
Views From The Summit #4
David Wright, CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Board - Amphora Financial Group
Welcome to another episode of ‘Views from the Summit’, a series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management chats with today’s guest David Wright, CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Board - Amphora Financial Group. David discusses his career in the Captive Insurance industry in Barbados since its genesis, his passion for technology and service excellence and how they go hand in hand, as well as his views on how Barbados can become even more successful as a Financial Services Centre.
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• An overview of David's experience in the Captive Insurance industry - 0:10
- The genesis of the industry in Barbados
- High quality service delivery
- Changes in regulation
• The Amphora Experience - 2:55
- Client service excellence - a key differentiator
- Technology infrastructure as a driver
• David's professional background - 6:15
- Accounting, technology, investments
• The Strength of the Amphora Team - 7:30
- Depth of team
- Advantage of independent brand
- Importance of marketing and referrals
• Geographic Markets and Opportunities - 12:50
- Canadian and US as mainstay
- Need for more targeted local market research into market trends
• The Barbados Experience for Clients - 14:45
- Bridging the geography gap
- Maintaining confidence in the high standards locally
- Contribution to the wider economy
• Demystifying the Captive Insurance industry for new graduates - 18:30
- Skillsets - accounting, finance, actuarial science etc.
• Thoughts on importance of Business Facilitation - 20:00
- Implementation of technology processes
- Strengthening insurance infrastructure strategy to attract business
• Investment Management for Captives - 24:40
- Acceptance of the "New Normal" - lower yielding environment
- Preservation of capital remains paramount
- Key qualities for investment managers - track record, knowledgeability, quality and timely reporting
• Barbados' strengths and opportunities as a Financial Services Centre - 30:15
- Tax planning, relationships and confidence in service
- Breadth of Barbados' tax treaty network as an asset
- Economic substance as an opportunity
• The lighter side of things - 34:10
- Golf - a way to build better relationships
- David's passion for continuing in his professional pursuits
Views From The Summit #5
Nicholas Crichlow, Senior Vice President, Marsh Captive Solutions
This episode is the fifth installment of the ‘Views from the Summit’ series of peer to peer discussions with leaders in the Captive Insurance Industry. John Howard, President of Summit Asset Management talks with today’s guest Nicholas Crichlow, Senior Vice President, Marsh Captive Solutions. Nicholas discusses his career in the domestic and captive insurance industries in Barbados, what the wider International Financial Services sector means to him and how he views Barbados' opportunities in the space.
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• Nicholas' background and career - 00:20
- Moving to Marsh in 1990 from the domestic insurance industry
- Law degree
- CGA Association President
• Entering into captive insurance - 05:50
- Similarities to domestic insurance
- New challenges
- Upskilling and growing to service international clients
• Advice to those seeking to enter captive insurance and broader International Financial Services (IFS) sector - 8.45
- Types of professionals in the sector
- Solid prospects for the industry given strong history
- Barbados' responsiveness and dedication
• How to communicate the value of the IFS sector to Barbadians? 12:30
- Direct Employment of Professionals
- Indirect Linkages to Hospitality Sector
• Changes to the way of work - 14:30
- Client service - Speed of communication and expectations increasing
- Insurance offering - improving and expanding policy offerings e.g. cyber-insurance
- Geographic markets - traditional markets (North America) and new markets (Latin America)
- Leadership - moving to Head of Office position
• The Marsh Experience - 19:50
- Quality products to clients - Local experience is on par with the Global Brand
- Use of technology
- Wide Marsh Network
- The Barbados benefit - "Bajan hospitality"
• The Impact of Legislative and Regulatory Changes 27:00
- Barbados' history of substance is a solid foundation
- Opportunity from OECD Compliance
- Need for business facilitation at high standard - clarity and consistency of service levels
• Investment Management 30:55
- Key traits that are needed
- Meeting benchmarks
- Conservative portfolio positioning
- Timely reports
- How clients react to lower rates - more acceptance, less search for yield
• The lighter side of things - 37:30
- Learning Spanish and a call to the Bar?
- Cricket and its timeless appeal