14 February 2007
AXA wealth management and Winterthur CEO Mike Kellard today announces David Thompson as managing director Winterthur Life.
The announcement is part of a series of planned senior appointments at AXA and Winterthur following the company’s decision in November 2006 to restructure its UK businesses to give a sharper market focus. It was also announced that Winterthur's high net worth business will continue to be differentiated and will retain its separate Winterthur brand and focused market and customer positioning.
Thompson, as Winterthur’s director of distribution, was responsible for sales during a six year period that saw new pensions business growth of 710% and a sharp increase in year-to-date (end September 2006) pensions business SPE1, to £1.8 billion (2005: £1.24 billion).
Thompson will further develop Winterthur’s specialist product and service adviser proposition, designed to support high end intermediaries and their clients.
Says Mike Kellard, “David has made a significant contribution to the success of Winterthur over the past few years, which has seen our market share increase and our new business levels at a record high. He has managed to create a highly motivated and respected sales team and I believe his management experience, understanding of the IFA sector and his strategic ability make David the ideal candidate to take the Winterthur high net worth brand forward.”
Thompson has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Latterly he has been responsible for developing Winterthur’s depolarisation strategy and was instrumental in launching Winterthur’s Professional Edge initiative designed to support the business needs of IFAs. He joined Winterthur in 1999 from the Zurich Group as regional sales manager.
The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
1 Except where noted otherwise, all new business figures in this announcement are on a Single Premium or Single Premium Equivalent (SPE) basis. SPE equals new single premiums plus new regular premiums x 10. This replaces the Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) basis, used up to Q3 2005.
-End-
For further information:
Paul Riddell Winterthur Life, Press Office +44 (0)1256 798099
Sandra Fulton Winterthur Life, Press Office +44 (0)1256 798310
Christine Wood Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7269 7253
Notes to Editors
About Winterthur Life UK Limited
Winterthur Life UK Limited is part of Winterthur Group.
Winterthur Life UK offers pensions and investments for high net worth clients distributed via top tier IFAs and is renowned for its innovative approach to financial products. Its philosophy of transparent product propositions offers advisers a range of retirement and investment solutions with an open charging structure.
Winterthur Life UK is an experienced provider of single premium personal pensions, trustee investment plans and corporate pensions via IFAs and a leading provider of self-investment retirement plans like Self Invested Personal Pensions (“Sipps”).
Any opinions expressed in this media communication are made as at the date of publication but are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of shares/units and the income from them can go down as well as up. Exchange rate fluctuations may cause the value of underlying investments to fall as well as rise. Yields are not guaranteed and may fall or rise.
Winterthur Life UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
www.winterthur-ifa.co.uk
