Financial Risk Solutions (FRS), a Dublin-based provider of unit-linked investment administration and compliance oversight software, is pleased to announce the opening of two offices in Asia; Hong Kong and Malaysia. These are the first offices outside of Europe for the business.
The decision is the result of research into strategic growth in the region. FRS met 25 life insurance firms and 15 asset managers across Asia over 18 months, to understand their specific investment administration and oversight requirements. The research identified that Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) or Investment-linked Insurance Plans (ILPs) are growing at a significant pace. This brings challenges for life insurers to scale operations in a robustly controlled risk environment, a key regulatory concern.
FRS software industrialises investment operations, bringing increased efficiency, reducing risk and provides scalability to clients. Founder and CEO of Financial Risk Solutions, Peter Caslin commented, “This has been an exciting year of growth for FRS in terms of new geographies - particularly the growing Asian life insurance market.” Peter also described their activities in Asia to date, “FRS has met with many of our regional colleagues through events across Asia. Our reputation for market-leading software solutions has resulted in numerous new relationships, and we look forward to expanding our service to our Asian partners.“
Research published earlier this year from Munich Re puts the growth of the life insurance industry in Asia’s emerging markets at above 10 percent across 2017-2018. The same research placed Asian market share of the global insurance industry at 21.4 percent by 2025.
This opportunity has been noticed by others, with Insurtech companies coming to life in the region. However, Matthew Baldwin, Head of Asia Financial Risk Solutions, believes they can address this head-on, “The ongoing success of FRS is underpinned by our commitment to technological innovation. Our Invest|Pro™ fund administration software enables automated processes, controlled by comprehensive rules and exception reporting. It also includes oversight modules with a specific focus on Asian market requirements.”
The two new office openings, at Menara Darussalam, Kuala Lumpur and International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong, will see FRS expand their footprint in Asia. Currently, Invest|Pro™ is the core investment administration system for over 35 European life Insurance firms including over 500 UK pension funds. In 2017 the Invest|ProTM software suite reached a significant mark, surpassing £100bn in assets under management.