The Novia Global Stocks and Shares Isa has been designed to help expats invested in Isas who can no longer add additional funds, and any gains derived from the Isa, as they could be subject to tax in their country of residence – a concept called ’suspended animation’.

The offering is intended to plug what Novia Global called “a significant gap in the market” by allowing Britons who have moved or work abroad to have their Isas managed alongside their other assets.

According to Novia, the new Isa is also suitable for expats who plan to – or who could – return to the UK and would subsequently benefit from a tax-efficient product.

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Novia was recently approved by the HMRC as a UK-registered Isa manager, meaning expats can transfer their existing Isas and incorporate them into broader Novia accounts.

“The problem of expats’ Isas entering what amounts to a state of suspended animation has been recognised for some time,” said Chris Skelhorn, sales director at Novia Global.

“We know from our conversations with advisers and clients that it has been a matter of frustration, particularly since so few meaningful efforts have been made to tackle the issue,” he added.

“It’s still the case that only UK residents can set up or contribute to an Isa. The starting point here is to transfer an existing Isa, not to open a brand new one.”

In a joint statement today Novia Global and Söderberg & Partners announced that Vasilieff had passed on 19 November suddenly and peacefully surrounded by his family.

They said: “Bill was a true innovator and pioneer in the financial services sector whose impact and influence were widespread. His meticulous work ethic spanned many decades across multiple industries.”

Vasilieff stepped back from his role at Novia in 2021 but came out of retirement this year to become chairman of the UK arm of Swedish wealth manager Söderberg & Partners.

He was a proud Scotsman and a lifelong Bath Rugby supporter and raised considerable sums for the Bath Rugby Foundation.

Vasilieff is survived by his wife, son and daughter who have asked for privacy at this time.

Tributes have started to flood in on social media for the industry legend.

Mark Polson, chief executive and founder at the lang cat, posted on Linkedin saying: “Very sad to hear the news about Bill Vasilieff’s death at the weekend. A true original gone far too young.”

While another user commented: “A great man with such vision and knowledge for the industry but also someone who was always willing to share time for others. A great loss.”

Adviser platform Wealthtime also took to the website to express its condolences.

It said: “Bill paved the way for the platforms of today and he put his heart and soul into Novia, building it into an extraordinary business, for which we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. We know he will be missed greatly by all in this sector.

“In addition to his business achievements, he was, simply put, a wonderful man and will be greatly missed.”

Details of a memorial service are set to follow in due course.

Much the same attributes – great service, value for money and excellent outcomes – define my idea of an investment platform. The big difference is that Rules is deliberately caught in something of a time-warp, writes Steve Andrews, chief executive of Novia Global.

When a scene was filmed there for Downton Abbey, for example, only the till had to be changed in the interests of period correctness. Everything else looked like it was from a bygone age – because it actually is.

By contrast, the world of platforms can’t afford to stand still. The technology that underpins the best offerings in this segment is constantly evolving and improving, as are the financial solutions available as a result.

Some advisers fear the pace of innovation is now so accelerated that it will soon outstrip them. In particular, dramatic advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly perceived as a growing threat rather than as a potential benefit.

Frankly, I think these fears are way off the mark. The history of platforms has always been defined by a “best of both worlds” approach, and the future should only further cement this ideal. Let me explain.

Combining respective strengths

The recent frenzy of headlines surrounding ChatGPT and other cutting-edge chatbots has prompted many people to explore AI’s past. Most roads lead back to Alan Turing, the mathematician, logician and cryptanalyst arguably most famous for cracking the Enigma Code during World War Two.

Having helped defeat the Nazis, Turing set himself a new challenge: solving the puzzle of whether a machine could think like a human. His work led to “the imitation game”, a test for assessing a machine’s ability to exhibit human-like intelligence.
ChatGPT has passed this test. Displaying unusually convincing language and social skills, it fooled a panel of evaluators into believing they were conversing with a fellow sentient being. But this breakthrough doesn’t signal the end of life as we know it – not least for platforms.

The fact is that platforms have always been about combining the respective strengths of humans and machines. For more than 30 years, ever since the first electronic trading platform emerged, this is how they’ve aimed to demonstrate the qualities I mentioned earlier – great service, value for money and excellent outcomes.

Consider the optimum division of duties right now. Advisers focus on engaging with their clients, because that’s what humans do best, while machines concentrate on the heavy lifting – data analysis, number-crunching and so on – because that’s what they do best.

However rapid the pace of innovation becomes, I don’t see this fundamental balance being upset. The “best of both worlds” philosophy should continue to apply, because the ultimate goal is still to empower advisers and their clients – not to overpower them.

The benefits of positive disruption

A similar dynamic is playing out in other platform-driven sectors. Take Amazon and Uber – both of which, like their investment counterparts, should be regarded not as products but as genuinely holistic services.

Here, too, machines are tasked with carrying out the heavy lifting. But at some point in the process, crucially, humans need to directly interact with the consumer, act as facilitator or exercise meaningful oversight.

This reminds me of one of the sharpest observations I’ve ever head about tech and AI, which is basically this: you can be sure a computer will thrash you at chess, but who’s going to put the pieces back in the box afterwards?

In other words, humans should always be “in the loop”. In our industry, which is rightly built on trust and relationships, this is especially important – and it’s why we should think of what’s happening less as the march of artificial intelligence and more as the rise of augmented intelligence.

Going forward, we can expect a lot more innovation in the platform arena. At Novia Global we recently renewed our deal with our own long-time fintech partner, and we’re extremely excited about what lies ahead. The international platform space is notably ripe for further disruption – and that disruption should be positive for everyone concerned.

As they appreciate at Rules, a business should never lose sight of what it does well. But in the fast-moving sphere of platforms, maybe now more than ever before, the brightest future for all stakeholders is likely to lie not just in recognising what we do well but in understanding what we can do even better.

This article was written for International Adviser by Steve Andrews is chief executive of Novia Global.

The Accord Initiative will launch on the 4 July and will provide access to compliance, educational, CPD and regulatory analysis services via a website.

Financial advisers, compliance consultants and paraplanners will be able to increase their knowledge, and build an ESG and sustainability framework into their advice process.

The website will include a fit for purpose and free-to-access suitability framework spanning the full investment spectrum of capital.

Patrick Mill, chief executive at Novia, said: “We understand that meeting regulatory requirements can be onerous and at times daunting, especially with so much in flux at the moment. So, if we see an opportunity to help lighten that load a little, we’ll grab it.

“That’s why we’re supporting the Accord Initiative, it should provide welcome support in ensuring all advice professionals can put the right ESG compliance structures in place and be confident that they are delivering good ESG outcomes to their clients.”

Elly Dowding, director of ESG Accord, added: “We aim to ensure the Accord Initiative delivers best practice compliance and advice solutions to support financial advisers, their clients and broader market participants.”

Ben Bulmer has been named as chief financial officer at the global financial services group.

Bulmer is currently chief financial officer of insurance and asset management at the company.

He succeeds James Turner, who has resigned as chief financial officer in light of an investigation into a code of conduct issue relating to a recent recruitment situation.

Prudential said: “The group sets itself high standards and Mr Turner fell short on this occasion. Mr Turner will remain available to the group for a period of four months to support a smooth transition.

“There are no implications for the financial performance, reporting or operations of the business.”

FIM Capital

The Isle of Man-based wealth firm has promoted David Bushe as chief executive.

He previously was investment director at the company.

Prior to FIM Capital, he was a director at Ravenscroft Group.

Novia Financial

The platform business has brought together its operations and technology teams under the direction of Eden Scrivenger, who takes on the expanded role of chief technology and operations officer.

Scrivenger, who joined the platform in August last year, will be supported by newly appointed operations director, Julie Gawthorpe, who joins from pensions administration provider Diligenta.

FWD Group

Sid Sankaran has been named as managing director and group chief financial officer, effective 1 September 2023, subject to regulatory approval.

Sankaran will join the company as senior adviser from 1 June 2023.

He will succeed Jon Nielsen, who will be pursuing a career opportunity in North America.

GBST

The global wealthtech company has hired Simon Clare as head of product innovation.

Before joining GBST, Clare was chief product officer at FE Fundinfo.

Isio

The pension consultancy firm has promoted Emily McGuire to lead its investment advisory team.

McGuire, previously at Aon, joined Isio in May 2022.

She takes on the role from Nick Evans, who is turning his focus to client development, exploring new opportunities to diversify and grow the business.

JM Finn

Rebecca Dawkins has joined the wealth manager as an associate wealth planner.

Before joining JM Finn, she was at London Wall Partners and prior to that at Saunderson House.

Marlborough

The fund manager has appointed Kevin Addison as head of UK wholesale and institutional funds distribution.

Addison joins from Downing Fund Managers, where he was head of sales and distribution. Before that, he was head of funds distribution at Brooks Macdonald.

Old Mill

The wealth manager has promoted chartered accountant Jamie Rudge and compliance director Duncan Parkes as technical partners.

The promotions bring the total number of partners to 25.