First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I followed my father into the financial industry as an Independent Financial Adviser in the UK. After becoming a successful manager and director with several leading firms, I had the chance to travel to Bermuda on a business trip where I discovered huge potential for a new kind of financial service for offshore clients.
I soon realised that international clients away from home needed a specialist and more holistic financial service offering, one that was multifaceted and that took in the particular regional and country variations in tax law, legislation and regulations.
As such, our first office was established in Hong Kong in 2002, and the company has grown and developed exponentially ever since to become one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organisations.
Now, please give us an overview of your company.
deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organisations, made up of more than 100 legal entities around the world. We currently have more than $12 billion under advice from some 100,000 clients in more than 100 countries across the globe.
The company provides clients around the globe with the powerful combination of personal financial advice and innovative digital solutions. With central hubs in primary financial and expat destinations, deVere Group has earned a global reputation for providing its clients with an enviable, results-driven service.
What was the original idea behind deVere Crypto?
deVere Crypto was launched in 2018. This pioneering cryptocurrency app, available for Apple and Android, permits users to store, transfer and exchange all major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple XRP and Dash, amongst others.
As the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has become an increasingly mainstream part of the global financial system, continuing to outperform stocks and gold, it’s popularity amongst institutional and retail investors is increasing all the time, and it has recently become legal tender in El Salvador. I predict that up to three other sovereign nations will follow this example in 2022.
Yet, it’s also a force for social good as it can provide a way out of both financial and political repression. It’s thought that over one billion people reside in countries suffering from uncontrollable inflation, meaning their hard-earned money depreciates rapidly against the goods and services they wish to purchase. This could force many into poverty, which may be incredibly difficult for them to get out of. Yet Bitcoin can offer a way out for those people living in countries where the national currency is sinking in value. Indeed, Bitcoin is a deflationary asset, which is why people in the aforementioned countries with depreciating currencies are increasingly using it as a store of value to shield against hyperinflation and surging living costs. Also, crucially, Bitcoin’s supply can never exceed 21 million which makes it a very attractive, inflation-resistant store of value. It’s almost devaluation-proof.
Furthermore, our clients are increasingly demanding a truly diversified crypto portfolio as the sector grows and moves ever more into mainstream finance. As an asset class, cryptocurrencies are not going anywhere, and it's becoming increasingly clear that they are the future of money. Digital, borderless money in our increasingly digitalised world just makes sense.
In addition, with technology being at the core of everything right now, deVere has recently partnered with Oryzon, a new venture capital fund that invests in the next big opportunities in pioneering technologies. With the ground-breaking concept of tokenisation of investments, tens of trillions of dollars in private assets are to be unlocked in the next decade as in-the-know investors turn to a radical technology revolution being driven by blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT). It’s an incredibly exciting time as the fundamental tech shake-up that’s on the verge of dominating nearly all sectors, will alter how business is done. Permanently. And savvy investors will be aware that the coming together of blockchain and artificial intelligence is a turning point in history.
What is, essentially, your unique selling point?
One of deVere’s main qualities is our global presence, strength and resources which feed into having the industry’s top advisers, offering the widest range of services - including our suite of fintech apps, market-leading low-cost financial solutions, innovative investments with specialist fund managers, insurance, property, tax consultancy, mortgages and fx, amongst others – not to mention world-class governance and compliance procedures.
How has the pandemic affected business?
When the coronavirus pandemic first hit the world, deVere adapted quickly and decisively. We implemented a work from home policy which worked extremely well as we all pulled together as one.
We worked via Zoom meetings – and still today a lot of our work is still done by video conferencing. We also found that our clients were more willing than ever to have meetings via Zoom. In fact, they seem to prefer it to in-person meetings. The result of this is that we can speak to more clients each day, helping them reach their financial objectives, and our productivity has increased significantly.
What are your projections for the upcoming years?
The global expat community is growing at an unprecedented pace as globalisation shrinks our world and more and more people become internationally mobile. As such, our objective is to be there for them, wherever they are and whenever and however they need us.
Moreover, client expectations are continually evolving. International investors are driving ever more sophisticated means of managing cross-border wealth and, as we provide/develop and bring them to market, our client base naturally becomes ever more expansive.
In addition, the financial services industry has seen major changes in recent years that have been fuelled by technology. Fintech is reshaping and redefining the way in which all financial services across the board are delivered. Not only was deVere the very first international advisory firm to actively develop and promote fintech – it remains the biggest and most successful fintech provider in our space. We continually strive to develop next generation financial technology propositions that will meet the needs and wants of our clients. We have created our own fintech ecosystem, with a series of different apps that all work together, including deVere Vault, deVere Crypto, deVere Core, deVere Investment and deVere Catalyst, our own digital city that is growing all the time.
As such, not content to rest on our already impressive track record in fintech, we will continue to grow our suite of innovative wealth tech products and services that are frequently first-of-their-kind. Basically, there is no other firm that can come close to deVere in fintech development, innovation and implementation – and we’re only just getting started. The advances in fintech are happening at record speed and it has already profoundly reshaped the whole financial sector, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.
