“The market for international financial consultancy is growing tremendously around the world. I think this is because more and more people are leaving Europe to go places where there is development and potential tax havens for the earnings as well,” Nigel Green, Chief Executive Officer at deVere Group, tells World Finance from the company’s South Africa offices. “Five of the fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa, so that is exciting. There is so much expansion and optimism that you can feel the vibe. People want to get on and do something and there is tremendous appetite for development.”
Green’s enthusiasm for the African continent and the business opportunities it offers is not only contagious, but tremendously insightful. Over the last few years, countries like Nigeria and South Africa have experienced tremendous growth, fostered in part by long-overdue investment in infrastructure. According to the Harvard Business Review, between 2001 and 2011 the African continent grew on average 4.7 percent a year– over twice its growth rate in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Africa has lots of natural resources,” explains Green. “If Africa was a lift, then it was in the basement – it has plenty of room to grow and it is definitely moving up very quickly. Lots of people keen to learn, and a large willing workforce proves that Africa is trying to change the way it is run. Infrastructure needs to be improved, but again, that attracts many international companies to those countries.”
Joining the boom
As African countries develop and grow economically, international companies swoop in to provide the services that every emerging market requires. Africa has potential because there is so much room for improvement and investment. deVere Group operates in that very niche; expatriates who immigrate to frontier markets looking for better business opportunities. “British people go to Dubai, for instance, because it’s tax-free, but there are many opportunities arising in Africa, so many ex-patriots are choosing to settle there,” says Green. “Johannesburg certainly feels like it’s booming with expats – British, Germans, Americans – there is a growing international market in many different countries, and it just shows that emerging markets are doing what they should do: emerge and grow, creating a demand for expatriates.”
As African countries develop and grow economically, international companies swoop in to provide the services that every emerging market requires
With over 80,000 clients worldwide, the group has learned to navigate the intricacies of the international trade and taxation, and to help enterprising foreigners find their feet – and their profits – in unknown territories. deVere Group is the world’s most prominent independent international financial consultancy and over the years has helped to create, grow and safeguard its clients’ assets in 100 different countries all over the world. “Originally we only dealt with British expats living abroad. We are British, we understand the British mentality and tax system and, at the time, could offer relevant advice,” says the CEO.
“But we quickly realised that there are German expats, and American expats, and that if we could deal with one nationality we could learn how to deal with others. Today the majority of our business remains catering to the needs of expats, but we also deal with the top end of the local community in some countries as well who seek out international advice because they may be international business people or may even have lived internationally themselves.”
That is certainly the case in Africa, where fast economic growth has lifted millions into the middle classes. The African Development Bank estimates that the middle-class in the continent has increased from 115 million in 1980 to 326 million today – an incredible growth and golden business opportunity. “There is massive growth in Africa at the moment, so deVere Group will be opening more offices in the region,” says Green with conviction. “Africa has a huge emerging middle-class, and we want to deal with them as well as with the inbound expat community. This is one of the continents where deVere Group looks to offer good financial advise that is not necessarily available locally for the burgeoning middle-classes. There is an emerging niche of people who are looking for international investment other than products that might be limited to their home-markets only.”
The group, however, was founded in order to cater for the financial needs of Europeans, primarily living abroad, and that remains its chief business today. “A friend of mine who went to work aboard persuaded me into the international markets – I was an IFA in the UK at the time,” recounts Green. “Today deVere Group has a strong international presence and we have come full-circle by opening an office in the UK, which we never previously had. We can now cater for returning expats who need advice as well.” Tax is one of the reasons for the growth we are seeing in the international financial consultancy market, but also low bank interest rates in Europe. The situation where banks will give you one percent in an account – if you are lucky – so people are looking elsewhere for higher returns.”
The typical client is probably between 35 and 50 – someone who has moved abroad for better opportunities and is looking to earn good money but wants to build security for themselves and their family. While 10 years ago the oil and gas industry made up the majority of those looking for international financial consulting, today every company across industries wants an international presence, which has diversified deVere Group’s client base.
Helping to overcome challenges
“Things are difficult in every country for foreigners, and in Africa it is no different. Each country has its own peculiarities and adjusting to local laws that don’t always sound sensible to someone from a different place can be challenging” says Green. “It is all about adjusting to someone else’s rules and regulations and understanding the local culture, wherever you are in the world. From talking to people about their personal situations deVere Group can assist with this type of transition and explain all the rules from an investment point of view. It is also vital to explain what taxation expats are liable for in the country that they are in, in regards to their home country, their domicile, and you can even consider a third country, which is where they intend to retire in. So if you were speaking to a Briton in South Africa, for example, who wants to retire in Spain, they would require a tax efficiency plan that accounted for each one of those different countries. And of course that is not always possible.”
With over $10bn of funds under stewardship in over 100 countries, deVere Group certainly understands what it takes to not only settle, but to succeed in a new an unknown territory. Over the course of its existence, the company has not only supported the business success of its clients, but also grown exponentially themselves. “Most of our development has been client driven. As our clients moved from one place to another we ended up with lots of clients in new locations, requiring that we open an office there to service them,” says Green.
“Our own people who have wanted to develop the business have driven some of our growth by moving further afield and opening offices based on their research and drive. I cannot say that our growth has always been scientific – a lot of it is based on a gut feeling because there are not that many statistics on how many expatriates are based in any given country, as not everybody registered. This gut feeling usually comes from monitoring where different international companies are moving, and where existing clients might be moving.”
It is exactly this type of instinctive nose for business that has propelled deVere Group forward in a competitive and oversubscribed market. Over the years the group, under Green’s expert guidance, has developed into more than a financial advisory group and into a vital service provider, which can cater for the needs of its clients globally.
