Martin Davis

'Over the past five years we have removed hundreds of Independent Financial Advisors from our list in the Middle East. It has been a question of only keeping those who understand our products and standards of corporate governance,' he says.

Indeed, the big international banks are now one of the largest sources of business for Zurich these days, and the Swiss group has a tough double regulatory regime in place for UAE operations.

'We are regulated both by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and by the Isle of Man. This double regulation is a major selling point with both local and international regulators in place. We are also the only offshore insurance company to be licensed by the UAE Ministry of Finance and Economy.

'It is true that the scandal surrounding Towry Law has cast a shadow over the role of the IFAs but we are an insurance company selling our products through intermediaries that meet our standards, and not acting as an IFA any more.

'In fact our direct sales force of 300 in the UAE is going through a Management Buy-Out and will be launched this September as the largest IFA by some margin. We do recommend that anyone should seek financial advice from a qualified IFA before buying any of our products.

'Sometimes it is a matter of making sure that an offshore savings product will pay out in the appropriate currency to buy a home in the UK for example in sterling, while the client is earning dirhams in the UAE.'

The new US dollar funds launched this week are managed by Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and are available in five different risk levels from cautious through to performance.

'Typically people save into funds over 10 to 15 years so the performance of the stock market in one bad month or year is not important to them. It is more important that they have saved the right amount in the currency of choice,' explains Mr. Davis.

'Also when people are doing well, as they are in the UAE today, they want to save more. Our typical clients here are long-term expats and we have seen a 90 per cent growth in our UAE business in the past four years and 55 per cent in the past year.

'Our main competitor in the UAE has been the Dubai Financial Market and local real estate. But our typical client will probably be invested in both these asset classes as well as the type of funds that we offer.

'The other trend is for people to want funds that will move around the world with them from job to job. This is the same trend as that seen in international banking, and again our international regulatory structure is right on target.'