Aon Insurance Managers (Gibraltar) Limited (AIM) held a celebratory dinner at The Rock Hotel on Monday 14th July to celebrate its 10th Anniversary in Gibraltar and raise funds for its chosen charity, Gibraltar Special Olympics. Paul Sykes, Managing Director of Aon Insurance Managers Gibraltar Limited welcomed over one hundred guests including guest of honour, The Honorable Peter Caruana QC, Chief Minister of Gibraltar.
Mr Sykes took the opportunity to thank clients, local business partners and the staff of Aon in Gibraltar for supporting Aon in the past, the present & the future.
Chris Le Conte, Regional Managing Director for Aon Global Insurance Managers (AGIM) spoke about what Gibraltar means to Aon. He recounted how Aon Insurance Managers (Gibraltar) Limited incorporated in Gibraltar in 1998 under the management of Paul Savignon at European Insurance Management Services (EIMS). Following the introduction of Protected Cell Company (PCC) legislation in 2001 (Gibraltar was the first European on-shore domicile to do so), Aon decided to take a larger presence in Gibraltar and bought EIMS from Mr Savignon. Shortly after buying the management company Aon incorporated White Rock Insurance (Gibraltar) PCC Limited, to create the first PCC in the EEA and expand Aon’s market leading brand of protected cell companies, the White Rock group of companies.
Mr Le Conte confirmed “2001 was a catalyst for us: the wisdom & foresight of Gibraltar to become the first EU domicile to introduce PCC legislation.”
Many other multinational clients were subsequently attracted to Gibraltar by Aon, which now manages a total of 34 insurance entities for clients.
In 2002, AIM Gibraltar employed only one member of staff, which consequently grew to 18 people today, comprising locally qualified professionals mixed with the skills of internationally experienced staff recruited from the London, Dublin & Guernsey financial markets.
Tizzy Hoare, who joined the Company in 2002 as its second employee and now serves as Company Secretary and Human Resource Officer, commented: “Despite growing significantly, we have retained the feeling of being a family, which makes Aon Gibraltar a very special place to work, and one I am very proud of”.
Mr Caruana congratulated Aon on having “developed from being a managed company yourselves in 1998 to becoming Gibraltar’s largest manager of insurance entities 10 years later.”
Speaking of what Aon means to Gibraltar, the Chief Minister observed that Aon Global Insurance Managers is a leading manager of insurance companies in the world, remarking that Gibraltar wants to have quality companies operating in Gibraltar like Aon.
He explained that the insurance industry in Gibraltar has been one of the fastest growing finance sectors and that this has been possible due to political stability, good regulation by Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, highly developed financial services infrastructure and a positive tax regime.
After dinner, representatives of the band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment made a surprise entrance, imbuing the evening with a flavour of Gibraltar’s history for the many overseas visitors.

Local members of the Gibraltar Insurance Association have formed a new insurance institute for Gibraltar to help educate and serve members and employees working in the local insurance market.
So far over 100 individuals from local insurance organisations have confirmed their intention to join the new Institute.
The objective of the Gibraltar Insurance Institute (GII) is to promote higher standards of competence and integrity in the practice of insurance in the Gibraltar market. It aims to achieve this through the training, monitoring and facilitation of continual professional development for its members.
On 3rd September 2008 the GII held an inaugural lunch at the Rock View suite in the Elliott Hotel. The event, which was sponsored by Argus Insurance, was an opportunity for prospective members to find out more about the GII, and the forthcoming events and training sessions being organised. The GII also launched their new corporate identity.
The speakers at the Lunch were The Hon. Gerald Simons OBE, President and CEO of the Argus Group, who is visiting Gibraltar from Bermuda. Mr. Simons has been CEO since 1998, and is the immediate president of Bermuda Insurance Institute. He has also served in the legislature of Bermuda in various ministerial posts including the Ministry of Education.
Also speaking was Penny Hudson FCII, Managing Director of Caledonian. Miss Hudson is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, and the current President of Gibraltar Insurance Association. Announcing the formal launch of the GII, Penny said, “The establishment of an Insurance Institute in Gibraltar has been mooted a number of times over the years and now, at last, here we are. The GII is an opportunity for its members to obtain high quality education and knowledge to help themselves and their colleagues in the industry.”

Peacocks is Britain’s hottest value fashion chain.
The chain recently announced a £15 million expansion program opening another 30 stores. Since 1884, when the first Peacock store opened in Warrington, the chain has been adding new stores and today has over 500 stores.
The secret of Peacock’s success is its ability to react quickly to fashion trends at fantastic prices delivering fast value fashion to its customer’s day in and day out. Between, 30 and 50 new women swear lines arrive in store every week. This is further endorsed by the fact that Peacocks has been recognised externally winning awards such as Drapers Value Footwear Retailer of the year 2006 and Best Value Retailer of the Year 2005.
Richard Gray, executive fashion director of high-end glossy magazine 10 says; “We think Peacocks is great. You only have to walk around there. A lot of department stores like to bandy about the phrase ‘one-stop-shop’, but I think that’s really true of Peacocks. You can go in there and get that great summer dress and that perfect pair of pumps, and for less money.”
Peacocks also takes its responsibilities seriously and has been awarded Cancer Research’s Flame of Hope Award as business supporter of the year 2006 recognising the contribution Peacocks has made to the charity through in-store promotions, colleague fund raising and customer support. The retailer is continuing its support for the charity this year by selling a range of pink clothing and fashion accessories being sold in all its stores from mid-September.
“Peacocks employs over 5,000 people, and we have been awarded with an Investors in People accreditation. Our company has an open, entrepreneurial and friendly culture. Senior managers are very visible and there is a deep-rooted passion in the company and our products. Development and progression are extremely important and there are always opportunities to progress. said Tim Bettley, managing director.

Gibraltar’s very own Ocean Village has been internationally recognised by receiving awards for its unique development. Competing in the prestigious CNBC Europe & Africa Property Awards 2008, the results just announced reveal Ocean Village has been awarded with Best High-Rise Architecture, Best Interior Design and Best Apartment.
The accolade for Best High-Rise Architecture was awarded in recognition of the distinctive design of Royal Ocean Plaza, featuring balconies of blue glass that surround the expansive terraces of each apartment.
The judges were also impressed with innovations of construction, the provision of large communal spaces and the integration with landscaped gardens and pools. The high specification of design, fixtures and finishes has been further acknowledged by Ocean Village winning awards for Best Apartment and Best Interior Design. The awards will be presented at a gala dinner held at The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London on 27th September.
Gregory Butcher, Chairman of Ocean Village, said of the CNBC announcement, “We are absolutely delighted to have beaten off stiff international competition to win these awards. The fact that Ocean Village earned not one but three of these most coveted tributes shows that Gibraltar not only competes with the best that Europe & Africa can offer but also prevail in this highly competitive property arena. It really is a great honour for Gibraltar’s Ocean Village to have won such acclaim and these awards reflect the dedication of the entire Ocean Village team and of course the hard work and support we have received from the entire community.”
Entries for the Europe & Africa Property section were judged by an international panel of professionals including Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, Phil Spencer, presenter of Channel 4’s Location and Relocation TV shows, Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of the National House Building Council, Graham Norwood of the Daily Mail, Diana Yakely, chairman British Interior Design Association and chaired by Eric Pickles, British Shadow Secretary of State. Ocean Village also has the chance to be considered for the Best International Property Awards in the World, where it competes against the winners in Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, Arabian countries and the UK.
“The public are becoming increasingly well informed and discerning about the properties they seek to buy and live in. Our commitment to high quality design and living space, added to the superior standards we endeavour to achieve, have been internationally recognised by these prestigious awards. We have truly tried to deliver the wonderful oasis of pools and trees and environment which makes Gibraltar’s Ocean Village the international winner, but the best is still to come over the next 24 months” Mr Butcher concluded.

Autumn has always been associated as a season of rejuvenation which is highly appropriate given that the Gibraltar Funds Industry Association meeting’s central theme in late September was all about how we can move forward with fresh impetus and new ideas to maintain our continued success and attain greater achievements.
It is true to say that the success of our industry to date has been nothing short of spectacular. Nevertheless, rejuvenation is an issue high in the association’s sights, not least because the success of our fund businesses depends on it.
Born in 2005 with the Financial Services (Collective Investment Schemes) Act, the Gibraltar Funds Industry created an immediate impact on the European investment stage with the introduction of the trailblazing Experienced Investor Funds legislation.
The genius behind this legislation lies in its versatility. In essence, it allows fund managers to create a pool of money for investment purposes with a minimum of regulatory fuss. A contribution of E100,000 is all that is needed to enable an investor to participate.
Taking imitation as the highest form of flattery, we should be proud of ourselves indeed. Far larger and more sophisticated jurisdictions such as Luxembourg took no time in producing copycat rules, in the form of Specialised Investment Funds.
But that was then. In the meantime, the Luxembourg competitor product has enjoyed a level of success we in Gibraltar can only still dream of - and we have to ask ourselves why. Why, in the first 6 months further to the introduction of the Luxembourg product did they authorise more of those funds than we have with regards to our own Experienced Investor Funds 3 years down the line?
It was to discus this issue that the industry association met. Each person I approached had his own theory about the causes behind our slow growth in relation to other European centers. The truth is probably to be found in a combination of them all.
Our starting point in the analysis has to be the 2005 Act itself which has 3 fundamental shortcomings.
Firstly, the intention of the Act seems to be transposing the EU’s UCITS directive, making provision for Experienced Investor Funds rules, and little else. No attempt was made when the Act was drawn up to incorporate the necessary flexibility to attract UCITS or non-UCITS retail funds to Gibraltar with, for example, competitive regulatory advantages. In other words, the Act aimed too low.
Secondly, UCITS represent a highly powerful brand. It is an easily recognisable and trusted product internationally. But that is part of the problem. The failure of the Act in question to cast the retail funds legislation by enabling it to renew itself in line with market trends, means that the funds industry simply did not envisage the need for a marketing and administrative infrastructure to be put in place to attract retail funds business to Gibraltar. Neither did anyone see the need for mutual recognition agreements to be put in place with non-EU centres, which are the main markets for UCITS, to make a success of the legislation.
This last point is something both Ireland an Luxembourg have pursued with zeal - and with impressive results.
Thirdly, the aforementioned points have given rise to to a piece of legislation that is in its fourth year - an awfully long time in the Asset Management world. Weeks ago, the Wall Street investment banking landscape looked very different to what it does now, let alone 4 years ago. Selling a Gibraltar retail fund on the basis of such outdated legislation is unrealistic to say the least.
Although I was not involved in drafting this Act, I did head up the government’s legislation unit in those days. Instinctively, I was aware that very often, the best form of legislation is one which we develop on home ground.
My clients clearly understood this when instructing me to introduce another crucial piece of financial services legislation into Gibraltar law, this being the new investment services directive, known by its acronym, MIFID.
With my years of experience in producing legislation in tune with what is actually going on at ground level in Gibraltar, what I came up with was a Markets in Financial Instruments Act, which was widely acknowledged by the world’s top law firms for its ease and simplicity.
Crucially, my knowledge of the market enabled me to advise my clients on how to dote it with competitive advantages, intended to give us an edge over others in the EU.
In this spirit, I believe our funds industry should promote the revision of the 2005 Act. It should also create the necessary mechanisms to advise the government on its regular revision, something which is only now in the process of being carried out.
That we have influenced the investment landscape to the extent we have, stands as testament to Gibraltar’s creativity and tenacity. I am privileged to be a part of it.

President and CEO of Argus Insurance, Gerald Simons, pulled out all the stops on his latest of regular visits to demonstrate his company’s commitment to the future prosperity of Gibraltar. Accompanied by fellow directors David Pugh, David Crowhurst and Andy Bickham, he met with both clients and staff to keep in touch with the unique Gibraltar market.
As well as attending the inaugural Gibraltar Insurance Institute lunch, their visit also took in an all-important landmark event for Argus in Gibraltar – a signing ceremony for the purchase of new premises in MidTown Gibraltar.
Their successful trip included an elegant cocktail party hosted by Argus Insurance at the Boatyard Restaurant on 2nd September. Among the more than 80 guests attending this event, was His Excellency the Governor, as well as clients and intermediaries who have supported Argus since its arrival in Gibraltar. Classical guitarist, Stephen Greenwood, who sadly was injured on the night and replaced by Mario Solis, provided entertainment. His full performance fee was donated to the Arts Trust charity.
Commenting on the overall visit Mr. Simons said “This has been a very productive visit indeed.  We feel that it is important for top management to show our support to our staff in Gibraltar and also to make public our commitment to this jurisdiction. We fully believe in the future of Gibraltar and hope to contribute to its financial success for many years to come.”