The Bermuda based investment platform, Custodian Life, has been getting attention in the expat finance scene and taking clients from the more traditional bond platforms, that tend to be more static and less flexible to new ways of working in 2020. I am still shocked to this day that these bond platforms still exist and they don’t have ETFs, their charges are high and they are illiquid. Even more is advisors still offer their service a lot and investors still invest in them.
Custodian Life is a new model with an open platform model and electronic application that makes it more efficient for the time-efficient expat, and for anyone that doesn’t want to use paper. Don’t get me wrong, I like paper-based at times when you could be dealing with an expat on the opposite side of the world, paper-based isn’t efficient, but the fact that its still a requirement in today’s world of technology is bazaar to me.
It banks with Butterfield bank one of the oldest in the world.
Bermudia, is rating as A+ as by Standard and Poor, Moodeys is rated A1. https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/Bank-of-Bermuda-Ltd-The-credit-rating-600010865
This is well above the credit rating of investment grade. Bermuda has low taxes and a history of banking safety.
Custodian Life’s Pricing
- The pricing is 0.72%-1.2% per year
- 500 USD pricing fee
- 45 USD per trade
- 90% liquidity
The platform, I do like, as said before the fact that you can go into any funds and a lot of stocks, this is not a stock platform but for those that might want to hold a percentage of their portfolio.
Currency Options In Custodian Life
You do have options of the usual USD, GBP, EUR, but also have JPN. SGD, and SKD. This is good for people in these countries or living in these countries.
As for the platform, it is a bit delayed in the updates and only updates once a month. One of the negatives of this is that the company is not as old as the more traditional ones and doesn’t have as many Assets Under Management.
One of the positives is that it is embracing the technological shift in financial services in many ways you see the banks going, so too are the financial service industry. With this, it does have more options for investments more currency, and flexibility to what you can withdraw for expats.
If you like this review, you might like our Fundsmith Review or our Hargreaves Lansdown Review.
If you want to review your private UK pension, we give you the steps in this article: How To Review Your UK Private Pension
Conclusion
I do like Custodian as a new alternative, it is not perfect and the location and company size doesn’t work in its favour compared to others plaforms, however, I prefer it to many other options because of where I think it is going. Their commitment to updating the way they work and removing a lot of paperwork that can now be completed makes life a lot easier for me as an advisor and life for you the investor as well.
See other platforms available in this article: What Investment Platforms Can UK Expats Invest In?
