 Joakim Samuelsson CEO, Custodian Life |
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Custodian Life has over 2,000 policyholders, holding their investment portfolios in segregated accounts in Bermuda (in full compliance with the Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2000).
Each year until the BMA issued its "directions", Custodian Life was always given a clean audit from KPMG's specialist insurance audit team.
Custodian Life protected the investment assets of its policyholders, also with adequate reserves, as attested annually by auditor KPMG. In various discussions with the BMA, the BMA clearly failed to understand the investment insurance business model. Their issued directions on 15/10/21 re "Cessation of Shorting Practice" failed to grasp that it was the policyholders managing their investments, not Custodian Life, which acted in a supervisory role only. While Custodian Life agreed to cease its policyholders "shorting" securities, the instant resignation of KPMG as auditor because of the BMA's "directions", resulted in the 2021 audit not being completed.
In protecting policyholders' investment assets, Custodian Life's audits always showed prudent risk management, adequate reserve policy, plus increasing profitability of Custodian Life each year - a succesful business... The 2/6/22 BMA Decison Notice, signed by Susan Davis-Crockwell, that "the business of the CL is being so conducted that there is a significant risk of the insurer becoming insolvent" and "the business the CL is being so conducted that there is a significant risk that the insurer will be unable to meet its obligations to policyholders" was a blatant falsehood.
As we now know from transcripts of internal BMA discussions, on 23/7/22 and 9/8/22 Susan Davis-Crockwell was telling her Deputy CEO Shanna Lespere
that Custodian Life was financially sound. One speculates that at that time Bermuda's grey-listing by the EU had resulted in knee-jerk reactions to local financial businesses by the BMA...
The ramifications for Custodian Life's policyholders is clear - the BMA failed to understand Custodian Life's investment business model, capriciously reacted with public announcements of Regulatory Decisions which damaged Custodian Life's reputation and ability to conduct regulatory compliance (ie annual audits), and ultimately led to the appointmemt of the Joint Provisional Liquidators. At no time were the investment assets of the policyholders in financial jeopardy, nor was Custodian Life in risk of insolvency. A perfectly financially sound insurance business
systematically and capriciously disabled and destroyed by the BMA and in particular its insurance and enforcement officials.
An Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) is a professional who provides impartial financial advice to clients, recommending products from the entire market rather than being tied to a specific company or product range.
They offer guidance on investments, pensions, and other financial matters, as well as suitable jurisdictions for financial safeguarding of client assets.
Over 12 years CL built a good working relationship with many IFA's, some of whom had been loyal clients from the very start of the insurance businesses of Joakim Samuelsson.
IFA's choose the jurisdiction for the safeguarding and regulatory oversight of the client's financial assets. They earn fees in part from protecting policyholders' assets, as well
as value-generation through prudent investment strategies. Together with the senior management of Custodian Life, the IFA's built a close working relationship with the insurer over
12 years of conservative stewardship of policyholder's investment assets.
As a corollary, the BMA's capricious actions against Custodian Life has not only harmed and interrupted access of policyholders to their assets, but simultaneously has financially impaired
IFA's business models - preventing commission payments, application of investment strategies, their very raison d'etre.
The ramifications for Custodian Life's IFA clients is clear - despite the investment assets of the policyholders being secure, and Custodian Life with no risk of insolvency, the BMA's
actions have resulted in financial damage to their income streams and reputations. Policyholders in part are blaming IFA's for choosing Bermuda as a financial market for asset protection,
and the IFA's are caught in the middle and totally compromised - careful business relationships built up over decades destroyed by the BMA's direct and indirect actions.