The Tribune

The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) has selected wealth management, the investment funds industry and the insurance sector as the focus of its 2013 marketing strategies.

The external communications and marketing outreach will start this month, when the BFSB will be in Palm Springs, California, for CICA, a major international insurance conference. It had already invited the participation of specially-targeted insurance intermediaries at the 2013 International Business & Finance Summit in early February.

Conference participation and Bahamas Landfall presentations in Latin and North America, Asia and European financial centres are scheduled throughout the year as the BFSB, supported by member firms, moves to increase interest in this nastion as the leading international financial centre in the region.

Aliya Allen, the BFSB’s chief executive, said Bahamas Landfall events have become a key feature of the organisation’s external communications programming.

She said: “These have become a highly successful platform for conveying the Bahamas Advantage for private wealth management, asset management, residency and international business.

“Our external marketing initiatives, with respect to market and sector focus, align directly with the BFSB’s long-term strategy for the industry. They are a direct reflection of the areas of opportunities and needs that have been identified by BFSB members.”

During the Spring and early summer months, the BFSB will be involved in the Brasil Investment Summit in Sao Paolo, and RIMS in Los Angeles in Apri. Bahamas Landfall events will take place in Latin America in May, while the Private Equity World Latin America Conference and the US Latin America Tax Planning Strategies Conference (both being held in Miami), and the Transcontinental Trust Conference in Geneva, are set for June. Bahamas Landfall events in London, Toronto and Vancouver are also planned for June and July.

For October and November, conference participation will include STEP LatAm in Uruguay, the Fund Forum Latin America in Sao Paolo, and the Americas Family Office Forum and the International Wealth Forum, both being held in Miami. Bahamas Landfall events are also planned in Miami and New York in November.

A Bahamas Landfall event in Asia is being considered for later in the year.

Ms Allen said the BFSB’s six-part Competitiveness Conclave Series is a key part of its marketing calendar. The first session, ‘The Bahamas: A Globally Competitive Financial Centre’, was held on January 31, just prior to the International Business and Finance Summit in Bimini.

Other components will focus on issues such as Immigration Framework; a Business-Friendly Regulatory Regime; Rule of Law and the Courts; Managing and Developing Talent; and Ethics.