Luxembourg, at the heart of Europe, is a major international financial centre. It is the private banking capital of the EU, the largest centre outside the USA for the administration and management of investment funds and the premier location for the pan-European cross border life assurance industry.

Lombard's location in Luxembourg provides four key benefits to investors:

A secure on-shore regulatory jurisdiction

Historically, many high net-worth individuals turned to off-shore financial centres for confidentiality and tax avoidance. Apart from a lack of regulation and investor protection, off-shore centres have been subject to increasing attacks from European legislators and international bodies such as the OECD. As a result, confidentiality is giving way to disclosure and off-shore investment is becoming the worst of all worlds, with investors placing their assets in real jeopardy in return for no real or sustainable benefits.
In contrast, Luxembourg's regulations are governed by European Directives that require strict financial controls and supervision to provide investors with a safe, secure on-shore regime.

A tax-efficient environment

All interest, dividends and capitals gains in Luxembourg life assurance funds are reinvested free of taxes. Furthermore, certain withholding taxes can be reclaimed from countries that make this deduction. Although your tax position will ultimately depend on the rules in your country of residence, the tax-exempt status of Luxembourg life funds provides a decisive advantage.

Luxembourg's unique investor protection regime

Luxembourg law provides maximum protection to life insurance policyholders. The cornerstone of this investor protection regime is the legal requirement that all clients' assets must be held by an independent custodian bank approved by the Luxembourg state regulator. This arrangement is known as the "triangle of security".

This regime ensures the legal separation of clients' assets from the insurance company's shareholders and creditors. Furthermore, the custodian bank is required to "ring-fence" clients' assets and is bound by the regulator's legal powers to protect the assets on behalf of policyholders.

Financial privacy

Luxembourg law provides maximum financial privacy. It is a serious offence for any financial institution to divulge any information about their clients to third parties, except in relation to criminal activities. Whilst confidentiality does not in itself confer any advantage in terms of wealth preservation or planning, it does provide individual privacy, which investors, often high-profile individuals, quite rightly feel entitled to enjoy.