Investors Trust (full name Investors Trust Assurance SPC) s a popular company in the Russian and Ukrainian markets that specializes in unit-linked savings and investment products (often referred to in those countries as ‘the English investment method’). It is therefore worth considering in detail what is Investors Trust, its reliability and what reviews and opinions about its products are. It is important to note that the UNIT-LINKED.RU project is the official representative of Investors Trust. We have a direct agreement with the company on the provision of its programs in the CIS – Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, etc., as well as in the EU countries. You are always welcome to contact Investors Trust directly. If you mention this site, they will introduce you to their official network of representatives around the world.

In this review, you will learn:

About Investors Trust

Investors Trust Assurance SPC (also referred to as ITA) is an international insurance company that specializes in providing unit-linked products. Savings and investment products from ITA are highly reliable and transparent. You can become a client with a free amount of money from just $ 100 per month. The recommended amount of investment in the classic savings program is from $300 per month. The higher the amount of contributions, the more profitable the investment account.

Investors Trust is an international investment insurance company that specializes in providing medium and long-term unit-linked products.

Investors Trust provides the following personal financial solutions:

Create pension or retirement capital and earn passive income
Finance the education of your child (usually as University level)
Save for large purchases (house, apartment, car)
Tax optimization
Estate Planning and simplified inheritance procedures

The company’s offices are located across the global for 24 hour service – USA, UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, and Uruguay. Investors Trust has clients from more than 40 countries. The company serves clients in 6 languages, including Russian.

All of ITA’s products are legally issued in the form of a life insurance policy. This is an efficient tax structure, which has long been used by many investors, both onshore and offshore in all jurisdictions.

Why choose insurance programs for long-term investments? The “insurance shell” of these programs provides many advantages. As part of an insurance policy, you legally pay no taxes during the investment period, which allows investors to save money and increase capital gains. Also, the owner of such an account – called policy holders – can insure their life and specify their heirs who will receive the investment proceeds in the event of the death of the account owner. Due to its legal status, investments held the form of insurance cannot be taken from the owner in the event of financial claims from creditors, the state and third parties. Assets will also not be seized in the event of a divorce of the spouses. Thus, invested money will belong only to the investor (policy holder) and no one else.

Download ITA’s informational brochure

Reliability of Investors Trust

Can the company be trusted and how stable is it? How secure are assets? These are the most important questions investors ask themselves. Let’s answer them with all the details in order.

✑ Where the company is registered

ITA Group is represented by a group of international insurance companies in various jurisdictions of the world with the main registration in the USA (ITA International Holdings LLC). For international investors, in order to optimize taxation, three divisions are available for registering accounts in reliable foreign jurisdictions:

Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory and International Financial Center rated “Aa3(AA-)” by Moody’s. The Cayman Islands make up the world’s fifth largest financial centre. Forty seven of the top 50 banks have a presence there. This jurisdiction is very reliable, subject to English common law.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory with relevant U.S. law and currency. It is an important member of the international insurance financial market. You can learn more about the benefits of this jurisdiction in the brochure at the link (rus).
Malaysia (Labuan), a main offshore financial center in Asia.

The largest financial corporations have representative offices in these jurisdictions for legal optimization of taxation, which allows for additional security and a significant reduction in costs. Thanks to tax incentives in these jurisdictions, the company’s clients get the opportunity to invest funds on favorable terms.

Currently, clients from the Russian Federation and the CIS can choose one of two jurisdictions for registering their accounts: Puerto Rico and Malaysia. Puerto Rico is espcially because it is not included in the list of jurisdictions that exchange tax data as part of the automatic exchange of financial and tax information (CRS).

✑ Who regulates the company’s activities

In the Caymans, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) is the regulator .
In Puerto Rico, the regulator is Commissioner Of Insurance Of Puerto Rico.
In the jurisdiction of Labuan (Malaysia), the supervisory authority is the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA).

You can contact the regulator at any time to clarify your concerns. ITA’s compliance department work within the goverment measures to protect client’s capital, which are strictly controlled by state regulators in thejurisdictions where the company is registered. This fact guarantees high capital protection. All divisions of ITA have the appropriate licenses for the right to engage in financial and insurance activities.

✑ What is the financial rating of the insurance company

The international authoritative rating company AMBest assigned the Investors Trust group of companies a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent). Every year this rating is confirmed with a stable outlook. This indicates the company’s high reliability and excellent development prospects.

Unlike rating agencies Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, which work for the broad financial sector, AM Best has historically focused exclusively on the insurance market and insurance companies.

You can download the latest financial report on the company’s rating here.

✑ Who checks the activities of the organization

The auditor of Investors Trust Assurance SPC is a well-known company – KPMG, which is one of the world’s big four auditors. The A- (Excellent) AMBest rating is based on the financial reports from this auditor.

✑ Where the client’s assets are stored

Clients’ assets are kept in specialized accounts separate from the company’s money. This financial structure is called a “segregated portfolio company”, abbreviated as SPC. Accordingly, when an individual opens a new policy, a special segregated portfolio is opened , which provides reliable protection for investments. This means that the ITA has no claim on its clients assets, as they are held off the insurance company’s balance sheet. Client assets will be held by reliable US custodian banks, either or both Bank of America Merrill Lynch and/or Brown Brothers Harriman, depending on the type of asset. These conditions are clearly stated in policy terms and conditions that define the client’s contract with Investors Trust.

✑ What will happen to the assets in case of bankruptcy of the insurance company

First, the risk of bankruptcy is practically reduced to zero for investment-type insurance companies due to the fact that the client’s assets are kept separately from the assets of the insurance company. In case the company has financial difficulties, the client must first contact the insurance company using these contacts and then contact the regulator directly and provide all personal documents and insurance policy. At the same time, the client does not need to go anywhere and look for the company’s offices for proceedings. We live in the 21st century and all procedures can be done remotely online. It is important to understand that in case of bankruptcy of an insurance company, the client does not risk anything and will be able to choose one of two options – withdraw his assets to a bank account or transfer them under management to another insurance company. It is worth saying that in practice, the Regulator usually uses reserve funds to rescue a troubled company or facilitates an M&A transaction where a more financially strong company buys out a troubled company. It should be noted that Investors Trust is an insurance company, as such, ratings and reliability are an order of magnitude higher than those of other types of financial companies.

✑ Membership in organizations and professional communities

The largest international players in the investment life insurance market have created a special association AILO, which includes Investors Trust.

It was created to improve the standards of insurance companies and maintain a high level of customer service. Among the members are the largest players in the insurance market, such as Swiss Life, AXA, Allianz, Canada life, Prudential, etc.

Membership in this association confirms the high international status of the company and is a sign of the best quality of services provided.

✑ Investors Trust Company Awards

It is important to say that Investors Trust and its products receive high ratings and have for several years won prestigious awards.

For example, the S&P500 Index program in 2019, 2020, and 2021 was awarded the “Best International Savings Plan” award from the authoritative publication International Adviser. You can view the 2019 report here. The official report of the competition for 2020 is available on the official website of the publication. Investors Trust reviews its latest winnings for 2021 on its website, also.

At the end of 2018 and 2019, the Access Portfolio product was recognized as the “Best International Porfolio Bond Plan”. It was awarded a ‘highly commended’ ranking in 2021 for the International Bond Category. This program is an account with an open architecture and allows you to invest in any global assets that are traded on stock exchanges.

Investors Trust also received the “Excellence in Fintech ” award. Due to its advanced approach and completely “paperless service technology”, the company’s online platform is rightfully considered one of the most convenient and informative for the client. The report is available at the following link. In 2021, International Investor awarded Investors Trust with two client service awards, including “Excellence in Client Service” overall for the entire industry.

✑ What conclusion can be drawn about the reliability

The company is licensed and regulated in the largest international financial centers. It is regularly audited and has a high financial stability rating of ‘A-‘. Thanks to the segregated portfolio structure, the investor’s assets are securely protected and stored in the largest US custodian banks. ITA programs are recognized worldwide and receive prestigious awards from respected publications.

Thus, Investors Trust is a reliable and time-tested financial intermediary that deserves the attention of all international investors.

Why Investors Trust is popular in Russia, Ukraine and other countries and the CIS

The popularity of Investors Trust products is due to several advantages for the Russian and CIS market.

First, the CIS countries and Russia are developing countries with relatively underdeveloped economies and unstable currencies. Due to political risks and high inflation, it is quite difficult for citizens in these countries to save funds and invest for long horizons using local financial products in local currency. For this reason, the accumulation and creation of capital over long time horizons is best achived using instruments in a reliable currency – the US dollar, the Euro or British Pounds. These are all available through Investors Trust.

It is important to understand that in modern conditions there are not many proven foreign companies that are ready to accept CIS citizens as their clients. Investors Trust is one of the few financial institutions that are available and are already very popular. The company allows you to invest in foreign financial instruments (funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, structured products) in a stable currency. Thus, you have the opportunity to use reliable foreign currency accounts to accumulate personal capital abroad, thereby protecting yourself from foreign exchange and economic risks in your home country. Effectively, CIS citicens can legally transfer money abroad and invest it in reliable Western funds.

Secondly, an important advantage of ITA is a very high level of customer support. Investors Trust uses the most modern service technologies and allows you to manage your account using a high-tech online platform. For convenience, there is a service and a website, including in Russian . By opening any program at Investors Trust, you get access to your personal online account . Information about the status of your account, profitability, commissions, bonuses, detailed analytical reports is available in it at any time. With the help of your personal account, you can pay fees, download and fill out the necessary documents, and withdraw funds. Certain accounts also allow you to apply for an American Express Credit Card.

Try and trial version of the Investors Trust online account

Thirdly, the company provides access to ready-made investment strategies from major management companies in the US and Europe. You will have the opportunity to increase your capital even without experience in investments and without extensive knowledge of financial markets. Such tools have long been successfully used by American and European citizens to create a pension, passive income and increase existing capital. What is the difference between unit-linked and domestic offerings? Putting money in the bank at a fixed percentage, you do not manage strategies in any way, and the profitability on the deposit is limited in advance by the terms of the deposit. In domestic pension programs and housing insurance, there is a limited choice of investment instruments, high fees, and low profitability. Investors Trust clients have the opportunity to invest their savings in financial assets on world markets with low minimum amounts and still can afford the highest level of safety.

Investors Trust programs

Unlike many insurance companies on the market, Investors Trust provides a wide range of effective savings programs and investment accounts. All products are “wrapped” in an insurance policy and allow you to designate heirs. This provides a payment of 101% of the account value to the heir (beneficiary) when the plan owner passes away. We list the main products and their main features below.

✒ Evolution – regular savings program from $100 per month.

The most popular and affordable savings plan among unit-linked products
An excellent solution for targeted long-term accumulation of funds
Automated investment without commission using a regular bank card (Visa, Mastercard)
Recommended payment from – $300 per month and above. The most favorable conditions start with contributions from $500 per month.
Investment terms from 5 to 25 years
Competitive fees and bonuses for long-term investors
Access to a wide range of investment funds
Ready-made investment strategies from the world’s leading management companies, such as BlackRock

✒ Platinum – single contribution savings plan from $10,000

A convenient tool for increasing existing capital
Recommended one-time payment from $20,000
Lower fees for larger contribution amounts
Flexible investment term
Ready-made investment strategies and funds (same as in Evolution)

✒ Access Portfolio – single contribution consolidated investment account from $ 75,000

Professional open architecture account to increase existing capital
Recommended one-time payment from $100,000
Flexible investment plans with charging structures of 5 or 8 years
Access to all global assets, including stocks, funds, bonds, structured products, hedge funds, REITs, MLPs, BDCs, etc.
Multi-currency investments
Discounts for larger sums
Access to American Express Credit Card for ease of withdrawals

✒ S&P500 Index – a capital guaranteed regular contributions from $200 per month

Easily invest in the most popular US stock index, S&P 500
Availability of guaranteed profitability up to 60% of the invested capital. The minimum guaranteed yield is 4.25% per annum.
Savings program options with a minimum contribution of $200 per month for up to 20 years
Bonuses and favorable rates for long-term investors

✒ MSCI Index – a diversified single or regular contribution from $200 per month

Simple investment in the economy of developed countries with reference to the MSCI EAFE Index
Guaranteed yield up to 60% depending on the duration of the program. Minimum guaranteed yield – 4.25% per annum
Savings programs with a minimum contribution of $200 per month for up to 20 years
Loyalty bonuses and favorable rates for long-term investors

✒ Fixed Income Portfolio – investment program with one-time and regular contributions and fixed income from $200 per month

A profitable alternative to a hard currency bank deposit in a reliable foreign jurisdiction
Fixed and floating rates – from 2.25% to 6% in USD
Savings program option for 15 years
Deposits from $10,000 for a period of 3 to 10 years
The possibility of withdrawing interest only to provide passive income

How to choose a program for yourself

As mentioned above, all products from Investors Trust can be divided into two types:

savings programs with regular contributions and
one-time fee programs.

The starting point is the availability of free funds and expectations for the profitability of instruments.

Regular Savings

If you do not have an investment portfolio or free crash, but have a stable income and want to create personal capital, then you can open a regular savings program. Regular savings plans motivate you to invest regularly and to maintain financial discipline. For example, you can choose the most profitable and popular Evolution program with recommended contributions from $500+ per month for a period of 10-15 years or more.

If you want to get additional guarantees of profitability and downside protection (capital guarantees), then the S&P500 Index or MSCI Index program is best. These come with a guaranteed return of up to 60% of invested capital for a period of 20 years and 40% of invested capital for a period of 15 years. We calculated the minimum guaranteed return with annual contributions of $5,000 for 15 and 20 years. Taking into account compound interest, the guaranteed minimum net yield for this program is approximately 4.2% per annum, net of all fees. At the same time, profitability is tied to the indexes and therefore is not limited. If the index shows higher growth, then the profitability will be greater. Optimal contribution amounts start at $500 per month or more for a period of 15 years.

If you are a conservative investor and want to be guaranteed to receive a fixed income much like with a bank deposit, then the Fixed Income Portfolio program is best.

From the moment the policy is opened, the accumulative program begins to operate in a fully automatic mode. Funds are automatically deducted from your credit card at a selected date, and immediately invested in the selected investment instruments. With each new contribution, you are systematically, step by step, approaching your financial goal. See the real case of a client who invested in the S&P 500 for 15 years, accumulated over $220,000 here, in Russian language .

IMPORTANT! Regular savings programs are the most effective way to create capital for those who do not yet have a significant initial amount to invest.

Lump Sum Investments

If you already have accumulated capital, then you can opt for both programs with a one-time contribution. For starting investors with an initial capital of less than $100,000, Platinum offers unit-linked funds for investment horizons of 5 years or more. Those who wish to invest in an analogue of a bank deposit can choose the Fixed Income Portfolio program for a periodof 3 to 10 years.

For investors with capital from more than $100,000, Access Portfolio provides a wide range of investment options used by professional investors to increase and protect their wealth. Access Portfolio is an award-winning estate planning and tax optimization solution for international investors.

What yield can be obtained in Investors Trust

The potential profitability of the programs depends on the investment strategy and the funds you choose. If you prefer products with a fixed income, you will be guaranteed to receive the indicated profitability according to the terms of the contract. Investment programs that allow you to invest in a portfolio of funds offer the potential for higher returns. The average historical profitability of the strategies is as follows:

Conservative – 3-6%
Balanced – 6-8%
Aggressive (growth strategy) – 8-12%

Investors Trust platform has ready-made standard strategies from the largest investment management company, BlackRock. This is a great option for inexperienced investors who want a good potential return.

Important! Investors Trust has over 200 funds available on its internal platform, including index ETFs from the world’s leading fund managers. Prior to adding them to their investment platform, the funds are carefully checked and selected by leading experts on Investors Trust Investment Committee. The list of funds therefor includes only reliable, proven prodicts that have shown good results over a long period in their. This means that professional investors have selected the best funds for you – you will invest your money only in vetted instruments. All funds and strategies are presented on the official website here .

Do you have starting capital from $75,000 and investment experience? Open an Access Portfolio account that allows you to buy individual stocks, bonds, funds, and specialized structured products. We can assist you in all steps of the process.

What fees does the client pay

The level of fees depends on the choice of a particular program, the amount of contributions, and the term of investment. The fact is that Investors Trust provides long-term investors with special bonuses that significantly reduce the overall costs of the programs. For example, in the Evolution savings plan, the client is guaranteed to receive a cashback of up to 5% from each invested amount. The larger sized regular contributions will receive larger cashback bonuses. For long-term and disciplined investors, the company has provided special loyalty bonuses that motivate the client to continue saving and stick to the investment plan. The loyalty bonus can be up to 7.5% of the contribution amount. As a result, the longer the investment period and the larger the contributions, the lower the costs and the higher the efficiency of the program.

On average, the total cost for the funded program is 1.5% per year. When comparing this with many domestic mutual funds or endowment life insurance (LI), the costs there can reach up to 3.5% – 5% of the invested amount. The savings from Investors Trust are obvious.

The costs of the program is competitive and justified as you get:

Annual tax savings as no income tax is paid every year (even when selling funds while the money is in the insurance policy). In contrast, when a broker makes a profit when selling assets (even inside an account), you still have to pay tax every year if there is a profit. Due to the effect of deferred taxation, you can save up to 10-15% of the total capital – especially for long periods like 15 years. Here we evaluate the tax savings from life insurance products.
No 40% inheritance tax in the USA (as opposed to US brokers, such as Interactive Brokers). In Investors Trust, the investors heir receives the money as an insurance payment and there are no inheritance taxes either in the United States or in your country of residence.
Money saved on the services of an adviser as advisers charge as much as 2%+ per year of assets under management). In Investors Trust you will have ready-made strategies that have already been compiled by specialists. There is no additional charge for these portfolios. If you wish, you can create your own portfolio.
Savings on purchase/sale transactions in the Evolution savings program. Up to 15 full rebalancing for 20 funds per year for free (300 purchases/sales per year for free).
Money saved on money transfer by using a card to contribute to Evolution, S&P500 and MSCI products with no charge. To invest in a brokerage account using a swift transfer, the bank will take a commission.
An insurance contract in Investors Trust is for life and cannot be forcibly terminated. For brokerage accounts, many cases have come to light were clients could not show sources of income or transferred money from sanctioned countries. These brokers simply closed the clients account and would often hold clients money until anti-money laundering and additional compliance questions were answered.
Financial discipline and strict adherence to the financial plan, which will automatically accumulate the required capital
Investments through a reliable company with a high “A” rating

In lump-sum programs, it is difficult to determine the average percentage of expenses, since the total costs depend on the specific amount invested. The higher the contribution, the more favorable rates you can choose.

Note! Order an individual calculation of any program – we will send you a personal report on all commissions and bonuses.

Investors Trust Assurance SPC