Q&A with Chris Cain from Equiom Group

What’s your vision for the Isle of Man employee benefits cluster?

The vision is to highlight the Isle of Man’s position as the leading centre of excellence for employment benefits, a single touchpoint where clients have access to market-leading and highly experienced service providers to help solve their many EB needs. It will attract more business to the Isle of Man and, in turn, create more local jobs and business opportunities.

As a professional based in the EB sector, what do you think the Island has to offer in this context?

The Island is without doubt, the leading provider of international pension plan services - from a trustee and administrator perspective. It also has well-established regulations which are tried, tested, and favoured by leading EB consultants.

Is there a specific type or size of business that would benefit the most from this initiative?

I think the initiative will be of benefit to all Isle of Man businesses who engage with it. At the very least, they will enjoy greater exposure through the marketing activities.

You present at international and domestic conferences; will those events help to spread the word to the wider business community?

Absolutely, provided we have a well thought out strategy and offering, I will gladly champion this in future presentations.

Equiom Middle East is part of a pioneering team tasked with helping with the launch, how do you envisage Equiom’s involvement in these early stages?

Equiom has a very strong market position in the Middle East through our role as the pension trustee for Emirates Airlines, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Dubai Government. This, along with our long-term IoM presence and experience, will help to promote the initiative we are supporting with the EB Cluster.

What specific areas of expertise will Equiom Middle East be able to bring to the table?

Our EB experience in supporting high profile clients with their corporate pensions and savings plans will benefit all involved as we have a broad base of experience to draw on.