The short answer

Hansard is a London-listed international savings group based in the Isle of Man, with around 40,000 policyholders worldwide. It offers two main products to expats through financial advisers: Global Select, an open-architecture lump-sum bond that can hold funds, ETFs, shares, deposits, bonds and structured products; and Ascend, a regular savings plan from US$300 a month, with a 100% allocation rate, a loyalty bonus and withdrawals without penalty. In its latest year, sales grew 31% and assets reached about R27.4 billion in rand terms. Most business is written in US dollars, with euros and other currencies also available — but not rand. For South African residents, money paid in from South Africa uses your offshore allowance. Lawrence offers a free review to help you decide whether Hansard suits you — or to check a Hansard plan you already hold.

Who Hansard is

Hansard was founded in 1987 and has spent more than 35 years providing savings and investment products to international clients. Its parent, Hansard Global plc, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since December 2006, which means it publishes detailed results twice a year — a level of transparency that not every international provider offers.

The group is headquartered in the Isle of Man, where its main life company, Hansard International, is based. It now has regulated companies in six jurisdictions: the Isle of Man, The Bahamas, the Republic of Ireland, Malaysia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, and has received approval in principle for a licence in Dubai's international financial centre. Its priority markets are the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia, including Japan.

Hansard sells only through financial advisers, supported by a multi-language online platform used by advisers and clients to manage policies. AKG Consultants rates Hansard five stars for customer service and "B Strong" for financial strength. Group CEO Thomas Morfett leads the business.

An older Irish subsidiary, Hansard Europe, closed to new business in 2013 and is being run off — so new clients deal with Hansard International or another current group company.

Hansard's latest results at a glance

Key figures from Hansard Global plc's results for the year to 30 June 2026.

Source: Hansard Global plc annual financial report, 24 September 2026. Converted to rand at October 2026 exchange rates; percentages as reported.

Hansard's solutions at a glance

Hansard's range is deliberately focused. Rather than a long list of products, it concentrates on one lump-sum bond and one savings plan, each refreshed in recent years to be simpler and more competitive.

Global Select: an open-architecture portfolio bond

Global Select is Hansard's single-premium investment bond — the kind of product a South African abroad might use to invest the proceeds of a house sale, an inheritance or a retirement fund lump sum, once it's moved offshore. It was named Best International Portfolio Bond, and it led a 34.5% rise in Hansard's single-premium sales in the year to June 2026.

"Open architecture" means the bond can hold a wide range of investments, not just a set list of funds. Global Select can hold:

• Funds from a broad range of managers.
• Exchange-traded funds — low-cost index trackers.
• Shares listed on major exchanges.
• Fixed-term deposits for cash you want to keep safe.
• Fixed-interest securities such as government and corporate bonds.
• Structured products, for those who want defined outcomes.

That flexibility lets an adviser or discretionary manager build a properly diversified portfolio inside a single, portable, hard-currency wrapper. Hansard says Global Select has the lowest establishment charges among its peers, based on publicly available data from November 2023. The bond can be held by individuals, or by trustees and personal pension schemes for estate planning.

Ascend: a simpler savings plan

Ascend is Hansard's regular savings plan, launched to be — in Hansard's words — "a better, simpler and smarter product". It won Best International Savings Plan at the 2025 International Adviser Global Financial Services Awards and was highly commended in 2026.

Its features address some of the concerns people have had with older savings plans:

• From US$300 a month — about R4,900 — with additional contributions at any time.
• A 100% allocation rate, so all of each payment is invested.
• Withdrawals without penalty at any time, according to Hansard.
• A loyalty bonus that rewards staying invested.
• A range of funds from large asset managers, with simple, transparent options.
• 24/7 online access to your policy.

As with any plan, the full terms — the term, all charges and how bonuses are earned — are in the product literature, and your adviser should show you the total cost in dollars and rand before you start. But for South Africans abroad who want to save regularly in hard currency with more flexibility, Ascend is designed to be a modern option.

Global Select and Ascend compared

Hansard's two flagship products side by side, from its published information.

Hansard product pages and annual report, checked October 2026. Available only through a financial adviser.

Where to start

Hansard plans are available only through a financial adviser. Start with a free conversation, then use the right accounts and providers to fund your plan.

Currencies and Hansard

Hansard's business is mainly written in US dollars — 82% of premiums in its latest year — with the rest in other major currencies, including euros. That reflects its client base in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the dollar is the natural savings currency. There's no rand or baht option.

For South Africans in Thailand, a dollar plan is usually a natural fit. It gives you a hard-currency home for long-term savings, which balances retirement funds and property that stay in rand. If your future costs — a university in Europe, say — will be in another currency, a plan in that currency may suit you better. Either way, plan to move money into baht as your needs in Thailand approach. Our guide to currency risk in international portfolios explains how to choose.

Whatever the plan currency, the exchange rate you get when you fund it — and when you bring money back to Thailand — makes a real difference over the years. Converting R2 million at a 3% margin costs R60,000 before a single investment is bought. And money sent from South Africa uses your R2 million yearly discretionary allowance. Using a specialist for larger sums, and paying monthly contributions from an offshore account, keeps more of your money invested from day one.

How your money is protected

Hansard brings several layers of reassurance. As a London-listed group, it publishes audited results and a detailed annual report every year, and at 30 June 2026 its solvency coverage — the capital it holds compared with what it's required to hold — stood at 170%. Policyholders' cash is invested in high-quality money market funds, fixed deposits and corporate bonds.

Hansard International is an Isle of Man life company, and the island's policyholder compensation scheme covers up to 90% of an insurer's liability to policyholders if it were ever unable to meet its obligations. Because Hansard now has companies in several jurisdictions, it's worth confirming which group company issues your policy, as protections differ from one jurisdiction to another.

As with any genuine provider, your payments go to Hansard in your name, not to your adviser, and you can view your policy online at any time — exactly the features our due diligence guide recommends checking.

Strengths and points to consider

A balanced view of Hansard for South Africans abroad.

General observations from Hansard's published information, October 2026 — not a recommendation for any individual.

Who Hansard suits

Hansard's plans tend to suit expats who:

• Want to save monthly with more flexibility than many traditional plans offer.
• Have a lump sum and want a bond that can hold a wide range of investments.
• Are comfortable saving in US dollars, or want dollar savings alongside rand assets.
• Value transparency — published results and a London listing.
• Want a portable plan that moves with them between countries.

Those who want the lowest possible cost on a simple index portfolio, or prefer to manage their investments without an adviser, may find an international platform a better fit. Our guide to international investment platforms compares them.

How Hansard compares with other providers

Hansard sits alongside several other names expats come across. A broad comparison, from each provider's published information.

Figures from each provider's latest published information, checked October 2026. See our RL360 profile for more.

How Hansard plans are sold and looked after

Hansard's business model is built around independent financial advisers. The adviser recommends the plan, helps you choose the investments and submits the application through Hansard's online portal. Hansard then administers the policy: collecting payments, buying and selling investments, issuing statements and processing withdrawals.

Clients and advisers can see the policy online at any time through Hansard's multi-language platform, which Hansard describes as award-winning. Account executives provide support in local languages in key regions, and AKG has rated Hansard's customer service five stars. For a South African who moves countries, the ability to manage everything online — wherever you live — is a real practical advantage.

The quality of your experience also depends on your adviser. A good adviser will review your plan with you every year, rebalance the investments, check the currency still suits your plans and keep your beneficiaries up to date. Before you start, ask how often they'll review the plan and how they're paid for doing so.

When a plan ends — or you need your money

It's worth thinking about the end of a plan from the very beginning. With a savings plan such as Ascend, you can usually take the value as a lump sum at the end of the term, keep it invested, or take withdrawals over time — and Hansard says Ascend allows withdrawals without penalty along the way. With a bond such as Global Select, you can take regular or one-off withdrawals, or cash in some or all of it.

For South Africans in Thailand, how and when you take money out matters as much as how much. Bringing a large sum into Thailand in one year may create a bigger Thai tax bill than spreading it over several years, and whether you're still South African tax resident affects what SARS taxes. And if you die while holding a bond, named beneficiaries or a trust can let the value pass to your family quickly, without waiting for a South African estate or probate abroad.

Planning withdrawals is one of the most valuable parts of a review — and one of the easiest to get wrong without help.

Hansard for South Africans in Thailand

• Currency: a dollar plan gives you hard-currency savings; move money into baht as needs approach.
• Funding from South Africa: premiums and lump sums sent from South Africa use your R2 million yearly discretionary allowance; paying from an offshore account keeps the plan independent of the rand.
• Thai tax: since 2024, foreign income and gains brought into Thailand by a Thai tax resident can be taxable. Plan withdrawals and keep records — see our tax residence guide, including SARS.
• School fees: Ascend's flexibility suits families saving for international school and university.
• Retirement: a Global Select bond can provide hard-currency withdrawals alongside living annuity income.
• Family: Global Select can be held in trust or set up with beneficiaries to pass money smoothly to a partner or children.

Already have a Hansard plan?

Many South Africans took out a Hansard plan years ago, often through an adviser in the Gulf or Asia, and haven't reviewed it since. Some hold older products that have since been replaced by Global Select and Ascend. Before making any change — and especially before cashing in — it's worth understanding exactly where you stand.

A review typically looks at:

1. Which product you hold, and which Hansard company issued it.
2. Where you are in the term, and any charges still to run.
3. The investments — still diversified, competitive and right for your goals?
4. The currency — does it still match where you'll spend the money?
5. Bonuses you're due if you continue.
6. Trust and beneficiaries — up to date after a move, marriage or new child?
7. Withdrawals and Thai tax — how to take money efficiently.
8. Next steps — continue, adjust, or plan for maturity.

Lawrence offers free reviews of existing Hansard plans, with an honest summary of how yours is doing and what, if anything, to change.

Three worked examples

Karel: a lump sum with a wide choice

Karel, 60, sells a business in Durban and moves to Phuket with R5.4 million, which he moves offshore on his allowances. He wants a portfolio of ETFs, some bonds and a cash deposit, managed in one place. With Lawrence, he looks at a Global Select bond in US dollars, which can hold all of these in one wrapper, with his children as beneficiaries and withdrawals planned around Thai tax.

Anna and Somchai: saving in dollars

Anna, 41, and Somchai, 44, in Bangkok, want to save US$800 a month — about R13,200 — for their twins' university abroad. Ask about school-fee planning, or compare schools in our international schools directory. Lawrence suggests a plan in dollars with flexible contributions, so they can add bonuses from work, invested in a worldwide portfolio that moves to safer investments as the university years approach.

Gary: an old plan from Dubai

Gary, 56, took out a Hansard plan in Dubai in 2014 and retired to Pattaya. A free review with Lawrence explains where he is in the term, finds his funds have drifted into a narrow, expensive selection and helps him switch to a diversified mix, update his beneficiaries and plan withdrawals for when he turns 60.

Questions to ask before you start

1. Which product, and why rather than an alternative provider or platform?
2. Which Hansard company will issue the plan, and what protections apply?
3. What is the total yearly cost — plan and investments — in dollars and rand?
4. Are there charges for leaving early, and for how long?
5. Which investments, and why do they suit my goals?
6. Which currency, given where I'll spend the money?
7. How will I fund it — from offshore money, or from rand on my allowance?
8. How is the adviser paid, and will they review it every year?

Your Hansard checklist

• Set your goal first — a lump sum, monthly saving, retirement or education.
• Choose Global Select or Ascend to match that goal.
• Know every charge, including investment charges.
• Build a diversified mix and review it every year.
• Choose the right currency for where you'll spend the money.
• Consider a trust and keep beneficiaries up to date.
• Plan withdrawals around Thai and SARS tax rules.
• Keep your online login secure and check statements regularly.

Keeping your plan secure

• Use a strong, unique password for Hansard's online service.
• Turn on two-factor sign-in wherever it's offered.
• Use a private, protected connection on hotel, café and condo Wi-Fi.
• Never share policy details with anyone who contacts you unexpectedly.

How we researched this profile

We used Hansard Global plc's annual financial report for the year to 30 June 2026 (published 24 September 2026), Hansard's website and product pages for Global Select and Ascend, International Adviser's company profile for Hansard's history, and Friends Provident International on Isle of Man policyholder protection. Reported figures are converted to rand at October 2026 exchange rates. Checked 23 October 2026. Product terms change and availability varies by country; always read the latest product literature. This profile is general information, not a recommendation of any product for any individual.