Tontiner News October:
IP Progress & Meet Véronique, our New Advisor
Our monthly update from the team behind TontineTrust & TON.Money
October has been such an interesting month, we will be lucky to cover even half of it in this update.
As you know, Tontines were invented in France and are still sold there so we thought that if we want to be big in Tontines, we need to increase our “Frenchness”. The fact that the “Frenchie” that has joined the team is an award winning fund manager with connections all over Asia is just a massive bonus of course! Say Bienvenue to Veronique Ficheux below whom will be helping us build momentum in this region.
In the first of hopefully many David Vs Goliath battles we hope to win, we have been awarded our first intellectual property, in this case a trademark of our slogan “Live, Long & Prosper”. Now if you think you have heard that phrase before then you are right, but maybe not for the reasons you think as we explain below.
Also, Asia Tech Podcast have been pulling in some big name interviews in the blockchain space and they seem to be falling in love with Tontines. There’s a link to their latest show below.
Lastly, I have just returned from presenting at, and speaking on an industry panel at, Insurtech Rising Asia. This event was an incredible eye opener but we have not received the videos yet so shall post further on this very soon.
In the meantime, Live Long & Prosper® !!
Meet Véronique, award winning fund manager & our newest Advisor
We are delighted to announce that Véronique Ficheux has joined our advisory team. Véronique is an award winning fund manager who has been involved in Asian investments for over 30 years. Right after starting her career at Comgest in France, she was instrumental in opening the French investment community’s scope for Asia from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, to include Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, as well as China when it opened to foreign investors.
Since moving to Hong Kong in 1993, Véronique has lived through the booms and busts of investing in the Asia Pacific stock markets, starting a number of investment funds for her clients, and supporting investments companies in their Asian expansion. She is committed to innovation in the investment world, and is excited to be supporting TontineTrust.
In addition to advising the investment committee of TontineTrust, Véronique is also expected to become an Ambassador for us in the Asia Pacific Region.
Victory! We have been granted a trademark over “Live Long & Prosper” in connection with retirement incomes.
You may have noticed our great tagline in the past…
We were looking for a tagline that describes the difference between a Pension, a life Annuity, and a Tontine. And the biggest difference between these is longevity. The question of course is what happens if you live longer than expected.
Our slogan is an old expression of goodwill that originated in the middle-east and which was used by many cultures down the generations. We picked it because it perfectly represents the key benefits of joining a tontine. No more will people have to worry about living longer and getting poorer by the day because our Tontines will actually now make it possible to “Live Long & Prosper”,
After we filed the trademark, we were surprised to be challenged by the lawyers of a major movie studio that using this phrase in connection with a groundbreaking new pension / longevity insurance solution would cause confusion with a famous fictitious Vulcan in a science fiction series and movies.
After we realised they were actually serious, we calmly explained that the expression was much older than the series, and that even Leonard Nimoy (the original Vulcan, of course) had himself said that he got the idea from going to the Temple… [Video Link here]
Anyway, the score ended up Blockchain 1 — Big Studios 0. I have no idea how much the other lawyers were charging CBS for the back & forth until they eventually gave up but most certainly it didn’t cost us one penny extra simply because we had done our homework in the first place and just stuck to our guns. Let’s now hope the patent applications go this easily as well.
Tontines featured on Asian Blockchain Podcast with Michael [Waitze]
Hot off the heels of interviewing Jesse Lund, Head of Blockchain at IBM, Michael interviewed Dean for its Asian Blockchain podcast
Even if you have heard Dean speak many times, this interview rocks!
Oh and quick question… Which US State runs its pension fund in a Tontine-like structure?
