Financial advisory company Nexus Singapore is the latest to set up here.

The move involves the direct transfer of 160 financial adviser representatives and 10 support staff from Zurich Life Insurance (Singapore), which has decided to operate with an independent distribution model through financial advisers and banks, instead of its tied agents.

Zurich said it is a strategic move to ensure that it is aligned with customer needs, distributors and the market.

The transition will have no direct impact on Zurich's customers as they will continue to be serviced by the same representatives.

In fact, Nexus Singapore will allow Zurich's clients to gain access to a wider range of products and providers, such as Tokio Marine Life Insurance, as its representatives are no longer tied to solely distributing Zurich products.

Nexus Singapore chief executive Gary Harvey has more than 26 years of experience in the financial services industry and previously headed financial advisory firm ipac Singapore, which closed in 2012. He subsequently took a career break and was with life insurer Transamerica for nine months before joining Nexus early this year.

The new kid on the block plans to expand and build a strong adviser network across multiple client segments. "We believe that the combination of Nexus' reputation as a trusted financial adviser and its longstanding expertise and knowledge in the Middle Eastern insurance market, coupled with a dedicated local leadership team and the highly motivated adviser force that will be joining us from Zurich, means we are well-placed to achieve great results," said Mr Harvey.

Nexus Singapore will advise on life, savings and investment products, initially focusing on the mass affluent market with plans to eventually expand into the high-net-worth segment.

The Nexus Group was set up in 2006 via a management buyout of the Zurich tied agency in the Middle East. It is the largest financial advisory firm in the Middle East, with about 390 advisers.