Money Marketing
1 June 2005

  • Investment view

    2 Jun 2005

    Larger-cap stocks are likely to take over the running from small firms but how fast they will run is another matter.

  • A consumer's view

    2 Jun 2005

    The FSA should be using its powers to get rid of those in the industry responsible for the equity-release horror.

  • A&L in five year fix

    3 Jun 2005

    Alliance & LeicesterFive Year Fixed Rate

  • A&L International goes for early maturity

    6 Jun 2005

    Alliance & Leicester International has brought out the capital guaranteed maximum growth bond, a guaranteed equity bond that could mature earlier than its term of five years and six months.

  • Abbey reply to FSA's Dear Ceo endowment letter costs 800k

    2 Jun 2005

    Abbey has been fined 800,000 by the FSA for mishandling mortgage endowment complaints and misleading the regulator over its complaint-handling process.

  • Abbey selects property bid panel

    3 Jun 2005

    Abbey has selected four bidders for its 1.4bn-plus portfolio of property owned by its with-profits subsidiaries, Scottish Mutual and Scottish Provident.

  • Adviser stole 680k to prop up firm

    2 Jun 2005

    A West Country financial adviser who stole more than 680,000 from clients to prop up his ailing businesses has been jailed for four years.

  • Advisers get a bad taste from the menu

    2 Jun 2005

    The release of many networks' payment menus has fanned the flames of the debate over the relevance of the menu, with IFAs saying the only one benefiting from it is the FSA.

  • Advisers hit back at Barclays' 'unique' claim

    2 Jun 2005

    Barclays Financial Planning is claiming that its new Select Choice multi-tie will allow it to provide better deals for customers.

  • AIG extends Active Access range

    2 Jun 2005

    AIG Life has increased the underlying funds available to its unit-linked multi-manager funds by fine-tuning its Active Access fund range.

  • Alliance & Leicester - Five Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

    6 Jun 2005

    Alliance & LeicesterFive Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

  • Alliance & Leicester - Remortgage Exclusive Two Year Flexible base Rate Tracker

    7 Jun 2005

    Alliance & LeicesterRemortgage Exclusive Two Year Flexible Base Rate Tracker

  • Alpines in the neck

    2 Jun 2005

    A unusual shared trait emerges from the Lansons corner, with PRs Chantal and Inez both demonstrating a penchant for yodelling.Chantal's mother, of Swiss descent, gave instruction in yodelling in her days as a teacher.Inez, impressively, is a mistress of the yodel, the talent grown from many a night spent watching The Sound of Music.

  • Apcims vows to fight on for an FSA waiver

    2 Jun 2005

    Apcims has not had the depolarisation waiver it had been lobbying the FSA for and has vowed to take matters further.

  • Axa looks to the fee-based route

    2 Jun 2005

    I would like to thank Alasdair Buchanan for pointing out that I had omitted to point out the tax efficiency of commission v fees in my article (Money Marketing, May 5). I also failed to include more pertinent issues such as why we do not advocate using hourly rates as a charging mechanism, why you should seek to tailor your proposition rather than standardise it and a number of other key considerations.

  • B&B launches exclusive FTB tracker mortgage

    6 Jun 2005

    Bradford & Bingley launches an exclusive stepped tracker for the first time buyer market only.

  • Bankhall duo leave with two loan firms

    2 Jun 2005

    Bankhall directors Mike Buckley and Gordon Covell have bought mortgage specialist Bankhall Client Services and packaging subsidiary Independent Mortgages Direct after months of negotiations.

  • Banks to speed up clearance times

    2 Jun 2005

    Plans to reduce the three-day wait for clearance on electronic payments between banks have been announced by the Payment Systems Task Force.

  • BBB aims to offer wrap switch service

    1 Jun 2005

    Berkeley Berry Birch is to set up a subsidiary firm to deal with wrap providers, aimed at offering IFAs the service of changing provider easily.

  • Beachcroft plans big boost for FS division

    2 Jun 2005

    Beachcroft Wansbroughs plans to double the size of its financial services division within the next 12 months, expanding its sites in Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester.

  • Blair blasts damage caused by the FSA

    2 Jun 2005

    Prime Minister Tony Blair has launched an unprecedented attack on the FSA for strangling respectable financial services businesses.

  • BM Solutions adds self-cert categories

    1 Jun 2005

    BM Solutions is adding new-prime and extra-light as extra categories in its mortgage range. The near-prime fixed and tracker rates start from 5.99 per cent and near-prime self-cert rates from 6.19 per cent

  • BNP Paribas offers fund for expensive tastes

    2 Jun 2005

    BNP Paribas Asset Management has registered 60 of its Luxemburg-based Sicav funds in the UK, providing UK investors with access to these funds for the first time.

  • Bond ban is back

    2 Jun 2005

    Our panel of experts consider the implications of the reintroduction of tax legislation on capital redemption bonds.

  • Booth becomes PMI chief executive

    1 Jun 2005

    Roger Booth has been appointed as chief executive of the Pensions Management Institute. He joins from the Housing Corporation, where he was a financial regulator for social housing.

  • Boulger on Mortgages

    2 Jun 2005

    The timing of Chancellor Gordon Brown's announcement about the Government's shared equity sch-eme for first-time buyers appeared somewhat puzzling as he had not previously showered much praise on this idea. However, helping this particular sector of the market was an election pledge and restating the Government's commitment to it so soon after the election suggests that the Government sees it as a priority. Indeed, the Chancellor has said he wants the scheme to be ready for next April.

  • Bristol & West opens up income and growth options

    3 Jun 2005

    Bristol & West has established the income and growth guaranteed equity bond which combines a guaranteed equity bond with a savings account.

  • Brown's 50/50 vision

    2 Jun 2005

    Council of Mortgage Lenders press officer Christopher Dean looks at the practicalities behind the rhetoric of shared-equity schemes

  • Chancellor paves way for 'limited touch' regulation

    2 Jun 2005

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has pledged to reduce the regulatory burden on the financial services industry in a speech launching his Better Regulation Act- ion Plan in Downing Street last week.

  • Chilton under fire over Purely Mortgages' switch to fees

    2 Jun 2005

    Mortgage advisers claim the decision by Purely Mortgages to change into a fee-based firm is a U-turn.

  • Cofunds moves more services online

    7 Jun 2005

    Cofunds has upgraded its website to include the report and accounts of all funds on the platform.Advisers could previously opt to receive paper copies of all reports and accounts, which involved reams of paper. Anyone wanting this service from now on will face an admin annual charge but they can be downloaded for free.

  • Collapsed Shepherds fund pulls back 4m

    2 Jun 2005

    Investment boutique Shepherds, which ran an offshore traded life fund which collapsed, has secured the return of 4m from US authorities but investors could still be 80 per cent out of pocket.

  • Correspondent's View

    2 Jun 2005

    Robert Watts

  • Cummings confirms promotion will not affect AMI role

    3 Jun 2005

    The recent promotion of Chris Cummings to director general of Aifa will not affect his role at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries.

  • David Severn stands down as director general of Aifa

    3 Jun 2005

    David Severn is standing down as director general of the Association of Indpendent Financial Advisers with immediate effect due to ill health.

  • Deutsche trust may switch to Artemis

    2 Jun 2005

    Speculation is mounting that management of the Deutsche equity income trust could switch to Artemis after DWS finds a buyer for its institu- tional business.

  • Domination fear could bring single wrap hub

    2 Jun 2005

    Fear of the market being dominated by one wrap provider with superior technology could lead to a single industry-wide standard solution, says Accenture.

  • Don't let clients retire too soon, warns L&G's Boulding

    6 Jun 2005

    Advisers should not let clients retire too soon, according to Legal & General pensions strategy director Adrian Boulding.By delaying clients' retirement until after A day, advisers can take advantage of several tax breaks and generate more income for themselves, he says.Boulding also urges advisers to look at with-profits annuities, which are at least in part backed by equities, unlike standard annuities, which are typically soley backed by gilts and corporate bonds.

  • Double trouble

    2 Jun 2005

    Last week, I left you with the tantalising prospect of more on the subject of holdover relief in connection with gifts for inheritance tax planning. The Government introduced anti-avoidance legislation in last year's Finance Act to combat what it believes to be exploitation of this relief. Let us have a look at these provisions.

  • DWP offer money for pension ideas

    7 Jun 2005

    The DWP is offering a cash incentive for non-profit making organisations to come up with ways to encourage more people to provide for their retirement and improve financial awareness.The best ideas will receive money from the new Pensions Education Fund, administered by the DWP and aimed at empowering people to make their own decisions regarding pension provision.The PEF was previously known as the Pensions Challenge Fund, announced in September 04.Pensions Minister Stephen ...

  • F&C puts Scott on UK growth & income fund

    6 Jun 2005

    F&C has given Ted Scott management of its 14.6m UK growth and income fund from July 1.

  • Fidelity in re-register incentive

    1 Jun 2005

    Fidelity FundNetwork is offering advisers 50 and investors 25 to re-register assets worth 5,000 or more on its platform. The offer period is from June 20 to August 26.

  • Finance Bill deals tax blow to with-profits

    2 Jun 2005

    The Government is pressing ahead with controversial proposals which could increase tax on with-profits funds by hundreds of millions of pounds.The move, which is expected to only affect proprietary life offices and not mutuals, is contained in the Finance Bill published last week.The bill deals with legislation announced in this year's Budget which was left out of the Finance Act 2005 due to lack of time.It proposes that income and gains from surplus life funds - all funds ...

  • Focus hires new mortgage account manager

    2 Jun 2005

    Focus has appointed Russell Holmes as an account manager with the aim of increasing new mortgage business. Holmes will be responsible for generating new opportunities for the companys Multi-Channel Advice for mortgages solution. Focus says this product enables effective electronic trading across multiple distribution channels.Before joining Focus Russell worked for four years at Sterling Commerce as an e-business integration account manager.Holmes says: " Having provided a ...

  • Follow the FSA's example on menu to end confusion

    2 Jun 2005

    Following my article in Money Marketing last week, I am grateful to the FSA for clarifying the wording and meanings they are using. This may help to explain some of the confusion in the market.

  • FSA director Huey Evans steps down

    3 Jun 2005

    FSA director Gay Huey Evans is stepping down from her role in the regulator's markets division. Huey Evans will join Tribeca Global Management, a hedge fund manager owned by Citigroup.

  • FSA rethink on compensation scheme levies

    2 Jun 2005

    The FSA has confirmed it is reviewing the funding of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in response to industry pressure.

  • Fund sales rise by 11 per cent

    1 Jun 2005

    Investment fund net sales rose by 11 per cent in April to 778m from 700m in the same month last year, according to IMA statistics. Investment funds under management also rose by 11 per cent, standing at 227bn now from 249bn. Isa funds are 14 per cent higher at 38bn. The most popular Isa sector in April was UK all companies, accounting for 27 per cent of gross Isa sales.

  • IFAs show backing for compulsion

    2 Jun 2005

    Nearly three-quarters of IFAs believe compulsion would be an effective solution to pension problems, claims a survey by Sesame.

  • IFP workshops to help advisers make fee move

    2 Jun 2005

    The Institute of Financial Planning is running a series of transition workshops to encourage advisers to move to a fee-based basis as financial planners.

  • IMA offers free child trust fund guide

    2 Jun 2005

    With government figures saying 1.25m child trust fund vouchers are still unused, the IMA is offering a free guide to investing in a child trust fund.The guide covers the options available and in particular the risks and rewards involved in investing in shares and/or bonds, using the experience of the Random family as an example.The IMA says the guide is designed to help parents make an informed choice about what to do with their voucher.

  • In or out?

    2 Jun 2005

    I am nearing the end of this series of articles reviewing the progress of key pension issues and highlighting areas where advisers can assist corporate and personal clients.

  • Independent view

    2 Jun 2005

    I get the distinct impression that we all thought the 1 per cent cap was madness. I also get the same uncomfortable feeling that the 1.5 per cent cap is just as daft.

  • Insight hires new head of IFA sales

    3 Jun 2005

    Insight has hired a new head of retail IFA sales, Frank McGarry, as well as a new head of multi-manager and private equity and a new head of institutional sales.

  • Jail for adviser who stole 2.7m

    2 Jun 2005

    A judge has said that the case of a Nottinghamshire financial adviser who stole 2.7m from clients was the worst he had ever seen.

  • JPM total return fund aims for 3% over cash

    2 Jun 2005

    JP Morgan Asset Management is to enter the UK total return market with its cautious total return fund aiming for 3 per cent a year above cash.

  • Julian Gibbs

    2 Jun 2005

    Simon Shaw is one of the best UK fund managers but is little known to IFAs. He has managed the CF Epic UK equity fund since it was launched in October 2003. By April 1, it had risen by over 31 per cent against a rise in the FTSE All Share index of only 11 per cent.

  • Keydata launches 12th dynamic growth plan

    7 Jun 2005

    Keydatas dynamic growth plan is to make its 12th issue following the success of previous issues.

  • L&G launches Contract Enquiry system on The Exchange

    6 Jun 2005

    Legal and General has announced the launch of its Contract Enquiry system on The Exchange.The provider says IFAs will now be able to get real-time information from either a portal or back-office system, enabling them to view valuations on over a million of their clients Life and Pension policies.L&G director, technology propositions Cheryl Clements says: "The Contract Enquiry system offers IFAs a valuable tool which will give real-time information to their clients.Further launches ...

  • Legal minefield is facing buyers in ex-war zones

    2 Jun 2005

    Advising on properties in former European conflict zones could result in the next mortgage misselling scandal, according to Advocate International, the independent property consultants.

  • LIfe and pension business up by 2.8 per cent

    1 Jun 2005

    The ABIs new business figures for the first quarter of 2005 show a mixed picture on pensions and long-term savings, with overall life and pension sales up, but workplace pension sales down. Overall sales of life and pensions products were up 2.8 per cent on the equivalent quarter in 2004, from 2.42bn to 2.49bn. Sales of workplace pensions fell 3.5 per cent from 189m to 183m.

  • Life's not taxing

    2 Jun 2005

    Many of you are focusing your efforts on advising clients on suitable planning actions in the run-up to pension simplification but simultaneously you should not lose sight of the significant part that life insurance products can offer alongside approved pension arrangements.

  • Lighthouse turns off the Berkeley Wodehouse brand

    2 Jun 2005

    The Berkeley Wodehouse name is to disappear as Lighthouse Group rationalises brand names across its operations to present a clearer identity through all business channels.

  • Londoners take flight to suburbs

    6 Jun 2005

    Movement into and out of London has contributed to a 236 per cent increase in flat prices over the past ten years. New research from Halifax Financial Services has shown that almost 2.3m Londoners moved away from the capital over the last 10 years and headed mainly for the suburbs, the South East and the West Country.The majority of people moving into London were in the age group 16-24 whereas the majority of people leaving the capital were aged 25-44. This means that flats, the ...

  • M&G to bring Fofs in house

    2 Jun 2005

    M&G is bringing the management of its fund of funds range in house from next month.

  • Matrix Money Management - Matrix Ascension Plan 1 Top Up

    6 Jun 2005

    Matrix Money ManagementMatrix Ascension Plan 1 Top Up

  • Medical Property fund to buy 47m portfolio

    7 Jun 2005

    The Medical Property Investment Fund has agreed terms to acquire a 47m property portfolio from Apollo Medical Partners.

  • Morgan Stanley introduces 11 funds to UK

    1 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment Management has made 11 Sicav funds available to UK investors by obtaining UK distributor status for them.

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav Emerging Europe & Middle East Fund

    1 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav Emerging Europe & Middle East Fund

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav Emerging Markets Equity

    2 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment Management]Sicav Emerging Markets Equity

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav European Small Cap Value Fund

    1 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav European Small Cap Value Fund

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav Japanese Equity Growth Fund

    2 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav Japanese Equity Growth Fund

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav Japanese Value Equity Fund

    3 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav Japanese Value Equity Fund

  • Morgan Stanley Investment Management - Sicav US Value Equity Fund

    3 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav US Value Equity Fund

  • MS on the Reit track

    6 Jun 2005

    Morgan Stanley Investment ManagementSicav US Property Fund

  • Nic Cicutti

    2 Jun 2005

    Every now and then, Money Marketing carries a spate of letters about spurious endowment compensation claims.

  • No honeymoon in June, warns Waters

    2 Jun 2005

    FSA director of retail policy Dan Waters says there will be no honeymoon period for IFAs after depolarisation came into force on Wednes-day but the regulator will give breathing space to firms struggling to iron out last-minute glitches with their menu.

  • NU enters multi-manager market with caution

    2 Jun 2005

    Norwich UnionNorwich Manager of Manager Cautious Fund

  • Offshore assurance

    2 Jun 2005

    Clients need to be made be aware of the extent of compensation schemes.

  • Pace of growth in UK housing market lowest in four years says Halifax

    7 Jun 2005

    The current pace of growth is the slowest in four years according to the Halifax house price index.

  • Parvest LatAm makes UK debut

    7 Jun 2005

    The Parvest Latin America Fund is one of 60 funds recently registered for distributor status in the UK.The fund aims for growth by investing in equities and equity-related securities of countries in Latin America. This includes Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Mexico, with some exposure to the US.

  • Paying by instalments

    2 Jun 2005

    I would like to correct a couple of inaccurate statements regarding the article in the May 19 edition of Money Marketing headlined, IFAs can pay in instalments but FSA sets interest at 9 per cent.

  • Policing with-profits policies

    2 Jun 2005

    I have a number of with-profits investments but am concerned about rec- ent negative press coverage. Should I continue to invest in with-profits?

  • Popplewell falls at critical hurdle

    2 Jun 2005

    I have been following with great interest Keith Popple-well's series of articles on pension transfers in Money Marketing.

  • Preserve and create

    2 Jun 2005

    Investors want a non-traumatic way of getting worthwhile returns.

  • Property firms berated for IHT claims over Sipps

    2 Jun 2005

    Property companies are building up investors' hopes about tax breaks available on property investments within Sipps after A-Day through marketing material which ignores the restrictions of holding property in pensions.

  • Pru cutting guaranteed protection rates

    2 Jun 2005

    Prudential is cutting premiums on its guaranteed protection products after disappointing sales in the first few months after launch.

  • PruFund adding guarantee

    2 Jun 2005

    Prudential is adding a fifth anniversary capital guarantee option to its PruFund investment plan, which will be offered free retrospectively to existing investors.

  • Release is not up everyone's street

    2 Jun 2005

    Many advisers balked at the storyline in Coronation Street when serial killer Richard Hillman missold an equity-release scheme to Emily Bishop, although, of course, his misselling was intended with murder in mind.

  • Reviewer cannot see the value of structured plans

    2 Jun 2005

    I was disappointed by the recent review in Money Marketing on Woolwich Plan Managers' capital growth plan 8. We are all in favour of educated opinion but I am afraid that your reviewer demonstrated neither.

  • Robert Reid

    2 Jun 2005

    After a successful time at more than one product provider, I decided to become an IFA. By 1985, little had changed in the marketplace for a decade. In the next few years, we would witness changes to our market environment that would create job losses on a scale that would make the recent problems at Rover seem inconsequential.

  • Royal Liver boosts IP

    2 Jun 2005

    Royal Liver is offering an improved income protection product to IFAs using its e-only facility.

  • Selestia moves to reap simplification benefits

    2 Jun 2005

    Selestia is setting up a pension product to take advantage of simplification opportunities.

  • Sharpe focus puts funds in the frame

    2 Jun 2005

    If IFAs could perform magic, the four words they would use to cast their spell would probably be "lower volatility, better returns".

  • SimplyBiz hosts first online chat for members

    2 Jun 2005

    SimplyBiz is starting an online forum for members to discuss industry issues.

  • Sipps at sweet 16

    2 Jun 2005

    Sipps have been a success since they were introduced in 1989 by Nigel Lawson and the new pension regime should see them flourish further.

  • Skandia business up by 9 per cent

    1 Jun 2005

    Skandias assets under management grew by 1bn in the first quarter from 20bn to 21bn. Sales rose by 9 per cent to 136m. UK bond business continued to dominate, rising by 29 per cent from 217m to 280m. Royal Skandia, the UKs offshore arm, grew sales by 14 per cent to from 40m to 46m.

  • Skandia is playing down take-over talks

    1 Jun 2005

    Skandia is playing down talks of a takeover, saying it is content with operating as a standalone firm, following better than expected Q1 results.

  • Skipton launches Guaranteed Double Asset Bond

    6 Jun 2005

    Skipton is launching a guaranteed double asset bond made up of a 1-year fixed rate bond and 5.5 year index-linked bond.

  • Standard Life gets ready to set up in Dublin to sell back to UK

    2 Jun 2005

    Standard Life is setting up an offshore operation in Dublin to sell products back into the UK.

  • Standard set up in Qingdao

    3 Jun 2005

    Heng An Standard Life, the joint venture between Standard Life and TEDA Investment Holding Corporation, has opened its first branch office in Qingdao, China.HASL says it is the first life insurance company in Qingdao to introduce the financial planning consultant sales model.It aims to establish its second branch later in the year and hopes to expand into a number of Chinas major cities by the end of 2007.Standard Life chief executive international operations Alan Forbes says: ...

  • Stephen Leaman

    2 Jun 2005

    The chief executive of Openwork is an American naval college graduate and a Vietnam vet who believes in leading from the front and he is aiming for multi-tie success by giving advisers a stake in the business.

  • Steve Bee on Pensions

    2 Jun 2005

    Recent Sunday papers carried the worrying head- line that Adair Turner, the head of the Govern- ment's Pensions Commission, may be considering making people with university degrees work until they are 70. Now, that appears to have been a misquoting of something he said, but it started a lot of hares running, it is the sort of thing that's bound to worry people isn't it?

  • 'Stop IFA internet impostors'

    2 Jun 2005

    IFA Promotion chief executive David Elms is urging the FSA to end customer confusion caused by non-IFAs posing as IFAs on the internet.

  • Surveyors claim BTL market has ground to a halt

    2 Jun 2005

    The buy-to-let market has come to a standstill as a result of rising interest rates, says the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

  • The case for commission

    2 Jun 2005

    Lifesearch senior technical adviser Kevin Carr on why up-front commission has its place in protection.

  • The high price of the menu

    2 Jun 2005

    Welcome to the world of menu mayhem. IFAs from this week are required to offer their customers a payment menu detailing a series of market averages plus the maximum they may take on a product.

  • THE IFP's view

    2 Jun 2005

    D-Day has come and gone and now is the time for repolarisation as advisers choose which business model they want to build or belong to.

  • The menu can play a worthwhile role

    2 Jun 2005

    The long debate is finally over and depolarisation has arrived, for better or worse. The menu has been at the very heart of this debate and the maximum commission rates that advisers now have to use have understandably fuelled concern and confusion in equal measure.

  • The Mortgage Works - Three Year Fixed Buy-To-Let 4.85%

    7 Jun 2005

    The Mortgage WorksThree Year Fixed Buy-To-Let 4.85%

  • The outer banks

    2 Jun 2005

    Some people might query whether offshore banking really constitutes an industry in its own right. Surely, it is just an adjunct of the domestic banks? An extra convenience for the expatriate or tax exile? Certainly, that is the way it used to be but globalisation has changed the basic rules of internat- ional banking.

  • Thoresen wants ad blitz for savings

    2 Jun 2005

    Aegon chief executive Otto Thoresen is calling for an industry-funded generic advice service to raise public interest in saving.

  • TMB in switch to affordability

    2 Jun 2005

    The Mortgage Business is switching to an affordability model rather than income multiples as it embraces the FSA's responsible lending policy.

  • Tribunal halves L&G's fine and criticises FSA

    2 Jun 2005

    Legal & General's 1.1m fine for mortgage endowment misselling was slashed to 575,000 by the independent Financial Services & Markets Tribunal last week.

  • Under-25s say Govt should provide for their retirement

    2 Jun 2005

    Under 30 per cent of young people have taken out pensions and over 90 per cent believe the Government should provide for them in retirement.

  • Uneasy rider

    2 Jun 2005

    Being cheeky can sometimes pay off.

  • Verdin on the ridiculous

    2 Jun 2005

    Top marks to the Law Society for its diligence. One MM hack received an email from the society saying: "Thank you for your request. A member of our team will respond to you as quickly as possible." This was in response to an urgent question posed on January 27.Then again, the Diary can report that our Glorious Leader responded to an email from Direct Life & Pensions' Richard Verdin six months after it was received.Verdin complimen- ted MM for always having its finger on the ...

  • Votes back Edinburgh fund merger

    1 Jun 2005

    Shareholders have voted for four Edinburgh trusts to be rolled into a single operation. The high income, high zeros 2005, income and value and value zeros trusts will merge into the new income trust.

  • Webline revamps its board

    2 Jun 2005

    Webline has rejigged its senior management team, with man- aging director Paul Holland becoming executive chairman.

  • Winterthur blunders with 14k estimate on 16 a month policy

    2 Jun 2005

    A Winterthur Life policyholder has seen his refinancing plans wrecked after the surrender value of his life endowment policy turned out to be over 80 per cent lower than the life office's estimate.

  • Yearsley in warning over cash fund charges

    2 Jun 2005

    The top-performing cash fund delivered nearly three times the return of the weakest over the past three years, underlining the diversity of returns even in the money markets, says Trustnet.

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