Money Marketing
1 March 2006

  • 14 TMB staff quit to join Deutsche Bank

    2 Mar 2006

    The HBOS exodus is gathering momentum with a further 14 staff at The Mortgage Business quitting to join Deutsche Bank.

  • 350Bn in housing to cascade down over the next 15 years

    2 Mar 2006

    An estimated 350bn of housing assets will pass from one generation to another over the next 15 years - the biggest transfer of its kind ever recorded in the UK.Halifax Financial Services has calculated that the value of housing assets inherited every year will more than double from 14bn in 2002/ 03 to 32bn in today's money by 2019/20. It was also calculated that 60 per cent of the total value of all estates will be accounted for by housing. The number of estates with property assets ...

  • 72 per cent CTF take up

    3 Mar 2006

    Nearly 1.5 million Child Trust Fund accounts have now been opened with a 72 per cent take up rate for the earliest vouchers, according to Treasury figures.Economic Secretary to the Treasury Ivan Lewis says the product has kick-started a revolution in the way the nation saves for its children.In all 1.48m of the 2.3m vouchers issued have been opened. After a year if the CTF is not invested by the parent Government will open a stakeholder account for the child using a list of providers ...

  • 77 per cent of advisers recommend multi-manager, says Fidelity

    1 Mar 2006

    More than three quarters of advisers, 77 per cent, already recommend multi-manager products to their clients, according to research by Fidelity International.89 per cent of these advisers say they will recommend the products this ISA season.Of these advisers, 58 per cent say that they recommend these products because they offer ongoing monitoring and portfolio insight and nearly 60 per cent believe multi-manager should be used for more than 50 per cent of a clients portfolio. 96 ...

  • A&L moves into non-standard market

    2 Mar 2006

    Alliance & Leicester is lining up a push into the non-standard market and more lenders are expected to follow suit amid upbeat expectations about the sector's growth potential.A&L will offer non-conforming, buy-to-let and self-certification mortgages to the intermediary market later this year.A&L is finalising an agreement with an investment bank, whereby the bank will provide the loan funds and A&L will earn a fee on each sale.A&L has not confirmed whe-ther it will launch ...

  • ABI v Which?

    2 Mar 2006

    Relations between Which? and the ABI have descended into open hostility, with a bitter war of words mounting about pension reform.In a stinging attack, the ABI has accused Which? of shunning serious debate to focus on cheap shots against the ABI's alternative proposal to the national pension savings scheme in a bid to sell more magazines.The ABI has issued a pointblank denial of several Which? claims about its proposals for an NPSS alternative.Which? says its research found ...

  • Abroad brush

    2 Mar 2006

    Advice Simon Hildrey offers some hints for advisers who are considering a move overseas

  • Advisers failing to cater for equity release demand

    2 Mar 2006

    The equity release market could be set for a dramatic slump if advisers fail to pick up the baton and promote products.Key Retirement Solutions business development director Dean Mirfin, speaking at the Financial Services Scotland conference, claimed more and more consumers are demanding equity release products but the market is in danger of failing to cater for that need.He delivered a rallying call to advisors to get involved in the market as he believes there is plenty of business ...

  • Advisers struggle to access FSA website

    1 Mar 2006

    Advisers are struggling to access the FSA website with some unable to download the site for several days. The FSA says nothing is wrong with its system and says the problem lies with the users own internet service providers. Advisers using BT, AOL, Blueyonder and Tiscali claim to have been affected.

  • Aegon urging consensus through pension debate

    2 Mar 2006

    Aegon claims the Government, industry and consumer groups already agree on many areas of pension reform but this has been overlooked because of wrangling over competing alternatives to TurnerThe firm believes that differ-ent responses to the Turner report by organisations such as the ABI, the NAPF, Which?, the CBI and the IMA could create an impasse and it wants to encourage groups to find common ground to move the debate forward. It says there are several key areas on which all parties ...

  • Age Concern

    2 Mar 2006

    Pensions HSBC head of group retirement businesses Steve Troop says 80 per cent of people are against mandatory retirement ages and it is up to employers to adapt systems to reflect the needs of older workers

  • Aifa aids firms with equity release guide

    2 Mar 2006

    Aifa has produced an educational guide for its members on equity release in a move that further brings the product in from the cold.It is offering the guide after calls from Safe Home Incomes Plan chairman Jon King for more education to address the shortage of advisers in the market and the news that several high-street banks, including Lloyds TSB and Barclays, are look- ing to move into the sector.Aifa's Viewpoint guide is described as a step-by-step guide to take advisers ...

  • AITC calls for vote plan to be dropped

    2 Mar 2006

    Opposition to the plan for institutional disclosure

  • Altin trust opening up star closed Fofs to retail investors

    2 Mar 2006

    80% is in established hedge funds which are closed to new investors

  • An alien language

    2 Mar 2006

    One thing which the life and pension and e-commerce industries have in common is a massive amount of jargon and acronyms to confuse customers, sometimes to hilarious effect.

  • Baby talk

    2 Mar 2006

    Congratulations to Polhill's newest mother Simone Bhatti. Sim gave birth to a healthy 7lbs 10oz baby girl at 11.55pm on Tuesday, February 13 - five minutes before the clock stuck for St Valentine's Day.Zahraa Frances arrived after what sounds like a pretty exhausting labour, although is there any other kind? Sim had to endure former colleague Annie Hoult trying her best to ward all financial services' women off mother-hood by describing in fine detail the ins and outs of what really ...

  • Barclays launches six year agricultural commodities plan

    7 Mar 2006

    Barclays is launching a six year agricultural commodities plan offering 110 per cent of any growth in the Goldman Sachs commodities index.

  • Baronsmead VCT closes share issue

    1 Mar 2006

    Baronsmead VCT 4, run by F&C, has closed its latest C share issue after becoming oversubscribed three weeks into its 20m offer period. The shares will be allotted on March 10 subject to shareholder approval.

  • Bayview to operate under InterBay brand

    1 Mar 2006

    Florida-based lender Bayview Financials will operate under the InterBay brand when it launches its intermediary lending proposition in the UK in May. The operation will be headed by American Andy Murray.

  • BBB confirm sale of BIA and BB&N FP to Tenet

    7 Mar 2006

    Berkeley Berry Birch has confirmed the sale of Berkeley Independent Advisers and Berry Birch & Noble Financial Planning to Tenet for a combined 2.35m.

  • BBB in deal with Tenet as capital adequacy deadline passes

    1 Mar 2006

    Berkeley Berry Birch has entered into conditional heads of terms with Tenet Group for the sale of network BIA and national Berry Birch & Noble Financial Planning (Weston) as reported in this weeks Money Marketing.

  • Bee warning that NPSS will create financial lepers

    2 Mar 2006

    Advisers can wave goodbye to their book of individual pension business'

  • Benefit system

    2 Mar 2006

    February and March are traditionally supposed to be the months when advisers will be discussing with clients the ways they could maximise the use of the allowances, reliefs and exemptions for the current tax year.

  • Bernau is new chairman of FSSC

    3 Mar 2006

    Stuart Bernau has been appointed chairman of the Financial Services Skills Council.

  • BIA and BBNFP have permissions cancelled by FSA

    6 Mar 2006

    The FSA has served final notice to Berkeley Independent Advisers and Berry Birch Noble Financial Planning cancelling their permissions to conduct regulated activities.

  • BIA members concerned for their future

    3 Mar 2006

    Berkeley Independent Advisers network members are concerned about the lack of certainty over their futures.

  • BM on alert over sacked staff

    2 Mar 2006

    BM Solutions has warned firms which take on mortgage staff kicked out of Openwork following alleged recent malpractice that it may terminate business with them.Many of those staff who were the subject of disciplinary action have since found jobs at different mortgage companies although neither BM nor Openwork are able to confirm which firms.BM says if it discovers these staff are working at different firms, it will treat each case on an individual basis. It could cease trading ...

  • Bolton offering consultancy deal to the tune of 10,000

    2 Mar 2006

    Former HBOS head of specialist lending Michael Bolton is offering consultancy services for 10,000 a day plus VAT but his fee is a snip compared with his famous namesake.Former mullet-favouring pop star Michael Bolton can be hired for a whopping 63,000 plus expenses for a 90-minute performance.Both Boltons can claim that their fees are justified, given their past achievements. Bolton the singer has picked up two Grammies and six American Music Awards.His namesake has scooped ...

  • Bond for firms to transfer pension liabilities

    2 Mar 2006

    The bond is being aimed at SMEs with deficits of up to £150m. The PPF-approved bond could enable firms to avoid having any reportable pension fund deficit so they stave off more onerous PPF levy payments which increase depending on risk of defaulting on pension promises.Managing director Graham Pitcher says the mergers and acquisitions market may be damaged by firms uneasy with the prospect of taking on pension liabilities of another company. The CBI estimates that one in five ...

  • Bonds for retirement

    2 Mar 2006

    Our panel consider in depth the role that offshore life bonds can play in retirement planning

  • Borrowers are relaxed over their debt levels

    2 Mar 2006

    Over three-quarters of people in debt feel that their financial situation is under control and 24 per cent say they may borrow more in the future, according to research by Mintel.The firm found that the vast majority of people in debt are relaxed about their situation and demand for credit has not yet abated. Around 44 per cent of Bri- tish adults are in debt.Only one in 20 borrowers are very worried about the levels of debt that they hold while one in 10 is quite worried.Twenty-five ...

  • Brics and mortar

    2 Mar 2006

    Global emerging markets guru Angus Tulloch caused waves last week by suggesting that the recent glut of Bric funds are driven by marketing rather than sound investment principles.

  • Brunel Franklin replies

    2 Mar 2006

    The recent articles in Money Marketing concerning Brunel Franklin omit some important pieces of information that would have given the reader an entirely different and fairer view than the one portrayed. I would point out that the two separate complaints, both made by IFAs, incidentally, that have been made to the Advertising Standards Authority were not upheld. We were already aware of the complaint that was made to the Claims Standard Councils and had in fact already responded ...

  • Certain victory

    2 Mar 2006

    The greater the certainty, the higher the perceived benefit of tax planning strategies

  • Charles Stanley launches Oeic

    7 Mar 2006

    Charles Stanley stockbrokers is launching its first Oeic in partnership with Capital financial managers.

  • Chaser charges 800 if customer cancels

    2 Mar 2006

    A no win, no fee endowment claim-chaser which charges customers 800 if they withdraw their complaints has been slammed by Aifa.Oasis Financial Services' marketing brochure states in bold type: "No win, no fee, no risk." The downloadable brochure does not mention the 800 fee.The 800 cancellation fee if the customer decides to withdraw the complaint is included in the firm's terms and conditions if the consumer hires Oasis. The fee is also mentioned at the bottom of the company's ...

  • Christows cuts minimum portfolio sum

    2 Mar 2006

    Christows has relaunched its multi-manager portfolio service and cut its minimum investment requirements to £25,000 to target a wider investor base.

  • CII launches life and pensions faculty

    2 Mar 2006

    The CII has launched the Faculty of Life and Pensions to help companies drive up standards of professionalism and good practice and so benefit from enhanced consumer confidence. The Facultywas officially launched at the inaugural meeting of itsAdvisory Board of senior industry leaders, chaired by CII president Peter Hales, on March 1.

  • Clerical Medical and Suffolk Life partner-up on Sipps

    3 Mar 2006

    Clerical Medical announces a partnership with Suffolk Life to offer a self-invested fund through its individual pension range.

  • Confusion over caveat emptor

    2 Mar 2006

    Nic Cicutti and others are confusing caveat emptor with other issues. Mr Cicutti seems to want a sort of caveat emptor lite. This is daft. Either you have caveat emptor or you don't. The opposite, caveat vendor, is unworkable in a free market liberal democratic society and arguably consumerism has taken us too far down this road already. Responsibility lies on both sides of any commercial transaction. The buyer has the responsibility to buy well and the seller has the responsibility ...

  • Correspondent's week

    2 Mar 2006

    This week by freelance personal finance journalist Sonia Speedy

  • Credit Suisse widens ethical fund mandate

    1 Mar 2006

    Credit Suisse has broadened the mandate of the ethical multi-manager fund it acquired from Artemis last May to enable it to invest in biotechnology and environmental technology funds in a bid to improve performance.

  • CSC says life offices have been selling client lists to chasers

    2 Mar 2006

    The Claims Standards Council has accused life comp- anies of selling lists of customers that have bought endowment policies to ambulance-chasers.The voluntary watchdog claims providers are selling leads taken from answers to their marketing lifestyle questionnaires, where the firms will often ask whether the consumer has been sold an endowment in the past.He says some staff are even selling out their advisers by selling the details of customers that have been sent red projection ...

  • Defaqto says firms must rebuild confidence in CI

    2 Mar 2006

    The critical-illness insurance industry needs to work harder to improve consumer trust and understanding, warns research firm Defaqto.Its report, Critical Illness Term Insurance In The UK, says customer confidence in crit- ical cover has been shaken after a number of high-profile claims being turned down for technical reasons. Unclear terminology used in policy document wording also continues to und-ermine the product.Defaqto believes that lack of education is at the root of ...

  • DWP attacked over divorcee rights

    2 Mar 2006

    The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of flying in the face of simplification by failing to change the age at which contracted-out benefits can be taken by divorcees.Contrary to expectation, divorcees will not be able to access protected rights until the age of 60 and even then they cannot be taken as a lump sum.Other schemes can take out their contracted-out rights from age 50 from A-Day 2006 and age 55 in 2010. The Government response to the consultation on ...

  • End gain pain

    2 Mar 2006

    Bates Investment Services senior investment adviser Paul Ilott gives some tips on how planning can save on capital gains taxationWhat do the following figures have in common: 11,547, 50,990 and 123,206?

  • F&C aiming to sponsor Premier league club

    2 Mar 2006

    F&C is looking to sponsor a premiership football side in a deal to be struck by the man behind the DWS sponsorship of Aston Villa.F&C head of marketing communication and UK retail marketing Scott Stevens moved from DWS last November and has revealed plans to strike a similar football deal for his new firm.He says DWS's seven-figure sponsorship of Aston Villa not only raised the firm's profile among consumers but also helped to engage its key clients through corporate entertainment, ...

  • Fear factor

    2 Mar 2006

    Prudential head of sales for lifetime mortgages Jan Holt says fear of the unknown is stopping many advisers from entering the equity-release market but if the process is followed carefully, there is no greater risk than any other advice area

  • Fidelity extends Dubai fund offering

    3 Mar 2006

    Fidelity International is adding 100 mutual funds to its Dubai offering targeting investors in the region through local distribution channels.

  • Founder Berry puts the blame on Lockyer

    2 Mar 2006

    Berry Birch & Noble co-founder Derek Berry has laid the blame for Berkeley Berry Birch's current situation at the door of Cliff Lockyer.Berry, who retired from BB&N in 2001 before the rev- erse takeover by Berkeley Financial Services that created BBB, claims that the former chief executive and chairman turned a "highly respected" business with more than 30 years' track record into a "shambles".He says there has been a big turnover of senior staff since BBB was formed.Lockyer ...

  • Fox gets wholesale job at First State

    2 Mar 2006

    First State Investments has appointed Graham Fox as head of UK and European wholesale. Fox is an internal appointment and replaces Richard Jones who left to join Dalton Strategic Partners.

  • Fox gets wholesale job at First State

    1 Mar 2006

    First State Investments has appointed Graham Fox as head of UK and European wholesale. Fox is an internal appointment and replaces Richard Jones who left to join Dalton Strategic Partners.

  • Franklin Templeton Investments - Templeton Asian Bond Fund

    1 Mar 2006

    Franklin Templeton InvestmentsTempleton Asian Bond Fund

  • FSA issues first RMAR bans

    2 Mar 2006

    The FSA has barred nine small firms from carrying out regulated business after they failed to provide any data to enable the regulator to monitor their activities.

  • FSA ponders penalties

    1 Mar 2006

    The FSA is considering imposing creative penalties instead of fixed fines on firms. Penalties could include temporary bans for trading desks at City firms but the FSA has not yet decided what penalties could be applied to advisers.

  • FSA ponders penalties

    2 Mar 2006

    The FSA is considering imposing "creative penalties" instead of fixed fines on firms. Penalties could include temporary bans for trading desks at City firms but the FSA has not yet decided what penalties could be applied to advisers.

  • FSA warns advisers on web marketing

    2 Mar 2006

    The FSA says advisers conducting web-based marketing are failing to comply with the financial promotion rules.The regulator has uncovered a series of rule breaches after investigating online promotions by 34 advisers.It says some websites omit risk warnings entirely and fail to make important information clear. Examples include the positioning of risk information separately from product details, leaving the consumer to identify the risks in a product, referring customers to ...

  • German investment bank makes UK mortgage launch

    7 Mar 2006

    German investment bank West LB Capital Markets is set to launch an intermediary mortgage lending arm in the next few weeks.

  • 'Government has already made up its mind on Turner proposal'

    2 Mar 2006

    The Government is already formulating its White Paper res-ponse to Turner's NPSS prop- osal despite the fact that debates on alternatives continue to rage, according to Steve Bee.Scottish Life's head of pensions strategy says the Pensions Commission's two reports have replaced the normal Green Paper route, which usually precedes a White Paper, which will enable the Government to speed through legislation.Describing the NPSS as "one of those fads of Government", Bee says it will ...

  • Grimstone replaces Newlands as Standard deputy chairman

    6 Mar 2006

    David Newlands is stepping down as Standard Life deputy chairman after seven years with Gerry Grimstone taking on the role.Grimstone was previously Schroders vice chairman of worldwide investment banking business.In addition, former Lloyds TSB finance director Kent Atkinson has become chairman of the Companys Audit Committee and Standard Life Investments chief executive Keith Skeoch is joining the board.Standard Life chairman Brian Stewart says: On behalf of all the Board, ...

  • Heir cuts

    2 Mar 2006

    Prudential taxation and trusts manager Paul Kennedy emphasises the importance of long-term planning to reduce the growing effects of inheritance tax

  • Henderson going for Gartmore

    1 Mar 2006

    Henderson chief executive Roger Yates has given his strongest indication yet of his intention to buy Gartmore telling Money Marketing he is looking at a specific acquisition opportunity.

  • Hip boss axed in ODPM shake-up

    3 Mar 2006

    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has announced a shake-up of its Hip team amid concerns over Government delays over the scheme.

  • Hip update on the way

    1 Mar 2006

    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is this week planning to announce an update on the implementation of Home Information Packs. It is planning to reveal further details on the certification scheme for home inspectors.

  • Hip update on the way

    2 Mar 2006

    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is planning an update on the implementation of home information packs.

  • I smell a rate

    2 Mar 2006

    Perpetual price reductions are preventing real progress in the protection market

  • IFAs urge the chancellor to retain tax breaks on VCTs

    7 Mar 2006

    Just 15 per cent of IFAs think the 40 per cent tax break will remain on VCTs after the budget says a study by Northern Venture Managers.

  • Inheritance tax trap opens up

    2 Mar 2006

    The Revenue is forcing people into an inheritance tax trap because it has not finalised rules on pensions with A-Day only a month away, warns Scottish Equitable director of pensions development Stewart Ritchie.Industry experts agreed at a Money Marketing round table that any confirmation of rules would probably not now appear until Budget Day on March 22, leaving only two weeks for IFAs to sort out their clients' financial planning needs.Ritchie believes that people who die ...

  • Investment View: Out for the discount

    2 Mar 2006

    The small investment club, of which I am a member, meets monthly. We are probably as representative a group of private investors as you are likely to find - apart from myself, perhaps. Certainly, I am the only participant who earns his living in the investment world.

  • Is standard life a floating target?

    2 Mar 2006

    Whether Standard Life will make it to market or not is the question that many commentators are asking, with rumours aboun-ding that the mutual could be taken over before it floats.

  • Isa guidance from the regulator

    2 Mar 2006

    The FSA has published guidance for firms promoting Isas. This includes making it clear whether charges are likely to change and clearly informing the customer what their money will be invested in.

  • Jupiter appoints Richard Curling to run UK small cap fund

    7 Mar 2006

    Jupiter has appointed former Deutsche Asset Management manager Richard Curling to run its UK smaller companies fund.

  • Just 18 per cent of FTBs seek mortgage advice from an IFA

    2 Mar 2006

    Less than a fifth of first-time buyers consult an IFA even though 70 per cent say independent financial advice is important when choosing a mortgage.IFA Promotion says just 18 per cent of FTBs visit an IFA compared with 43 per cent who go to a bank or building society.But IFAP says there is an obvious need for advice, with only 18 per cent of non-homeowners claiming to have a clear understanding of the mortgage market.There is a marked rise in the number of people seeking ...

  • L&G payouts cut despite 19% return

    2 Mar 2006

    Legal & General's with-profits fund delivered a 19 per cent return last year but around 900,000 policyholders have still been left with lower payouts than last year.The company is maintaining annual bonus rates on its conventional endowments at 0.75 per cent of the sum assured and 1.25 per cent of existing bonus.A standard 25-year savings endowment for a male aged 29 paying 50 a month will pay out 46,587 compared with 48,757 last year. This works out at an annualised real return ...

  • Latin lessons

    2 Mar 2006

    Beware of using Latin phrases such as caveat emptor as they often reveal a degree of ignorance on the part of the user, warns compliance expert Adam Samuel

  • Life's a bleach

    2 Mar 2006

    By the time you read this, it will be all over. Six venues across the UK, thou- sands of miles and hundreds of IFAs met at dinners organised by Selestia, those awfully nice people who want you to let them look after your clients' money more effectively.

  • Liverpool Vic cuts bonuses after fund delivers 20.1%

    2 Mar 2006

    Liverpool Victoria with-profits customers face lower payouts on maturing policies despite the underlying fund recording market-leading returns last year.The with-profits fund delivered a return of 20.1 per cent in 2005 and the firm is maintaining annual bonus rates on its unitised with-profits policies across the board but investors in its conventional with-profits products will see further bonus cuts. The annual bonus rate on its with-profits income bond stays at 4.25 per cent ...

  • Lloyds TSB's mortgage business plunges 1bn

    2 Mar 2006

    Lloyds TSB has become the second high-street banking giant in a week to report a slump in mortgage sales, with new business down by 1bn last year.The lender, which owns mortgage specialist Cheltenham & Gloucester, saw the amount of net new lending in 2005 drop by more than 10 per cent from 9.3bn the previous year to 8.3bn in 2005.Last week, rival Barclays admitted its mortgage business was underperforming after seeing its homeloan balance drop from 61.7bn in 2004 to 59.6bn at ...

  • Loaded questions

    2 Mar 2006

    Guy Anker gauges reaction to Friends offering premium-loaded life products

  • Look on the bright side

    2 Mar 2006

    We can put a positive slant on many seemingly negative aspects of our industry

  • Lord Whitty to chair National Consumer Council

    3 Mar 2006

    The National Consumer Council has appointed former Labour minister Lord Whitty as its new chair.

  • Make a multi mark

    2 Mar 2006

    Adviser Fund Index editor James Teasdale says the AFIs can help investment advisers in their selection criteria for funds of funds

  • Merrill Lynch looks for good day at Black Rock

    2 Mar 2006

    Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is testing the water with key distributors about rebranding as Black Rock in the UK when the global merger of the two firms completes in October.The US arm of Merrill Lynch said it would adopt the Black Rock brand when the mer- ger was agreed on February 15 but MLIM in the UK, which has recently launched a 3m advertising campaign, was initially expected to take advantage of a clause in the deal which would allow it to operate under licence here ...

  • Millfield retracts profitability statement

    2 Mar 2006

    Millfield has had to retract an announcement in its December interim statement stating it would report an operating profit from the third quarter of 2005-06 onwards after incurring a loss in this period.The group blames a number of factors including late reported costs and lower than expected December trading and the board has instructed Millfields auditors to assist the financial management of the company. reviewing aspects of its operating results.Interim finance director Arthur ...

  • Mortgage View: Another door closes in the Hip farce

    2 Mar 2006

    The requirement for robust home information packs to be provided on most house sales - homes marketed while tenanted and also new builds will be exempt - from June 1, 2007 is rapidly degenerating into a farce.

  • Multi-manager View: Time to throw off our fetters

    2 Mar 2006

    When I joined the industry 20 years ago, life company managed funds were starting to dominate and were even beginning to take money away from the monolithic with-profits funds.

  • Mum's the word

    2 Mar 2006

    The Diary feels obliged to report to the organisers of Penrose's recent pub quiz a frank admission of cheating from a member of the so-called "winning" team.The hack from a down-market rival who squeezed the clean-as-a-whistle Money Marketing team into second place could no longer live with the guilt and candidly admitted to the Diary - after a few beers - that he phoned his mum for help during the quiz.We have no problem with those wanting to keep in touch with relatives, especially ...

  • New Star says Ftse could reach 6900

    7 Mar 2006

    The FTSE 100 could reach 6900 by the end of 2008 according to research by New Star into the three great bear markets of the twentieth century.

  • Nigel Frudd

    2 Mar 2006

    Beachcroft Wansbroughs head of financial services Nigel Frudd is a legal expert in the financial services world who has a self-confessed "Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor relationship" with one of the best-known names in financial services, Paul Bradshaw, and is now making a fundamental challenge over the FSA's legal remit. Interview by Samantha Shaw

  • Nomura protects with emerging markets CPPI

    7 Mar 2006

    Nomura International has introduced the global emerging markets 80% protected portfolio fund, an offshore fund that applies constant proportion portfolio insurance to a basket of six emerging market funds.

  • NU opens property fund to Isas and Peps

    1 Mar 2006

    Norwich Union is making its 2.1bn property unit trust available to Isa and Pep investors from March 6. The fund will be available through all major fund supermarkets.

  • Ombudsman report delayed again

    1 Mar 2006

    The Parliamentary Ombudsman report into possible maladministration of occupational pension schemes has been delayed again and is now unlikely to appear before October.The Report has already been delayed twice and a national newspaper leak last month suggested the Government could face a 5bn bill for misleading parliament and the public.Separately, a European Parliament committee which launched an inquiry looking into the collapse of Equitable Life met last week to produce a working ...

  • Once in a lifetime

    2 Mar 2006

    Ian Price, head of pensions at St James's Place, says A-Day is a one-off opportunity which won't be coming around again

  • Origo set to enter mortgage arena

    2 Mar 2006

    Company secures backing of 13 lenders to establish framework for sector

  • Payment artists

    2 Mar 2006

    Recent reports do not paint a pretty picture of the PPI market and British Insurance managing director Simon Burgess says it is time for providers to brush up on their sales techniques

  • Pearl confirms talks with Henderson over investment performance

    6 Mar 2006

    Pearl has confirmed it is in talks with Henderson after media reports Pearls owner is unhappy with investment performance.

  • Penalty kick

    2 Mar 2006

    Overhangs may be disappearing but many lenders are still putting the boot in

  • Pink chief calls for regulation to stop rogue packagers

    2 Mar 2006

    Full regulation of the mortgage packager market would help rid the sector of rogue players, insists Pink Home Loans managing director Tony Jones.He believes the market is in desperate need of FSA scrutiny and campaigned for packagers to be included in mortgage regulation prior to M-Day.The FSA says it is monitoring the market after admitting it has identified areas of concern although it insists it has no plans yet to extend the MCOB rules to packagers.It says the different ...

  • Portman and Lambeth Building Societies to merge

    6 Mar 2006

    Lambeth and Portman Building Societies are to merge. The move is subject to regulatory approval expected by September 30.

  • Privates on parade

    2 Mar 2006

    It is rare for individual investors to be able to invest in private-equity companies with great potential but St Helens Private Equity is now raising 1.5m to invest in small early-stage companies with great potential.

  • Product matters: Hot Property

    2 Mar 2006

    Having had relatively few fund options available to them in the past, property investors now have much greater breadth of choice.As a single sector, the drivers of commercial property performance are similar wherever you are in the world but this does not mean that returns from regional markets all move in tandem.They are often at different stages of the economic cycle, which means that fund managers who operate on a global scale can exploit low correlations between regions. ...

  • Property prices fall in February

    1 Mar 2006

    House prices fell by 0.2 per cent in February, according to Nationwide. The average house price in the UK is now 158,578, 3.7 per cent higher than at this time last year.

  • Property prices fall in February

    2 Mar 2006

    House prices fell by 0.2 per cent in February, according to Nationwide.

  • Pru boost after 20% fund rise

    2 Mar 2006

    Prudential is increasing payouts for its 4.5 million with-profits policyholders.Its with-profits fund ret-urned 20 per cent last year, with 2.5bn added to policy values, but annual bonus rates on all policies will remain unchanged this year.The Prudence bond and personal pension bonus rates stay at 3.25 per cent and the with-profits annuities rate stays at 2.75 per cent. Mortgage endowments stand at 1 or 2 per cent. A 10-year investment in the Prudence with-profits bond matur- ...

  • PTA perils as Icob brokers get regulator's go-ahead

    2 Mar 2006

    The FSA has opened up pension term assurance sales to include general insurance advisers as well as IFAs.The move will allow specialist protection intermediaries who are not regulated as IFAs to sell the product.But this has raised fears that some Icob advisers will not fully appreciate the tax implications of PTA.Protection IFAs say PTA should only be available through advised sales and not directly, claiming it carries a high risk of misbuying.The FSA has included ...

  • Release notes

    2 Mar 2006

    Every IFA knows the importance of professional, courteous advice. This is especially true in the case of older clients interested in equity release.

  • Revenue fails the A-Day test

    2 Mar 2006

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is giving people in the financial services industry nightmares.

  • Right Issues

    2 Mar 2006

    The greater the certainty, the higher the perceived benefit of tax planning strategies

  • Rio grand

    2 Mar 2006

    Brazil is leading the way as Latin American markets show good long-term growth prospects

  • Rising debt boosting growth in non-conform sector

    2 Mar 2006

    Rising levels of consumer debt are helping to increase growth in the non-conforming mortgage market.Industry experts say that many people are falling out of the prime lending bracket due to diminishing credit scores because they are falling behind with loan and credit card repayments.This is creating a mushroom effect in the numbers that fall into the non-conforming market, particularly near-prime.Advances in credit-scoring technology are also said to be contributing to ...

  • Ron Spill was a true communicator

    2 Mar 2006

    I was saddened to read of the recent death of Ron Spill. For those of us who have been in financial services for more than five minutes, there are very few names in pensions which stand out. Dryden Gilling-Smith's book (Employee Benefit Services) enticed me into the industry in 1969. Ron Spill and Dennis Gamester, both down to earth and working for completely different types of insurance company, were excellent communicators and both had a sense of humour which, other than Steve ...

  • Sabotage slab shuts freepost service

    2 Mar 2006

    The Claims Standards Council has revealed it has suffered further abuses at the hands of claim chasers who are determined to sabotage its bid to clean up the industry.The CSC, whose staff have been subjected to physical and verbal abuse since it star-ted its crusade to expose the sector's rogues in 2004, has been sent threatening mail over the past few weeks.Last month, it received an envelope filled with dog dirt. It was also sent a paving slab which had chewing gum stuck to ...

  • ScotEq sets up wealth deal to replace bonds

    2 Mar 2006

    Scottish Equitable International is replacing its bond products with a new wealth management portfolio offering a wider choice of external funds.Aegon's Dublin-based arm is closing down its investment and money market offshore bonds in the next three mon- ths, with the new product on offer from March 13.Investors in the new port- folio will be able to access over 900 funds run by 25 fund managers and can make their first 25 fund switches free.A minimum investment of 15,000 ...

  • Scottish housing market set for price slump

    3 Mar 2006

    The Scottish property market is heading for a dramatic slowdown in price growth this year, claims HBOS.

  • Seeing red

    2 Mar 2006

    The Lifesearch Awards were going swimmingly enough, with Money Marketing again picking up best trade publication, until a Simply Red song playing in the back-ground prompted an MM hack in the throes of an ethanol-induced coma to request the nearest barmaid for the music to be changed."It's my iPod that's playing, actually, " was the barmaid's response.

  • Shadow Chancellor hails Irish economic reforms

    2 Mar 2006

    Osborne commends Ireland's innovative policymaking as he criticises Gordon Brown as a blocker of reform

  • Skandia pays out on 73 per cent of CI claims

    1 Mar 2006

    Skandia has revealed it paid out on 73 per cent of all critical illness claims in 2005. The insurer paid out 20m and says most unpaid claims were due to illnesses not meeting policy definitions.

  • Skandia says non-disclosure is not an issue

    3 Mar 2006

    Skandia says non-disclosure is not responsible for any critical illness claims it rejected last year.

  • Smoked out

    2 Mar 2006

    Nicola York finds out that the smoking ban could filter down to have an impact on final-salary pensions

  • Specialist funds are top sellers in January

    2 Mar 2006

    Specialist funds were the top sellers for the third time in four months in January as demand for commercial property and commodities funds boosted net sales to 1bn.January retail sales were up fourfold on January 2005, with specialist funds - dominated by property and resource portfolios - seeing inflows of 248m, almost a quarter of the month's total sales of 999m and more than last January's total net retail sales of 225m.Specialist funds were also the top sellers last October ...

  • Standard aids advisers with e-comm guide

    2 Mar 2006

    Standard Life's latest free technology guide for adv- isers focuses on e-comm- erce marketing.The booklet, the sixth in a series of seven being produced by Standard, looks at how adv-iser firms can enhance client communications through the use of websites, email-based marketing campaigns and online advertising.It also looks at adviser data regulations and security risks and provides contact details for firms mentioned in the guide.Around 15,000 copies of each guide will ...

  • Supermarkets

    2 Mar 2006

    Advisers rightly have high hopes of wraps in 2006. After what seems like years of hype, a series of offerings are being advanced, each with a seemingly convincing proposition.

  • Tenet buys BBB firms

    6 Mar 2006

    The Tenet Group has purchased three of the advice businesses of Berkeley Berry Birch group for an as yet undisclosed sum.

  • Tenet in deal to take over BBB

    2 Mar 2006

    Tenet Group is in the final stage of discussions with Berkeley Berry Birch about taking over both its advisory arm and network, Money Marketing understands.The deal will cost Tenet 2m initially and a further 1m if BBB's 500 advisers, spread across network Berk- eley Independent Advisers, national IFA arm Weston and support services arm Berkeley Direct, move over, it is understood.All commission clawbacks and streams of income from BBB's advisers would pass over to Tenet and ...

  • Tenet reassures BBB advisers

    3 Mar 2006

    Tenet will be contacting IFAs in the next few days to present its plans for how the transition from BBB will be managed.

  • Tesco in switch to reviewable CI rates

    2 Mar 2006

    Tesco Personal Finance has come under fire for introducing reviewable rates across its critical-illness policies since switching provider to Direct Line.The supermarket says reviewable rates can make CI cover up to 40 per cent cheaper than guaranteed rates, which it offered until its partnership with Norwich Union ended last month.But brokers say this enables Tesco to lure customers with attractive headline rates before increasing premiums within a couple of years.Lifesearch ...

  • The import of export

    2 Mar 2006

    Advice The Abacus director David Ferguson says UK IFAs should be channeling their expertise into the Continent

  • The nightmare of A-Day

    2 Mar 2006

    Leading industry figures fear a "nightmare before A-Day" scenario where there will not be enough time for implementation, administration or communication of the new pension rules.Pension Associates Lim- ited director Richard Mattison said at a Money Marketing A-Day round table that Revenue software is still not ready for A-Day which means that mandatory online filing is on hold indefinitely.Further problems could lie ahead as the Government Actuary's Department has still not ...

  • Thinc offers IFAs golden hello cash

    2 Mar 2006

    Thinc Destini is offerin a golden hello to advisers looking to jump ship from failing networks and nationals and join the firm.As well as a cash payment, the network is also offering advisers cashflow assistance with pipeline payments, so no adviser joining will suffer a loss of earnings in the interim.Last week, Money Marketing revealed that Thinc Destini had written to members of the Berkeley Independent Advisers network in- viting them to join the group.Berkeley Berry ...

  • Thinktank claims watchdog breaches human rights laws

    2 Mar 2006

    A leading right-wing thinktank is backing claims by the controversial IFA Defence Union that the ombudsman system violates European human rights laws.Adam Smith Institute director Dr Eamonn Butler has criticised the "breath-taking powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service" in his lat- est industry commentary.He pinpoints section 229 of the Financial Services and Markets Act which gives the FOS "sweeping" powers to impose on firms "such steps as the ombudsman considers just and ...

  • Threadneedle adds alpha income fund

    2 Mar 2006

    Threadneedle is to introduce a UK alpha equity income fund in May for former Credit Suisse manager Leigh Harrison.The fund will invest in bet-ween 30 and 40 stocks, with weightings of up to 5 per cent for Harrison's highest-conviction plays and aims to use the more focused approach to outperform his core 360m, 60-stock equity income fund by around 1 per cent a year.Harrison launched the alpha income fund at Credit Suisse in 2002 with investment guru Bill Mott.The new fund ...

  • Towry Law talks with Cofunds

    2 Mar 2006

    Towry Law is in discussions with Cofunds about how the platform can service its advisers following John Scott & Partners' acquisition of Towry. JS&P executive chairman Andrew Fisher says he has no imminent plans to move Towry assets held on Cofunds to JS&P's in-house platform.

  • Towry Law talks with Cofunds

    1 Mar 2006

    Towry Law is in discussions with Cofunds about how the platform can service its advisers following John Scott & Partners acquisition of Towry. JS&P executive chairman Andrew Fisher says he has no imminent plans to move Towry assets held on Cofunds to JS&Ps in-house platform.

  • Trackberry pen cuts time for medical reports

    2 Mar 2006

    Medicals Direct claims that its new Trackberry system, involving a tiny infra-red camera pen, will reduce the time it takes to issue life insurance policies requiring a medical report.The firm says the technol- ogy uses a digital pen with an infra-red camera that picks up co-ordinates from a pattern printed on the medical form.The encrypted data is then transmitted from a Black- berry handset through a Bluetooth connection before being erased from the penIt says completion of ...

  • Treasury committee to look into NPSS regulation

    1 Mar 2006

    The Treasury select committee is to launch an inquiry into the design of the NPSS and the role of financial services regulation in the proposed scheme.The committee will look into operational costs surrounding Government or regulatory decisions, the possible role of the FSA and lessons that can be learnt from stakeholder pensions.The committee aims to report its findings before the publication of the Governments Spring white paper.

  • Treat advisers fairly

    2 Mar 2006

    Where do we draw the line in trying to protect clients from misselling?

  • Turbo-charge test is not workable'

    2 Mar 2006

    Hargreaves Lansdown is urging the Revenue to scrap its proposals for policing tax-free cash recycling, branding them unworkable and overzealous.Head of pensions research Tom McPhail warns that the Revenue's plans to make pension providers ask their clients to sign a declar- ation saying they do not intend to recycle their tax-free cash back into their pensions to get further tax relief, will increase the cost of provision and impose a massive admin burden.McPhail is also concerned ...

  • Turner beats empty drum

    2 Mar 2006

    New ideas in pensions are like one-hit wonders in pop music.

  • UBS takes over Snowdonia growth from Rensburg

    2 Mar 2006

    National IFA Buckles has replaced Rensburg Investment Management as the portfolio manager on its £12m Snowdonia growth fund of funds with UBS Wealth Management.

  • Victoria Mortgages set for sale or float

    2 Mar 2006

    Victoria Mortgages is prim- ing itself for a trade sale or flotation less than 10 months after launching.The firm, which offers near and sub-prime mortgages, describes itself as a "calf fattening itself up ahead of a sale".It is predominantly owned by New York private equity firm Venturion Capital alth-ough a packager syndicate holds a 25 per cent stake.Victoria says a sale or float is most likely after it reaches 1bn in mortgage business, which it expects to achieve in ...

  • Walbrook Trustees hires George Sharpe as a director

    3 Mar 2006

    Offshore fiduciary services provider Walbrook Trustees has appointed George Sharpe as a director.

  • Why is the FSA above the law?

    2 Mar 2006

    Having read that the decision of the General Medical Council to strike Professor Meadow off its registry has been overturned by the High Court, it begs the question of why can its regulator be subject to the full and due process of the law but IFAs cannot have such access as the FSA (FOS/FSCS) is not subject to normal due process? No doubt, someone will defend the indefensible by pointing out that it is contained in statute under the particular Finance Act. The fact that an act ...

  • Winterthur warns over NPSS damage

    2 Mar 2006

    Winterthur Life says the proposed national pension savings scheme would have a damaging effect on the financial services industry.It claims that the effects of the NPSS would lead to increased consolidation in the market and a reduc- tion both in product dev- elopment and innovation.The firm is urging the Government to reconsider what it calls a "one size fits all" approach and has put forward an alternative model to the NPSS based on the current industry admin infrastructure.Its ...

  • 'Women are less likely to retire early than men'

    2 Mar 2006

    Only a third of women want to retire early compared with more than half of men, according to research from Axa.The research indicates that women have a much stronger work ethic than men. Its Retirement Scope Study shows that 35 per cent of women want to retire early compared with more than half, 52 per cent, of men.Just four in 10 women say they would happily give up work immediately compared with half of men. Axa says this may be because women consider old age to set in at ...

  • Wraps versus

    2 Mar 2006

    Lifetime Group commercial director Robert Fletcher on why wraps enable advisers to provide a client-driven service

  • Yorkshire doubles lending as redemptons drop

    7 Mar 2006

    Yorkshire Building Society has revealed that its net lending doubled last year to 900m.

  • Yorkshire IFA faces jail for 10k theft from 75-year-old client

    2 Mar 2006

    A Yorkshire financial adviser has been told that he faces a jail term after being found guilty of stealing 10,000 retirement savings from a 75-year-old client.John Campion, who was working for Allied Dunbar Zurich, was found guilty of theft at Sheffield Crown Court. He had denied the charge and was found not guilty on a second similar theft charge.The court heard Campion had taken a 10,000 cheque, due to client Joan Marples when an investment bond was cashed in, and paid it ...

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