Money Marketing
10 July 2002

  • 'Cut the jargon of complicated and long key features documents'

    10 Jul 2002

    Key feature documents are in need of dramatic simplification as in their current complicated format they serve no purpose whatsoever claims Sandler.He is advocating KFDs which do not include much of the current jargon and that are significantly reduced in length.The suggestion has been greeted positively by IFAs who agree with Sandler's assertion that KFDs are too long and too complicated.Sandler envisions KFDs would include only the level of charges, the investment objective ...

  • 'Dumbed down' advice worries trade bodies

    10 Jul 2002

    IFA trade bodies are united over concern that Sandler's proposal for the introduction of a dumbded down advice will result in mass misbuying through unsuitability, although they support the thrust of his defined payment proposals.Aifa, Sofa and the LIA have all underlined the potential for a wave of claims against distributors in the future as consumers find out products they bought become inappropriate as their circumstances change.Under the Sandler's proposals there is ...

  • 'Market miracle' needed to help bond investors?

    11 Jul 2002

    I was interested to read the article "Bond investors need a 'market miracle'" (MM, June 20). Clearly, all investors are rightly sensitive as a result of the huge drop in world stockmarkets but I would make the following observations: •Eurolife does not give financial advice. In addition, we go to great lengths to explain all aspects of the investment within our brochures. We recommend people seek professional independent advice and only market our plans via IFAs as we believe ...

  • 'Need for standard misselling definition'

    10 Jul 2002

    Ron Sandler has called on the FSA to come up with a standard definition of what constitutes misselling to provide IFAs and providers with greater certainty as to what is acceptable practice.In his report Sandler says there needs to be more information about misselling because of its importance in the regulatory framework. It points out there is no current standard definition and it questions prominence in everyday financial services parlance.The call has been welcomed with enthusiasm ...

  • 93% of IFAs say Stakeholder-type plans fail

    10 Jul 2002

    More than 90 per cent of IFAs believe the stakeholder-type products advocated by Sandler will fail to sell, according to the first survey on the long-awaited report.The Money Marketing survey, which sought the views of over 400 RIs at the national Positive Solutions forum in Manchester this week, found that 93 per cent of IFAs believe low-charge products in the stakeholder stable would not appeal to clients.On Sandler's intention to level the playing field between life, pension, ...

  • Abbey goes for eighth issue

    12 Jul 2002

    Abbey National has introduced safety plus growth 8, a guaranteed equity bond that provides minimum growth of 20 per cent and maximum growth of 55 per cent.

  • Abbey National - Safety Plus Growth Issue 8

    15 Jul 2002

    Monday, 15 July 2002Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£500,000, Isa £1,000-£7,000Term: Five years six monthsGuarantee: Capital returned in full along with 20% growth at end of termReturn: Capital along with up to 55% growthClosing date: October 2, 2002 Commission: NoneTel: 0800 302030

  • ABI welcomes Pickering proposals

    11 Jul 2002

    The Association of British Insurers has welcomed Pickering's report on pensions simplification, claiming that with the Sandler review, it will provide a good platform from which to close the savings gap.

  • ABI works out how to close gap with free advice

    11 Jul 2002

    The ABI has been getting accolades this week for its proposal to reward small to medium-sized employers with tax breaks for providing access to financial advice for their staff. The idea is that firms should get a financial break if employees get access to face-to-face advice from an IFA every two years. The ABI says it would motivate more people to save for their retirement. It believes that a £500m a year investment by the Government could reduce the savings gap by ...

  • ABN and Framlington settle out of court over managers row

    11 Jul 2002

    ABN Amro and Framlington have agreed an out-of-court settlement, allowing star fund managers George Luck-raft and Nigel Thomas to begin running money in September. The managers will finally start work for Framlington after negotiations between the companies culminated in ABN, the two managers' former employer, dropping its charges of breach of contract just days before the case was due to go to court. Previously, Luckraft and Thomas faced the prospect of being unable to work ...

  • ACA calls on Revenue to simplify pensions

    15 Jul 2002

    The Association of Consulting Actuaries is calling for financial incentives and the simplification of Inland Revenue requirements, in line with Pickering's proposals, to encourage pension provision.

  • Act gives definition to capital bonds

    11 Jul 2002

    Several offshore insurers now offer unit-linked capital redemption bonds, generally with a term of 99 years. The maturity value is usually described as being a guaranteed amount or the value of units, if greater. Companies, trustees or other investors who do not want to have to specify an individual life assured typically use these contracts. In addition, some investors do not have a favourable outlook on life insurance or, indeed, are prohibited from effecting insurance contracts ...

  • Ambrose McGinn

    11 Jul 2002

    Under the stewardship of Ambrose McGinn, Abbey National intermediary services are going to be booted into the 21st Century. McGinn, the new director for sales and marketing across the Abbey group, is relishing lacing up his Dr Martens to do the job justice. The 42-year-old claims he is unhampered by industry doctrine. His background in commercial goods marketing with stints at Grand Metropolitan and Unilever has equipped him with a good eye for brands, he says, and Abbey has a "solid" ...

  • At the topiary of their profession

    11 Jul 2002

    I have recently been investigating the hedge fund market. I am interested in the benefits that I could derive from a long/short (or market-neutral) equity fund. I would appreciate an independent, objective view on this type of investment and a detailed explanation of how it works. Imagine McDonald's has just launched a low-fat burger that your children love. Burger King's new fat-free burger, on the other hand, is dry and tasteless. Sensing a trend here, you rush out and ...

  • Banks launch anti-money laundering initiative

    15 Jul 2002

    The six major UK banks this week announced an anti-money laundering initiative that will place them at the forefront of international best practice in tackling fraud and terrorist financing.

  • Britannic extends tennis sponsorship

    11 Jul 2002

    Britannic Asset Management has extended its sponsorship of the women's international tennis tournament in Eastbourne for three more years. The Britannic Asset Management International Tournament takes place in the lead up to Wimbledon and is used by major stars such as Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Dokic and Anna Kournikova as an opportunity to brush up their grass court game. The Eastbourne tournament gets strong television coverage. Both the BBC and Eurosport were in attendance ...

  • Building Societies' Association and dual pricing

    11 Jul 2002

    I am writing about the article in Money Marketing (June 27), concerning dual prices, the Ombudsman decision and the legal view of the Building Societies' Association. The Building Societies' Association has no legal view on the dual-pricing decisions of the Financial Ombudsman. Indeed, we very much welcome the constructive approach being taken by the FOS and the FSA in trying to find ways in future to deal with cases that have "wider implications", discussed in the recently ...

  • Call for 'suite of simple products'

    10 Jul 2002

    The Sandler review is recommending the introduction of a price capped 'suite of simple products' that can be sold without advice.The move echoes very closely the 'family of products' former Work and Pensions secretary Alistair Darling, proposed to Money Marketing at the NAPF conference in May.He wanted a range of products with minimum of safeguards and simple health warnings sold through an unregulated sales process.The Sandler review agrees, saying regulating products ...

  • Calls for bigger FSA spend on consumer education

    10 Jul 2002

    The FSA should dramatically increase what it spends on educating consumers and consider establishing a sub-board responsible for education the Sandler review team has recommended.The report says only 3 per cent of its budget in the last financial year was spent on consumer education, a total the review team considers is far too low.The review says it considered recommending shifting responsibility for consumer education to a different organisation, but ruled this out because it ...

  • Change of heart on price cap

    10 Jul 2002

    Sandler has recommended keeping the 1 per cent price cap on his new range of regulated savings products against his own wishes that market forces determine charges.His report acknowledged the price cap was 'controversial' but is impossible to renege now that Catmarked Isas and stakeholder pensions are on the market. It says 'a 1 per cent ceiling would be a suitable starting point' for the new range of regulated products. But Sandler does want this to be reviewed at ...

  • Charcol says rate rise looks remote

    11 Jul 2002

    The rise in interest rates predicted for later this year is looking increasingly remote following the decision to freeze the base rate for another month, according to Charcol. The IFA says last week's decision by the Bank of England's monetary policy committee to hold the rate at 4 per cent for another month is no surprise, given the renewed bear market and other weak economic indicators. Senior technical manager Ray Boulger says the base rate would have to be increased by ...

  • Chelsea calling for debate on structured plans

    11 Jul 2002

    IFA Chelsea Financial is urging advisers not to blacklist structured products across the board until there has been an informed debate on their worth and future prospects. Structured plans have come under a barrage of criticism recently as many - including New Star's forthcoming product - include volatile stocks from the Nasdaq 100 or Techmark indices which have virtually imploded, such as WorldCom. In a report this week, Chelsea says investors should not necessarily be deterred ...

  • Combined bond from West Brom and NU

    16 Jul 2002

    West Bromwich Building Society and Norwich Union have teamed up to offer a new combined investment and bond portfolio with a fixed rate of 8.50 per cent on investments of £25,000 or over.

  • Consumer panel warning over potential misselling of unsuitable products

    10 Jul 2002

    Ron Sandler's proposals have been slated by the Financial Services Consumer Panel, which warns his recommendations could lead to consumers interests being disregarded.In one of the strongest criticisms of the report the Panel attack Sandler for attempting to create a regime which expects consumers to know more about financial planning than the salesperson advising them.The panel warns that the majority of misselling in the past has been the result of unsuitable sales, and it ...

  • Cowboys and Indians - Cowboys and Indians

    11 Jul 2002

    Thursday, July 11, 2002 Aim: Growth by investing in Cowboys and Indians Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000 Opening/closing date: July 8, 2002/September 8, 2002 Charges: Initial 2.5% Commission: Subject to negotiation Tel: 01932 592751

  • Criticism of changes to tables

    10 Jul 2002

    The FSA's league tables should be changed to illustrate the differences in costs between going to an IFA and other distribution channels according to review chief Ron Sandler.The league tables, which have been pilloried in the past for their over-reliance on charges, would effectively be split showing two prices one for IFAs and one for product distributors. The first table would show a "representative wholesale price" or the costs before distribution for IFAs and the second ...

  • Delay to FRS17 'is not reprieve for final salary'

    11 Jul 2002

    MX Financial Solutions is warning that the postponed implementation of accounting standard FRS17 will only ease the pressure on occupational pensions and not remove it. Full adoption of the controversial accounting rule, which requires companies to include pension liabilities on their balance sheets, has been delayed until 2005. MX Financial fears this will not stop the closure of defined-benefit pensions as FRS17 has raised awareness of the threat posed by such schemes. The ...

  • Dolan stumped by sportsmen's identity

    11 Jul 2002

    Never one to pass up a chance to poke fun at one of its loyal readers, the Diary can reliably report an amusing anecdote involving Financial Dynamics associate partner Louise Dolan and two of Britain's most beloved sportsmen. At a corporate outing, Dolan had a lengthy conversation with England rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio, unaware of who she was speaking to. It was only when she got around to asking what he did for a living that the penny dropped. Not one to be put off for ...

  • Don't panic, says CIS

    11 Jul 2002

    CIS is advising investors not to panic about the current stockmarket turbulence. It recommends that investors should remind themselves of the initial reasons for their investment and consider whether they are prepared to ride out the storm or if they will need access to their money in the next two years. They could then talk to a financial adviser about alternative strategies. CIS says some providers will let investors transfer to lower-risk funds while others will permit savers ...

  • Don't take your eye off the business ball

    11 Jul 2002

    The reform of UK financial services, a process we confidently predict will never end in the working lifetime of most IFAs, continues apace this week as Sandler and Pickering publish their views. IFAs are set to suffer collateral damage in the cause of getting the great "unsaved" to put some money away and will take some direct hits, too. Current sales regulations from the FSA get short shrift while with-profits contracts and overpriced active funds get thumped. Safe harbour ...

  • EIS plays cowboys and indians

    12 Jul 2002

    Cowboys and Indians is an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) that aims to raise up to £3.5m to finance a British comedy drama of the same name.

  • Employees to be compelled to join schemes

    11 Jul 2002

    Employers should be allowed to make membership of their pension scheme a compulsory condition of employment according to the Pickering.

  • Enterprise Investment Schemes - Transad International

    15 Jul 2002

    Monday, 15 July 2002 Aim: Growth by investing in Transad InternationalMinimum investment: £1,200Opening/closing dates: June 27, 2002/August 8, 2002Charges: ImplicitCommission: Initial 4%Tel: 020 8681 1919

  • Exeter PMI goes euro friendly

    15 Jul 2002

    Exeter Friendly Society has established interplan euro, an individual private medical insurance (PMI) plan aimed at expatriates.

  • Facing up to the with-profits facts

    11 Jul 2002

    How does Eleanor Linton qualify to be head of the with-profits review? What are her qualifications that lead her to be bestowed with this title? Has she ever been in receipt of a maturing endowment - 20 years or 25 years? I doubt it. Has she ever owned a with-profits bond? I doubt it. If this lady were to ask me, like I suspect would be the case should she ask just about any IFA who has been in the business long enough to have clients with maturing endowments after 20/25 years ...

  • Fidelity's Bolton believed to be giving up European fund

    12 Jul 2002

    It is believed Fidelity star fund manager Anthony Bolton is stepping down from one of the three funds he manages for the world's largest fund manager. Bolton will stop running the European Growth Fund for Fidelity but will continue to manage his two UK funds.

  • Firms get tailored help in Raising Standards

    11 Jul 2002

    The Pensions Protection Investments Accreditation Board is offering a service to help firms seeking accreditation under the Raising Standards initiative. The new set-up stage in the accreditation process builds on experience gained during the first wave of accreditations in the scheme's first year of operation. Brands will get help in preparing efficiently for accreditation and receive a tailored support programme. There will be no rise in the accreditation fee as a result of the ...

  • FSA set for probe into unfair contract terms

    11 Jul 2002

    The FSA is to start a consultation into unfair contract terms later this summer which could force life offices to review their existing books and allow policyholders to escape unfav-ourable contracts. The consultation, which could leave a large dent in life office coffers, is thought to cover the swathes of policyholders stuck in closed funds or antiquated contracts overlooked by recent reviews and the industry's Raising Standards initiative. Money Marketing understands that ...

  • Get rich slow

    11 Jul 2002

    Although growth stocks have been in the limelight in recent years, with higher-yielding shares appearing to be the understudies of the investment world, it is the latter which have stolen the show. Why is this so? Growth stocks, with their "sexy" image have so far raised investors' expectations of superior returns whereas, in reality, we are now in an era of moderately low equity returns. As a result, some of those growth stocks have now lost their sparkle and are looking lacklustre. Even ...

  • Grasp nettle of reform - Consumers Association

    11 Jul 2002

    The Government should 'grasp the nettle' and prevent pensions policy becoming a short-term political football, according to the Consumers' Association response to the Pickering report.

  • Guidelines for trustees

    11 Jul 2002

    The major UK pension bodies have come together to produce a model administration agreement that allows trustees to lay down service standards with administrators. The agreement gives trustees the ability to design their own checklist specifying performance levels and terms of maintenance. It should provide a focus for trustees setting up admin arrangements as well as those who already have agreements in place. The project was facilitated by the Pensions Management Institute. Bodies ...

  • Hargreaves says Pickering may expose pensioners to perils of inflation

    11 Jul 2002

    Hargreaves Lansdown says Pickering's proposals to remove LPI requirements for occupational pensions will re-introduce the "peril" of inflation for pensioners.

  • HBOS pumping £40m into fund arm overhaul

    11 Jul 2002

    HBOS is relaunching its asset management subsidiary as Insight Investment in a move it claims is the biggest-ever strategic entry into the UK intermediary market. Insight aims to be a top 10 player in the IFA market, with HBOS pumping £40m into the operation over three years in a bid to boost its product range and fund manager line-up. HBOS merged its asset management business with Clerical Medical Investment Management last May to create a business with £63bn of assets ...

  • How much new business is there?

    11 Jul 2002

    Am I alone in wondering what real levels of new business are being done in financial services industry at present? It seems to me that we are going the same way as UK Ltd at the moment. There has been a growing service industry comprising of regulators, compliance officers, networks and various personnel who create no new business for providers and no new investment in equities or similar markets. Advisers are steering clear of pensions for a number of reasons such as low commission, ...

  • IFA sues Burns Anderson for £200k in PI row

    11 Jul 2002

    Burns Anderson is being sued for £200,000 by an IFA looking to recover pension misselling costs in a case that could trigger claims against the network worth up to £1.9m. Sheffield-based IFA Knowles Warwick Fin-ancial Services is claiming that Burns Anderson app-lied professional indemnity excesses to every claim against the company but that the network was only entitled to charge one excess per firm under the terms of its insurance policy. At the same time, a number ...

  • IFAP highlights £315m wasted by non-taxpayers

    11 Jul 2002

    IFA Promotion says 5.1 million non-taxpayers would each save an average of £62 if they registered their status with the Inland Revenue. The savings amount to a total of £315m. IFAP says non-taxpayers, including low earners, can obtain form R85 from their IFA, bank or building society to inform the Revenue of their situation. Once the Revenue has been told of their status, interest will be paid free of tax on savings accounts. As part of IFAP's campaign to help ...

  • IFAs split over qualifications

    10 Jul 2002

    Sandler's contention that most advisers are ill-equipped to competently provide investment advice and are often swayed by high commission has divided IFAs.Sandler is recommending that investment qualifications be substantially upgraded after concluding in his report that very few IFAs possess good investment knowledge and often fail to adequately explain risks and charges to their clients.But while some IFAs agree with his view and back his recommendations others accuse Sandler ...

  • IMA calls for Euro fund standards

    11 Jul 2002

    The Investment Management Association has urged European regulators and fund management companies to introduce a common accounting standard for investment funds. Deputy chief executive Sheila Nicoll says investors would benefit if European firms adopted a standard approach to fund reporting and information. She says: "Would it not be a major step forward for our investors if we had a standard way of presenting our accounts to investors and it would surely also streamline the way ...

  • Independent View

    11 Jul 2002

    When I was asked to write this article for Money Marketing, I sat there and thought, what do I write about that has not already been written about our industry in the last 12 months? In other words, how do I make this positive rather than the negative garbage that we have been put through as an industry? First we had pension mis-selling, then we had the endowment review, which seems to be ongoing as the market and with-profits bonuses fall, this keeps coming back over and over again. This ...

  • Inora Life - Dynamic Income Plus Fund Series 3

    16 Jul 2002

    Tuesday, July 16, 2002 Type: Guaranteed offshore bond Aim: Income by tracking 25 companies from the FTSE 100 Minimum investment: Lump sum £6,000 Place of registration: Dublin Investment split: 100% tracking 25 companies from the FTSE 100 Guarantee: Capital returned in full provided investment is held for five years Yield: 2.15% gross a quarter, 9% gross a year or 49% gross at end of five year term Isa ...

  • Inora Life bonds with 25 stocks

    16 Jul 2002

    Inora Life has established the dynamic income fund series 3, a guaranteed offshore bond which is linked to 25 stocks from the FTSE 100 index for five years.

  • Inside Edge: Ian Chimes

    11 Jul 2002

    "Two sugars in mine please. Did you see David Beckham's new haircut? What time is Big Brother on? Are you as suspicious as I am about the accounting procedures at Enron and their potential impact on our long-term savings?" At breakfast tables the length and breadth of Britain Enron is not a topic of conversation. Why should it be? The everyday family has close to zero knowledge of the workings of financial markets. In this summer of 2002 the current financial markets and Enronitis ...

  • Inter-Alliance buys HST Financial

    12 Jul 2002

    Inter-Alliance has snapped up rival IFA group HST Financial for an undisclosed sum.

  • Invesco Perpetual deadline looms

    15 Jul 2002

    Invesco Perpetual investors wanting to keep individual equities within their PEPs must transfer to a new PEP manager by the end of July, Reyker Securities has warned.Invesco has said that it must receive both the transfer instruction and the new plan manager's acceptance by July 25 for the transfer to be effective.If the documents do not reach Invesco by this date the underlying equities will be sold and the proceeds invested in units of Invesco Perpetual World Fund.

  • Investment analysis

    11 Jul 2002

    In a week which saw accounting concerns cross the Atlantic to Europe, a strong final-day rally in the US was sufficient to prop up global equity markets, with the benchmark FTSE World index shedding just 0.2 per cent. Investors in the US shrugged off unemployment data, which showed a rise to 5.9 per cent, focusing instead on the fact that there were no terrorist attacks on Independence Day. The blue-chip Dow gained over 300 points in the final session, which saw relieved investors ...

  • Investment view

    11 Jul 2002

    Popular wisdom used to be that the equity market was the best home for long-term savings. Ordinary shares were often viewed as a gambling counter and the province of the very rich. It was the wholesale move of pension funds into the equity market in the 1950s and 1960s that led to a reassessment. The logic was simple. Good companies raise their profits most years and pay higher dividends. What better reason for owning shares if you are a long-term investor? This approach was given ...

  • Investors take the rough with the smoothing

    11 Jul 2002

    While I understand the argument being put forward by Hargreaves Lansdown over the sale of with-profits bonds, I totally disagree with its view. Hargreaves argues that if stockmarkets rise, life companies will use profits to boost their financial strength rather than pay all these profits to policyholders. In this case, Hargreaves should never have been recommending with-profits bonds, because this is how with-profits is supposed to work. The idea is that, when stockmarkets perform ...

  • Jones quits as Deutsche presses for decision on his future

    11 Jul 2002

    Deutsche Asset Management UK retail business managing director Neil Jones has suddenly res-igned after being pressed to make a decision on his future. Jones, who had been with Deutsche Asset Man-agement for five years, left the company last Thursday after handing in his resignation the previous day to chief executive officer Paul Berriman. Berriman had requested that Jones pledge his future to the company or quit after he had requested a career break earlier this year. Jones, ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    11 Jul 2002

    With UK shares nearly 40 per cent off their record high, now is an excellent time to transfer underperforming Peps into the NDF protected UK growth plan, issued in conjunction with Abbey National Treasury Services. This is a tax-free investment offering 100 per cent of the rise in the FTSE 100 over five years, unlike most other plans which have capped growth. It gives a full return of capital provided that the index does not fall by more than 50 per cent and fails to recover fully ...

  • Jupiter says no to Duffield offer of £50m over highest bid

    11 Jul 2002

    New Star chairman John Duffield has had an audacious bid for Jupiter Asset Management rejected des-pite pledging to pay at least £50m more than the highest bidder. After months of speculation about a possible move, Duffield wrote to investment bank Goldman Sachs, which is advising Jupiter's parent Commerzbank, with an offer he said would exceed by tens of millions the highest credible bid. But within 24 hours, Goldman rejected the app-roach despite having failed to find ...

  • KPMG analysis of 2001 FSA returns

    15 Jul 2002

    Following the publication of the 2001 FSA returns, we can now take the most up to date look possible at the published financial strength of the major UK with-profits companies. The recent turmoil in the worldwide equity markets has given rise to much media comment on the solvency and financial strength of these companies. It is important to consider the latest information in a careful and reasoned manner, and to avoid jumping to any premature conclusions. Over 2001, the UK equity market ...

  • L&G sells mortgage and banking arms for £131m

    11 Jul 2002

    Legal & General has sold its mortgage and deposit account business to Northern Rock for £131m in a deal that will see the providers distribute each other's products. Northern Rock will retain the L&G branding for three months after purchase. The current agreement for L&G to distribute long-term savings and protection products through Northern Rock will continue. There will also be a new distribution agreement in which L&G will white-label banking products ...

  • Legal & General and new business

    11 Jul 2002

    Open letter to J Tucker, Head of IFA Sales, Legal & General I read your letter in Money Marketing (June 27) and I can only imagine that this was a response to an earlier letter where I criticised L&G. Your letter very much confirms the point I was trying to make - that quite simply all you are interested in is new business and everything is new-business driven. Once someone is on shall we say on "the books" they become a piece of history and it is the next way ...

  • Level playing field on tax could resurrect IPA

    10 Jul 2002

    Sandler is recommending a simplification to the tax regime to create a new level playing field between pensions, unit trusts and investment trusts which could see a resurrection of the Individual Pension Account.According to Sandler, IPA rules should be changed to allow non-life companies to compete in the pensions market. The report says the current tax regime favours life companies and "exerts a number of unsatisfactory influences on the market".Despite being launched by the ...

  • Lib Dems slam widows changes

    11 Jul 2002

    The Liberal Democrats are warning that Pickering's overhaul of pension legislation will unfairly hit widows who have lived in the expectation of being provided for in later life.

  • Livingstone joins EFM

    11 Jul 2002

    Edinburgh Fund Managers is expanding its funds of funds and manager selection division with the appointment of John Livingstone from Henderson Global Investors. Livingstone will be joint head of managed funds research for EFM's Edinburgh Portfolio and will work alongside Craig Heron. He will be responsible for fund and sector research and analysis. His appointment follows the appointment of Mark Harris as head of investment management at the end of last year. Livingstone ...

  • Low-cost Sipp from GE Life

    11 Jul 2002

    GE Life is revamping its pension range by offering a new self-invested personal pension with no initial fee and an annual charge of £100. The Simplified Sipp is targeted at the mid-market investor who wants investment flexibility without paying the charges of a full Sipp. Investors can choose from a range of collective funds, inc-luding unit trusts, Oeics and trustee investment plans of rival insurers. The Sipp offers actively managed funds from JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management, ...

  • LSE shuns equities for its own pension scheme

    15 Jul 2002

    The London Stock Exchange is itself avoiding the equity markets by transferring its own pension scheme is to move out of equities in favour of fixed interest. Speaking at its AGM last friday LSE chairman Don Cruickshank accepted the decision was ironic. The closed fund will gradually sell the remaining 25 per cent in equities. A spokesman says the move was decided a year ago and has nothing to do with the current state of the markets.

  • Money to burn?

    11 Jul 2002

    By the time you read this you will no doubt be digesting the implications, for better or worse, of the Sandler report. Sandler will be the most talked about document of the second half of the year - at least until the FSA publishes its draft rules on depolarisation - but for the last six months this accolade would certainly have to go to Reforming Polarisation: Making the Market Work for Consumers - aka CP121. Earlier in the year, my organisation was delighted to assist Aifa by ...

  • Money, money, money...

    11 Jul 2002

    By the time you read this, it is likely that the results of Sandler and Pickering will be available to all and, no doubt, a lot of ink will have been used to analyse their impact. Unfortunately, I find myself writing before we know the results of both, so I will limit myself to just one observation. If nothing else, the Pickering and Sandler proposals should do one thing and one thing alone - energise pensions and long-term savings in the near term. If they do not have that effect, ...

  • NDF creates house bond

    12 Jul 2002

    NDF Administration has established the house price secure growth plan, a guaranteed equity bond that is linked to the Halifax House Prices index.

  • New contracting-out regime proposed by Pickering

    11 Jul 2002

    Pickering’s report says current contracting out rules are too complex and a contributory factor to the switch to defined contribution schemes.

  • New faces for Wesleyan marketing team

    11 Jul 2002

    Wesleyan Assurance Society has made two new appointments to expand its marketing department. Michael Ennion joins as product strategy and development manager and Michelle Mahiques becomes the company's product manager for pension savings and investments. Ennion will report to head of marketing Jo Cardwell. He will be responsible for developing the brand across the full product range for Wesleyan and its Medical Sickness brand, the specialist adviser arm for the medical and dental ...

  • New pensions legislation to follow Pickering

    11 Jul 2002

    Alan Pickering’s report into pensions legislation is proposing a new Pensions Act which would repeal or consolidate all existing private pensions legislation.

  • Opportunities still exist in active funds says Exeter

    15 Jul 2002

    There are still opportunities in actively managed funds despite the markets performing their worst in 30 years says manager of Exeter Investment Group fund manager Charles Rawson.

  • Outside Edge: Michael Owen

    11 Jul 2002

    The last thing markets needed when they were already reeling from the Enron disaster was WorldCom and there may be more creative accounting scandals in the pipeline. What does it mean for the investing public and professionals alike and can we learn any lessons? Well, Andersen's reputation is in tatters and the auditing process in general will come under intense scrutiny. The reputation of corporate America is in turmoil, prompting President George Bush to remark: "There is a need ...

  • PAIL houses Euro fund of hedge funds

    10 Jul 2002

    Progressive Alternative Investments Limited (PAIL) has established the progressive European alternative portfolio, a fund of hedge funds that focuses on Europe including the UK.

  • Pensions advice still needed - CII and Sofa

    11 Jul 2002

     

  • Personal pension points

    11 Jul 2002

    John Stillitz cannot understand why insurance and investment providers are reporting impressive results because "pension business is dramatically down". He says that if pension business is being written, it is stakeholder and that sales of such plans are disappointing. I have not found it so. I am doing a lot more of these than I ever did of personal pensions although they do not pay much. Surely what he is missing is term policies. section 32s, Isas, investment bonds… ...

  • Pickering may call for three types of pension

    11 Jul 2002

    Alan Pickering's long-awaited recommendations for simplifying pensions, due out this week, are likely to call for the setting up of three types of pensions. But the full ramifications of his proposals will not bec-ome clear until the Inland Revenue tax simplification review is published in September. Pickering has said his and the Revenue's work are "two parts of the same package" and sources close to the report say some of the recommendations out this week will be left up ...

  • Pickering proposes new kind of regulator

    11 Jul 2002

    The Government-commissioned pensions review by Alan Pickering is proposing a new kind of regulator which would supercede the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority.

  • Pickering recommends scrapping spouse benefits and index-linking

    11 Jul 2002

    Pickering’s report into pensions legislation is recommending the removal of spouse benefits and index linking in a bid to stop employers closing defined benefit schemes.

  • Pickering welcomes Lilley back into pensions fold

    11 Jul 2002

    Peter Lilley, the man who as the Tories' last Social Security Secretary was accused by then opposition leader Tony Blair of planning to privatise the state pension, has been brought in from the cold by the Pickering review.

  • Product providers to offer vanilla pensions

    11 Jul 2002

    Pickering wants product providers to stick to the three new types of pension that he proposes to introduce and not market their products outside set definitions.

  • Progressive Alternative Investments - Progressive European Alternative Portfolio

    10 Jul 2002

    Wednesday, July 10, 2002 Type: Fund of hedge funds Aim: Growth by investing in 15-20 hedge funds Minimum investment: Subject to negotiation with stockbroker Place of registration: Guernsey Investment split: 100% in 15-20 hedge funds Isa link: Yes Charges: Annual 1.25% Commission: None Tel: 01132 421171

  • Red Light Runners - Red Light Runners

    10 Jul 2002

    Wednesday, July 10, 2002 Aim: Growth by investing in Red Light Runners Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,000 Opening/closing date: June 6, 2002/August 15, 2002 Charges: Initial 7.2% Commission: Subject to negotiation Tel: 020 7244 7899

  • Red Light Runners races for EIS cash

    10 Jul 2002

    Red Light Runners is an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) that aims to raise up to £8m to finance an Anglo-American film called Red Light Runners.Unlike some EIS schemes that invest in films, the production of Red Light Runners will be a crime film for the mass market in the UK and US, rather than a niche production. If at least £2m is raised, the film will be made for video release only, but if more is raised it will make it to the cinema. It will feature Michael ...

  • Reforms threaten single-tied adviser

    11 Jul 2002

    The FSA's proposed changes to polarisation will increase the competitiveness of high-street banks and force single-tied advisers out of the market, claims Datamonitor. In a report entitled UK Bancassurance and Tied Advice, Datamonitor says adopting multi-tied status will strengthen high-street banks' distribution capabilities through partnerships with life offices. The bancassurance and tied advice channel, including direct salesforces, saw its share of life and pension business ...

  • Report backs CP121

    11 Jul 2002

    The Pickering review has sided with the FSA in its bid to abolish polarisation and allow for two tiers of advisers because it will help open up the pensions market.The report says that CP121 will allow help to end "financial exclusion among those on low and moderate earnings"

  • Ringfencing of with-profits just for proprietary offices

    10 Jul 2002

    The Sandler review has surprised the industry by recognising the value of with-profits and only requiring the ringfencing of funds by proprietary offices for the proposed simplified stakeholder suite of products.But in a sign of what could follow, Norwich Union announced today it is considering the ringfencing of all its funds and reattribution its orphan assets valued at £5bn at the end of 2001. Other listed life companies say they have not yet decided whether to follow suite.Despite ...

  • Royal & SunAlliance Eurolife - RSAE Framlington Health Fund

    11 Jul 2002

    Thursday, July 11, 2002 Type: Sicav Aim: Growth by investing in healthcare, medical services and product companies Minimum investment: Lump sum Euro 15,000 Place of registration: Luxemburg Investment split: 100% in healthcare, medical services and product companies Isa link: No Charges: Initial 0.5%, annual 1.5% Commission: Initial 5% Tel: 00353 15009100

  • RSAE reflects property trend

    15 Jul 2002

    Royal & SunAlliance Eurolife has established the RSAE Glanmore property fund, a mirror fund of Thesis Asset Management International’s Glanmore property fund.

  • Safe as warehouses?

    11 Jul 2002

    Last week's launch of a fund management company investing purely in commercial property has highlighted the extent to which the industry is seeking alternative ways to generate returns. Mayfair Capital Partners claims to be the UK's first independent private-client fund manager to focus solely on property but it is not the only fund manager that has tried to exploit this market over the past couple of years. The companies that offer such funds - and there are many - are as ...

  • Sandler could help more IFAs keep independence

    10 Jul 2002

    Ron Sandler's proposals for the future of the independent sector have been met with gratitude from IFAs who have concluded he has made it easier for advisers to remain independent. Sandler's report published this week proposes a "substantial relaxation" of the FSA's Defined Payment System by removing providers from influencing how much and how IFAs are remunerated and allowing several different methods of payment.Unlike the FSA's DPS proposals, Sandler's reforms ...

  • Sandler: IFA response

    10 Jul 2002

    Torquil Clark The idea of decision trees without full advice, for products dispensed by unqualified individuals, could prove unworkable in today's complaints culture. Without full record keeping, there is no background information on which to justify advice. RJ Temple The main concern is that advice and the long-standing principle of suitability appear to be sidelined. While consumer education is a nice idea, in practice, the recommendations in the Sandler report overestimate ...

  • Sandler: provider response

    10 Jul 2002

    Skandia The cost of redesigning products and administration will be considerable and contrary to the objective of simplifying the sales process, with consumers ultimately bearing the costs. Scottish Widows Protection should be added to the stakeholder suite of three products but a price cap will lead to market distortions. Norwich Union Life We have the size and scale to produce low-cost products efficiently and at a profit. With products available through ...

  • Scottish Life appoints marketing manager

    15 Jul 2002

    Scottish Life has appointed Mark Polson as product marketing manager for individual pensions.

  • Scottish women-only IFA doubles business

    11 Jul 2002

    Scottish women-only IFA Independent Women achieved a 50 per cent increase in turnover in the past year. Turnover in the year to May 31, 2002, increased to £850,000 from around £400,000. The Edinburgh-based IFA hopes this growth will continue and that next year's turnover will break the £1m mark. Business development manager Eve Callaghan attributes the firm's success to its ongoing expansion. Independent Women says it is Scotland's only women-only ...

  • Simpler products 'give more motivation to save'

    10 Jul 2002

    The Government should no longer rely on tax incentives to motivate people to save as there is little evidence they have been successful in increasing the overall level of saving says Ron Sandler.While not going so far as to suggest the Government should scrap exisiting tax incentives such as Isas, which would cause too much disruption to the marketplace, Sandler believes by simplifying products and literature, people will be more motivated to save.The call flies in the face of ...

  • Simplified products set to hit the market

    10 Jul 2002

    A raft of simplified products designed to be sold without advice, pensions from investment firms and cleaned-up with-profits could hit the shelves following publication of the Sandler report. Sandler's three-piece "stakeholder suite" would consist of a mutual or unit-linked fund, a pension and a cleaned-up ringfenced with-profits product. These products would have an initial price cap of 1 per cent, strictly regulated charges and limited investment risk. The "stakeholder" with-profits ...

  • Skeleton keys

    11 Jul 2002

    Mfs International director Jonathan Willcocks believes there is no longer a distinction between growth and value investment. Do you agree and would you build a portfolio for a client based solely on either growth or value? Dalby: The focus on style has increased over recent years, partly due to investment houses, such as Schroders, launching specific style funds. But the bear market has sometimes resulted in the lines between growth and value investing being blurred. For example, ...

  • Standard Life - Group Personal Pension Flex

    12 Jul 2002

    Friday, 12 July 2002Type: Group personal pensionMinimum premium: £6,000 a year a schemeMinimum group size: 5Minimum-maximum ages: 1 - 75Fund links: Sterling one, fixed interest one, index linked one, property one, protection one, structured one, managed one, ethical one, stock exchange one, international one, European one, Japanese one, North American one, Pacific Basin one, UK equity one, FTSE tracker one, Far East one, Standard Life global ...

  • Standard Life - Personal Pension Flex

    12 Jul 2002

    Friday, 12 July 2002Type: Personal pensionMinimum premium: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £40, annual £400Minimum-maximum ages: 1 - 75Fund links: Sterling one, fixed interest one, index linked one, property one, protection one, structured one, managed one, ethical one, stock exchange one, international one, European one, Japanese one, North American one, Pacific Basin one, UK equity one, FTSE tracker one, Far East one, Standard Life global ...

  • Steve's Christmas stocking

    11 Jul 2002

    Everyone appreciates examples of individuals who are dedicated to their chosen career path but even we could not believe our ears when we heard the following tale. Scottish Life Mortgages director Steve Scholes (above) is so slavishly committed to his calling that we felt a public pat on the back was necessary. As the story goes, Scholes (yes, he does sadly use his surname to justify his support of Manchester United) was a rather keen salesman in his former life when employed to ...

  • Support for trackers 'is based on misconception of markets'

    10 Jul 2002

    Sandler's view that trackers deliver better returns more cheaply than active funds is based on a limited understanding of the market and outdated past performance figures, claim IFAs.Advisers say Sandler's belief there is often no benefit in paying higher charges for actively managed funds stems from the bull market in the late 1990's when trackers largely performed better than three-quarters of their stock-picking counterparts.But they say the stockmarket over the next ...

  • T&G makes Sipp debut

    10 Jul 2002

    Teather & Greenwood Investment ManagementTGIM SIPPType: Full Sipp Minimum investment: Lump sum £75,000Investment choice: All Inland Revenue permitted investments Administrator: Wolanski & Co Trustees Charges: Initial £350, annual £400 Commission: Subject to negotiation Tel: 020 7426 9003The panel: Ian Anderson, Director, Silvesters, Bob Lawrence, pensions director, Duncan Clarke, Mike Humble, ...

  • Taking heed of the warning signs

    11 Jul 2002

    Last week, Hargreaves Lansdown issued a newsletter advising that it had taken a group decision to cease promoting with-profits bonds. This decision was taken in the full knowledge that we are denying ourselves some new business opportunities and that, in some cases, commission income which would have come to ourselves will now be picked up by our competitors. So why have we done it? Well, for a number of reasons. We are now two-and-a-half years into a bear market of grizzly proportions. ...

  • Talkback

    11 Jul 2002

    "Yes. This does not affect us. We will make our own decisions on with-profits investments and see no reason to stop using them with our clients." Trevor Rider, FMS South Park "Yes. There is definitely still a place in the market for these types of investments. There is no problem if customers are explained the details." Chris Nokes, Independents "Yes. Hargreaves Lansdown is not the source of the service that we are providing." Keith Hepburn, Aims Financial "Yes. ...

  • Threadneedle favours corporate bonds

    11 Jul 2002

    Threadneedle is doubling the proportion of investment-grade corporate bonds held in its European bond fund to 40 per cent. At present, the fund's exposure to corporate bonds is around 20 per cent. Threadneedle says the move will allow the fund to benefit from increased opportunities in the European non-government market and will raise the yield on the fund. All the fund's corporate bond holdings will be rated investment-grade by one or more of the credit-rating agencies. ...

  • Threadneedle makes sector fund debut

    16 Jul 2002

    Threadneedle Investments has unveiled its first sector fund, the Threadneedle global healthcare fund.

  • Threadneedle predicts healthy future for fund

    11 Jul 2002

    Threadneedle is launching a global healthcare fund next week in a move which marks the first time in almost three years that it has introduced a new equity product. Managed by head of global pharmaceuticals Forsyth McGarrity, the fund will launch on July 15 with around £5m of internal money. It will invest in healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical supply firms. The fund will concentrate on a portfolio of up to 40 stocks but will not be extensively ...

  • Trio of discounted deals from Exclusive

    11 Jul 2002

    Mortgage packaging network Exclusive Connections is offering three discount loans in partnership with specialist lender Mortgage Express. The products are distributed solely through Exclusive Connections, which offers a national service to IFAs and other mortgage intermediaries, with a negotiable introducer fee. The first mortgage has an interest rate of 4.1 per cent and offers a discount of 1.85 per cent until June 30, 2004. An admin fee of £399 is payable by the client. The ...

  • Types of pension slashed to three

    11 Jul 2002

    The number of money-purchase pension products should be slashed from 15 to three according to the Pickering review's recommendations. A radical simplification of generic pension products forms a key part of the pensions report.

  • Unum appoints PR head

    11 Jul 2002

    Leading protection provider UnumProvident has appointed John Hutson as head of public relations. Hutson was previously head of public relations at RAC Motoring Services, where he promoted RAC Travel News, a joint venture with ITN. He then worked for law firm Bevan Ashford, helping to rebrand corporate identity and launch a website. He is a member of the CBI and a fellow of the IPR, who awarded him a sword of excellence award in 1997. UnumProvident corporate services director ...

  • Verity's View

    11 Jul 2002

    It is becoming a familiar story. A giant company is formed in a few short years by a series of mega-mergers, justified in good times with the jargon of unprecedented opportunities for growth and in bad times by the need to cut costs and consolidate. The growth opportunities fail to materialise as hoped. In fact, the much-heralded new markets are only a fraction of their predicted size. Cost-cutting opportunities and synergies have largely been used up. With the feelgood factor gone, the ...

  • Vive les tax differences

    11 Jul 2002

    Last week, I started to describe some of the main differences between offshore roll-up funds and offshore bonds, in the context of proposals in the Government's consultation document on offshore funds. As I pointed out, anyone advising clients where an offshore investment may be appropriate has to make decisions regarding the suitability of any particular investment based on the law as it is but taking account of the possibility that it may change. They must ensure that they ...

  • Windfalls on way to NatMut members

    11 Jul 2002

    GE Life says qualifying members of National Mutual will receive windfall benefits by the end of the month. The move will complete the demutualisation of NatMut, which transferred its business to GE Life in April. Individual members will receive a £500 cheque while scheme members will be recompensed by additional policy benefits. Qualifying members will have to have had a NatMut policy that was invested wholly or partially in with-profits continuously from when the company ...

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