Money Marketing
11 June 2003

  • 'Road and rail put 11% on home value'

    11 Jun 2003

  • 'Standard needed to bust admin bungles'

    12 Jun 2003

    Aifa and the ABI are calling for product providers to adopt an industrywide standard to end the escalating number of admin bungles and delays experienced by IFAs. They are already in discussions with 10 providers to establish an agreement to be included in the ABI's Raising Standards initiative. The move follows Money Marketing's coverage of a case brought by Hampshire IFA Procrown Investments against Scottish Widows. The IFA wanted £1,400 from Widows for extra ...

  • 'Supermarts could be left trailing by wraps'

    12 Jun 2003

    Product providers which do not offer wrap accounts could be left trailing as wraps overtake fund supermarkets, say major investment IFAs. Bates Investment Services and Hargreaves Lansdown believe wraps - consolidation platforms which give access to funds through a host of wrappers - will leapfrog even leading supermarkets within 12 months. They believe life companies, in particular, which fail to offer a wrap are unlikely to have an independent business in five years as wraps remove ...

  • 'Whole of market' confusion over loan regulation

    12 Jun 2003

    Dropping a lender from a mortgage panel if they change terms such as procuration fees could be difficult under FSA regulation, warns Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger. CP186 says that even if a firm has a relatively small panel of lenders, as long as they are "representative" of the whole of the market, it can call itself independent. But Boulger says dropping a lender from a panel could prove tricky, as the FSA could say that the new panel is no longer whole of market. He ...

  • 'Young got £2m in secret shares scheme'

    12 Jun 2003

    Former Deutsche Morgan Grenfell fund manager Peter Young received more than £2m through a clandestine shares scheme, an Old Bailey jury has heard. Young, who managed Grenfell's European growth fund until he was sacked in 1997, stands accused of concealing from supervisors a complicated shares scheme in Swedish company Sensonor which triggered a £2.4m personal windfall. Young, who managed Grenfell's European growth fund until he was sacked in 1997, stands accused ...

  • Abbey and Keydata lock in for same term

    13 Jun 2003

    Abbey National and Keydata Investments have both unveiled guaranteed equity bonds that are linked to the FTSE 100 for a term of five years and six months. Option one of Abbey National's recovery plan provides the return of the original capital regardless of the index performance plus 80 per cent of any rise in the index. Option two of this product is higher risk. It offers 100 per cent growth in the index but only returning the original capital if the average level of the index ...

  • Abbey uses prize draw to promote IFA loyalty

    12 Jun 2003

    Abbey National is running a loyalty card promotion using its database of 30,000 intermediaries in a campaign aimed at boosting cross-sales in mortgages, general insurance and protection products. It's a Numbers Game loyalty cards will be sent to all IFAs on the database of Abbey National for Intermediaries, which includes Scottish Mutual, Scottish Provident, James Hay Pension Trustees and Cater Allen Private Bank as well as Abbey National. Each week until July 17, intermediaries ...

  • ABI's Segars awarded OBE in Queen's Honours

    17 Jun 2003

    ABI head of pensions Joanne Segars has been awarded an OBE for services provided to the pensions industry as part of the annual Queen's Birthday Honours. Segars, who was in charge of pensions for the TUC before joining the ABI two years ago, also sits on the board of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority.  

  • Aegon sets up in Slovakia

    12 Jun 2003

    Dutch insurance giant Aegon has been granted regulatory approval to set up a life insurance business in Slovakia. Aegon, which owns the Scottish Equitable brand in the UK, says it views its participation in Slovakia as a long-term commitment and will launch operations in autumn. It has appointed Jana Gruntova as head of the Slovakian branch office, with Peter Brudnak taking on the role of general manager and Zoltan Sipos becoming sales manager. Aegon decided to start up a new ...

  • All systems go

    12 Jun 2003

    Tough market conditions and decreasing margins are challenging financial services to find new ways to improve operational efficiency. From sales, fulfilment and processing through to admin and support, product manufacturers and distributors are being forced to adapt business processes. Although technology is not the whole solution, it can drastically improve the selling process and act as the key link between providers and IFAs. Most providers already provide value-added services ...

  • American Express snaps up Threadneedle for £340m

    16 Jun 2003

    American Express Financial Corporation has struck a deal with Zurich Financial Services to buy its subsidiary Threadneedle Asset Management for around £340m.

  • Balancing act after barrage at Blair

    12 Jun 2003

    I could not believe what I was reading in Tony Byrne's Independent View (Money Marketing, June 5). I am not a supporter of Tony Blair as I am a member of the Liberal Democrats but I would like to redress the balance and answer some of the comments Mr Byrne has made. Whether or not the Labour Government is as anti-IFA as our previous Tory rulers is an interesting debate but Mr Byrne has obviously forgotten the principles that our industry is founded on. Mutual self-help societies ...

  • BCWA Healthcare - Accessible Private Health Cover

    13 Jun 2003

    Friday, 13 June 2003 Type: Individual and group budget private medical insurance planMinimum-maximum ages: 18-74Maximum benefits: Outpatient benefit £300 a yearCover provided: Inpatient and day patient treatment - hospital charges, consultants' / specialists' fees, diagnostic tests, radiotherapy / chemotherapy. Outpatient treatment - consultations with a consultant / specialist, diagnostic tests, radiotherapy/chemotherapy, physiotherapy (and ...

  • Bid to merge Isis-run Aim and 3PC trusts

    12 Jun 2003

    The Aim and 3PC investment trusts run by Isis Asset Management are seeking shareholders' permission to merge in a bid to cut costs and management charges. The boards of the £74m Aim and £33m 3PC trusts believe that the formation of a bigger company will reduce costs, boost investment capabilities and improve liquidity in share dealing. The boards say the move would reduce the annual management fee from 1.8 per cent to 1.6 per cent as charges would be taken from invested ...

  • BM Solutions offers new loan range

    11 Jun 2003

  • Broker Talkback

    12 Jun 2003

    Is there a demand from your clients for 25-year fixed-rate mortgages? "No. The average client is not aware of them. It is not something they ask about." Thomas Brannigan, Hanson Financial Services "No. I don't think people want to tie themselves in to one mortgage for that period of time, especially with the short-term deals around." Peter Love, Millennium "No. People think we are going to go into the euro and interest rates will come down and a lot of these long-term ...

  • Brown blames housing for boom-bust

    12 Jun 2003

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has singled out UK housing market volatility as a key reason for not joining the euro. Brown said that most of the boom and bust problems Britain has suffered over the last 50 years have been led or influenced by the housing market. He promised to address these problems and reiterated the case for developing the long term fixed rate mortgage market in the UK. The Halifax recently announced its support of the development of a substantial LTFR mortgage market ...

  • Byte of capital allowance cherry

    12 Jun 2003

    Having looked generally last week at first-year allowances, this week I will look at the special first-year allowances for expenditure by small businesses on information and communications technology. The general rule is that capital expenditure on the acquisition of computer software for trade purposes is treated as having been incurred on machinery or plant for the purposes of capital allowances (section 71, CAA 2001). However, if the software is likely to last for less than two ...

  • Carpetbaggers set to force Standard vote

    12 Jun 2003

    IFAs have blasted the latest Standard Life demutualisation bid as an "ineffective and unn-ecessary sideshow" but carpet-baggers look close to forcing a vote on the issue. Retired lecturer David Stonebanks says he has rec-eived more than the 1,000 demutualisation request forms needed to force Standard to hold an EGM. He plans to reach 1,500 plans and serve the notice on the company next month at the earliest. Wentworth Rose managing director Philip Rose says the campaign is a red ...

  • Clerical systems can't cope with new waiver

    12 Jun 2003

    Clerical Medical has written to group personal pension policyholders, telling them they will have to replace wai-ver of contribution with new cover if they want their contributions insured as its systems cannot cope. GPP policyholders with schemes started between April 6, 2001 and December 2001 who want cover will need to replace their waiver with its new product, the contribution protection policy. The move has left Clerical open to accusations of offloading its admin problems ...

  • Collins Stewart outsources large cap US fund

    16 Jun 2003

    Collins Stewart has introduced the US equity focus fund, an offshore Oeic that invests in a portfolio of US large caps. The company does not have the required management experience in-house, so it has hired Ailsa Capital Management, an Edinburgh-based US equity hedge fund manager, to run the fund. Neil Smeaton, who will be the lead fund manager on the Collins Stewart fund, founded Ailsa Capital Management in 2000. Smeaton previously ran US desks at Edinburgh Fund Managers ...

  • Correspndent's Week

    12 Jun 2003

    Launching the latest version of the Mortgage 2000 sourcing system Encore has come upon us and with all the added functionality, new database management, brand new look, and, of course, the integration of Source Insurance and The Mortgage Trading Exchange, is it going to be possible to get by without a hitch? Most of my staff will tell you that I am usually the biggest cause of any problems. Why? Well in simple terms the phrases "Let's try and get that in," "That could look a little ...

  • Credit specialist Thomlinson to join Swip

    12 Jun 2003

    Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has appointed David Thomlinson as investment manager, global bonds and economics. Thomlinson will report directly to investment director, global bonds and economics Stuart McMaster. He joins from Abbey National Treasury Services, where he was a portfolio manager responsible for the P&L, strategy and asset selection for the bank's telecom portfolio. Thomlinson was at Abbey for over three years and his other roles included capital ...

  • DAM trust eyes firms with 8-10% returns

    12 Jun 2003

    Deutsche Asset Management is planning to offer a highly concentrated investment trust this year which will invest only in the biggest holdings within its range of UK funds. The trust, which DAM bel-ieves will appeal to retail inv-estors, will seek to invest in a small number of UK companies offering absolute returns of 8-10 per cent a year. DAM plans to increase existing holdings among these firms as part of its drive to adopt a more active approach to corporate governance. The ...

  • Deposits still win over equities

    12 Jun 2003

    Investors are still opting for the safety of deposit accounts rather than putting cash into equities, according to Alliance & Leicester's wealth tracker index. Consumers plan to invest only £20 a month in equities during the second quarter of this year - a fall from the £54 they claimed to have invested for the first three months of the year. A&L concludes that industry confidence that the end of the Iraqi conflict would serve as a boost has failed to materialise. Howev

  • Early bonus on new tranche of Zurich account

    12 Jun 2003

    Zurich Financial Services is offering an early bird bonus of 0.25 per cent with the second issue of its guaranteed account. The account opens on June 16 and closing date is July 21. The bonus will apply for all investments made before July 4. The account from Dunbar Bank offers investors 100 per cent of the growth of the FTSE 100 over the five-and-a-halfyear term. It also offers a 100 per cent capital guarantee reg-ardless of the movement of the FTSE. The account will pay ...

  • Early prostate not excluded from CI

    12 Jun 2003

    Your article headlined, Skandia set to continue critical prostate cover (Money Marketing, June 5) suggests that the revised ABI statement of best practice requires all critical-illness product providers to exclude early-stage prostate cancer from all new policies. This is incorrect. The CI statement, which is binding on all ABI member companies, sets out minimum standards for the definitions of each condition covered by a CI product. All product providers are free to offer cover ...

  • Equitable inquiry delayed again

    11 Jun 2003

  • Fame is the spur for Gerrard

    12 Jun 2003

    The Professional Rugby Players' Association has inducted England's Peter Wheeler, Wales's Gerald Davies and Australia's Tim Horan into its Hall of Fame, sponsored by wealth manager Gerrard. Hall of Fame members must be players who have made an outstanding contribution to the game and have been retired from international rugby for at least three years. The sponsorship comes as Gerrard steps up its involvement with the entertainment and sports industries, having recently ...

  • Fee-based network set for connection sector

    12 Jun 2003

    The first fee-based IFA network targeting the professional connections market is launching under the name Financial Ltd. The group has 25 RIs and is looking to recruit 200 over five years. It says it has seen the most interest from applicants suffering from PI cover problems. The network says it will be able to compete with bigger networks by offering a £400 monthly flat fee for compliance, PI and FSA and FSCS fees rather than a price based on commission retention. Chairman ...

  • Fidelity fund trio offer lifestyle-type switches

    12 Jun 2003

    Fidelity Investments is introducing three limited-lifespan funds which will continuously make lifestyle-type switches in asset allocation to produce returns at targeted dates in the next two decades. As revealed by Money Marketing in April, the Wealthbuilder Target funds will be managed by Richard Skelt. They will be structured as funds of funds, giving investors access to all of Fidelity's 90 funds. The funds will invest primarily in equity funds at their launch, increasing ...

  • Fidelity Investments - Fidelity Weathbuilder Target Funds

    13 Jun 2003

    Friday, 13 June 2003 Type: Oeic fund of fundsAim: Growth by investing in choice of three Fidelity target fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: Choice of Fidelity wealthbuilder target 2010, Fidelity wealthbuilder target 2015, Fidelity wealthbuilder target 2020 fundsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.25%, online investments 1.25%. Annual 1.1% Fidelity wealthbuilder target 2010, ...

  • Fidelity targets lifestyle approach

    12 Jun 2003

    Fidelity Investments has established an Oeic fund of funds range that works in the same way as lifestyle options on pension products. The Fidelity wealthbuilder target funds can be used for retirement planning or for anyone saving for a specific purpose. There are three funds in the range with target dates of 2010, 2015 and 2020. All the funds initially invest in equities for growth using Fidelity funds but as the target date gets closer, the asset allocation moves to ...

  • Financial services is the only euro star

    12 Jun 2003

    The UK financial services industry is the only one of Chancellor Gordon Brown's five tests for euro entry that has been passed. Brown told the House of Commons on Monday that the retail and wholesale markets would continue to prosper and remain competitive if the UK joined the euro. Big industry players such as life offices and fund companies which already have a presence in the eurozone say they are more concerned with harmonising tax policy and regulation rather than the single ...

  • Friends in India move

    12 Jun 2003

    Friends Provident has opened an admin outsourcing centre in India for processing new business applications from IFAs. IFAs will continue to use the IFA call centre in Manchester for phone enquiries. Friends says it will look at what parts of its UK operation can be dealt with in India, where it says staff costs are 50 per cent lower than in the UK. Friends has signed a deal with India's biggest outsourcer, Wipro Spectramind, for the management of the facility in the Indian city ...

  • FSA in review pledge to AMP policyholders

    12 Jun 2003

    The FSA says it will look out for UK policyholders' interests in a "significant review" of AMP's demerger plans. The FSA's website says it will "undertake a significant review of the AMP Group's proposal to demerge its operations to seek to ensure that the UK policyholders' interests are maintained". FSA spokesman Robin Gordon-Walker says it will be looking at the whole demerger process, saying it could take months. He says the FSA looks at all mergers, demergers ...

  • Future joins the AMI

    16 Jun 2003

    Specialist lender Future Mortgages is the latest lender to join the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries. AMI director Chris Cummings says: "We are delighted to welcome Future Mortgages to the Association. They are a leading specialist lender and we welcome their decision to support mortgage intermediaries by joining AMI." 

  • Gay Welch

    12 Jun 2003

    From beer vats to pensions, there has been a common thread throughout Britannic Retirement Solutions director Gay Welch's career - attention to detail and a focus on the human side of business. Welch started her career in the exacting world of Customs & Excise. As a brewery officer, she spent 1975 to 1977 visiting breweries and pubs to make sure that publicans and brewers were not watering down their beer. From this experience, she developed a penchant for precision and an uncanny ...

  • Gender agenda

    12 Jun 2003

    A battle of the sexes is always guaranteed to generate strong opinions and the current row over Europe's desire to force unisex insurance rates on the UK insurance industry is no exception. In the red corner is European Commission social affairs commissioner Anna Diam- antopolou, whose draft directive which plans to outlaw sex-based risk assessment is firmly backed by the Government-funded Equal Opportunities Commission. In the blue corner is the UK life industry - with the ...

  • Growth funds bloom again

    12 Jun 2003

    After growth stocks were consigned to the investment wilderness more than three years ago, many fund managers have begun to reassess their attitude towards them. Isis Asset Management, for example, is in the throes of repositioning itself as a growth-orientated - rather than income-based - investment house. This shift has been driven by the rise in the FTSE from its low of 3,287 on March 12 to its current level of around 4,100. It is growth funds that have really benefited, with ...

  • High-maintenance support from ScotEq

    12 Jun 2003

    Scottish Equitable is looking to help IFAs maximise the business they get from professional connections with the launch of a new "high-maintenance" marketing strategy. The initiative includes a CD-Rom to provide help in designing newsletters, seminars and animated emails as well as marketing support to cement professional connections. The FSA prevents professional firms - solicitors and accountants - from providing financial advice directly to their clients, creating a business ...

  • Homeowners FS to merge with rival

    17 Jun 2003

    Homeowners Friendly Society and the UK Civil Service Benefit Society have announced they are merging in a deal which will see HFS takeover UKCSBS's book of business later this year. Both sides say the union will provide benefits to their members and plan to present the details of the move to members shortly.

  • Independent view

    12 Jun 2003

    Anyone watching rugby's Zurich Premiership final between Gloucester and Wasps cannot (Wasps fans apart) have felt anything but great sympathy for the Gloucester fans and players. For those not familiar with events, having topped the league over the course of 22 games and finishing 15 points ahead of Wasps, Gloucester were not automatically crowned champions. Instead, the title was decided in a one-off final game, which Gloucester lost. History, of course, will not necessarily record ...

  • Individual approach to Section 32 plans

    12 Jun 2003

    Scottish Life Individual Section 32 Pension PlanType: Individual section 32 pension plan Minimum premium: Lump sum £2,500 Minimum-maximum ages: 16-75 Fund links: UK equity, UK ethical, global managed, European, managed, with profits, property, fixed interest, index linked, defensive managed, corporate bond, security 98, security 100, deposit, Japan, Far East, global equity, Pacific, worldwide, UK mid cap, American, Scottish Life International ...

  • Individual approach to Section 32 plans

    12 Jun 2003

    Scottish LifeIndividual Section 32 PlanType: Individual section 32 pension planMinimum premium: Lump sum £2,500Minimum-maximum ages: 16-75Fund links: UK equity, UK ethical, global managed, European, managed, with profits, property, fixed interest, index linked, defensive managed, corporate bond, security 98, security 100, deposit, Japan, Far East, global equity, Pacific, worldwide, UK mid cap, American, Scottish Life International ...

  • Industry reacts cautiously to DP protection fund

    11 Jun 2003

  • Inside Edge

    12 Jun 2003

    I believe that IFAs are consumers' first choice when seeking financial advice. According to the ABI: "The IFA channel remains the most significant in the sale of individual regular-premium life and pensions business, bringing in 62.2 per cent of business." This is a great testament to the IFA being the first-choice provider of advice within their local community. Who else is as well placed to give advice to the consumer than an IFA who can clearly provide expert advice on all ...

  • Investment view

    12 Jun 2003

    So, the Bank of England's monetary policy committee decided against changing interest rates. Given the more comforting nature of some of the economic indicators that have emerged this month, there can be little surprise. House prices are resuming their upward momentum, the high street is not as downbeat as many feared and even those bellwethers of economic activity - the purchasing managers - are feeling a more reassured. Confidence in the service sector is returning. Only in manufacturing ..

  • Investors' confidence springs to high point

    12 Jun 2003

    Investor sentiment remained buoyant in May, dropping just one point from its April boom on the back of the Iraq conflict, according JP Morgan Fleming. Its investor confidence survey totalled 79 in May from 80 in April but was well up on the total of 45 in March. The results for April and May mark the strongest point in investor confidence since May 2002, when the figure stood at 73. Even though there was no single event to bolster confidence during May, there was a general increase ...

  • Ipswich buys loanbook

    12 Jun 2003

    Ipswich Building Society is buying a £30m mortgage portfolio from Southern Pacific Mortgages as part of a long-term acquisition strategy aimed at accessing different sectors of the market. The society says it is looking to make further acquisitions this year. It has already acquired mortgage assets from Future Mortgages, Colchester Council, Merton Council, San Paolo Bank in London and Amber, part of Skipton Building Society. Its strategy is to acquire loanbooks that will ...

  • It's a wrap

    12 Jun 2003

    The financial services industry is no stranger to change and just as fund supermarkets have become a mainstream platform, they are about to be leapfrogged by wrap accounts. Many of us have been aware that wrap strategy has existed in the background for some time but it is only now that we are to see what a wrap account will look like. Much debate will ensue as to what exactly constitutes a wrap proposition but, essentially, in my eyes, it is a web-enabled platform which allows ...

  • JP Morgan recovery funds aim for return to equities

    12 Jun 2003

    JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management is offering global and Europe-based recovery funds in a bid to tempt investors bitten by the bear market back into equities. The global recovery fund - a Luxemburg-based Sicav - will invest in 50-100 stocks in any region or sector displaying earnings' recovery potential, as identified by a team of 58 specialist industry analysts worldwide. It will be managed by Jeroen Huysinga, who will aim to beat the MSCI World index. The Europe fund, also ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    12 Jun 2003

    Few IFAs take advantage of purchased life annuities in tax planning for the elderly. At current rates, it is probably not sensible for this type of annuity to be purchased before age 70 - certainly for females, where the net annuity after basic-rate tax is only 6.4 per cent a year from the most competitive company. However, they are very attractive for widows and widowers aged over 80, where the tax-free capital contents are very high. For example, on a £10,000 annuity, the best ...

  • Keydata structures protected plan for the pre-retirement market

    12 Jun 2003

    Keydata is offering a structured product aimed at appealing to pre-retirement Sipp and Ssas investors seeking growth with capital protection. The Protected Capital Plan is linked to the FTSE100 and offers 100 per cent capital protection over three or five years. The options offer uncapped returns equal to one-third or two-thirds of any rise in the index. The capital protection will be backed by a financial institution with at least an AA rating from Standard & Poor's. Final ...

  • L&G launches two new distribution funds

    16 Jun 2003

    Legal & General is launching two new distribution funds. The range is being aimed at cautious investors it will include a new rising income fund and a new growth fund.

  • Latest guaranteed offering from Lincoln

    17 Jun 2003

  • Leap for Life

    12 Jun 2003

    Scottish Life group head of communications Alasdair Buch-anan had only been sunning himself in Australia for less than a fortnight when his forlorn staff back in the UK began seeing jumping off the side of the Scottish Life building as an enticing option. Buchanan's PA Patricia Henderson and other staff leapt from the building last week but luckily were att-ached to a rope and abseiling harness as they raised money for charity. Less lucky, however, was the lift breaking down ...

  • Letters to the Editor

    12 Jun 2003

    Are you suffering from constipation? I am not a doctor but have the immediate remedy - attend a seminar on the Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 and Money Laundering Regulations 2003. At a presentation by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors of Leeds, the audience became quite frightened by the implications of what represents a criminal offence. An offence is committed if one conceals, disguises, converts or transfers criminal property or becomes concerned in an arrangement which one knows or suspects ...

  • Licence to make money

    12 Jun 2003

    When I was a student, one of my summers was spent working at Butlins, not as a redcoat but as a barman. This was in 1975 and at that time we charged 4p for a shot of lime cordial. Given that lager and lime was the staple diet of many, this made for a healthy return as a bottle of cordial cost no more than 30p. It was clear that this level of charging was not in the consumer's interest but it did nothing to reduce their intake - far from it. Last weekend, I not-iced ...

  • Life companies look to renew solvency waivers

    12 Jun 2003

    Six life offices which received solvency waivers from the FSA are expected to apply for renewals as the expiry date of June 30 draws near, despite the upswing in the FTSE 100. Friends Provident, Legal & General, Norwich Union, Prudential and Standard Life say they will or are highly likely to reapply. AMP is considering reapplying on behalf of Pearl. The life offices say they see it as a natural move, especially as the FSA plans to bring in new, more lenient solvency rules ...

  • Look again at retrospective threat

    12 Jun 2003

    The Treasury is toying with the idea of allowing the ombudsman to take jurisdiction over general insurance - for the IFA market, read protection - long before statutory regulation by the FSA kicks in. There may also be an element of retrospection involved. The intention, flagged by Treasury Chief Secretary Paul Boateng, carries many risks. The Treasury is also consulting on regulating home-reversion schemes, a move which makes regulation much more likely and one that Money Marketing ...

  • LSB buys Prime Finance

    11 Jun 2003

  • Man City crocked by First Advice collapse

    11 Jun 2003

  • Misys aims for new firms with PI plan

    12 Jun 2003

    Misys has finalised details for a £1.5bn professional indemnity insurance arrangement for its five networks and plans to use the attractive terms as a lure to IFA firms struggling to find PI cover. The arrangement includes a 15 to 20 per cent bulk discount off market premiums and individual underwriting for every member firm. It will initially apply to three networks - Financial Options, Kestrel and IFA Network - due to renew their cover next week and then be extended to ...

  • Mortgage 2000 hosts technology workshops

    12 Jun 2003

    Mortgage 2000 is hosting a series of free weekly training workshops for intermediaries wanting to learn more about the Mortgage Trading Exchange. Mortgage 2000's new mortgage-sourcing system Encore now incorporates the MTE and the company says the workshops are an ideal way for intermediaries to learn the benefits of e-trading. MTE was set up as a joint common trading platform by Mortgage 2000 and Mortgage Brain last September. Each session will cater for a maximum of 20 ...

  • Mott quits fund role to set Credit Suisse strategy

    12 Jun 2003

    Bill Mott, one of the UK's foremost fund managers, is to relinquish the day-to-day management of Credit Suisse's flagship income funds to become the firm's thematic and strategic adviser. Mott, who is also cutting back on his sales and marketing responsibilities, will pass over the running of the top-performing £875m income and £270m monthly income funds to alpha income fund manager Leigh Harrison on August 1. He will instead concentrate on working with the company's ...

  • Nationwide Life puts four into six

    11 Jun 2003

    Nationwide Life has established its guaranteed equity bond, a product which is linked equally to four stockmarket indices over a six-year term.The bond is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, S&P 500, Nikkei 225 and Eurostoxx 50 indices and investors are guaranteed the return of their original capital plus 10 per cent growth, regardless of the indices' performance. The maximum growth potential is 60 per cent and the return investors get is calculated using a cliquet structure.A ...

  • Need for speed

    12 Jun 2003

    This year's financial services hot favourite at the annual TT motor-cycle races on the Isle of Man was Scottish Life International's finance director Mike Crellin. Crellin whipped around the circuit on his Suzuki 1000 at an average speed of 111mph, scooping 33rd place in a field of 62. Not to be outdone, we hear SLI's John Allison and Neil Lovatt are now teaming up for a sidecar challenge at the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Tickets are available at various prices depending ...

  • New trustee guides from Opra

    17 Jun 2003

    The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority is publishing updated guides to appointing professional advisers and record-keeping for pension schemes.

  • New waive is music to insurers' ears

    12 Jun 2003

    As the bulk of solvency waivers issued earlier this year approach their expiry date of June 30, some insurers are getting set to reapply. Friends Provident, Legal & General, Norwich Union, Prudential and Standard Life have all confirmed that their waivers will shortly run out and they are in the process of or highly likely to reapply. AMP also says it will consider reapplying when its waivers expire. CIS, Clerical Medical, Scottish Equitable, Scottish Mutual, Scottish Provident, ...

  • No overhang

    12 Jun 2003

    In the article headlined, Rock adds stepped flex (Money Marketing, June 5), which referred to Northern Rock's new and revised fixed-rate mortgage products, it was incorrectly stated that early repayment fees are payable on each of the loans in the first six years if the amount repaid exceeds 15 per cent of the original loan. In fact, early repayment charges on the products referred to do not extend beyond the fixed-rate period and are only payable on full redemption of the loan. ...

  • NU hikes CI rates again as reinsurer costs rise

    12 Jun 2003

    Norwich Union has made the third change to its critical-illness insurance rates in seven months, raising them by an average of 18 per cent, citing pressure from its reinsurer as justification. NU raised its rates by 40 per cent last December but was forced to bring them back down in February after seeing a sharp drop in sales. The new move sees term rates rise by an average of 5 per cent while combined term and CI will increase by an average of 18 per cent, bringing it roughly ...

  • NU prosper goes for lucky seven

    17 Jun 2003

    Norwich Union has established a seventh issue of its prosper guaranteed capital bond. The objective of this guaranteed equity bond is to provide capital growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index over a five-year period and the original capital is returned in full regardless of the movement in the index. The bond has a cliquet structure, which means the investment term is split into 10 six monthly periods. The index is measured during each of these periods ...

  • Out of context

    12 Jun 2003

    •"That's our finance director on the Suzuki. He's racing today. That's why I put my expense claims in last week...just in case." - Scottish Life International's Niall Hastie at last week's TT motorcycle races on the Isle of Man. •"Diamantopolou is a girl's best friend." - Legal & General's Adrian Boulding on the Greek European Commissioner's drive for single-sex annuity rates. •"I was the only person in the family to catch anything and ...

  • Outside edge

    12 Jun 2003

    In the bad old days, clients could expect a wide range of products sold by an independent financial services retailer who provided a service to the lower-paid by receiving commission. Professional indemnity insurance was an optional extra and regulation was restricted to the keenies who believed that a handful of IBRC staff had found insurance's answer to the Holy Grail. Providers were awash with capital. Company failure was restricted to the odd maverick company whose succession ...

  • Personal Touch opens loan club

    12 Jun 2003

    Personal Touch Insurance is setting up a mortgage club that will provide intermediaries with access to a panel of prime and sub-prime lenders and a mortgage packager. PTI says the club is free to all users, whether they are members of the PTI network or not, and offers enhanced procuration fees and two levels of membership. The Mortgage Executive package is only open to members of PTI's network, and uses PTI's own MCCB number. It offers free PI insurance, free MCCB registration, ...

  • PI fears see IFAs switch to non-regulated networks

    12 Jun 2003

    The PI crisis is driving IFAs to drop their independent status and switch to non-regulated and mortgage networks, with one network believing that the majority of the 1,400 new rec-ruits to its non-regulated networks were IFAs. Aegon-backed Personal Touch Insurance has seen a 1,400 boost to its non-regulated and mortgage networks, increasing membership from 10,000 to 11,400 advisers since November 2002. PTI managing director Mike Allison says the major-ity of these new advisers ...

  • Plethora of pensions

    12 Jun 2003

    RICHARD JACOBS Managing director, Richard Jacobs Pension and Trustee Services My wife and I used to run an estate-agency business which we sold several years ago. I seem to have a mixture of different pensions and, now that we are over 60, I am beginning to think that we should start taking benefits. Can you please let me know what options are available. Following extensive investigations, I have been able to identify that you hold two retirement annuities with Scottish ...

  • Preferred predicts boom in sub-prime lending

    17 Jun 2003

  • Premier launches structured product with 8 per cent growth

    16 Jun 2003

  • Product Matters

    12 Jun 2003

    Leeds & Hol-beck launched its 25-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.39 per cent but few people will be prepared to buy long-term security at a price which is over 35 per cent higher than the lowest five-year fix. A negative for such a long-term fix is that this mortgage is not flexible but it is on daily interest and allows penalty-free part-repayments of up to 5 per cent a year. The early repayment penalties are very low at six months' interest (calculated at SVR) in the first ...

  • Punch-up the junction

    12 Jun 2003

    The Diary would like to applaud the heroic efforts of Lansons PR Jon Atkins, who last week bravely intervened in a scuffle, risking life and limb to save a young lad being set upon by a group of ruffians. Despite the fact that Jon (as witnessed by The Diary) had consumed several gallons of alcoholic beverages throughout the evening, he remained suffic-iently alert on the train journey home to Hampton in South-west London to witness something of a nasty scrap. Not deterred by the ...

  • Reap real benefits

    12 Jun 2003

    The industry is in a constant state of change and the ability to adapt to these changes is one of the strengths of the adviser community. There is already an increasing number of solutions in place to help advisers. If, as an adviser, you want to wait until everything is fully connected between all insurers and the software is so simple that you can just pick it up and use it intuitively, you are probably going to be waiting a very long time. On the other hand, if you are prepared ...

  • Schroders to shut style funds

    12 Jun 2003

    Schroders is to close the style funds it set up less than three years ago to concentrate on less specialist areas after the growth and value portfolios failed to attract discretionary money. The funds, including the UK dynamic growth and UK active value funds, have pulled in combined assets of just £40m since their fashion show-style launch in December 2000. Schroders is closing the UK and US active value and US dynamic funds and merging its Eurotech, European active value ...

  • Self-employed pay more for their homes

    12 Jun 2003

    The self-employed are paying more for their properties than other housebuyers, according to research from Nationwide subsidiary UCB Home Loans. Its figures show the average price paid by self-employed borrowers is £172,740 compared with an average UK price of £119,938. UCB says there are two main reasons why self-employed people pay more for their homes. It says there are fewer first-time buyers among the self-employed, as they are often people who are further on in ...

  • Sifa sets up service for accountant IFAs

    12 Jun 2003

    Sifa, the trade body representing solicitor financial advisers, is setting up a sister organisation for accountancy based financial advisers. Sifac - Supporting Investment & Finance for Accountants - will provide a range of network-style services to accountancy firms which operate IFAs. It will offer compliance services, support and training, negotiations with product providers, assistance in securing professional indemnity insurance and help in marketing design. Solicitor ...

  • Skandia follows up with second issue of multimanager plan

    16 Jun 2003

    SkandiaProtected MultiManager Plan 2Type: Capital protected mini or maxi Isa Aim: Growth by investing in UK equities, UK bonds and commercial property Minimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£7,000 for 2003/2004 tax year Investment choice: Schroder UK mid 250, Fidelity Special situations, Invesco Perpetual corporate bond, Norwich property fundTerm: Six years three months Guarantee: Option 1 - Original capital returned in ...

  • Smith launches lifeboat for DB schemes

    11 Jun 2003

  • Specialist lenders hit by shift to banks

    12 Jun 2003

    High-street banks saw their proportion of residential lending rise substantially during April at the expense of specialist lenders. The Bank of England's monthly figures show the big banks were responsible for £4.8bn of net residential lending - an increase of £6.4bn on March's figure of -£1.6bn. The negative figure was due to the fact that the bank compares total outgoings with total repayments to reach its net lending figure. Specialist lenders saw ...

  • Staffordshire offering 1.75% fix for two years

    12 Jun 2003

    Staffordshire Building Society is offering a new range of fixed-rate mortgages that includes a two-year fix at 1.75 per cent, the lowest fixed rate it has ever offered. After two years at 1.75 per cent, borrowers are automatically transferred to Staffordshire's standard variable rate, currently 5.59 per cent. Redemption penalties are 5 per cent in the first three years, 4 per cent in year four, 3 per cent in year five and 2 per cent in year six. There is a £395 arrangement ...

  • Surveyor firm to get Bradford & Bingley backing

    12 Jun 2003

    Bradford & Bingley is funding the launch of a new company which aims to offer a range of services to residential and commercial property owners. SecureMove Property Services will offer residential valuations and surveys, commercial valuations, commercial agency, property management, corporate property services and legal conveyancing. The firm says it is fully geared up for technology and is issuing laptop computers to its surveyors. It hopes to license SecureMove survey products ...

  • Thames River Capital - Thames River Distressed Focus Fund

    16 Jun 2003

    Monday, 16 June 2003 Type: Offshore fund of hedge fundsAim: Growth by investing in companies that are in financial difficultyMinimum investment: Lump sum £15,000, $25,000Place of registration: Cayman IslandsInvestment split: 100% in companies that are in financial difficultyCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1%Commission: Initial 3%Tel 020 7360 1200

  • Thames River Capital - Thames River European Nations Fund

    16 Jun 2003

    Monday, 16 June 2003 Type: UcitsAim: Growth by investing in UK and European large-cap companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £10,000, euros 15,000Place of registration: DublinInvestment split: 100% in UK and European large-cap companiesCharges: Initial 5%, annual 1.75%Commission: Initial 3%Tel 020 7360 1200

  • The Miles File

    12 Jun 2003

    News this week that Schroder Investment Management, one of the heavyweights of fund management, is to close eight unit trusts because they are too small and no longer attracting interest could herald the shape of things to come for UK mutual funds. The unit trust industry grew bloated during the bull run in equities of the 1980s and 1990s. Even after the market ran out of steam and the gains of the late 1990s began to transmute into losses, companies continued to launch new trusts ...

  • The president's year

    12 Jun 2003

    For the last few weeks, since passing the baton of president of the LIA on to my successor Jonathan Battersby, everyone has been saying: "You must be relieved, you can relax now, you can concentrate on being an IFA." Yes, to a certain extent they are right and the demands requiring three days a week of my time for much of my 12-month term have certainly subsided. However, when you are committed and involved as much I have been fortunate to be, you are naturally still part of many ongoing ...

  • Tips from the top

    12 Jun 2003

    The first Money Marketing Top 100 IFA survey reveals a sector in flux against a backdrop of some of the most challenging conditions ever faced. "I've seen it bad before but this is the worst I've ever seen it", says one pension IFA, while an investment adviser warns: "It's going to get worse - considerably worse." But IFAs have adapted to the harsh conditions by using a wide diversity of survival strategies. Many firms, particularly investment-led IFAs, have emerged from ...

  • Treasury to consult on home reversions

    12 Jun 2003

    The Treasury is to consult on regulation of home-reversion schemes with a paper due this autumn following pressure from insurers, lenders and consumer groups. The move has been welcomed by the industry but insurers are concerned that it could clash with the run-up to the next general election if it is not given a high enough priority by ministers. Treasury Chief Secretary Paul Boateng says the key considerations of the consultation will be "consumer protection and market efficiency". Insurers ..

  • Watchdog poised for protection

    12 Jun 2003

    The Treasury is considering allowing protection insurance policyholders to complain to the Financial Ombudsman about products sold before FSA regulation starts in January 2005. The announcement by Treasury Chief Secretary Paul Boateng has been met with a cautious welcome by the industry. Many brokers say they already operate as if they were regulated, either because their business includes an IFA or because lenders and providers demand compliant handling of business. City law firm ...

  • Web of intrigue

    12 Jun 2003

    We hear word that Killik & Co is looking to cover all the bases in its website strategy. Not content with reg-istering killik.co.uk, it has also registered killick.co.uk. One can imagine how the stockbroker took the decision with an exasperated little sigh at the inability of the world, including many of a journalistic bent, to come to terms with the absense of a C in its name. We wonder if Mysis, Sedgewick or Charcoal have pursued a similar strategy. We also believe it ...

  • Webline hits 10 million quotes

    16 Jun 2003

    Online comparative quotation specialist Webline has hit the 10 million quote mark.

  • Welcome scrutiny

    12 Jun 2003

    The FSA has reassured the public that AMP's plan to demerge its UK operations will be fully scrutinised. This is a shred of good news for policyholders with Pearl, NPI and London Life. For the last few weeks, it seemed these policyholders had been abandoned. The FSA can now set this straight.

  • Wicks appointed pensions minister

    16 Jun 2003

    The Department for Work and Pensions has appointed Malcolm Wicks as pension minister, replacing Ian McCartney who was made chairman of the Labour party in April. Wicks, who is 55 years old is the MP for Croydon North.

  • Window-dressing

    12 Jun 2003

    To respond to JL Kirby's letter on the subject of the antimoney laundering forms (Money Marketing, June 5), my question was not what is the point of them but what is the point of them in their present format? The "expensive and onerous task of having to sort it all out" to which he refers does not sort out anything at all. Mere proof of identity and/or address does not verify the provenance of the funds in question, which is what Mr Kirby seems to be driving at. Nor will ID cards. ...

  • Woolwich predicts housing market slump

    17 Jun 2003

    Lender the Woolwich predicts a temporary boost to the housing market in May following the end of the Iraq war may mask a forth coming decline in house price inflation.

  • Zurich Financial Services - Zurich Guaranteed Account Issue 2

    12 Jun 2003

    Thursday, 12 June 2003 Type: Capital protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £2,500-£250,000Term: Five years six monthsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance in the indexReturn: Up to 100% growth at end of the term or 30% growth at end of three years if index grows by 30% or more by the third anniversaryClosing date: July 21, 2003Commissio

  • Zurich offers IFAs commission choice on bond

    17 Jun 2003

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