Money Marketing
12 August 2010
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0.14% Vote blocks F&C property merger
12 August 2010
Shareholders in the F&C commercial property trust have voted against its proposed merger with the Ignis Investments’ UK commercial property trust. Votes in favour of the merger totalled 49.93 per cent versus 50.07 per cent of votes against.
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2Plan turnover rises to £5.7m
12 August 2010
National IFA 2plan Wealth Management has accessed £900,000 less external funding from shareholder Standard Life than originally forecast. First-half turnover rose to £5.7m from £3.5m in 2009.
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A matter of discretion
12 August 2010
With some firms offering a less than bespoke service and a limited fund range, discretionary funds may not suit everyone
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A rising market for tax planning
12 August 2010
A professional adviser can explain there are ways to keep tax on investments to a minimum, or even nothing at all
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A time for bonds
12 August 2010
Invesco’s corporate bond fund could be an investment for a difficult economy
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Active ability
12 August 2010
Invesco’s corporate bond fund could be an investment for a difficult economy
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Advisers still at the core as Aviva adds bank deals
12 August 2010
Aviva has insisted the IFA sector remains its “heartland” despite two new distribution deals with banks last week.
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Aifa says consider restricted option
12 August 2010
Aifa says advisers should seriously consider offering restricted advice but it should not be seen as a “soft option”.
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Altmann wants a total rethink
12 August 2010
Independent pension analyst Dr Ros Altmann says a total rethink is needed on the approach to retirement and retirement saving in order to restore fairness to the system and reinvigorate pension savings.
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An industrial revolution
16 Aug 2010
I have had a range of such interesting responses to “Financial advice only relevant to a small minority” published here on July 16 - thanks to all, including Nic Cicutti, for your comments - that this article is a further exploration of the theme.
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An open and shut case
16 Aug 2010
Gregor Watt finds that some financial advisers say they are steering clear of structured products because they believe they are too opaque to understand easily and to explain to their clients
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Aviva rejects £5bn RSA approach for general insurance arm
13 Aug 2010
Aviva has rejected a bid from insurance group RSA to acquire its general insurance operation, according to Sky News.
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'Be very afraid' of Euro-wide regulation
12 August 2010
Former Conservative Shadow pensions minister Nigel Waterson has called on the Government to resist regulatory creep from the European Commission over proposals for EU-wide pension regulation that could cost UK companies £500bn.
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Budget verdict
12 August 2010
If you are an IFA and would like to join the YouGov/ Money Marketing IFA panel please go to http://250club.yougov centaur.com/register.aspx If you are interested in asking the panel questions, please telephone 020 7012 6117 Survey sample size: 231 adults. Fieldwork carried out June 11-18. All figures are from YouGov
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Can the mortgage market start looking to the future?
13 Aug 2010
Bob Hunt says that three years down the road from the start of the credit crunch the mortgage market can start looking forward as long as it remembers the lessons learned.
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Co-op IFA staff fear job losses
12 August 2010
Employees of Co-operative Financial Services’ IFA arm are concerned over their job security if talks with a potential buyer lead to a takeover.
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'Don't use a foreign route to sidestep the RDR'
12 August 2010
Aifa has warned that firms should not see passporting into the UK under a foreign regulator as an easy route to try to escape the retail distribution review.
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DWP to ban DB-DC transfers
12 Aug 2010
The Government is to stop the majority of people from transferring out of final-salary pensions into DC schemes from April 2012.
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E&Y sends Lifemark valuation to CarVal
13 Aug 2010
Ernst & Young has undertaken an actuarial valuation of Lifemark’s traded life settlement assets and has submitted it to US hedge fund CarVal.
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End secrecy
12 August 2010
Response to: long-stop appeal is rejectedIt seems clear to me the FSA have something to hide. We cannot break out of the cycle of secret tribunals whose practices and personnel are government-sponsored. Perhaps the time has come to withdraw co-operation from the FSA until the matter can be put to a court of appeal that abides by the principles of English law sadly lacking in financial regulation.
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Enter Story Headline
12 August 2010
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Fidelity tax chief backs coalition reform strategy
13 Aug 2010
Director of tax planning Paul Kennedy says the coalition Government is taking the most sensible approach to tax he has seen after working in the industry for nearly 30 years.
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Financials don't add up
16 Aug 2010
John Kenchington finds that financials funds were caught out but are now feeling more confident of a brighter outlook
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First fall in property prices
12 August 2010
House prices fell for the first time in a year last month, according to the RICS UK July housing market survey which shows 8 per cent more property surveyors reported a fall than a rise in prices.
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Foreign fund firms plan swoop for UK IFAs
12 Aug 2010
Non-UK-domiciled fund managers are looking to buy up to 15 per cent of IFA firms in the UK, says Allium Capital.
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Fraenkel-Thonet quits Fidelity
12 August 2010
Fidelity’s Thomas Fraenkel-Thonet is quitting the European equity desk after 16 years and handing over his retail fund to Matt Siddle.
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FSA encouraged by progress
12 August 2010
The FSA says it is encouraged by the progress firms are making in the RDR transition.
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FSA probing Coutts over AIG fund sales
12 August 2010
The FSA has launched an investigation into Coutts & Co over the sale of the AIG enhanced fund.
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Get a life planning
13 Aug 2010
A client’s finances affect almost every aspect of their lives. It is by tapping into this connection that holistic life planning comes into its own and is beneficial for client and advisers.
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Hargreaves call on performance fees is on the money
13 Aug 2010
Nic Cicutti says Peter Hargreaves is correct to question the use of performance fees in a number of funds.
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How PPI missed the point
17 Aug 2010
Gregor Watt reports that now Lloyds has pulled back from the PPI sector, many feel other banks will follow and signal the end of the road for PPI.
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IFAs offered DFM control
12 August 2010
Merchant Investors has introduced a discretionary fund management service that enables IFAs to appoint a DFM for their client rather than the client signing an agreement with the DFM.
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IMA looks at major shake-up of sectors
12 August 2010
The Investment Management Association is conducting the biggest review of its fund sectors in a decade amid the substantial impact of Ucits III and the RDR.
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Industry surrendered the initiative over RDR
12 August 2010
Johnson: ‘IFA community eventually will not offer any advice at all’
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Intermediaries still have a key role
13 Aug 2010
The housing market is experiencing difficult trading conditions. House prices remain firm when supply is limited but in places where the economic outlook is poor or there is an oversupply of properties, prices are weak. Cool nerves and careful analysis need to be available to consumers.
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Is this advice from the FSA a betrayal of the public?
12 August 2010
THE EDITOR’S COMMENT OF THE WEEK
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Jailed for BTL fraud
12 August 2010
A former Metropolitan Police fraud detective was jailed for nearly six years this week after admitting to fraud relating to 23 buy-to-let properties worth about £3.7m. He inflated the value to borrow over the maximum 85 per cent loan to value.
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L&G wants a high bar for flexible drawdown
12 Aug 2010
Aviva and L&G call the Government to set the minimum income for flexible drawdown at a level well above means-testing to stop people falling back on the state.
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Leeds BS profits leap
12 August 2010
Leeds Building Society reported a 10 per cent increase in profits for the first half of 2010 to £18m from £16.3m in 2009.
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Lenders knew of self-cert failings but IFAs blamed
12 August 2010
The whole grey area of self-certified or nonstatus mortgages could do with the media getting its teeth into it to establish who was to blame in the beginning.
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Life after Lehmans
16 Aug 2010
Gregor Watt surveys the structured product scene still in the shadows of the big counterparty collapse.
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Life after the 75 rule
17 Aug 2010
John Lawson says the Government’s plans to remove the requirement to annuitise by age 75 were more radical than many expected.
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Life offices wait until after sale to send out ABI's PMI guide
12 Aug 2010
The ABI’s own research has revealed that its guide to buying private medical insurance is only being sent to most customers after they have decided to take out a policy.
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Lloyds leaps back into profit
12 August 2010
Lloyds Banking Group made a profit of £1.6bn in the first half of 2010, recovering from a £4bn loss over the same period in 2009.
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Long-term care cash could be next crisis
12 August 2010
Funding of long-term care is going to be the next public policy crisis, according to independent pension analyst Dr Ros Altmann.
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Maguire says bid for Arch Cru compensation will fail
13 Aug 2010
Cru Investment Management founder Jon Maguire believes IFAs will fail in their attempt to seek compensation from Capita for losses their clients have suffered through the Arch Cru range.
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Market middle ground
16 Aug 2010
Brian Tora says that forecasters have found no common ground on what direction the markets will move in.
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'Merge Isa and pension worlds'
12 August 2010
A thinktank is pressing for the Isa to play a bigger role in the pension accumulation process.
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MM Leader: Take up position to defend and move forward
12 Aug 2010
Aifa’s new RDR paper is a welcome reminder of the values that bind the overwhelming majority of advisers.
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MMTV: Is the ABI failing over the OMO?
12 Aug 2010
Panelists at the MM retirement planning summit discuss whether the ABI is doing enough to encourage OMO take up.
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New chief Evans sure Axa is on right course
12 August 2010
Former chief executive of Axa Life Paul Evans says he will continue with the firm’s existing strategy as he succeeds Nicolas Moreau as chief executive of Axa UK.
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No pain with no gain
12 August 2010
A practical application of the no-gain, no-loss CGT provisions
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OFT rejects plea for Skipton probe on rate ceiling
11 Aug 2010
The OFT has decided not to investigate a complaint about Skipton Building Society.
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OPM cuts duplicate risk
12 August 2010
OPM Fund Management says one of the advantages of its multi-manager approach to equity income funds is there is little “unintentional risk” in its equity high-income fund.
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Out of context
12 August 2010
“I’ve managed to persuade Aston to join us from his holidays. He can’t resist a tap dancer in tight trousers.”
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Overdue review of IMA fund sectors is welcomed
13 Aug 2010
Advisers have welcomed the IMA’s fund sector review.
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Package comeback
16 Aug 2010
As many struggle to secure a mortgage, could a return to packagers be the answer? Paul Thomas reports.
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Pension tension as coalition cracks appear
12 August 2010
Nigel Waterson says political tensions in the coalition means the new Government is working to a reduced timescale for pension reform.
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Pension watchdogs fed up with ABI over Omo stance
12 August 2010
McPhail says pension regulators are “tired” of the ABI downplaying the benefits of the open market option.
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Picking up the pieces
12 August 2010
The rise in earnings might be running out of steam but stock selection skills will still be rewarded in the rest of this year
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Platforms in 'land grab' as advisers make up their minds
13 Aug 2010
Nucleus says that platforms are chasing market share in a bid to bolster their adviser numbers ahead of the RDR.
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PPI rules to cost £3.2bn
12 August 2010
The FSA has finalised rules that will force companies selling payment protection insurance to improve complaint-handling and compensation to customers which could cost firms £3.2bn.
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Pressure weighing down on annuity rates
12 August 2010
Pension savers have to brace themselves for poorer annuity rates as growing demand from defined-benefit schemes and demographic pressures further depress rates.
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Projection rates are pension nightmare
12 Aug 2010
1.5% difference between providers’ mid-market rate for same fund, following FSA clampdown on projection rates.
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Providers waking up to the earning potential of advice
12 August 2010
Banks and insurers have realised the potential earning power of advice propositions and are reviewing their direct-to consumer models, says Ernst & Young.
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'Regulator and banks have been blocking pro bono advice scheme'
12 August 2010
Advisers have hit out at the FSA for hindering attempts to develop simplified advice.
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Restricted advice will bring back bias
12 August 2010
Ernst & Young believes that product bias will increase as a result of the FSA’s restricted advice channel.
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Rise in DA directors facing clawback liability
12 Aug 2010
Protection providers are asking more directors of DA firms to sign agreements that accept personal liability for commission clawback.
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Savills starts staff consultation
12 August 2010
Savills Lending Solutions has entered a consultation period with its eight staff, citing continued difficult trading conditions.
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Schemes fail TPR Omo test
12 Aug 2010
The Pensions Regulator has forced six DC pension schemes to rewrite their retirement literature after failing to highlight the open market option adequately to members.
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Sesame sets exam target
13 Aug 2010
Advisers looking to join the network are being asked to pass Chartered Insurance Institute’s CF three financial protection exam within three months.
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Show business
13 Aug 2010
I recall being approached by another publication who wanted to profile my firm and me. When I politely declined, their features editor took great offence.
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Sign up to advise on small funds
12 August 2010
The Retirement Partnership has called for the creation of a register of IFAs willing to give retirement advice to clients with small pension pots.
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Skills council tests IFA intern scheme
12 Aug 2010
The Financial Services Skills Council is piloting a six week IFA internship programme for university students in September.
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Split roles could lead to grey area
12 August 2010
Some firms may look to split the traditional advisory role between client relationship managers and technical specialists, according to the Aifa RDR paper.
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St James's Place considers Primrose payout
12 August 2010
St James’s Place is looking to compensate at least some investors who have lost up to £5m following the collapse of Primrose Associates, Money Marketing understands.
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Staff exodus gathers pace at regulator
12 August 2010
The FSA saw staff resignations rise by 128 per cent in the second quarter of this year after the Government unveiled plans to break up the regulator.
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Structured defence
16 Aug 2010
Lee Jones reports that one of the leading lights in the structured sector believes IFAs are missing out because they do not understand the products and have been scared off by a media onslaught over isolated incidents
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Systems block age 75 change
12 Aug 2010
Legal & General, Prudential and Scottish Widows all refusing to change their systems claiming the Govt’s interim Budget move was unrealistic.
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Tenet £1m loan support to members
13 Aug 2010
Tenet says it has provided almost £1m in loans to support its adviser firms.
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TERs for fears
16 Aug 2010
Paul Farrow says some funds do not have the performance to justify their high charges.
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There must be an alternative
13 Aug 2010
Ash Saluja is a partner in law firm CMS Cameron McKenna
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Toby Strauss
12 Aug 2010
Aviva UK’s life and pensions chief executive Toby Strauss has helped to revive the company’s wrap and is now busy assessing the Government’s new pension proposals with an eye to filling the Nest gap.
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Trials and tribunals
12 August 2010
Over the last few years, high rates of tax have encouraged some investors to invest in tax mitigation products and tax shelters. These will typically be designed by specialist tax promoters and marketed through IFAs who, if they consider the product to be suitable, will recommend it to clients for investment.
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US and Australia should be pension inspirations
12 August 2010
Pension schemes overseas have been held up as models of ways to get people to engage with their pensions.
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VAT guidance contradicts RDR aim for advice
12 August 2010
Financial advice will be cheaper if clients pay for it up-front rather than over the life of the product because they will not have to pay VAT, according to Skandia.
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Way hails next generation of absolute Fofs
12 August 2010
Way Fund Managers sees its new absolute return funds of funds as part of the “next generation of funds with next-generation costs”.
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Wright in LVAM move
12 August 2010
LV= Asset Management has appointed Matthew Wright as head of sales from Fidelity International, where he was head of discretionary business.
