Money Marketing
13 March 2002

  • 'Consumer education beats rules'

    13 Mar 2002

    Consumer education will accomplish more than any rules or regulations will in terms of consumer protection according to FSA chairman Howard Davies in a speech this week. Speaking at the regulator's third annual education conference in London, Davies said educating today's youth and promoting financial literacy among adults are the keys moving forward. Davies said: "Ultimately, ...

  • 'Euro needs harmony in financial services'

    14 Mar 2002

    EU Internal Market Commissioner Fritz Bolkestein is warning that the single currency needs common rules in financial services and that failure to achieve integration could undermine the EU economy. Financial integration is set to be a key priority at this week's crucial Barcelona summit, where government heads could give the process renewed political impetus. Speaking in Geneva last week, Bolkestein said: "To complement the single currency, Europe's financial industry needs ...

  • 'Over two decades to create a dream home'

    14 Mar 2002

    Nearly half of all homeowners who bought their house 20 years ago are still carrying out renovations, according to a survey by NatWest Mortgage Services. The NatWest Property Pulse survey shows people in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Midlands take longer than most to do up their home. But there is no distinct division of the sexes in carrying out the work, with 51 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women saying they are responsible for renovations. Homeowners in the North-east ...

  • 'Take long-term view of Isas'

    14 Mar 2002

    An overwhelming number of investors are not taking a long-term perspective towards their Isa investment, according to research from Charcol. Its research shows that 72 per cent of investors are not viewing their Isa as a long-term investment and are losing out on the opportunity for better performance by investing in unsuitable funds. Charcol is urging investors to rethink their savings attitudes and take a longer-term view. It is urging investors to research their fund choices ...

  • £18m City lifeline for Inter-Alliance

    14 Mar 2002

    National IFA Inter-Alliance is receiving an £18m cash injection from the City to avoid the company being put into administration. The cash boost comes as the firm warned its losses could hit £21.7m for 2001. It said it would have run out of cash by April if the extra money had not been found. The deal, brokered by new chief executive and chairman Keith Carby, sees Inter-Alliance offering a further 26 million shares to its existing shareholders, which include Gartmore, ...

  • 10% of IFA firms may have to change name

    14 Mar 2002

    One in 10 IFA firms face having to change their name if they want to continue to be paid by commission under the FSA's depolarisation proposals. Research from IFA Promotion shows that 1,080 of its 10,061 registered firms have "independent" in their name, and many other names include words that suggest independence, which could fall foul of CP121 if they fail to adopt defined-payment agreements. Many IFAs are concerned they will lose goodwill earned from years of investing in ...

  • 76% see no opportunity for entrants in proposals

    14 Mar 2002

    Few IFAs believe the regulator's proposals for polarisation will encourage new blood into the business and open up the market to new entrants. These are two of the FSA's stated objectives of its review of the polarisation regime. Findings from George Street show that 76 per cent of IFAs are not willing to look at the creation of a lower tier of advice as an opportunity to recruit new advisers for their businesses. IFAs also do not think the generic or second-tier advi-ser ...

  • A consumer's view

    14 Mar 2002

    As returns from equity investments continue to look dull, an increasing number of investors are turning to buy to let as an alternative, particularly in the area of long-term savings and pension provision. The worry is that when everybody thinks now is the time to do something - invest in tech stocks in 1999/2000, classic cars and gold when it hit $850 an ounce in the 1980s - it is usually the time to get out or at the very least to take a conservative approach and have a fall-back ...

  • A win on aggregate

    14 Mar 2002

    Account aggregation offers consumers the ability to view and manage all their online relationships from a single website operated by a bank or a portal. Over the last year, it has been a major topic of conversation and has provoked much interest in the press. However, the focus has been on the benefits to consumers and institutions offering the aggregation service. While the impact to IFAs has occasionally been considered, concerns have been raised regarding potential disintermediation. ...

  • A&L expects Isa rush

    14 Mar 2002

    Alliance & Leicester is confident that the Isa season will finally take off and is introducing late opening hours in its branches to cope with applications from last-minute savers. Research from A&L shows 28 per cent of Britons will be focusing on building up their savings and investments this year. It says demand for Isas looks set to remain strong, particularly for cash Isas, despite low interest rates. It is extending the opening hours of 85 of its branches to cope with ...

  • ABN Ambro reinvents Isa cafe

    18 Mar 2002

    ABN Amro is to relaunch its Isa café on April 5, enabling last minute investors to deploy their Isa allowance in style. The café will be set up at ABN Amro's City offices at 82 Bishopsgate. However, for IFAs outside London, the firm is teaming up with M&G, Hemderson, Cofunds, Aberdeen, New Star and Invesco Perpetual to set up last minute drop-off points at 12 locations around the country. All points will be open from 8am till 6pm.

  • Accessory before the fact-find

    14 Mar 2002

    At a recent IFA UK event, I asked a group of IFAs to tell me if they enjoyed fact-finding. One IFA out of 50 raised his hand. Either IFAs in the Newcastle area were suffering from a rare case of mass shyness or the majority did not, indeed, enjoy the fact-finding part of their job. As a client, I have found that fact-finding is one of the most intrusive and difficult interviews I have ever been in. Difficult, because, on each occasion (and there have been many with different IFAs), ...

  • Accreditation where it's due

    14 Mar 2002

    The piece in the March 7 edition of Money Marketing headlined, LIA accredited adviser axed as it joins coalition, is an incorrect interpretation of a number of developments. As I am quoted as saying in this piece, the LIA accreditation scheme, which was first launched in the press last year, has had to be considered in the light of Discussion Paper 9, which, of course, was published after our initial unveiling of the scheme. The accreditation scheme is a strong, powerful way of ...

  • Aegon Asset Management - Aegon Optimum Income Fund

    13 Mar 2002

    Wednesday, March 13, 2002Type: OeicAim: Income or growth by investing in high yield and investment grade corporate bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £50Investment split: High yield corporate bonds 50%, investment grade corporate bonds 50%Yield: 8.5% gross a yearIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4.5%, annual 1%Special offer: Initial charge reduced to 3.5%Offer ...

  • Axa ends Cup sponsorship

    14 Mar 2002

    Insurance giant Axa is ending its sponsorship of the FA Cup this year. It says the last major showcase will be this year's FA Cup Final on May 4 but its sponsorship will run until July with community events for schools and hospitals and entertainment for local IFAs. One of the reasons Axa decided to end the relationship was the Football Association's decision not to have a sole sponsor but to launch its FA Partners programme instead. This means no one brand will have its ...

  • B&W offers buy-to-let loan

    14 Mar 2002

    Bristol & West is introducing a range of fixed-rate mortgages, including a five-year buy-to-let loan, which it claims is in direct response to brokers' needs. The buy-to-let product is fixed at 5.89 per cent until April 30, 2007 and is available up to 85 per cent loan to value. After the fixed period, the loan reverts to 1.75 per cent above the Bank of England base rate. The redemption penalty is 7 per cent until April 30, 2003, 6 per cent until April 30, 2005, then 5 per ...

  • Breaking point

    14 Mar 2002

    Last month, the Court of Appeal overruled three occupational stress cases in a landmark decision set to stem the growing number of stress claims brought by employees each year. This ruling will have an impact on any IFA advising employers on PHI needs. This watershed in a series of events which began six years ago - when John Walker won the UK's first stress in the workplace case - has, according to experts, ended with this ruling which will make it much more difficult for employees ...

  • Britannic makes it clear

    13 Mar 2002

    Britannic Assurance has introduced a with-profits bond that aims to be more transparent than traditional with-profits bonds.

  • Brown attacks high street banks

    15 Mar 2002

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has launched an attack on the largest high street banks for the huge profits they make off of charges paid by SMEs.

  • Bullivant finally brings annuities to the fore

    14 Mar 2002

    There is now a new strand to the long-running annuity argument. With a new model for the advice and distribution of annuities put forward by Britannic Retirement Solutions corporate development director Bob Bullivant at last week's ABI annuity reform seminar, perhaps the motivation everyone has been waiting for to engage in a debate has been provided. Bullivant proposes a three-tier model which sees full-blown advice provided to wealthy pensioners while those holding more modest ...

  • Buy-to-let landlords look to expand

    19 Mar 2002

    The number of experienced buy-to-let landlords is increasing, with many seeking to expand their rental portfolios, according to Paragon Mortgages.

  • Carnaby Films - Enterprise Investment Scheme

    14 Mar 2002

    Thursday, March 14, 2002 Aim: Growth by investing in the film "A Flight of Fancy" Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,000 Opening/closing date: February 4, 2001/March 31, 2002 Charges: Implicit Commission: Initial 3% Tel: 020 8758 8654

  • Carry favour

    14 Mar 2002

    New rules on eligibility and contributions for personal pension plans (including stakeholder) have opened up many opportunities for pension and tax planning. This is especially so where an individual also has an existing retirement annuity contract (s226). Although carryback will not be available on PPP contributions paid between now and April 5, it is still worthwhile paying a PPP contribution. Contributions get basic rate tax relief up front. For higher-rate taxpayers, any contribution ...

  • Cazalet attacks upgraded Friends rating

    14 Mar 2002

    Industry analyst Ned Caz-alet has criticised ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's for upgrading Friends Provident's financial strength despite mounting liabilities and reduced excess capital. Following its demutualisation last year, Friends floated on the stockmarket and injected £1.2bn of the £1.6bn raised into its with-profits fund, earning a AArating by S&P and an Aa3 rating by Moody's. But Cazalet believes both firms were wrong ...

  • CD-Rom will speed mortgage business

    14 Mar 2002

    Standard Life Bank is producing a CD-Rom designed to contain all the information that mortgage introducers need to conduct business. The CD-Rom includes client information checklists in a portable document format, allowing documents to be printed out and completed while the client is present. It contains client presentations which the broker can use in a client's home on a laptop computer without having to link up to the internet. There are links from the CD-Rom to the bank's ...

  • Charcol says fixed and discounted mortgage will help first-time buyers

    14 Mar 2002

    Charcol is offering an exclusive one-year fixed-rate mortgage which switches to a stepped discount for the remaining term of the loan. Funded by West Bromwich Building Society, the loan is fixed at 4.49 per cent for the first year before reverting to a discount of 0.75 per cent on the lender's variable rate, currently 5.95 per cent, for the next two years. Following this period, the loan is discounted at 0.5 per cent until the end of the mortgage term, giving a current rate ...

  • CII launches new online service

    18 Mar 2002

    The Chartered Insurance Institute is launching CII Research Online to make its reports available over the internet. The CII claims a research paper last year was downloaded by 30,000 people in more than 110 countries.Reports can be downloaded for a limited period for £10, or bound copies can be ordered online, including "Retirement planning in the current legislative framework" and "Principles for the structural reform of insurance".

  • Clerical claims Sandler will put 20% squeeze on commission

    14 Mar 2002

    IFAs will have to concentrate on their wealthiest clients if they are to operate profitably after Ron Sandler's review into retail investment, claims Clerical Medical. Clerical believes Sandler's review could result in commission being slashed by around 20 per cent in most product areas. Head of strategic marketing David Shelton believes the review is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the majority of products and leave IFAs facing a fight for survival in a lower-margin ...

  • Clerical Medical - Capital Investor

    18 Mar 2002

    Monday 18 March, 2002Type: Unit-linked bondAim: Growth by investing in a choice of 17 fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £15,000, $22,500, Euro 22,500Place of registration: Isle of ManInvestment split: Choice of Sterling with-profits, euro with-profits, $ with-profits, sterling currency reserve, euro currency reserve, offshore distribution accumulation, UK bond, euro bond, UK index tracking, US index tracking, Japanese index tracking, ...

  • Clerical widens pension access to funds

    13 Mar 2002

    Clerical Medical’s stakeholder pensions will now be able to access its full range of 22 funds. When launched only seven core funds were available but now the fund range includes property, cash, non-equity managed, European and UK smaller companies amongst others. It is also making Futureproof Contribution Protection Policy, its waiver of premium policy, available across its stakeholder and personal pension range. 

  • Close Fund Management - Close US Index Growth Fund

    13 Mar 2002

    Wednesday, March 13, 2002 Type: Investment trust Aim: Growth linked to the S&P 500 index Minimum investment: Lump sum £5,000 Maximum investment: None Investment split: 100% linked to the S&P 500 index Types of share: Zero-dividend preference Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Redemption date: March 19, 2007 Charges: Initial 4%, annual 0.4% Commission: Initial 1% Tel: 0800 ...

  • CML reveals intermediaries uneasy about regulation

    19 Mar 2002

  • Cofunds - Cofunds Cash Reserve

    15 Mar 2002

    Friday, 15 March 2002Type: Unit trust maxi IsaAim: Income or growth by investing in unit trustsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Maximum investment: Lump sum £7,000Catmarked: NoInvestment choice: Choice of 505 unit trusts from Aberdeen, ABN Amro, Artemis, Axa, Barings, Britannic, BWD Rensburg, Close, Credit Suisse, Deutsche, Dresdner, Edinburgh, Five Arrows, First State, F&C, Friends Ivory & Sime, Framlington, Gartmore, ...

  • Commercial break

    14 Mar 2002

    Life is not easy for investment advisers on Sipps and SSASs. Their recommended equity investments have dropped significantly in value, their cash deposits are earning 4 per cent - if they are lucky - and their fixed-interest investments have performed well but are not the place for new investment if rates look like rising. As clients continue to make contributions, where can liquid cash go? "No more equities," the client will say and "Can't you find me something more interesting/profitable .

  • Comparing notes

    14 Mar 2002

    New regulations and consultations are arriving at a dizzying speed. Mortgages in particular have been on the carousel. Now the Treasury has released its consultation paper on the statutory regulation of mortgages with a punctuality that has surprised the mortgage industry. While it seems to contain few surprises, those involved with selling mortgages are still digesting the contents. No sooner had the FSA assumed its full powers last November than the Government did an about face ...

  • Correspondent lending move from Preferred

    14 Mar 2002

    Specialist lender Preferred Mortgages is entering the correspondent lending market and has signed up its first packager partner, Solent Mortgage Services. It says it is taking this style of lending a step further than the likes of GMAC-RFC - giving the packager more control by allowing them scope to create their own products based on set criteria. Preferred will underwrite the products that Solent designs for its clients and take on responsibility for the loan. It says some of ...

  • Davies' term extended

    14 Mar 2002

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced the extension of Howard Davies' term as chief executive and chairman of the FSA until January 31, 2004.

  • Emerging prospects

    14 Mar 2002

    After two consecutive years of negative equity returns, investors are understandably sceptical when they are told that emerging markets present an excellent opportunity. However, both the short- and long-term outlook is the most attractive it has been for some time. In our view, the asset class is chronically underowned by international investors. Emerging markets typically behave as a warrant on global recovery - so much has been obvious already in this cycle. Since the end of September, ...

  • Erickson calls in spy to keep eye on Swedes

    14 Mar 2002

    The round of international friendly fixtures on March 26 and 27 will be an interesting indicator as to what we can expect in the World Cup. Coaches will have largely finished experimenting with their squads and will be looking to establish a settled pattern in their sides without giving too much away. It will be fascinating to see how Spain fares against Holland after England's recent impressive performance against the multitalented Dutch side. Spain once again have a squad ...

  • Eurolife - The Income Secure Plan

    14 Mar 2002

    Thursday, March 14, 2002Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Income linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 indicesMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Place of registration: GuernseyInvestment split: 100% linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 indicesGuarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term provided the indices do not fall by more than 30%Isa link: YesCharges: ImplicitCommission: Initial 3%Tel: ...

  • Eurolife - The Investment Plus Plan

    14 Mar 2002

    Thursday, March 14, 2002Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Income or growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indicesMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Place of registration: GuernseyInvestment split: 100% linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indicesGuarantee: Capital growth option - capital returned in full as long as the indices do not fall by more than 35%. Capital secure option - capital ...

  • Eurolife in pledge to improve IFA service

    14 Mar 2002

    Eurolife Fund Managers has pledged to improve IFA service levels - which it admits have been poor in the past 18 months - as it launches two new products. The provider is offering two lump-sum investment products it hopes will boost sales after a comprehensive review of its business found that service had slipped to a "less than brilliant" standard. The products have been developed with IFAs as part of EFM's aim to improve its service and offer a range of investments which are ...

  • Evolution of the in specie transfer

    14 Mar 2002

    Fidelity's FundsNetwork finally launched its re-registration service last week, allowing clients to transfer their existing investments on to the platform. FundsNetwork was not the first to develop the technology, with Cofunds having beaten it at the end of January. Skandia has plans to follow suit in the near future. Re-registration - also known as an in specie transfer - is an important progression in the development of fund supermarkets. Previously, IFAs could only put new ...

  • Ex-Misys IFA director Wright is joining EMX

    14 Mar 2002

    Former Misys IFA Services networks director Max Wright is joining EMX as head of sales and marketing. Wright, who was also marketing director at Misys, will be responsible for communicating the benefits of new improvements to the EMX electronic message exchange service due to be brought to the market in the coming months which aims to increase the number of intermediaries using the system. EMX chief executive Phil Wise says: "Since my arrival last year, we have had a number of ...

  • Fair exchange

    14 Mar 2002

    Exchange-traded funds are one of the most rapidly growing products in financial markets. No longer confined to the US, where assets under management have grown to over $70bn (£48bn), they are emerging as popular investments for institutions and private investors in Europe. With unusual names such as LDRS (pronounced Leaders), Frescos and iShares, they are set to make significant inroads into the UK market in the next few years despite currently being a well kept secret from ...

  • Fear over providers investing in IFAs

    14 Mar 2002

    Almost 70 per cent of IFAs believe that providers investing in IFA firms will compromise the independent status of those businesses, according to a study by George Street Research. Of the 204 companies surveyed in the research conducted exclusively for Money Marketing, only 19 say the image of independence will not be damaged by providers investing in their firms. IFA firms across the board have responded negatively to the idea of accepting investment from providers, with 72 per ...

  • Fewer first-time buyers in market

    14 Mar 2002

    The number of first-time buyers is falling and they are getting older, according to research from Halifax. The average age of FTBs has risen to 34 in 2001 from 29 in 1974 and the number of homebuyers aged under 25 fell to 11 per cent in 2001 from 32 per cent in 1988. The number of FTBs has plummeted from a high of around 900,000 entering the housing market in 1988. Last year, there were 568,000 FTBs, 37 per cent lower than 1988. The average deposit paid by FTBs has more than ...

  • Fidelity adds Widows and Barclays Global to FundsNetwork

    14 Mar 2002

    Fidelity's FundsNetwork is expanding its range with 29 funds from Scottish Widows and Barclays Global Investors. The total funds on offer is 594, which FundsNet-work says makes it the biggest investment superstore in the UK for intermediaries. Widows is one of the last big groups to join the supermarket and brings 18 unit trusts. Five are UK, eight overseas and five income funds. BGI is adding all 11 of its funds currently available to UK retail investors. Since its launch ...

  • First State appoints new head of marketing

    15 Mar 2002

    First State Investments has appointed John Harte, 37, as its head of marketing and communications.Harte will report directly to chief executive Rob Adams and will be a member of the company's executive committee.He was previously head of retail business at Capital International and head of European retail and institutional marketing Schroders.

  • Forsyth buys in Dubai

    14 Mar 2002

    Fund research company Forsyth Partners is taking a stake in Dubai-based brokerage Professional Invest-ment Consultants. Forsyth already manages PIC's broker funds with Scottish Provident International and Royal Skandia as well as handling a number of its direct investments. Forsyth will act as the investment management arm for PIC. The alliance is the first step in a long-term plan to outsource the brokerage's investment management. Forsyth says it is consid-ering other ...

  • Framlington World Cup challenge

    14 Mar 2002

    Week two of Framlington Investment World Cup competition and who would have thought the Nohopers would be in heading up the league table. Last week's leader, Austyn James, has slipped to fifth place. Let's hope Ian Walsh's team, It's England's Year (currently in second place) will be right and we will see an England victory in Japan.

  • Free compliance package from MI

    14 Mar 2002

    National mortgage club Mortgage Intelligence is offering a free compliance package for members to help them meet changing regulatory requirements. The service, available on CD-Rom, is being positioned as a do-it-yourself service as brokers will still be required to have their own Mortgage Code Compliance Board authori-sation and be responsible for compliance. It is free for the first year and if brokers reach a defined amount of commission through non-regulated products such as ...

  • FSA extends deadlines for responses to CP121

    14 Mar 2002

    The FSA is extending the deadline for responses to CP121, giving IFAs more time to send in their views on the proposals which could fundamentally change the market. Following a letter from Aifa chairman Lord Hunt to FSA chairman Howard Davies last month objecting to the amount of time that the FSA had given the industry to respond, the regulator has relented on the original deadline. Responses had been due by April 19 but now responses on the specific changes to polarisation are ...

  • FSA is 'bemused' by IFA opposition and plans direct approach

    14 Mar 2002

    The FSA is set to bypass IFAs and take its arguments for scrapping polarisation direct to consumers, according to fee-based IFA and consultancy Baxter Fensham. After a meeting with FSA head of polarisation review David Severn, Baxter Fensham directors John Baxter and Giles Pidcock say the regulator is "bitterly disappointed, frustrated and bemused" over the response to CP121 from the overwhelming majority of IFAs. Baxter Fensham says Severn hoped the proposals would increase the ...

  • FSA says it wants stakeholder data

    13 Mar 2002

    Providers will be required to give stakeholder persistency data to the FSA separately from other personal pension sales, the regulator has confirmed.

  • Genesis Home Loans Planet & Moons Mars

    19 Mar 2002

    Type: One-year discountDiscounted term: Until June 1 2003Discount: 1.6%Payable rate: Full status - 6.27%, self-certification 6.52%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: £200,000Income multiples: 3.5 x plus 1 or 3 x jointArrangement fee: £395Redemption fee: 6% in year one, 6% in year two, 5% in year three, thereafter 1% or one month's notice in lieuConditions: CCJs maximum £3,000. Two month's ...

  • Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons

    13 Mar 2002

    Genesis Home Loans Planet & Moons Mercury

  • Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons Neptune

    13 Mar 2002

    Genesis Home Loans Planet & Moons Neptune

  • Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons Pluto

    13 Mar 2002

    Genesis Home Loans Planet & Moons Pluto

  • Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons Saturn

    13 Mar 2002

    Genesis Home Loans Planets and Moons Saturn

  • Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons Veunus

    13 Mar 2002

    Genesis Home Loans Planets & Moons Venus

  • Hargreaves rolls out S2P guide

    18 Mar 2002

    Hargreaves Lansdown has produced a guide to explain the changes to the state second pension to help people with their contracting in or out decision.

  • Homebase picks Friends

    14 Mar 2002

    Friends Provident has won the mandate to supply stakeholder schemes for employees of DIY retailer Homebase. Homebase employs around 17,000 staff who are eligible to join the stakeholder scheme, including 3,500 in its existing defined-benefit scheme. The mandate includes the facility for employees to transfer benefits from Homebase's existing scheme into the stakeholder scheme. Employees will be able to take out a regular-premium pension deducted from salary on special terms ...

  • HSBC Asset Management appoints new chief executive

    18 Mar 2002

    HSBC Asset Management (Europe) has appointed Dean Buckley as chief executive of its UK business effective immediately.

  • Huge reality gap on pensions

    14 Mar 2002

    There is a huge gulf between expectations and reality in employees' attitudes towards retirement, claims a Mori survey on behalf of Bupa. Announcing the results of the survey at the Bupa Health Debate in London last week, Richard Wors-ley, co-director of the charity Tomorrow Project, said that occupational pension shortfalls and fewer youn-ger people mean that many people will have to work into their mid-70s at least. But 60 per cent of respondents say they want to retire by ...

  • Iasa for life

    14 Mar 2002

    Last April we heard about proposals for the somewhat radical child trust fund in the Government's consultation paper, Saving and Assets for All. The stakes were raised when the Government then committed itself to the concept in its election manifesto. This scheme, more widely known as the baby bond, would provide a savings pot for every child born in the UK. The idea is that by the time it matures at age 18 the fund will have grown into a substantial sum, markets and interest ...

  • IFA strategy for Baillie Gifford

    14 Mar 2002

    Baillie Gifford is aiming to become a major IFA player with a new distribution strategy focusing on the European, UK and US markets. The firm says the objective of its new "core sector strategy" is to be regarded as a leading fund manager in the mainstream market by IFAs within three to five years. It says it has built up a strong reputation among IFAs as a specialist manager of Far East and emerging market funds but now wants to focus advisers' attention on the performance ...

  • IMA again slams charge cap as it pushes for retirement Isa

    14 Mar 2002

    The Investment Management Association hit out at the 1 per cent regime again this week, urging the Government to adopt the idea of an uncapped "retirement Isa". In a letter to head of the Department for Work and Pensions' pension simplification review Alan Pickering, IMA chief executive Richard Saunders criticised stakeholder's 1 per cent charging cap for imposing a "straitjacket" on providers within which financial advice could not be incorporated. Saunders said the Government ...

  • Income & growth enter the Premier league

    15 Mar 2002

    Premier Fund Managers has introduced a Dublin-based closed-ended fund that is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 for five years.

  • Independent view - Tony Wright-Jones

    14 Mar 2002

    I bought a car for my wife recently and it struck me that in a number of months time if I am purchasing a similar car I will have to choose whether I buy the car and pay commission or a fee, plus VAT at 17.5 per cent - which nobody sees but the Treasury. Obviously the forecourt will make sure I pay less on the fee route - economically it is in their interest to do so. That is how they are able to stay in business, is it not? The guidelines for fees for selling cars will come out ...

  • Initial commission axed on CleverDic net service

    14 Mar 2002

    IFA Denyer Insurance Consultancy is offering an online execution-only service with no charge initial commission to target clients with orph-aned policies. The website offers comparative quotes for life insurance, critical-illness cover, pensions, Isas and mortgages. CleverDic has teamed up with Skandia to use its My Multi-Fund Shop fund supermarket to provide Isas. Mortgages are sourced through the Mortgage Brain platform. The CleverDic site will administer policies for clients ...

  • Inside edge - Ian Chimes

    14 Mar 2002

    Mrs Jones of Baldock, Hertfordshire had been a building society investor all her life. Now aged 67, she had expected that her state pension and her savings would need to be boosted for a better retirement. In March 2000, Mrs Jones had £21,000 in the building society and she decided that the exciting new world of the Internet was a new dawn of technology. She knew that many of her neighbours were now on the internet so she put £7,000 in to a technology Isa. A year later, ...

  • Insurance protects investors' estates

    14 Mar 2002

    Rothschild Asset Management is adding a new life insurance feature to its wealth management service to protect an investor's estate from the effect of falling stockmarkets. The Five Arrows Protected Wealth Management Service provides insurance cover to protect clients' beneficiaries by guaranteeing a protected value of the fund in the event of death. The protected value is 105 per cent of the original sum invested. If the investor dies when markets have fallen below this ...

  • Investment Analysis

    14 Mar 2002

    More positive economic data from the US pushed concerns over the Enron effect firmly to one side last week and helped drive global markets higher. The representative FTSE World index gained a solid 3.9 per cent. In the US, lead indicators, which all point to an economic recovery, bolstered US stocks, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 gaining 2 per cent, 2.9 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively. The latest evidence of an upturn came on Friday, with labour figures for February ...

  • Investment update

    14 Mar 2002

    Jupiter will be setting up stalls at 15 UK venues to catch last-minute Isa applications on April 4-5. The locations cover all the UK's major cities. All collection points are open from 9am-6pm on April 4 and from 9am-4pm on April 5. The London and West Malling points will stay open until 11.55pm. Aberdeen is offering a 1 per cent discount on its range of 27 unit trusts and Oeics until the end of the tax year. The discount applies to all lump-sum investments. Collins ...

  • Investment view

    14 Mar 2002

    So, it is official. Investors would have made more money out of bonds over the past decade than backing equities in the UK. At least, that is the conclusion of the equity/gilt study from Barclays Capital. No wonder bond funds are in such demand. The outperformance is not massive but the circumstances behind the outperformance is unusual and seem unlikely to be repeated. Back in the early 1990s, inflation was high, interest rates significantly above their current level and bond yields ...

  • ISIS Friends Ivory & Sime - ISIS Ecotec Fund

    18 Mar 2002

    Monday, March 18, 2002Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in environmental technology companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% environmental technology companiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4.75%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 08457 992299

  • James Hay boosts salesforce

    19 Mar 2002

    James Hay is increasing its broker consultant sales force to meet increasing demands from IFAs for specialist pension schemes. The specialist small self-administered scheme provider says the market for Ssas and funded unapproved retirement benefit schemes is growing and it needs to provide more support and advice to IFAs. It believes Furbs and Ssas are still untapped markets for IFAs.

  • Julian Gibbs

    14 Mar 2002

    I was asked recently where I am going to invest my Isa money this year. The answer is clear to me - it should be invested in a high-yield corporate bond fund. This is because, when default rates reach their highest - they are now near their peak at over 10 per cent - they recover more quickly than stockmarkets as a whole. When the default rate was last over 10 per cent in 1991, the total return on the Merrill Lynch US high-yield index rose by 39.2 per cent and in the following ...

  • Lamensdorf founder Williams leaving firm

    14 Mar 2002

    Lamensdorf co-founder and operations director Lorraine Williams is leaving the business a year after its acquisition of Maddison Monetary Management. Williams' departure was agreed at the time of the deal with MMM, which saw Lam-ensdorf double RIs to around 50. Lamensdorf Group has undergone rapid expansion in the past year, with the acquisition of Flexible Mortgages and Essential Mortgages as well as a Tokyo-based financial planning firm. The group now has around 250 advisers, ...

  • Legal & General two-year discount

    13 Mar 2002

    Legal & General discount

  • Life's a Peach as internet firm offers group cover

    14 Mar 2002

    A virtual life office selling group protection products and targeted at IFAs is being set up by two ex-Canada Life employees. Peach Global Financial Solutions aims to remove barriers such as poor customer service and long delays in getting quotes. Its online service goes live next week with its group risk scheme the all employee protection plan, which is underwritten by Criterion. This will be followed by group waiver of premium for stakeholder. The venture is targeted at SMEs ...

  • Lighthouse acquires Berkeley Wodehouse

    15 Mar 2002

    Lighthouse Group is acquiring Berkeley Wodehouse Associates by issuing £2.1m worth of new shares to the IFA network.

  • Losses hit £272m at ZFS

    13 Mar 2002

    Zurich Financial Services UK parent Zurich Financial Services Group has posted a £272m net loss for last year and pledged to cut dividends by more than 50 per cent.

  • Marketplace mortgages

    14 Mar 2002

    Bradford & Bingley IFA The Marketplace is launching two discounted-rate mortgages funded by Woolwich for borrowers requiring loans of £60,000 or less. Aimed at new borrowers, the first mortgage comes with a 1.65 per cent discount from Woolwich's standard variable rate of 5.95 per cent for two years, currently giving a rate of 4.3 per cent. It is available up to 95 per cent loan-to-value and is free of a mortgage indemnity guarantee charge if customers do not borrow more ...

  • Matrix - Rose Bowl

    19 Mar 2002

    Tuesday, March 19, 2002 Type: Enterprise investment scheme Aim: Growth by investing in Rose Bowl Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,000 Opening/closing date: March 4, 2002/March 31, 2002 Charges: Implicit Commission: Initial 2% Tel: 020 7439 6050

  • Millfield buys Moncur in £2m deal

    14 Mar 2002

    National IFA Millfield has bought employee benefits specialist Moncur Jackson & Associates in a £2.2m deal. Aim-listed Millfield will pay Moncur Jackson £1.05m in loan notes and £825,000 through the issue of 595,668 Millfield shares. Shares worth a further £375,000 will be paid, provided that profit targets are reached over the next year. The Newcastle firm, which has three RIs, will be renamed Millfield Moncur Jackson although the old name may be ...

  • Money Guru fund aiming to pick out undervalued firms

    14 Mar 2002

    Investment research comp-any MoneyGuru is offering its first branded unit trust in association with Way Fund Managers. The Elite MoneyGuru income with growth trust will invest in UK equities, with a particular focus on small and mid-cap sectors. The trust will hold around 20 stocks and each stock will be subject to MoneyGuru's research and analysis. Investors and IFAs will be able to access research reports on all shareholdings on MoneyGuru's website and can get monthly ...

  • National Savings and Investments - Guaranteed Equity Bond

    13 Mar 2002

    Wednesday, March 13, 2002 Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £2,000-£1m Term: Five years Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term regardless of movement in index Return: Capital along with up to 65% growth in the FTSE 100 index Interest rate: 3.5% gross a year Closing date: April 17, 2002 Commission: None Tel: 0845 ...

  • National wealth service

    14 Mar 2002

    Trusts and the debate as to whether IFAs should get involved in this area or not has become a hot industry potato over the last few weeks, and about time too. I am sure that technical managers and IFAs conversant with trusts across the country share my delight that our specialist subject is now commanding some serious media attention. This media spotlight on trusts is particularly timely, given the imminent end of the tax year and the resulting rush of activity as IFAs seek to make ...

  • NatSavings introduces first equity-linked plan

    14 Mar 2002

    National Savings and Investments has launched its first equity-linked investment product in the form of a guaranteed equity bond. The move follows the rebranding of National Savings in February. The five-year bond offers the potential for stockmarket growth alongside 100 per cent capital security. The bond is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index and investors receive a 1 per cent return for every point increase in the index up to a maximum of 65 per cent. The bond ...

  • NDF Administration - Higher Income and Growth Plan 2

    18 Mar 2002

    Monday, March 18, 2002 Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Income and growth by investing in the top 10 FTSE 100 companies Minimum-maximum investment: £10,000, £7,000 for Isa investments and Pep transfers-£1m, £7,000 for Isa investments Term: Five years Guarantee: Capital returned in full provided none of the stocks are more than 20% below their initial level Return: Choice of 0.7% a month, 9% a year or ...

  • NDF Administration - Recovery Growth Plan 2

    18 Mar 2002

    Monday, March 18, 2002 Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £7,000-£1m Term: Five years Guarantee: Capital returned in full provided the FTSE 100 does not fall by more than 50% and fail to recover Return: Capital returned in full along with up to 100% of growth in the FTSE 100 Closing date: May 10, 2002. April 26, 2002 for Isa investments and Pep ...

  • New splits row as BFS shareholders reject rescue plan

    14 Mar 2002

    The split-cap sector was thrown into further turmoil this week as BFS Investment's geared income trust failed to implement a proposed rescue package after breached its banking covenant. The fund, which invests almost entirely in other splits and is one of the most highly geared funds on the market, is owned by many other split trusts. The restructure failed when shareholders rejected an offer to exchange existing zeros for a new issue of zeros with a much longer life. The ...

  • New Star strives to impress

    13 Mar 2002

    NEW STARNEW STAR HIGHER INCOME FUNDType: OeicAim: Income and growth by investing in UK ordinary shares, fixed-interest securities, preference shares, convertiblesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% invested in UK ordinary shares, fixed-interest securities, preference shares, convertiblesYield: 4% gross a yearIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 5.25%, annual ...

  • Noble & Company - The Capital Pub Company

    13 Mar 2002

    Wednesday, March 13, 2002Aim: Growth by investing in public houses within the M25Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,200Opening/closing date: February 11, 2002/April 30, 2002 for 2002/2003 tax yearCharges: Initial up to 7.75%Commission: Initial 2.5%Tel: 020 7367 5600

  • Northern Rock Guernsey - Fifty Fifty Issue 6

    19 Mar 2002

    Tuesday, 19 March 2002Type: Guaranteed equity bond and high interest accountGUARANTEED EQUITY BONDAim: Growth linked to FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£1mTerm: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full at end of termReturn: Up to 70% of the performance of FTSE 100 index over termCommission: NoneHIGH INTEREST ACCOUNTMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£1mInterest ...

  • NU slashes commission under pension pressure

    14 Mar 2002

    Norwich Union is slashing commission rates by up to 75 per cent on its pension products, saying the pressure of the 1 per cent regime is forcing it to cut costs. It is cutting commission on short-term contracts but increasing commission on contracts of more than 20 years. Contracts of less than five years will see commission cut to a quarter of current levels while five-year to nine-year policies will have payments halved. But contracts longer than 20 years will receive 105 per cent ...

  • Opening up the annuity market

    14 Mar 2002

    The significance of IFAs in extending choice could get some unexpected recognition in Government plans for annuity reform. The open market option long sought by advisers is an essential market-changing move. But it may need some pump priming. Suggestions put to the Govern-ment by pension consultant Dr Ros Altmann are understood to be receiving a sympathetic hearing in high places. They would see providers bound either to refer their customers to an IFA, making most of the open market ...

  • Out for the discount

    14 Mar 2002

    In concluding this series, I will look at the tax position of cashbacks and discounts. A cashback is defined as "an inducement to enter into a transaction for the purchase of goods, investments or services and is received as a direct consequence of having entered into that transaction". It is usually paid as a lump sum. Let us look first at the position of investors. A cashback payment received by an investor who is an ordinary retail customer is not liable to income tax or capital ...

  • Outside edge - Michael Owen

    14 Mar 2002

    Some of us hark back to the long hot summers of yesteryear and we remember fondly those glorious Pep/ Isa seasons when IFAs would deliver applications to hotels. Alas, there will be no pictures of helicopters delivering Isa applications this time round. The Investment Management Association reports Isa sales are down by 40 per cent in January on the same period last year. We should not be surprised given two very disappointing calendar year equity returns making people more reluctant ...

  • Outsource material

    14 Mar 2002

    Outsourcing for financial services is the subject of a two-day conference in London next month. The conference will focus on issues including outsourcing strategy and management, the generation of profit through outsourcing and the importance and place of outsourcing within financial organisations. Speakers include ABN Amro Bank managing director Michael Hampson, Credit Suisse First Boston director, head of pensions and benefits Europe Laura Jackson and KPMG Consulting principal ...

  • Partnership offers web service for IFAs

    14 Mar 2002

    Intelligent Finance is to provide a transactional website service for IFAs in a partnership with My Money Adviser. The web in a box tool offers consumers online transactions on a range of financial products in a site personalised with the IFA's branding without the need for up-front investment in technology. Depending on the adviser's regulatory status, the site incorporates a fund supermarket, real-time quotes for general and life insurance, mortgage comparison and quotation ...

  • Part-time bomb waits to explode

    14 Mar 2002

    Whenever pension lawyers get together these days, conver-sation invariably turns to the subjects of sex and sexuality - usually outside of marriage. What has brought about this resurgent interest among some of the country's finest and most knowledgeable (not to mention old and boring) pension folk? Regrettably, I have to report, nothing to do with the physical side of these issues but, rather, everything to do with a whole raft of legal cases in which individuals of various ...

  • Pension case is just the tip Of the iceberg

    14 Mar 2002

    There comes a point when most people have had enough. Among British people, such occasions are fairly rare. Even reactionary forces are somewhat limited in their activities. For those who have a copy of "If only politicians had brains", I draw your attention to chapter 17 - Talking to a Brick Wall - and note that we have been this way before. Has Mr Sixsmith resigned? Did he receive an enhanced package? The question should be asked, what would any enhanced package cost ...

  • Pima warns on means test hitting child funds

    14 Mar 2002

    The Pep & Isa Managers' Association has warned the Government against being too heavy on means-testing child trust funds. In an article for Money Marketing this week, Pima chairman Tony Vine-Lott says the trade body is uncomfortable with the idea of an "undefined degree of means-testing". In its consultation paper, Savings & Assets for All, the Treasury suggests that endowments made between birth and 18 could be subject to a family means test to assess the parent's financial ...

  • Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let

    13 Mar 2002

    Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let fixed

  • Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let discount

    13 Mar 2002

    Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let tracker

  • Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let fixed

    13 Mar 2002

    Pink Home Loans three-year buy-to-let fixed

  • Playing the yield

    14 Mar 2002

    Mrs W is in her late 60s, a widow with no dependent children. She has been retired for some years and her only income comes from her state pension and her investments. She has money in a building society account, on which she has suffered a severe drop in interest, and a share portfolio which is not yielding a high amount. Like many people in her situation, she is asset-rich but income-poor. She is determined to live life to the full while she can, so is looking for a higher, more ...

  • Price looking for female advisers in UK expansion

    14 Mar 2002

    IFA business Fiona Price & Partners, which focuses on advising women, is aiming to break out of its London stronghold and expand its offering nationwide. The firm, which currently has an all-woman team of 12 RIs, is planning to take on 30 female IFAs across the country in the next two years to work under its brand. The firm is looking for existing IFAs who are already focused on the female market and it is targeting Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Southampton ...

  • Product matters

    14 Mar 2002

    The new NDF retirement and income plan is designed as an investment for pension monies within a Sipp during drawdown. Part of the investment goes to a growth element, part to provide income, the proportions of which depend on how much income is selected. The idea being that after the sixyear term of either 3 per cent, 5 per cent or 7 per cent income, the income element is exhausted although the growth element storms through to provide a return of the amount invested in the growth element ...

  • Providers growing disillusioned with affinity marketing

    14 Mar 2002

    Product providers are frustrated with affinity partnerships which offer nothing more than a distribution channel for their marketing literature, according to a report from consultancy Watson Wyatt. The report, Affinity Trends in the Development of Distribution Partnership, reveals that financial services companies are complaining of apathy, lack of focus, slow decision-making, inexperience and poor operational quality on the part of affinity groups through which they market their products. Becau

  • R&SA spends £464m to keep WP fund afloat

    14 Mar 2002

    Royal & Sun Alliance ploughed a total of £464m into its £10bn Sun Alliance & London closed with-profits fund last year in a bid to keep it solvent. The fund, which has more than £1bn put aside for guaranteed annuity liabilities, was handed £224m in what R&SA describes as a "notional adjustment" of shareholders' funds between its life and non-life businesses. The fund was also given a contingent loan of £240m by R&SA in the fourth ...

  • RBS gives GIGA another outing

    14 Mar 2002

    Royal Bank of Scotland has introduced a third issue of the guaranteed income and growth account (GIGA), which combines a high-interest account and a guaranteed equity bond. Investors with a lump sum of at least £5,000 must divide their investment equally between the two elements. The high interest account produces monthly income of 6 per cent over the three-year term, which is slightly higher than offered by the first issue in November 2001. This offered 5.84 per cent and ...

  • Retail investors 'nervous' over market stability

    14 Mar 2002

    Investors remain cautious about the prospects for investing in the stockmarket and only a minority are optimistic that the present market conditions will improve. A report, Investing During Uncertain times, researched on behalf of UK financial institutions by financial services consulting group NMG, shows retail investors are losing confidence rather than gaining belief in the markets, with 30 per cent disagreeing that the industry is capable of surviving a downturn. Half of those ...

  • Rick Abbott

    14 Mar 2002

    We are in the eye of the IFA storm. We want to play in what is going to be a very uncertain sector over the next few months." With his tongue at least partially in cheek, Birchin International chief executive Rick Abbott is explaining his company's position now it has acquired national IFA Park Row. After years specialising in helping financial institutions outsource their training and recruitment activities, the move will see Birchin concentrate on becoming an advice group. A ...

  • Rothschild Asset Management - Five Arrows Protected Wealth Management Service

    18 Mar 2002

    Monday 18 March, 2002Aim: Income or growth by investing in UK capital growth, international capital growth or income strategiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £10,000Investment split: Choice of UK capital growth, international capital growth or income strategiesIncome facility: Half-yearlyCharges: Initial investments up to £49,999 4%, £50,000 and above 3.5%, annual 1.625%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: ...

  • Sarasin's in good health

    13 Mar 2002

    Sarasin has introduced the Sarasin global health fund, an Oeic that aims to produce capital growth by investing in global healthcare and medical developments.

  • ScotEq International's business suffers amid Revenue challenge

    14 Mar 2002

    Scottish Equitable Inter-national saw a sharp business decline in 2001 in a year which was beset with difficulties for the firm. Single-premium income fell by 37 per cent to £203m from £320m in 2000. Luxemburg-based SEI had planned to launch a with-profits bond from a new office in Dublin this year but has put it on hold following the terrorist attacks of September 11 SEI's key inheritance tax products faced a challenge from the Inland Revenue, which was only ...

  • Seconds out for NDF

    19 Mar 2002

    NDF Administration has introduced the second issue of the NDF higher income & growth plan, a guaranteed equity bond that is linked to the 10 largest stocks in the FTSE 100 index. These companies are Astrazeneca, Barclays, BP, Glaxo Wellcome, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Shell and Vodafone. Investors have three options — annual income of 9 per cent, monthly income of 0.7 per cent or growth of 50 per cent. These rates are the same as offered by the first ...

  • Self-cert stepped mortgage from Pink

    18 Mar 2002

    Pink Home Loans is launching a self-certified stepped discount mortgage with an initial rate of 3.99 percent.

  • Severn in firing line over tied and IFA agent claim

    14 Mar 2002

    IFAs have expressed outrage at FSA head of polarisation review David Severn's suggestion that there is no difference between them and direct salespeople. The row follows a question posed by an IFA to Severn in last week's Money Marketing in which the adviser asked how the proposed changes to polarisation will benefit consumers when they blur the distinction between an IFA and a tied agent. Severn replied that under polarisation, no such distinction exists but rather a complicated ...

  • Simple solution is radical pension reform

    14 Mar 2002

    The Government needs to rev-erse its strategy on pensions by significantly raising the basic state pension and restoring the earnings link. Old left rhetoric? Simplistic? Unworkable? Unaffordable? No, this is the conclusion of a major research project carried out over the last 18 months by the Institute for Public Policy Research in partnership with universities, pension providers and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Since the 1997 election, Labour has devoted much time and effort to pensions ...

  • Sipp with increased control

    14 Mar 2002

    Winterthur Life is introducing a new self-invested personal pension product aimed at the growing band of investors wanting to take control of their pension arrangements. The Universal Sipp has a range of investment options from a panel of portfolio managers including commercial property, pension funds, unit trusts and deposit accounts. The managers include Cazenove, Gerrard, Killik & Co, Credit Suisse Private Banking, Tilney and Charles Stanley Stockbrokers. Investors can also ...

  • SLFoC aids IFAs with risk deal for smaller clients

    14 Mar 2002

    Sun Life Financial of Canada is setting up an initiative for IFAs to pool their smaller company clients together into group risk and income protection schemes. Aimed at entitling smaller companies to the benefits usually reserved for the biggest company schemes, the move allows IFAs to place clients into particular industry sectors such as IT. SLFoC will then make arr-angements to tailor services to the needs of each group of companies. Among the benefits of the scheme are ...

  • Spittles appointed to ABI medical committee

    19 Mar 2002

    The ABI has appointed Royal Sun Alliance chief underwriter Graham Spittles as chairman of its life assurance and medical affairs committee. Spittles has been R&SA’s chief underwriter for seven years. As chairman of the committee he will be looking at medical and other risk assessment issues in life and health products. Spittles is already a member of the ABI’s genetics committee.

  • Strategy street

    14 Mar 2002

    Skandia has turned up the heat in the fund supermarket war offering up to 5 per cent initial commission until the end of the tax year. Do you think IFAs will be tempted by the offer? Craven: I often find it interesting that it tends to be largely life offices with an investment leaning, as opposed to investment companies, which still believe the way to procure business in the IFA sector is commission-driven. I feel that this is a somewhat antiquated view and in direct contrast the ...

  • Straws on camels' backs

    14 Mar 2002

    As I travel round the UK I talk to a lot of pensions IFAs. A common theme at the moment is a strong interest in Financial Reporting Standard FRS17. So why are IFAs suddenly so interested in a technical accounting standard? The answer is that, when taken with other developments, it is likely to lead to an acceleration in the move away from defined-benefit pensions by employers of all sizes. Such a move is advice-intensive from the points of view of the employer, employees and ...

  • Take the bypass

    14 Mar 2002

    A recent article on the merits of placing offshore investments in trust drew a comment from a leading IFA which indicated that planning for beneficiaries was not the role of the IFA. As a self-confessed ano-rak, I have been looking at this issue in some depth and have some bad news - we may not be advising the beneficiaries but we still owe them a duty of care. Recent decisions have reinforced my views, in particular the case of Gorham • BT (Court of Appeal 2000). ...

  • Taking a punt: Cambridge is one of the venues for last-minute Isa investors

    14 Mar 2002

    Fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management, ABN Amro, Invesco Perpetual and Schroders are joining forces to make sure IFAs do not miss this year's Isa tax allowance deadline for their clients. The group of fund managers will be manning a number of drop-off points across the country on April 5 for IFAs to get last minute Isa applications in on time. The drop-off points include 12 venues throughout the UK, such as the National Motorcycle Museum in Birm-ingham as well as Edinburgh, ...

  • Taking care of the Welloffs while the Averages suffer

    14 Mar 2002

    Open letter to Chancellor Gordon Brown. I am increasingly saddened and frustrated by the continued damage done to the financial services industry by our own regulatory body. It appears that the FSA, like the PIA before them, are guilty of making badly advised and ill-informed decisions about what the British financial services consumer wants or needs and are keen to bulldoze through changes to legislation to endorse those decisions. The latest FSA proposal is that the present polarisation ...

  • Talkback - Is there room in the mnarket for another IFA fund supermarket?

    14 Mar 2002

    Is there room in the market for another IFA fund supermarket? "No. We already have the likes of Cofunds, Fidelity, Egg and Inter-Alliance which are offering a good service. More would just muddy the water." Ewen Barnes,Barnes Independent Financial Advice "No. You need more than one to make sure one does not have the monopoly. But in actual fact, the principal of a fund supermarket is |to stop you having to look at four or five different things." John Cerone, G Cerone "Not ...

  • The life of Equitable

    14 Mar 2002

    For a long time, Equitable Life traded on its venerable history. As a national institution it was as hidebound as the tomes on the shelves of the lawyers who have bought its policies. According to Cornelius Walford, the Victorian biographer of the once eminent and recently disgraced institution: "The history of the Equitable is the history of life assurance in the country. If that be not strictly true, it is yet much nearer the truth than the uninformed could imagine." Comments ...

  • The pick of Europe

    14 Mar 2002

    The last two years have been a difficult environment for companies in Europe. A synchronised global slowdown and major structural problems in several industries have made it difficult to improve on the progress made by European companies during the 90s. The weakness of the euro has been a concern to some investors but this is a positive for corporate European companies in general, allowing them more scope to compete against other global companies. The weakness of the euro can be ...

  • Thinktank proposes advice for all before buying annuity

    14 Mar 2002

    An influential pension consultant is putting forward a plan for everyone to get independent financial advice before buying an annuity. Thinktank Pension Policy Institute governor Dr Ros Altmann has suggested to Downing Street and the Treasury that providers should push all pensioners through an independent advisory process before they buy an annuity. The proposal is understood to be under serious consideration by Government officials. Altmann says annuity contracts already ...

  • Three-quarters of firms see no benefits to depolarisation

    14 Mar 2002

    Three-quarters of IFAs see nothing to welcome in the FSA's proposed changes to polarisation, according to the report by George Street Research. Respondents were asked to state what are the most welcome aspects of the changes and 154 out of 204 companies said they could not see any positive aspects in the proposals. The prospect of moving to a fee basis was the most worrying aspect of the changes for 17 per cent of IFAs. Other major IFA concerns are being forced to move away ...

  • Time someone put FSA right

    14 Mar 2002

    I read with interest the polarisation Q&A article in Money Marketing. One statement of Mr Severn's highlighted to me the main problem we have as IFAs. He was reported to have used the phrase: "When an IFA sells a packaged prod-uct..." Doesn't he know that IFAs don't or should not sell products? I am an IFA and I explain to my clients that I advise only on the products I consider they should buy (from the provider) and as I do all the admin of this on the client's ...

  • Towry set for Singapore

    14 Mar 2002

    Towry Law International is expanding in Europe and Asia with new offices in Spain, Ireland and Singapore. The European offices, due to open early this summer, add to the company's presence in Brussels and Cyprus. TLI wants to build a salesforce of 125 account managers in mainland Europe by 2005. The Singapore office will open by the end of this year, complementing the 60-strong salesforce in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Towry Law Group managing director John Simmonds ...

  • Treasury clears up loan confusion

    13 Mar 2002

    The Treasury has moved to clarify industry confusion over whether life offices' tied sales forces and other appointed representatives will be able to advice on other lenders' mortgages under future regulation.

  • Two new buy to let products from Pink

    15 Mar 2002

    Pink Home Loans is adding two new products to its buy to let range.

  • Two-tier system could bring in new blood

    14 Mar 2002

    There is a limit to how much anyone can write - or read - on polarisation and I reckon many of you must be approaching your limit by now. So, for a change, I will look at chapter five of the consultation paper. Not polarisation per se but near enough for all but the most committed devotee. Chapter five, Complemen-tary Initiatives in the Retail Marketplace, is different from the rest of the paper, less didactic in tone and more questioning in approach. It asks big questions without ...

  • Unum takes name of US parent

    13 Mar 2002

    Disability insurer Unum has announced it is rebranding in line with its US parent company, Unum Provident, adopting its name as of this week. The provider has also announced a corporate shake-up which sees a new board position of customer solutions director responsible for all distribution and marketing. Cheryl Stewart arrives in the UK from US parent to take up the position. Current director of marketing Eugene McCormack will now answer to Stewart. 

  • Vanguard Investments Europe - Vanguard US Government Bond Index Fund

    14 Mar 2002

    Thursday, March 14, 2002 Type: Ucits Aim: Income and growth by investing in investment grade US government bonds Minimum investment: Lump sum $100,000 Place of registration: Dublin Investment split: 100% in investment grade US government bonds Isa link: No Charges: Annual 0.3% Commission: None Tel: 0032 2357 1411

  • Vanguard launches new fund

    15 Mar 2002

    Vanguard Investments Europe is adding a new US fund to its range of Ireland-based funds available in the UK. The US Government Bond Index fund is domiciled in Ireland and brings the number of Vanguard funds authorised for sale in the UK up to nine. The fund will investment in a risk-matched portfolio of investment grade Government bonds.

  • Venture scouts

    14 Mar 2002

    March is a key time for last-minute tax planning and venture capital trusts offer investors significant tax advantages in the form of capital gains tax deferral and income tax relief. However, only a tiny percentage of the CGT raised by the Government this year is likely to be mitigated by the use of a VCT. Is this because of a poor understanding of VCTs or a general mistrust of the products on offer? There are number of good reasons why people should think twice before investing ...

  • Whole new ball game in insurance

    14 Mar 2002

    The insurance industry marches to a slightly different drum to that of other sectors because of the effects of the insurance cycle. While this pattern could justifiably be described as an infuriating and often illogical over- reaction to the effects of supply and demand, this cycle has recently turned again, due partly to the World Trade Centre loss last September. The sector is now set to become very popular with investors as it should offer some handsome returns. The industry ...

  • Wifas in poaching row over IFA clients

    14 Mar 2002

    Woolwich Independent Financial Advisory Services has been criticised by IFAs for trying to poach IFA clients introduced to the Woolwich for mortgage products. Financial Advice and Services director Aaron Brann complained to the Woolwich after his wife and three clients all got letters from Wifas asking them to contact a Wifas adviser. The letters have been sent to clients of Brann who had been sold Woolwich products as well as to other IFAs' clients. Woolwich says it will ...

  • Winterthur Life - The Universal SIPP

    15 Mar 2002

    Friday, 15 March 2002Type: Full SippMinimum investment: £1Investment choice: Choice of 41 funds from Winterthur, Baille Gifford, BGI, Deutsche, Gerrard, Schroders, ABN Amro,Credit Suisse, Exeter, Fidelity, Gartmore, Invesco Perpetual, Jupiter, Aberdeen, Newton, Sarasin, Threadneedle, or elite cautious managed, elite balanced managed, elite stockmarket managedCharges: Annual £375-£475Allocation rates: 100%Commission: Subject ...

  • Winterthur Sipp goes universal

    18 Mar 2002

    Winterthur Life has established the universal Sipp, a self-invested personal pension plan that offers access to a range of investment funds from Winterthur Life and external fund managers. The Universal Sipp is a full Sipp that provides access to a range of 41 funds from 17 fund managers including Credit Suisse, Fidelity and Newton. Three Winterthur funds of funds are offered, catering for cautious, balanced and more aggressive risk profiles. In addition, the Sipp can hold any ...

  • Winterthur to drop name and take Credit Suisse branding

    14 Mar 2002

    Sipp specialist Winterthur Life is dropping its name and adopting the brand of parent firm Credit Suisse in a bid to raise its profile in the UK. The move is due to take place within 18 months and will see the Winterthur brand disappear in the UK but not in other European countries where the brand is better known. Winterthur was founded in Switzerland 125 years ago. It introduced its brand in the UK in 1995 when it decided to ditch the name of subsidiary Provident Life, which it ...

  • Zurich aims for 'compelling brand'

    14 Mar 2002

    Zurich financial services group has appointed Bamber Forsyth:Fitch to review its UK visual brand in a bid to differentiate itself in the market. Its logo and corporate identity will remain the same but the aim is to improve its marketing literature and how the brand communicates with its target market and reflects its global image. The move is intended to unite the group's insurance and life businesses in the UK and develop a unique brand personality. Bamber Forsyth:Fitch ...

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