Money Marketing
14 January 2004

  • 'Boomerang' relatives pose financial threat - Birmingham Midshires

    14 Jan 2004

    The trend of children and elderly relatives moving back into the family home is putting severe financial strain on working adults according to lender Birmingham Midshire's latest research. While 63 per cent of the adults questioned said they could cover additional day to day costs for these 'boomerang' relatives such as food expenses, only 54 per cent felt they could afford to pay the extra household bills.

  • 'Borrowers could save £2.2bn a year on mortgages'

    15 Jan 2004

    UK households are thr-owing away £2.2bn each year on expensive mortgages, according to figures from Which?. The Consumers' Association, publishers of Which?, believes that too many households are paying over the odds for their interest-only mortgages. Its research shows that average monthly mortgage expenditure per household is £391. It estimates that borrowers with a standard variable rate could save as much as £475 a year on an average £58,000 ...

  • 'Our capital position is strong and improving'

    15 Jan 2004

    Standard Life remains bullish about its financial status, claiming its current capital position is stronger than in 2002 and likely to improve this year. It says its fund for future appropriations - the capital left after liabilities and margin for prudence are subtracted from assets - rose to £4.5bn in the year to November 2003, up from £3.2bn in 2002. Over the same period, its available assets - the capital needed to cover the FSA's minimum margin requirement ...

  • 'Payout cuts to be in line with rivals'

    15 Jan 2004

    With-profits policyholders have been told by Standard Life that payouts will not be affected immediately and it intends to go ahead with its scheduled annual bonus declaration on January 29. It warns that payouts are likely to be cut to reflect the smoothing carried out in recent years but says any reductions will be "broadly in line" with rivals. Surrender and transfer values are also unchanged. John Scott & Partners investment manager Patrick Connolly predicts that ...

  • 1% cap forces Widows to scrap commission on low premiums

    15 Jan 2004

    Scottish Widows says the stakeholder charge cap has forced it to axe commission for some group pension business. It will no longer pay commission on new group personal pensions, occupational money-purchase and stakeholder schemes where there is no employer contribution or where the average premium per member is £100 or less a month. It will closely assess all new schemes with annual premium income of more than £250,000 before offering terms, to avoid businesses ...

  • 15th deal for Destini as it buys up Radnor

    15 Jan 2004

    IFA group Destini has made the fifteenth acquisition since its launch 13 months ago with the purchase of Swindon IFA the Radnor Group. The deal, for a mixture of cash and shares, adds the nine-RI business to Destini's growing portfolio of IFA firms which includes Fiona Price & Partners and former Sesame IFA Applewood Associates. Radnor specialises in administering pension schemes for companies with up to 1,200 members in their schemes. It gets around 35 per cent ...

  • 90% of members happy with IFAP efforts

    15 Jan 2004

    Nine out of 10 IFA Promotion members are satisfied with its efforts to promote the benefits of independent advice. A survey carried out by IFAP last year revealed that 91 per cent of its members are happy with its work while 67 per cent say their membership represents good value for money. The survey, which is based on written responses from 1,765 IFAP members, also shows that 82 per cent of consumer leads generated by the promotional body resulted in business for members. Sixty

  • A consumer's view

    15 Jan 2004

    Now that the dust has settled over the problem of Standard Life's solvency, one thing stands out very clearly. There is no question that the FSA is absolutely doing the right thing in imposing a new, tougher and more transparent accounting regime on the life companies. As long ago as the 1980s, a report by one of the major firms of accountants into the life insurance industry called for a new Insurance Companies Act. It pointed out that no two insurance companies ...

  • A crucial test for Standard and FSA

    15 Jan 2004

    You can almost sense the collective shiver running down the spines of IFAs across the country as Standard Life grapples with the FSA's new way of calculating financial strength. It has not been a very good couple of weeks for the giant Scottish mutual. But a few things are clear. The first is that the life office is not insolvent for regulatory purposes. But its capital base is clearly thinner than many of its rivals, having suffered more from stockmarket reverses ...

  • Abbey axe could fall on ScotProv

    15 Jan 2004

    The Abbey axe is hovering over Scottish Provident with 700 jobs in Edinburgh at risk, according to a leaked Abbey document. An announcement is likely to be made to staff this week on Abbey's current review and its effects on the Edinburgh-based life insurance operations. Around 730 people work in customer operations at the Edinburgh ScotProv offices and it is believed that the majority of jobs could be scrapped. Abbey for intermediaries media relations manager ...

  • Abbey consolidates 40 customer service centres

    14 Jan 2004

    Abbey has finalised details of its strategic review, aimed at improving customer service and boosting the efficiency of its operations through concentrating on larger customer service centres.Abbey is slashing its 40 UK service sites to move to five major locations in which there will be £25m invested over the next three years. These are in Belfast, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Bradford and Glasgow, the latter of which will absorb 900 employees from Abbey's ...

  • Accounting for change

    15 Jan 2004

    I cannot believe reports in the papers about what is happening with pensions. As a nonregulated accountancy firm, is there anything we should be doing for ourselves but, more important, is there anything we should be doing for our clients? Chancellor Gordon Brown is not prepared to discuss the £1.4m lifetime limit. He has asked the National Audit Office to look into the number of people affected and we will not know the answer until the 2004 Budget. The answer will determine ...

  • AMI guides firms through cold-calling regulations

    15 Jan 2004

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has produced a factsheet on cold-calling for its members, clarifying the FSA's position as regulation on cold calls is scheduled for this year. Cold-calling will be banned once statutory regulation starts in October but the AMI's guide concentrates on what intermediaries will be allowed to do with regard to cold-calling. This could be lead-generation through market research, where, for example, a consumer has ticked a box ...

  • AMI help members seek appointed representative status

    14 Jan 2004

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has introduced a new service to help its members seek appointed representative status.Many organisations are declaring their intention to offer become mortgage network principals and are now recruiting Appointed Representatives, but the FSA has decided not to pre-authorise networks.The FSA will be issuing "minded to authorise" letters following preliminary checks on networks. However, formal notices may not be sent out until 4 to 6 ...

  • An education in communication

    15 Jan 2004

    We have an industry embroiled with working on developing products, imp-roving the regulation surrounding products and reviewing the legislation within which our industry works. But are we missing the point? Of course we need to get the infrastructure of our industry right and we have to welcome all moves to improve. Yes, reviews, consultation papers and Green Papers will all help our industry but this has been focused on the detail. Whose eyes have not glazed over when ...

  • Arc Fund Management - Arc EIS Fund 2

    19 Jan 2004

    Type: Enterprise investment schemeAim: Growth by investing in at least four unquoted companies at the early stage of developmentMinimum investment: Lump sum £2,000Investment split: 100% unquoted companiesOpening/closing date: January 2, 2004/April 3, 2004Charges: Initial 2.5%, annual 0.5% Commission: Initial up to 3%, renewal 0.33%Tel: 020 7623 3345

  • Arresting warrants

    15 Jan 2004

    One year on from the launch of covered warrants in the UK, the market has made considerable progress. However, warrants have come under sustained criticism from a small number of commentators for a slow take-off. Much of this criticism has focused on comparisons of the size of the UK market with those in Europe and beyond. The product was launched into what proved to be very difficult market conditions, particularly for retail products. In addition, in the UK there were already ...

  • Asset allocation puzzles three-quarters of savers

    15 Jan 2004

    Nearly three-quarters of investors do not understand the meaning of asset allocation, says JP Morgan Fleming. In a survey of 578 savers and investors, only 27 per cent correctly defined asset allocation as the way in which a portfolio is spread across different types of investment. Nine per cent thought it referred to borrowing money to spread risk while 6 per cent said it related to giving away possessions as a tax dodge. Three per cent said it was investing only in ...

  • Axa PMI hekps self-employed

    14 Jan 2004

    AXA PPP HEALTHCAREIndependent Health CoverType: Individual private medical insurance planMinimum-maximum ages: 18-no maximumMinimum premiums: Bronze plan £9.51 a month, silver plan £14.12 a month, gold plan £14.45 a monthMaximum benefits: No maximumCover provided: Inpatient and day patient cover - hospital charges consultant/specialists fees diagnostic tests MRI/CT/PET scans, radiotherapy/chemotherapy, psychiatric ...

  • Axa says markets must rise for years to restore bonuses

    15 Jan 2004

    Axa Sun Life has slashed payouts on its former Equity & Law conventional life and pension policies despite rising stockmarkets last year. The regular bonus rates for 2003 and interim rates for 2004 have been cut to 2 per cent from 3 per cent in 2002. The cuts affect around 10 per cent of Axa's with-profits policies, with the main bonus declaration taking place in March. An Axa Sun Life, former Equity & Law, conventional endowment savings policy taken out by ...

  • Bankhall buys Pru loan club

    15 Jan 2004

    Bankhall has bought Prudential's mortgage club Premier Mortgage Services for an undisclosed sum thought to be between £4m and £8m. The deal was finalised last week. Prudential had been in negotiations with the Skipton Group over the sale of its mortgage club and Network Data is also believed to have been in the running. PMS will become part of Bankhall mortgage arm Point One. The combined membership of the two companies is expected to be more than 15,000 ...

  • BBB and Inter-Alliance announce merger talks

    20 Jan 2004

    Berkeley Berry Birch and Inter-Alliance Group are in discussions which they say could lead to a merger of the two companies. If the discussions are successful the new group would trade under the BBB brands.The two companies say there can be no certainty that a merger will ultimately take place, but a decision is likely to be made before the end of March.

  • Blue-chip firms concerned over paying pensions

    15 Jan 2004

    One in five finance directors of the UK's biggest companies are worried about making future pension payments to retired staff, according to research from Prudential UK. The data reveals that 30 per cent of finance directors are concerned about the need to make cash injections into pension funds, while 20 per cent are worried about the increased mortality risk associated with their schemes. Although 65 per cent of finance directors believe the financial strength of ...

  • Bonus of contention

    15 Jan 2004

    As part of my latest series looking at the best ways to extract funds from a private company so as to make minimum payments to the authorities, I began last week to consider the topic of dividends. Taking the example of a company paying corporation tax at the rate of 19 per cent which wishes to utilise £10,000 for the benefit of its shareholding director, who is a 40 per cent taxpayer and earning above the employee's upper earnings limit, I showed that the position in ...

  • Bristol & West - Family Protected Savings Plan

    20 Jan 2004

    Type:Capital-protected unit-linked endowmentAim:Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, S&P 500, Nikkei 225 and Swiss Market IndexMinimum sum assured/premium:£2,250/£25 a monthTerm:10 yearsReturn:Up to 85% growth in indicesGuarantee:Original capital returned in full at end of term regardless of performance of indicesClosing date:March 15, 2004Commission:£80Tel: 0845 ...

  • Bristol & West launches into offset

    14 Jan 2004

    Bristol & West has announced that due to customer demand it is revamping its easyflex product range and relaunching it as an offset mortgage.The new offset range will include a tracker mortgage at Bank of England base rate plus 0.69 per cent, a two-year capped rate product guaranteed not to rise over 5.99 per cent until 31 March 2006 and a £1m plus mortgage at 4.34 per cent.Head of marketing Dominic Toller says: "With its competitive rate solutions and exciting new ...

  • Butterfield Private Bank recruits network of managers

    16 Jan 2004

    Private client specialist Bank of Butterfield has announced ambitious expansion plans to recruit a nationwide network of business development managers. The new managers will work on building relationships with financial advisers.

  • Can't see scandal for the trees

    15 Jan 2004

    The FSA's inaction over structured products may be a case of the regulator being unable to see the misselling scandal for the consultation papers. It was warned in 2001 by IFA Kerry Nelson that there were serious problems with structured products. The responding letter from chairman and chief executive Howard Davies discussed consumer alerts and press notices warning of the risks and drew attention to the FSA's monitoring of financial promotions. Today, ...

  • Cavanagh puts the case for professionals

    15 Jan 2004

    Cavanagh chief executive Andrew Fay is looking to build on the professional focus of business after the group's takeover of Ernst& Young Financial Management. Fay says he wants to exploit the synergies of the two companies. Cavanagh is strong in the legal sector in London and the South and is now targeting lawyers in EYFM's traditional territory. EYFM, which will be branded Cavanagh, has focused on advising the accountancy profession in Scotland and the North ...

  • Change of name but same term deal from NU

    15 Jan 2004

    This may take some time but as regular followers of this type of letter will find, once I spot something that smells, I do not like to rest until it has gone. When I first came into the profession (and I suggest you all get used to that word), there were two types of insurance - term and whole life. Everything else was a derivative. Endowment was a reducing term with a savings scheme attached or a level term with a savings scheme. Reducing term did just that, family income ...

  • Chelsea chooses GMAC-RFC for sub-prime offerings

    14 Jan 2004

    The Chelsea Building Society is now have sub-prime mortgage offerings for customers falling outside its lending criteria. It is using 'non-conforming' products from GMAC-RFC.The firm says the decision to introduce customers to GMAC-RFC was taken after lengthy research of the non-conforming lending market, following a number of approaches from different lenders.It says the agreement with GMAC-RFC will augment, not replace, the Chelsea's existing non-conforming ...

  • Chris Regan

    15 Jan 2004

    Chris Regan left the family bullion business in London's Hatton Garden to enter financial services but still has a golden touch. After joining Woolwich Building Society as an IFA from Royal London in 1989, Regan progressed rapidly to become one of the driving forces behind Woolwich IFA Services. As managing director, he saw the number of Wifas advisers grow from 79 to 400 within three years. Wifas became the second-biggest IFA company by turnover at its peak, with ...

  • Christows makes conversion to ETFs

    15 Jan 2004

    Christows has converted three offshore funds of investment trusts to onshore funds of funds that invest mainly in exchange traded funds. David Franklin, who managed the three offshore funds, will run the onshore funds.The funds will also hold investment funds and quoted securities and can hold cash to reduce risk when markets are volatile. The managed growth fund is designed to outperform the FTSE All Share index, with an emphasis on UK equities and bonds although some investment ...

  • Close Brothers Investment - Close High Income Properties

    16 Jan 2004

    Type: Closed-ended fundAim: Income by investing in UK commercial propertyMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000, Isa £7,000Place of registration: Isle of ManInvestment split: 100% UK commercial propertyYield: 7.25% Isa link: YesCharges: Initial 5.25%, annual up to 2%Options: Available through self-invested personal pensions and small self-administered schemesCommission: Initial 3%Closing date: ...

  • Cobb focusing on the long view

    15 Jan 2004

    The trend for investors to chase short-term gains is creating excellent opportunities for fund managers willing to sit back and take a long-term outlook, says new Franklin Templeton Investments portfolio manager Martin Cobb. Cobb, who joined Franklin Templeton in December as a UK specialist, one of 53 analysts working within the group globally, says the long-term opportunities currently presenting themselves are some of the best that he has seen in his 12 years in the industry. He ...

  • Commercial First launches into all status market

    19 Jan 2004

    Commercial First Mortgages has launched a new commercial mortgage targetting the UK's SME business community.Commercial First says this new product will enable it to compete directly with high street lenders throughout the UK.The interest rate on the product starts at 2.5 per cent above LIBOR. It has a maximum loan size of £2m and loan to value of 75 per cent on advances of up to £500,000, 70 per cent on loans over £500,000 and a ceiling of 60 per cent ...

  • Correspondent's week

    15 Jan 2004

    I work from home. This means, many of you will assume accurately, reflecting my week, nothing more than converting big chunks of the TV Times into prose. This is a little harsh but, truth be told, I do generally watch a lot of daytime telly and this week was no exception. I do not want your pity. What I would ask of members of mainstream society is to understand that in a workmate vacuum, you would do the same. It is not about all the fantastic things you learn ...

  • Digest

    15 Jan 2004

    The Diary was remiss last week in not extending our condolences to Bob Monkhouse's family. Bob hosted three of our Money Marketing awards over the years, sharing his inexhaustible supply of gags with our industry. The 2003 awards ceremony performance was his finest. Among the jokes shared with the gathered financial services industry included a quip about national IFA Woolwich in which he said Wifas - sounded more like a fart than an IFA. We all thought it but only ...

  • Direct Life aiming for principal status as it starts network

    15 Jan 2004

    Direct Life and Pension Services is to seek principal status from the FSA as it starts a mortgage and insurance network. Sales and marketing director Richard Verdin says the new venture, Enable, will offer all the regular network services including a mortgage club and free mortgage sourcing, plus access to products from leading UK insurers, household insurance and income protection cover. Verdin says its mortgage protection products will include accident and sickness ...

  • Does HL have the credentials to be a tipster?

    15 Jan 2004

    I have been interested to note the amount of exposure that Money Marketing has given over the last few weeks to the wealth list published recently by Hargreaves Lansdown. The wealth list, for anyone not having read Money Marketing of late, is Hargreaves Lansdown's list of the 150 funds it considers to be worthy of consideration by investors, leaving the remaining 1,650 out in the cold. Given the amount of execution-only business which Hargreaves Lansdown produces, I am sure ...

  • F&C waives initial ISA charge

    16 Jan 2004

    F&C is waiving the £50 + VAT initial charge on its investment trust ISA.The offer runs from 1st January until 31st May 2004, meaning investors can invest up to £14,000, making the most of the current tax breaks available.Investors can choose to invest in up to any four of the ten F&C investment trusts in F&C's Investment Trust Maxi ISA. F&C Management is also offering investors transfer options for PEPs or ISAs into one or more of its investment trusts without ...

  • Fidelity's Bolton rethinks retirement

    14 Jan 2004

    Anthony Bolton, Fidelity's star fund manager, is to remain with the group beyond 2004, his planned retirement date. Bolton, 53, said two year's ago that 2004 would be his final year running Fidelity's flagship £2.9bn special situations fund and its £125m special values investment trust but he now says he will stay on past 2005. One of the UK's longest-serving managers, he has been running the special sits fund since 1979.

  • Five insurers successfully renew Raising Standards status

    14 Jan 2004

    Five UK insurers have had their Raising Standards status reaffirmed after going through a stringent examination and re-approval process.CIS, Eagle Star, Police Mutual, Scottish Widows and Zurich have all been re-accredited by the scheme's independent assessment body the Pensions Protection Investments Accreditation Board.PPIAB chief executive John Cox says: "With nearly two-thirds of the industry accredited and many now renewed - not once, but twice - and other brands ...

  • Five-year float plan for Interlink

    15 Jan 2004

    Interlink Premier Network is inviting members to participate in its flotation plans by making a minimum £5,000 investment. Interlink has sent a letter to its 188-RI membership and will push ahead with plans for a listing if there is enough interest. Chairman Jim Gaskin, who previously chaired Countrywide, will hold a meeting this month to outline a five-year plan to float the firm. But a number of Interlink IFAs say they had problems receiving commission in December ...

  • Foreign firms are looking to buy UK IFAs

    15 Jan 2004

    A new website designed to link buyers with IFA practices up for sale is attracting foreign firms looking at moving into the UK market. The brokers4sale site was launched by former financial services recruitment specialist Gary Medcraff in December and is said to have generated 600 hits in its first week of operation. Medcraff says he has been surprised by the response from firms interested in acquisitions, far outweighing the number interested in selling their businesses. The ...

  • From weak to strong

    15 Jan 2004

    Many advisers are currently re-evaluating their clients' with-profits investments. Despite the rally in recent months, the downturn in stockmarkets in recent years has taken its toll on the financial strength of with-profit funds, with various results. Some funds have closed to new business. Some have set bonuses to zero. Others remain open and continue to pay bonuses but will have to hold lower-risk/ lower return assets in their fund which will have a detrimental effect on ...

  • FSA called on to pre-vet ads

    15 Jan 2004

    The Financial Services Practitioner Panel has asked the FSA to consider pre-vetting advertising material. The panel says if the FSA is going to be firmer over advertising, as in the case of Chase de Vere which was fined £165,000 over its marketing of structured products in December, firms should be able to have it pre-approved. But the FSA says its rules make clear that it is a firm's responsibility to ensure its ads meet the FSA standards. Panel member ...

  • FSA cuts FSCS funding

    14 Jan 2004

    The FSA is cutting operational funding for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme by 4.8 per cent to £11,839,000 from 12,435,624. The regulator says the cut is due to increasing efficiency within the compensation scheme. FSCS head of finance Nick Gooderham says the reduction in the scheme's management expenses levy reflects further savings made by the scheme and a reduction in the number of pensions review claims the FSCS is expecting to handle ...

  • FSA fines Bank of Scotland £1.25m for money laundering rule breaches

    15 Jan 2004

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Bank of Scotland £1,250,000 for failing to keep proper records of customer identification as required by the FSA's Money Laundering Rules.The FSA's investigation confirmed weaknesses in BoS record keeping systems and controls across its retail, corporate and business banking divisions. In over half of the sample of accounts tested in late 2002, BoS had failed to retain either a copy of the customer identification evidence ...

  • FSA release final mortgage regulation rules

    20 Jan 2004

    The FSA is allowing mortgage intermediaries to use the same Key Features Documents as investment companies it has disclosed today.In a policy statement disclosing the final rules for mortgage and general insurance regulation the FSA has said it will allow firms to provide a KFD that complies with its investment business rules rather than a policy summary.Additionally, the regulator says it has revised its tacit renewals rules so that firms are allowed to renew contracts ...

  • FSA to probe accounting and monitor review of mutuality

    15 Jan 2004

    The FSA is to review Standard Life's accounting procedures and says it will monitor the life office's own strategic review into its mutual status. Independent experts will investigate the divergence between Standard's most recent calculation of liabilities and earlier figures. Protracted negotiations between the FSA and Standard over the interpretation of the new realistic reporting rules have concluded with the mutual forced to exclude the anticipated benefits ...

  • FSA workshops for loan and general regulation

    15 Jan 2004

    The FSA is to run a series of workshops around the UK aimed at helping firms prepare for the start of mortgage regulation in October 2004 and general insurance regulation in January 2005. The workshops will cover preparing for authorisation from January to July and separate introductions to the FSA for mortgage and general insurance intermediaries and for firms selling insurance as an ancillary activity from February to April. From April to June, the programme will cover ...

  • FSA worried at EU's consumer protection plan

    15 Jan 2004

    The FSA is concerned that an European Union draft directive covering unfair commercial practices could severely damage consumer protection in the UK. The draft Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is intended to prevent unfair commercial business practices against consumers across all business sectors. It is still in embryonic form but the FSA is so concerned about the possible impact that it has sent a 39-page response to the DTI consultation. The response is strongly ...

  • Get ready for electronic reporting

    15 Jan 2004

    In my last column, I focused on the achievements we have seen in industry e-commerce over the last year and looked forward to some of the benefits it would be reasonable to expect to arrive during 2004. If the business efficiencies achievable as a result of many of the new services are not sufficient to encourage advisers to put technology high on their priority list for 2004, may I suggest another reason - the onset of electronic regulatory reporting as currently proposed under ...

  • Halifax forecasts 8% rise for 2004

    15 Jan 2004

    House prices increased by 1.8 per cent in December compared with 1.1 per cent in November, according to Halifax's house price index. Annual price inflation for 2003 was 15.4 per cent compared with 26.4 per cent in 2002. Halifax predicts that prices will increase by 8 per cent this year. Prices in the North rose by 33.7 per cent in 2003, considerably more than gains of 14.6 per cent in East Anglia, 8.6 per cent in Greater London, 6.7 per cent in the South-west and 5.8 ...

  • Halifax revamp 'too complex'

    15 Jan 2004

    Halifax's newly relaunched core variable mortgage range has met with little enthusiasm from mortgage brokers who say it is over-complicated. The new range includes products for first-time buyers, homemovers and people looking to remortgage. Halifax says the revamp is all about choice, so movers can choose a low headline tracker rate with fees, a higher rate with no fees or a combination of both. For example, they could take out a two year tracker at 0.04 per cent above ...

  • Halifax set to make equityrelease debut

    15 Jan 2004

    Halifax is believed to be planning a launch into equity release in the next three to four months. Money Marketing understands that the UK's biggest lender is likely to move into the rapidly expanding market in the next few months, marking the first time a member of the HBOS group has made a foray into equity release. Halifax would follow other recent entrants including Standard Life Bank, which launched a product last November, and Mortgage Express, which entered the ...

  • High stakes

    15 Jan 2004

    The surge in high-yield returns has whetted appetites for an asset class that has historically delivered superior returns when global economies strengthen. With signs of economic and corporate earnings' recovery in all major markets, coupled with a decline in the number of defaults, many investors greatly increased their exposure to high-yield bonds in 2003. Those investors' enthusiasm and the difficulty in finding yield in higher-graded debt have driven down the yields ...

  • High-risk business

    15 Jan 2004

    The news that at least one major IFA urged the FSA to launch a review of structured products as far back as 2001 has led the industry to question the efficacy of the regulator. Although the FSA has come under fire before - most notably for its hand-ling of the splits' debacle - IFAs believe the current misselling scandal highlights what they suspect are institutional failings within the FSA's corridors. The main criticism is the amount of time that the FSA had to ...

  • HNWs seek alternative investments

    15 Jan 2004

    The high-net-worth market has changed significantly over the last three years, with a switch to alternative investments, says Market Dynamics Research & Consulting. The firm says the HNW sector is set to rise by 6.5 per cent this year but is unlikely to return to double-digit growth in the short term. Its research shows that the number of people in the HNW bracket - defined as those with over £250,000 in free investable assets - has fallen by 19 per cent from ...

  • Honours listless

    15 Jan 2004

    The Diary swelled with pride last week at the announcement that no less than 17 people involved in the financial services industry were honoured in the Queen's New Year's honours list. And only seven of them were employees of the Department for Work and Pensions, which means 10 genuine financial industry notables got merits for their work in the industry. Ok, well if you take out other civil servants such as post office and Treasury employees or Government committee members, ...

  • Hooper quits Charcol

    15 Jan 2004

    Charcol Holden Meehan business development director Graham Hooper has left the group. Hooper was instrumental in initiating Charcol's acquisition of investment IFA Holden Meehan last June, where he had been marketing director for two years after moving from Chase de Vere. He has spent the past six months helping to integrate the businesses and is leaving to seek other avenues of employment. He is thought to be keen to spend more time with his family after months of ...

  • Hop it hobbit

    15 Jan 2004

    Last week, the Diary did something it has never done before. It read something in its downmarket rival twice. The Diary was flabbergasted, discombobulated, even. Was there really a complaint from two hacks that after being treated to the premiere of Lord of the Rings 3, a PR executive had failed to deliver a taxi for them immediately? Surely a little too precious, my precious? The Diary suggests they get a sense of proportion about their status in life. We would hope ...

  • IBC measures up with performance event

    15 Jan 2004

    IBC Conferences is holding its second annual Performance Measurement, Risk & Attribution conference and exhibition in London next month. The event is being held February 23 to 26, at The Brewery. It includes a two-day conference of presentations, panels and interactive breakout sessions, along with a workshop introducing methodologies and risk-adjusted statistics as well as a free exhibition. The workshop takes place on February 23 and 24 and the conference and exhibition ...

  • IFAP puts out factsheet on ethical investment

    20 Jan 2004

    IFA Promotion is publishing a factsheet for investors wanting to find out more about socially responsible investment. The factsheet includes information on the benefits of ethical investment, company disclosure policies and how a specialist IFA can help. IFAP says it also dispels the myth that ethical investments cannot perform well. The factsheet also answers questions such as how to find out which companies have ethical policies and how fund managers define "ethical", ...

  • IFAs hope Standard continues to 'behave properly' towards policyholders

    14 Jan 2004

    On the brink of demutualisation Standard Life has announced it will be writing to policy holders who have taken out with profits policies in the current financial year, since November 16, to offer them the chance to reconsider the without penalty their investment decisions. Michael Philips proprietor Michael Both believes the demutualisation decision 'has been taken lightly' but questions why the company has gone down this route after many years of consideration.He ...

  • IFAs in steady switch to electronic business

    15 Jan 2004

    IFAs will transact at least £2.8bn worth of business a year electronically within five years, according to research from The Exchange. It questioned 350 firms on their attitudes to technology and the results show that 46 per cent believe more than half their business will be transacted electronically in five years and 42 per cent say 21-50 per cent of their business will be in that time. But 70 per cent say they do not believe they are getting the most from their ...

  • IFAs need defence against unjust decisions by the ombudsman

    15 Jan 2004

    Following my letter in the issue of October 30, 2003, I have received a number of responses from IFAs whose experiences would appear to reflect those of my client IFA. Inconsistency, inaccuracy and subjectivity would not appear to be limited to the decisions of the Financial Ombudsman Service in relation to the complaints against my client. In one complaint against my client, however, the FOS has refined this to an art form. It has actually upheld a complaint against my client ...

  • Independent view

    15 Jan 2004

    It has been a good year for our firm, even taking into account red tape and general regulation. Seriously, it has. Most IFAs I speak to say the same, particularly in the last six months. We have kept a close eye on staff costs and overall expenditure and that, coupled with client loyalty and a great team of staff, has resulted in a very satisfactory end to the calendar year. By natural changes in staff, we have improved the overall quality of the team with reduced costs and renewed ...

  • Inside edge

    15 Jan 2004

    This article is a bit of a stab in the dark. I remain confused about Jon Maguire's objectives and tactics. It is possible that my article and Jon's will pass like ships in the night. I have more questions than answers. Is the process being clearly spelt out? His course takes him through the various levels of the UK courts up to the House of Lords and then, ultimately, to the European Court of Human Rights. He cannot expect the authorities, in the event of a judgment ...

  • Insight picks Amex's Burgess for equity chief

    15 Jan 2004

    Insight Investment has recruited Mark Burgess from American Express Asset Management as its head of equities. Burgess, who is expected to join Insight in March, was chief investment officer at AEAM. He has also worked as the London-based global chief investment officer for Colonial First State and held a number of senior fund management positions during his time at Bankers Trust in Australia. He will be responsible for equity investment research and management across all markets. Chief ...

  • Investment analysis

    15 Jan 2004

    Equities started the New Year in much the same fashion as they ended 2003 until some very disappointing job numbers from the US and a shock statement from Shell on its level of reserves sent shares in Europe and the US into reverse. But the FTSE World index was still trading 1.9 per cent higher by the end of the week and, in spite of Friday's setback, investors remain confident that stocks will make progress over the next 12 months. It was a mixed start to the year for UK stocks, ...

  • Investment view

    15 Jan 2004

    I have not been too well lately. No, this is not an attempt at excusing myself for not having predicted the likely outcome for markets during 2003 sufficiently accurately. As those of you who have followed my musings on markets in the past will know, I am not big into forecasts. To put it bluntly, committing to paper where you consider a share or an index might end up in a few weeks or months' time is a mug's game. There are plenty of uncertainties in this life and more than a few ...

  • Isis Asset Management - Isis Multi-Manager Cautious Fund

    14 Jan 2004

    Type: Oeic fund of fundsAim: Income and growth by investing in Oeics, unit trusts, investment trusts and property funds Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 50% equity funds, 50% fixed interest funds and cashIsa link: YesPep transfers: Yes:Charges: Initial 5%, annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%,renewal 0.5%Special offer: Initial ...

  • ISIS report spotlights labour standards at ICT companies

    19 Jan 2004

    While information and communication technology companies have high standards in dealing with environmental issues their tackling of labour standards lags significantly behind according to ISIS Asset Management. The report into the management of social and environmental issues in the supply and disposal chains of ICT companies analysed 11 companies including Canon, Dell, Nokia and Phillips.

  • Julian Gibbs

    15 Jan 2004

    Very few funds in the UK all companies sector have been in the top quartile over each year from 2000 to 2003. The few are Fidelity special situations, GAM UK diversified, Marlborough UK equity growth, Lazard UK equity alpha and Rathbone special situations. I have just made an in-depth study of Lazard UK equity alpha. Since launch in December 1999, this fund has produced strong and sustained relative performance to give superior returns in rising markets while protecting investors ...

  • Kevin Duffy on mortgages

    15 Jan 2004

    Chancellor Gordon Brown appears to be showing little resolve in helping first-time buyers. How else can you explain some contradictory pre-Budget proposals and the disturbing findings of the simultaneously published Barker report? Working for Hamptons International, where our average property sale is over £600,000, you might be curious as to why FTBs should rank as significant. Well, it is these buyers who ignite chain reactions further up the ladder. Alarmingly, however, ...

  • L&G cuts critical rates

    15 Jan 2004

    Legal & General has moved to make itself more competitive in the critical-illness cover market, cutting its guaranteed rates by an average of around 8 per cent, breaking the trend in the market. Protection event director Ronnie Martin says the move should not be interpreted as a reversal of the trend for increasing premiums but as a "tidying up" for the new year. The change, which takes effect from January 18, relates to guaranteed rates on critical-illness products ...

  • L&G launches protection marketing material

    16 Jan 2004

    Legal & General is launching a new set of guidance cards that outline the opportunities for recommending key person cover, directors share protection and partnership protection policies.The life office's 2003 business intentions survey highlighted that half of the UK's small firms risk collapse within a year as the health of their key workers remains unprotected. But L&G says only a relatively small proportion of IFAs are active in this market. L&G managing director ...

  • L&G's protected plan offers 21% minimum

    15 Jan 2004

    Legal & General's latest capital-protected product is offering a minimum return of 21 per cent or 50 per cent of any growth in the FTSE 100 index, whichever is greater at the end of six years. Capital Protection Plus 2, which is available for a six-week period until February 27, has been given a low-risk rating by L&G. It says the minimum return is equal to a compound interest rate of 4 per cent a year for six years for a basic-rate taxpayer. L&G ...

  • Law firm predicts more challenges to FSA decisions

    15 Jan 2004

    The FSA will face more resistance to its investigations in the next year, claims a leading financial law firm. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain says IFAs and product providers will feel more confident to challenge the regulator through the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal. RPC says the tribunal disagreed fundamentally with the findings of an FSA investigation for the first time last year when it found the FSA was wrong to have withdrawn the approved status of stockbroker ...

  • Lawyer urges IFAs to fight watchdog

    15 Jan 2004

    A solicitor is calling on IFAs to band together and form a defence union to contest decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service. Glasgow lawyer Alasdair Sampson, of Drummond Miller, says the FOS appears to have adopted the principle that IFAs are not only responsible for the advice they give but also for a customer's decision not to follow that advice. He says the quality of the complaint handling process and the justice of decisions is being brought down by ...

  • Legg Mason looks to set up onshore US small cap fund

    15 Jan 2004

    Legg Mason is seeking FSA approval for an onshore version of its highly rated US small cap fund, which has returned 102 per cent since launch in November 2001. The new fund, due to launch in March, will be run by Chuck Royce, who manages the existing Dublin-domiciled fund through his New York-based company Royce & Associates, a Legg Mason subsidiary. Although there will be many similarities between the two, the onshore fund will invest primarily in 70-80 small and mid-cap ...

  • Lenders tighten up on self-cert

    15 Jan 2004

    Three more lenders have changed their self-cert criteria as the fallout continues from the controversy over the sector last year. West Bromwich Building Society withdraw its self-cert facility for loan over £250,000 last year, becoming the first high-street lender to take action after a BBC TV programme claimed that borrowers were being encouraged to falsify salary levels. The society now requires employed applicants for a self-cert mortgage to produce either their ...

  • Lighthouse advisers claim £1m bonuses

    15 Jan 2004

    National IFA Lighthouse chairman David Hickey says he expects to settle a law suit brought by nine IFAs who claim they are owed a total of £1m in bonuses agreed when they joined the firm. The case is being brought in the High Court by eight RIs who still work for Lighthouse and one adviser who has now left the firm. The claim relates to performance-related incentives that the advisers claim had been agreed when they joined the firm between 2000 and 2001. Lighthouse ...

  • Lighthouse shares for advisers

    14 Jan 2004

    Lighthouse is to offer shares to a vast majority of its advisers, making cash payments totalling £150,000 and issuing options of over 1.2 million shares at an exercise price of 1p each. This amounts to around 3.4 per cent of the issued ordinary share capital of Lighthouse Group. The options have an aggregate value of around £320,000 and can be exercised to 50 per cent on or after September 30, with the balance available on or after December 31.

  • Liv Vic holds unitised with-profits bond bonus rates

    20 Jan 2004

    Liverpool Victoria has announced it is holding annual bonus rates on its unitised with-profits income and growth bonds.The rates will remain at 4.25 on the with-profits income bond and 2.25 per cent on the growth bonds.Liv Vic says the current investment conditions have dictated the announcement, which also reflects the insurers financial strength.It's asset allocation mix in its with-profits fund is approximately 61per cent equities, 15 per cent property, 20 per ...

  • M&G - Strategic Corporate Bond Fund

    15 Jan 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income and growth by investing in corporate bonds and other fixed-interest securitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £10Investment split: At least 80% investment-grade bonds, up to 20% other fixed-interest securitiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1%, Isa annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 0800 328 3191

  • M&G uses tried and tested strategy

    14 Jan 2004

    M&G has unveiled the M&G strategic bond fund, an Oeic that will invest mainly in investment-grade corporate bonds.The fund was designed for Richard Woolnough, who has just joined M&G from Old Mutual. Woolnough spent nine years at Old Mutual, where he managed the corporate bond fund since its introduction in 2000. Data from Standard & Poor's shows this fund is ranked third out of 63 funds since launch based on £1,000 invested on a bid-to-bid basis ...

  • MarketPlace mortgage for first time buyers

    19 Jan 2004

    The MarketPlace at Bradford & Bingley is launching a first time buyer mortgage that allows purchasers to include their parents' income when calculating how much they can borrow. Funded by Bank of Ireland the product carries a two year 1.5 per cent discount giving a current pay rate of 4.29 per cent.The mortgage is available for loans up to 95 pr cent LTV, no valuation fee and no redemption penalties beyond the discount rate period. The product carries an arrangement fee of ...

  • MFS brings over US fund manager for roadshows

    15 Jan 2004

    MFS International UK is to hold roadshows across the UK for intermediaries, focusing on its US growth equity and US market prospects funds. The seminars, lasting around an hour, will be held in Newmarket, Birmingham, Manchester, Harrogate, Bristol, Bournemouth and London between January 13 and 16. MFS International UK, a subsidiary of Boston-based MFS Investment Management, says US growth equity fund associate portfolio manager Peggy Adams will be speaking at the roadshows. UK ...

  • Midlands IFA offers residential property in pension now

    14 Jan 2004

    Midlands IFA Central Financial Planning is offering a pension arrangement that allows company directors access to direct investment in residential property. CFP says the Self Invested Benefit Arrangement has mandatory Inland Revenue approval because it follows special rules contained in the Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

  • Mortgage 2000 - Mortgage Express Investment Buy-to-Let Discount - 5 Years

    20 Jan 2004

    Type: Discounted rate buy-to-let mortgageDiscounted term: Five yearsDiscount: 0.61%Payable rate: 4.99%Minimum loan: £60,000Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £300,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000, up to 70% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1mIncome multiples: Monthly rental income must be at least 310% of mortgage repaymentsArrangement fee: ...

  • Mortgage Express offers fees-free remortgaging

    20 Jan 2004

    Mortgage Express is offering a fees-free remortgage deal on selected Buy-to-Let products.The deal will be available through mortgage clubs and networks and offers free valuation and payment of legal fees when a Mortgage Express solicitor panel is used. Additionally, there is no completion fee on these products.For a typical remortgage this deal equates to a saving of approximately £920.The deal offers an initial tracker rate of 4.99 per cent, which is 0.51 ...

  • Mutual friends and foes

    15 Jan 2004

    IFAs are split over the prospects of losing a mutual. Some advisers say a flotation of Standard Life will make the life sector less competitive. Others see flotation as a way to give Standard the flexibility to compete. Hargreaves Lansdown head of pension research Tom McPhail says: "Standard will probably demutualise in about two years but it would be a great loss to the sector to lose its biggest mutual. A plc's principal objective is to take as much cash off customers ...

  • Nationwide - 2 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

    14 Jan 2004

    NATIONWIDE2-Year Fixed Rate MortgageType: Fixed-rate mortgage Fixed term: Two years Fixed rate: Up to 95% of valuation 5.49%, up to 90% of valuation 5.09%, up to 75% of valuation 4.99% Minimum loan: £1 Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £200,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £300,000, up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £400,000, up to 80% of valuation ...

  • Neptune joins Cofunds

    19 Jan 2004

    Five Neptune Asset Management funds have been added to fund supermarket Cofunds.Neptune's equity income, global equity, European opportunities and UK equity Oeics are now available on the platform, along with its balanced unit trust.It is the fourth platform Neptune, formerly Orbitex, has joined, following its deals with Transact, Selestia and Skandia.

  • No penalties on Skipton 10-year fixed mortgage

    15 Jan 2004

    Skipton Building Society is offering a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage with no redemption penalties. This is Skipton's first entry into the long-term fixed-rate market. The loan is fixed at 5.99 per cent until March 31, 2005, increasing to 6.24 per cent until March 31, 2014. The loan then reverts to Skipton's variable rate with a 0.75 per cent discount. The mortgage is available at up to 95 per cent loan to value, with free MIG up to 90 per cent LTV. Unlimited ...

  • Northern Rock - One-Year Discount

    19 Jan 2004

    Type:Discounted-rate mortgageDiscounted term: Until March 1, 2006Discount: Up to 95% of valuation - 4.65%, up to 85% of valuation - 4.75%Payable rate: Up to 95% of valuation - 1.09%, up to 85% of valuation - 0.99%Minimum loan: £1Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m, up to 85% of valuation ...

  • Nottingham BS temporarily withdraws from remortgages

    16 Jan 2004

    Nottingham Building Society has announced that it has temporarily withdrawn from the remortgage market with immediate effect.The society says this is a temporary measure as a result of its withdrawal of its 3 year discounted rate mortgage. It says that following this withdrawal it received an overwhelming number of applications, and is asking intermediaries using its service to contact their regional development managers for case updates.

  • NPI tells WP investors to contract out of its fund

    15 Jan 2004

    NPI is recommending that all its with-profits policyholders stop making contractedout payments into the fund because it is unlikely to outperform the state scheme. A letter to clients seen by Money Marketing gives three options, none of which involve remaining in the NPI with-profits fund. They are redirecting future National Insurance contribution payments to other NPI unit-linked funds, going to another pension provider or contracting back into the state system. NPI ...

  • NU announces new business figures for 2003

    20 Jan 2004

    Norwich Union's long term savings new business figures for 2003 show it is running a steady ship, with UK total life and pension sales at £266 million annual premium equivalent for the fourth quarter down from £277 million ape for the same period in 2002. UK life and pension sales for 2003 dropped slightly to £1,068 million ape from £1,231 million in 2002 and total UK sales for the year, including investment sales, was £6,550 million down from £7,400 ...

  • NU cuts payouts by up to 10%

    15 Jan 2004

    Norwich Union is cutting policy payouts by up to 10 per cent although its with-profits fund saw a return of 11.5 per cent last year. The company has maintained many of its regular bonus rates. However, conventional Norwich Union Life and Pensions life and investment policies with terms of 20 years or more will see payouts cut by 5 per cent although payouts for 10and 15-year terms are unchanged. Commercial Union and CGNU life and investment payouts will drop by between ...

  • Nvesta - Secure Tracker Plan

    15 Jan 2004

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment:£3,000-£2m, £7,000 IsaTerm: Six yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of the performance of the indexReturn: Up to 101% growth at end of termClosing date: February 27, 2004, February 20, 2004 for Pep/Isa transfersCommission: Initial 3%, ...

  • ODPM says house inflation fell in November

    14 Jan 2004

    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's house price index for November reveals that annual house price inflation fell to 9.7 per cent in November from 12.1 per cent in October. It says that the average house price was £159,480 in November down from £161,567 in October. Annual house price inflation in London was 5.2 per cent in November, down from 6.2 per cent in October.

  • Out of context

    15 Jan 2004

    •"I think it's time for me to find a new boyfriend." - AITC PR executive Jemma Jackson expresses disappointment with the dressing gown and slippers she received for Christmas. •"You don't need a passport but you do need protection." - Scottish Widows head of marketing Peter Jordan on a forthcoming trip to Wolverhampton. •"First I nibble off the top and then I hoover out the insides." - Norwich and Peterborough head of communications Alison Rolls explains ...

  • Outside edge

    15 Jan 2004

    You are an IFA. You have done nothing wrong. As you sit having a coffee and reading that morning's post, into your office walk a man and a woman. They say they are from the FSA, that they are here to demand files and that if you don't agree to their request they will withdraw your licence to trade. They have arrived to investigate you for misselling. You ask them to define misselling. They reply: "Don't worry. We know it when we find it." What is this? ...

  • Pantheon buys IFA Fraser Anderson

    15 Jan 2004

    Leeds IFA Pantheon Finan-cial has bought Gloucestershire firm Fraser Anderson and Partners. Fraser Anderson has been providing comprehensive financial and wealth management advice to private and corporate clients for over 30 years. The acquisition brings Pantheon's staff to 70 in a network of seven offices throughout the UK. Pantheon chief executive James Kaberry believes there is great synergy between the two businesses. Fraser Anderson's corporate clients ...

  • Premier Fund Managers - Premier Growth Plan: Limited Editions no 14

    14 Jan 2004

    Type: Capital-protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£1m,Isa £5,000-£7,000Term: Six yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full provided index does not fall by more than 50% and returns to at least its initial levelReturn: 7% at the end of year one if the index is at or aboveits initial level, 14% at the end of year ...

  • Price takes on new recruitment role

    15 Jan 2004

    Fiona Price has resigned as joint managing director of Fiona Price & Partners after the firm's acquisition by the Destini group, to concentrate on a new role in recruitment and acquisitions. Partner Anna Sofat becomes managing director. Price will become a non-executive director. Price & Partners was bought by Destini in November last year, the 12th purchase by the group since its launch. Price is moving to a role within the Destini group, which will involve recruiting ...

  • Prudential in discussions over Egg

    14 Jan 2004

    Prudential is in discussions over a possible transaction with respect to Egg, in the light of Egg's share price movement today.Prudential says that such discussions are at a preliminary stage and there is no certainty that any agreement will be reached.Prudential currently holds 79 per cent of Egg.

  • PYV says IFAs are opting for wider PI cover

    15 Jan 2004

    A major IFA PI broker has found that although the FSA's provisions for solving the PI crisis have "greatly eased the burden", an increasing number of IFAs are taking additional cover from a second PI provider to help cover big excesses. Broker PYV operations director Neil Pointon says that IFAs are investing in extra protection over regu-latory requirements to cover growing excesses. Following CP193, published last July, the FSA has eased rules, allowing some well ...

  • Recent with-profits policyholders can reconsider - Standard Life

    14 Jan 2004

    Mutual insurer Standard Life has revealed policyholders who have taken out with-profits policies since November 16 will have the chance to reconsider in the light of yesterday's announcements. It has said it will be writing to policyholders who have taken out with-profits policies in the current financial year "to offer them the chance to reconsider, without penalty, their investment decisions".Yesterday Standard announced it is to undertake a strategic review, ...

  • Regulate the regulator, says Kennedy

    15 Jan 2004

    Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy wants to cut the burden of red tape for small businesses by establishing an independent body to regulate the FSA. Speaking at a business forum hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales this week, Kennedy pledged to help SMEs escape red tape and bureaucracy. Kennedy said he intends to champion an independent centre for regulatory assessment that would force the regulator and Whitehall to jump through hoops ...

  • Reid all about it

    15 Jan 2004

    As many people who know me will testify, I am seduced by gadgets. This Christmas was no exception. I only remembered that my car lease was up when the company called to see if I wanted to keep the car. I have to declare that cars are not my burning passion, so going out to find a new one held little appeal. However, having been lost in Surrey one too many times, I decided that a satellite navigation system held a lot of appeal. This basis of purchase is what used to be ...

  • Sainsbury's signs with L&G

    19 Jan 2004

    Sainsbury's has entered a partnership with Legal & General to sell life assurance through its supermarkets.The move marks Sainsbury's first jaunt into non-advised term assurance. As well as through its supermarkets Sainsburys will sell the product on the internet and over the phone.This sees the first time L&G has tied to a supermarket as part of its direct marketing operation, which also includes Barclays Bank, National Australia Bank and Chelsea Building Society.Sainsbury&#

  • Scottish Life launches online benefits solution

    20 Jan 2004

    Scottish Life has launched a new online benefits solution for SMEs. Works4u is an online employee benefits administration platform designed to help SMEs offer a wider range of employee benefits options available through Scottish Life's Retirement Solutions group pensions.

  • Sesame has best intentions for multitie panel

    15 Jan 2004

    Jumping the gun on impending depolarisation, Sesame has pledged to develop the best multi-tie panel in the market. Commercial director Martin Davis says the network will have failed its 6,000 members - around a quarter of the marketplace - if it does not use its weight to develop a good multi-tie panel to provide "the best products from the best providers with proven levels of service". Davis sees depolarisation and the development of a multi-tie panel as a chance to ...

  • Share and share alike

    19 Jan 2004

    THE SHARE CENTREPersonal Retirement AccountType: Full SippMinimum investment: Lump sum £780, £117 a monthInvestment choice: All Inland Revenue permitted investments except commercial propertyOptions: NoneCharges: Set up fee £120, annual £80-£160 depending on fund valueCommission: Subject to negotiationTel: 01296 414541The Share Centre's Personal Retirement Account is a self-invested ...

  • Skandia prepares for A-Day rush with s32 launch

    15 Jan 2004

    Skandia is entering the section 32 buyout market for the first time as it anticipates huge demand ahead of A-Day. The provider is adding an s32 plan to its single-priced pension range aimed at IFAs looking to ringfence tax-free cash and death benefits before the new pension tax regime comes in. IFAs have welcomed Skandia's launch of a single-charged s32 plan in a market where many providers still offer pre-stakeholder contracts with bid/offer spreads. Skandia ...

  • Skipton Building Society - Flexible 10 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

    16 Jan 2004

    Type: Flexible fixed-rate mortgage with discountDiscounted term: Until March 31, 2005Discount:0.25%Payable rate: 5.99%Fixed term: Until March 31, 2014Fixed rate: 6.24% Minimum loan: £5,000Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £200,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £300,000, up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £400,000, ...

  • Standard Bank Offshore stages lock in

    16 Jan 2004

    Standard Bank offshore has created a guaranteed equity bond that locks in 25 per cent growth if the FTSE 100 index rises by 25 per cent at any point during the five-year term.Equity growth deposit is available to investors with at least the £10,000 minimum and it returns investors' original capital regardless of how the index performs. In addition to the possibility of locked-in growth, investors get 75 per cent of the remaining growth. For example, ...

  • Standard stand-off leads to mutual review

    15 Jan 2004

    Standard Life is taking the first step down the road to demutualisation after six weeks of bruising negotiations with the FSA over its financial strength, with a recommendation of whe-ther it should float expected by the summer. In a shock move which sees Standard chief executive Iain Lumsden stepping down to make way for Standard Life Investments chief executive Sandy Crombie, the life office has announced a strategic review following talks with the FSA about the implementation ...

  • Standard's WP fund is a 'dead parrot', says Cazalet

    15 Jan 2004

    Standard Life's with-profits fund is like a "dead parrot resting" and is effectively closed in practice, says independent insurance analyst Ned Cazalet. Cazalet is predicting that bonuses, payouts and equity weightings will be cut in the wake of Standard's strategic review which will consider demutualisation. He says it effectively looks as though the firm has closed the with-profits fund and that it will now be "trading further down the scale". Cazalet ...

  • Sun Bank rebrands as The Mortgage Works

    15 Jan 2004

    Portman Building Society subsidiary Sun Bank is being rebranded as The Mortgage Works this week. Portman group manager (intermediary marketing) Richard Farr says there will be similarities between the branding of Sun Bank and The Mortgage Works. He says the change has been made through necessity rather than desire. After its acquisition by Portman in September 2001, the FSA told Sun Bank it could not have the word bank in its name as it was no longer trading ...

  • Synaptic quits quotes in deal with Exchange

    15 Jan 2004

    A deal between IFA technology providers Synaptic Systems and The Exchange will leave just three major players in the quotations and new business services market. Synaptic will bow out of the quotations and new business sector to concentrate on developing research software. The move will leave The Exchange with 18,500 users, Assureweb with 16,000 and Webline with 9,000. The deal gives Synaptic's 10,000 users desktop access to the Exweb service and The Exchange's ...

  • Talkback

    15 Jan 2004

    "There have been numerous contributions over the decline of the sector, not just Paul Smee." Ian Potter, Jackson Potter Advisers "Absolutely. Time and time again, the industry is slighted and these people contribute nothing to add value or help us. They are under the illusion that we are a profession but as yet we have not proved to be one." Ian Jones, Ian Jones & Associates "Yes, I think he has." Robert Lundon, Argyll Financial Services "No. He tends ...

  • Tenet launches new mortgage network

    19 Jan 2004

    Tenet is launching LIME (Lifetime Insurance Mortgage Experts) as an extension of its existing mortgage network.Tenet says LIME will provide advisers with professional indemnity insurance support, life assurance and general insurance panels, mortgage and general insurance sourcing software, marketing and business development support and FSA application assistance as well as exclusive mortgage products and regular training.Chief executive Simon Hudson says: "I believe LIME ...

  • Thames River Capital - Thames River Hedge +

    15 Jan 2004

    Type: Closed-ended fund of hedge fundsAim: Growth by investing in hedge funds and related investmentsMinimum investment: Lump sum £3,500Place of registration: GuernseyInvestment split: Distressed 19%, multi-strategy 18%, equity hedge US 17%, merger arbitrage 10%, equity hedge global 9%, fixed income arbitrage 8%, convertible arbitrage 4%, credit 4%, trading 4%Charges: Initial up to 2%, annual 1.5%, performance ...

  • The bill is adding up

    15 Jan 2004

    Don't hold your breath for the Pensions Protection Fund and New Kind of Regulator as the Department for Work and Pensions' new bill looks set for a couple more days' delay with the workers voting for a strike later this month. It seems that either Andrew Smith isn't paying them enough or the effect of statements of the value of a civil service pension are not enough to keep the brothers from calling everybody out. Beset by rumours of a dearth of willing legislators ...

  • The right route to regulation

    15 Jan 2004

    With the final mortgage rules now published and applications for FSA authorisation opening this month, everyone who receives enquiries about mortgages must be giving serious thought to their future status. Direct authorisation? Principal? Appointed representative? Introducer only? The choice will be influenced strongly by the question of how best to source compliance support, either in house or provided by a network. Many businesses will be confident enough of their own compliance ...

  • Tory MP makes fourth bid for annuity reform

    15 Jan 2004

    The latest bid to end compulsory annuity purchase started last week with the first reading of a private member's bill from Conservative MP Adrian Flook. The bill is the fourth attempt to change the law on annuities in as many years following attempts by Tory MPs Sir John Butterfill, David Currie and Edward Garnier. The latest move has cross-party support, with former welfare reform minister Frank Field and Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb both ...

  • Turn-round as IFAs back move to rethink status

    15 Jan 2004

    IFAs have overwhelmingly backed Standard Life's decision to consider demutualisation despite having championed its policyholders' rejection of a carpetbagging attempt three years ago. Seventy-three per cent of respondents in a poll of 117 Positive Solutions RIs say they endorse the move, a massive reversal from early 2000 when 89 per cent of IFAs supported policyholders who voted for Standard's mutuality. The majority of Assureweb users have also thrown their ...

  • Unipass bringing in charges for portals

    15 Jan 2004

    Unipass is to introduce charges of up to £100,000 for IFA portals and product providers using its digital certificate system this year. Standards body Origo, which runs Unipass, is introducing the charges to cover future costs. Until now, providers have acted as sponsors for the system, paying £50,000 each annually to cover the running costs. But Origo managing director Paul Pettitt says the group has decided it wants to "introduce a more equitable system" ...

  • Watchdog says IFAs will bear brunt of big rise in structured complaints

    15 Jan 2004

    The Financial Ombudsman Service is expecting a further increase of structured product related complaints this year, with IFAs receiving the higher proportion as more bonds reach maturity. Head of communications David Cresswell says complaints against IFA firms tend to come after those against providers. In its half-year estimates published last week, the FOS says it expects its structured product caseload to reach 6,000 before the end of the tax year, up from the 4,500 ...

  • WPA takes professional view

    19 Jan 2004

    Western Provident Association has designed an individual private medical insurance plan for professional people such as barristers and doctors.With professional health, pay 25 per cent of the cost of a claim up to the amount they select at the outset - £1,000, £3,000 or £5,000. This is designed to reduce premiums, but unlike excess, policyholders will not be responsible for the full cost of treatment up to their specified limit.The ...

  • Zurich Life renamed Reassure UK

    19 Jan 2004

    Recently acquired Zurich Life has now been renamed Reassure UK Life Assurance Company Ltd, with the change taking effect this week.Zurich Life was acquired by reassurer Swiss Re in a deal sealed in November.Swiss Re says the name change is to avoid confusion for customers, saying it is important the company has a new identity to separate it from the Zurich Financial Services Group.

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