Money Marketing
14 May 2003

  • 'Equity-release may help buy homes for children'

    15 May 2003

    Parents releasing equity from their home could be the answer to the problem of affordability for first-time buyers, according to Britannia Building Society non-executive director Professor Bridget Rosewall. Speaking at the Building Societies Association annual conference in Harrogate, Rosewall said one way of combatting the growing exclusion of FTBs from the housing market is for parents to use equity-release products to fund their children's property purchases. She highlighted ...

  • 'IFA market share under pressure in depolarisation'

    15 May 2003

    Big financial institutions could take away up to 18 per cent of IFAs' overall market share in the next five years, according to Datamonitor research. It questioned a panel of 100 IFAs in February and March to produce the UK Independent Financial Advisers 2003 report about the future for IFAs in a depolarised world. Datamonitor wanted to examine advisers' reaction to regulatory change and their relationship with product providers. Its findings have led report author and ...

  • 'Independents beat big lenders on loan cover'

    15 May 2003

    Customers are paying a high price to insure their mortgage repayments, according to latest research from online insurance broker Rhino Insurance. Its research shows that customers are paying an average £5.78 per £100 monthly benefit for mortgage payment protection through major lenders when they could be paying, on average, £3.95 by using an independent broker. Rhino says protection for a loan of £115,000-£120,000 which would typically have a repayment ...

  • 'Philanthropy is key to building a good reputation'

    15 May 2003

    Providing advice on making tax-efficient donations to charity can help IFAs build their reputation with clients, according to experts. Speaking at a seminar hosted by The Giving Campaign in London last month, Barclays executive director Heather Maizels, Rockefeller & Co managing director Kathryn McCarthy, Capital Guardian Trust Company president John Emerson and personal investment counsellor Bente Strong put the case for IFAs to prompt clients about giving to charity. This ...

  • 'Pivotal ages don't swing decision now'

    15 May 2003

    Contracting out on the basis of pivotal ages is no longer justified because rebates are so low, according to Scottish Equitable pensions development director Stewart Ritchie. Ritchie told a packed audience at Money Marketing Live at London's Olympia that cli-ents could still want to contract out on other grounds such as mistrust of the state meeting its pension promises. Advisers might recommend contracting out where the shape of benefits made it worthwhile such as men wanting to ...

  • 'Test products in similar way to medicines'

    15 May 2003

    Financial services products should be stress-tested in the same way as pharmaceutical products to reduce the risk of providers paying compensation, says FSA managing director of regulatory processes & risk directorate Carol Sergeant. The low level of financial literacy of most consumers means that providers must stop launching over-complex and faulty products or face renewed misselling actions in the future, Sergeant told senior life office and banking executives at the Ernst & ...

  • £25m drive to promote direct pension payment

    15 May 2003

    The Department for Work and Pensions is planning to spend £25m over three years on an ad drive aimed at people who still get their benefits or pension in "the old fashioned way". It is sending out 13 million letters and running TV, radio and press ads advocating direct payment into bank, building society and Post Office accounts. This will gradually replace pension books and giros as a means of payment. The DWP says 43 per cent of people already have their pension or benefits ...

  • 170 staff lose benefits as DB scheme is wound up

    15 May 2003

    An insolvent Edinburgh engineering firm has wound up its final-salary pension scheme leaving over half its 230 members with no benefits. A £6m hole in Blyth & Blyth Consulting Engineers' scheme leaves 170 deferred members without any pension and 60 retired members facing a cut in their existing pensions. One member who retired after the firm collapsed has lost all his benefits after 30 years' service. The plight of the firm led Scottish Equitable pensions development ...

  • 20 pc of insurance brokers could go says Bankhall

    14 May 2003

    Bankhall has estimated that up to 20 per cent of general insurance intermediaries could go out of business once statutory regulation begins on January 15, 2005.

  • 35 jobs may be axed as Widows reviews marketing

    15 May 2003

    Scottish Widows has concluded a strategic review of its marketing operations which could bring up to 35 redundancies over the next two months, according to sources close to the provider. Money Marketing understands the results of the review were presented to staff last week with the message that up to 35 jobs in its 180-strong marketing department could be lost. Widows says it is premature to consider redundancies and is looking to redeploy staff. It says there are currently ...

  • 69% of firms forecast rise in sales through intermediaries

    15 May 2003

    Financial services companies predict an increasing amount of their future sales revenues will come from intermediaries, according to figures from the Financial Services Forum. The FSF asked banks, building societies, life and pensions firms and fund managers where they thought increases in future sales would come. It questioned 34 companies about each sales channel and asked whether they thought sales would increase or decrease in that area. The research shows that 69 per cent ...

  • A critical time for IFA unity

    15 May 2003

    All will be familiar with Prudential's decision to go slow on new business processing and then not stand by its quotations but to effectively leave its entire pipeline - some 48,000 people they told us - high and dry. From that point on, our approach at LifeSearch has been that Prudential should compensate us for our wasted time and our clients for the problems incurred by what was obviously an emergency measure on Prudential's part, caused by inadequate new business underwriting ...

  • Action groups want judicial review unless watchdog speeds up Equitable claims

    15 May 2003

    Two Equitable Life member action groups are considering taking the Financial Ombudsman Service to a judicial review unless the processing of their misselling compensation claims is speeded up. Equitable Late Joiners' Action Group vice-president Paul Weir says there are still around 2,500 complaints with FOS and the group will take it to judicial review if there is not movement "very soon indeed". Equitable Members' Action Group chairman Paul Braithwaite says it is also considering ...

  • AIG Life adds to fund range

    14 May 2003

    AIG Life has promoted ten specialist investment funds to its best of breed Active Access fund range and demoted four others for under performance or different investment objectives.

  • Anderson quits Yorkshire to join Jobcentre Plus

    15 May 2003

    Yorkshire Building Society chief executive David Anderson is leaving to become chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. Anderson joined the society in 1987 as marketing director from PA Management Consultants, where he specialised in financial services. He became Yorkshire chief executive in 1996, overseeing double-digit growth for most of his tenure.In 2000, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford for services to the ...

  • Another bonus blow from AMP

    15 May 2003

    AMP's already shaken with-profits policyholders have been struck another blow after being told many of them can expect no bonuses of any kind in the future. The latest news follows AMP's announcement earlier this month that under its plans to demerge its UK and Australian operations it would also move its with-profits funds out of equities. Policyholders received a letter last week advising them of the changes and outlining to London Life with-profits fundholders that ...

  • Are IFAs past their sell-by date?

    15 May 2003

    Last year's acquisition bonanza has virtually fizzled out, leaving parent-seeking IFAs left without buyers. After three years of bear markets, prospective buyers no longer have big appetites for making acquisitions and there is a glut of IFAs looking to sell, stemming from concerns over the costs of administration, regulation and professional indemnity insurance. Aegon has so far been the most acquisitive provider, buying three IFAs and taking major stakes in two others while collecting ...

  • Axa scraps postcode system for PMI products

    15 May 2003

    Private medical insurance provider Axa PPP healthcare is setting up an underwriting process which will help them gain more accurate information on their potential policyholders. The group wants to abandon its "one-price-fits-all approach", called a postcode lottery as it is based on where the policyholder lives and bears no relation to lifestyle. It says the new rating method will allow it to lower the cost of medical premiums by off-ering customers insurance at a price that reflects ...

  • Bin there

    15 May 2003

    The Diary hears that bursts of My Old Man's A Dustman can be heard at the Bristol offices of Hargreaves Lansdown when investment supremo Mark Dampier walks in. Rumour has it that Damps' career ambition was to be the man standing on the footplate of a dustbin lorry, whistling as he tossed bins full of rubbish into the jaws of the masher and scooping up the tips come Christmas time. The Diary is reliably informed that Dampier applied to the council for a job as a dustman but was ...

  • Brown keeps the crown of power

    15 May 2003

    Chancellor Gordon Brown takes the top spot in this year's Money Marketing Power & Influence in retail financial services list for the second year. Brown, the architect of the FSA, claims the crown ahead of outgoing FSA chairman and chief executive Howard Davies and Bank of England Governor Sir Eddie George in second and third respectively. The second annual list provides an in-depth analysis of the people who have shaped today's financial services market and who will ...

  • Buy-to-let yields rise

    15 May 2003

    The downward trend of buy-to-let yields has finally halted,says Paragon Mortgages. Its buy-to-let index for April shows demand for properties from homebuyers has slackened, giving landlords the chance to buy more cheaply. Yields rose to 7.99 per cent last month after steadily dropping in 2001 and 2002 to a low of 7.91 per cent in January. Paragon Mortgages says, over the 15 months to January, prices paid by landlords for rental properties rose by 30 per cent in line with house ...

  • BWD caps top performing fund

    19 May 2003

    BWD Rensburg has capped its UK micro-cap growth fund after it reached its objective of £20m within seven months of launch. BWD says the fund, which is up 39.56 per cent against a sector average of 8.18 per cent since October, is being capped because of the relative illiquidity of the companies it invests in. It will not close, however, meaning investors who exit the fund can be replaced. 

  • Can they bake a cheery PI?

    15 May 2003

    An IFA who is having to close his doors and lose his livelihood after 30 years due to having no PI cover was overheard saying: "Asylum seekers have greater human rights in the UK than IFAs do." I can sympathise as my own medium-sized firm has had no PI cover for several weeks. At renewal, my insurer had closed to all new business. Last week, I finally got compliant cover - at a price and with an excess of £25,000 per claim. This amounts to self-insuring as the average claim in ...

  • Cash has dash

    15 May 2003

    Cash plans are one of the fastest-growing healthcare products in the marketplace but IFAs are not utilising them as effectively as they could. Although cash plans are predominantly sold direct to the public through call centres and the internet, product providers assert that they are a useful tool for supplying clients with a comprehensive protection package. Most cash plan providers agree that the product is not a substitute for private medical insurance. In the perfect protection ...

  • Chet Helck

    15 May 2003

    Chet Helck, president and chief operating officer of US financial services group Raymond James Financial, is enthusiastic about the potential of the UK market. He is determined that the company will succeed in its efforts to build a brand name through a small but growing IFA business and a wealth management tool that IFAs can use to service the needs of their clients. In fact, so enthusiastic is Chet - short for Chester - that he does not hesitate to compare what RJF is introducing ...

  • Close moves in on property

    14 May 2003

    CLOSE PROPERTY INVESTMENT PROPERTY INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO Type: Offshore fund of funds Aim: Growth or income by investing in property funds Minimum investment: Lump sum £11,000, $15,000, euros 16,000 Place of registration: Isle of Man Investment split: Choice of freehold income trust, capital appreciation trust, active commercial estates plc, healthcare and leisure property fund, Close high income properties plc Yield: ...

  • Compliance service on net from Group 300

    15 May 2003

    Adviser services provider and IFA network Group 300 is offering a desktop compliance solution called I-Comply which it says will bring IFAs instant compliance processing. Group 300, formerly the Advice Store Group, is a national network of 60 member firms with around 200 RIs. The new software allows advisers to have their compliance work checked by an expert connected to their computer over the internet. Cambridge-based Group 300 can access an adviser's desktop to help them ...

  • Critical axe falls on three at Pru

    15 May 2003

    The axe has fallen at the Prudential, with three senior members of staff losing their jobs following the storm of controversy which greeted its fateful decision over critical-illness cover last month. Director of product development Richard Field, director pensions & protection Richard Taylor and senior protection product manager Keith Bevan all left last week. A statement from the Pru confirms their resignations. Sources close to the company say they were considered to be ...

  • Critical point

    15 May 2003

    A month on from Prudential's critical illness debacle and IFAs are still fuming. When the Pru gave IFAs a day's notice that it would retrospectively raise critical-illness premiums by around 50 per cent, affecting some 50,000 applications, the industry was in an uproar, claiming the firm had irrevocably damaged its reputation and compromised IFAs' relationships with their clients. In an attempt to rectify the situation, the Pru issued IFAs a compensation deal of £75 ...

  • Drawn-out illustration

    15 May 2003

    Friday April 25 (lunchtime): fax quote specification for an investment bond to Sun Life, naming the particular fund to which the money is to be allocated. Monday April 28: No sign of illustration. Tuesday April 29: No sign of illustration. Phone Sun Life to ask why. No one knows anything about it. Fax specification again with a request that the illustration be delivered by hand that day as our office is only four miles from our local Sun Life branch. Illustration eventually arrives ...

  • DWP figures show Govt is failing to encourage more saving

    15 May 2003

    Despite Government pled-ges to encourage more savers, latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that households are still not saving money. Statistics produced by the Family Resources Team for 2000/01 for the DWP's ninth annual report were gathered from 25,320 private households. The results back industrywide predictions that the Government's initiatives to encourage more people to save are not working, with figures suggesting that 56 per cent of households ...

  • Exploding IFA myths

    15 May 2003

    I recently took up an invitation by the London Insurance Market Professional Indemnity Forum to provide a more comprehensive ins-ight into the IFA market to help in its continual quest for education and to challenge a few commonly held myths about IFAs. It was quite clear from the outset that the insurance market representatives were cynical about our market but also had similar views about other professions such as solicitors, accountants, architects and surveyors, who are also finding ...

  • FSA needs to live up to expectations

    15 May 2003

    AMP's plans for its UK business present the FSA with the ultimate test of whether anyone should expect anything from policyholders' reasonable expectations. If alarm bells were not ringing when the original AMP "Henderson" split was announced, they are now, as NPI policyholders have been told their with-profits policies are now simply bond and property investments - not for sound investment reasons but because such investments require less capital backing. They have also been ...

  • FSA says IFAs don't see how low inflation affects advice

    15 May 2003

    The FSA is concerned that some IFAs do not understand the effect that a low-inflation, low-equity-return environment has on the advice they should give. Speaking at the Ernst & Young Financial Services Summit in Edinburgh last week, managing director (regulatory processes & risk directorate) Carol Sergeant said long-term planning adv-ice should stress the importance of reducing debt capital in an era of low inflation. She told delegates that advisers and consumers who chose ...

  • FSA says suitability means affordability

    15 May 2003

    Concerns over the exact nature of the suitable mortgage advice demanded by FSA consultation paper 146 were raised at the BSA conference. FSA manager of mortgage policy Susan de Mont tried to clarify the situation, saying that for a mortgage to be suitable it must be affordable. She said the consumer's opinion is all-important as the most suitable mortgage is the one they think has the most important price features. But MCCB chief executive Luke March is concerned that this ...

  • FSA set to relent on trust crossholdings

    15 May 2003

    FSA managing director John Tiner appears to have conceded that proposals to limit investment-trust crossholdings to 10 per cent would be a severe blow to fund of funds business. Speaking at a breakfast briefing in London last week, Tiner said the FSA is aware of industry concerns that the proposals, published in CP164 in January, could spell the end for investment trust funds of funds. He said the challenge for the FSA is to find a way round this, a remark interpreted by many to ...

  • FSA's pill sticks in the throat

    15 May 2003

    As a long-term Partick Thistle supporter, I am used to the feelings that many West Ham fans have been enduring recently. Some years ago, we were losing a match 4-0, only to win 5-4. As the team trooped off the pitch, one fan shouted: "You guys should carry a Government health warning." If I ever want to recreate such a feeling of despair, I just buy the weekend papers. Recently, they carried articles based on the comments of our latest consumer champion at the FSA, Anna Bradley, who ...

  • FSSC drops compulsory retesting

    15 May 2003

    The Financial Services Skills Council has dropped its plan to force IFAs to seek annual or biennial retesting in the face of massive industry opposition, opting instead for a voluntary regime. Chief executive David Jack-man said industry feedback has been positive but only if retesting is voluntary. Responsibility for training and competence was outsourced to the FSSC in January when it was set up by Jackman, who was FSA head of industry training. Jackman says he has dec-ided to ...

  • Future Films offers five film deal for investors

    15 May 2003

    Film funding vehicle Future Films is launching five feature film projects available to UK investors. The first of the films, a romantic comedy called Laws of Attraction starring Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan, is set to start shooting in June. It will be made in the UK and Ireland by director Peter Howitt of Johnny English and Sliding Doors fame. Twenty per cent of funding for each film will come from private investment and 80 per cent from borrowing. Investors are entitled ...

  • Future in hands of Jobsworth and Tickbox

    15 May 2003

    It is depressing to observe that, after establishing my IFA business for eight years, with a subsequent 12 years as an appointed representative of a big network, neither the public nor the Government retain any confidence in my business. Irrespective of the raft of legislation regulating the financial services sector, this sentiment must have been enhanced by the implosion of leading companies, many staggering on the edge of bankruptcy with annual losses exceeding £2bn. Not ...

  • Gartmore cuts US fund charge

    15 May 2003

    Gartmore is aiming to attract investors to the opportu-nities presented by a potential comeback in the US economy by offering a 2 per cent discount on its initial charge of 5 per cent for its US fund. The fund firm is also offering a discount on its headstart scheme for children. Until August 29, lump sum investments will be free of the usual 1 per cent dealing charge. The deal on the US fund, managed by Simon Melluish and Ben Walker, applies to all lump sum investments and runs ...

  • General quotas

    15 May 2003

    Most IFAs are relaxed about the FSA regulation on selling general insurance products but things will not be as simple for general insurance intermediaries, with some facing FSA regulation for the first time. The FSA's CP160, Insurance Selling and Administration: The FSA's HighLevel Approach to Regulation, is due next month. Intermediaries must be registered by January 2005 but regulation will start in January 2004. As an incentive to register early, the FSA is offering a ...

  • Goodfellow takes chair

    15 May 2003

    Skipton Building Society chief executive John Goodfellow has been elected as chairman of the Building Societies Association. He takes over from Britannia Building Society executive vice-chairman Graham Stow, who held the post for the past year. Goodfellow's former role as BSA deputy chairman will be filled by Stroud & Swindon chief executive John Parker. Goodfellow has been chief executive of Skipton for 12 years. He says: "I am delighted to be taking over as chairman ...

  • Government should encourage reuse of empty homes says Halifax

    19 May 2003

    More than 90 per cent of people want the Government to actively reduce the number of empty houses in the UK, according to the latest Halifax survey.

  • Goy Harris Cartwright - Defensive Equity Growth Plan

    14 May 2003

    Type: Capital protected bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £5,000-no maximum, £3,000-£7,000 Isa Term: Five years Guarantee: Original capital returned in full providing index does not fall by more than 50% and returns to at least its starting level Return: Between 25% and 65% growth at end of term Closing date: June 20, 2003 for direct investments, June 10, 2003 ...

  • Horlick says equities at cheapest level since 1959

    15 May 2003

    The price of fixed interest is too high but equities are at their cheapest level since 1959, says SG Asset Management chief executive Nicola Horlick. Horlick told the summit that loss of confidence in equities has forced pension funds and other institutional investors into fixed interest, which has fuelled unrealistic prices. She said examining equity prices since 1850 showed there are two sorts of bear markets - those related to technological revolutions, which last between three ...

  • HSBC offers early release triggers on FTSE plan

    15 May 2003

    HSBC is offering a structured product linked to the FTSE 100 which features a series of early release triggers which return investors' full capital plus growth after three or five years. The capital and growth plan offers investors 100 per cent growth in the FTSE over six years, with the final return based on the average level of the index over the final 12 months. But if the FTSE has grown by 21 per cent or more by its third anniversary, the plan will close, with investors ...

  • HSBC signs up five fund providers

    19 May 2003

    HSBC has signed up five fund providers to sell their funds through its high street branches. In addition to offering its own products it will now provide investment advice on funds from Fidelity, Gartmore, Invesco Perpetual, JPMorgan Fleming and Schroders.

  • IFAs on fast track for mortgage regulation

    15 May 2003

    IFAs will be fast-tracked thr-ough the application process to become regulated to give mortgage advice, according to the FSA. FSA manager of the mortgage policy team Susan de Mont said a more "streamlined" process is being designed for IFAs than for non-regulated mortgage brokers. She said the FSA is already familiar with IFAs' profiles and so will not require as much information from them as it will from firms not already regulated. De Mont said the regulator will be publishing ...

  • Independent view

    15 May 2003

    I have just returned from some Easter skiing in Canada in something of a state of shock. There are financial advisers in North America who advertise regularly on national TV. Before you say: "So what?", just think for a moment - Britain doesn't. The fact that Canada has a considerable number of adviser firms advertising speaks volumes. It tells us that these firms can afford the TV time, even in this market downturn. It tells us that their levels of remuneration will fund ...

  • Inheritance tax - good news all the way

    15 May 2003

    Once again, another Budget passes with no significant changes to the inheritance tax regime, the nil-rate band simply rising in line with inflation to £255,000. On the surface, IHT seems to be the forgotten tax as far as Gordon Brown is concerned but perhaps if we dig a little deeper we can detect a reason for this. Since Labour came to power in May 1997, the level of the nil-rate band has increased by 18.6 per cent whereas average house prices have increased by 84 per cent, ...

  • Inside edge: Peter Dornan

    15 May 2003

    Equities came under the spotlight again last week after one of the UK's leading insurers announced that its withprofits funds would no longer invest in shares. The move prompted further heated debate on the wisdom of equity investment and has left many IFAs considering whether to advise their clients to avoid equities as a long-term investment. I certainly believe current market conditions should make both providers and advisers reconsider their attitudes towards this asset class. ...

  • Insight merges global and Euro fixed-income desks after chief quits

    15 May 2003

    Insight Investment is merging its global and European fixed-income desks following the resignation of head of global fixed income Peter Geikie-Cobb. Insight made the move after Geikie-Cobb, who runs the £30m global bond fund which was launched last September, told the company that he is joining a boutique fund manager in August. The fund will by taken over by Frank Burke, who has been part of the fixed-income team at Rothschild Asset Management since 1994. RAM was bought ...

  • Inter-Alliance buys Dubai IFA

    14 May 2003

    Inter Alliance WorldNet (IAW) has bought Dubai-based IFA Globaleye Group. Globaleye chief executive officer Tim Searle has been appointed as IAW Middle regional director and will co-ordinate the company's recruitment campaign in the Middle East.

  • Invesco splits functions

    15 May 2003

    Invesco UK is realigning its business into three core functions in a bid to reduce overlap following the splitting of parent company Amvescap last year into two divisions, Aim and Invesco. From this week, Invesco UK, which has almost £20bn under management, will be divided into functions concentrating on investment, operations and distribution. Chief executive Rob Hain believes the move will enable the business to focus more clearly on client needs and its ability to deliver ...

  • Investment view

    15 May 2003

    Last week we had the interest rate equivalent of the triple witching hour. Three monetary policy committees, three decisions. In the event, none of the central banks - Europe, the US and our own Bank of England - chose to vary the rates already set. No one was much surprised either. The case for cutting rates in the UK has been undermined by the weakness of sterling. Aside from the fact that lower interest rates might accelerate the speed of the pound's decline, the expectation ...

  • Is final whistle about to blow?

    15 May 2003

    Last week, I introduced the latest Inland Revenue contribution to the debate on the tax treatment of dividends received by non-working or insufficiently working spouses and partnership profits received by similarly non- or insufficiently working partners, usually spouses. I would like to look at examples given of where amounts received by the non-worker could, in the Revenue's view, be assessed on the worker under the settlements legislation. The following comes substantially from its ...

  • Is final whistle about to blow?

    15 May 2003

    I am the finance director of a UK listed company employing over 500 staff, all of whom are members of the final-salary scheme. I have become increasingly alarmed at the number of final-salary schemes that are closing to new members or winding up. What is causing this situation and what should I do regarding our scheme? A number of factors have caused the current situation to develop. Some of these are the result of Government reforms to pension law and changes to the accounting ...

  • J O Hambro Capital Management - European Select Values Fund

    15 May 2003

    Type: Ucits Aim: Growth by investing in European mid-caps, including the UK Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000 Place of registration: Dublin Investment split: 100% in European mid-caps, including the UK Charges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5% Tel: 020 7747 5642

  • J O Hambro Capital Management - JOHCM European Fund

    19 May 2003

    Type: UcitsAim: Growth by investing in European blue chips and mid-capsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: 100 per cent in European blue chips and mid-capsPlace of registration: DublinCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 020 7747 5642

  • JOHCM fund spins Eurotop 300

    19 May 2003

    J O Hambro Capital Management has unveiled the JOHCM European fund and has renamed its existing fund of that name the JOHCM continental European fund.The new European fund differs from the previous fund in that it invests in Europe including the UK. Both funds are run by the same fund manager, Rod Marsden. Marsden joined J O Hambro in September 2001 after previously working at Sanwa Asset Management - first as an associate director, then as head of Pan-European equities. He ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    15 May 2003

    The average UK corporate bond fund now yields 4.1 per cent while the average UK equity income fund yields 4.5 per cent and has much more scope for capital appreciation at current levels. I believe investment-grade corporate bond funds are much overpriced and are dangerous investments at present because the Government is issuing over £47bn of gilts this fiscal year - 80 per cent up on last year. This oversupply is likely to lead to lower gilt prices. Investment-grade bonds ...

  • Key Retirement says equity release can ease worries for elderly homeowners

    15 May 2003

    Key Retirement Solutions is highlighting the merit of equity-release schemes following a British Medical Association report claiming that many homeowners are being made ill over concerns about their homes. The BMA report says worry about being unable to afford the upkeep of their properties is making many homeowners ill and KRS believes this to be a particular problem among the elderly who are often living on low incomes, with six out of 10 pensioners living on or below the poverty ...

  • Key to the door

    15 May 2003

    Just as the major industry quotation portals are positioning themselves to be anything but just portals, a small company is making significant progress in attracting IFA users by sticking to its core proposition. More than 18,000 registered users give The Exchange a dominant position as a provider of portal services to advisers. Its CTP and ExWeb systems generate something in the order of 100 million quotations a year. It has been clear for some time, however, that The Exchange, now ...

  • L&H answers budget with launch of 25-year loan

    19 May 2003

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society is launching a 25 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.39 per cent in response to the budget, which called for the development of a long term mortgage market..

  • Liberty Ermitage - Liberty Ermitage Gold & Resources Fund

    16 May 2003

    Type: Offshore Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in gold & precious metal stocks and specialist gold funds Minimum investment: Lump sum $15,000, £10,000, euros 15,000 Place of registration: Bermuda Investment split: 32% large caps, 15% mid caps, 12% small caps, 29% specialist gold funds, 3% financing, 9% cash Charges: Annual 0.5% Commission: Subject to negotiation Tel: 01534 615500

  • Liberty Ermitage discovers golden opportunities

    14 May 2003

    Liberty Ermitage has established an offshore Oeic that aims for capital growth by investing in gold and precious metals.The Liberty Ermitage gold & resources fund will invest in a combination of gold & precious metal stocks and specialist gold funds. Large caps comprise the largest weighting in the portfolio at 32 per cent, while specialist gold funds follow at 29 per cent. The rest of the portfolio is invested in small caps, mid caps, cash and financing the mining process.Liberty ...

  • Lifesearch says clients feel betrayed and will shun Pru

    15 May 2003

    The overwhelming majority of clients of national broker Lifesearch say they will never buy another Prudential product after the recent debacle over its protection business. The firm says 93 per cent of clients affected by the Pru move last month to raise premiums and remove guarantees on pipeline critical-illness business say they will never use the provider for protection again. But perhaps even more significantly, 87 per cent say they will not use the Pru for any area of business. No ...

  • Merve takes an ethical swerve

    15 May 2003

    Some of my friends see managing the stars of the Halifax/ Bank of Scotland advertising campaign as a cushy job and it can be a lot of fun but it can also be stressful and is definitely not 9 to 5. With a team of just two people - myself and the most organised lady I know, Charlotte Haigh - managing five existing star colleagues and now eight new ones, life is never dull. With a week to go before the new TV ad for our personal loan products goes on air, things are getting hectic. It ...

  • Most pensioners in the dark over free nursing care

    15 May 2003

    The vast majority of pensioners and their families do not know if they are entitled to free nursing care from their local authority, according to longterm care specialist the Care Funding Bureau. It reports that following the publication in February of the Health Service Ombudsman's damning report on the guidance on eligibility of patients for NHS-funded care, 85 per cent of the subsequent phone calls it received were from people who did not know where they stood. Of the 280 ...

  • National Savings and Investments - Guaranteed Equity Bond (Issue 5)

    15 May 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £2,000-£1m, £2m for joint investmentsTerm: Five yearsGuarantee: Capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: Up to 65% of growth in index at end of termInterest rate: 3.25% gross a year until June 16, 2003Closing date: June 16, 2003Commission: NoneTel: 0845 971 5401

  • National Savings and West Brom BS hit FTSE trail

    15 May 2003

    National Savings and Investments and the West Bromwich Building society have both introduced FTSE 100-linked guaranteed equity bonds with a five-year term. The National Savings and Investments guaranteed equity bond offers 100 per cent capital protection, whatever happens to the index. If the index increases by up to 65 per cent, investors get all this growth. But if the index increases by more than that, they still get 65 per cent. To calculate the final return, the average daily ...

  • Nationwide BS rewards members with savings bond

    19 May 2003

    Nationwide is launching a new three year fixed rate bond to celebrate the passage of 50 years since the Queen's coronation.

  • New chief executive at Yorkshire Building Society

    14 May 2003

    Iain Cornish is to take over as chief executive of the Yorkshire Building Society on July 1.

  • New Star goes steady with strategic bond fund

    20 May 2003

    New Star International has added the strategic bond fund to its range of Dublin-domiciled Oeic funds.The fund aims for growth and income of 5 per cent a year by investing globally in a portfolio of US-denominated Government bonds. The portfolio will contain investment-grade Government bonds rated AAA to BBB and high-yield Government bonds rated BB and below. The majority of the investment-grade bonds will be US treasuries, but will also include US-denominated bonds issued ...

  • New Star International - Strategic Bond Fund

    20 May 2003

    Type: Offshore Oeic Aim: Income and growth by investing in US-denominated Government bonds Minimum investment: Lump sum $5,000, ?5,000, £3,500 Yield: 5% a year Investment split: 35% US, 31% Latin America, 22% Europe, 6% Asia, 6% other Place of registration: Dublin Charges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.3% Tel: 00 353 1475 8000

  • New Star International - Strategic Government Bond Fund

    20 May 2003

    Type: Offshore Oeic Aim: Income and growth by investing in US-denominated Government bonds Minimum investment: Lump sum $5,000, ?5,000, £3,500 Yield: 5% a year Investment split: 35% US, 31% Latin America, 22% Europe, 6% Asia, 6% other Place of registration: Dublin Charges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.3% Tel: 00 353 1475 8000

  • Northern Rock - Fifty:Fifty Issue 21

    19 May 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bond and high-interest account GUARANTEED EQUITY BONDAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,500 Term: Five years Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term regardless of performance in indexReturn: Up to 70% of growth at end of term Closing date: June 11, 2003 HIGH INTEREST ACCOUNT Minimum-maximum investment: £2,500-£2m ...

  • NU exits small group stakeholder market

    15 May 2003

    Norwich Union is withdrawing group stakeholder products for companies with fewer than 20 employees to focus on bigger, more profitable corporate schemes. It will no longer offer its Group Your Pension product range because of falling activity levels in the small to medium-sized business sector. NU will now offer a series of individual stakeholder pensions for employers with fewer than 20 employees. New entrants and increments to existing Group Your Pension and Group Your Pension ...

  • nvesta - Quad Tracker Plan 2

    14 May 2003

    Type: Capital protected bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£2m, £7,000 Isa Term: Six years Guarantee: Original capital returned in full providing index does not fall by more than 40% Return: Up to four times the increase in the index subject to a maximum of 80% Closing date: June 30, 2003 for direct and Isa investments, June 23, 2003 for Pep and Isa ...

  • nvesta - Super Tracker 35 Plan

    16 May 2003

    Type: Capital protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£2m, £7,000 Isa Term: Six yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full provided index does not fall by more than 40% and returns to at least its starting levelReturn: Between 35% and 100% growth at end of termClosing date: June 30, 2003 for direct and Isa investments, June 23, 2003 for Isa and Pep ...

  • Old-European economies set for growth says US commentator

    19 May 2003

    Old European countries which opposed the conflict in Iraq look to make good investment opportunities according to leading US markets commentator Ken Fisher.

  • Only one in 10 make home improvements to add value

    15 May 2003

    Only one in 10 English and Welsh people make home improvements to increase the value of their property, according to a survey by Halifax. Thirty-one per cent said they carried out work to improve their standard of living and 35 per cent said to improve the look or design of their home. The top five most popular home improvements are new flooring at 51 per cent, garden makeovers at 47 per cent, double-glazing at 33 per cent, a fitted kitchen at 32 per cent and a new bathroom at ...

  • Opra wasting time and money says consultancy

    19 May 2003

  • Out of context

    15 May 2003

    •"Does the planet Zog come to mind?" - Unnamed IFA to Financial Services Consumer Panel chairman Colin Brown at the LIA conference. •"We don't hunt in packs." - Aifa director general Paul Smee. •"I don't know what's going on, I've lost all of my mojo." - Scottish Widows senior marketing consultant Mark Locke. •"I was fairly worried by the number of songs I recognised, but I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy his next album." Selestia ...

  • Outside edge: David Ferguson

    15 May 2003

    With the world's media winding down operations in Iraq, it seems likely that the next few months will see renewed scrutiny on Western economies and their stockmarkets. How timely. Or is it? It seems on the face of it that the UK and US markets are over the worst but I wonder how much of this is due to a post-war false dawn rather than any improvement in the investment fundamentals over the short/medium term. In the UK, the reality is that there remains much doubt regarding the ...

  • PI mutual gets FSA go-ahead

    15 May 2003

    The FSA has given its official blessing to a new professional indemnity mutual insurer for IFAs, the first new entrant to come to market since the PI crisis escalated last year. It stems from underwriting agency PI Direct buying rival Magian and launching Magian Mutual which will only sell to IFAs. In its first year, it plans to underwrite premium income of £15m, increasing to £25m by year three. FSA head of investment firms David Kenmir says it is a good move for ...

  • Policyholders' interests under threat after AMP bonus warning

    15 May 2003

    IFAs are calling for the FSA to ensure that policyholders' interests are protected following AMP's revelation that future bonuses will be zero for many UK with-profits fund policyholders. Hargreaves Lansdown head of pension research Tom McPhail says it would be constructive for the industry to see the FSA taking a strong and early lead on any issues concerning policyholder payouts. Syndaxi Financial Planning principal Robert Reid says the regulator has been conspicuous by ...

  • Product matters

    15 May 2003

    Skandia Investment Man-agement is aiming to be at the top of the tree for IFAs seeking multi-manager solutions and, with the increasing amount of competition in this sector, it needs to demonstrate an edge to win IFA business. SIM's actively managed funds proposition is built on seven key principles, all of which are important but three of which I think are key differentiators to what is available from most of the competition. First, it adopts the hybrid approach to multi-manager ...

  • Pru business vow

    15 May 2003

    I have just read with disgust that some IFAs would even contemplate doing business with Prudential in the future. It is no wonder these big companies feel they can ride roughshod over us and get away with decisions such as the one made by Prudential if we do not stand united, take a stance and stay clear of them. Personally, I have vowed never to place any form of business with Prudential again. KI Sives Director, Hughes & Company (Financial Services),Newtownards,County Down

  • Pru is set to slash range to focus on profitable clients

    15 May 2003

    Prudential intends to scale back dramatically on the number of its products and focus its marketing efforts on what it claims are profitable client segments. The company will simplify its product range from its current 770 products to develop a simpler range in four areas - annuities, bonds, group pensions and Isas - which will be its core business by 2005. Speaking at the Ernst & Young Financial Services Summit in Edinburgh, Prudential UK & Europe chief executive Mark ...

  • Questions remain as AMP heads for home

    15 May 2003

    AMP is effectively packing its bags and going home, leaving many questioning what it means for UK investors and what will happen to the remnants of the company. AMP plans to demerge its business by the end of the year along geographical lines, creating an Australian company to carry on the AMP name and a UK arm picking up the Henderson brand. The Henderson brand will initially consist of fund firm Henderson Global Investors, IFA Towry Law, fund supermarket Ample and life businesses, ...

  • Regulation set to force rethink for small firms

    15 May 2003

    Regulation will hit many smaller players in the mortgage market, fears MCCB chief executive Luke March. At the BSA conference, March revealed that in 2002 there were 7,814 firms with only one member of sales staff. He predicts these will become unauthorised introducers of new business, leave the market or join mortgage networks. March said the demands and costs of regulation from October 2004 will inevitably mean that many firms leave the market. Some firms may join the networks, ...

  • Rising number of investors now using IFAs, says IMA

    20 May 2003

    Almost half of investors have sought advice from an IFA for their investment decisions this year, according to the Investment Management Association. The IMA's ninth annual survey reveals that 46 per cent of investors have used an IFA since January, the highest yet recorded. Forty-four per cent of those said they prefer to pay fees for advice, with £46 per hour the amount they would be prepared to pay on average.

  • Roadshows to focus on Sipps

    15 May 2003

    Selestia is running a series of joint pension road-shows with Hornbuckle Mitchell trustees focusing on the future of Sipps and the building of personalised pension portfolios using asset allocation and fund selection. Beginning in London on May 19 and running until May 30, the roadshow will also be held in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Hemel Hempstead and Guildford. Head of investment marketing Graham Bentley says: "The sessions will concentrate on ...

  • Safety nets for 40% downside

    15 May 2003

    Structured product provider Nvesta is launching the latest two in its series of index tracker plans, offering downside protection if the FTSE 100 falls by up to 40 per cent. Quad Tracker Plan 2 is a six-year plan which offers four times the growth in the index up to a maximum of 80 per cent. As long as the index does not fall by more than 40 per cent during the investment period, the original capital is guaranteed. If the barrier is breached, the return is based on the average ...

  • Sandler says IFAs support complexity

    15 May 2003

    Ron Sandler has accused IFAs of supporting complexity in the design of products bec-ause it helps them to justify their existence. He said there was a significant link between complexity of financial services products and a lack of consumer trust. Sandler told delegates at the Ernst & Young Financial Services Summit that the Gov-ernment could not contemplate introducing compulsion for long-term saving until the industry had rebuilt consumer trust through reducing product complexity. But ...

  • Schroders hedges for SAIF bet

    16 May 2003

    Schroders Private Bank has added a more aggressive hedge fund of funds to its Schroder alternative investment funds (SAIF) range.SAIF Blue Mountain aims for returns of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent a year by investing in eight to 12 hedge funds on a global basis. In contrast, SAIF Blue Sea produces a lower target returns of between 6 per cent and 9 per cent a year. SAIF Blue Star seeks returns in line with equities with lower volatility and is designed to diversify portfolios ...

  • ScotProv warns SMEs on need for protection

    15 May 2003

    Small to medium-sized businesses are overlooking the need for protection insurance at their peril as they would be most damaged by the loss of a key employee, Scottish Provident has warned. The company says there is a definite need for SMEs to take protection such as keyperson or employer liability insurance more seriously. More companies are making provision for their employees through benefit packages but few think about the long-term effects of losing a key employee. ScotProv ...

  • Selestia takes Sipp service on the road

    15 May 2003

    Fund supermarket Selestia says four more funds are joining its platform, bringing the total to 384 from 47 providers. The funds are Aegon's European bond fund, First State's corporate bond and cash funds and Morley's higher-income property trust. Selestia is also going on the road to promote its expansion into the Sipp market with its IFA partner Hornbuckle Mitchell. The roadshows begin in London on May 19 and will focus on the future of the Sipp market and the building ...

  • Sesame seeds of discontent

    15 May 2003

    Misys' decision to rebrand five IFA networks under the name Sesame has been criticised by members who say the name is an embarrassment. The company says the name signifies openness and a move towards being in closer contact with all members. But regional roadshows have revealed discontent from members over the name and other proposed changes. Some smaller member firms feel they have been misled over the revised fee scale, which will see monthly retention for advisers earning ...

  • Shiny high society

    15 May 2003

    The picturesque North Yorkshire town of Harrogate was overwhelmed by a horde of dark-suited mortgage executives last week as they congregated for the annual Building Societies' Association conference. One onlooker described the scene as The Sopranos Goes to Yorkshire. While headaches reigned supreme as brokers and lenders whiled away the evening playing dramatic pool competitions in the hotel bar, no delegates could be accused of having dirty shoes in the morning. Someone in ...

  • Smee urges industry to go it alone if FSA scraps suitability

    15 May 2003

    The FSA has come under significant pressure from trade bodies and product providers to change its decision to exclude suitability letters from its regime for mortgage intermediaries. The regulator's stance has led to Aifa director general Paul Smee's call for the industry to produce its own suitability letter in the absence of leadership from the FSA. Speaking at a panel session at this week's Money Marketing Live event at Olympia in London, FSA manager Susan de Mont was ...

  • Talkback

    15 May 2003

    "No, I do not think financial advisers or IFAs are pers-ecuted any more than other small business people but we need to speak more strongly with one voice and I see this happening through Aifa and Sofa. They are starting to have more clout but we are living in a American-ised blame culture." Graham Shields, ABS Financial Planning "Yes, I would say feeling within the industry is like that. IFAs definitely do feel they are being attacked." Aboulfazl Heidarpour, ABH Investments ...

  • The 'real' thing

    15 May 2003

    The start of the new tax year served as the deadline for product providers to adjust annuity rates within statutory moneypurchase illustrations to reflect new mortality tables, as laid out in CP134. At first sight, the adjustments seem small, with the estimated total cost of implementation amounting to £22m, according to the ABI. But CP134 deserves closer scrutiny to assess the full implications for providers and the wider adviser community. We have been working with a number ...

  • The miles file

    15 May 2003

    The FTSE 100, the premier benchmark of the London stockmarket's health, broke through the 4,000 barrier last week, prompting some equity strategists to declare the three-year bear market at an end. But anyone expecting savers to come flocking back to shares should think again. A rise of more than 20 per cent in the index may herald the start of the end for the long grinding slump in share prices. Nonetheless, it is worth recalling just how far the market has fallen from its ...

  • Threadneedle bond specialist Bacon to retire early

    15 May 2003

    Ted Bacon, head of Threadneedle's investment-grade corporate bond team, is taking early retirement due to ill health. Bacon, who managed the strategic and UK corporate bond funds in addition to heading the high-quality bond division, will retire at the end of June after more than 18 years with the group. He will be replaced on the strategic bond fund - which launched only 18 months ago but is currently the seventh best-performing fund in its sector - by deputy manager Barrie ...

  • Tiner vow over 'back-door regulation'

    15 May 2003

    FSA managing director John Tiner has acknowledged industry concerns about "back-door regulation" as a result of Financial Ombudsman Service decisions and pledged to provide some clarity on the relationship between the two bodies. Speaking at a breakfast meeting in London last week, Tiner said there is a need for the FSA to address this issue. FSA manager Susan de Mont told the Building Societies' Association annual conference in Harrogate last week that she had "raised an eyebrow" ...

  • UK savers walking away from £11.4bn a year says NS&I

    20 May 2003

    People who have moved home in the last 12 months have potentially lost touch with an average of £16,000 in savings or investments according to National Savings & Investments.

  • West Brom in move to double size

    15 May 2003

    West Bromwich Building Society is hitting the acquisition trail in a bid to double in size over the next four to five years. The society says it is in discussions with potential suitors but is still keen to speak to others, particularly smaller societies. It says it wants to double its size over the next four to five years through organic growth and acquisitions. It is looking for a business that will complement its own offering and is ruling out hostile takeovers, saying it ...

  • Whitechurch loan network offers no-frills compliance deal

    15 May 2003

    Whitechurch Securities is this week setting up a mortgage network offering a no-frills compliance service for mortgage brokers. The company says 50 of its existing Whitechurch Network members are already on board and 20 will be joining in the near future. Whitechurch has calculated that, on average, these members arrange six to eight mortgages a month, meaning a start-up volume of around 350 mortgages a month, which it says will rise to over 500 once members in the pipe-line become ...

  • Why don't we have a pensions minister?

    15 May 2003

    Pension guru Stewart Ritchie has blasted the Government for showing a lack of concern for the pension crisis by failing to appoint a pensions minister. Former pensions minister Ian McCartney was app-ointed chairman of the Labour Party in early April and is yet to be replaced. Scottish Equitable pensions development director Ritchie says the Government's failure to appoint a new minister in the midst of the biggest overhaul of pensions for a generation meant it could not expect ...

  • Wig links with IFAP to offer online search

    15 May 2003

    IFA Promotion is teaming up with the Women's IFA Group to provide a version of its Find an IFA facility on Wig's website. The move is part of IFAP's ongoing strategy to foster partnerships with high-traffic financial websites and provide them with white-labelled versions of its search facility. The partnership with Wig will see the female-only IFA's website carry IFAP's Find a Female IFA and Find a Media IFA facilities. It is the 38th deal that IFAP has entered into ...

  • Written in the Sars

    15 May 2003

    Until recently, China's reputation as one of the world's most promising investment regions had been growing almost as fast as its economy. But the emergence of Sars and the under-reporting of cases in Beijing has shaken the belief that China is ready to become one of the powerhouses in the global economy. Is this fair? Should IFAs shun China in favour of other developing economies? Hargreaves Lansdown investment manager Ben Years-ley says: "China is one of the big untapped ...

  • Yorkshire offering 15-year fix at 5.24%

    15 May 2003

    Yorkshire Building Society is offering a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage which allows an unlimited number of free overpayments of capital provided that the loan is not redeemed completely. The mortgage is fixed at 5.24 per cent at 95 per cent loan to value. The redemption penalties are 5 per cent for the first five years, 4 per cent between years six and seven and 2 per cent thereafter if the loan is repaid in full. If a borrower switches to another Yorkshire mortgage, even if it is ...

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