Money Marketing
16 February 2005

  • 57bn on home improvements set for first half

    17 Feb 2005

    Women plan to spend over 29bn on home improvements over the next six months compared with about 27bn by men, according to a Sainsbury's Bank survey.

  • A Brit of all right on the night

    17 Feb 2005

    A fun night was had by the Diary at the Brit awards last week courtesy of Scottish Widows, not least the opportunity to glam it up in a limo en route to the pop party of the year.

  • A clean slate

    17 Feb 2005

    Tablet PCs can offer a lightweight and flexible technology solution for IFAs.

  • Abbey shuns 'too risky' investment trusts

    17 Feb 2005

    Abbey will not include investment trusts in its multi-manager portfolios as it believes they are too risky to hold.

  • ABI calls for revamp of IFA commission

    21 Feb 2005

    The ABI is calling for an overhaul of how IFA commission is paid and documented to ensure advisers are not biased toward products that are more lucrative to them.Its proposals include providing consumers with annual commission statements revealing just how much their adviser earnt from the products they sold them, banning indemnity commission and simplifying IFA commission structures.Although the ABI-commissioned research, carried out by Charles River Associates, found little ...

  • Absolute beginner joins RMB Sicav

    17 Feb 2005

    RMB MultiManagers has launched a new fund of hedge funds with 66m under management.

  • Advisers predict big surge in Sipps

    17 Feb 2005

    Advisers are expecting Sipp business to take a significant upturn after A-Day.

  • AIFA slams ABI calls for commission overhaul as needless

    21 Feb 2005

    AIFA has hit out at the ABI's proposals for an overhaul of IFA commission payments saying they are pointless given no commission bias was found.

  • AIFA'S view - David Severn

    17 Feb 2005

    Dare I express any reservations about the FSA's Treating Customers Fairly project and run the risk of being regarded as someone who wants to see clients ripped off?

  • Annuity business trebles and is set to double again

    17 Feb 2005

    Sales of annuities have almost trebled in the past 10 years and the market will more than double again by 2012, according to the Association of British Insurers.

  • Axa restores faith in service

    17 Feb 2005

    We are all now wearyingly familiar with the dire and ever worsening standards of admin and service from virtually all the once stalwart life offices, in particular on existing business.

  • Barclays charges are 'death by 1,000 cuts'

    17 Feb 2005

    IFAs are up in arms over basic annual fees of up to 1.8 per cent for Barclays Investment Management Service, arguing that this is money for nothing.

  • BBB shares soar amid speculation of going private

    17 Feb 2005

    Shares in IFA Berkeley Berry Birch have nearly doubled in price following speculation that chairman Cliff Lockyer is preparing to take the company private.

  • BMA backs Wesleyan single 'multi-tie'

    17 Feb 2005

    The British Medical Association is telling its 120,000 members that its multitie deal with Wesleyan Assurance's offers "greater flexibility and consumer choice".

  • Brand aid - Kim North

    17 Feb 2005

    With all the activity surrounding mortgage and general ins-urance regulation, depolarisation and other regulatory changes due to hit our desks, those involved in marketing need to keep their eye on a creeping influence upon their brand - the regulator.

  • Britannic in fund deal with Neptune duo

    17 Feb 2005

    Britannic Asset Management is creating a specialist European fund boutique with Barry Norris and Oliver Russ of Neptune Investment Management.

  • Britannic selects JPMF Mercantile for roll-over

    21 Feb 2005

    JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile Investment Trust has been selected by Britannic Smaller Companies Trust as the sole roll-over option for Britannics reconstruction.

  • Broker talkback

    17 Feb 2005

    Should mortgage lenders be forced to offer existing clients the same deals that are offered to new customers?

  • Buckles sets up Sipp to boost Snowdonia range

    17 Feb 2005

    National IFA Buckles has set up a Sipp which will broaden the scope of its Snowdonia-branded product range.

  • Business school says 'boring' investments will beat market

    17 Feb 2005

    The London Business School says it has discovered a system for beating the stockmarket by investing in "boring" companies with low growth and high yield.

  • Buy to let sector continues to post growth

    16 Feb 2005

    The buy-to-let sector is continuing to grow despite slowing down in 2004, according to the latest survey from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. In the second half of 2004 new lending had dropped by 18 per cent from 12 billion in the first half of the year to 9.8 billion.

  • Challenging urban myths

    17 Feb 2005

    Urban myth number one centres around the removal of dividend tax credit as being a major cause of the declining popularity of Isas as a savings vehicle.This appears in almost every article about Isas, most recently being espoused by both Philip Scott and Thomas Carruthers in separate articles in the February 10 issue of Money Marketing. I seem to recall, however, that in several of the peak years for Isa investment, the dominant funds were European, technology, corporate bond, ...

  • Chelsea builds up self cert

    22 Feb 2005

    Chelsea Building SocietySelf-Cert Two Year Discount Mortgage

  • Citisolutions sales staff get back on the road

    17 Feb 2005

    Citisolutions now has over 100 salespeople out on the road after registration and certification blunders led to the group having to ground 2,000 of its "introducers" last month.

  • Clerical Medical - Secure Investment Plan 1

    22 Feb 2005

    Clerical Medical - Secure Investment Plan 1

  • 'Conflicting messages in FSA comparison tables'

    17 Feb 2005

    The FSA's comparative tables could cause confusion among consumers with conflicting disclaimers and confusion over their use, says Scottish Widows market director, protection Nick Kirwan.

  • Confusion reigns at Wesleyan

    17 Feb 2005

    Wesleyan has got itself in hot water over its advice subsidiary in which it has been explaining its multi-tied status.

  • Correspondent's Week - Angela Henshall

    17 Feb 2005

    The problem with joining Money Marketing is that you can never really leave - it is the Bermuda triangle of financial services. MM reporters past and present are lurking, sorry, working everywhere.

  • Course helps pension IFAs understand simplification

    17 Feb 2005

    The Chartered Insurance Institute is introducing a course designed to help advisers understand the pension simplification regime ahead of A-Day.

  • Cover story

    17 Feb 2005

    Never short of some seasonal spin, Insuresupermarket reminded people planning on proposing on Valentine's Day to remember their personal possessions cover.

  • Credit Suisse predicts continued mid cap growth

    16 Feb 2005

    Credit Suisse Asset Management believes that mid cap growth stocks are particularly attractive. Credit Suisses mid cap 250 fund, launched in November 2003, returned 21.9 per cent over the last year, compared to a 12.8 per cent growth in the FTSE all-share over the same period.

  • Cross purposes

    17 Feb 2005

    Lenders are cautiously waiting to see whether the FSA will impose rules proposed in the Miles review on cross-subsidy mortgage rates within the treating customers fairly regime.

  • Daily liquidity for Clerical fund

    17 Feb 2005

    Clerical Medical's Secure Investment Plan, its first protected fund, will feature 110 per cent exposure to the FTSE 100 and daily liquidity.

  • Delivery time

    17 Feb 2005

    Technology is having a dramatic impact upon all elements of the financial services industry and is increasingly defining who people are doing business with today.

  • 'Don't devalue worth of advice'

    17 Feb 2005

    FSA managing director David Kenmir says IFAs who tell consumers that advice is free are damaging the industry because it makes their role worthless. He wants firms, no matter what route they choose, to be up front with their charging and market the cost of their specialist advice.Kenmir admits that many small IFAs seem uncertain about which path to take in depolarisation and says some are asking for suggestions from the FSA. The regulator will endeavour to make information available ...

  • Duffy on mortgages

    17 Feb 2005

    This week's commentary features a 75m deal and the transfer of Alan Mudd back to Charcol from Savills. These items are unrelated and were certainly not part of any clandestine shenanigans in a west London hotel but both are harbingers of what could be an intriguing year for the mortgage industry.

  • E-commerce to hit 3.2bn by 2009

    17 Feb 2005

    IFAs will be transacting 3.2 bn of business electronically by 2009, according to The Exchange's 2005 technology index.

  • Elderstreet announces 15m share offer

    16 Feb 2005

    Elderstreet, the venture capital fund manager, has launched a C share issue to raise an additional 15m for the Elderstreet VCT.In addition to standard income tax relief, after three years, C share investors will receive a 30p return for every 1 invested. This is in addition to any other investment gains and is subject to a guarantee from the VCTs chairman, Michael Jackson. The VCT will remain a generalist trust investing mainly in unquoted and in some Aim companies.

  • Equitable action man faces fight to win Standard vote

    17 Feb 2005

    Equitable Members' Action Group general secretary Paul Braithwaite needs to secure a further 240 votes if he is to be successful in his bid to get on the Standard Life board.

  • Ethical ethos

    17 Feb 2005

    The awareness of ethical and/or socially responsible investments among both investors and advisers has been steadily increasing over the past decade.

  • Eu rule could keep db schemes open

    17 Feb 2005

    Companies with final-salary pension schemes in deficit could keep them open due to a new European Union accountancy standard.

  • Farrow's view

    17 Feb 2005

    Apparently, there is growing concern among IFAs that a constant drip of negative coverage of poorly-performing funds such as BestInvest's Spot the Dog report, deters consumers from investing. I doubt that it does.

  • Fears that NEDs could quit a sinking pension

    17 Feb 2005

    The Allders' administration raises a thorny issue about who is legally responsible for Allders' final-salary pension scheme affecting 3,200 scheme members.

  • First Choice appoints new head of corporate business development

    22 Feb 2005

    Stockport-based First Choice Mortgages has appointed Ray Ronan in the newly created role of head of corporate business development. Ronan will be responsible for managing the broker database, sales, marketing and running the packager arm of the business. He hopes to significantly increase business volumes within the next three years. Previously to joining First Choice, Ronan was the managing director of Classic Mortgage Solutions and before that was the business development manager ...

  • Five major technology companies tipped as bidders for Marlborough Stirling

    17 Feb 2005

    Five big technology groups are believed to have put in bids for The Exchange parent firm Marlborough Stirling.

  • FOS warns brokers to be cautious over sales of income protection

    17 Feb 2005

    Industry claims that brokers should sell more income protection because it is being undersold should be treated with caution, says the Financial Ombudsman Service.

  • Free tax advice for Welsh local businesses

    22 Feb 2005

    Free tax advice for local businesses will be available by Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue at an open day sponsored by the Welsh Assembly.

  • Friends Provident with profits payouts fall

    16 Feb 2005

    Regular bonus rates on Friends Provident's life and pensions with-profits remain broadly unchanged after the life offices' with-profits fund delivered its first double digit return in five years. Despite the group paying out 250m in this round of bonuses, payouts on Friends Provident life and pensions with profits policies have on average dipped by 4 per cent compared with payouts on the same policies maturing after the group's previous bonus announcement on 20 August last year. Regular ...

  • FSA probes 500 mortgage firms over KFIs

    17 Feb 2005

    The FSA is asking 500 mortgage intermediaries how they use key facts illustrations in a move to cut the regulatory burden and extend KFIs to investment products.

  • FSA shadows get a taste of the real world of IFAs

    17 Feb 2005

    Two FSA staff have completed a work-shadowing placement with firms of financial advisers.

  • FSA to investigate promotion of equity release and mortgages

    21 Feb 2005

    The FSA has said that it is prioritising mortgage, debt consolidation and equity release financial promotions this year.Regulators will look at promotions produced by mainstream lenders, equity release providers, sub-prime lenders and brokers for all these providers as part of its campaign.The FSA will also look at firms' preparatory work for child trust funds, and early work on general insurance will look at high risk products.

  • FSA wants pr agency to polish up its image

    17 Feb 2005

    The FSA is searching for a PR agency to repair the damage done to its public image in the recent tribunal battle with Legal & General.

  • GE Life launches reveamped section 32

    21 Feb 2005

    GE Life has launched a deferred executive drawdown section 32 plan to enable people whose tax free lump sum entitlement is greater than 25% to preserve their additional entitlement post A day. The plan allows individuals to drawdown without having to transfer funds, effectively protecting the tax-free lump sum entitlement.

  • GMAC RFC - Self-Certification Rate Control

    17 Feb 2005

    GMAC RFCSelf-Certification Rate Control

  • GMAC-RFC chief Knight warns of 20% slowdown

    17 Feb 2005

    GMAC-RFC executive chairman Stephen Knight is predicting a 10 to 20 per cent slowdown in gross mortgage lending in 2005 with an increasing number of lenders competing in a slowing market.

  • Grape expectations

    17 Feb 2005

    Our panel discuss their preparations for A-Day and assess the potential of such esoteric investments as wine, art and stamp collections.

  • Half-baked plans - Tony Wickenden

    17 Feb 2005

    Every week sees articles in the financial press on the importance of property to the tax well that Chancellor Gordon Brown can draw from. Recently, I have read of the substantial increase in tax yielded from stamp duty and even of the possibility of year-on-year tax on development land to encourage owners to free it up for building.

  • House price inflation trending down

    16 Feb 2005

    UK house price inflation rate fell from 13.7 per cent in November to 10.7 per cent in December despite Northern Ireland seeing a rise from 13.5 per cent to 16 per cent, according to the office for the Deputy Prime Minister. The highest rates remain in the North East (20.5 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (18.8 per cent) and the North West (17.8 per cent) compared to 3 per cent in London.

  • Household names lead brand league

    17 Feb 2005

    Halifax is the most popular brand among people looking to invest, according to research for Citigate Albert Frank.

  • HSBC first bank to multi-tie

    17 Feb 2005

    HSBC has become the first bank to multi-tie, offering highstreet customers funds from Fidelity, Gartmore, Invesco Perpetual, JP Morgan Fleming and Schroders.

  • Huge call for advice expected as revenue shuts capital redemption bond loophole

    17 Feb 2005

    The Inland Revenue has closed a tax avoidance loophole which could have major implications for firms holding capital red-emption bonds.

  • I have a dream

    17 Feb 2005

    Scottish Life head of pensions strategy Steve Bee sets out his vision of a cross-party body to implement long-term pension reform in the UK.

  • IFAs are urged to convince public of value of advice

    17 Feb 2005

    Chartwell chief executive Craig Wetton is calling for IFA firms to do more to convince consumers that there is value in advice.

  • IFAs have pro bono to pick with PFS

    17 Feb 2005

    IFAs have reacted angrily to claims that they have failed to embrace plans to deliver generic pro bono advice to the public.

  • IFAs say they do not feel threatened

    17 Feb 2005

    IFAs says they do not feel threatened by HSBC's decision to multi-tie.

  • IFAs seek legal advice on misselling responsibility

    17 Feb 2005

    A group of 180 small IFA firms has put together a fighting fund and is consulting a top barr- ister in a bid to put responsibility for marketing material on product providers.

  • iimia finds new mix

    21 Feb 2005

    iimia ACD ServicesGrowth and Income Fund

  • Independent view

    17 Feb 2005

    This year will be an auspicious time for an anniversary and celebration of the past, characterised I suspect by ill-fitting comparisons between events of several decades ago and today.

  • Ingenious spices up VCT market

    21 Feb 2005

    Ingenious Ventures, the private equity arm of specialist media finance business Ingenious Media, has established a music venture capital trust which has Simon Fuller the brains behind the Spice Girls and Pop Idol on its board of directors.

  • Insight takes lead role for Children's Mutual CTF

    17 Feb 2005

    The Children's Mutual has appointed Insight as lead fund manager for its child trust funds.

  • Interactive offers spread betting

    17 Feb 2005

    Interactive Investor has launched a spread-betting service to enable gamblers to have a flutter on financial markets.

  • Investment view - Brian Tora

    17 Feb 2005

    If you are not yet in the Sipp market, it is time to get wise to the biggest potential growth area in advice.

  • Investors ignore warnings over property prospects

    17 Feb 2005

    Industry caution over the prospects for the housing market is being ignored by investors, says a survey from Invesco Perpetual.

  • Ipswich Building Society - Base Rate Tracker

    18 Feb 2005

    Ipswich Building SocietyBase Rate Tracker

  • Ipswich mortgage tracks the base rate for two years

    17 Feb 2005

    Ipswich Building Society is introducing a tracker mortgage which matches the Bank of England base rate for two years.

  • Ipswich on to right track

    18 Feb 2005

    Ipswich Building SocietyBase Rate Tracker

  • JLT Sipp builds on New Europe Property

    17 Feb 2005

    Jardine Lloyd Thompson is offering a Sipp which enables investors to hold buy-to-let properties in emerging markets such as Poland, Croatia and Bulgaria in their pensions.

  • Jones joins Jupiter's green team

    17 Feb 2005

    Jupiter Asset Management has recruited Aled Jones from Innovest to join its socially responsible investment unit.

  • Julian Gibbs

    17 Feb 2005

    I always look forward to Principal Investment Management's annual study of UK equity income funds, which is now appearing for the 29th year.

  • Jupiter funds of funds bag AA-ratings

    16 Feb 2005

    Jupiter's Merlin Income and Merlin Growth funds of funds, managed by John Chatfeild-Roberts have been upgraded from AA to AAA-rated by Standard & Poor's. S&P say the funds have " produced consistently strong performance using a rigorous process with strong sell disciplines."

  • Kenmir says clash between IFAs, watchdog and FSCS was inevitable

    17 Feb 2005

    In an exclusive interview with Money Marketing, Kenmir, managing director of regulatory services business unit and sector leader for retail intermediaries, says he could understand why IFAs are unhappy with the FSCS and the FOS.He admits that tough times are ahead for intermediaries as they face up to depolarisation with business costs rising, investment returns poor and consumer confidence low.Kenmir says the FSA is working hard to ensure that it understands the concerns ...

  • 'Kfi burden is stifling creation of flexible plans'

    17 Feb 2005

    The burden of producing coherent and detailed key facts illustrations may be slowing innovation in the mortgage market, says GMAC-RFC executive chairman Stephen Knight.

  • Knight rips into Dips

    17 Feb 2005

    GMAC-RFC executive chairman Stephen Knight has slammed lenders for providing decisions in principle on their websites which stack everything in their favour and against the intermediary.

  • L&G video link supports advisers in advance of A-day

    21 Feb 2005

    Legal & General is launching its next web-based video link aimed at the individual pensions market, encouraging advisers to help clients in advance of A-day.

  • Lenders tell low-volume brokers to join mortgage clubs to get fees

    17 Feb 2005

    Independent brokers doing low-volume business are being forced to use mortgage clubs by lenders, blurring the boundaries between directly authorised and appointed representatives.

  • Make the right connection with the public

    17 Feb 2005

    I am writing in response to the article headlined, Solutions to the shortfall (Money Marketing, February 10).

  • Maximum security

    17 Feb 2005

    I am a member of my employer's pension scheme and will have completed 20 years' service by retirement in August 2008. Do I need to make any arrangements to take into account the new legislation in 2006?

  • Merrill Lynch appoints European Fund manager

    21 Feb 2005

    Gavin Corr has joined the European equity team at Merrill Lynch, where he will be managing the Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds European Fund. Corr joins from Morley Fund Management, where he built a top quartile performance record in managing UK unit trusts investing in continental Europe. Prior to Morley, Corr was with American Express Asset Management, most recently as chief investment director of retail mutual funds.

  • Money Marketing and FTRC to launch e-commerce ratings

    16 Feb 2005

    Money Marketing is teaming up with the Financial Technology Research Centre to launch the E-Commerce Excellence Ratings. The Ratings will provide a recognised benchmark both advisers and their clients can trust and will highlight those providers who are truly delivering solutions closely aligned to user needs. The first E-Commerce Excellence ratings will be awarded for Group Pensions E-Commerce services and will be covered in a special supplement with 10 March Money Marketing. Throughout ...

  • Moneyfacts finds consumers cynical about mortgage advice

    22 Feb 2005

    Moneyfacts.co.uk has revealed that consumers know very little about mortgage details and are cynical about the benefits advice will offer.

  • More expected from UK commercial property, says F&C

    18 Feb 2005

    An even stronger performance of the UK commercial property market is expected in 2005 according to F&C Property Asset Management.

  • Mortgage edge: Alan Cleary

    17 Feb 2005

    Brokers using packagers for sub-prime lending could fall foul of the FSA because they do not understand the full implications of MCOB.

  • Mortgage edge: Peter Beaumont

    17 Feb 2005

    Last week's headline, Lenders to be named and shamed by BM, caused a few raised eyebrows in the industry, not because of the nature of BM Solutions' latest initiative but because of an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

  • Mountain of IFAs want to see return of Perpetual

    17 Feb 2005

    IFAs want Invesco Perpetual to resurrect the Perpetual brand and put it at the forefront of its retail marketing campaign, according to a Money Marketing online poll.

  • Multi-manager view

    17 Feb 2005

    The multi-manager sector is growing rapidly. It has seen large numbers of new entrants, a flurry of fund launches over the past few years and an ever-greater number of column inches devoted to it in the industry press.

  • Mundic property owners get GI deals

    17 Feb 2005

    The mundic property market is at last to have access to a range of general insurance from a Cornwall broker specialising in the area.

  • Murray VCT director resigns in protest at move to Close

    16 Feb 2005

    Michael Walker has resigned as director of Murray VCTs 2 and 3, after the trusts moved management of their funds from Aberdeen to Close. Aberdeen fund manager Bill Nixon had suggested merging some of the Murray VCTs as a means to reduce costs. IFAs and industry commentators have speculated that the decision to sack Nixon was the result of self-interest on the part of board members, wanting to preserve their jobs.

  • Myners calls for shareholder rights

    17 Feb 2005

    More active shareholder engagement is the key to listed companies being able to raise capital for growth, an independent report claims.

  • NDF explores income generation

    22 Feb 2005

    NDF Administration has established the income plan February 05, a guaranteed equity bond that provides a level of income which depends on the performance of the FTSE 100 index.

  • New members for AMI

    21 Feb 2005

    Eight new members have signed up to the Association of Mutual Insurers, bringing total membership to 21.The addition of new members means the AMI now represents almost 5 per cent of premiums of the UK insurance market, with assets under management of 71 bn and 17 m policyholdersThe new members are Communication Workers Friendly Society, Cirencester Friendly Society, Equitable Life, Homeowners Friendly Society, MGM Assurance, Reliance Mutual, Shepherds Friendly Society and Teachers ...

  • NIACE & Pru host seminar on financial education

    22 Feb 2005

    The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education is hosting a joint seminar on financial education for adults with Prudential.

  • No claim bonus

    17 Feb 2005

    I think someone somewhere once said in regard to the investment universe that past performance was no guarantee for the future. But when it comes to protection claims, in particular critical-illness claims, a life office's performance of paying claims should be taken into account when recommending to a client, should it not?Early guideline documentation from the FSA suggested that both financial strength and claim history should be considered when giving protection advice.

  • Noble & Company - Capital Pub Company 2

    22 Feb 2005

    Noble & CompanyCapital Pub Company 2

  • Noble takes Capital Pub Company 2 into round two

    16 Feb 2005

    Noble & Company is aiming to raise up to 8.82m through a second round of funding for the Capital Pub Company 2 enterprise investment scheme (EIS).

  • NU actively protects growth

    17 Feb 2005

    The Norwich Union active protector fund is an Oeic fund of funds which uses constant proportion portfolio insurance to lock in 80 per cent of the highest share price.

  • NU finally set to launch the lifetime wrap with Millfield

    17 Feb 2005

    Millfield advisers are being trained on the lifetime wrap which will be launched with new Norwich Union technology.

  • NU pays 34m to income protection claimants in 2003

    22 Feb 2005

    Norwich Union Healthcare paid out 34m in income protection claims in 2003 according to its first IP Claims Report.

  • Nu protector fund offering 80% share price guarantee

    17 Feb 2005

    Norwich Union is offering a protected fund investing in UK equities and gilts which guarantees that the share price will never fall below 80 per cent of its peak level.

  • Old Mutual Asset Managers - Old Mutual Multi-Strategy Fund

    21 Feb 2005

    Old Mutual Asset ManagersOld Mutual Multi-Strategy Fund

  • Osmond ups HHG offer to hold off Resolution

    17 Feb 2005

    Hugh Osmond's Life Com-pany Investor Group has inc-reased its offer for HHG Life Services in return for HHG cutting off negotiations with Resolution Life.

  • Out of context

    17 Feb 2005

    "I'll only marry a rich man with a tennis court who can keep me." - Marlene Scott of Polhill.

  • Payout earmarked for Eurolife investors

    17 Feb 2005

    Investors in the Eurolife Secured Bond have been asked to vote on a partial repayment after the bond defaulted.About 2300 investors should have been repaid abpout 17m of capital on January 23. After three weeks of negotiations they are now being asked to vote on the chance to back a minimum 60 per cent of what they are owed.The proposal is conditional on the group being able to sell its life assurance business before March 11.

  • Pensions regulator names Edmans and Pickering as non-executives

    17 Feb 2005

    The Pensions Regulator has unveiled five high-profile pension figures as non-executive board members.

  • PI barometer is set fair to give Bamford a boost

    17 Feb 2005

    Sofa chairman and Informed Choice director Nick Bamford has seen his professional indemnity insurance premium plummet by over 60 per cent after years of astronomical rises.

  • Pink Home Loans - Mortgage Trust MT Select 5.39% Fixed

    16 Feb 2005

    Pink Home LoansMortgage Trust MT Select 5.39% Fixed

  • Platform sets out new range at 1%

    17 Feb 2005

    Platform, the intermediary lender of Britannia Building Society has enhanced its product range including self-certification, buy to let and trackers.

  • PMPA calls on FSA to allocate surplus MMCB funds

    16 Feb 2005

    The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance is expressing concern that the surplus MCCB funds to be handed over to the FSA may not be put back into the mortgage industry. The PMPA says the funds, believed to be in excess of 2m, should benefit the mortgage sector as the MCCB was partly funded through intermediaries' contributions. It is calling on the FSA to give clear indications as to where the funds will be allocated.

  • PMPA is looking at the potential of becoming a lender

    16 Feb 2005

    The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance announces it is in discussions with a number of providers looking at the potential of becoming a lender in its own right.

  • Premier Fund Managers - Segmented Growth Plan - Limited Editions 24

    16 Feb 2005

    Premier Fund ManagersSegmented Growth Plan - Limited Editions 24

  • Prestbury buys mortgage and GI network Blue Pearl

    17 Feb 2005

    Prestbury Holdings has bought mortgage and general insurance network Blue Pearl despite making a loss of 2.7m.

  • Pro bono process

    17 Feb 2005

    The letter from Tony Conner, Joss Harwood and Owen Temple in Money Marketing (February 10) contains a number of misconceptions about the nature of the pilot scheme with Citizens' Advice to offer the public pro bono generic advice.

  • Product matters

    17 Feb 2005

    Residential investment opportunitieshave been high on IFA wish lists over the past few years but there has been precious little available to satisfy investor demand.

  • Protection sales forecast to fall while claims rise

    17 Feb 2005

    US-based reinsurer RGA is warning that the UK protection market will fall by 10 per cent this year and claims will soar.

  • Purely Mortgages wants FSA to crack down on mortgage advertising

    18 Feb 2005

    Purely Mortgages applauds the FSA crack down on illegal mortgage brokers but calls for a tougher stance on marketing.

  • Quarter light

    17 Feb 2005

    Three months on from M-Day, how has the industry handled regulation?

  • Resolution Life to contract back in R&SA policyholders

    16 Feb 2005

    Resolution Life has written to 50,000 policyholders with Royal & SunAlliance Life personal pension plans who are contracted out of S2P to inform them they will be contracted back in by the end of the tax year unless they write back and inform Resolution otherwise. Resolution has also confirmed it has ditched attempts to buy HHG's Life Services business leaving the way clear for Life Company Investor Group's bid.

  • Richard Verdin on protection

    17 Feb 2005

    Life insurance quotes are set to change. Insurers and reinsurers understanding of the circumstances which affect mortality and morbidity, and therefore pricing, have improved, and advisers will have to catch up.

  • Savings accounts offer negative rates of return

    17 Feb 2005

    Only two in 10 savings accounts offered on the high street give positive real rates of return for richer investors, according to a survey from Bates Investment Services.

  • Schroders appoints new property investor

    18 Feb 2005

    Schroder Property Investment Management has appointed Toby Springett as the third member of its newly created Real Estate Ventures Group.

  • Scotlife adds functionality to online pension service

    17 Feb 2005

    Scottish Life has enhanced its online group pension service with the aim of allowing intermediaries to conduct more of their business electronically.

  • Simplification may not be plain sailing

    17 Feb 2005

    Investors could find themselves in deep water if they rush out to buy fine wines, antiques, yachts or buy-to-let properties under pension simplification without fully understanding the new rules, says Friends Provident pensions technical manager Chris Bellers.

  • Skipton Building Society - Three Year Fixed Rate

    17 Feb 2005

    Skipton Building SocietyThree Year Fixed Rate

  • Software aims to support advisers' case for trail commission

    17 Feb 2005

    1st Software is offering a new version of its personal wealth management software, aimed at helping advisers to justify trail commission.

  • Standard Life launches manager of managers range

    18 Feb 2005

    Standard Life has launched a suite of manager of managers portfolios onto its Sigma mutual funds platform.

  • Sub-prime war as Mortgages plc hits back at BM

    17 Feb 2005

    A war of words has broken out in the sub-prime market with Mortgages plc slamming BM Solutions which last week launched a campaign to name and shame lenders.

  • Suffolk Life appoints corporate development director

    17 Feb 2005

    Chris Jones has joined Suffolk Life as corporate development director and will oversee the group's marketing and operations functions.Jones was formerly head of research and development at Capita PPML and his position at Suffolk Life is a newly created role. He is a qualified chartered tax adviser and has over a decade of experience in Sipp provision.

  • The channel tunnel

    17 Feb 2005

    Mortgage Brain chief executive officer Mark Lofthouse says compliance is like a tunnel to navigate but the important thing now is to focus on the road after the tunnel.

  • The real wrap

    17 Feb 2005

    Wraps need to add substance before taking a central position in financial services.

  • Timebank targets IFAs with online data exchange deal

    17 Feb 2005

    Timebank has set up a website with an online data exchange aimed at providing technical support for IFAs.

  • Top speakers revving up for depolar debate

    17 Feb 2005

    Top figures from the FSA, product providers and IFA firms will be speaking at a conference next week on the challenges faced by intermediaries with the onset of depolarisation.

  • Treasury raises IFAs' hopes on Mifid exemption

    17 Feb 2005

    The Treasury will consult on plans that Aifa hopes will save IFAs thousands of pounds in PI cover by making them exempt to a new European law.

  • Trustguard appoints Tony Williams as head of compliance

    21 Feb 2005

    Tony Williams has been appointed as head of compliance at Trustguard, the Cardiff based mortgage packager and network.

  • Trustnet doubles number of advisers

    18 Feb 2005

    The number of advisers using Trustnet has doubled in the last four years, according to a user survey on their website.There have been nearly 4000 registrations to Trustnet Adviser since its launch in August. The free adviser-only service is aimed at helping intermediaries to research and select funds for client recommendations.The survey also shows that 56 per cent of professional users of Trustnet are of an independent status.Unit trusts and OEICs were the investments most ...

  • Vantage point

    17 Feb 2005

    It is widely recognised that, over the past 24 years, Har-greaves Lansdown has grown from a two-adviser firm to one of the biggest financial advice businesses in the country with over 400 staff. What is perhaps less well known is that in recent years, it has also bec-ome one of the most proficient IFA firms when it comes to the use of technology.

  • Varying your estate

    17 Feb 2005

    Where property is inherited, either under a will or under the intestacy laws, it is possible to redirect the legacy (or part thereof) to achieve inheritance tax savings by using a deed of variation, says Brian Murphy.

  • Venturing forth

    17 Feb 2005

    The decision of the four Murray VCT boards to sack Murray Johnstone as manager and move the contracts to Close has surprised many industry commentators.

  • Vivienne Starkey

    17 Feb 2005

    It's now or never for financial services, believes Equal Partners' managing director who believes the muddle of depolarisation could confuse consumers who already lack basic financial knowledge.

  • Yearsley warns timing may be wrong for launch of shopping centre fund

    17 Feb 2005

    The potential of a property fund that invests in shopping centres is being questioned by a leading investment specialist.

  • Zurich applies CPPI to active fund range

    17 Feb 2005

    Zurich says it anticipates little competition for its multi-manager protected profits fund because other companies using constant proportion protection insurance are focusing on passively managed UK funds.

  • Zurich Assurance - Multimanager Protected Profits Fund

    18 Feb 2005

    Zurich AssuranceMultimanager Protected Profits Fund

  • Zurich Assurance -Zurich Guaranteed Capital Account 3

    21 Feb 2005

    Zurich AssuranceZurich Guaranteed Capital Account 3

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