Money Marketing
16 May 2001

  • 'Takeover bidder set to swoop on Friends'

    17 May 2001

    IFAs and analysts have cast doubts over the ability of Friends Provident to stay independent after its stockmarket flotation because a potential bidder may only need £2bn. Friends expects to have a market value of between £3.7bn and £4.2bn after it demutualises and floats on the stockmarket on July 9. But industry sources bel-ieve a takeover bidder need only offer around £2bn because £1.4bn of the total value is external capital ...

  • 40% of IFAs back Tories

    17 May 2001

    Forty per cent of IFAs intend to vote Conservative in the general election while 14 per cent will opt for Labour but a massive 27 per cent are still undecided, according to a straw poll carried out by Money Marketing. MM asked 100 IFAs from around the country which party they will vote for and which party they believe is best for savings and investments. The Tories scored 61 per cent as best party on savings and investment, much higher than the 40 per ...

  • A place in the sum

    17 May 2001

    I attended a recent presentation at work about stakeholder pensions and would like to start investing in one. However, although I am 30 years old and a higher-rate taxpayer, I feel that I cannot afford to pay in anything in at present as I would have to cut back on my current non-essential expenditure in order to be able to do so. I spend about £3,000 a year on family holidays but am very reluctant to give this up as it is something that we, as a family, enjoy ...

  • ABI urges caution on Myners

    16 May 2001

    The ABI is urging the Government to be cautious in introducing codes of best practice for pension fund investment as proposed in the recent Myners Report on Institutional Investment in the UK. It argues proposals could have unintended consequences which could harm the interests of pension fund members and increase their costs. 

  • Accrual age

    17 May 2001

    Last week, I noted the possible or probable abolition of the upper age limit at which an annuity must be drawn and the certain abolition of the upper age limit at which employees willbe required to retire. Both these developments (or likely developments) have been prompted by a European Union directive issued last year which requires member states to outlaw compulsory retirement ages by no later than 2006. In my last article, I briefly noted the effect ...

  • Agency joins Allied Dunbar

    22 May 2001

    Northern England based estate agents Reeds Rains is joining the Allied Dunbar franchise network. Reeds Rains has 137 branches and more than 70 advisers, is the largest agency to join the network, which is about to be renamed the Zurich Advice Network. It currently has 4,700 advisers.  

  • Aifa accepts idea for advice

    17 May 2001

    Aifa says it is keen to work with consumer bodies to develop a new type of generic adviser, offering free or lowcost advice to lower-income individuals. It says it now supports the debate on increasing access to financial advice after it had expressed initial concern over the Consumers' Association and the FS Consumer Panel's suggestion of creating a "para-financial adviser" offering a first stage of basic advice. Aifa director general Paul ...

  • Aifa and IFAP set up joint firm

    17 May 2001

    Aifa and IFA Promotion are setting up a joint company to create a combined strategy for promoting independent advice, ending months of speculation of the two organisations merging. In a letter obtained by Money Marketing, IFAP tells its sponsors that plans for a merger fell apart because Aifa wants to be independent from product providers. Instead, a new jointly owned company, with the working title Newco, will be set up to decide an overall strategy ...

  • AMP backs study of savings culture

    17 May 2001

    AMP is sponsoring a new research centre established by the Institution for Public Policy Research to study UK savings culture and financial exclusion. The research centre will co-ordinate studies into financial welfare issues in the UK relating to the way people save. It will also conduct in-depth research into financial exclusion and asset welfare, including the Government's recently announced baby bonds. AMP believes the study will allow many ...

  • April mortgage lending surges

    22 May 2001

    Mortgage lending in April was the highest since monthly records began in June 1998, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.

  • Aussie bank to target A&L for 2002 takeover

    17 May 2001

    Three leading City analysts are tipping Alliance & Leicester as an acquisition target for Nat-ional Australia Bank once the UK bank's takeover protection clause expires next April. The UK's sixth-biggest mortgage lender has emerged as the market favourite to be snapped up by NAB, which is on a UK acquisition trail. Banking analysts claim A&L is not financially strong enough to compete in the current ultra-low-margin environment. One analyst ...

  • Autif chief in plea for pact on performance

    17 May 2001

    The retiring Autif chairman has called for greater clarity on disclosure to improve investor understanding and confidence. Speaking at Autif's AGM, Alan Ainsworth, who has now stepped down as chairman, said there is a strong case for the adviser's selling, advice and service costs to be shown separately to the product costs. He claimed there is a need to develop a standardised measure of investment costs and stressed the importance of adhering to ...

  • Baby, one more time

    17 May 2001

    This week, I would like to interrupt my series of articles on employee share schemes to consider the latest Government attempt to raise public awareness on the importance of starting saving early. This has come in the shape of the Child Trust Fund and the Saving Gateway. Both these have come relatively hard on the heels of the opening up of cash Isas to 16and 17-year-olds and both should have a far wider audience than the cash Isa extension, which was generally ...

  • Back-office to the future

    17 May 2001

    For many years, the supply chain that links the IFA sector and the life and pension product providers has remained pretty static. Applications generate d by the financial adviser through analysis of client needs pass through the branch and/or head office of the IFA to the product provider. The provider processes the application, performs necessary underwriting and then returns policy details to the client and commission details to the IFA for accepted applications. ...

  • BCWA healthcare profits up

    22 May 2001

    Private healthcare insurers BCWA Healthcare increased its profits by 466 per cent to £7m in 2000 from £1.5m in 1999, while its average return on investments was 8.7 per cent in 2000.

  • Best buy tables 'open to manipulation' says Daily Mail

    16 May 2001

    The Daily Mail may revise its best buy tables according to its personal finance editor Jeff Prestridge.Speaking at a debate at the Building Society Conference in Harrogate today Prestridge admitted tables in general could be open to manipulation by lenders.He invited building societies to suggest ways in which such tables might be revised to better reflect rates over the life of the product rather than just in the short term.

  • BFS Investments - ShapeIT

    21 May 2001

    Monday, 21 May 2001.Aim: Income and growth by investing in investment trusts.Minimum investment: £2,000 per share class.Investment split: Investors choice.Charges: Initial 3 per cent, annual 0.75 per cent.Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent.Tel: 0800 7319222. 

  • BFS offers IFA guide to zeros

    17 May 2001

    Split-capital investment trust specialist BFS Investments is offering a free IFA guide to zero-dividend preference shares. Zeros are a type of share which aims to provide inv-estors with capital returns when the trust is wound up. The company's guide add-resses misconceptions about zeros, including commission payment. BFS packages zeros as part of a product portfolio offering initial commission of 3 per cent and 1.5 per cent trail. It ...

  • BFS shapes up with shape-it

    16 May 2001

    BFS Investments has designed Shape-it, a portfolio management service that also allows investors to access investment trusts through an individual savings account (Isa) and Pep transfer.

  • Brewin Dolphin sets up institutional broking team

    18 May 2001

    Private client stockbroker Brewin Dolphin Securities is appointing Roland Walton and Matthew Collis to set up a new institutional broking team.

  • BROKER Talkback

    17 May 2001

    Should critical-illness cover and permanent health insurance be regulated? "Yes, because it is potentially too complex an area not to be." Richard Mumford,M&M Financial Services "Yes. They should be regulated because of the complexity of products, particularly critical illness." Tony Levinson,Anthony Levinson & Partners "Yes, because there is general confusion about how these policies operate. Some are linked to whole-of-life policies ...

  • BSA director general slams Halifax

    16 May 2001

    The Building Societies Association has slammed research by the Halifax which claims 52 out of 67 mutuals offer mortgage rates more expensive than High Street banks.

  • Cat Market

    17 May 2001

    Back when Isas arrived in 1999, the Government was anxious to offer some reassurance to the new investor that he or she was not going to be ripped off. Regardless of whether you agree with the Government's view of the savings industry,it is understandable that they would want to offer some encouragement and guidance to the concept of saving for newcomers, particularly (but not exclusively) saving linked to stockmarket investments. But is the Cat ...

  • Cater Allen buys Chase banking arm

    17 May 2001

    Abbey National's banking subsidiary Cater Allen has bought Fleming Premier Banking from JP Morgan Chase & Co in a £106m deal. Abbey says the acquisition will increase its market share in the mass affluent banking sector - those with incomes between £30,000 and £100,000 - to 16 per cent from 3 per cent. Fleming will initially be run alongside Cater Allen but Abbey intends to combine the two under a single brand within 12 months.

  • CGNU sells Belgian general insurance arm

    22 May 2001

    CGNU is selling its main general insurance business in Belgium to Winterthur Europe Assurances SA, Credit Suisse's Belgian subsidiary.Winterthur will pay £72m for CGU SA, which had gross written premiums of £106m in 2000. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2001. 

  • CHARLES LEVETT-SCRIVENER

    17 May 2001

    At the start of August, the FSA published a consultation paper number 61 on The Regulation of Stakeholder Pensions. At the same time, it issued a press release which included this key point - when there is an advised recommendation to buy a traditional pension (including one linked to a group personal pension), the suitability letter will have to explain why this was considered to be more suitable than a stakeholder pension. This will have the greatest impact ...

  • City Financial offers trust and Oeic admin online

    17 May 2001

    City Financial is setting up an e-commerce platform to provide third-party admin for unit trusts and Oeics. The Io system, which uses the EMX platform, allows users to trade unit trusts and Oeics over the net from the provider's own website. Unit trust managers outsourcing their back-office systems to City Financial can offer advisers a link to EMX. IFAs, direct customers and salesforces not linked to EMX will also be able to trade through the provider's ...

  • CML revamps website

    21 May 2001

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders is launching a revamped website to give easy access to research data about the mortgage market.

  • Conservative victory would see IR35 scrapped

    17 May 2001

    Controversial tax rule IR35 would be abolished if the Conservatives win the general election. According to the Tory election manifesto, getting rid of IR35 would cost £100m. Labour has estimated the move would cost up to £1bn. The legislation was introduced to stop people, usually in working in information technology, from choosing to be contract workers to take a number of tax advantages. But many IFAs working as part of networks or on a commission-only ...

  • Cover confusion

    17 May 2001

    The regulation of health insurances is falling between two chairs - a situation which has been described as muddled and confused. Long-term care cover, permanent health insurance (or income protection), critical-illness insurance and private medical insurance are all unregulated. Later this year, the General Insurance Standards Council will assume regulation of short-term or general insurance. Any LTC policy that has an investment component is already ...

  • Current accounts are consumers' favourite product

    22 May 2001

    Consumers say current accounts, mortgages, home insurance and credit cards are the most popular financial services products, according to research by Morgan Stanley's Consumer Banking Group.

  • Dark MacLeod has no silver lining for small fund firms

    17 May 2001

    Abolishing polarisation could mean the fund management industry comes to be dominated by a handful of providers with the biggest marketing budgets. This stark warning was delivered by Investec managing director Jamie MacLeod at the annual Sway conference in Madrid. MacLeod urged 100 of the UK's top investment advisers gathered for the Sway Senate Programme to support the current polarisation rules. He claimed the regime is best not only for the industry ...

  • Detailed medical evidence holding up Axa claim

    17 May 2001

    I read the letter from Paul Wearden (Money Marketing, May 3) with interest. Axa Equity & Law has indeed been looking into a claim from one of Mr Wearden's clients for total and permanent disability under a critical-illness policy. We take claims of this nature extremely seriously and rely on detailed medical information and advice, which has to remain confidential, before settling the claim. In this case, we have recommendations and opinions ...

  • Dresdner's Sheehan to join Jupiter UK team

    17 May 2001

    Jupiter has poached UK equity income manager Paul Sheehan from Dresdner RCM to boost its UK specialist equity team. Sheehan will replace Edward Bland as the manager of the £51m Jupiter growth & income unit trust this summer. Bland will move out of the retail division to focus on institutional funds. Sheehan has managed Dresdner's UK equity income fund since August 1994. The fund has a Standard & Poor's A rating. Since he took control of the fund, ...

  • Equity release schemes get consumers' vote

    21 May 2001

    Equity release schemes are proving to be overwhelmingly popular with clients, according to a survey conducted by Hodge Equity Release.Of 1,000 customers questioned, 95 per cent said they would recommend taking out an equity release scheme for a friend. Hodge Equity Release general manager Jon King says: "As an industry, our greatest critics are the users of our products and this huge vote of confidence should give a boost to those marketing equity release schemes."

  • Esure to launch motor insurance line

    18 May 2001

    Halifax's Esure insurance subsidiary is launching its motor insurance line with the opening of a Glasgow office employing 400 new staff.

  • Exclusive deals from loans network

    17 May 2001

    Baxter's Business Consultancy director Nick Baxter is starting a mortgage and packaging network next month. The network, Mortgage Promotions, will provide mortgage brokers with exclusive loans and services from a panel of mainstream and specialist lenders. Intermediaries joining the network will have access to loans from 20 product providers, including Intelligent Finance, Nationwide, Woolwich, Coventry and Standard Life Bank. The network will also ...

  • For sale signs go up at DBS

    17 May 2001

    DBS Financial Management has officially put up the for sale boards after Money Marketing revealed last week that it was in talks with Bank-hall's owner Lynx. DBS's share price rocketed to 83.5p from 53.5p following Money Marketing's story. The 56 per cent increase gives the company a market capitalisation of about £42.4m compared with around £27m a week ago. Money Marketing exclusively revealed that Lynx was in advanced talks ...

  • Friends not trying to hide changes

    17 May 2001

    Response letter to Peter Rutherford & Co technical manager Mike Gordon I have received your letter dated May 2 which appeared in Money Marketing last week. You claim that Friends Prov-ident is using the proposed demutualisation "to hide a change in the membership rules" and that such a change "cannot be in the interests of members". We firmly reject both these claims. We have not in any way hidden the proposal to extend membership. The circular ...

  • FSA adopts light touch for exempt advisers

    17 May 2001

    The FSA has issued guidance on overseeing professional firms, including sol-icitors, which carry out limited investment advice activities but are not regulated by the FSA. The Government asked the regulator to provide safeguards to consumers dealing with firms which do not require directFSA regulation but which might advise on certain investment areas. The regulator says this area is perceived as low risk by both the Treasury and the FSA. However, ...

  • FSA publishes credit union compensation proposals

    21 May 2001

    The FSA is publishing details of proposed arrangements for compensation of credit union members.

  • FSA sets up complaints scheme

    16 May 2001

    The FSA has published its final arrangements for investigating complaints against itself from firms and consumers.

  • FSA's consumer guide points to direct route

    17 May 2001

    The FSA's consumer guide to financial advice has stoked IFA fears that it is steering consumers towards execution-only and direct distribution. The guide, published this week, features a decision tree for consumers to determine their need for advice. It asks if the individual is clear on basic financial aims followed by two branches, which both steer to the direct channel. One branch asks: "Do you have some idea which companies you want to buy savings ...

  • FSAVC review goes online

    17 May 2001

    The FSA is issuing IFA firms with software which will allow them to record their work on the FSAVC review. It will also let them submit returns over the internet. Details of how to access the software - called the FSAVC Review Reporter - will be issued to 1,500 IFA firms with cases to review next week and the system itself goes live on Monday, May 21. Since small IFA firms usually have only a very small number of FSAVC cases to deal with, the FSA wanted ...

  • Fund statements raise investors' fears

    17 May 2001

    IFAs and fund managers have been inundated with calls from worried investors over the past few weeks as many got their first fund valuation letters of the year. Most investors will have seen the value of their funds fall over the past 12 months, with the average unit trust falling by around 15 per cent in the year to April 5. The average investment trust fell by around 7 per cent over the same period. Valuations are carried out at the end of each tax ...

  • Generating investment

    17 May 2001

    Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is getting plugged into the world of heat, light and water with the world utilities fund. Based in Luxemburg, world utilities is a Sicav aimed at investors looking for a low to medium-risk fund. It will invest in companies that supply electricity, water and gas. It will also target companies that are involved in new energy technologies such as wind power, solar energy, coastal barrages and small microturbines. Half ...

  • Genome truths

    17 May 2001

    The decoding of the human genome is one of the most significant advances in scientific history and is set to revolutionise medicine and the prevention of illness but some fear it will also expose a genetic underclass - those who are disadvantaged by the genes they have inherited. The breakthrough means that around 97 per cent of the human genome has now been mapped, with most of the code accurately sequenced, and this is expected to be fully complete in three ...

  • Half of insurers say they need outside help on IT

    17 May 2001

    Half of UK insurers say IT is too complex for them to handle on their own, according to research by CMG Admiral. Forty per cent of firms say technology drives their business and a further 10 per cent say it soon will. But 50 per cent of insurance companies believe technology has become too complex for internal IT departments to handle on their own. Forty per cent of insurers say needing access to unlimited skills is the biggest reason for outsourcing ...

  • HSBC sets up multi-provider Isa

    17 May 2001

    HSBC has launched a direct-offer multi-provider Isa, combining its income & growth fund, Merrill Lynch's UK dynamic fund and Framlington's health funds into one wrapper. The product, which is one of the first to take advantage of the relaxation in polarisation rules, will be marketed by mailshot to HSBC's existing client base.

  • IFA firm chief joins Torquil Clark

    22 May 2001

    Former proprietor of the fee-based IFA Gee & Company Philippa Gee has joined Torquil Clark as relationship manager. Her responsibilities will include commenting to the press on investment and other financial issues. 

  • IFA hails first-class Paris trip

    17 May 2001

    Belvins Frank Financial Managers director Duncan Campbell scooped the top prize of a luxury break in Paris after winning the Threadneedle Investment Paint the Town Rouge competition in Money Marketing. The prize was first-class travel on Eurostar to Paris, an overnight stay in the plush Hotel Plaza Athenee and a meal for two in the top Lucas Carton restaurant. Campbell says: "My wife and I had a great trip on Eurostar and I was amazed at its speed, ...

  • IFonline signs new lenders

    16 May 2001

    Internet trading platform IFonline has signed up Bank of Scotland and Halifax subsidiary The Mortgage Business as the latest product providers on its system. IFAs logging on to the platform are now able to submit online mortgage applications for both lenders but IFonline says it does not yet know if Halifax intends to sign up. IFonline is due to announce next week the signing of the 50th lender on the platform capable of processing online loan applications.  

  • Independent view

    17 May 2001

    There is an old Chinese saying: "Let us live in interesting times". Well, life as an IFA these days is certainly interesting. What with the pension review, the FSAVC review and endowments debate, life as an IFA just seems to keep on getting more and more challenging. Many of the traditional products that used to be sold can no longer be justified and there is increasing pressure to reduce commission. Unless you have a big IFA practice, it is practically ...

  • Industry figures take to the hustings

    17 May 2001

    A handful of figures from financial services are set to seek election as MPs, including leading investment IFA Jason Hollands. Best Invest deputy managing director Jason Hollands is contesting the safe Labour seat of Hornsey and Wood Green in North London for the Conservatives. Another standing on the Tory ticket is Equitable Life pensions administrator Philip Cochrane in the marginal seat of Stafford. Also for the Tories, Andrew Griffith is contesting ...

  • INSIDE EDGE anne mcmeehan

    17 May 2001

    "What would be your advice?" These are words used by someone seeking an opinion. That is all. There is no implication that any resulting information will be acted upon, nor is there any indication whether this is a one-off enquiry or just the first of many such questions. We can glean no understanding from these words alone as to the likely quality of the advice that may be rendered. Similarly, the ability of the person posing the question to interpret any ...

  • Insurance against living too long

    17 May 2001

    Why do some commentators object to the compulsory purchase annuity regime? The reason apparently is that annuities give bad value for money. In arriving at this conclusion, they cite annuity rates today compared with years ago. They also argue that annuities are unpopular because they do not allow money to be paid to survivors on death. In fact, figures produced by the DSS comparing the retirement income generated by people retiring at different dates ...

  • Inter-Alliance top for growth

    17 May 2001

    IFAs are among some of the fastest-growing companies in the UK, according to a survey by management consultancy Deloitte & Touche. The Deloitte & Touche Indy 100 survey of companies in the UK middle-business market found Inter-Alliance and Bank-hall Investment Associates to be among the 100 best-performing companies in the UK. Inter-Alliance took seventh position and Bankhall was 43rd. Deloitte & Touche identified 7,000 middle-market companies - those ...

  • Investment trust Isas up over year

    18 May 2001

    Investment trust Isa purchases rose by 36 per cent over the last tax year, up to £206m for the 2000/2001 tax year from £152m for 1999/2000.But investment trust Isa purchases in the first quarter of 2001 were down 27 per cent at £59 million, from £81m in the first quarter of 2000.AITC communications director Annabel Brodie Smith says: "Although markets have been volatile, the message remains the same - equity investment is for the medium to long term."

  • Investment trust Isas up over year

    18 May 2001

    Investment trust Isa purchases rose by 36 per cent over the last tax year, up to £206m for the 2000/2001 tax year from £152m for 1999/2000.But investment trust Isa purchases in the first quarter of 2001 were down 27 per cent at £59 million, from £81m in the first quarter of 2000.AITC communications director Annabel Brodie Smith says: "Although markets have been volatile, the message remains the same - equity investment is for the medium to long term."

  • Irish find room for charges in new pension plan

    17 May 2001

    Less than a week after stakeholder was launched in the UK, the Irish government announced plans for "a key element in our comprehensive pension plans for the 21st Century". The announcement referred to the planned introduction of the Personal Retirement Savings Account and the accompanying description of it as lowcost, easily accessible and portable will inevitably invite comparisons with stakeholder. There are certainly a number of similarities but there are ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    17 May 2001

    Eurolife has just introduced its High Income or Growth Plan 3, which is even more ingenious and lower risk than its previous plan. It pays 0.8 per cent a month, 10.5 per cent a year or 34 per cent growth over the term of three years and two months. The return is tax-free for Isa and Pep transfers. Direct investors, who may place up to £1m in the plan, pay only 10 per cent income tax or 32.5 per cent for higher-rate taxpayers. The ...

  • L&G loan club axes flexible tracker fee

    17 May 2001

    Legal & General's mortgage club is offering a flexible self-certification tracker mortgage which saves applicants £325 by waiving the standard application fee. The loan offers a range of flexible features, including overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays and no red-emption charges at any time. The interest rate tracks the base rate plus 0.98 per cent for the lifetime of the mortgage, giving a current rate of 6.48 per cent, with interest calculated ...

  • L&G pension guide aims to aid advisers

    17 May 2001

    Legal & General is offering IFAs a booklet explaining the full range of pension options in the wake of the launch of stakeholder schemes. L&G says the booklet will help IFAs explain the full pension picture to clients rather than just focusing on stakeholder. The booklet covers the key issues on pensions, including what consumers should do if they do not have a pension and the tax implications. It alerts people to the need for a decent pension in ...

  • Law firm questions FSAVC levy

    17 May 2001

    Armstrong Neal Financial Sol-icitors is questioning the legality of the extra charges for the FSAVC review levied by networks on their members. The review is likely to cost networks millions, some of which will be passed on to mem-bers. Under many networks' contracts, members are protected against costs incurred if those costs are classified as damages but the law firm fears some networks could classify the review as a Vatable service, with members footing ...

  • Legal & General - Flexible Reserve 95 Per Cent

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001.

  • Legal & General Bank flexes its mortgage muscles

    21 May 2001

    Legal & General Bank has followed up on the recent 0.25 per cent cut in the Bank of England base rate by bringing in the flexible reserve mortgage.

  • LibDems plan a compulsory 'stakeholder'

    17 May 2001

    The Liberal Democrats' manifesto promises to introduce a compulsory revised stakeholder as part of a fundamental review of pensions. The new pension would be called Owned Second Pension Account. People not in company pension schemes would be compelled to take out one of the new pensions. The manifesto says: "We believe that the best way for to prevent poverty among future generations is to ensure that all people have a second pension." The Owned ...

  • Make your pitch for BaaBaas tickets

    17 May 2001

    Money Marketing has once again teamed up with Scottish Amicable to offer 50 lucky readers the chance to experience the Barbarians' free-flowing style of rugby during this year's Scottish Amicable Tour. The Barbarians are back on tour across the UK this summer with a world-class squad for international matches against Wales (Cardiff, Sunday, May 20), Scotland (Murrayfield, Thursday, May 24) and for only the second time ever against Eng-land (Twickenham, ...

  • Manor Park - Guaranteed UK Capital Growth Fund

    18 May 2001

    Friday, 18 May 2001.

  • Manor Park - Guaranteed UK Selected Growth Fund

    17 May 2001

    Thursday, 17 May 2001.

  • Manor Park lets investors choose level of guarantee

    17 May 2001

    Specialist investment house Manor Park is introducing two funds offering a choice of guaranteed minimum return of between 85 and 110 per cent of the amount invested. Manor hopes the three-year guaranteed UK selected growth fund and the five-year UK capital growth fund will appeal to both cautious and confident investors. It says investors concerned about stockmarket volatility can counter their fears by choosing the five-year fund with a higher capital ...

  • Marsden fixes for three years

    17 May 2001

    Marsden Building Society has brought in the three-year fixed rate mortgage.

  • Merrill Lynch - Merrill Lynch Defined Returns

    17 May 2001

    Thursday, 17 May 2001.

  • Merrill Lynch HSBC - Tessa Isa

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001.Type: Cash Isa for Tessa maturities.Minimum investment: Lump sum £5,000.Maximum investment: £9,000.Catmarked: No.Charges: None.Commission: None.Contact: www.mlhsbc.com.uk. 

  • Merrill offers protection

    18 May 2001

    Merrill Lynch HSBC has designed the global growth protected investment product, a guaranteed equity bond that is only available through the internet.

  • Moore's code

    17 May 2001

    To its detractors, it is the latest example of a Government stomping willy-nilly over the decaying corpse of financial advice. A hopeless example of ministerial arrogance and naivety. Catmarks for financial advice. Whatever will they think of next? Let us look at Catmarks in the round.It has not always looked that way but this Government has always had a rather clear agenda when it comes to financial services and no, for the paranoid tendency among the IFA community, ...

  • Most mortgage advisers looking to take exams

    17 May 2001

    The head of the Mortgage Code Compliance Board, Luke March, has told the Building Societies Association that 37,000 mortgage advisers have taken steps to pas the relevant exams before the 2002 deadline.March added that 17,000 of the 40,000 intermediaries in the UK are already qualified to CeMAP or MAQ.He also promised that the customer would see no difference between the parts of the market regulated on a statutory basis and the non-statutory sector covered by the MCCB.

  • Mystery firm starting up in Edinburgh

    17 May 2001

    A new mystery financial services company is set to launch in Edinburgh. A senior management team is being recruited for the new company which says it has significant capital backing from a strong financial services brand. It is aiming to become a leading UK financial services provider. It is not yet known who is behind the venture or what products will be offered although life and pension experience will be advantageous for candidates.

  • N&P heads south to the Spanish sun

    16 May 2001

    Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is expanding its reach in Spain with the introduction of the Spanish fixed rate mortgage.

  • Nationwide digs in on pricing policy

    18 May 2001

    The Building Societies Association has slammed research by the Halifax which claims 52 out of 67 mutuals offer mortgage rates more expensive than High Street banks.

  • Nationwide in shift on discounts

    17 May 2001

    Nationwide will do a U-turn on its pledge not to reintroduce discount mortgages if rivals such as Abbey National and Halifax refuse to change their pricing policies. The shock admission comes after months of plummeting sales for the UK's biggest building society following its decision in February to drop cut-price loans. Nationwide has previously dismissed suggestions by IFAs it would have to revise its pricing policy within six months. The ...

  • Network backs infomercial on Simply Shopping

    17 May 2001

    IFA network DBS is backing a personal finance television programme on the Simply Shopping channel which broadcasts on Sky Digital TV. The programme, called Simply Money from DBS, will be broadcast daily for an hour from the end of May initially for a three-month trial period. The aim is to promote understanding of financial products to up to five million viewers. DBS says the programme's name capitalises on the Simply Money brand used by the channel ...

  • Network fixes self-cert

    17 May 2001

    Mortgage packaging network Exclusive Connections has set up a self-certification fixed-rate loan funded by Bristol & West. The mortgage is fixed at 5.89 per cent until August 2004, then stays at 1.75 per cent above the Bank of England base rate for the life of the loan. Minimum loan is £25,001 and maximum is £500,000 although higher amounts will be considered. Loans are available up to 75 per cent loan to value on purchase and remortgage, ...

  • Newcastle Building Society - Global Guaranteed Equity Bond (Issue 2) Tessa Only Isa

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001.

  • Norwich Union brings in basic stakeholder

    21 May 2001

    Your Pension @ Norwich Union is a stakeholder plan which can be taken out on either an individual or a group basis, with investors able to choose up to six internal funds. These are the stakeholder with-profits, balanced managed, UK index tracker, sustainable future managed, retirement protection and deposit.

  • Norwich Union Healthcare increases hospital availability

    21 May 2001

    Norwich Union Healthcare is increasing the numbers of hospitals available under its Fair and Square private medical insurance policy.

  • Norwich Union tailors its stakeholder pension

    22 May 2001

    Norwich Union now has a broad spread of stakeholder pensions with the introduction of Designer Pension @ Norwich Union.

  • Nottingham wanders in the flexible forest

    18 May 2001

    Nottingham Building Society has introduced a flexible mortgage which has a 1.75 per cent discount in the first six months.

  • OUTSIDE EDGE Robert Reid

    17 May 2001

    What's wrong with independent financial advice? Nothing with the principle, of course, but we never seem to be far away from the next whine about persecution or the rising costs of being in business. Should we really be surprised? After all, is the sector not suffering from some fairly fundamental structural flaws? An ageing demographic, coupled with a pitiful awareness of marketing and technology means that it is not particularly well placed to operate ...

  • Pension problem is profitability

    17 May 2001

    In response to Damien Rylett's snipe at my assorted writings on stakeholder matters, he obviously has not bothered to read most of what I have been saying. My beef is not with stakeholder's broad objectives of reducing charges and simplifying product structures. Rather, I object to the way in which a predetermined set of completely unrealistic parameters have been rammed down the industry's throat with nothing more than a token "consultation" on the ...

  • Pensions Ombudsman goes online

    17 May 2001

    The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman is launching a website to provide information to the public and the pension industry, with details of the Ombuds-man's powers, procedures and publications.

  • Pink Home Loans - Exclusive 3 Year Fixed Rate

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001.

  • Pink Home Loans - Exclusive Fees Free Buy To Let Tracker - Remortgage Only

    17 May 2001

    Thursday, 17 May 2001. Type: Tracker rate buy-to-let mortgage for remortgages. Tracker term: Term of loan. Tracker rate: Bank of England base rate plus 1.25 per cent. Minimum loan: £30,000. Maximum loan: Up to 75 per cent of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m. Foreign nationals up to 65 per cent of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m. Income multiples: Rental income must be at least 125 per cent of monthly mortgage ...

  • Principality goes for cashback

    22 May 2001

    Principality Building Society has introduced the cashback discount mortgage.

  • Principality switches on to remortgages

    17 May 2001

    Principality has revamped its switch and save remortgage, which has a stepped discount over the first five years

  • Principality tracks the flexible market

    17 May 2001

    Principality Mortgages’ tracker flexible mortgage has joined the 93 similar products on the market.

  • Product Matters

    17 May 2001

    The ingenuity of our industry is as strong as ever when we look at the plethora of new stockmarket-linked bonds. It is vital to analyse each one and I will focus on NDF Technology Plus, promoted as offering "all of the thrills and none of the spills". We have a capital guaranteed product over five years and every six months the rise or fall in the Nasdaq 100 index is locked in. Crucially, the rise is capped at 12 per cent but the loss ...

  • Pru claims rivals not running 'real' with-profits stakeholder

    17 May 2001

    Prudential has queried how rival life offices are able to run with-profits under stakeholder, claiming they can only do so by cross-subsidising capital from traditional with-profits policyholder funds. The Pru joins Clerical Medical, Scottish Equitable and Skandia, which have already questioned whether with-profits stakeholder is viable. Pru says it wanted to offer a with-profits stakeholder contract, with smoothing outside the stakeholder's ringfenced ...

  • Pru director takes role on Inter-Alliance board

    17 May 2001

    National IFA Inter-Alliance has appointed Prudential sales director John Prout to its board as an executive director with a business development role. The move follows Inter-Alliance's recent acquisition of Pru's salesforce. Prout, 49, will take up his position on the board towards the end of the summer. He has been with the Pru for 14 years in sales and human resources roles. His specific remit at Inter-Alliance is still to be decided but ...

  • Putnam Investments - Putnam Global Bond Fund

    18 May 2001

    Friday, 18 May 2001.

  • Putnam Investments - Putnam Global Small Cap Core Equity Fund

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001.

  • Putnam Investments - Putnam Health Sciences Fund

    17 May 2001

    Thursday, 17 May 2001.

  • Real-time trading 'puts public on par with City'

    17 May 2001

    Hargreaves Lansdown is going online with a real-time share dealing service. Users can place orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with orders placed outside market hours being executed when the stockmarket reopens. Each trade costs £9.95 and investors will be able to take advantage of a countdown facility before accepting the price of stocks. The website features the latest company and market news together with share prices and analysis. Head ...

  • Ritchie ploughs into NU's guarantee

    17 May 2001

    The FSA may force Norwich Union to reconsider the guarantee on its stakeholder with-profits fund, according to Scottish Equitable pensions development director Stewart Ritchie. Speaking at ScotEq's series of national roadshows, Ritchie argued that NU has "ploughed a unique regu-latory furrow" which may provoke the regulator to reconsider its approval for its stakeholder with-profits plan. So far, only three life offices have said they are prepared ...

  • RJ Temple appoints Premier as investment adviser

    18 May 2001

    RJ Temple is appointing Premier Fund Managers as investment adviser for its funds under management.

  • RJ Temple bowled over by woman

    17 May 2001

    National IFA RJ Temple sponsored the recent English Bowls Players' Association Singles Championship which for the first time featured a woman in the finals. The championship took place in Wellingborough in the Midlands, with Tina Burgess, playing on her home green, becoming the first woman to qualify for the final stages of the event. Andy Thomson dropped the opening set in the first round of the tournament to Burgess before recovering to win the ...

  • RLAM buys Union Fund Management

    21 May 2001

    Royal London Asset Management has acquired Union Fund Management from Union plc, in a deal which will see RLAM's funds under management grow by £1.4bn to £28.5bn.

  • Rs are to reason why

    17 May 2001

    IFAs should not get trapped in the negative doom and gloom spiral about declining pension revenue as a result of the introduction of stakeholder. On the contrary, the welter of changes in pension legislation offer advisers a myriad of hooks to get in front of businesses and write lucrative pension contracts and explore other opportunities for financial products in the corporate market. All they need to do is remember the three Rs. Getting in front of a business ...

  • Scarborough Building Society - Four Step Five Year Discount

    21 May 2001

    Monday, 21 May 2001.

  • Scarborough Building Society - Two Step Five Year Discount

    18 May 2001

    Friday, 18 May 2001.

  • Scarborough steps & flexes

    18 May 2001

    Scarborough Building Society has brought in the stepped flexible lifetime discount mortgage.

  • Scarborough steps & flexes

    18 May 2001

    Scottish Equitable International has introduced the UK corporate bond fund.

  • Scarborough steps its discount mortgage

    21 May 2001

    Scarborough Building Society has brought in the two step five-year discount mortgage.

  • Scheme to probe complaints against FSA

    17 May 2001

    The FSA has published its final arrangements for inv-estigating complaints against itself from firms and con-sumers. Its scheme will start on September 1. The scheme covers procedures for dealing with allegations of misconduct by the FSA.

  • Schroders fund manager in move to US

    17 May 2001

    Schroders fund manager Jonathan Bolton is leaving the company to join Dresdner RCM in California. He has been with Schroders for 10 years, managing its Japan dynamic growth fund for the past six years. Schroders says Bolton wanted to relocate his family to the US from Tokyo.

  • Schroders manager goes West

    16 May 2001

    Schroders fund manager Jonathan Bolton is leaving the investment house to join Dresdner RCM in California. Bolton had been with Schroders for 10 years and had managed its Japan Dynamic Growth Fund for the past six years. Schroders says he wanted to relocate his family to the US from Tokyo. Matthew Dobbs, a fund manager with 15 years' experience managing Pacific and Japanese equities, will take over from Bolton. 

  • Scot Eq bonds with corporate bonds

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Equitable International has introduced the UK corporate bond fund.

  • ScotAm loans roadshow

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Amicable is taking to the road in the next two months with a series of 10 sessions covering issues and opportunities in the mortgage market. The roadshow, led by national mortgage manager John Malone, will take in venues including Manchester, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Norwich, Reading and Bristol. Each session for up to 200 intermediaries will include a talk by Mortgage Code Compliance Board compliance director Richard Fox on how regulation ...

  • Scotland the brave

    17 May 2001

    The Scottish Executive's plan to offer free personal care to all pensioners has added heat to the debate over long-term care but its effect on IFAs is double-edged. Although the public discussion has raised both IFA and public awareness of protecting assets against the high cost of LTC, the confusion makes selling LTC products harder for IFAs. The committee appointed by the Scottish Executive to deal with the issues of what personal care will ...

  • Scottish Equitable International - Government Bond Fund

    22 May 2001

    Tuesday, 22 May 2001.Type: Offshore life fund.Aim: Growth by investing in UK government bonds.Minimum investment: £15,000.Place of registration: Luxemburg.Investment split: 100 per cent in UK government bonds.Isa link: No.Charges: Annual 1 per cent.Commission: Initial 5.25 per cent.Tel: 0131 339 9191. 

  • Scottish Equitable International - UK Corporate Bond Fund

    21 May 2001

    Monday, 21 May 2001.Type: Offshore life fund.Aim: Growth by investing in UK investment grade bonds.Minimum investment: £15,000.Place of registration: Luxemburg.Investment split: 100 per cent in UK investment grade bonds.Isa link: No.Charges: Annual 1 per cent.Commission: Initial 5.25 per cent.Tel: 0131 339 9191. 

  • Scottish Widows banks on blue chips

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Widows has introduced the fourth series of its income and growth plan.

  • SEI funds focus on low-risk investors

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Equitable International is targeting low-risk investors with a fund investing in the UK corporate bond market and a Government bond fund. The corporate bond fund will focus on investment-grade bonds issued by companies with Standard & Poor's credit ratings of between BBB and AAA. The funds will be run from Luxemburg, with SEI sister company Aegon Asset Management providing investment advice. It manages around £11bn in the sterling corporate ...

  • Seller's pack cast aside for now but LTC bill gets through

    17 May 2001

    The dissolution of Parliament ahead of the general election has led to seller's packs falling by the wayside while proposals on long-term care just scraped through. The election also means that the announcement of the second Myners' report has been put on hold. The failure of the Homes Bill, which contained the proposal for seller's packs, to pass through Parliament as a result of strong opposition in both houses has been welcomed by the mortgage ...

  • Shaun crawford

    17 May 2001

    W orking for a management and IT consultancy firm, Shaun Crawford could be expected to proclaim a strong belief in the role of new technology in shaping the financial services world. He is charged with expanding the presence of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young through the financial services industry, and sees the financial services company business model ripe for a complete overhaul. As vice-president and head of insurance at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, one of ...

  • Single-password Portals set to be a hit with clients

    17 May 2001

    As the financial services industry finally adapts to an online culture, those at the cutting edge are gearing up to introduce the next stage. The latest proposition addresses the challenge of bringing all a client's accounts on to one site using a single password. The service, known as aggregation, is being brought to the UK by a number of firms which have already found success in the US. One provider, Yodlee, has more than a million users in the US and ...

  • Skandia boosts options for trustees

    16 May 2001

    Skanidia has redesigned its pension trustee bond as part of its Multipension range.

  • Smile's mini cash Isa tops press table

    16 May 2001

    Smile's mini cash Isa received the most positive mentions across the media over the Isa season, according to a survey published by Presswatch.

  • Societies lag on e-commerce

    17 May 2001

    More than half of building societies have not taken their first steps in e-commerce because they cannot afford it, according to a new report. Research commissioned by Deloitte & Touche and e-business solutions group iE found only 43 per cent of mutuals have e-commerce capability of any kind. Only a handful have technology more advanced than basic online application forms, with the majority of societies relying on information-only websites. The report ...

  • Standard Life makes first foray into investment trusts

    22 May 2001

    Standard Life Investments has moved into uncharted waters with the introduction of its European private equity trust. This is Standard Life's first investment trust and it is aimed at medium-risk investors, as well as institutional investors, who are seeking growth by investing in Europe. It will operate as a fund of funds. A total of 19 funds will be included in the initial investment spread, although Standard Life aims to increase this to 35 funds later ...

  • Swip finetunes sales and marketing team to improve IFA support

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Widows Investment Partnership is restructuring its sales and marketing team to provide better support to IFAs. The move will see the newly structured team headed by director of global marketing Fiach Maguire. He recently joined from Perpetual where he was pensions development director for the UK. The restructuring will also see Jaki Platt join from Invesco Perpetual to become retail division director. Chris Walker, who was previously Swip's global ...

  • Swiss Life lauches group risk technical guides

    21 May 2001

    Swiss Life is launching a set of technical guides for IFAs to use when advising clients on group risk products, based on the concept of key features documents.

  • Test your knowledge online

    17 May 2001

    Test your knowledge online with Money Marketing's CPD questions. Specialist financial publisher Tax-briefs has drawn up multiple-choice questions based on articles in this week's issue. The service is sponsored by Scottish Widows. For further details and this week's questions - see page 72. 

  • The attraction of opposites

    17 May 2001

    Scottish Mutual has introduced withprofits.com, a unit-linked bond that allows investments to be split between a with-profits fund and a technology fund. The technology fund focuses mainly on tech stocks in North America and can include biotechnology, telecomms and media stocks. The annual bonus rate for the with-profits fund is currently 5.25 per cent. Investors can take regular income and make one-off withdrawals. The bond aims to produce capital ...

  • The Daley Update

    17 May 2001

    Yorkshire Fund Managers' British smaller technology companies 2 is extending its offer period until May 31. The fund has raised £6.5m of its £30m target. Fidelity's Funds-Network has added BWD Rensburg, Govett Investments and Rothschild Asset Manage-ment funds to its platform, taking the total number of funds to 476 from 35 providers. Exeter Investment Group' profits rose by 42 per cent to £2.45m from £1.72m in the ...

  • The gene machine

    17 May 2001

    The general public have a complicated relationship with genetic science. On the one hand, it is believed to herald a new generation of children without health problems and smart cures for existing health problems while its darker side brings fears of mutant clones and Big Brother medical tests. For the present, the widely reported advances in genetic testing, including the human genome project, are not likely to have a great effect on the majority of the population, ...

  • Tories pledge NI rebate to fund private pension

    17 May 2001

    A Conservative Government would allow younger workers to opt out of National Insurance to fund pensions privately. In the manifesto, Time for Common Sense, the Tories also promise to end compulsory annuity purchase at 75. The pension proposals would allow people under 30 to rebate their NI contributions into a personal pension or stakeholder. The manifesto also contains several policies of direct relevance to the financial services industry, including ...

  • Trackers have the staying power to beat active funds

    17 May 2001

    I would like to take issue with Philip Thomas (Money Marketing, April 26) who seems to imply that trackers are only for suckers. I must therefore be an idiot because my Virgin pension uses an index-tracking fund. To advocate avoiding trackers "so as not to seriously damage one's wealth" is, frankly, a misleading statement from an IFA, if that is what I judge him to be from his byline. You simply cannot compare a tracker's "underperformance" of the ...

  • UCB Homeloans passes on rate cut

    22 May 2001

    UCB Home Loans, the specialist lender of Nationwide, is reducing its self-certification variable rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.84 per cent.The rate cut applies to both existing and new borrowers with effect from June 1. 

  • WAP service from Standard Life

    22 May 2001

    Standard Life Investments is launching a new WAP service which will give daily prices for all Standard’s funds, a search facility for FTSE 100 stocks and competitor funds, market views and news headlines. It will be accessible from any WAP handset. Customers can build their portfolio on Standard Life Investments’ website and review its progress via a WAP phone. 

  • Winner on aggregate

    17 May 2001

    It can be uncanny sometimes how things can come together. No sooner had I emailed last week's article on aggregation to Money Marketing, I answered my phone to Euan Robertson, development director of Spektra Systems, who invited me to Livingston to look at the toolset the company has built to assist a wide range of financial services companies with aggregation. Possibly, I should not be too surprised as the opportunity offered by aggregation had been high ...

  • Zurich - Zurich Life Whole Of Life Insurance

    16 May 2001

    Wednesday, 16 May 2001. Type: Cafeteria-style protection policy covering whole life, critical illness and long term care cover. WHOLE LIFE Minimum sum assured/premium: £25,000/£10 a month, £100 a year. Minimum-maximum ages: 18-84. Allocation rates: 30-97.5 per cent. Fund links: Balanced managed, cautious managed, adventurous managed, UK deposit fund. Charges: Annual 0.75 per cent. Options: Waiver of premium, ...

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