Money Marketing
17 June 2010
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10 MINUTES WITH… JON REBAK
21 Jun 2010
James Smith spends 10 minutes talking to HBSC’s open global return fund manager Jon Rebak.
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A waiting game
17 June 2010
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Adviser Fund Index
17 June 2010
British equity weightings crept upwards in the Balanced and Cautious Adviser Fund index benchmarks during the May rebalancing. While respective increases of two and one percentage points were hardly indicative of strong adviser appe-tite, they halted a pattern of declining exposure to British-listed stocks across the AFI series.
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Advisers furious at £22m bonuses for FSA staff
17 June 2010
Financial advisers have reacted angrily to the news that FSA staff were paid nearly £22m in bonuses last year, with three board members getting bonuses totalling £278,000.
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Advisers wary of Friends' deal
17 Jun 2010
Advisers are worried that Resolution’s proposed acquisition of the bulk of Axa UK’s life insurance arm could lead to lower service levels.
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AMPS wants new law to clarify drawdown tax
17 Jun 2010
The Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes is calling for legislative changes to stop income taken following a transfer to another drawdown provider or annuity before age 55 being hit with a 55 per cent unauthorised payment charge.
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Apollo cuts equity exposure
17 June 2010
Apollo Multi-Asset Management has reduced the equity exposure in its balanced fund to 41 per cent, having sailed close to its 50 per cent limit at the end of March.
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Applications withdrawn after interviews
17 June 2010
The FSA says 27 applications for a significant influence function were withdrawn in 2009/10, following the introduction of its new interview process.
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'Axe commission for bank sales staff'
17 June 2010
The Which? Future of Banking Commission has called for the complete removal of commission for front-line bank staff and enforcement action against senior management in firms putting excessive sales pressure on workers.
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Bennett takes RWC intermediary role
17 June 2010
RWC Partners has appointed JP Morgan Asset Management head of UK international sales John Bennett to lead its UK intermediary sales team.
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Better by design
17 Jun 2010
The Budget should go back to the drawing board for pensions
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Brokers back Barclays on newbuild deal
17 June 2010
Brokers have praised Barclays’ new mortgage deal for clients buying Bovis homes and hope to see the scheme replicated with other lenders to have a greater impact on the newbuild market.
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Buckles buys Heather Moor & Edgecomb
17 June 2010
Buckles has acquired Wiltshire IFA firm Heather Moor & Edgecomb for an undisclosed cash sum. The deal has been funded by Buckles’ parent company, Sanlam UK.
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Budget could cause structured shake-up
18 Jun 2010
Gilliat Financial Solutions warns tax legislation in the emergency Budget may see huge changes for the structured products industry.
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Campaign for fair USP deal
17 Jun 2010
Annuity Direct is running a Fair USP campaign, calling on the FSA to ensure providers give consumers full details of critical yields on unsecured pensions, based on the best annuity rates on the open market.
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Cap-ad fears as operating risk rises
18 Jun 2010
Platforms will have to deal with an increase in operational risk as the market grows.
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Caught in a tug-of-war
21 Jun 2010
A struggle between improving fundamentals and top-down structural concerns is creating an economic clash
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Chadborn calls on advisers to move to non-indemnity
18 Jun 2010
CBK Colchester director Peter Chadborn has called on protection advisers to move away from commission on an indemnity basis towards a non-indemnity model.
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Child funds had to be cut
17 June 2010
Having read the article by Nic Cicutti, Breach of child trust in Money Marketing (June 3), I am not sure if he is being naive or hopelessly out of touch with the economic dilemma.
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Coalition must listen on CGT
18 Jun 2010
Paul Farrow says the CGT hike could force people to make bad investment decisions.
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Concern at jointlife cover selling
17 Jun 2010
Kevin Carr Consulting managing director Kevin Carr has raised concerns regarding the high level of joint-life protection policies sold to couples.
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Concerns grow at interest gap
17 June 2010
Panellists slam providers which making profits from the interest paid on cash accounts held on platforms.
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Corporate bond price is right, says Pattullo
18 Jun 2010
Henderson head of retail fixed income believes corporate bond funds are now priced attractively despite money leaving the sector.
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Corporate casualties
18 Jun 2010
The popularity of corporate bonds is dwindling as concerns over liquidity return. Chris Salih reports
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Cost of public sector pensions to soar
17 June 2010
The Office for Budget Responsibility has projected that the costs of spending on net public service pensions will more than double in the next five years, from £4bn in 2010/11 to £9.4bn in 2014/15.
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Crackdown brings broker bans and record fines
17 June 2010
The FSA took a record £33.6m in fines during 2009/10 and banned more than 30 mortgage brokers under its new intensive supervision regime.
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Critical points
22 Jun 2010
Annie Shaw looks at CI cover and gauges reaction to the ABI’s move to give TPD a new name
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Currency concerns see Armstrong add ETFs to pick up gold
17 June 2010
Armstrong Investment Management has bought two exchange traded funds on the back of recent falls in gold prices and Asian stocks.
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Deficit attention
17 Jun 2010
The single most important challenge that the new Government faces is obviously to manage the public finance deficit.
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Deflation could see return of easing
18 Jun 2010
The Bank of England may be forced to restart its quantitative easing programme.
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Early access to pensions has a sting in the tail
17 June 2010
Mercer has warned against Government proposals to look into early access to pension savings claiming this “leakage” undermines efforts to encourage people to save for retirement.
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Emerging plan
17 June 2010
Merchant Capital has launched a capital kickout plan for emerging markets, with exposure to Brazil and China.
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Equitable victims fear Government's compensation pledge may be slashed
17 June 2010
The Equitable Members’ Action Group has questioned the Government’s promises of fair compensation after reports that the Treasury may cut compensation levels to £1bn.
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EU to publish stress tests of major European banks
18 Jun 2010
The European Union has announced it will publish stress tests of major European banks next month amid confusion over their exposure to theeurozone crisis.
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Ex-Pru man joins FSA as life adviser
17 June 2010
The FSA has appointed former Prudential director of retirement strategy and innovation Tom Boardman as its life insurance senior adviser.
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Fidelity FundsNetwork makes transparency pledge
17 Jun 2010
Platform says it would offer a full breakdown of all rebates it receives but disclosure would have to be made mandatory across the industry.
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Fidelity says rebate deal needs to be industrywide
17 June 2010
Dymott: ‘Always been open’
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Financeland is no good at change
21 Jun 2010
Chris Gilchrist says we are all GDP growth addicts who prefer to ignore change at all costs.
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Fortis Life goes whole of IFA market
17 June 2010
Fortis Life UK has made its products and services available across the whole of the IFA market. Fortis has limited its distribution partners since its launch in July 2008 in a bid to manage service levels.
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FSA toughens up on client money
17 Jun 2010
CMS Cameron McKenna financial services team associate Mez Raja says the FSA’s £33.3m fine against JP Morgan sends a zero tolerance message to senior management of firms over client money breaches.
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FSA urged to produce common disclosure document
18 Jun 2010
Nucleus chief executive David Ferguson is calling for the regulator to press ahead with its proposed ban on bundled pricing.
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Fund firms paying to be on preferred lists
17 Jun 2010
At least two platforms are believed to be receiving inducements from fund firms in exchange for making it on to their preferred fund lists, say experts.
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Fund in the four front
21 Jun 2010
“It is probably fair to say Olim UK equity is a fund name that few people recognise but this is a solid UK equity income team looking in both traditional and less traditional areas of the market.”
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Home choice for income
17 June 2010
In Money Marketing (June 10), Adrian Lowcock highlights the significant number of UK equity income funds which hold BP in their portfolio and flags the serious dividend issues this presents.
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IFA chiefs should not escape FSA ethics message
18 Jun 2010
Rob Reid says CEOs of networks and adviser businesses must be as qualified as the advisers who work for them.
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IFA rep in Big Brother house
17 Jun 2010
Former Whitechurch Securities sales rep has entered the Big Brother house in the final series of the reality TV show.
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IFAs grab a bigger slice of protection market
17 June 2010
Independent advisers increased their share of individual protection sales across all product lines last year, taking business from the tied channel.
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IMA chief calls for action over chain conflicts
17 June 2010
Investment Management Association chairman Douglas Ferrans has called on the financial services industry to deal with the conflicts of interest created by excessive intermediation.
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Integrity chief says FSA probe was misguided
18 Jun 2010
Iain Stamp defends the firm’s geared traded endowment policies and says FSA caused firm’s liquidation due to “misguided” investigation.
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Keep CGT simple
18 Jun 2010
A return to a complex system would alienate the public
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Legal pact could help platforms add funds
17 Jun 2010
Alliance Trust Savings has called for a standardised legal agreement to help simplify the pro-cess for platforms looking to sign up new funds.
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Lesser of two evils
17 June 2010
The Government’s approach to its austerity measures will be absolutely key to their success
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Lifemark paid out over £80m in fees
17 June 2010
Nearly £60m of up-front fees and commission was paid out of Lifemark to Keydata and a British Virgin-Islands listed firm.
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Look at merging FOS and FSCS with FSA, says Aifa
17 Jun 2010
Chris Cummings says Government should consider merger when FSA becomes part of the Bank of England.
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Market volatility boosts kickouts
17 June 2010
The recent stockmarket volatility is creating more competitive terms for autocall products.
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Mike Fosberry
18 Jun 2010
PFS president and Smith & Williamson national head of financial services believes IFAs should be regarded as a professional no different from a lawyer or an accountant and as RDR looms.
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Misbuying risk in non-advised platform route
17 Jun 2010
Advisers call on FSA to ensure advised and non-advised platforms have a level footing for regulation.
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MM leader: Bank balance
17 June 2010
Money Marketing warmly welcomes Which?’s Future of Banking Commission report, exposing many failing in the banking sector which, for whatever reason, the FSA has failed to address.
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MM leader: Drawdown debacle adds to the confusion
17 Jun 2010
HM Revenue & Customs’ volte-face over the status of income drawdown funds where the investor is under 55 does not fill the industry with confidence.
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Moneygate takes over Beacon
17 June 2010
Moneygate Group has bought Buckinghamshire IFA firm Beacon Asset Management, adding £90m to its funds under management.
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New body to enforce code of conduct
17 June 2010
The Government should introduce a formal code of conduct for the banking sector to be enforced by a new professional standards body.
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New lending
18 Jun 2010
Paul Thomas asks if innovative deals being offered in the mortgage market shows that lenders are willing to look further than plain vanilla products
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Northern grit
21 Jun 2010
“Given the bad news that investors have had to contend with recently, the tone in Scotland was remarkably upbeat.”
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Nucleus offers to reveal payments
17 Jun 2010
Nucleus has committed to allowing Skandia access to its rebate information after initially refusing to disclose the payments it gets from fund firms.
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On the right trail
17 June 2010
Those of us who founded Aifa envisaged that IFAs would have an organisation which, through listening to members, good research, presenting cases with logic rather than emotion, would earn the respect of regulators, politicians, consumers and our members.
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Out of context
17 June 2010
“Mind your Mulberry there, the ground is a bit wet.”
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Over-50s lack awareness of LTC costs
17 June 2010
The over-50s are hugely underestimating the costs of long-term care, according to new research from Partnership.
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PFS handbook for CAB volunteers
18 Jun 2010
Handbook for IFAs looking to team up with the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux and offer pro bono financial advice.
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Pick a winner
18 Jun 2010
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Plan calls for FSCS deposit class
17 June 2010
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme could introduce a new deposit class carrying a 100 per cent unlimited Government guarantee under proposals from the Which? Future of Banking Commission
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Platforms redraw distribution map
17 June 2010
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Platforms will boom in big bang for re-reg
17 Jun 2010
Re-registration is set to undergo a “big bang” which will see the transfer of assets between platforms overtake the efficiency of pension and Isa transfers.
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Proactive process
22 Jun 2010
Thinking about clients at times of change such as the emergency Budget will definitely have its rewards.
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Product providers hit back at Which? criticism over risks
17 June 2010
Structured product providers have hit back at Which? Money’s recent list that ranked structured products among its top 10 useless financial products for consumers.
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PruProtect offers CI and medical cover combination
17 June 2010
PruProtect is offering two new health insurance products.
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Quality street
22 Jun 2010
The focus on protection must move away from volume
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Reforms to rebuild the banking system
18 Jun 2010
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive, Which? sets out the findings from the wide-ranging Future of Banking Commission which calls for a radical shake-up of banking
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Reid to lead Tisa re-reg push
17 June 2010
The Tax Incentivised Savings Association has appointed former Thornhill Investment Management chief operating officer Alistair Reid to its platform re-registration executive steering committee to head its re-reg programme.
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Savings gap is problem, not insurers, says Kane
17 June 2010
The savings gap poses a greater threat to economic and financial stability in the UK than the failure of any individual insurer, warns the Association of British Insurers.
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Slick manoeuvring
18 Jun 2010
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Social climbing
18 Jun 2010
Rob Clifford says brokers need to look at how social media can benefit their businesses in the tough economic climate.
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Swiss Life set for global assault
17 June 2010
Ex-Zurich International Life chief executive for the Middle East and Africa Carlos Sabug-ueiro has joined insurer Swiss Life to head the firm’s new international venture.
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Tenet launches new service for smaller pensions
17 Jun 2010
Tenet Retirement Solutions is offering a non-advised annuity desk service for advisers to outsource clients with smaller pension pots.
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Term of endearment
22 Jun 2010
Our panel of experts give their opinions on the ABI’s move to rename total permanent disability, tackling the problem of PPI misselling, increasing competition in the critical-illness market and bridging the protection gap
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Thinktank wants radical plan to simplify saving
17 Jun 2010
The Centre for Policy Studies has called for radical simplification of the savings framework to bring Isas and pensions closer together.
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Trouble Down Under
18 Jun 2010
Lee Jones talks to Martin Speiser of Australian firm MASU Financial Management about how big changes are putting pressure on the sector Down Under
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Ucits IV feeder switch could cut UK fund jobs
18 Jun 2010
Introduction of Ucits IV could see hundreds of job losses in the UK asset management industry.
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Vantis suspends share trading
17 June 2010
Vantis, the parent company of IFA firm Vantis Financial Management, has been forced to suspend share trading due to a lack of funds. Vantis chief executive Paul Jackson and head of business recovery Nigel Hamilton-Smith resigned on June 12.
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Win a CD/MP3 programme of your choice!
24 Jun 2010
What are the top exam success factors? Patterson Audio are conducting an online survey to identify the learning methods or study characteristics that are most associated with successful completion of the Diploma exams.
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Words of comfort
17 June 2010
THE EDITOR’S LETTER OF THE WEEK
