Money Marketing
17 November 2004
-
3bn needed for pension rescue
18 Nov 2004
The Government's 20m annual commitment to the scheme for collapsed pension funds is woefully inadequate and it only support a fraction of those who have lost out, says independent pension consultant Dr Ros Altmann.
-
A consumer's view
18 Nov 2004
With the post-war baby boom-ers coming up to retirement, IFAs and other professionals would do well to remind clients that a bit of pre-retirement planning does not go amiss.
-
Abbey for Intermediaries launches commission based payment package
22 Nov 2004
Abbey for Intermediaries is launching a new commission based payment package for intermediaries selling its Peace of Mind buildings and contents insurance and Paymentcase mortgage payment protection insurance.
-
Abraham to probe DWP on DB role
18 Nov 2004
Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham says there will be an investigation into whether Government maladministration led to finalsalary scheme members losing pension benefits.
-
Aegon says multi-ties will change market in long term
18 Nov 2004
Multi-ties will not fundamentally change the market immediately but will provide opportunities in the longer term, claims Aegon group chief executive David Henderson.
-
Aifa wants rethink on FSCS
18 Nov 2004
Aifa is calling for an urgent fundamental review of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
-
AITC wants Treasury to end 'tax distortion'
18 Nov 2004
The AITC is calling on the Treasury to put an end to tax distortions, which it says make the creation of investment trust bond funds commercially unviable.
-
Alliance & Leicester - Five Year Fixed Rate
22 Nov 2004
Alliance & LeicesterFive Year Fixed Rate
-
Alliance & Leicester - Long Term Base Rate Tracker
17 Nov 2004
-
Axa mixes menu to cover tastes for protection
18 Nov 2004
Axa is launching its protection account this week with a range of cover on a menu.
-
Back to basics
18 Nov 2004
-
Bates puts risk in focus
18 Nov 2004
The performance of most focus funds is worth the higher risk compared with mainstream funds but the gap is narrowing, says Bates Investment Services.
-
Be a partner in business
18 Nov 2004
Find out how you could help your community and raise funds for the NSPCC.
-
Beagles back with JO Hambro fund
18 Nov 2004
Winterthur Life pensions stra-tegy manager Mike Morrison says IFAs are still unable to give definitive advice to clients while they wait for details on pension simplification.
-
Boulger anger over BTL ad 'confusion'
18 Nov 2004
-
Breene break
18 Nov 2004
-
Brewin Dolphin Securities - Thistle Pub Company II
18 Nov 2004
Brewin Dolphin SecuritiesThistle Pub Company II
-
Brokers urged to go direct to lenders for sub-prime quotes
18 Nov 2004
Brokers could be losing sub-prime business by not understanding the effects of online search tools, says Advantage Home Loans.
-
BSA says cost of loan regulation has hit £500m
18 Nov 2004
BSA chairman John Parker estimates that the cost of mortgage regulation has reached £500m, well above initial estim-ates from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the FSA.
-
'BTL investors will stay in market for over 10 years'
18 Nov 2004
BM Solutions says it is confident that buy-to-let investors plan to stay in the market for over 10 years.
-
Buckles gets snowed under
18 Nov 2004
Buckles Investment ServicesSnowdonia Balanced Fund
-
Can BTL beat The property downturn?
18 Nov 2004
-
Cause for complaint
18 Nov 2004
-
Charcol general manager Okey believed to be resigning
19 Nov 2004
Charcol general manager Ricky Okey is believed to be resigning from the company by December 1st.
-
Charcol on verge of MBO
18 Nov 2004
Bradford & Bingley is understood to be very close to agreeing a management buy out for Charcol. The bid is believed to include Charcol founder John Garfield and to have venture capital backing.
-
City spurns IFA sector as share prices plummet
18 Nov 2004
Listed IFAs have fallen out of favour with the City, with some seeing their share prices halve this year.
-
Correspondent's Week
18 Nov 2004
As most personal finance journalists - well, most of the female ones anyway - were invited to a screening of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason last week, I felt it fitting to write my column in something approxim-ating the style of Bridget's first diary.
-
Coventry Building Society -Self Cert 1.5% Discount
23 Nov 2004
Coventry Building SocietySelf Cert 1.5% Discount
-
Creeping unrest
18 Nov 2004
-
Cruising for a bruising
18 Nov 2004
Equity-release demand is growing from people looking to spend the proceeds on luxury items such as round-the-world cruises but there could be a sinking feeling for advisers who fail to recognise the risks.
-
Cutting Isa allowances will cost savers over £180,000'
18 Nov 2004
Government plans to cut Isa allowances from April 2005 could cost regular Isa savers over £180,000 in tax-free interest over the course of their working lives, says Intelligent Finance.
-
Davy keeps pressing for product levy
18 Nov 2004
Simply Biz chairman Ken Davy has reiterated his call for the FSCS to be replaced with a product levy, saying a levy would not be detrimental to consumers.
-
Debt collectors claw back loans from Inter-Alliance paraplanners
18 Nov 2004
Debt collectors are pursuing former Inter-Alliance paraplanners who took out company loans to set up their own business.
-
Drawdown dilemma in retirement age rise
18 Nov 2004
The raising of the minimum retirement age from 50 to 55 could restrict income levels of people using drawdown when the change is introduced.
-
Duffy on Mortgages
18 Nov 2004
HBOS enjoys over 20 per cent of the UK mortgage market so you would expect its annual intermediary dinner to be a consummate affair and once again did not disappoint last week.
-
Eight on short list for IFA Woman of the Year
18 Nov 2004
Axa's third-quarter results show an increase in life and savings revenues for the UK.
-
Equity release to lead revamp for Woolwich
18 Nov 2004
Barclays is planning to launch Woolwich into the equity-release market as part of a massive upgrading of its product range.
-
Fallon fear on records in tax office merger
18 Nov 2004
Treasury select committee member Michael Fallon is concerned about keeping records confidential when Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue merge.
-
Firm fined 500,000 for selling shares short
18 Nov 2004
The FSA has fined Evolution Beeson Gregory 500,000 and head of market-making Christopher Potts 75,000 for distortion amounting to market abuse.
-
FSA appoints new regulatory decisions chair
22 Nov 2004
-
FSA warning that small firms must do more to beat hackers
18 Nov 2004
Small and medium-sized fin-ancial firms need to be more pro-active in improving online security systems rather than just responding to hackers and fraudsters, says the FSA.
-
Gartmore adds five to Sicav range
23 Nov 2004
Gartmore is launching five new funds to increase its Luxembourg based Sicav range.
-
General public still prefer putting their money in property
18 Nov 2004
The majority of active inv-estors are preparing to inc-rease their stockmarket exposure while the general public still prefer to invest in property, according to investor confidence res-earch by the AITC.
-
Getting the right mix
18 Nov 2004
What key ingredients make up a good provider proposition in the protection arena - what has a provider got to get right if it is to be successful in this market?
-
Hatch leaves Penrose following boardroom disputes
18 Nov 2004
Penrose Financial Public Relations founding partner Louise Hatch has left the group following a series of boardroom disagreements.
-
Here is the good news
18 Nov 2004
At the recent Aifa dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting beside John Lappin, the editor of Money Marketing.
-
Hitch over Halifax KFI forces Mortgageforce to choose different deal
18 Nov 2004
Brokers say they are still running into problems with key features illustrations from Halifax.
-
IFA seeks source of Brain problems
18 Nov 2004
Low-income workers with stakeholder pensions who do not increase contributions over time will pay more in charges than they do in contributions in the latter years of their saving, warns B&CE.
-
IFA seeks source of Brain problems
18 Nov 2004
A Midlands IFA claims to have lost business due to problems with sourcing system Mortgage Brain.
-
IFAs confident of growth in equity-release market
18 Nov 2004
Eighty-one per cent of IFAs expect the equity-release market to increase in 2005, according to survey by Money Marketing and Mortgage Express.
-
IFAs need a sense of justice
18 Nov 2004
The regulatory system is not fair to IFAs.If it wasn't apparent before, it has become obvious in the last few weeks.
-
Independent view
18 Nov 2004
There is still much confusion about trail fees. As advisers, we have a duty to explain the true cost of advice.
-
Insinger's hybrid portfolio mixes managers and funds
18 Nov 2004
Anglo-Dutch investment manager Insinger de Beaufort is blurring the boundaries between manager of managers and funds of funds with its recently established astute portfolio.
-
Insurance to cover tax investigations
18 Nov 2004
Employment law firm Peninsula is offering a service to cover IFAs against the costs of tax investigations.
-
Investec Asset Management - Global Energy Fund
18 Nov 2004
Investec Asset ManagementGlobal Equity Fund
-
Investec mirrors offshore magic
22 Nov 2004
Investec Asset ManagementGlobal Energy Fund
-
Investment view
18 Nov 2004
The Apcims' conference was the opportunity to see just how fast hedge funds have grown, according to Brian Tora
-
Investors urged to consider portfolio options
18 Nov 2004
Insight Investments is urging investors to consider multi-manager products as a solution for the transfer of assets that have accumulated in Peps and Isas.
-
Isas fall out of favour
18 Nov 2004
Rising returns on cash, stuck markets and loss of tax benefits are bringing a decline in Isas.
-
James Hay offering free SSAS transfers
18 Nov 2004
James Hay Consultancy will carry out SSAS transfers free in the run-up to A-Day.
-
John Lawson on pensions
18 Nov 2004
In less than 18 months there will be a life cover revolution. New pension tax rules will allow most people to meet life assurance needs within a pension wrapper and get tax relief against the premiums paid.
-
Julian Gibbs
18 Nov 2004
Now that the American elections are over and President Bush has been given a strong mandate, with increased majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the outlook for the world's stockmarkets looks to be fairly good, with the UK, Japan and the Pacific markets leading the way.
-
Jupiter chief eyes undervalued firms
18 Nov 2004
Jupiter fund manger Anthony Nutt believes undervalued firms are the key to success in the UK stockmarket.
-
Kafka's trial as IFA 'ostrich' fights FSA
18 Nov 2004
A High Court judge branded FSA rules "almost Kafka-esque" as the regulator sought compensation from an IFA this week.
-
Keith Popplewell: Tolerance levels
18 Nov 2004
In my last few articles, I have identified and discussed the nature and extent of the three main risks involved in a pension drawdown strategy - interest rates, investment performance and the risk from increasing life expectancy.
-
LIA's late show with workshops on mortgages
18 Nov 2004
The LIA is holding workshops for advisers on how to provide mortgage advice in a regulated market.
-
LIA's view
18 Nov 2004
We are all faced every day with choices about the kind of people we should be and the priorities and general direction in which we should go.
-
Liberata handles transfer of million Barclays policies
18 Nov 2004
Business process outsour-cer Liberata has completed the transfer of over one million Barclays Life policies to its admin platform in the UK's biggest industry transition.
-
Life profit warning by Marlborough Stirling
18 Nov 2004
Marlborough Stirling's life and pension division has issued a warning over future profits.
-
LifeQuote streamlines new underwriting offer
18 Nov 2004
LifeQuote has set up a streamlined tele-underwriting service for advisers arranging term insurance and criticalillness cover.
-
Liver Tonic
18 Nov 2004
Alison Bone finds that Royal Liver is already planning to build on its recent entry into protection sector.
-
Loan star
18 Nov 2004
-
'Lords' vote to end annuity obligation is superfluous'
18 Nov 2004
The House of Lords vote to end annuity compulsion in the Pensions Bill is a red herring, says Standard Life pensions technical manager John Lawson.
-
Martin Finegold steps down as non-executive director of Kensington
23 Nov 2004
Kensington Group announces that Martin Finegold has stepped down as a non-executive director of the board of the company with effect from November 29 2004.
-
Millfield bases multi-tie on Inter-Alliance
18 Nov 2004
-
Mortgage Edge
18 Nov 2004
-
'Mutuals are vital to the economy'
18 Nov 2004
Mutuals are a vital part of the economy, says the Parliamentary all-party group for building societies and financial mutuals.
-
Networks offer invaluable service to many advisers
18 Nov 2004
In your article "IFAs warned on perils of joining a network" John Ellis claims that if he were an IFA he would not want to be under the umbrella of a network. He then goes on to analyse the advantages of network membership against the problems that can arise.
-
New pension information website launched
22 Nov 2004
Worldwide Financial Planning has launched a consumer-friendly pensions A day website.
-
Niche products Give access to Best of breed
18 Nov 2004
Singer & Friedlander Investment Management has launched a multi-asset multi-manager portfolio service to allow customers access to best of breed managers.
-
No relation
18 Nov 2004
-
Occupational pension hazards
18 Nov 2004
The Pensions Bill introduces a large number of changes for money-purchase occupational pension schemes and smaller changes for contract-based money purchase, such as personal pension and stakeholder. It is too early to draw up a comprehensive list, since we need to see the regulations which will dribble out after Royal Assent but it is worth identifying some of the main changes.
-
On the levy
18 Nov 2004
Simply Biz chairman Ken Davy and FSA managing director regulatory services David Kenmir exchange views on replacing the FSCS scheme with a product levy approach to funding consumer compensation.
-
Out of context
18 Nov 2004
-
Outside applicants vie for Aifa job
18 Nov 2004
Aifa's has received a host of applicants from outside the industry to replace outgoing director general Paul Smee who is leaving.
-
Paying a price for innovation
18 Nov 2004
Fund managers are warning IFAs that innovation in the investment marketplace will, inevitably, add more to initial fees and commission.
-
Platinum Capital Management - Platinum Portfolio
22 Nov 2004
Platinum Capital ManagementPlatinum Portfolio
-
Platinum groups funds together for hedge fund of funds
19 Nov 2004
-
Product Matters
18 Nov 2004
The current UK equity income sector must beone of the most competitive sectors within unit trusts.
-
Really fairly
18 Nov 2004
What steps have you taken to check that whoever you do business with manufactures, promotes or sells products in a TCF-consistent manner?
-
Redemptions force F&C prime sale
18 Nov 2004
F&C's multi-manager team has been forced to sell a stake in its own UK prime fund following the departure of star manager Mike Felton who moved to M&G this week.
-
Regional accents
18 Nov 2004
Key Retirement Solutions business development director Dean Mirfin maps out the equity-release boom.
-
Regulation review is key issue in pre-Budget report
18 Nov 2004
A review of regulation will be among the key issues raised in Chancellor Gor-don Brown's pre-Budget report on December 2.
-
Revenue urges public to recover tax on savings
23 Nov 2004
Up to 4 million people could benefit from an Inland Revenue initiative to encourage savers to claim tax back on their savings.
-
Royal Liver is putting Millfield on hold for protection
18 Nov 2004
Royal Liver says it will not offer its newly launched protection proposition to Millfield until the IFA's situation is more stable.
-
ScotEq slashes individual stakeholder commission
18 Nov 2004
Scottish Equitable is slashing commission on regular-prem-ium individual stakeholder business but is raising single-premium commission in a bid to capture transfer business.
-
Secret watchdog decision raises critical concerns
18 Nov 2004
Online proposals for critical-illness insurance are open to abuse because the ombudsman can question the contract, says exIFA Brian Lentz.
-
Sipp raises Standard
23 Nov 2004
Standard LifeSIPP
-
Skerritt Consultants acquires Robin Lloyd Associates
18 Nov 2004
-
Stakeholder changes put up the exit sign
18 Nov 2004
The amendments to stakeholder regulations give product providers an exit strategy from the market and could lead to many companies closing their stakeholder schemes.
-
Standard Life - Sipp
17 Nov 2004
Standard LifeSIpp
-
Standard Life is biting the hand that feeds it
18 Nov 2004
-
Standard offers healthcare switch option
18 Nov 2004
Standard Life Healthcare is offering a switch option for the over-60s' market to help customers change from their current insurer.
-
Standard sets out changes for protection advisers
18 Nov 2004
Standard Life has raised concerns that some IFAs are not fully aware of the regulatory changes for pure protection products from January 2005.
-
Straight-through savings
18 Nov 2004
Protection providers are wasting around £180m by not using straight-through processing, according to a study by Marlborough Stirling.
-
'Super-complaint' by Which? accuses big four banks in Northern Ireland
18 Nov 2004
The top four banks in Northern Ireland are exploiting consumers and offering inferior products. according to a study by consumer group Which?It is filing a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading with the support of the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, arguing that bank customers in Northern Ireland are charged 21 times more than mainland customers.
-
Talkback
18 Nov 2004
Do you think joining a network puts an IFA's own business at risk?
-
Tenet boosts business with Friends by 85%
18 Nov 2004
-
The keys to continuity
18 Nov 2004
Russell Flower, managed services director at Synstar, looks at how business continuity managers can keep control of the risks of outsourcing.
-
The true scale of the DB dilemma
18 Nov 2004
-
There's still life in Teps
18 Nov 2004
Shepherds Group chairman Mike Abraham says having fewer firms in the traded market will mean less pressure to push up prices and better returns.
-
Tilney tailors portfolio
22 Nov 2004
-
Towry shuts Plymouth branch in restructure
18 Nov 2004
Towry Law is closing its Plymouth office and ending individual business at its Glasgow office.
-
Tracey Ashworth-Davies
18 Nov 2004
The deputy chief executive and co-founder of Bright Grey has shown that a commitment to customer focus can bring big rewards in the protection market.
-
Trigger of change for gunslinger
18 Nov 2004
Winterthur Life sales director David Thompson, says product providers should plan to reinvent broker consultants for the new world.
-
UCB Home Loans - Buy-to-Let 5 Year Flexible Fixed
19 Nov 2004
UCB Home LoansBuy-to-Let 5 Year Flexible Fixed
-
UCB Home Loans - Self Certification 3 Year Flexible Fixed
23 Nov 2004
-
Value for money - Tony Wickenden
18 Nov 2004
Last week, I looked at dep-olarisation and the opportunity for advisers to reconsider their business model. I ended by pointing out that it is important to bear in mind that if an adviser is to implement financial transactions and wants to choose from products across the whole market, then a fee-based option must be offered.
-
Vantis Corporate Finance - Cross Oak Inns
19 Nov 2004
Vantis Corporate FinanceCross Oak Inns
-
Vantis opens doors to Cross Oak Inns
17 Nov 2004
Vantis Corporate Finance has established Cross Oak Inns, an enterprise investment scheme that aims for capital growth by investing in a portfolio of pubs in Southern England.
-
Ventus plans for wind of change
23 Nov 2004
Brewin Dolphin Securities is sponsoring the Ventus VCT, a specialist venture capital trust that invests in companies developing, constructing and operating small UK wind energy projects.
-
West Bromwich Building Society - 4.95% 2 Year Fixed
19 Nov 2004
West Bromwich Building Society4.95% 2 Year Fixed
-
Zurich to offer advisers shares in multi-tie firm
18 Nov 2004
Zurich is to offer advisers a 75 per cent share in a new multi-tie business that it hopes to float or sell for 300m in three years time.
