Money Marketing
18 February 2004

  • 'Banks will fail to take IFA sales'

    19 Feb 2004

    Market analyst Datamonitor has rejected the widely held notion that banks will be the big winners as a result of depolarisation, saying they will fail to take significant market share from IFAs. Its research published this week finds that the regime relaxation will favour IFAs over the banks, which will struggle to take further market share in pensions and savings products. It criticises the banks' direct-sales model, saying it struggles to provide best advice on a ...

  • 'Landlords still confident'

    19 Feb 2004

    Over 80 per cent of landlords expect to buy at least one further property this year while 27 per cent plan multiple purchases. In a survey of 2,000 previous attendees of the Homebuyer Show in London, more than 50 per cent of landlords say they plan to remortgage in the next year while 35 per cent have remortgaged in the last 12 months. With CML figures showing that fewer than 20 per cent of residential borrowers have remortgaged in the last year, the Homebuyer Show says ...

  • A new waive of deals wipes out fees

    19 Feb 2004

    Witan is offering investors free share dealing on all lump-sum Isa investments into the £1.35bn trust until April 5.The offer would bring a saving of around£70 for investors using their full £7,000 maxi Isa allowance and means that investors will only pay stamp duty - levied at 0.5 per cent - during the Isa season. Henderson Global Investors is waiving the 1 per cent dealing fee on lump-sum Isa investments into all its 14 investment trusts until April 30. The ...

  • Abbey appoints new customer relations head

    23 Feb 2004

    Abbey is appointing Keith Morgan as director of economic & financial insight to be responsible for ensuring the profitability of the provider's approach to customers and the design of its accounts and services.Abbey customer director Angus Porter says: ''Our aim is to be a leader in personal financial services in the UK and the key to that is developing long-term relationships with customers rather than relying on their inertia as a reason to stay with Abbey. To do that, ...

  • ABI welcomes international accounting standards

    20 Feb 2004

    The ABI has welcomed the introduction of a new international accounting standard for share-based remuneration announced by the International Accounting Standards Board. ABI head of investment affairs Peter Montagnon says: "Share-based remuneration is not a free lunch. It involves substantial cost, and investors firmly believe that it should be charged to profits. We congratulate Sir David Tweedie and the International Accounting Standards Board for developing this standard. It ...

  • Advisers attack Standard over clawback move

    19 Feb 2004

    Some IFAs fear they will be hit twice if Standard Life moves to claw back commission on with-profits policies after the firm promised to offer policyholders the chance to reconsider. At the time of announcing its strategic review, Standard said it would be writing to with-profits policyholders who had taken out policies after November 16, 2003, offering them the chance to reconsider. However, some IFAs say their advice may have been made to look flawed in the eyes of ...

  • AIFA's view

    19 Feb 2004

    By the time of my next column, we should have the FSA consultation paper on the menu concept. Pages of FSA-speak and draft rules by the bucketload for the compliance-minded. What excitement. In all this plethora of detail, the big picture could so easily be overlooked. The menu was created (by Aifa, I admit. I'll come quietly, guv) in the aftermath of CP121. We believed the greater disclosure of the cost of advice sought by the FSA could only work if it was set in the context ...

  • Alexander Hall founder starts loan firm

    19 Feb 2004

    No-fee mortgage broker Alexander Hall founder Simon Nimmo is setting up new high-net-worth mortgage brokerage Charles Cameron. Nimmo has seven brokers on board already and is looking for around 20 by the end of the year for the firm, which is set to launch in April. He says he wants Charles Cameron to remain small and niche. The brokerage will be based in London and focused on high-net-worth clients. Nimmo is not intending to launch an extensive ad campaign, as he did ...

  • Altmann fears firms dumping liabilities in protection fund

    19 Feb 2004

    Independent consultant Ros Altmann, who convinced the Government to bring in a pension protection fund, says the way the fund has been drafted could lead to teetering companies dumping it full of liabilities in the first year. The plans were published in last week's Pensions Bill. Altmann says the Department for Work and Pensions' decision to make contributions flat rate in the first years rather than include a risk-based premium for poorly funded schemes means ...

  • Angela Eagle

    19 Feb 2004

    Turning up late to interview Labour MP Angela Eagle is not a good start. Blaming public transport and "severe weather warnings" is also inadvisable when you realise that she has worked with the Deputy Prime Minister's team at the Department of Transport on "getting London moving". But despite a somewhat frosty beginning, Eagle cuts to the chase and we are debating one of her favourite bugbears - life companies. She seems disappointed to have missed the dressing-down that Treasury ...

  • ASW will lobby parliament on day of Pensions Bill 2nd reading

    23 Feb 2004

    Union members from two trade unions from the former ASW steel company in Cardiff and Sheerness are planning to stage a lobby outside the Houses of Parliament at 12pm on Tuesday March 2.

  • Axa adding two multi funds to select Oeics

    19 Feb 2004

    Axa Investment Managers is adding two multi-manager funds to its select Oeic range in a bid to capture investors with low or average risk profiles. The select active portfolio aims for capital growth over the medium to long term through exposure to a wide spread of geographical regions and asset types. It will have a 50 per cent weighting in UK equities, with the remainder of the portfolio in US, European, Pacific and emerging markets stocks. The co-managers ...

  • Axa jumping in with capital-protected Oeic

    19 Feb 2004

    Axa Investment Managers is introducing one of the UK's first limited-issue capital-protected Oeics following relaxation of the FSA's fund rules. The regulatory change allows investment managers to use derivatives as part of their general investment policy and to cap the number of shares in issue. This enables them to design capital-protected funds. The company says the overhaul of collective investment schemes regulation to accommodate the creation of onshore structured ...

  • B&B IFA profits plummet

    18 Feb 2004

    Bradford & Bingley's preliminary results for the year ending December 31 show a 63 per cent drop in profits in its IFA division plummeting to £10.4m from £28m in 2002. Revenues of B&B's IFA division - including Charcol, Charcol Holden Meehan, Charcol Aitchison & Colegrave and The MarketPlace - fell by 6 per cent to £135.7m from £144.4m. The total number of advisers employed has fallen to 960 from 1031 because of a reduction in the wealth advisory team.

  • Backing for home-reversion regulation

    18 Feb 2004

    The Treasury should extend the regulation of equity release to home reversion schemes, the vast majority of respondents to its consultation closing this week believe. With more than 50 responses received, most - including Sofa, the National Consumer Council and the Financial Services Consumer Panel - support the FSA regulating the entire equity release market.

  • Bananas Inc - Bristol & West Two-Year Discount

    20 Feb 2004

    Type: Discounted-rate mortgageDiscounted term: Two yearsDiscount: 2.14%Payable rate: 3.65%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £150,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m, up to 70% of valuation subject to a maximum of £2mIncome multiples: Up to four times ...

  • Bankhall claims direct regulation only way to gain true independence

    19 Feb 2004

    Bankhall has hit out at mortgage networks, saying that they limit consumer choice and should not be seen as a long-term solution by brokers. The firm believes that direct authorisation is preferable to appointed representative status in the long term. It says the only way to achieve true independence, which is in the best interests of the consumer who needs to be made aware of all the deals available, is through direct regulation. Group sales director Shaun Godfrey says ...

  • Bankhall in Microsoft deal to develop wrap

    19 Feb 2004

    IFA support services provider Bankhall is developing the first stage of a wrap product using policy aggregation software from IT giant Microsoft. Bankhall says it intends to work in partnership with Microsoft to design a platform which will allow its advisers to view aggregated client policy information on one page. It plans to use Microsoft's Biztalk 2004, a data integration hub which will be integrated into Bankhall's existing IT offering IFA Engine by technology ...

  • Bankhall signs Paymentshield deal

    24 Feb 2004

    Bankhall has signed a deal with mortgage and payment protection insurance provider Paymentshield to provide its 16,500 agents with a compliance and product service.

  • Barclays hints at multi-tie strategy

    19 Feb 2004

    Barclays 600 IFAs have been told by their bosses they do not have to hang an "I" above their doors to provide good advice. Some of the bank's advisers believe they are being softened up for a move to multi-ties after depolarisation. The RIs were given the message by Barclays financial planning managing director Phil Hyne at a national sales conference in Birmingham. Some sources think that the bank intends to transform its IFA division, formed by last year's merger ...

  • Barclays' IFAs remain weak

    19 Feb 2004

    Barclays group has seen continued weakness in its IFA division which includes Woolwich IFA Services and Sedgwick. Wealth management business Barclays Private Clients saw a small rise in fees and commission to £802m last year from £794m in 2002. The group says sales of bonds and funds suffered from reduced consumer demand while sales of Legal & General life and pension products also fell. Barclays estimates its total costs in dealing with endowment-related ...

  • Berkeley Jacobs is fined over pension unlocking

    19 Feb 2004

    Berkeley Jacobs Financial Services has been fined £175,000 by the FSA for poor advice and misleading advertising of its pension unlocking service. The Rochester-based firm must also set aside £1m to compensate up to 5,000 consumers who were encouraged to use their cash for short-term benefits such as holidays and buying luxury goods. Berkeley Jacobs parent IFG Group has replaced managing director Paul Wheal with Paul Gardner-Bougaard, a group director of IFG. ...

  • BSA calls on Treasury for Isa rethink

    24 Feb 2004

    The Building Societies Association is calling on the Government to rethink its proposals to cut the annual subscription limit for Isas. The BSA is concerned the Treasury intends to cut the annual limit for the maxi ISA from £7,000 to £5,000 and the mini cash ISA from £3,000 to £1,000 in April 2006. BSA director general Adrian Coles says: "Isas have really taken off, and we are seeing more and more people saving into Isas because they know they are ...

  • Bullivant replaces Lawless as MD

    19 Feb 2004

    Sofa's new managing director Bob Bullivant is aiming for chartered status for the society. Bullivant replaces Brian Lawless who is moving to Exeter, where he becomes business development director with IFA the Jelf Group. Bullivant is joining Sofa from Britannic Retirement Solutions, where he was corporate development director before the firm closed its doors to new business in November. He is an associate member of Sofa and a fellow of the Chartered Insurance ...

  • Buy-to-let borrowing hit by fall in rent yields

    19 Feb 2004

    Buy-to-let borrowers are finding it harder to secure loans after rental yields fell last year, according to IFA Savills Private Finance. CML figures show that the buy-to-let market continued to rise in the second half of 2003 but SPF director Simon Jones says that some lenders will not lend on properties unless rental income exceeds the monthly mortgage payments by 10 per cent. The CML figures show that the number of outstanding buy-to-let mortgages rose by 48 per cent ...

  • Citigroup offers titan choice

    24 Feb 2004

    Citigroup has entered the structured product market with the enhanced growth plan.This capital-protected bond gives investors a choice of two options linked either to the UK market through the FTSE 100 index or the global market through the Dow Jones Global Titans Index,Option one offers 110 per cent of any rise in the FTSE 100 index over a five-year term plus a full capital return regardless of index performance. However, this option has an early maturity feature which ...

  • Clerical errors

    19 Feb 2004

    After reading that Clerical Medical has re-entered the group pension market (Money Marketing, January 29), I had hoped that an enquiry about a new member to one of our existing schemes with Clerical would be quickly dealt with. Not so. It would seem that it cannot print new members' documents at present - a problem that is being worked on, I am assured, but a problem that has existed since migration to the Equitable Life system at the end of September 2003. Clerical is unable ...

  • Clerical Medical - Futureproof

    23 Feb 2004

    Type: Cafeteria-style group pension plan combining group stakeholder, group personal pension, group money purchase and group additional voluntary contributionsMinimum group size: 10Minimum-maximum ages:16-75Minimum premium: £20 for stakeholder, otherwise £20 per member a month, £240 per member a year, £500 lump sum, £1,000 pension transfersFund links: Clerical Medical Funds - non-equity managed, cautious ...

  • Close Investment - Close Brothers Aim VCT D Shares

    18 Feb 2004

    Type: Venture capital trustAim: Growth by investing in developing companies listed on AimMinimum investment: Lump sum £2,000Charges: Initial 5%, annual 2%Opening/closing date:February 12, 2004/March 31, 2004Commission: Initial 2.5%, renewal 2.5%Tel: 020 7457 8000

  • Close offers uplifting choice

    18 Feb 2004

    Close Property Investment is giving experienced investors a chance to invest in UK commercial properties that will have rental increases of at least 2.5 per cent at the next rent review.Fixed uplift properties is an offshore closed-ended fund that is also available as an exempt unit trust for self-invested personal pensions and small self-administered schemes.The fund has a target yield of between 11 per cent and 13 per cent a year and will fund 68 per cent of its portfolio ...

  • Close Venture Management -Close Brothers Development VCT C Shares

    24 Feb 2004

    Type: Venture capital trustAim: Growth by investing in unquoted companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Opening/closing date: January 21, 2004/April 2, 2004Charges: Initial 5%, annual 2%Commission: Initial 2.5%Tel: 020 7426 4315

  • CML tells Treasury to stop piecemeal housing solution

    24 Feb 2004

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has told the Chancellor of the Exchequer to stop the piecemeal Government interventions in the housing market which it believes is should take second place to a coherent vision.In a Budget "wish list" sent to the Chancellor the CML has also said the Government needs to actively explore how to reduce the current systemic divides between owning and renting to allow a more robust and flexible housing market structure to develop. It has also ...

  • Confident IFAs plan to add RIs

    19 Feb 2004

    IFAs are confident about the future for their businesses but are yet to embrace fees wholeheartedly, according to new research from financial services forum PIMS. The survey shows that 92 per cent of IFAs expect to grow their businesses in the next two years and 72 per cent expect the number of RIs in their business to increase in the next 12 months. Eighty-four per cent say they would recruit from rival IFA firms to boost RIs. But most advisers are still reluctant to ...

  • Correspondent's week

    19 Feb 2004

    A week with no business lunches to look forward to did not result from any lack of invitations but my diet, necessitated by instructions from a chiropractor to lose two stone. The drastic action, which resulted in non-essential eating engagements being banished from my diary, was to cure a bout of lower back pain - thankfully now on the mend. Dr Penny O'Nions was kind enough to try and guess the cause during a telephone interview for Health Insurance magazine, diagnosing ...

  • Coventry Building Society - Altogether Better Offset Mortgage

    20 Feb 2004

    Type: Discounted-rate offset mortgageDiscounted term: Until March 31, 2009Discount: 1.44%Payable rate: 4.6%Minimum loan: £1Maximum loan:Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000Income multiples: Dependent on loan to valuation and salary bandRedemption fee: NoneArrangement fee: £199Flexible features: Overpayments, payment holidays up to three months ...

  • Digest

    19 Feb 2004

    The raconteurial skills of New Star UK aggressive fund manager Tim Steer proved too much even for Ned Cazalet, himself one of the great talkers in financial services, at an event organised by Scottish Widows last week. The "whisky-tasting" event - one of the more imaginative ways of getting everybody hammered - held at the Malt Whisky Society in London saw amused onlookers noting the normally talkative Cazalet struggling to get a word in edgeways as Steer held forth in fulsome ...

  • Digest

    19 Feb 2004

    Garden sheds are making a comeback. An insider tells the Diary that sheds could be the new loft conversions for the up and coming. Even Syndaxi Financial Planning director Robert Reid operates his business from a garden shed, apparently. A common or garden shed could also be former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's road back to the limelight. His first TV presenting role will be in a garden shed on Johnny Vaughan's new BBC3 chat show.

  • Don't get heavy on the levy

    19 Feb 2004

    Just a few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine a financial adviser going bust. With investors keen to pile in to rising stockmarkets, business was booming. Discount brokers could not count the cheques fast enough as they piled through the letterbox and IFAs did not have enough hours in the day to keep up with the demand from enthusiastic investors. Of course, the tide turned. As with all boom markets, there followed a bust which left many IFA businesses struggling for ...

  • Dual exposure from GE Life

    24 Feb 2004

    GE LIFECapital Secure PlanType: Capital-protected bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 and Halifax House Price indices Minimum-maximum investment: £7,000-£1m, Isa/Pep transfers £3,000 Term: Five years Return: Up to 100% growth in the FTSE 100 and Halifax House Price Indices Guarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indices Closing ...

  • Eagle has reduced client expectations

    19 Feb 2004

    I feel bound to write to you with regard to Eagle Star and the application of the market value reduction on clients' with-profits bonds. Under with-profits plans, regular withdrawals can be set up at up to 5 per cent, with no tax implications for 20 years. Many clients over the years have adopted this route, particularly when bonus rates were in excess of this amount. With falling bonus rates, many clients have reduced their withdrawals to come in line with the ongoing ...

  • Eagle Star is accused of applying MVA by stealth

    19 Feb 2004

    A Gloucester IFA is taking Eagle Star to task over failing to let IFAs or clients know it had begun applying market value reductions to regular withdrawals on with-profit policies. Marshallsay Mumford principal Julian Mumford says that, under with-profit plans, regular withdrawals can be set at up to 5 per cent with no tax implications for up to 20 years. He says that this is a route that many clients have been keen to take, especially when bonus rates were higher than the amount ...

  • Early Day Motion on sellers' packs

    24 Feb 2004

    Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson MP is tabling an Early Day Motion, in the House of Commons, criticising the Home Information Pack. It is will be co-signed by Ann Cryer and Bob Spink.

  • Elderly face tax bill from Revenue review - STEP

    18 Feb 2004

    A Government review of inheritance tax law may mean thousands of elderly home-owners and farmers will receive unexpected tax bills from April 2005 warns the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. The impact of the review of pre-owned assets and gifts with reservation could lead to unforeseen income tax liabilities arising, says the STEP. The Revenue is planning to charge income tax on the rental value of property left in trust where a benefit is retained.Society of ...

  • Equitable settles redress claims

    19 Feb 2004

    A group of Equitable Life policyholders who have been pre-paring to take their case for compensation to the Bristol High Court have reached a settlement. Law firm Clark Willmott partner Robert Morfee, who has been representing the policyholders, says the last four of its first batch of cases have settled out of court. He says his clients got full compensation and he has retained the freedom to advise other clients on their progress to date. Morfee had planned to take ...

  • Eurostoxx link for Nvesta plan

    19 Feb 2004

    Structured product provider Nvesta is offering a new five-year income plan based on the Eurostoxx 50 index. The plan will offer a minimum income of 4 per cent a year plus a potential 3 per cent bonus paid annually. The bonus will be paid for each year that the Eurostoxx 50 finishes above the initial level. It will provide 100 per cent capital return on maturity so long as the index does not fall by more than 30 per cent at close of business on any day during the term. ...

  • Exam review now delayed until 2007

    18 Feb 2004

    The Financial Services Skills Council has revealed further delays in its much anticipated exams review saying the review is now not scheduled to be completed until 2007. Newly-appointed FSSC managing director Teresa Sayers told representatives of the industry and the regulator the review timetable would be published in April, along with the first appropriate exam list, largely made up of existing exams.

  • Five firms fall foul of FSA in structured crackdown

    19 Feb 2004

    Five firms in the last six months released structured product advertising material "so bad" that the FSA required the firms to contact investors and offer them the opportunity to pull out of their investments. The FSA has released figures outlining structured products advertising complaints it has received over the past six months, showing it dealt with 300 cases of misleading advertising, 118 of which were referred to it by the public. FSA spokeswoman Kate Bristowe says ...

  • Four new members appointed to Consumer Panel

    24 Feb 2004

    Four new members have been appointed to the Financial Services Consumer Panel.The FSA has appointed former Barclays Private Banking marketing director Robert Skinner, National Consumer Council Board member Stephen Locke and market researcher Adam Phillips who join from 1 March 2004 and Citizens Advice national head of money issues Nicolas Lord from 1 January 2005.Two existing panel members have had their terms extended. Paul Salvidge will stay on for an extra three years ...

  • Game on says F4G

    23 Feb 2004

    Noble & Co is aiming to raise up to £5m for Funds 4 Games (F4G) Software, an enterprise investment scheme that invests in the project management of computer games.This EIS is not dependent on the games being hits. Its success dependent on F4G's ability to deliver games to publishers through sub-contracted developers. Projects will only commence where there is a contract between F4G and a publisher that the game will be bought at an agreed price. This is different to the ...

  • Gartmore to sponsor Barbarians

    18 Feb 2004

    Gartmore is sponsoring the world famous rugby club the Barbarians for an initial two-year period.The deal will see Gartmore's logo appear on the Ba Ba's traditional black and white hooped jerseys as well as a new range of club merchandise.Gartmore chief Executive Glyn Jones says: "Our key values are closely aligned - both brands stand for heritage, trust and loyalty. In addition both organisations have an absolute focus on striving to deliver top performance and ...

  • GE Life bids to boost release sales through IFAs

    19 Feb 2004

    GE Life is looking to build on its pension business relationship with IFAs to boost sales in the equity-release market. Head of marketing David Lowe says he puts forward lifetime mortgages and home-reversion plans with IFAs as possible solutions to clients' needs. The company is also planing an equity-release advertising campaign which is expected to run in around two months. GE Life closed down its direct salesforce, which sold equity-release products, in June 2002 ...

  • GE Life bonds with property mix

    19 Feb 2004

    GE Life's capital secure investment plan is a capital-protected bond that is linked to the FTSE 100 index and the Halifax House Prices Index over a six-year term.Investors in this product receive their original capital back regardless of how the indices perform and also get 100 per cent of the average growth across both indices. When calculating the returns, the closing level of the FTSE 100 index is recorded on May 18, 2004 and is compared with the average closing levels between ...

  • Golden age of advice

    19 Feb 2004

    The advent of depolarisation has led many to question the ongoing viability of IFAs and, indeed, the future of financial advice. Schroders, however, would argue that the advice industry is now entering a positive phase in its evolution. Changes brought by depolarisation have reignited the debate about the best way to help people achieve their financial goals. Instead of being the death of the IFA, this could be a golden age for those in the business of being a financial adviser, ...

  • Horror stories of NU's service

    19 Feb 2004

    I would like to appeal to all my colleagues in this industry to send me their horror stories regarding Norwich Union's administration systems or, rather, lack of administration systems. For over a year, I have refused to place any business with this once respected company because of its failure to sort out numerous problems which we have encountered. I have lost a valued client who was very recently going to place further investment monies with my firm which would have resulted ...

  • House of the Rising Sum

    19 Feb 2004

    We've had the Singing Detective, the Laughing Policeman and now could it be the Crooning Mortgage Adviser? Twenty-two-year-old Skipton Building Society mortgage adviser Andrew Tillotson has been chosen from thousands of star wannabes to receive a £25,000 three-year scholarship to attend ArtsEd in Chiswick. ArtsEd's halls have previously been graced by the likes of Will Young, crooner of such tunes as Light My Fire and The Long and Winding Road. The ...

  • House price growth slows for 3 months - RICS

    18 Feb 2004

    Annual house price growth slowed in the three months to January according to the latest figures from The Royal Insitution of Chartered Surveyors. Most of the respondents reported a rise over a fall fell to 38 per cent from 39 per cent.

  • House prices may fall 45 per cent - Durlacher

    23 Feb 2004

    Market analyst Durlacher predicts that UK house prices will fall by 30 per cent from their peak, and says the fall could be as much as 45 per cent.It says a tightening of lending criteria from lenders, combined with a decline in yield from buy to let, a predicted rise in interest rates and the approaching mortgage regulation will turn the market.Durlacher says its pessimism is based on international and historic experience, and points out that the UK housing market has ...

  • Housing confidence not hit by rate increase - Woolwich

    20 Feb 2004

    Housing market confidence may not be dented despite a 3 per cent jump in housing market confidence to 59 per cent in January from 56 per cent in December according to the latest monthly 'consumer confidence balance' research from Woolwich.Woolwich says historical evidence points to interest rate rises of circa one per cent being needed before consumer confidence is dented. Barclays and Woolwich head of mortgages Andy Gray says: "Interest rate rises are clearly going ...

  • IFA ire as trail fails to follow his move

    19 Feb 2004

    A Kendal IFA is criticising life offices which fail to switch renewal commission to follow advisers when they move firms and says he will be forced to charge clients a fee to compensate. But insurers are saying it is up to the IFA to sort out the situation with the original firm that holds the commission agreement. MacBeth Scott & Co Life and Pensions Services adviser Ian Jones says he recently changed firms but Friends Provident refused to transfer the renewal commission, ...

  • IFA response to Standard results

    18 Feb 2004

    Master Adviser managing director Doug Brodie says: "I thought the figures looked good bearing in mind the reduction in sales. I would hope that they are now going to focus on profits and not distribution."Brodie welcomes the changes in reporting standards that will mean he will be able to compare the providers alongside each other but says: "It is slightly disturbing to see the group slash its stake in equities in the with profits fund and one wonders if it is a case of closing the ...

  • Independent view

    19 Feb 2004

    In the world of financial advice, what is set as policy has implications years down the line. It is even more difficult when we are not sure what future policy will be because it has not been clarified. Let me tell you a story which will demonstrate that there are present issues we need to discuss with clients. The year is 2006 and you are seeing a client called David who is 54 and looking to retire at 60. He has a pension pot of £1.1m and is concerned that he is getting ...

  • Investment analysis

    19 Feb 2004

    Soothing words from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan on the outlook for the US economy resulted in gains for most of the world's stockmarkets last week although a further rise in the pound once again diluted returns for UK investors overseas holdings. By the end of the week, the FTSE World index was trading 1.1 per cent higher in dollar terms. In the UK, mid and small-cap stocks again outperformed, with a number of blue-chips being held back by concerns over the weaker ...

  • Investment chief Hale quits Skandia

    18 Feb 2004

    Skandia Investment Management chief investment officer Clive Hale has resigned from the company, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. He is being replaced by Hargreaves Lansdown investment director Alan Durrant, who will join SIM once the FSA has approved his appointment. Hale's regulatory responsibilities will be taken on immediately by group investment director Jim Roberts, with support from Jason Collins, deputy chief investment officer.

  • Investment fund sales fall but remain up on 2003, says IMA

    23 Feb 2004

    New retail sales of investment funds fell in January but were still double those at the same time last year, according to the IMA. Its monthly statistics show that sales slid from £844m in December 2003 to £505m last month although this was still far in excess of January 2003, when sales were just £249m. Net Isa sales also fell, from £209m from £184m, but were again up on last January's figure of £156m.

  • Investment view

    19 Feb 2004

    There is rather too much going on in the financial world at present. Aside from more sets of company results than you can poke a stick at, bids are coming thick and fast, the great and the good of politics and central banks are standing up to have their views counted and absolutely everyone has an opinion on which way markets will travel. As is so often the case, there is too much information around. But the one thing that you cannot do in this business is ignore what the central bankers ...

  • John Joseph on protection

    19 Feb 2004

    For 12 years I have pleaded with the bosses of critical-illness insurers to set up training courses to assist us in learning how to utilise this exceptional product and to teach others. Year after year, they argue that they will not put up the money as they may not get any benefit. These are the same companies that will spend millions of pounds on sponsoring football teams, sailing, golf days, racing cars and a host of events at which the chairmen and managing directors can be ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    19 Feb 2004

    I very rarely recommend enterprise investment schemes because the majority of them are only for speculative investors. However, I have discovered one, Johnson Cod 1, which looks to me far less risky than most. The investment is in farmed cod managed by Johnson Sea Farms and based in Shetland. Johnson Sea Farms is the acknowledged leader in salmon and mussel farming, having over 20 years experience and ranking first in both UK markets. Farmed cod have until now been difficult ...

  • Legg Mason adds to Asian crowd

    18 Feb 2004

    LEGG MASON INVESTMENTSAsia Pacific FundType: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in companies in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan Minimum investment: Lump sum £3,000, monthly £50 Investment split:Financials 22.47%, industrials 19.67%, Information technology 18.82%, materials 13.88%, consumer discretionary 6.26% telecoms services 4.7%, healthcare 4.58%, energy 2.11%consumer staples 0.99%, utilities 0.74%, cash ...

  • Life and pensions business up 4.3 per cent in Q4 - ABI figures

    23 Feb 2004

    New life and pensions business rose 4.3 per cent to £2.45bn annual premium equivalent in the final quarter of 2003, up from £2.35bn in Q3 of 2003, according to figures from the ABI.But the Q4 of 2003 figure was 4 per cent down on the £2.55bn sales achieved in the same quarter of 2002.ABI head of life and pensions Chris Kenny says: "The last quarter of 2003 showed some definite and encouraging signs of improvement. Both individual regular and single premium ...

  • Long-term loan closes income-price gap

    19 Feb 2004

    GMAC-RFC is offering a new mortgage which it says addresses two of the market's main issues - long-term fixed rates and the gap between incomes and property prices. It believes it has worked out how to make long-term fixes more attractive and how to bridge the gap between incomes and house prices without using self-certification. On its new 25-year customised mortgage, GMAC-RFC charges no more than 5.95 per cent for 25 years on the fixed-rate element. This ...

  • McFall has wrong perception of endowments

    19 Feb 2004

    In the recent news item about the Treasury select committee, John McFall huffs and puffs about endowment policies (Money Marketing, February 5). He seems to link the shortfall on endowment performance with sales commission paid. His ignorance of fundamentals is amazing. However, he is a career politician, not an insurance and investment industry specialist, and should not therefore contribute to this debate. My principal concern is that our industry does not sufficiently ...

  • MGM maintains bonus rates and cuts MVAs

    19 Feb 2004

    MGM Assurance is leaving regular bonus rates unchanged on its unitised with-profits policies. The move means bonuses continue at 3 per cent on life funds and 3.5 per cent on pension funds. The company says the move reflects its ongoing commitment as a mutual to with-profits when many other insurers such as Standard Life, Clerical Medical and Norwich Union have cut their rates. MGM has also reduced market value adjusters where applicable and is limiting MVAs to ...

  • Mini Isas set for a record

    19 Feb 2004

    Over six million consumers could take a mini Isa before the end of the tax year, according to a survey. Based on 1,000 interviews carried out for Intelligent Finance, research agency ICM believes a last-minute rush could make this a record year in terms of the number of Isas opened. IF chief executive Grenville Turner says if all those who say they are planning to take out an Isa do so before April 5, it could raise the total of new Isa accounts opened to over 14 million ...

  • Misselling scandal for equity release almost certain - Durlacher

    24 Feb 2004

    Investment bank Durlacher says it expects an almost mandatory misselling scandal for equity release, which it says will be used to release funding for long term care, and to cover pension shortfalls.It predicts that the market for equity release will grow, and that the FSA will end up having to bring home reversion under its regulatory umbrella. It says most equity release products will be sold by IFAs.

  • Mortgages plc enhances buy to let range

    23 Feb 2004

    Mortgages plc has added two new products to its buy to let range. The new products are for non-conforming borrowers, and are available at up to 80 per cent loan to value.The light product, at 6.05 per cent, allows £2000 of CCJs and no arrears in the last 12 months. The medium product, at 6.40 per cent, allows up to £5000 CCJs and 2 months' arrears in the last 12 months. Both products ignore CCJs that are satisfied, more than two years old, or under £100. Both ...

  • Nationwide Building Society - Five-Year Tracker Mortgage

    19 Feb 2004

    Type: Tracker mortgageTracker term: Five yearsTracker rate: Up to 95% of valuation - Bank of England base rate plus 0.74%, up to 90% of valuation - Bank of England base rate plus 0.34 %, up to 75% of valuation - Bank of England base rate plus 0.24 %Payable rate: Up to 95% of valuation - 4.74%, up to 90% of valuation - 4.34%, up to 75% of valuation - 4.24%Minimum loan: £1Maximum loan: Up to 95% ...

  • Nationwide shaves fixed rates and tracker loans

    19 Feb 2004

    Nationwide Building Society has made slight reductions in the rates on its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages. Its two-year fixed rate goes down from 4.81 per cent to 4.79 per cent while the three-year fix rate is cut from 5.11 per cent to 5.09 per cent from 5.11 per cent and the five-year fix from 5.31 per cent to 5.29 per cent. The two-year tracker is now available at 4.04 per cent from a previous rate of 4.09 per cent, with its three-year tracker at 4.14 per cent, down from 4.19 ...

  • Nelson joins The Money Portal

    18 Feb 2004

    Kerry Nelson, the former Bates Investment Services adviser who helped set up its charity-based PR agency One Voice, has joined BIS' parent The Money Portal. Nelson, who left One Voice late last year, will take charge of communications at retail fund distributor TMP, which bought BIS last Autumn.

  • New Star's sluggish retail sales spark fears for Isas

    19 Feb 2004

    New Star, one of the industry's most high-profile groups, is reporting sluggish retail sales for the year so far, fuelling fears that the Isa season could be another damp squib. The firm, which accounts for 8 per cent of net retail fund sales, says its overall fund flows are buoyant but admits that sales through private investors are depressed, giving weight to fears that the Isa season will mirror the poor season last year. If it does, some fund groups believe this year could ...

  • No problems with electronic commission, says Solutions

    19 Feb 2004

    IFA group Positive Solutions has criticised rival Bankhall over its claims that it cannot reconcile its advisers' commission because of inaccurate electronic statements from product providers. Positive Solutions is also part of Adviser Forum, the group which is carrying out research into what it considers to be a serious problem with electronic commission statements from providers. But Positive Solutions chief executive David Harrison says his firm does not experience ...

  • Noble & Company - The Capital Pub Company 2

    18 Feb 2004

    Type: Enterprise investment schemeAim: Growth by investing in the acquisition, development and operation of pubs in and around the Greater London areaMinimum investment: Lump sum £3,00Opening/closing date: January 29, 2004-April 5, 2004 for 2003/2004 tax year, June 20, 2005 for 2004/2005 tax yearCharges: Initial up to 7.75%Tel: 020 7367 5606

  • NU forms partnership with Cumberland

    20 Feb 2004

    Norwich Union has announced a new building society link, forming a partnership with Cumberland Building Society.Cumberland is the UK's 21st largest building society and will now distribute NU's life, pensions and investment products.NU now has 20 such partnerships with building societies.Cumberland deputy chief executive John Leveson says: "This is a great opportunity for us to work with Norwich Union and drive forward our business in what is a rapidly changing ...

  • NU launches group life scheme for unapproved top up benefits

    20 Feb 2004

    Norwich Union has announced it is launching a group life insurance scheme for unapproved top up benefits.The group life insurance scheme is aimed at employers who wish to provide life insurance benefits for their workforce, with the top up benefits scheme designed to make employers able to provide their workforce with lump sum cover for benefits in excess of Inland Revenue's limits. It provides life cover for employees who have salaries in excess of the earnings gap, or members ...

  • NU's with-profits guarantee is unfair to other investors

    19 Feb 2004

    I read with interest the article headlined, NU in cashback pledge for with-profits bond (Money Marketing, February 12) The article states that Norwich Union has worked closely with the FSA on the guarantee and expects 10,000 new investors to take up the offer. Surely, any guarantee taken by an investor would be to the detriment of those investors remaining in the with-profits fund? Let us assume that the stockmarket declines over the five-year guarantee period and all 10,000 new ...

  • Old Mutual posts steady results for 2003

    24 Feb 2004

    South African based insurer Old Mutual has reported a slightincrease in operating profit for 2003 posting a result of £475m for 2003, up from £473m in the year previous. The insurer owns UK-based Selestia and Old Mutual Asset Managers UK.Chief executive Jim Sutcliffe says: "Good results were achieved in five of our six businesses in 2003 and important steps were taken towards our strategic goals. Our capital position remains strong and our clients showed their ...

  • One week left on L&G's capital protection plus 2

    23 Feb 2004

    Investors have only one week left to take advantage of Legal & General's capital protection plus 2 product.The plan closes to investors on Friday, February 27 and offers a minimum return of 21 per cent or 50 per cent of any growth in the FTSE 100 index at maturity on March 3, 2010, whichever is greater. The insurer says the product should appeal to cautious investors wanting to at least match returns from a conventional bank or building society deposit account as well as benefit ...

  • Opposition says bill fails to fill gap

    19 Feb 2004

    Opposition parties say the Pensions Bill does nothing to address the retirement savings gap and ignores the problems of people who have already lost their final-salary schemes. The Conservatives say the bill contains nothing to reverse the spread of means testing of state benefits for pensioners and gives no new incentives to employers to set up new schemes for workers. The Liberal Democrats say the pension protection fund does nothing for the thousands of employees whose ...

  • Out of context

    19 Feb 2004

    •"Coventry railway station. Yes, it's quite like a swimming pool but fewer people in small trunks." - BBB chief executive Stephen Ingledew gives a quick summary of his location and its acoustics. •"I need to go for a run every evening. I'm becoming a little porker." - Hargreaves Lansdown chief executive Peter Hargreaves embarks on a fitness regime. •"I'm the Naan from the Pru." - Steve Ferrari, director of offshoring at Prudential, which has set ...

  • Overestimate of shortfalls

    19 Feb 2004

    There may be some misunderstandings following the recent Treasury select committee hearing on endowment mortgages and your interview with John McFall. The ABI and the five companies which gave evidence to the select committee have no quarrel with the FSA's estimate of the current total projected shortfall on endowment mortgages of £30bn. That is the regulator's best estimate using all the available information. It is clearly a lot smaller than Ned Cazalet's previous ...

  • Paul Smee appointed as Practiv non-exec director

    20 Feb 2004

    Aifa director general Paul Smee is joining IT consultancy Practiv as a non-executive director. Practiv specialises in product delivery and distribution, and advises companies on IFA business solutions.Smee says: "I am glad to be joining a company whose successful operations can help make an IFA's life a lot easier."

  • Payouts fall by 6% at Friends

    19 Feb 2004

    Friends Provident is cutting payouts on with-profits policies by an average of 6 per cent despite the fund showing growth for the first time in three years. A 65-year-old male paying £200 a month into a conventional with-profits personal pension over 20 years will receive £127,273, down from £146,373 in August last year. A male aged 30 next birthday paying £50 a month into a conventional with-profits endowment with a 25-year term will receive ...

  • Pension edge

    19 Feb 2004

    An extremely petulant Chancellor announced that if the National Audit Office concluded that more than 5,000 people were affected by the introduction of a lifetime allowance on pension funds, he might not bother with the introduction of pension tax simplification at all. Leaving aside such a juvenile response to a perfectly reasonable debate, what might be the impact of no change? During the consultation phase, I must confess that I felt pension tax simplification was likely to ...

  • Pension egde

    19 Feb 2004

    In the unlikely event that the National Audit Office disagrees with the Government's claims that only 5,000 people will be affected by the £1.4m lifetime limit, taking the conversion factor for final-salary benefits of 20 to one at any age, then our pension reforms will be stalled - not finished off entirely but certainly a fair bit of smoke will be coming out the back. While all this is more than a little on the odd side and difficult to understand, I am sure it is something ...

  • Personal finance needs more time in classroom

    24 Feb 2004

    Van den Hende says pfeg is already working to integrate personal finance education within the teaching of maths through a project funded by the DfES. As a pilot scheme, it will run within five UK schools and will provide a framework to potentially roll-out amongst all schools.She says: "Over the next few months pfeg are hosting a series of events across the UK to urge more schools to recognise the importance of teaching money skills, and will offer teachers guidance on the best methods ...

  • Pink Home Loans - Mortgage Trust Flexible Buy-to-Let TRacker

    19 Feb 2004

    Type: Flexible buy-to-let tracker mortgageTracker term: Three yearsTracker rate: Libor plus 0.95%Payable rate: 4.995%Minimum loan: £30,000Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000, up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m, up to 70% of valuation subject to a maximum of £5mIncome multiples: ...

  • Plans for protection and a new regulator

    19 Feb 2004

    Details of the pension protection fund, a new pension regulator and simplification of occupational schemes were unveiled with the publication of the Pensions Bill last week. The bill also replaces the minimum funding requirement with a scheme-specific app-roach which the industry says will free up schemes to adopt an investment strategy that matches liabilities with assets. The bill makes it clear that the protection fund will not be backed by the Government and will ...

  • Platform launches new management development incentive

    18 Feb 2004

    Platform's managers are to train for the Institute of Leadership and Management team leading certificates. Platform hopes that by July, 30 managers will have gained the certificate.It says the course should improve employee performance through its focus on the specific role of team leaders.Managing director David Tweedy says: "This new people development initiative sets the standard for how we want to develop our more senior staff at Platform and will help us to take ...

  • Pledge plea on retro reviews

    19 Feb 2004

    Concerned IFAs are calling for FSA chief executive John Tiner to reiterate the policy of no retrospective misselling reviews, outlined by his predecessor Howard Davies. WDS managing director Julian Stevens says Tiner should now make a formal and official statement to confirm that Davies' view is still policy at the FSA. Stevens says although a statement can be of only limited value, given the problems with split-capital investment trusts and structured products, he ...

  • Pointing the way

    19 Feb 2004

    Point One is holding a series of workshops around the UK focusing on the basics of future FSA regulation. The workshops will offer Point One members guidance on issues such as the impact of general insurance and protection regulation on firms, the application process, variation of existing permissions for firms already authorised by the FSA, timescales and costs applicable to the application process. The workshops will also consider the approved persons regime and responsibility ...

  • Polin leaves HSBC Asset Management

    18 Feb 2004

    Jonathan Polin, managing director of intermediary business at HSBC Asset Management, has left the group. Polin, who joined the company from Aberdeen Asset Management last January, had been credited with stabilising the group after the high profile departures of star fund managers Tim Russell and Chris Rice. It is not known what he intends to do next.

  • Product matters

    19 Feb 2004

    By offering a guarantee to new investors, Norwich Union is reinforcing its commitment to the with-profits market. In light of the speculation regarding Standard and the negative press sentiment concerning with-profits in general, this is a very defiant and bold move. The guarantee ensures that, after five years, the minimum that investors will receive is their initial capital investment. If their investment has grown over the five years, they will be able to encash their policy ...

  • Profit for In Partnership as it survives takeover bid by founder

    19 Feb 2004

    Sussex-based network In Partnership says it has moved into profit three years after launch and last year saw off a takeover bid by founding director Shin Yamada. The network, which started trading in 2000, has grown rapidly and has more than 400 individual IFA members. A spokesman for the network says Yamada failed in an attempt to put a takeover consortium tog-ether and left the company last year. In Partnership was set up by barrister Julian Coles and Yamada, ...

  • Property fund seeks IFA sales

    19 Feb 2004

    London & Capital is listing its property fund to make it eligible for Sipp and Ssas investment. It says this is the first in a series of moves designed to increase London & Capital's UK onshore business significantly through IFAs and other intermediaries. The fund has seen a return of 14.75 per cent since its launch in July last year. L&C's property division has been investing for several years in direct purchases for private clients and now manages ...

  • Providers say chance for change has been missed

    19 Feb 2004

    Product providers have given a lukewarm welcome to the Pensions Bill, published last week, saying it offers some level of simplification of the occupational pension environment but lacks detail and does nothing to increase saving. They welcome the security that the new pension protection fund will give to final-salary scheme members and improvements to communication of pension and retirement information but say the improvements come in a piecemeal approach and an opportunity for ...

  • Pru reveals tough year in the UK market

    24 Feb 2004

    The Prudential has announced a 27 per cent drop in group wide operating profit for 2003 at the same time as some UK with-profits policyholders see a drop in their regular bonuses.Annual bonus rates on its Prudence bond were announced last month to remain unchanged, but the insurer has now revealed that personal pensions will take a cut to 3.25 per cent from 3.5 per cent. With-profits endowment bonuses remain unchanged. Its full year results show an operating profit ...

  • Rating firm checks out Standard Life solvency

    19 Feb 2004

    Standard Life's true capital position is "significantly weaker" than the company has claimed and the industry believed, says rating agency Fitch. The report - Reality Check: Is Standard That Poor? - warns that the plans to raise £750m in hybrid debt will be costly and that Standard's days as a mutual are numbered. It says: "Clearly, the actions that Standard Life has had to take, in somewhat dramatic circumstances, do demonstrate that its true economic capital ...

  • Ruffer Investment Management - CF Ruffer Pacific Fund

    24 Feb 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in equities and bonds in the Asia Pacific regionMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: 34% cash, 16% basic materials, 12% non-cyclical consumer goods, 11% financial,9% cyclical consumer goods, 5% communications, 4% industrial, 3% utilities, 2% energy, 2% government, 2% otherIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 5%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial ...

  • Sarasin goes for comfort factor

    18 Feb 2004

    SARASIN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENTSarasin Guaranteed Portfolio - GlobalSar Principal Guaranteed NoteType: Capital-protected fund Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the Sarasin CI GlobalSar sterling fund Minimum investment: Lump sum £7,000 Investment split 100% linked to the performance of the Sarasin CI GlobalSar sterling fund Term: Five years Place of registration: Guernsey Charges: ...

  • Scottish life sales down but market share rises

    19 Feb 2004

    Scottish Life saw total sales fall by 8 per cent to £780m in APE last from £717m in 2002 but says the figures were better than competitors and will almost certainly show an increase in its market share. The company's parent Royal London saw its total new business grow by 8 per cent to £1.65bn in 2003 from £1.52bn, with protection arm Bright Grey achieving sales of £4.6m in its first year of trading. Royal London Asset Management's business ...

  • Self-cert alert

    19 Feb 2004

    If there is one subject that is guaranteed to raise the hackles of anyone in the mortgage industry at the moment, it is self-certification. Lenders and brokers are up in arms over the issue, trade bodies and the regulator have closed ranks, saying there is no problem, but further revelations from the BBC last week claimed that there could be problems affecting up to 30 per cent of the mortgage market. After reviewing the controls of 15 major lenders, the FSA has concluded ...

  • Sesame offers two network options for loan brokers

    19 Feb 2004

    Sesame is offering mortgage brokers two regulated network options under mortgage regulation along with the opportunity to remain directly authorised while using its support services. Appointed representatives will be able to join Mortgage Select, which has a panel of lenders, or Mortgage Market, which covers every lender in the market. Procuration fees are higher for Mortgage Select, which works on the principle that it will offer three of the top five lenders in each ...

  • Skipton launches buy to let mortgage at 4.75 per cent

    24 Feb 2004

    Skipton Building Society has launched a buy-to-let mortgage with a 1.34 per cent discount off its buy-to-let variable rate in the first year, giving an initial pay rate of 4.75 per cent.This is followed by a 0.75 per cent discount in year two, giving a current rate of 5.34 per cent, and a 0.25 per cent discount in year three, giving a current rate of 5.84 per cent. The product, available up to 80 per cent loan to value, then reverts to Skipton's buy-to-let variable rate, currently ...

  • Smart move from WPA

    23 Feb 2004

    WESTERN PROVIDENT ASSOCIATIONEnterprise Smart-StartType: Group private medical insurance planMinimum-maximum ages: 18-65Minimum premium: £220.02 a yearMinimum group size: ThreeMaximum benefit: No maximumCover provided: Inpatient and day patient cover for hospital treatment, specialists' fees, diagnostic scans. Diagnostic tests, cancer care, outpatient treatment for cancer care, surgical procedures ...

  • Smee says IFA numbers will not fall after depolarisation

    19 Feb 2004

    Aifa director general Paul Smee is aiming to allay fears that the IFA market is diminishing and that the number of advisers in the sector will fall following depolarisation. In a speech to the Insurance Institute of London on Wednesday, Smee said he believes that concerns that the number of advisers in the sector will decrease are completely unfounded, that successful businesses will continue to thrive after depolarisation and the total number of IFAs will stay steady over the ...

  • Soaring IHT bills bring opportunity for advisers

    19 Feb 2004

    The amount of inheritance tax collected by the Inland Revenue over the last 10 years has doubled to over £2.3bn in 2001/02 from £1.2bn in 1992/93, presents an opportunity for IFAs, says Scottish Equitable. The company says the number of people likely to be hit by IHT is rising as property price have soared. ScotEq is running a marketing campaign aimed at making IHT planning easier for IFAs to explain to clients. The campaign uses an IHT calculator ...

  • Sofa sets course on charter flight

    19 Feb 2004

    Former Britannic Retirement Solutions corporate development director Bob Bullivant is the new managing director of Sofa, replacing Brian Lawless who is moving at the end of this month to IFA The Jelf Group. Bullivant says he sees Sofa as the gold standard organisation for the professional adviser. He considers Sofa is one of the key players that will shape the industry over the next few years and is ready for the challenge of "taking financial advice to the next level". At ...

  • Sofa wants specially qualified with-profits advisers

    19 Feb 2004

    Sofa has called on the FSA and the Financial Services Skills Council to make it compulsory for advisers to get specialised qualifications before they can advise on with-profits. In his response to the FSA consultation into with-profits reforms, outgoing Sofa managing director Brian Lawless says if the FSA wants "transparency of with-profits" for the consumer, it will require qualified with-profits advisers. He says the Skills Council's exam review should encompass ...

  • Spring into action

    19 Feb 2004

    The year is just a few weeks old and yet I feel a stream of consciousness of financial services policy events hitting us all. Standard Life, Penrose, the Treasury select committee and endowment sales, the Child Trust Fund Bill, the FSA business plan and structure, financial capability, price capping, the Retirement Income Reform Bill, Informed Choice on workplace pensions -I need to catch my breath after that little shopping list. You probably do, too, with a significant rise ...

  • Standard can keep IFAs' support

    19 Feb 2004

    Standard Life has long been seen as an insurer that IFAs could recommend with certainty in their hearts over strength, reliability and good service. But confidence in Europe's biggest mutual has been dented by its discussions with the FSA over the new realistic reporting regime and its strategic review into its mutual status. A recent Money Marketing survey shows that 67 per cent of IFAs will not continue to recommend Standard Life for new with-profits business although ...

  • Standard Life Bank moves into profit

    18 Feb 2004

    Standard Life Bank has moved into profit for the first time, reporting profits of £4.6m a year ahead of expectations.Mortgages under management grew from £7.2bn to £8.7bn and gross mortgage lending rose from £3.1bn to £3.4bn.SLB says it is well placed for future growth, as it now has the ability to access all mainstream sources of mortgage funding after its debut securitisation programme of £2.5bn was well received.

  • Standard Life Healthcare sales rise 25 per cent

    18 Feb 2004

    Sales at Standard Life Healthcare rose 25 per cent in 2003 down from a 26 per cent rise in 2002. Annual premium income grew by 12 per cent to £194m, while the number of lives covered increased by 9 per cent to 425,000.SLH says it is in a strong position for growth and expects a successful year in 2004, with several innovative new product launches planned.

  • Standard Life Investments increases funds under management by 15 per cent

    18 Feb 2004

    Funds under management at Standard Life Investments increased by 15 per cent in 2003 to £86.5bn at the end of the year.Worldwide investment sales are slightly down on last year at £3.3bn down from £3.4bn, but UK institutional business was up 23 per cent to £1.5bn while UK mutual fund sales reached £341m, down from £368m in 2002.

  • Standard pledges to keep its 'jewel'

    19 Feb 2004

    IFAs are questioning the size of Standard Life's broker consultancy salesforce in the wake of falling with-profits sales. Bankhall director of provider management Jonathan White believes Standard is unlikely to be able to sustain its large salesforce without strong with-profits sales, saying it will have to work harder to focus on its productive IFAs and to manage its relationships with others cost-effectively. John Scott & Partners investment manager Patrick Connolly ...

  • Standard sales plummet 27 per cent

    18 Feb 2004

    Standard Life saw UK life and pensions business fall 27 per cent to annual premium equivalent sales of £956m in 2003 from £1.31bn in 2002. Sales of independent pensions fell 35 per cent to £302m in 2003 compared to £467m the previous year, while group pension sales were down 17 per cent at £326m from £392m last year.Standard Life group chief executive Sandy Crombie says: "For all of the turbulence of the last few weeks Standard Life is ...

  • Standard slashes equity content of w-p fund to 50 per cent

    18 Feb 2004

    Standard Life has cut the equity content of its with profits fund by £7.5bn, resulting in an equity backing ratio for the fund of around 50 per cent.The move out of equities was spelt out alongside the life office's results published today for the 12 months to November 2003.It says it has available assets on a statutory basis of £4.6bn up from £4.2bn in 2002 and says this is 2.2 times the required minimum margin. The latest figures were submitted to ...

  • Standard's mutual fund platform to offer 75 funds

    23 Feb 2004

    Standard Life's mutual fund platform, Sigma, will offer 75 funds, 60 of which have an S&P research rating. The rated funds include nine from Jupiter, seven from Invesco Perpetual and five from Fidelity and DWS. Standard Life Investments has the most with 12 while Newton and Schroders have five and four respectively. The platform opens in April.

  • Standard's strength better than expected - Commerzbank

    18 Feb 2004

    Standard Life's year end results show its financial strength is better than analysts had expected with available assets up 9.5 per cent to £4.6bn in 2003 from £4.2bn the previous year.Commerzbank analyst Roman Cizdyn says the mutual's cash surplus compares well with figures published by its main rivals in recent years. Cizdyn says: "The finances of Standard Life seem healthier than a lot of people had expected. A realistic surplus of £4.6bn compares ...

  • Standard's w-p fund has now dropped 24 per cent in equities and property

    18 Feb 2004

    The equity and property component of Standard Life's with-profits fund - the equity backing ratio - has fallen by 24 per cent since the end of December.Standard announced this week that it was slashing the EBR to 50 per cent - massively cutting the fund's exposure to equities and property, which had stood at 74 per cent. It is the first time for more than a year that the EBR has fallen below 70 per cent.

  • Structured probe is set on a collusion course

    19 Feb 2004

    The FSA's burgeoning investigation into structured products has seemingly uncovered evidence of inappropriate collaboration between providers and IFAs and stockbrokers. According to the ABI, which has been briefed by the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service, the regulators believe that the collaboration was aimed at selling as many products as possible, with scant regard for suitability. As a result, the FSA plans to visit or send letters to the small number of providers ...

  • Survey reveals IFAs' business relations

    19 Feb 2004

    Only four product providers get regular business from more than a third of the IFAs they deal with, reveals new research by Henry Samuels Marketing Services. The study, involving 300 IFAs, shows that many providers deal with up to 95 per cent of the 22,000-plus IFAs in the market and have a large number of unproductive IFAs on their books. The research looks at insurers' "penetration efficiency" worked out by dividing the percentage of IFAs who "mainly deal" with a ...

  • Swip reclassifies Fofs after breaching ABI rules

    19 Feb 2004

    Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has reclassified its multi-manager funds on Lipper after the ABI ruled they were in breach of its unit-linked retail fund classifications. Three Widows' funds, which invest in manager of manager funds run by Russell Investment Group, are in an unclassified sector after the ABI's investment committee ruled they were violating its requirements. The committee objected to the way that Swip hedges Russell's overseas investments back to ...

  • Talkback

    19 Feb 2004

    "No, there are other factors to take into account when choosing with-profits bonds." Susan Brassey, Susan Brassey Independent Financial Consultant "I would consider it more but I have a feeling with-profits will take a year or so to get back to normal." Edwin Kelly, Edwin Kelly & Co "A guarantee has got to be comforting but I am happy with withprofits bonds anyway." Richard Mountain, Richard J Mountain Financial Planning & Investment Services "I think this ...

  • The Engine room

    19 Feb 2004

    Bankhall must be one of the outstanding successes in personal finance product distribution in the last decade. Its approach allows new advisers to enhance their regulatory status and the range of advice that they can offer. Starting with non-regulated status via Point One, progressing to a network member authorised to carry out investment business, via its incubator network Investment Strategies, and ultimately to direct authorisation with support services being offered "a la ...

  • The rating game

    19 Feb 2004

    Advisers are starting to question the value that information from rating agencies contributes to their research and ultimate recommendations to clients. Some IFAs say the recent events surrounding Standard Life undermine their confidence in agencies. Advisers and policyholders alike were shell-shocked when it was revealed that Standard was involved in protracted discussions with the FSA. The talks heralded a strategic review which could lead to the company giving ...

  • The sharp end of self-cert

    19 Feb 2004

    So Panorama strikes again, hitting out at what it claims is the slovenly or dishonest way in which self-cert is used to push through inappropriate loans. The figures certainly make for an interesting debate. Panorama says that self-cert combined with fast track could be as much as 30 per cent of the mortgage market. The FSA says the figure is 6 per cent while the MCCB concurs with suggestions that the programme represented a storm in a teacup, as do most providers. So ...

  • Tilney to bring US fund onshore in retail move

    19 Feb 2004

    Tilney is bringing its American growth fund onshore as part of its strategy to establish itself as a mutual fund provider in the UK retail market. The fund will be available as a sub-fund of Tilney's UK Oeic. It has been run since launch in 1996 by Nicholas Roe-Ely, supported by Jane Drake. Roe-Ely says the decision to move the fund onshore has been taken to increase its visibility and bring it to the attention of the UK IFA sector and growing fund-of-funds market. He ...

  • Tinkering with trusts

    19 Feb 2004

    Still on the subject of the pre-Budget report, I turn this week to the proposals for reforming the taxation of trusts. Like it or not, trusts are an important part of the financial planning toolkit. Like financial products, they are an important means to an end - the end being the improvement of the client's financial well-being. The determinant of whether trusts should be employed in planning must be the degree of utility they deliver. In most cases where a trust ...

  • UBS buys London HNW adviser in wealth push

    19 Feb 2004

    Swiss banking giant UBS is buying London IFA Scott Goodman Harris in the latest stage of its push into the UK wealth management sector. The 15-RI firm will be rebranded under the UBS Wealth Management UK brand. Scott Goodman Harris specialises in pensions and investment advice to high-net-worth individuals and had a turnover of over £4m last year. Last week, UBS bought Laing & Cruickshank Investment Management from Credit Lyonnais in a deal that brought £5bn ...

  • Underwriting success

    19 Feb 2004

    There used to be a story told at direct-sales conventions comparing a life office with a car. In the driver's seat, with a maniacal grin on his face, sat the sales director, his foot hard down on the accelerator. In the passenger seat, the finance director was frantically stretching over to put his foot on the brake. In the back seat, the actuary was looking out of the rear window and shouting instructions about the way forward. One passenger usually missing from this scenario was the ...

  • Unlucky for gum?

    19 Feb 2004

    Friday the 13th - never the best day to try anything hazardous - loomed large for Nick Bamford last week. Not only did the poor Informed Choice managing director schedule in a dentist's appointment for the morning but the Diary hears he was expecting to receive his PI quote later the same day.

  • Verity's view

    19 Feb 2004

    Right now it is hard to know if the reception given to Andrew Smith's Pensions Bill by the industry is justified. There is a widespread view that something more will have to be done to reform state pensions and the issue of compulsory private pensions will not go away just because Adair Turner has been put in charge of a review. But is the industry right to attack the Government over the positive measures it is taking? The consultants that deal constantly with the ...

  • Vest advice

    19 Feb 2004

    I understand that it is possible to pay a contribution into a stakeholder pension plan and then immediately take the benefits. I am aged 66. As a woman, I thought that the low annuity rates available to females would not make this particularly attractive but what do you think? You are correct that it is possible to invest in a stakeholder pension plan and take the benefits immediately. To do this, you have to be aged over 50, the minimum age at which benefits may be paid ...

  • Western Provident Association - Enterprise Smart Start

    23 Feb 2004

    Type: Group private medical insurance planMinimum-maximum ages: 18-65Minimum premium: £220.02 a yearMinimum group size: ThreeMaximum benefit: No maximumCover provided: Inpatient and day patient cover for hospital treatment, specialists' fees, diagnostic scans. Diagnostic tests, cancer care, outpatient treatment for cancer care, surgical procedures and pre-admission tests, parent and child cover, prostheses, out of ...

  • Who is the wolf on the trail?

    19 Feb 2004

    A young chap called Julian Penniston-Hill has launched a service with no less assistance in PR than Max Clifford, whereby he will obtain and remit all of an investor's renewal commission for the princely sum of £35 per annum. I feel that much of the ire that may have been directed towards me and my business model over the years has been redirected towards Mr Penniston-Hill's business, Intelligent Money. Julian Penniston-Hill was one of the executives who was ...

  • Willetts condemns Government's pension wind-ups

    23 Feb 2004

    Shadow pensions secretary David Willetts is hitting out at what he calls the Government "failure" to help the estimated 60,000 victims of pension wind-ups.Willetts will be challenging the Government's stance on windups at a debate tomorrow at Westminister Hall, entitled Crisis in Pension Scheme Windups.He says ministers have described the early 2005 projected start date for the pensions protection fund as "very challenging", however, an estimated 60,000 people have already ...

  • Win a trip to Monte Carlo

    19 Feb 2004

    In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to officially climb Mount Everest and reach the summit. Almost 50 years later, in February 2003, Sterling also broke new ground by launching the pioneering Protected Profits Funds, the first open-ended funds to combine performance and protection in this way. One year on and the Protected Profits Funds have reached new heights. The fact that the funds have grown to over £330m in the first 12 months shows just how attractive ...

  • Yorkshire chief warns on self-cert dangers

    19 Feb 2004

    Yorkshire Building Society chief executive Iain Cornish is warning that self-cert could be the next misselling scandal and is asking the FSA to address this issue. Speaking at the presentation of the society's annual results on Monday, Cornish revealed his concerns about self-cert, saying the industry is deluding itself if it believes there is no problem. Unlike many of his peers, Cornish thinks it is the lenders who are driving any abuse of self-cert by advertising ...

  • Yorkshire lending up by 13%

    18 Feb 2004

    Yorkshire Building Society has reported a 13 per cent increase in gross lending for 2003, which shot up to £2.8bn in 2003 from £2.48bn in 2002. Assets increased in 2003 by 6.8 per cent to £14.44bn from £13.52bn, and pre-tax profits are up 13 per cent to £71.6m from £63.36m. YBS says its borrower retention rate is 20 per cent better than the industry average, and its arrears represent just 0.006 per cent of its mortgage balances.

  • Zifa MD Reeve set to join Barclays

    19 Feb 2004

    Jim Reeve, managing director of Zurich IFA Group, has resigned after 25 years with Zurich Financial Services. It is believed that Reeve will soon be taking up a position at Barclays although it is not clear what his role will be and neither Zurich nor Barclays would comment on his move. If he does take up the position, Reeve will follow in the footsteps of former Zurich UK life chief executive Ray Greenshields, who joined Barclays as managing director of its investment ...

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