Money Marketing
18 June 2008
-
Kensington to axe half its workforce
19 Jun 2008
Kensington is to make up to 75 of its 160 staff redundant. Job cuts are to come from across the company. A spokesman says it told staff this week and will now enter a 30-day consultation period.
-
2012 Tax shock for protected pensions
19 Jun 2008
First Actuarial has warned that people with enhanced protection on their pension savings could trigger penal tax charges by being auto-enrolled into personal accounts.
-
7IM gives multi-platform views
19 Jun 2008
Seven Investment Management has introduced a facility which allows customers to see their investments with Cofunds and Fidelity FundsNetwork on the 7IM platform.
-
A shaw thing
19 Jun 2008
Annie Shaw is a freelance financial journalistMy feet hardly touched the ground last week. My first venture out was to give the big hat an airing at Epsom Ladies' Day as a guest of the ever hospitable Abbey. I was sensible enough to back Iguazu Falls sired by Pivotal, which also sired my sister's winning nag, Turn On The Style. Sadly, the bet was part of one of those fancy accumulator things, and I'd already lost my stake in the previous race.
-
Abbey blasted over £150 booking fee
19 Jun 2008
John Charcol has hit out at Abbey for introducing a non-refundable booking fee of £150 on its mortgage range and warned that more lenders may follow.
-
Abbey launches new guaranteed investment products
23 Jun 2008
Abbey is launching a new range of guaranteed investment products linked to the FTSE 100.
-
ABI lobbies Lords to back amendment
19 Jun 2008
The Association of British Insurers is urging the House of Lords to support amendments to the Pensions Bill to ensure existing schemes are not forced to accommodate personal accounts' more limited earnings' band.
-
ABI publishes gender directive data
23 Jun 2008
The Association of British Insurers has published gender data tables to allow insurers to continue differing prices for insurance policies depending on gender.
-
Advice you can bank on
19 Jun 2008
Institute of Financial Planning chief executive Nick Cann believes banks are well placed to take financial planning to the next level and predicts that major names will enter the fray within five years.
-
Aegon warns IFAs on inheritance tax threat of isas and peps
24 Jun 2008
Aegon Scottish Equitable is warning advisers to be aware of their clients’ potential inheritance tax liability on large portfolios of tax free savings such as peps and isas.
-
Age concerns
19 Jun 2008
Advisers who help clients plan for long-term care costs face a number of challenges.
-
AIC calls for MPs to be thorough in offshore inquiry
20 Jun 2008
The Association of Investment Companies has called on the Treasury Select Committee not to tarr all offshore centres with the same brush.
-
Aifa picks Strange to take on new role of policy director
19 Jun 2008
The Association of Independent Financial Advisers has appointed Andrew Strange to the new position of policy director.
-
Aima asks regulator to have Faif on funds
19 Jun 2008
The Alternative Investment Management Association believes the FSA's proposed restrictions on notice periods and leverage of funds of hedge funds are "unworkable" and should be reconsidered.
-
AIMA calls on FSA to justify its short selling rules
20 Jun 2008
The Alternative Investment Management Association is calling on the FSA to release the findings of any investigations that led to the implementation of its new disclosure rules on short selling.
-
AMI warns brokers of conflicts of interest in structured products
24 Jun 2008
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has warned brokers to be careful of conflicts of interest when selling investment products to supplement their income.
-
Andrew Fleming
19 Jun 2008
In last week's Profile, we said Aegon Asset Management's Andrew Fleming was previously global CEO at ABN Amro Asset Management and deputy CEO at Gartmore when he was CIO and deputy CIO respectively. We apologise for any confusion.
-
Aon Consulting launches annuity finder
18 Jun 2008
Pensioners could be losing up to 30 per cent of the value of their pension pot, or around £360m every year, because of ill-advised retirement decisions, according to Aon Consulting.
-
At home on the range
19 Jun 2008
The second quarter has brought some relief to financial markets, with strong rallies in equity markets and a marked narrowing of credit spreads, but volatility continues to be a feature, as investors react to each release of economic data or corporate news. Given the difficult outlook for the global economy, volatility may well be with us for some time and investors will look for new ways to generate alpha.
-
Axa Fofs will go to Architas
19 Jun 2008
Axa has revealed that its Axa Framlington range of six funds of funds will pass to its new multi-manager investment firm Architas.
-
B&B adviser jailed for duping elderly
19 Jun 2008
A Bradford & Bingley adviser has been jailed for two years for defrauding elderly customers.
-
B&B rejects initial Resolution offer
24 Jun 2008
Bradford & Bingley has rejected an initial offer of funding from Resolution that would have seen the company take effective control of the bank.
-
Bank of Ireland links up for Islamic savings
19 Jun 2008
Islamic home finance provider Alburaq has set up a retail Shariah compliant alternative to a guaranteed equity bond in conjunction with the Bank of Ireland.
-
Bid to raise profile in consumer campaign
19 Jun 2008
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is to start a consumer campaign to highlight the benefits of advice.
-
Bob Yerbury to step down as Invesco Perpetual chief executive
23 Jun 2008
Bob Yerbury is to step down as chief executive of Invesco Perpetual in September.
-
BoE to keep financial waters calm
23 Jun 2008
The Bank of England has a tough road ahead after the Chancellor announced it will be responsible for financial stability, with the FSA in charge of tackling market abuse.
-
Brave New World
19 Jun 2008
Isn't at least one of us in the wrong place?" I asked as I walked into an office on the 34th and top floor of an unfamiliar grey building to be greeted by a more than familiar figure.
-
Breaking up is hard to do
19 Jun 2008
Cazalet Consulting principal Ned Cazalet has warned that the FSA will face high legal hurdles if it tries to carry through its planned separation of sales and advice.
-
Bristol & West and Bank of Ireland pull their mortgage ranges
24 Jun 2008
Bristol & West Mortgages and Bank of Ireland have both pulled their entire mortgage ranges to be replaced with higher rate products.
-
Broker Talkback
19 Jun 2008
Do you think it is right for providers to introduce postcode pricing for their annuities?
-
BSA to widen mortgage market role
19 Jun 2008
The Building Societies Associa-tion is to recruit seven more staff to get building societies' views of the mortgage market across more effectively.
-
CAB driver
19 Jun 2008
This sits outside the direct scope of the review but is clearly part of the emerging landscape post-RDR.
-
Canada Life - Canlife Cautious Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
Canada LifeCanlife Cautious Portfolio
-
Canada Life - Canlife Growth Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
Canada LifeCanlife Growth Portfolio
-
Canada Life - Canlife Reserved Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
Canada LifeCanlife Reserved Portfolio
-
Canada Life - Canlife Strategic Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
Canada LifeCanlife Strategic Portfolio
-
Carvill chosen for Abbey role
19 Jun 2008
Abbey for Intermediaries has appointed Alliance & Leicester's Sue Carvell as divisional sales director in the South.
-
Centre aims to lead way on regulation
19 Jun 2008
Treasury Economic Secretary Kitty Ussher has announced the formation of an International Centre for Financial Regulation.
-
Charles Bean to replace Rachel Lomax at the Bank of England
19 Jun 2008
Charles Bean has been appointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England for Monetary Stability.
-
China's big leap
19 Jun 2008
China is taking the Olympics extremely seriously. The world's second-biggest economy, with a GDP of over $7trn, measured on a purchasing power parity basis, looks determined to project its prestige and power on the world stage.
-
CII's Hutchinson awarded MBE
19 Jun 2008
Chartered Insurance Institute special projects manager Peter Hutchinson has been made an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list for services to the insurance industry and charity.
-
Class struggle
19 Jun 2008
The Competition Commission's finding that people buying payment protection insurance are being overcharged by 1.4bn a year follows action by the FSA against firms accused of misselling PPI.
-
Clerical MD in call for compulsion
19 Jun 2008
The Government should introduce compulsion to avoid a future pension crisis, says Clerical Medical managing director John van Der Wielen.
-
Client's dilemma on reviewable contract
19 Jun 2008
Ten years ago, we arranged for one of our clients a 10-yearly reviewable whole of life insurance with Sun Life, as it was then. The sum assured was £100,000 and the premium was £16.33 a month. The client has a disabled son, so the cover is likely to be required indefinitely.
-
CML standard for newbuild values
19 Jun 2008
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is introducing new standards for industry professionals who act for lenders on newly built property transactions.
-
Court overturns ruling that case fees are unfair
19 Jun 2008
The Court of Appeal has rejected a county court judgment that it is unfair for advisers to pay a Financial Ombudsman Service case fee where a complaint is not upheld.
-
Cummings urges IFAP to change its focus
19 Jun 2008
Aifa director general Chris Cummings has called on IFA Promotion to do more to encourage people to seek independent advice.
-
Darling boosts Bank of England's powers
19 Jun 2008
Chancellor Alistair Darling has given the Bank of England new powers for financial stability.
-
Diverse income solution from Invesco
20 Jun 2008
Invesco PerpetualEuropean High Income Fund
-
Do not condemn us for asserting our rights
19 Jun 2008
The payment menu and initial disclosure document were dropped because the European Union said it was illegal and Aifa said it wished the FSA had been honest about why its brainchild was now defunct.
-
Domestic upheaval
19 Jun 2008
The global growth open-ended sector is skewed heavily towards domestic markets but the same cannot be said these days of the equivalent closed-ended portfolios. The huge generalist, international and global growth funds have historically featured majority weightings in the UK.
-
Downsize your portfolio
19 Jun 2008
The average UK smaller companies manager will outperform their benchmark, the FTSE small cap index, over most periods - in fact, by 29 percentage points over five years and 79 percentage points over 10 years to May 1 whereas the average UK equity unit trust has underperformed the FTSE All Share index by 10 percentage points over five years and 50 percentage points over 10 years.
-
DWP to ban employers from forcing workers to opt out of pension schemes
24 Jun 2008
The Government is set to amend the Pensions Bill to ban employers encouraging or forcing workers to opt out of personal accounts or other workplace pension schemes.
-
Ex-Edeus director joins Premier
19 Jun 2008
Premier Mortgage Service has appointed former Edeus commercial director Martin Reynolds as corporate manager. He will initially work on a short-term contract and his remit will include developing new income streams for PMS.
-
F&C switches to Veritas for equity income
19 Jun 2008
The F&C multi-manager distribution fund has switched out of the Schroder global dividend maximiser fund in favour of a 2.5 per cent holding in the Veritas global income fund.
-
Fidelity tools help with wrapper calculations
19 Jun 2008
Fidelity FundsNetwork is offering a set of online tools to help advisers calculate the asset classes and returns that perform best in different types of tax wrapper.
-
Fixes hit 10-year high as swap rates rocket
19 Jun 2008
Mortgage lenders are raising two-year fixed rates to a 10-year high in response to swap rates soaring to nearly 6.5 per cent.
-
Flawed logic in watchdog legal stance
19 Jun 2008
The Financial Ombudsman Service's reasoning that adjudicator decisions are not crucial as they can be reversed by an ombudsman is "strange logic", says Fishburns Solicitors.
-
FSA increasing focus on criminal prosecutions
18 Jun 2008
FSA director of enforcement Margaret Cole told delegates at the FSA Financial Enforcement Conference in London today that enforcement activity is at the forefront of its drive to achieve credible deterrence.
-
FSA launches PPI comparison tables
23 Jun 2008
The FSA has launched free comparison tables for payment protection insurance on its consumer website.
-
FSA may change new short selling disclosure rules
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has reportedly reversed its stance on how to take options into account when calculating the size of positions under its new rules on disclosure of short-selling during rights issues.
-
FSA resists the bank barrage
19 Jun 2008
The FSA is understood to be holding its ground against heavy lobbying by the British Bankers' Association and resisting calls for an advised sales channel.
-
FSA rules out new burdens on mortgages
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has responded to mortgage broker concerns by clarifying that it will not be introducing new disclosure requirements.
-
FSA to clamp down on shortsellers
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has issued new disclosure requirements to prevent market abuse through short-selling positions in companies conducting rights issues.
-
FSCS redress for credit unions
19 Jun 2008
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has started paying compensation to members of Inner Preston Credit Union and Peterlee Credit Union after they were declared in default.
-
FSPP launches 2008 survey on FSA's performance
23 Jun 2008
The Financial Services Practitioner Panel has launched its 2008 survey of regulated firms, which assesses the FSA’s performance from an industry perspective.
-
Gifford to take over Old Mutual extra income
19 Jun 2008
Old Mutual extra income fund manager Leonard Klahr is to retire next March and will be replaced by Michael Gifford, who becomes joint manager at the end of June.
-
Grand theft auto
19 Jun 2008
The private-sector final-salary schemes that have been so dominant in the workplace for nearly half a century will probably be almost gone by then.
-
Green takes over New Star distribution fund
19 Jun 2008
New Star has appointed Trevor Green to take on the management of the equity sleeve of its £460m managed distribution fund.
-
HBOS denies dual-pricing has hit broker business
19 Jun 2008
HBOS claims its split of direct and intermediary business remains similar to last year despite the controversy surrounding dual-pricing.
-
HBOS says trading is 'satisfactory'
19 Jun 2008
HBOS says its trading for the past six months has been “satisfactory” and it is on track to deliver a resilient performance this year.
-
Highly charged arguments
19 Jun 2008
The survey, in conjunction with Financial Express, found that 40 out of 65 highcharging funds failed to beat their benchmark, with 26 recording bottom-quartile performance over three years.
-
HMRC announces new chairman
24 Jun 2008
HM Revenue and Customs has unveiled Mike Clasper as its new chairman.
-
HMRC warns it has Qrops under surveillance
19 Jun 2008
Advisers have been warned to ensure clients are fully aware of the risks of using a Qrops after HM Revenue & Customs confirmed it is monitoring the schemes closely.
-
Hornbuckle appoints Ernst & Young in search for buyer
23 Jun 2008
Hornbuckle Mitchell has confirmed it is in the process of appointing Ernst & Young to field offers from potential buyers.
-
Horses for courses
19 Jun 2008
Fiona Price & Partners founder Fiona Price has set up a website combining her two passions of business and horses.
-
Impax and FTSE to launch environmental index
19 Jun 2008
Impax has teamed up with the FTSE to launch a new index based on environmentally friendly firms.
-
India lights up New Star
20 Jun 2008
New StarIndian Equity Fund
-
Inflated hopes
19 Jun 2008
Recent macroeconomic developments have created a supportive environment for commodity prices. Turmoil in global financial markets led to slower growth in the US economy, which in turn led to lower US interest rates and a weaker dollar.
-
Insurers fall short
19 Jun 2008
The latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service indicate that we are approaching the tail end of the calamitous mortgage endowment complaint fiasco.
-
Investec gets to the long and short of resources
20 Jun 2008
Investec’s enhanced natural resources fund aims for growth by investing long and short in a global portfolio of 30-50 resource equities and 10-15 commodity securities.
-
Jupiter - Jupiter Strategic Bond Fund
20 Jun 2008
JupiterJupiter Strategic Bond Fund
-
Jupiter to give green advice
19 Jun 2008
Jupiter fund manager Charlie Thomas is to advise Prudential Corporation Asia on its global green solutions fund, authorised in Taiwan.
-
Just the ticket?
19 Jun 2008
PruProtect has added cheap Eurostar tickets and cinema discounts to the range of benefits for some policyholders. Is the future for the protection industry going to be money-off vouchers and other sales incentives as a way of combating declining sales?
-
Lakey attacks Leek over referral
19 Jun 2008
Highclere Financial Services partner Alan Lakey has hit out at Leek United Building Society after it arranged for one of his clients to speak with another mortgage broker.
-
Landlord land
19 Jun 2008
Lenders prepared to stick their head above the parapet and take a different approach to the norm will find there is plenty of business to be done in offering decent remortgage products to landlords.
-
Legg Mason Batterymarch follows emerging markets
20 Jun 2008
Legg Mason has introduced a Dublin based emerging markets equity fund managed by its Batterymarch subsidiary.
-
'Let industry heal itself'
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has been warned to focus on the essentials of mortgage regulation and "park the bright, expensive ideas for later".
-
Level best
19 Jun 2008
In the retail distribution review interim report, the FSA poses three big challenges for the industry. One of these is to develop and implement an agreed common framework for professional standards including examinations.
-
Lloyds could shed Scottish Widows in Dresdner deal, say reports
23 Jun 2008
Lloyds TSB could shed Scottish Widows as part of a deal to acquire Dresdner Bank from its parent company Allianz, say press reports.
-
MetLife - MetLife Balanced Secure Index Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
MetLifeMetLife Balanced Secure Index Portfolio
-
MetLife - MetLife Cautious Secure Index Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
MetLifeMetLife Cautious Secure Index Portfolio
-
MetLife - MetLife Conservative Secure Index Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
MetLifeMetLife Conservative Secure Index Portfolio
-
MetLife - MetLife Defensive Secure Index Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
MetLifeMetLife Defensive Secure Index Portfolio
-
MetLife - Retirement Portfolio
20 Jun 2008
MetLifeRetirement Portfolio
-
MetLife secures pension
20 Jun 2008
MetLife has designed a personal pension plan with the option to select a capital guarantee or income guarantee through a range of secured funds.
-
MetLife set for major push into protection
19 Jun 2008
MetLife is looking to bring out life insurance, critical-illness cover and income protection as part of a major push in the protection market.
-
MetLife third-way pledges cover capital and income
19 Jun 2008
MetLife has launched its latest third-way personal pension with both income and capital guarantees.
-
Moratorium extended on genetic test results
19 Jun 2008
The Association of British Insurers has extended until 2014 the moratorium enabling consumers to take out substantial amounts of insurance without having to disclose adverse res-ults of predictive genetic tests.
-
More than half population has never taken financial advice
19 Jun 2008
More than half the UK population has never sought advice from a financial adviser, research by Zurich has revealed.
-
MPs don't see IFAs as professionals
19 Jun 2008
A survey of 121 MPs by the Chartered Insurance Institute found that just 18 per cent rate financial services as good or very good in terms of professionalism.
-
Multi-manager Carne joins F&C
19 Jun 2008
F&C has bolstered its multi-manager team with Paul Carne, who joins from Crosby Forsyth on July 7.
-
Northern Rock to investigate conduct of former board
18 Jun 2008
Northern Rock’s new management is investigating whether there are grounds to take legal action against the bank’s former board.
-
NU adopts postcode pricing on annuities
19 Jun 2008
Norwich Union is to introduce postcode annuity pricing on maturing pensions and open market option transfers from September.
-
NU to decide future of Lifetime wrap
19 Jun 2008
The fate of Norwich Union's Lifetime wrap will be decided within weeks, Money Marketing understands.
-
Nucleus has appointed Neil Howitt as finance director
23 Jun 2008
Nucleus has appointed Neil Howitt from St James’s Place as finance director.
-
OK consumer
19 Jun 2008
A wise 1960s' Californian (no, that's not oxymoronic) argued that it is the nature of the communications media that a society uses, rather than the ideas transmitted through those media, that shapes society. Isn't that a fantastically counter-intuitive thought?
-
Old Mutual makes wholesale changes to fund management team
18 Jun 2008
Old Mutual is making a number of changes to its fund management team, with Asian manager Suresh Sadasivan set to leave the firm.
-
Online tool measures client feedback on TCF
19 Jun 2008
Technology provider FinQS is offering an online tool which allows advisers to get feedback from clients on how well they are fulfilling the FSA's treating customers fairly principles.
-
Pada chief admits they can't check pension contributions
19 Jun 2008
Personal Accounts Delivery Authority chief executive Tim Jones has told an advisory committee the scheme will not be able to determine whether contribution levels are correct.
-
Panellists concentrate on the basics
19 Jun 2008
Panellists continued to concentrate their Aggressive Adviser Fund Index portfolios during the May rebalancing. The number of funds in the index fell by 11 to 103 and followed a similar reduction last November.
-
Paying the premium
18 Jun 2008
Last week research from Money Marketing found that over half of all funds with annual management charges of 1.75 per cent or more have underperformed in the past three years.
-
Piece of the PPI
19 Jun 2008
It found that the majority of the UK's 14 million PPI policies are sold at point of sale and not wholly unpredictably highlighted that many customers are unaware that they can buy PPI from other providers, totally independent from the loan or credit facility they are arranging.
-
Polar Capital appoints chief risk officer
24 Jun 2008
Polar Capital Holdings has appointed Karim Vellani as the firms new chief risk officer.
-
Police swoop on 5m cheque gang
19 Jun 2008
Police in West Yorkshire believe they have uncovered a sophisticated 5m fraud involving cheques stolen from financial institutions.
-
Product matters
19 Jun 2008
Income protection has been in the doldrums with continually falling sales.
-
Regulator bans three mortgage brokers
23 Jun 2008
The FSA has banned three East London brokers for submitting false mortgage applications to lenders backed by false or misleading documents.
-
Remortgages boost lending in return to fixed rates
19 Jun 2008
Lending volumes rose by 8 per cent in April although activity remains weaker than a year ago, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
-
Resolution-Axial name promises to be 'real departure'
19 Jun 2008
Pearl Group is to reveal the new name for the merged Resolution Asset Management and Axial Investment Management businesses next month.
-
Review recommends regulating agents
19 Jun 2008
The Carsberg review of residential property has recommended that letting agencies and estate agents become regulated.
-
Richard Dunn
19 Jun 2008
Santander is merging Cater Allen, James Hay and Abbey Sharedealing under the Santander Private Banking brand and Cater Allen managing director Richard Dunn has been appointed commercial director of the new structure with the task of finding a way to combine the three businesses.
-
Richard Farr to be made redundant from AMI
19 Jun 2008
AMI director Richard Farr is to be made redundant at the end of July.
-
Rising damp
19 Jun 2008
Bradford & Bingley's retreat from the buy-to-let market last week, when it raised rates by 0.55 per cent, looks set to create more pressures on landlords.
-
Rock shrinkage could worsen crisis'
19 Jun 2008
Rapid shrinkage of Northern Rock's mortgage book could significantly worsen the impact of the wider credit crisis, warns New Star chief economist Simon Ward.
-
Scot Wids appoints new employee benefits and direct distribution director
23 Jun 2008
Scottish Widows has appointed Andy Barton as director of employee benefits and direct distribution.
-
Seeing the potential
19 Jun 2008
Moving 1,800 users of a critical software system at the same time is a gargantuan task. This is what True Potential achieved for Positive Solutions over the Christmas period.
-
Seize the RDR opportunity or hang your head in shame
19 Jun 2008
Aifa director general Chris Cummings says advisers should hang their heads in shame if they fail to grasp the opportunity handed to them by the retail distribution review.
-
Sesame says complaints show need for sales split
19 Jun 2008
The latest complaint statistics should galvanise the FSA into pushing ahead with its planned separation of sales and advice, says Sesame.
-
Sesame to host protection technical seminars in July
20 Jun 2008
Sesame is hosting 21 technical seminars across the UK in July to address key issues in the protection market.
-
Shareholders are set to challenge Kilminster deal
19 Jun 2008
Shareholders and former Kilminster advisers are investigating taking legal action against Malcolm Kilminster over the recent deal between Kilminster Financial Management and Alpha 2 Omega after it emerged that KFM looks set for liquidation.
-
Skandia launches alternative investment fund
20 Jun 2008
Skandia is launching an alternative investments fund next week.
-
Standard Life widens estate planning proposition
24 Jun 2008
Standard Life is increasing the investment options available within its gift plan to help clients shield investments in oeics and unit trusts from inheritance tax.
-
Star of India
19 Jun 2008
Emerging markets continue to attract large amounts of investors' money and single-country funds are grabbing a lot of attention. Brokers should remember, however, that these are inherently more volatile than funds with a wider remit. One of the countries grabbing most of the headlines is India.
-
Stay away from precipice
19 Jun 2008
It may have escaped your notice that while sales of unit trusts have been sluggish, there is one area that is positively booming - structured products.
-
Stephen Knight joins Cicero as non-executive chairman
23 Jun 2008
Cicero Consulting has appointed Checkmate Mortgages executive chairman and former GMAC RFC UK chairman Stephen Knight as non-executive chairman.
-
STM to acquire Jersey-based St George Financial Services
18 Jun 2008
Aim-listed financial planning firm STM Group is acquiring Jersey-based St George Financial Services.
-
Stockbroker fined over data controls
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has fined Merchant Securities Group £77,000 for data security failings and not adequately protecting customers from the risk of identity fraud. This is the first time the FSA has fined a stockbroking firm for weak data security controls.
-
Structured thoughts
19 Jun 2008
When economic times change, it always fascinates me to see how different areas of the financial services industry respond to meet the changing demands of clients and customers while also being sure to make a decent profit.
-
SWIP multi-manager funds awarded A-ratings
24 Jun 2008
Old Broad Street Research, the independent investment funds research and consultancy company announces new fund ratings and ratings changes.
-
Swip takes global macro view
19 Jun 2008
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership's multi-manager team has boosted its MM diversity fund's exposure to global macro strategies with a small holding in a fund of hedge funds from Brevan Howard.
-
Swiss Life tipped as frontrunner in Lombard race
23 Jun 2008
Swiss Life has been tipped as the frontrunner in the bidding for Friends Provident’s wealth business Lombard.
-
Taking stock
19 Jun 2008
I am due to receive about 180,000 worth of company shares from a share scheme in place with my employer. I am aged 49 and I have the option of using these shares to make a contribution to my company's pension scheme, which is a self-invested personal pension. Is this a good route to take?
-
Tenet launches Sinfonia Asset Management
19 Jun 2008
The Tenet Group has launched its new investment business, Sinfonia Asset Management.
-
The new 90% club
19 Jun 2008
Ten-baggers were shares, most usually in high-tech providers or internet start-ups, which had multiplied in price tenfold. The 90 per cent club comprises firms that see their share price collapse to less than 10 per cent of their earlier high.
-
Transact launch automated reregistration facility
24 Jun 2008
Transact and EMX Message System have developed an automated reregistration facility for clients transferring assets in their own name to a nominee.
-
Treasury Committee slams FSA over inherited estates
19 Jun 2008
The Treasury Select Committee has slammed the FSA for not providing a robust enough framework to manage the conflicts of interest in inherited estates.
-
Trust, caution
19 Jun 2008
Since the pre-Budget report and the ensuing Budget and Finance Bill, the taxation of UK resident non-domiciliaries has attracted much attention.
-
Twin appeal to clear up pension limit
19 Jun 2008
Trade bodies have written to the Government for clarification after ministers appeared to send out conflicting messages about annual contribution limits for pension personal accounts.
-
UK and France sign new double taxation convention
20 Jun 2008
Chancellor Alistair Darling and the French Minister for the economy, industry and employment Christine Lagarde signed a new double taxation convention yesterday between the UK and France.
-
UK equity income funds slide into relegation zone
19 Jun 2008
Newton higher-income fund heads the latest 100-plus list of poor-performing unit trusts in Chelsea Financial Services' relegation zone statistics.
-
Unum boosts underwriting to offer group income protection to more people
23 Jun 2008
Unum will now offer group income protection to employees who have had a serious illness such as cancer, a heart attack or back pain in the past.
-
Ward says cut back M4 rather than raise base rates
19 Jun 2008
New Star chief economist Simon Ward says a deterioration in company liquidity should prevent the Bank of England monetary policy committee from raising base rate this summer.
-
Where's the proof on pensions?
19 Jun 2008
A couple of months back, the Conservative pension spokesman Nigel Waterson warned that the launch of personal accounts must not become a shambles like Terminal Five.
-
Woolies fined 350k for holding back inside info
19 Jun 2008
The FSA has fined the Woolworths Group 350,000 for failing to immediately disclose inside information concerning its share price to the market.
-
Woolwich looks at booking fees
19 Jun 2008
Woolwich has not ruled out following in the footsteps of Abbey and introducing non-refundable booking fees on its mortgage range.
