Money Marketing
19 September 2001

  • 'Govt figures back geographic rates'

    20 Sep 2001

    Government statistics back enhanced annuity rates on a geographic basis, according to MGM Assurance. Research from the Office for National Statistics charts disease patterns in regions of the UK and it shows higher levels of heart disease in South Wales, Scotland, Tyneside and Northern Ireland. MGM says measures need to be taken to ensure consumers do not limit themselves to considering only providers of standard annuities. The life office has special rates for those with shortened ...

  • 12% MVA as bonuses cut

    20 Sep 2001

    Sun Alliance & London, the subsidiary of Royal & Sun Alliance facing rocketing guaranteed annuity liabilities, has slashed terminal bonuses for the second time this year. Maturity payouts on with-profits policies will be cut by up to 5 per cent although it expects an average 3 per cent cut. Money Marketing recently revealed R&SA's guaranteed annuity liabilities have risen to £1.5bn, with liabilities for its SA&L fund doubling to £1.1bn in its 2000 Treasury returns. The ...

  • Abbey National looks high

    20 Sep 2001

    Graham says: "The strategy is more cautious than some bonds, for example those linking to a basket of currencies." Rutter says: " Of the various indices available, the Dow Jones Eurostoxx has become a favourite of late. A more somber choice than some. I feel the five-year term is more suited to these plans."

  • Abbey National looks high

    20 Sep 2001

    Abbey National - High income & growth

  • Aberdeen finds VCT opportunity

    24 Sep 2001

    Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity has introduced the Aberdeen growth opportunities venture capital trust (VCT).

  • Aberdeen Murray Johnston Private Equity - Aberdeen Growth Opportunities VCT

    25 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 25 September 2001.Aim: Growth by investing in smaller unquoted companies in the UK.Minimum investment: £3,000.Opening-closing date: September 27, 2001-April 5, 2002.Charges: Annual 2 per cent for the first year, 2.5 per cent thereafter.Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent for investments £500,000 or above.Tel: 0845 3002830. 

  • ABI rejects call for external actuaries

    20 Sep 2001

    The ABI is calling for an external review of appointed actuaries' recommendations about with-profits funds, saying this would improve clarity about the way funds are operated. However, in its submission to the FSA's consultation on with-profits funds, the ABI rejects calls to force life offices to use external actuaries to set bonus rates or to have consumer representatives on pension providers' boards. The response says: "An external review would, as well as acting as ...

  • Actuaries' service offers to take over policy complaints

    20 Sep 2001

    Actuarial consultancy firm Hazell Carr is launching a complaint management service to help IFAs and insurance providers resolve allegations of endowment policy misselling. The service is being offered in response to the Financial Services Ombudsman and FSA's decision in June to tighten compliance rules, making assessments more complicated for firms. Failure to comply can result in heavy fines. Hazell's service aims to reduce the demands on IFAs and insurers by taking over ...

  • Advising clients in the aftermath of US tragedy

    20 Sep 2001

    Last week's mass murder in the US was among many other things the most savage attack on the world's financial system in its history. Fund managers and brokers were among those suffering the greatest losses. London as a financial centre, a target of terrorists in the past, felt all the more keenly that New York is a sister city. It is now time for IFAs to turn their attention to their clients' needs. Last week, it was suggested everything had changed. This may be true ...

  • Aegon Asset Management MD steps down

    25 Sep 2001

    Aegon Asset Management managing director Russell Hogan is stepping down from his role in favour of pursuing other interests outside fund management, such as taking a theology degree. He will relinquish control of AAM some time next year, but will stay within the Aegon group to follow a more strategic role. A successor will be announced in the next few weeks. AAM recently poached Wendy Hay to be chief investment officer from Standard Life, where she was head of global equities.

  • AIG breathes Life into bond

    25 Sep 2001

    AIG Life has unveiled the capital portfolio bond, a unit-linked bond enabling IFAs to tailor investment portfolios to different risk profiles and investment objectives.

  • Another Towry man for Wentworth

    20 Sep 2001

    IFA retirement specialist firm Wentworth Rose has appointed Malcolm Thomas as head of pensions, the second recruit from Towry Law in the last month. Thomas joined Hogg Robinson in 1994 and moved to Towry last year as sales manager leading its retirement advice teams. Towry is requiring board director Tudor Taylor to honour his contract until June next year when he will become Wentworth Rose managing director.

  • Another Towry man for Wentworth

    19 Sep 2001

    IFA retirement specialist firm Wentworth Rose has appointed Malcolm Thomas as head of pensions, the second recruit from Towry Law in the last month. Thomas joined Hogg Robinson in 1994 and moved to Towry last year as sales manager leading its retirement advice teams. Towry is requiring board director Tudor Taylor to honour his contract until June next year when he will become Wentworth Rose managing director.

  • Bank cuts base rate to 4.75%

    20 Sep 2001

    The Bank of England cut its base rate on Tuesday from 5 per cent to 4.75 per cent, the lowest level since January 1963. It made the move in a bid to restore confidence after the fall of stockmarkets since the terrorist attacks in New York last week.

  • Bidding may heat up as offer goes in for Exchange

    20 Sep 2001

    Exchange FS has received a takeover bid from an unnamed buyer which could spark off further bids for the portal. Industry insiders believe the prospective purchaser may be software provider Marlborough Stirling. Marlborough Stirling supplies systems and services to major lenders and life offices, although it is likely that other parties will enter the bidding to pick up the Exchange because of its strong distribution presence in the IFA sector. Marlborough Stirling has offices ...

  • Bond offers four strategies

    20 Sep 2001

    Friends Provident is introducing a new lump-sum savings vehicle designed to provide investors with flexibility and choice. The investment portfolio bond is offering an extra allocation of up to 2.25 per cent on the sum invested during the offer period up to November 9. Standard allocation is 100 per cent. The bond enables the investor to select from four ready-made portfolios or tailor the fund selection to meet their own preferred risk spectrum using a range of 16 funds. The ...

  • Boost for UK economy as growth estimate up

    25 Sep 2001

    Predictions for growth in the UK economy have been revised upwards to 2.3 per cent from 2.1 per cent following the release of figures from the Office for National Statistics.Gross domestic product grew by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2001, beating expectations of growth of 0.3 per cent.The news will boost hopes that the underlying strength of the UK economy will counter the effects of the US attacks in avoiding recession.

  • Borrowers unaware of true costs, says survey

    20 Sep 2001

    Over three-quarters of people do not know the true cost of buying a home, according to research from Virgin One. A survey of 700 homeowners carried out by the current account mortgage provider found few people could estimate within £50,000 how much a £200,000 mortgage would cost to repay. Virgin One says this is all the more alarming as people clearly take a real financial interest in their homes, with 98 per cent claiming to know exactly how much their home is worth. The ...

  • Boxing clever

    20 Sep 2001

    Our panel consists of: Mark Birks, asset accumulation leader, Royal & Sun Alliance; Steve Burgess, head of pensions marketing, Axa Sun Life; Tony Reardon, pensions marketing director, Zurich IFA How many stakeholder providers do you predict there will be in a year? Birks: What would you have predicted 12 months ago? Certainly not 47. Frank Field is amazed there are more than two or three. Our view 12 months ago was that if you do not offer stakeholder you might as well pull out ...

  • Charging ahead

    20 Sep 2001

    Few people in the industry will be surprised by the underwhelming level of take-up for the Government's flagship stakeholder pension regime. If you wanted to be really kind to Messrs Blair, Brown et al, you could say that all the effort so far has gone into establishing the schemes in advance of the October 8 deadline. In reality, it is more likely that they have totally misunderstood the practical issues of persuading the great British public to part with their hard-earned ...

  • Clerical boosts IFA support team

    21 Sep 2001

    Clerical Medical's Financial Planning Team has recruited four new members to provide support to IFAs.

  • CML warns housing market will slow

    21 Sep 2001

    The terrorist attacks on New York may slow the UK housing market more than previously forecast, the Council of Mortgage Lenders is warning. Director-general Michael Coogan says the trade body may have underestimated the impact of the terrorist atrocities due to the continued strength of mortgage lending, which hit a record high last month. He says the CML now expects the market to slow next year as the fallout on the economy and consumer confidence begins to make an impact. 

  • CML welcomes cut as lenders slash rates

    19 Sep 2001

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has welcomed the announcement by the Bank of England to cut interest rates to 4.75 per cent from 5 per cent. The CML says the move will help underpin consumer confidence and counter the risk of recession following the terrorist attacks last week.

  • Commission cost concern at Standardised pensions

    20 Sep 2001

    Standard Life is set to reprice more of its pension contracts on stakeholder terms, sparking claims it is holding a closing-down sale to drum up business before the change. It is believed to be offering IFAs commission of up to 140 per cent of Lautro rates on contracted-in money purchase schemes to write business now before it lowers its charges. Standard was criticised by IFAs for using the same tactic in the run-up to stakeholder when it announced it was changing its GPP contracts ...

  • Companies waste my time online

    20 Sep 2001

    At first, I found it quite amusing that life companies have not had the consumer response to-commerce they were hoping for so instead they want to turn their attentions to IFAs (Money Marketing, September 13.)Unfortunately, having wasted another half-hour of my time with Legal & General’ online term insurance application, I wish they would leave me alone and let me continue with paper-based applications while they waste their direct customers’ time with this website.Having ...

  • Competition decision ends dual rule threat

    20 Sep 2001

    Intermediaries will not be forced to join the General Insurance Standards Council after the Competition Commission ruled such a move breached the Competition Act. The Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal decided the regulator's rule F42, making all brokers and intermediaries doing any general insurance business become members breaches the Competition Act 1998. The move is welcomed by the Aifa as it ends the pressure on IFAs to be regulated by both the GISC and the PIA if any ...

  • Consumer confidence is key

    20 Sep 2001

    In two weeks time, Aifa and every other body under the sun will be sending in their first responses to the Sandler consultation document. Two more weeks of polishing the draft, adding that extra quote about the merits of advice, especially independent advice, turning up that decisive statistic… then what? I deliberately referred to the first response. In two months over the summer it has not been possible to do justice to the all encompassing consultation process which almost ...

  • Credit Suisse Asset Management changes strategy after US attacks

    24 Sep 2001

    Credit Suisse Asset Management says it has made a tactical changes to its Income and Monthly Income funds in light of the terrorist attack on America on September 11.

  • Crucial sections of the Sandler Report

    20 Sep 2001

    Section 41 "It has been suggested that advisers tend to concentrate on issues of product design, such as tax treatment, and that they do not have a comparable level of expertise in investment issues." Section 42 "In particular, it is argued that both advice and the regulation of advice tend to focus on the issue of which provider and which product to choose, rather than on the underlying investment strategy." (This section then goes on to directly question whether the current ...

  • Davies says EU should follow FSA example on consultation

    20 Sep 2001

    FSA chairman Howard Davies says the European Union should follow his example of extensive consultation with the financial services industry before introducing changes that affect the market. In a pointed statement, Davies says, unlike Europe, in its drive towards creating a single financial market, the FSA consults extensively before proposing any changes that affect the industry. He calls this practice of consultation a "very helpful discipline which has contributed greatly to ...

  • Diversify with quality balance

    20 Sep 2001

    Making financial predictions is always fraught with problems. The tendency is to forecast forward what we see in markets today. Markets never stand still and many influences we are unaware of today cause market commentators to look fools months and sometimes days later. The terrorist attack in America is one such example, an event risk that must be a billion to one. It will have thrown out of kilter all those previous economic and market forecasts, even if they happen to be right. ...

  • Emag voices concerns about compromise deal

    20 Sep 2001

    The Equitable Members Action Group has renewed its call for more information about Equitable Life's financial position.

  • Emergency guide for pensions

    20 Sep 2001

    Torquil Clark is issuing emergency guidance for pension investors following the market turmoil created by the terrorist attacks on the US. It says pension investors are right to be worried and has issued advice for clients coming up to retirement. TQ says it is imperative for those retiring now to shop around in the open market if they are buying an annuity immediately. It also suggests that selling investments to buy an annuity after market falls is not an attractive proposition. ...

  • Equitable compromise deal announced

    20 Sep 2001

    Equitable Life’s guaranteed annuity rate holders are being offered an average 17.5 per cent uplift and non-gar holders a 2.5 per cent increase as part of the compromise deal published today.

  • Equitable legal team split over claims

    20 Sep 2001

    Equitable Life's legal advisers are split on the size of potential misselling claims the life office could face from policyholders. The findings of Equitable's legal team, which includes a report by Nicholas Warren, QC, and other lawyers working on the compromise deal, will be published this week alongside details of the scheme. The board wants a compromise to end what could be years of legal disputes. In an open letter to policyholders, Equitable admitted its MVAs and bonus ...

  • Exclusive Connections climbs discount steps

    24 Sep 2001

    Exclusive Connections has designed a four-year stepped discounted-rate mortgage for all borrowers, including the self-employed and first-time buyers.

  • Flats in demand with 10% buy-to-let yields

    20 Sep 2001

    Buying property to rent is becoming an increasingly popular way to boost investment portfolios, according to Bradford & Bingley. In its autumn residential lettings report for investor landlords, B&B says buying to let can provide a gross return of up to 10 per cent of the property value and offers strong capital growth. The survey looks at rental levels and other statistics based on the last 20 properties let through Bradford & Bingley's 72 letting agents around the UK. It reveals ...

  • Friends goes forth

    20 Sep 2001

    With regard to the article about Friends Provident (Money Marketing, September 6), in March this year you published my letter about that company's third approach to one of our clients inviting her to an inheritance tax seminar. Following publication, I received a telephone call from the director of IFA operations, who assured me that my client would not be troubled again. Our client has now been invited to a fourth seminar. What can I do? I cannot tear my hair out because, ...

  • FSA fines Winterthur Life over endowment failings

    25 Sep 2001

    The FSA has slapped a £500,000 fine plus £57,000 costs on Wintherthur Life over endowment failings.

  • FSA in row over RPB trail cash

    20 Sep 2001

    The FSA has angered IFAs by telling providers to continue paying trail commission to professional firms such as accountants and solicitors after N2 even if they are no longer authorised by the regulator. A circular seen by Money Marketing from the ABI to its members states: "The FSA has clarified that product provider firms are not prevented from continuing to pay commission to an ex-registered profess-ional body firm that does not become authorised by the FSA at N2." This was ...

  • FSA relaxes resilience tests

    24 Sep 2001

    The FSA has relaxed the resilience test rules that require life companies to sell shares to cover liabilities.The rule change is designed to avoid life companies having to sell blue chip stocks following sharp falls in share prices. The move follows a relaxation earlier this month, and follows a week of extreme market volatility. The FSA says it wants to avoid an unnecessary downward spiral and will leave the relaxation of the rules in place as long as the situation requires it.

  • FSA sought clarity after confusion on fund suspensions

    20 Sep 2001

    The FSA called for clarity from UK investment firms last week as confusion reigned in the IFA community over which funds remained open for trading. On Wednesday, the day after the terrorist attacks in the US, the majority of fund managers suspended all funds with significant exposure to closed markets - principally US, Far Eastern and emerging market funds. However, several product providers, including Artemis and Scottish Widows, initially suspended trading across their entire ...

  • FSA welcomes Equitable compromise proposal

    20 Sep 2001

    The FSA is keeping Equitable’s financial position under continuous review and has obtained it own legal advice about the size of mis-selling claims.

  • GAM launches American fund

    24 Sep 2001

    Global Asset Management is launching its Star American Focus fund today, with a 2 per cent discount on applications received by October 5.

  • Gordon to leave Skandia in new year

    25 Sep 2001

    Skandia group sales director Mike Gordon is taking early retirement in the new year. He has been group sales director since 1993, managing a salesforce of almost 100 consultants.UK regional offices director of sales Simon Burgess will take responsibility for international and offshore sales. Director of sales for networks and nationals Steve Powell will take responsibility for business development opportunities. 

  • Harry Katz

    20 Sep 2001

    When approached by this much respected publication to contribute an article on below-the-line marketing, I wondered a) what it was and b) why an earth they thought I knew anything about it? On reflection, I realised that I have perhaps gained somewhat of a reputation for writing letters and being an all-round big mouth. It would seem that this is viewed as some sort of marketing whereas it could not be further from the truth. In my case, this activity is actually a device to let off ...

  • Heroes ring the bell

    20 Sep 2001

    The heroes of New York City reopened Wall Street on Monday this week when members of the NYC emergency services rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It was the first day of trading at the exchange since two hijacked passenger airplanes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11. The exchange observed a minute's silence in honour of the victims.

  • History holds few clues for analysts

    20 Sep 2001

    Picking up the pieces after the events in the US has been a near impossible task. With Wall Street closed for four trading days - the longest time since World War One - fund managers and IFAs were left unable to trade many open-ended funds. Several UK providers imposed blanket trading suspensions across their entire fund ranges. But even with Wall Street reopened, the economic effects of the attack on the World Trade Centre will not start to unfold fully for several weeks. With no ...

  • Housing market to slow

    20 Sep 2001

    UK house price rises could slow if last week's attacks on the US knock consumer confidence there, mortgage lenders are warning. Top economists at Halifax and Nationwide say the atrocity in New York could put the brakes on domestic house prices if US consumer confidence falls, despite interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The warning comes just weeks after Nationwide revised its prediction for house price inflation to 11 per cent from 7 per cent following higher than expected ...

  • How to be a survivor

    20 Sep 2001

    There have been a number of high-profile cases recently where someone has not got a survivor's pension which they would have got if they had been married to their partner. It is important to stress that the problem exists regardless of the couple's sexes or sexuality. Pension practice has not kept pace with the developments in society. This must and will change, the only doubts being how quickly and to what degree it will happen voluntarily as opposed to through overriding UK ...

  • ICA conference to coincide with N2

    19 Sep 2001

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants annual conference is being held on November 6 to coincide with the introduction of N2 from the end of that month.

  • ICS missed point of Towry Law deal

    20 Sep 2001

    During my short life of 54 years I have probably made in excess of 10,000 errors. I have admitted to all 10,000. I am amazed that Suzanne McCarthy, chief executive of the Investors Compensation Scheme, cannot admit she has made just one mistake in her much shorter life. She has missed the point completely over the Towry Law debacle. Every broker in the land would have preferred Towry Law to let Advizas go bust. Then the £50m would have been paid out of the ICS, which it is designed ...

  • IFA fined for pensions review failings

    21 Sep 2001

    The PIA has fined IFA EIC Investment Services Limited of Marchmont House, 83-85 Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire £10,000 for pensions review failings.

  • IFA suspended over watchdog award

    20 Sep 2001

    The PIA has suspended the investment business of IFA Complete Financial Services of Hillside, Bishops Walk, Shirley Hills, Croydon because it has failed to comply with an award made against it by the ombudsman. The award was made in August and the firm is contesting the decision and has failed to offer redress to the complainant. If the IFA pays the award, it can reapply to the PIA for leave to resume investment business.

  • IFA suspended over watchdog award

    19 Sep 2001

    The PIA has suspended the investment business of IFA Complete Financial Services of Hillside, Bishops Walk, Shirley Hills, Croydon because it has failed to comply with an award made against it by the ombudsman.The award was made in August and the firm is contesting the decision and has failed to offer redress to the complainant. If the IFA pays the award, it can reapply to the PIA for leave to resume investment business.

  • IFAs seek improved support services

    20 Sep 2001

    Disgruntled IFAs are calling for a "radical overhaul" of the way that product providers manage relationships with them, according to new research from BT. The survey of almost 900 IFAs questioned the use of technology to deal with clients and providers. It reveals IFAs are most dissatisfied with the level of service from providers' call centres and the cost of implementing new technology. Almost a quarter say technology is the key business issue for them, followed by regulation ...

  • IFAs split as Hargreaves sends out 'sell' mailing

    20 Sep 2001

    IFAs are divided over whether clients should sell out of equity funds in the aftermath of last week's US terrorist attacks and subsequent market slump. In a mailshot distributed last Friday, Hargreaves Lansdown advised clients to bail out of poor performing investments in favour of cash or gilts. Chief executive Peter Hargreaves said he believes US consumer spending will be hit harder than people expect, prompting a possible recession and further market shakeouts. But rival ...

  • IFAs' loyalty in vain as Euro star Powe quits

    20 Sep 2001

    Star European manager Rory Powe is under fire from disappointed IFAs after quitting Invesco Perpetual with his top-selling £2bn fund at a two-year low. Many IFAs urged clients to stay loyal to Powe over the past 18 months - despite a period of poor performance by his European growth fund - in the hope that he would turn it around once European markets began to recover. At the end of 2000, the fund had 288,612 unitholders, according to the UK Fund Industry Review. Powe ...

  • In support of with-profits

    20 Sep 2001

    Three cheers please for Terry O'Halloran. I am sure he is not the only one who supports the concept of with-profits policies so strongly. Why is it that life offices and supporters of such policies do not speak out more strongly? I can also remember back to 1972/73 when the consumer magazines used to highlight the best and worst of the of with-profits policies and actually supported the best offices at that time. They actually hailed the low-cost with-profit endowment as ...

  • Inside edge

    20 Sep 2001

    Money Marketing recently covered a report by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young which claimed that life companies' consumer-facing-commerce strategies have failed to deliver. This conclusion is not surprising. The industry has been aware for a while now that consumers' use of the internet to purchase financial products, particularly more complex products such as mortgages and pensions, has not grown as quickly as once anticipated. The report goes on to state that the focus for-commerce ...

  • Insurers pledge no premium hikes or job cuts

    20 Sep 2001

    Insurers counting the cost of the damage caused by last week's terrorist attacks are adamant that there will not be premium rises or job losses in the UK. A string of insurers with a strong presence in the UK have insurable losses in the US. Both Axa and Zurich Financial Services expecting their exposure to be in the region of $400m (£273m). Axa has confirmed that the vast majority of its exposure is on the non-life side. Royal & Sun Alliance is estimating its exposure ...

  • Inter-Alliance reports £2.1m loss

    19 Sep 2001

    National IFA Inter-Alliance has reported a loss of £2.1m for the six months ending June 30, a sharp fall from a profit of £0.7m in the same period last year.

  • Investment view

    20 Sep 2001

    Last Wednesday, I was addressing a group of life and pension salespeople. Traffic disruption held up my taxi, leading to a missed train. Signal problems resulted in a delayed rail journey. A timid driver with a big green P in her back window added to the torment. I was very late but when I arrived the speculation was that I had been using this time to rewrite my speech. It is not difficult to understand why. The events of last week were so stunning that it was difficult, in the immediate ...

  • Investors turn to VCTs

    20 Sep 2001

    The early stage venture capital market is thriving with investment from high-net-worth clients, according to a new report from VentureQuest. The 272-page report published last week reveals that many high-net-worth individuals have been turning to the venture capital sector to seek better returns at a time when conventional equity markets have been relatively stagnant. Investment in third-generation venture capital companies by high-net-worth investors is reported to have risen ...

  • Keeping up on drawdown

    20 Sep 2001

    Regulatory changes could soon be in line for income drawdown which makes heavy demands on the expertise of IFAs, requiring knowledge of tax and investment strategy as well as retirement products. The FSA allows IFAs to advise on drawdown as long as they have FPC3. But other complex areas of advice such as pension transfers are defined as permitted activities and advisers must have G60. The regulator has been monitoring drawdown and is collating the findings of its visits last year ...

  • L&G adds lifestyle option

    20 Sep 2001

    Legal & General is offering a new lifestyle option on its pension fund range. The global equity index/ index-linked gilt lifestyle option invests initially in the global equity index fund before switching gradually into index-linked gilt and cash funds. The life office says the move demonstrates its commitment to IFAs by bringing the total number of lifestyle investment options available on its pension to nine. It says the new profile will appeal to those looking for a wider ...

  • Law firm challenges 'flawed' pension review

    20 Sep 2001

    City law firm Halliwell Landau is aiming to drum up IFA support to challenge the PIA's right to carry out the pension misselling review. The law firm claims the regulator does not have the authority to judge advice occurring before it was created in 1994. It says the PIA was applying regulations which did not exist until 1994 to advice which was given before then, and so therefore the review is "fundamentally flawed". It is representing one IFA firm, which wants to remain ...

  • Manor fund offers 11% income

    20 Sep 2001

    Structured product specialist Manor Park has introduced a fixed income and growth fund. The fund, open until October 24, offers investors either a fixed return of 35 per cent over three years or an annual return of 11 per cent a year, payable on either an annual or quarterly basis. All the initial capital will be returned at the end of the three-year investmen if the FTSE 100, Eurostoxx 50, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 are all at the same or above their levels on October 31 this year. If ...

  • Manor Park - Manor Park Fixed Income or Growth Fund

    25 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 25 September 2001. Type: Closed-ended fund. Aim: Income or growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, Eurostoxx 50, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indices. Minimum investment: Lump sum £5,000. Place of registration: Guernsey. Investment split: 100 per cent linked to the performance of the FTSE 100, Eurostoxx 50, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indices. Guarantee: Capital returned in full provided that the final ...

  • Manor Park drives on fixed income & growth

    25 Sep 2001

    Manor Park has introduced the fixed income and growth fund, an offshore closed-ended umbrella fund that has a three-year term.

  • Mansfield loosens its tie

    19 Sep 2001

    Mansfield Building Society has established a two-year discounted rate mortgage that has an extended tie-in of one year.

  • Mansfield undercuts the opposition

    20 Sep 2001

    Mansfield Building Society has undercut the opposition with its five-year discount mortgage.

  • Markets continue plunge at 3pm

    21 Sep 2001

    The FTSE100 has continued its steep descent losing 7.33 per cent since today’s opening.

  • McCartney rules out 'change for the rich'

    20 Sep 2001

    The Government has drawn a line in the sand on annuity reform, stating more bluntly than ever the reasons for not relaxing the rules. Speaking at a fringe meeting at the annual TUC conference in Brighton last week, pensions minister Ian McCartney said he had no plans to change the current annuity rules because only the rich would benefit. He said: "Some of the arguments being pressed on the Government are valuable only to the very wealthy. I would resist such a change. I have nothing ...

  • MCCB bids to close broker fee loophole

    20 Sep 2001

    Many mortgage brokers are resorting to underhand tactics in a bid to dodge Consumer Credit Act rules which force them to refund fees, says the Mortgage Code Compliance Board. The MCCB says it has found a number of mortgage intermediaries flouting CCA legislation by issuing borrowers with unofficial documentation which states that fees will not be refunded if the mortgage fails to complete. It has also found brokers establishing in-house packaging firms in an attempt to avoid refunding ...

  • Mercantile launches lifetime mortgage

    25 Sep 2001

    Mercantile Building Society is launching a mortgage with a discount for the life of the mortgage of 1.1 per cent off its base mortgage rate, currently 6.64 per cent.

  • Michael Bolton

    20 Sep 2001

    Michael Bolton is not a man known for his reluctance to express an opinion on anything from the future of securitisation to the comeback of the mini-skirt. Something of a character in a market beset with blandness, the "Big Bopper" (watch the man dance) has risen up the ranks with a refreshing lack of verbal restraint which has enlivened many an industry function in some of the country's drearier venues. As the new head of mortgage marketing at Birmingham Midshires, Bolton is overseeing ...

  • Minority are out for all they can get

    20 Sep 2001

    Mr Frost (Money Marketing, September 13) is quite right - £126 is certainly not an exorbitant commission for arranging a stakeholder (or anything else for that matter). Compare that with the "financial expert" (an IFA, actually) speaking on a recent BBC Radio 4 financial programme who stated that he would charge a fee of between £1,500-£2,000 to a five-employee firm to "trawl the market" for the most appropriate stakeholder scheme. As in all things, one IFA's ...

  • National IFAs are convinced polarisation is finished

    20 Sep 2001

    The scrapping of polarisation by the Treasury and FSA is a done deal, according to national IFAs Berry Birch & Noble and Millfield. Both firms are adamant the FSA has already made the decision to recommend to the Treasury that it scraps polarisation and it is just the detail of what will replace it and how multi-ties will be structured that is to be ironed out. Millfield says the FSA's open meeting on polarisation on October 4 will be a presentation on the regulator's plans ...

  • New image for Canada Life

    20 Sep 2001

    Canada Life is introducing a new corporate logo and brand identity in all its global markets, including the UK, over the next few months. The existing pelican image is being replaced with what Canada Life calls a circle-bird icon designed to emphasise its position as an international company. The motif resembles a globe and the bird icon's wingspan is supposed to suggest security, strength and confidence. It says the tips of the bird's wings are holding on to a client's ...

  • New marketing man at Birmingham Midshires

    20 Sep 2001

    Birmingham Midshires has appointed Tim Hague as its head of savings and investments marketing.

  • No panic as investors dig in for the long term

    20 Sep 2001

    Investors are getting the message that investments are for the long term as IFAs report few panic calls from clients following last week's events. IFAs have been quietly impressed with the cool heads shown by investors as markets continue their rocky ride in the week following the terrorist attacks. They also believe that better risk warnings accompanying product literature are helping to get the message across. After days of volatility which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average ...

  • North of the border mortgage from Scottish Building Society

    25 Sep 2001

    The Scottish flexible mortgage from the Scottish Building Society is aimed at borrowers who want to buy a new home in Scotland.

  • Northern Rock boosts flexibility

    21 Sep 2001

    Northern Rock has introduced a two-year fixed rate flexible mortgage at 5.69 per cent until January 1, 2004.

  • NU kids on the £20m starting blocks

    20 Sep 2001

    Norwich Union is backing UK athletics with a five-year £20m sponsorship deal which covers the British team and major domestic televised meetings. More than £4m will be invested in grassroots development initiatives to encourage young people into athletics. Pictured at the Thames Valley Sports Centre, Eton are (left to right): Philip Scott, Chief Executive of Norwich Union Life, Marvin Robinson of Slough Grammar, UK decathlon world championship silver medallist Dean ...

  • Old Mutual appoints new fund head

    21 Sep 2001

    Old Mutual Asset Managers has appointed Richard Moore as it new head of UK growth funds.Moore joins from Singer & Friedlander where he was a UK equity fund manager. Previously he worked on the UK equities desk at National Mutual Life for 10 years.In his new role, Moore will report to head of UK equities Ashton Bradbury, and will assume management for the Old Mutual UK Growth fund, which has been run by Bradbury since last autumn.

  • Old Mutual appoints new fund head

    21 Sep 2001

    Old Mutual Asset Managers has appointed a new sales manager and made two promotions within its expanding national and regional sales teams.Sally Reeves has been appointed as the new national and networks sales manager. She joins from the Berkeley IFA Network where she has been in charge of corporate development for two years.Matthew Nagele has been promoted to regional manager in charge of central London, while Jon Axcell will take control of the south-east region.

  • Old Mutual makes new appointments

    19 Sep 2001

    Old Mutual Asset Managers has appointed a new sales manager and made two promotions within its expanding national and regional sales teams.Sally Reeves has been appointed as the new national and networks sales manager. She joins from the Berkeley IFA Network where she has been in charge of corporate development for two years.Matthew Nagele has been promoted to regional manager in charge of central London, while Jon Axcell will take control of the south-east region.

  • Only 36 per cent pass first half-credit K10

    19 Sep 2001

    Only 36 per cent of the 635 advisers who took the first sitting of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s new K10 paper covering retirement options passed the half-credit qualification. The CII is disappointed at the low pass rate but says it illustrates the standard has not been watered down by creating half-credits at an AFPC level.

  • Only 36% pass first half-credit K10

    20 Sep 2001

    Only 36 per cent of the 635 advisers who took the first sitting of the Chartered Insurance Institute's new K10 paper covering retirement options passed the half-credit qualification. The CII is disappointed at the low pass rate but says it illustrates the standard has not been watered down by creating half-credits at an AFPC level.

  • Outside edge

    20 Sep 2001

    In the five days since the attack on New York there has been much written about how the atrocity will change the world and our lives forever. While change will undoub-tedly occur, I do not believe that a peaceful new dawn is but a short conflict away. As rubbernecking motorists slow down and judge traffic accidents before speeding up again themselves, I cannot help feel that a global spirit of co-operation will evaporate. There are just too many vested interests. One of the most ...

  • Parsoli fills gap for Muslim investors

    20 Sep 2001

    PARSOLIGLOBAL ISLAMIC EQUITY FUNDType: Oeic. Aim: Growth by investing in blue chip international stocks through Shar'iah. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50. Investment split: 100 per cent blue chip international funds. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial 5.75 per cent, annual 2 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.6 per cent. Tel: 0800 1831786.The ...

  • Pima appoints new director general

    21 Sep 2001

    The Pep and Isa managers association has appointed Tony Vine-Lott as its new director general.

  • Pink fixed-rate is a cut above

    19 Sep 2001

    Pink Home Loans has introduced a three-year fixed-rate mortgage that has an extended tie in.

  • Pink takes five

    20 Sep 2001

    Pink Home Loans has introduced a five-year buy-to-let mortgage that allows up to five properties to be bought within a total advance of £500,000.

  • PMI premiums up as costly claims Climb

    20 Sep 2001

    A new report by Datamonitor has found the cost of private medical insurance in the UK is rising as increasing numbers of ageing policyholders make claims. Research by the market analyst shows escalating claims by elderly customers and static market conditions are combining to increase the cost of premiums to an extent which leaves many people unable to afford PMI. It points to the decline in the number of individual policyholders while group PMI sales have risen over the past five ...

  • Poor performance from the FSA

    20 Sep 2001

    The simple reason why the FSA is going to continue to allow the use of past performance in the selection of a particular fund is that it has been unable to come up with anything better. Another fine waste of time and our money. As for Ken Clarke's pledge to clip the wings of the FSA, should he ever be elected to a position from which he can wield such influence, this is missing the point. What the industry needs is a competent, cost-effective, efficient and, above all else, ...

  • Poor response to mail campaigns

    20 Sep 2001

    The financial services industry is getting below-average response rates for its direct mail campaigns, according to new research from the Direct Mail Information Service. The phone-based survey covers 806 business-to-business campaigns, such as insurance companies targeting intermediaries, and over 1,000 campaigns involving businesses contacting consumers with marketing material. It tracks how many people replied to direct mail, how they responded, whether campaigns met response ...

  • Portman buys specialist Sun Bank in £95m deal

    20 Sep 2001

    Portman Building Society has added almost £1bn to its mortgage book by buying specialist lender Sun Bank from Sun Life of Canada in a £95m deal. Sun Bank, with 75,000 customers and total assets of around £1.2bn, specialises in buy-to-let loans and is a leading player in the complex prime market, which caters for borrowers with mortgage requirements which are outside the mainstream. Portman, the UK's fourth-biggest building society, says the purchase of Sun ...

  • Positive Solutions nearing 500 RIs

    20 Sep 2001

    IFA network Positive Solutions has almost doubled its total of registered individuals to 400 from 227 in January and claims it is on course to reach 500 by the end of the year. It says reaching the 400 threshold marks the advent of the firm as a major player on the UK IFA scene. Targeting former direct salesforces has helped the network grow its membership from 20 in January 1999 after completing its first full year of trading in 1998. Since the start of this year, Positive ...

  • Press for attention

    20 Sep 2001

    In a competitive market, promoting name awareness is something that all businesses should devote some time to. While we do not pretend to be the most frequently quoted company in the financial sector, we do have our fair share of press comment and media coverage. Over the years, we have utilised a number of methods for promoting the company. We have been asked to sponsor or partly sponsor a number of events. The earliest one was many years ago when we were invited to become involved ...

  • Price is not always right

    20 Sep 2001

    More IFAs are looking at employee benefits as a valuable means of business development but what are the key issues they will need to take into consideration when looking at this market? Let us start with group life cover. Price is often cited as the key driver in influencing placement of this type of business with any provider. If this was all an adviser had to consider, life would be easy. Although price certainly needs to be reasonable, there are a few other factors that should ...

  • Principality continues fixed rate surge

    21 Sep 2001

    Principality Building Society is continuing to fix its mortgage rates with the introduction of the three-year fixed-rate mortgage.

  • Product Matters

    20 Sep 2001

    If you were to take your average with-prof its bond and throw away the bad bits, you would probably end up with something that looked like the new F&C With Prospects fund. Unfortunately this is not entirely a good thing. If the name was not a giveaway, the fund is pitched at the same market as with-profits bonds. It aims to deliver long-term capital growth from a balanced portfolio while protecting investors from the ups and downs of the stockmarket. Subject to FSA approval, ...

  • Professionals will be looking to IFAs for LTC planning

    20 Sep 2001

    IFAs stand to be the principal source of advice for investors looking to fund their long-term care costs, according to research from PPP Lifetime Care. More than two-thirds of professional and managerial adults believe they will have to pay for their own long-term care and 25 per cent plan to seek out independent advice, says the report. It will be the private sector rather than other sources such as social services, family, friends or neighbours who will provide the care, say ...

  • Proof of pudding is consistency

    20 Sep 2001

    Is it time to change the script that says software is centre stage in the research process and that the curtain should be drawn on product panels? Over the last two weeks, I have concentrated on the necessary depth of product and provider research behind the IFA proposition. I have also suggested an approach to research that satisfies regulatory interest in client-specific recommendations. As big warehouses of product data, there is no doubt that systems such as AssureWeb's ...

  • Protection for the 'alternative' client

    20 Sep 2001

    Mortgage protection provider Goodfellows is offering an online non-discriminatory protection product with web design consultancy ricklomas.com. Universalprotection.co.uk will be promoted direct to consumers through the new online site and through IFAs, who can download software to market the product to clients. Goodfellows claims it will not ask personal lifestyle questions before premium levels are determined. The only information required is the age and social grouping of the ...

  • Pru set to integrate Scottish Amicable

    20 Sep 2001

    Scottish Amicable's days as a separate company are numbered following a major overhaul of Prudential's business divisions and top-level staff. As revealed in Money Marketing in August, Pru is being restructured under new boss Mark Wood. ScotAm will no longer be a stand-alone business and will become fully integrated within Pru. Pru bought ScotAm in March 1997 in a £2.8bn deal. Money Marketing revealed in July the ScotAm brand was under review. Insiders believe ScotAm's ...

  • RAM rebrands for retail market

    24 Sep 2001

    Rothschild Asset Management is relaunching into the retail market, with a national advertising campaign that will promote its new brand, "Five Arrows - the investment funds of Rothschild".

  • Recovery delayed but not destroyed

    20 Sep 2001

    Fund managers are optimistic about the prospects of recovery on global stockmarkets, despite the terrorist attacks. The FTSE 100 and the Dow Jones indices were both down by almost 6 per cent at the start of this week in reaction to last week's devastation. But while fund managers expect many individual sectors, such as airline stocks, to be hit hard by events in the US, most believe that the drivers which were set to lead an overall global recovery are still in place. SG ...

  • Relief at relaxing of reserve rules

    20 Sep 2001

    The FSA's decision to relax reserving regulations last week has given life offices and the stockmarket some breathing space in a time of falling equity prices. The regulations were in danger of compounding existing poor market conditions by forcing life offices into selling equities to raise capital to meet rocketing reserving levels. To ease the situation, the FSA has dropped one of the resilience tests which aim to ensure life offices have sufficient reserves to cover liabilities ...

  • RSA primes up on Europe

    25 Sep 2001

    Royal & SunAlliance has applied the stockpicking techniques of its UK prime fund to Europe. The European prime fund is an open-ended investment company (Oeic) that aims for growth by investing in around 30 European stocks. The company believes a concentrated portfolio of stocks will help investors attain the high levels of return they were used to during the strong bull markets of the 1990s. This belief is the reason for the aggressive management style the fund will adopt. ...

  • Sagitta produces cure for a hedge headache

    19 Sep 2001

    Sagitta Asset Management has come up with an aspirin for the hedge fund market with the introduction of the salix fund.

  • Schroders debuts its first fund of funds

    25 Sep 2001

    Schroders is taking its first steps into the fund of funds market with the arrival of its private equity fund of funds.

  • Scot Wids Bank reduces home equity loan rate

    25 Sep 2001

    Scottish Widows Bank has reduced the interest rate on its home equity loan to 7.75 per cent from 8.19 per cent.

  • ScotEq sets out benefits of claims management

    20 Sep 2001

    Scottish Equitable Employee Benefits is helping IFAs highlight the benefits of proactive claims' management with a new marketing brochure. Designed to help IFAs who are discussing group income protection with corporate clients, the pack uses case studies alongside CBI statistics to enable IFAs to show the benefits of implementing this type of scheme. ScotEq offers a claims' management programme as part of its group income protection cover, available within its corporate protection ...

  • ScotLife to sponsor pay-per-view football broadcasts

    20 Sep 2001

    Scottish Life has signed an exclusive deal with Sky Premiership Plus to sponsor the digital channel's pay-per-view coverage of Premier League football. From this week, Scot Life will sponsor all 40 live games each season on Sky Premiership Plus until 2004. It will then review the contract. In a move which marks the first time that top-flight football has been broadcast on a pay-per-view basis, each of the 20 Premiership clubs will have between one and six of their games shown ...

  • Scots cash will lower LTC rates

    20 Sep 2001

    The Scottish Executive will pay for both personal and nursing care, with people living in care homes getting up to £155 a week towards costs. Product providers say the move will not end the need for long-term care insurance in Scotland but premiums will be more affordable. Residents in care homes will get a flat rate of £65 a week towards nursing care and up to £90 a week for personal care. This is between £45 and £120 a week extra than in England. Scottish ...

  • Service will analyse tax-efficient investments

    20 Sep 2001

    Venture Capital Trust pundit Martin Churchill is to launch a new service for IFAs, providing news and analysis on the tax efficient investment market. The service, to be called The Tax Efficient Review, will be launched at the end of September although its website is already live at www.taxefficientreview.com Churchill, who until recently ran IFA Allenbridge's Tax Shelter Report, will head the new venture. The service, which is offered in association with private financial ...

  • SG guide to investment opportunities in Europe

    20 Sep 2001

    SG Asset Management has produced a new guide on investment opportunities in Europe as it believes many people shy away from investing in the region. The fund manager says despite Europe being one of the world's leading economies, home to many international companies, a major political centre and a top holiday destination, private investors are not fully aware of the opportunities in this market. The guide, available free of charge from SG Asset Management, aims to convince investors ...

  • Skipton Guernsey brings in guaranteed bond

    21 Sep 2001

    SKIPTON GUERNSEY5 Year Guaranteed Growth BondType: Offshore guaranteed growth bond.Aim: Growth linked to FTSE 100 index. Minimum investment: Lump sum £5,000.Place of registration: Guernsey. Investment split: 100 per cent in growth bond.Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term along with 26 per cent growth regardless of movement in index.Isa link: No. Charges: None. Commission: None.Tel: 01481 727374.Flexibility 1.3Company's

  • Smee says IFAs must encourage youth

    21 Sep 2001

    At this week's Institute of Financial Planning conference at Warwick University the message on how important education and technology are to IFAs was drummed home to members.

  • Split-caps in covenant risk

    20 Sep 2001

    Split-capital investment trusts could be in danger of breaching their covenants if stockmarkets continue to plummet With the sector already under pressure, analysts have warned that further market falls will increase split-cap gearing levels, in many cases sending them over their bank's agreed limits. But Christows head of investment trusts Nick Greenwood believes banks are likely to be lenient to trusts under the circumstances, giving them the chance to raise new money or sell ...

  • Staggering human cost as firms mourn dead and missing

    20 Sep 2001

    The New York financial services community has been assessing the staggering human cost of last Tuesday's devastating attack that has claimed over 5,000 lives. The twin towers of the World Trade Center were the prestigious home to some of the most respected names in the world of international finance. Bond trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which has a turnover of bonds of $50 trillion a year, occupied floors 101 to 105 of the north tower but all 700 of its staff in the building ...

  • Standard Life cuts term and critical cover rates

    20 Sep 2001

    Standard Life is slashing rates on its lifetime protection products, including level term insurance and accelerated critical-illness cover under level and mortgage protection plans. The cuts follow Standard's business assurance relaunch in June, which saw it offer flexible options, reduce premiums and set up dedicated underwriting and legal helplines. The latest rate cuts include life term cover for a 30-year-old non-smoking male over a 20-year term with £100,000 sum assured ...

  • Stepped bond from Leeds & Holbeck

    25 Sep 2001

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society is launching a stepped rate bond guaranteeing a return of 5 per cent in its third year.

  • Stockmarket continues to plummet

    21 Sep 2001

    The stockmarket has continued to plunge with the FTSE 100 sinking another 4 per cent to its lowest point since 1997.

  • Sun Bank leaps whilst rates are low

    25 Sep 2001

    Specialist mortgage lender Sun Bank has taken advantage of the recent fall in interest rates to expand its range of fixed-rate mortgages.

  • Take the medicine

    20 Sep 2001

    With NHS waiting lists at over one million there is a lot of consumer interest in private medical insurance, particularly among the corporate sector. Although individual PMI sales are down by 5 per cent since 1997, corporate sales have increased by 1.2 per cent, according to analysts Laing & Buisson. The research shows that since 1990 the number of company-paid subscribers has grown by around 11.5 per cent compared with a 4 per cent decline in other PMI demand. The total PMI market ...

  • Talkback

    20 Sep 2001

    Do you believe the events in the US last week will lead to a global recession? "No, because I do not think the world's economies will allow it to." Keith Jarman, Hughes Carne IFA "No. There might be a sudden downturn in share values when markets reopen but I anticipate the market recovering slowly afterwards." Terence Donaghue, Donaghue & Associates "No. There will be a new determination and I think we will recover quickly." Roger Pitt, The Financial Advice Centre "No, ...

  • Teather & Greenwood gets into the retail market

    25 Sep 2001

    Teather & Greenwood Investment Management is making its first foray into the retail world with the UK equity growth fund.

  • Test your knowledge online

    20 Sep 2001

    Test your knowledge online with Money Marketing's CPD questions. Specialist financial publisher Taxbriefs has drawn up multiple-choice questions based on articles in this week's issue. For further details and this week's questions, see page 77.

  • The Daley Update

    20 Sep 2001

    Schroders has appointed Lucy Colback as the new manager of its global emerging markets fund as the first step in an overhaul. Colback, who takes over from Giles Neville, will restructure the fund under a more aggressive mandate, first trimming the number of stocks from 150 to 130. Britannic Asset Manage-ment is to change the name of its gilt and fixed-interest fund to the Britannic corporate bond fund from Sep-tember 24. Britannic says the name change is cosmetic and will not ...

  • The roaring 40s

    20 Sep 2001

    Over the last couple of weeks, I have looked at aspects of the Myners report and, to a greater extent, the Sandler consultative document, both of which seem certain to lead to a fundamental change in the way in which financial advisers construct and present investment advice to clients. When Ron Sandler finishes his consultation process and publishes his report, these recommendations will affect investment advice to individuals and companies, including advice given in respect of pension ...

  • The sub-prime of Mr James Moore

    20 Sep 2001

    Where has James Moore been in recent years? I know mortgage compliance may not be perfect (what is) but come on, can’ he come up with anything more interesting and original than tabloid-style phrases such as “let us bag those proc fees”, “laughing all the way to the bank” and”fat procuration fees”?I can assure him that the typical lender procuration fee barely covers the admin-istration costs and time involved in arranging and processing any mortgage application. As for brokers ...

  • The trial...

    20 Sep 2001

    The trial of a colleague and an associate of cross-dressing fund manager Peter Young opened at Kingston Crown Court on Monday and is expected to last at least six months. Former Morgan Grenfell fund manager Stewart Armer and Norwegian stockbroker Erik Langaker are facing charges of conspiracy to defraud and breaching the UK Financial Services Act. A trial of the facts on Young's role has been postponed until next year. The group are alleged to have been involved with a string ...

  • Thoroughly modern policies

    20 Sep 2001

    When we think of term insurance, we often think the cheaper, the better. Of course, for life cover, there is often little else to distinguish one policy from another. However, for critical-illness cover, it is important to delve deeper than just comparing premium rates. IFAs will have a list of must haves to satisfy before recommending a policy. Any critical-illness policy should at least adhere to the ABI's model definitions of conditions. It should cover a comprehensive list ...

  • Threadneedle to stay with Zurich in Deutsche Bank deal

    24 Sep 2001

    Threadneedle Investments will stay part of Zurich Financial Services following Deutsche Bank's agreement to take over of Zurich Scudder Investment.

  • TMB unveiling redesigned site

    20 Sep 2001

    Specialist lender The Mortgage Business has relaunched its intermediary website at www.t-m-b.co.uk. The site, which is being relaunched at a Money Marketing IFA UK roadshow this month, displays the latest rates on all TMB's mortgage products and payment protection products including self-certification, buy-to-let and flexible mortgages. It has a news page, downloadable application forms, information on the broker enquiry sales team and a map of the UK listing its regional development ...

  • To have and have not

    20 Sep 2001

    Every financial adviser jealously covets their clients. Clients are, after all, the lifeblood in a practice. Inevitably, the relationship can be strained at times but overall it is the reason for being an adviser. The industry is riddled with myth, rumour and counter-rumour as to who exactly owns what and how. The first rule has to be that no one owns a client. Clients own themselves and have every right to go elsewhere. What financial planners work from is a curious bundle of ...

  • Tories announce front bench appointments

    20 Sep 2001

    New Conservative leader Ian Duncan Smith has completed his front bench team, including those relevant for the financial services industry.

  • Transferring of policies without authority

    20 Sep 2001

    During the course of the last two or three weeks we have received communications from insurance companies and finance houses transferring several policies to other agencies which have not been nominated. In each case we were currently dealing with the client - and had dealt with them for a number of years. We were somewhat surprised to note the transfer of business had been requested. We contacted the clients, who acknowledged they had been in touch with another salesforce but, ...

  • Verity's VIEW

    20 Sep 2001

    Since last week's events in the US, there is a curious problem for anyone who tries to describe the financial landscape emerging from the destruction of the World Trade Center and the mass murder that went with it - language. Words like "disaster", "outrage" and "tragedy" have been previously applied so frequently by the press to events so trivial they have almost lost their linguistic force. The habit of exaggeration in the past has robbed us of the means now to describe what ...

  • Watchdog will get legal teeth

    20 Sep 2001

    The Financial Ombudsman is to receive more teeth at N2 as the rulings it makes against firms will be directly enforceable in the High Court for the first time. From December 1, when the single ombudsman replaces the eight existing bodies, investors will be able to use the courts to force a firm to pay an award if it is unwilling to do so. This does not involve rehearing the merits of the case, as happens now, but simply asking the court to enforce the ombudsman's decision. The ...

  • West Brom could become independent broker

    20 Sep 2001

    West Bromwich Building Society is believed to be following in the footsteps of Bradford & Bingley by becoming an independent mortgage broker offering advice through its branches. Industry sources claim West Brom is gearing up to massively extend the seven-strong lending panel it established in March to bolster its income as profit margins become increasingly tight in the mortgage market. The move - which West Brom denies - would create the first rival to Bradford & Bingley's ...

  • Win a luxury weekend for two in Paris with £500 to Spend

    20 Sep 2001

    Sun Bank, the specialist mortgage lender, is offering readers of Money Marketing the chance to win a luxury weekend in Paris by testing their knowledge of the growing Complex Prime mortgage market. Be whisked away first class on the Eurostar and enjoy pampering and luxury with two nights in the famous George V Hotel.So you can really enjoy your weekend, the winner will also get £500 to spend. This prize will be available for the lucky reader who is the first name pulled from ...

  • Wood to run networks in Misys shuffle

    20 Sep 2001

    Tony Wood is taking over as network director for Countrywide and Kestrel, with Max Wright promoted within the Misys organisation. Wright is taking up a business development role at Misys IFA Services. In his new role, Wood will report to Misys IFA Services chief executive Patrick Gale. He joined Misys in March last year from Zifa, where he was head of networks. Wright will now report to Misys financial services division chief executive Ivan Martin and will be based in the Birmingham ...

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