Money Marketing
2 July 2003

  • £39m loss for Berkeley Berry Birch as it looks at Towry deal

    3 Jul 2003

    National IFA Berkeley Berry Birch is believed to be in talks to buy AMP-owned rival Towry Law despite poor trading res-ults announced this week that sent its share price nosediving. Although this week's trading statement shows the 750-RI group made a £39m loss last year, it is believed to be looking to acquire Towry Law, which has 200 RIs. Berkeley Berry Birch had a turnover of £55m last year. Its recent expansion plans have included protracted acquisition talks ...

  • A consumer's view

    3 Jul 2003

    There are no quick fixes for the current pension crisis as Adair Turner will find out very quickly when he starts his independent pension commission review. But longer term, two things are obvious. First, pension saving must be made compulsory if individuals are not to be an increasing burden on the state - and on a declining number of taxpayers. This has been blindingly obvious for years. But no Government, even when it has had an unassailable majority, has had the courage to introduce ...

  • A plague on both your houses

    3 Jul 2003

    A mouse's tail of two cities hit Scotland's financial capitals with the news that Scottish Provident's Edinburgh office has recently suffered a rodent infestation. Denying that this invasion amounted to a "plague", the term used by one news website, Christine McAllister, a spokeswoman who works out of Scot Prov's Glasgow office, says: "Two squeakers do not make a plague". McAllister then went on to fire the ongoing rivalry between the two Scottish cities by claiming ...

  • AAM merges funds in shift from retail arena

    3 Jul 2003

    Aberdeen Asset Management is merging or closing 21 funds in a wide-ranging cull, marking a further shift away from a retail sector where the firm is struggling to attract inflows. The funds which are closing include three in the onshore range, six in Dublin and one Luxemburg-based non-Ucits fund. The other funds making up the 21 are being merged, renamed or undergoing a change of mandate. The move will be staggered over the next six months. Among the funds affected is the global ...

  • Achieving the correct balance

    3 Jul 2003

    The first rule in building any investment portfolio is to ensure balance. But what is balance and is the fulcrum in the same place for all investors? The principal aspect is to achieve a spread of investments. This is reflected not only in a diversity of asset types but also in a mixture of investments within the same asset class. It can also be reflected in a spread amongst different asset managers to obtain exposure to various house styles. So why bother? It boils down to the ...

  • Adair will look at effect of the state on pension sales

    3 Jul 2003

    Product providers believe that Adair Turner's investigation into compulsion on pensions will have its work cut out to persuade the Government to end the voluntary approach. The Independent Pension Commission last week set out its terms of reference days after Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions Andrew Smith told Money Marketing that he would take some persuading that increased compulsion was a viable option. The IPC surprised the industry by announcing ...

  • Adams quits Credit Suisse to rejoin Henderson

    3 Jul 2003

    Credit Suisse Asset Manage-ment's corporate bond monthly income fund manager Kevin Adams is leaving to rejoin Henderson Global Investors. He spent five years as divisional director of government bonds at Henderson before joining CSAM in 2001 as director of UK fixed income. Adams will become director of global government bonds at Henderson, focusing on government yield curve management. He is being replaced by at CSAM by head of UK fixed income Ian Fishwick, who joined the ...

  • Are projections out of focus in the premium bond world?

    3 Jul 2003

    The FSA has surprised the industry by freezing projection rates for investment products. Citing research from a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the FSA argued there was little need to downgrade rates on the basis of short-term fluctuations. It will only require them to be reduced if a firm considers its rates to be in danger of overstating the investment potential. The decision has drawn mixed reactions. The ABI is in favour, believing the retention of current rates is sensible, ...

  • Bio Convertors rides the recycling chain

    4 Jul 2003

    Waste management company Bio Convertors is looking to raise up to £750,000 through an enterprise investment scheme (EIS). The company specialises in the treatment and recycling of waste produced by businesses such as leftover food from restaurants. It has developed a process called BIO-CAL that disposes of waste by turning it into fertiliser. The company will use the money raised by the EIS to fund the construction and operation of at least five waste treatment ...

  • CA attacks Government and industry for pension crisis

    3 Jul 2003

    The Consumers' Association has accused the Government of failing to face up to the pension crisis and says the industry is incapable of delivering a solution. Launching its blueprint for a national pensions policy, the CA says the Government's reliance on the industry to provide pensions is a flawed and high-risk strategy. The report criticises industry calls to have the 1 per cent price cap on stakeholder pensions lifted. It argues that raising the cap to 2 per cent or allowing ...

  • Chelsea Building Society - Double Guarantee 90 Account

    2 Jul 2003

    Wednesday, 2 July 2003 Type: High interest accountMinimum-maximum investment: Lump sum £1,000-£10,000Interest rates: 4.45% gross a year, 4.36% gross a monthTerm: NoneOffer period: Until further noticeWithdrawal penalties: Until January 9, 2005 - 90 days' loss of interestTel: 0800 272505

  • Consumers more likely to save and more confident - Halifax

    7 Jul 2003

    More people say they are more likely to save than they were three months ago, according to the quarterly Halifax Savings Survey.

  • Correspondent's week

    3 Jul 2003

    The week starts at 5.30am on Monday. Why such an early start? Because I am a high-flying business executive with a challenging day? Partly, but more likely because I have a two-year-old who gets woken up by a particularly big crow-like bird that sings the dawn chorus outside his bedroom window - one of the joys of living in the country. First job of the day is to ensure that six new workstations are installed as I want them. We have more new staff joining and they will all demand somewhere ...

  • David Child

    3 Jul 2003

    Returning to work after six months' leave, it would be understandable if David Child felt a little daunted but he is excited about his new role as chief operating officer at The Exchange, even though it will mean less time spent watching his beloved Yorkshire Cricket Club. Child joins The Exchange from rival portal AssureWeb, where he was commercial director. The appointment was something of a coup for The Exchange. One of Child's responsibilities at AssureWeb was looking after ...

  • East - West divide amongst savers says Tesco

    7 Jul 2003

    Research shows that people living in the Eastern half of the country have more money saved than those in the West according to Tesco’s Personal Finance’s latest research. The figures show the average savings pot per household in the East is £12,835 compared to £9,553 in the West.

  • Elegy for L&G's administration

    3 Jul 2003

    After 20 years in this industry, you would think I would get used to the dreadful service standards offered by life companies. Although having done my best to avoid getting involved with stakeholder pensions, partly because of the levels of commission and partly as a protest against this foolish Government of ours, I slipped up badly when a wrote a £300a-month case with Legal & General early last November. It is a long but familiar story of shoddy service and maladministration ...

  • EU-wide regulator looms larger

    3 Jul 2003

    The prospect of a European super-regulator has come closer to being a reality through a last-minute amendment to the draft European Constitution. The amendment marks the first time that the creation of such a body has been set down in black and white. However, the amendment, article III-65, is written so vaguely that it has been interpreted in several ways but many in the industry say it paves the way for a EU-wide financial regulator. It calls for "uniform intellectual property ...

  • Evidence of slow return in investor confidence

    3 Jul 2003

    Investors are slowly starting to trust the market again, according to the comdirect cash confidence index, a quarterly survey focusing on people's attitudes to investing. It reveals that 88 per cent of shareholders in the UK plan to stay in the market for the next three months compared with 77 per cent last quarter. Nine per cent plan to invest more cash in the markets to build up their portfolios compared with 5 per cent in the previous quarter. Comdirect says the survey's ...

  • Exam results

    3 Jul 2003

    When the FSA publishes its feedback to the responses it has received to CP157, its consultation paper on the future structure of qualification regimes across the market, we will learn a great deal about general attitudes to the subject. No doubt, some correspondents will argue for onerous mandatory requirements, with a "no pass, no play" approach obliging practitioners to pass specified examinations relating directly to their area of work. Others may seek a less rigid approach, with ...

  • Execution-only spared in Euro directive rethink

    3 Jul 2003

    The Greek European presidency has offered an olive branch to UK execution-only brokers by adding an amendment to the investment services directive which would have foisted suitability tests on their potential sales. The provision creating a suitability test still remains in the text of the directive but the latest draft includes an exemption if the transaction consists of "exclusively executing the client's order". If this remains, it would mean that as long as firms were simply ...

  • False promises and admin blunders

    3 Jul 2003

    I have a message for BoS. Change your telephone message to say: "We are not accepting new business for the time being due to our employees being trained in the use of a new IT system." As an intermediary, I would accept this. But I do not accept in any way the diabolical delays, false promises and admin blunders that have been going over the past month or so. Will managers never learn? Five years ago, Bristol & West had similar problems and intermediaries boycotted them. Prudential, ...

  • First State takes over Skandia Far East equities

    3 Jul 2003

    Skandia Investment Man-agement has ditched Fidelity in favour of First State Investments as manager of its £90m Far East equities mandate after a four-month selection process. The portfolios, which include SIM's actively managed funds, Skandia's life and pension funds and Royal Skandia's managed funds, are being taken over this week by Angus Tulloch, who manages First State's £390m Asia Pacific unit trust. In the five years since Tulloch took over the First ...

  • FSA backs down on protection risk move

    3 Jul 2003

    The FSA has backed away from its controversial proposals to label protection products "higher risk" as part of its plans for the regulation of general insurance. The idea was originally floated in CP160 but this week's publication of CP187, Insurance selling and administration and other miscellaneous amendments, sees it dropped in the face of unanimous industry opposition. This means that critical-illness cover, private medical insurance and income protection will no longer ...

  • FSA draws up syllabus for equity-release exam

    3 Jul 2003

    The FSA is consulting with advisers, trade bodies and consumers through working parties in a bid to construct a syllabus for lifetime mortgage examinations. It says it has taken the step after widespread concern from the industry over possible misselling. The FSA says it is looking into what advisers need to know for lifetime loans, better known as equity-release mortgages, and is holding working parties with exam providers, practitioners, the MCCB and consumers to construct these ...

  • Gartmore strengthens merged European team

    3 Jul 2003

    Gartmore is merging its Continental and pan-European equities teams after appointing Gary Clarke from Rothschilds Asset Management and David Thomas from Credit Suisse First Boston. The European equities team will continue to include head of European equities Stephen Jones, Roger Guy, Guillaume Rambourg and Adrian Darley, who have been with Gartmore for more than seven years, and Tim Callaghan, who joined more than two years ago. Clarke, who is already lead manager on the Gartmore ...

  • Gay couples' charter to hit pensions for £2.5bn

    3 Jul 2003

    Plans to give same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples could cost private sector occupational pension schemes up to £1bn, the Government has warned. The Department for Trade and Industry women & equality unit's consultation on the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships calls for gay people to receive the same survivor's benefits as spouses. The proposals also call for registered same-sex partners to be exempt from inheritance tax when passing ...

  • Home improvement loans surge

    8 Jul 2003

    New research from Abbey National shows a 16 per cent increase since last year in people taking out loans for home improvements.The research also shows the average amount borrowed has increased, up 30 per cent to £20,000 from £15,500. Abbey National suggests the increase has more to do with the cost of making properties larger rather than an obsession with DIY, as a quarter of the loans taken out are spent on creating more rooms. 

  • House prices still growing - Halifax

    4 Jul 2003

    The latest Halifax house price index shows house prices increased by 0.6 per cent in June, and rose by 7.1 per cent in the first six months of 2003.

  • IFAs forecast rise in cash-equivalent transfer values

    3 Jul 2003

    IFAs are predicting a rise in cash-equivalent transfer values from occupational pension schemes following recent announcements by the Department for Work and Pensions. The DWP moves include allowing pension scheme trustees complete discretion in deciding CETVs once the minimum funding requirement is dropped as long as they follow a guiding principle of acting fairly to scheme and member. Millfield pension specialist Graham Duckett says the abolition of the MFR in favour of a scheme-specific ...

  • IFAs sounded out on ZAN advisers

    3 Jul 2003

    At least two of the UK's biggest IFA groups have been approached by a high-ranking Zurich Advice Network individual offering a large section of the group for acquisition. IFA groups Berkeley Berry Birch and Tenet have both confirmed that they were approached to take on a team of 900 advisers from Zan but neither company decided to take negotiations further. It is unclear whether the approach was made officially or as part of a possible breakaway. An estimated 2,000 advisers ...

  • Independent view

    3 Jul 2003

    A lot is made of technology and the impact it has on working lives - and not just in our industry. It is often viewed positively and as an opportunity but also, on occasions, negatively and as a threat. We all know that, as with most things, it is a bit of both. Certainly it causes problems when it under-delivers but often this is because high expectations have been created by those who have over-promised. The use of technology has not, I would suggest, resulted in either providers ...

  • Inside edge

    3 Jul 2003

    There is an article in one of the airline magazines this month about the value to retailers of displaying a royal warrant on their wares. The writer observes that two camps of consumers emerge - first, the "If it's good enough for the Queen its good enough for me" and second "It must be expensive the Queen shops there." The first consumer is enticed by the mark of quality and the second consumer is driven away by the expectation of a steep price. This quality/price balance ...

  • Inter-Alliance shares crash after warning

    3 Jul 2003

    Inter-Alliance is widely expected to seek a buyer after a trading statement sent its share price plummeting this week. It blames the company's underperformance on its advisers doing non-regulated business outside of the company although it says it now has structures in place to process this business. The warning sent its share price tumbling by more than 77 per cent in just two days from 32p to a low of 6.75p, settling at 8.75p at the time of going to press. The share price ...

  • Investment view

    3 Jul 2003

    The second quarter of this year has really not been that bad for equity markets on both sides of the Atlantic. At its peak, the recovery in the broadly-based indices has amounted to over 25 per cent - significant but certainly not enough to eradicate the fear that this could merely be a rally in a bear market. More important, though, is the evidence that the rally may be capped at 4,200 on the FTSE 100 index. So what can we expect for the rest of the year? As ever, it is to the US ...

  • Isis Ecotec Fund runs out of power

    3 Jul 2003

    IFAs are urging investors in Isis Asset Management's Ecotec fund to seek redress after the firm closed the fund, leaving them with substantial losses. Isis, one of the UK's foremost socially responsible investment managers, launched the fund last March, heralding the opportunities in environmental technologies such as wind, solar and hydro power. With pressure on companies to cut greenhouse gases, the fund was seen as having long-term potential. But it fell by 30.8 per cent ...

  • Isis must treat investors right

    3 Jul 2003

    I am writing to alert you to Isis Asset Management's unfair treatment of its investors. In March last year, it launched Ecotec, a high-risk long-term fund specialising in environmental technology, for example, wind, solar and hydro power. This sector has long-term growth potential due to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We knew it would be a volatile fund in the short term and in just a year, investors have seen losses of 33 per cent. We recommended the fund ...

  • JPMF looks to Euro earnings recovery

    3 Jul 2003

    JP Morgan Fleming has established the JPMFIF Europe recovery fund, a Luxemburg-based Sicav investing in European companies that have disappointed the market but now seem to be recovering. The JPMFIF Europe recovery fund is benchmarked against the MSCI Europe index and will contain between 50 and 100 holdings. The fund managers - Jim Campbell, Francesco Conte and Mark Davids - start from the premise that some companies which have failed to meet earnings expectations respond ...

  • JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management - JPMFIF Europe Recovery Fund

    3 Jul 2003

    Thursday, 3 July 2003 Type: SicavAim: Growth by investing in 50-150 European companiesMinimum investment: $10,000Place of registration: LuxemburgInvestment split: 100% in 50-150 European companiesCharges: Initial 5%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 0800 727770

  • JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management - JPMIF Global Recovery Fund

    4 Jul 2003

    Friday, 4 July 2003Type: SicavAim: Growth by investing in 50-150 global companiesMinimum investment: $10,000Place of registration: LuxemburgInvestment split: 100% in 50-150 global companiesCharges: Initial 5%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 0800 727770

  • Julian Gibbs

    3 Jul 2003

    Decent income plans with a high degree of security are few and far between, particularly when the income is fixed for five years. NDF, in association with Abbey National Treasury Services, has come up with a first-class five-year plan linked to the top 10 shares in the FTSE 100 - AstraZeneca, Barclays, BP, GlaxoSmithKline, HBOS, HSBC, LloydsTSB, RBOS, Shell and Vodafone. These are all now standing on reasonable valuations and represent around 55 per cent of the entire FTSE 100 by market ...

  • Kellard is new chief at Winterthur

    3 Jul 2003

    Mike Kellard has become chief executive at Winterthur Life. Previously managing director of the professional advisers' division, Kellard's appointment is intended to strengthen Winterthur's relationships with IFAs and employee benefit consultants, which it believes will be key to its future success. Winterthur says new pension business has grown by 194 per cent over the last three years. Single-premium new pension business from IFAs rose by 51 per cent to £172m last ...

  • Knee-deep in cash

    3 Jul 2003

    My father and I own a medical research company that specialises in joint replacement. The corporate bank account holds an amount much higher than we require. What options do we have to make more effective use of this cash? What else should I look for in planning terms? There are many choices available, the obvious ones being increasing salaries or paying a bonus, paying dividends to shareholders, improving the workplace environment, introducing or increasing employee benefits ...

  • L&G adds two managers to its active equity team

    3 Jul 2003

    Legal & General has made two senior appointments to its active equity team in advance of the relaunch of its active management team later this year. Alia Baig will head the European equity team while Nigel Ridge becomes senior UK fund manager. Both were appointed by Mark Burgess, who took up the role of head of equities at the start of the year. Baig has most recently been head of European equities at Axa Investment Management. Ridge was a member of the UK equity model portfolio ...

  • L&G to run Court fund

    7 Jul 2003

    Insurer Legal & General has been appointed investment manager of a Department for Constitutional Affairs equity index tracker fund.

  • Life companies win waivers over endowment complaints

    3 Jul 2003

    Life companies are being overwhelmed by mortgage endowment complaints and are turning to the FSA for waivers on the requirement to deal with complaints within eight weeks. Norwich Union and Legal & General have been issued with waivers and Zurich is considering applying. Prudential, Standard Life, Scottish Widows, Royal & Sun Alliance and Sun Life Canada say they have not applied. FSA spokesman Rob McIvor says it can grant temporary waivers for specific reasons and ...

  • Liverpool Vic insists on online business as it cuts term rates

    3 Jul 2003

    Liverpool Victoria has cut term insurance rates by an average of 10 per cent for people under 35 but is insisting that the business must be done online. The friendly society is aiming to double its protection book to £40m in annual premiums but intends to avoid admin problems. It is hoping it can cut down on delays with online business. Liverpool Vic says people wanting term combined with critical-illness cover or income protection can make applications by post or over the ...

  • Locked in growth from Clerical Medical International

    8 Jul 2003

    CLERICAL MEDICAL INTERNATIONALGrowth Lock-in Fund 2PRODUCT DETAILSType: Capital protected bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of sterling, dollar and euros versions Minimum investment: Lump sum £15,000, $22,000, euros 22,000 Place of registration: Isle of Man Investment split: Sterling version - FTSE 100 index 50%, JPMorgan UK government bond index 50%, dollar version - S&P 500 index 60%, JPMorgan US government ...

  • Manager reshuffle for Fidelity Asia funds

    3 Jul 2003

    The FSA is to force life insurers to make their investment and actuarial decisions more transparent as part of its new range of governance measures which will come into effect at the end of March 2004. The measures mark the end of a two-year review of the way that the life industry is governed which was launched by the Tiner review in 2001. Life insurers must make their principles and practices of financial management available to all with-profits policyholders. This must include ...

  • Manchester bond offers loan facility

    7 Jul 2003

    Manchester Building Society has established the capital-secured FTSE bond, a five-year guaranteed equity bond that could mature in year three.The bond guarantees the return of investors' original capital and a 25 per cent return after three years if the FTSE 100 index to which it is linked has risen by at least 25 per cent. This is calculated by comparing the closing level of the index on August 15, 2003 with the closing level on August 15, 2006.If the growth in the ...

  • Marks & Spencer Financial Services - Guaranteed Capital Bond

    7 Jul 2003

    Monday, 7 July 2003 Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, Swiss SMI, S&P 500 indicesMinimum-maximum investment: £500-£1mTerm: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indicesReturn: 70% of average growth of indices at end of termClosing date: July 31, 2003 Commission: NoneContact: www.marksandspencer.com

  • Mortgage Express offering IFAs 'complete' net service

    3 Jul 2003

    Mortgage Express and Trigold are joining forces to supply a "complete" online service for mortgage intermediaries. Mortgage Express says its link with Trigold means intermediaries can now get a virtually seamless, efficient process for sourcing, compliance and submitting and tracking their mortgage business online. This adds to the decision in principle and application service it already has via its own website. Through Trigold, advisers only have to fill in their customers' ...

  • Nationwide Building Society - Guaranteed Equity Bond

    8 Jul 2003

    Tuesday, 8 July 2003 Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50, S&P 500 indicesMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-no maximumTerm: Six yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indicesReturn: Minimum of 10% growth and maximum of 50% growth at end of termClosing date: August 9, 2003 Commission: NoneContact: ...

  • Nine million policies to fall short, says Cazalet

    3 Jul 2003

    Influential analyst Ned Cazalet is predicting that up to 90 per cent of the UK's 10 million mortgage endowment policies will fall short of their target, with the average 25-year plan having a shortfall of between 25 and 50 per cent. He fears that life companies are not reserving enough to cope with misselling compensation claims and policy promises. Cazalet says the average endowment is now about halfway through its term and, as many life offices have greatly reduced equity ...

  • Norwich Union - Portfolio

    7 Jul 2003

    Monday, 7 July 2003Type: Unit-linked bondAim: Income or growth by investing in 10 out of 31 Norwich Union funds and 51 external fundsMinimum investment: £5,000Fund links: Balanced distribution, balanced managed, cautious managed, corporate bond, defensive managed, deposit fund, European equity, gilt, global bond, global equity, guaranteed fund, higher income bond, international index tracking, Japanese equity, managed high income, property, SF absolute ...

  • Now Pru moves into lead on call confusion

    3 Jul 2003

    Keen as ever to remain at the leading edge of making life difficult for IFAs, Prudential's IFA call centre has leapfrogged into pole position. We have a client with an old Prudential personal pension which has reached its vesting date but, before I can advise him on his options, I need, of course, to check out the possible availability of guaranteed annuity rates and also clarify why Prudential has quoted him a tax-free lump sum of substantially less than 25 per cent of the total fund ...

  • Offices use debt to bolster free assets

    3 Jul 2003

    Pressure on solvency margins has caused a deterioration in the quality of capital underlying with-profits funds, a study by Mercer Oliver Wyman has found. The percentage of "soft" capital used to bolster free assets more than doubled last year to 70 per cent from 30 per cent at the end of 2001, according to the financial services strategy and risk management consultancy. Soft forms of capital include implicit items, contingent loans, subordinated debt and financial reinsurance. The ...

  • On the trail of the loan sum plan

    3 Jul 2003

    Last week, I began to look at how capital allowances - especially first-year allowances - can interact with pensions. While noting that expenditure on capital equipment often competes with potential expenditure on pensions, I started to examine whether it might be possible - at least in theory - to get the best of both worlds, that is, commercial expediency and maximum tax saving. In an example, I illustrated how a pension loan facility could be used to purchase capital equipment. ...

  • On the transfer list

    3 Jul 2003

    Over my last few articles, I have been discussing the rates of investment return which could appropriately be projected from the major asset classes and sectors. I paid particular attention to their application both to pension and non-pension investment vehicles but, I have to admit, I did not realise at the time of writing the importance of these projections to a particular area of financial advice - recommendations to transfer (or not to transfer) from with-profits contracts in general ...

  • Opus guarantees payments to IFAs

    3 Jul 2003

    Sub-prime specialist Opus Mortgages is introducing a scheme that claims to safeguard commission payments to intermediaries. It also intends to speed up payment and avoid situations where brokers have to chase fees, as money is paid by telegraphic transfer within 24 hours. All commission due under the scheme's terms is paid direct to intermediaries by Goldsmith Williams, an independent law firm that administers the scheme and is in control of the funds. This means that Opus is ...

  • Out of context

    3 Jul 2003

    •"I've left her in the cloakroom."- Lansons PR Laura Cronin on the whereabouts of her six-week-old baby •"It was female and it had a belligerent tone." - Norwich Union head of pensions development Iain Oliver. •"I was knee-deep in sex with him last week." -Oliver again on discussing the European sex discrimination directive with an MM reporter. •"No. It should be Meera 'Goddess' Patel." - Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Meera Patel in response ...

  • Outside edge

    3 Jul 2003

    Are price controls the real goal or a means to an end? Much of the political and regulatory agenda appears to be price-driven but I cannot help feel that the underlying goals are far more to do with value, in particular, creating a competitive environment in which the value offered by market participants is reflected in the price being levied for the service. Although there is some way to travel before we arrive at the end-game, some of the building blocks are becoming well established. Of ...

  • Personal PI liability for Temple IFAs in move to Lighthouse

    3 Jul 2003

    Former RJ Temple IFAs moving to Lighthouse as part of the £1m takeover deal are faced with signing a contract leaving them individually liable to professional indemnity excesses of up to £50,000. Under the contract, advisers at newly formed Temple Financial Planning will be covered by Berkeley Wodehouse Associates'PI but if they are found to be giving negligent or non-compliant advice they will be liable for excesses of up to £50,000. Advisers have expressed ...

  • Popplewell in call to pull out of WP fund

    3 Jul 2003

    Technical guru Keith Popplewell says IFAs should urge any remaining Equitable Life policyholders to quit its with-profits fund in the face of potentially dire returns from its property portfolio. Money Marketing columnist Popplewell bases his comments on his analysis of property returns in the fund, which he says could be as low as 1.5-2.5 per cent. He says Equitable's property portfolio is largely invested in offices in Southeast England, with returns from this area currently ...

  • Product matters

    3 Jul 2003

    The NDF Higher Income and Growth Plan 5 provides two options. The first offers 6 per cent annual income for five years or 32 per cent growth at maturity and is designed to provide a minimum total repayment, including any income or growth, of 100 per cent of the sum invested. Option two provides a higher income at 8 per cent a year (or 0.64 per cent a month or 42 per cent growth) but the higher returns come at a price. The minimum repayment will be only 70 per cent of the original investment ...

  • Pru bids to build up role for retirement

    3 Jul 2003

    Prudential is launching National Retirement Week and a retirement guide after research revealed some shocking facts about retirement. The commissioned research showed that only 4 per cent of people retire early because they have enough income to live on. Twenty per cent of people surveyed were forced to stop work because of ill health and only 26 per cent of retired people felt excited about not working. The Pru believes employers need to play a bigger role in helping staff plan ...

  • Regulation will bring consolidation in mortgage sector - ACA

    8 Jul 2003

    The regulation of mortgage sales by the FSA next year will reduce the numbers of lenders and distributors according to a new report from The Actuarial Profession.

  • Sarasin onshore fund reflects offshore portfolio

    8 Jul 2003

    Sarasin Investment Management has unveiled the Sarasin income portfolio fund, an onshore Oeic mirroring an existing offshore unit trust. Unlike the offshore fund, this fund is available for Isa investments and Pep transfers. It invests globally in fixed-interest securities to produce an income, with a smaller amount in equities to provide capital growth and the remainder in cash. Daniel Briggs and John Godley, who are responsible for the offshore fund, will also manage ...

  • Schroders' campaign to boost brand awareness

    3 Jul 2003

    Fund company Schroders is starting a new brand response campaign this week. The campaign has been developed with agency Teamspirit, a specialist financial services advertising and communications agency that has been working with the fund firm for two years. Schroders says the campaign is centred on its in-depth knowledge and forward thinking and reflects its focused positioning. It hopes that the campaign will reflect the importance it places on the UK intermediary market. One ...

  • ScotEq sets up pension mini sites

    3 Jul 2003

    Scottish Equitable is setting up mini websites for all its group pension schemes, saying it will save advisers an average of £5,000 per scheme. The company says it is the first to provide member information through a pre-packaged tailored website and says developing such a facility independently would cost advisers £5,000 for each scheme. Two types of website are on offer - a new member site to encourage maximum scheme take-up including details of available investment ...

  • Sex and the annuity

    3 Jul 2003

    The last time I put pen to paper for this column was to write about the growing importance of Europe. Having just got back from Brussels - the issues are even higher on my agenda. In a mere matter of a month, I have been to the capital of the EU as the debate on sex discrimination in insurance has raged. And given the tone of what we discovered in Brussels, it is not going to go away. Momentum continues to build. The EU social affairs commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou is pressing ...

  • Skipton launches intermediary website

    4 Jul 2003

    Skipton Building Society has launched a website for mortgage intermediaries, which it hopes will improve its communication with brokers around the UK. The site includes downloadable mortgage application forms and provides access to Skipton’s products and lending criteria. It also has a section showing the benefits of dealing with Skipton, along with mortgage calculators. It can be found at www.skipton-intermediaries.co.uk.

  • Slugging actuary figures out fight game

    3 Jul 2003

    Don't mess with actuaries. Not the ones down at Canada Life, at any rate. Trainee actuary with the life company Estelle "Model T" Ford has been fighting the corner for actuaries in The Real Fight Club, the white-collar boxing organisation where stressed-out executives slug it out in the ring. Ford took on Ann "Sweet P" Pariso in the first all-female bout in the UK. A colleague tells The Diary there was no actual winner declared in the fight but that Model T acquitted herself with ...

  • Super modules

    3 Jul 2003

    "Very disappointing" is the mildest comment that could be made about the way almost all sample advisers (both tied and independent) dealt with a mystery shopper in an exercise mounted by the BBC's Money Box programme. Elementary tax planning opportunities were widely ignored, the client's risk profile was explored in an inadequate and misleading way, investment concepts were poorly explained and the fact-finding process was often haphazard and incomplete. How damaging would this ...

  • Survey finds link between benefits and staff turnover

    3 Jul 2003

    There are clear links between the provision of employee benefits and staff turnover, according to IFA group Momentum's latest research. Incomes Data Services questioned 150 SMEs and 150 big corporations on behalf of Momentum for its annual employee benefits survey. The results show that companies with higher employer contributions to a defined-contribution pension arrangement have a lower staff turnover rate than companies with a lower contribution. The responses also reveal ...

  • Swiss Life caters for all sorts

    4 Jul 2003

    SWISS LIFE MATRIX INCOME PROTECTION Type: Group income protection Minimum benefit/premium: £1/£750 a year, £65 a month Minimum-maximum ages: 16-64 Minimum group size: Five Deferred periods: 13, 26, 28, 39, 52, 104 weeks Charges: None Definition of disability: Own occupation, suited occupation, and activities of daily living Options: Standard protection, limited payment term protection, ...

  • Talkback

    3 Jul 2003

    "Yes but it depends on the size of the contributions. As long as these are not set at a punitive level, then I think there would certainly be take-up - which would increase overall interest in occupational schemes." Paul Nielsen, Cameron Nielsen "Yes it would increase take-up of occupational pensions but it will be down to the advisers to keep companies informed of changes like this." Robert Luty, Castle View Investment Group "Maybe. It might work at the plc level but at ...

  • Tenet in warning to IFAs over EU PI threat

    3 Jul 2003

    UK advisers are unaware of the impact that EU legislation could have on the PI market and the threat it now poses to their businesses, warns leading IFA Tenet Group. Chief executive Simon Hudson says he fears that IFAs are sticking their heads in the sand over changes in EU legislation which will force them to have compliant PI cover. In their present form, the European Investment Services and the Insurance Mediation directives, due to be implemented in 2005, will force advisers ...

  • The future of fact-finds

    3 Jul 2003

    Infoline is holding two seminars in London and Leeds on Refining and Auditing the Fact-find Process. The seminars will look at the process from design through to audit, focusing on how to ensure compliance, improve efficiency and support business development. They will be held in London on July 8 and 9 and Leeds on September 17 and 18. The agenda includes a look at the regulatory background and requirements, what makes a successful fact find, quality control, future developments and ...

  • The sheriff rides in at Friends

    3 Jul 2003

    Rumour has it staff at Friends Provident have been on their best behaviour since chairman David Newbigging (picture right) was appointed to the honorary position of the High Sheriff of Wiltshire. The role is one of the oldest public offices in existence and is appointed by the Queen. The sheriff is required to carry out ceremonial duties and support four Wiltshire charities as well as leading posses and stopping lynch mobs. The Diary wonders whether "Quickdraw" Newbigging, also ...

  • Time to raise the level of protest

    3 Jul 2003

    Julian Stevens' letter in the June 19 issue of Money Marketing must ring bells with many IFAs. It was a catalogue of disasters inflicted on Mr Stevens by the inability of so many companies to provide anything approaching reasonably decent service. One keeps thinking that this situation cannot go on indefinitely but I am afraid it looks rather like it can and will - unless more voices are raised more loudly and more frequently in protest. Can I suggest that each of the companies ...

  • Two sides of the Euro coin

    3 Jul 2003

    Last week brought good news and bad news from European quarters as the EU issued the latest drafts of its "supposedly unimportant" constitution-changing European Convention and its Investment Services Directive. First, the good news. The likelihood of a suitability test on retail sales, which, importantly, would include execution-only sales, has been dealt a blow by the current Greek EU presidency. The latest draft of the ISD includes an amendment which would remove the necessity ...

  • Two-year remortgage tracker at 3.89 per cent from MarketPlace

    4 Jul 2003

    The MarketPlace at Bradford & Bingley is launching an exclusive fees free two-year tracker mortgage, specifically for the remortgage market, funded by the Woolwich.

  • UK sectors take half of May fund sales

    3 Jul 2003

    Fund sales fell in May as the post-Isa season slump hit harder than in previous years. IMA figures show that net retail sales fell to £742m from £1.05bn in April, leaving them 11 per cent down on last May's level of £834m. Isa sales fell to £357m from £681m in April and from £459m in May last year. The most popular fund sectors in May were UK corporate bonds with sales of £593m and UK all companies with sales of £442m. These ...

  • Watchdog says FSA did not fail over Equitable

    3 Jul 2003

    The Parliamentary Ombudsman has dashed Equitable Life policyholders' hopes of Government compensation by ruling that there is no evidence to show the FSA failed in its regulatory duty overseeing the stricken company. Ombudsman Ann Abraham also said that given the high-profile court case and planned sale, investors should have sought independent financial advice. This week, she published the results of her investigation into the FSA's regulation of Equitable Life between January ...

  • West Bromwich Building Society - Guaranteed Growth Bond

    2 Jul 2003

    Tuesday, 2 July 2003 Type: High interest accountMinimum-maximum investment: Lump sum £1,000-£500,000Interest rates: 3.6% gross a year, 3.54% gross a monthTerm: One yearOffer period: Until further noticeWithdrawal penalties: No withdrawals permitted during termTel: 0845 3300622

  • West Bromwich Building Society - Guaranteed monthly Income Account

    3 Jul 2003

    Tuesday, 2 July 2003 Type: High interest accountMinimum-maximum investment: Lump sum £1,000-£500,000Interest rates: 3.7% gross a year, 3.64% gross a monthTerm: Two yearsOffer period: Until further noticeWithdrawal penalties: No withdrawals permitted during termTel: 0845 330062

  • West Browwich Building Society - Guaranteed Monthly Income Account

    3 Jul 2003

    Wednesday, 3 July 2003 Type: High interest accountMinimum-maximum investment: Lump sum £1,000-£500,000Interest rates: 3.7% gross a year, 3.64% gross a monthTerm: Two yearsOffer period: Until further noticeWithdrawal penalties: No withdrawals permitted during termTel: 0845 330062

  • Who shall have a fishy on a little dishy?

    3 Jul 2003

    The Diary detects something a bit fishy in the recruitment policies of nifty electronic hub and software outfit Synaptic Systems. Everyone knows the man at the top of the perch, Selwyn Herring -eel tell you that the piscine jokes are wearing a little thin at this point. But The Diary was left floundering when surveying the list of speakers at a recent Advisertech conference to see that Synaptic's corporate business development manager was a certain Brod Whiting. We wonder ...

  • Why should IFAs subsidise the FSA pension scheme?

    3 Jul 2003

    I recently read that our FSA fees are to include a new allowance to top up and subsidise the shortfall and under-funding in the FSA pension scheme. I consider this an appalling use of my fees and vehemently oppose this proposal. The FSA pension scheme, like many final-salary pension schemes, is short of money for four basic reasons - the poor performance of the stockmarket, lengthening mortality, the high number of employees seeking and taking voluntary early retirement and Gordon ...

  • Wilson to widen New Star message

    3 Jul 2003

    New Star has appointed Richard Wilson as director of investor communications in its drive to broaden its distribution base to life companies and the generalist IFA market. Wilson was marketing director at Aberdeen Asset Management until last October. He helped to integrate the six funds that New Star acquired from AAM in January this year into its range. He will be responsible for relations with New Star's investors, who rocketed from 70,000 to 400,000 as a result of that deal. ...

  • Win a VIP day at golf's Open Championship

    3 Jul 2003

    With many investment markets mirroring a bad day on the golf course - plenty of time spent in the rough - Prudential, both a past and current master of solid investment performance, has teamed up with Money Marketing to offer readers a chance to attend this year's Open Championship at Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent. When Ernie Els sets out to defend his Open Championship title, he will face 14 former Open champions and 48 of the top 50 players in the official world rankings. This ...

  • Winners and losers in Aegon's etiquette stakes

    3 Jul 2003

    The Diary has learnt that for staff at Aegon etiquette is not just a matter of manners, it is a topic of fierce competition. While on a team-building day last week, head of public affairs Scott White was crowned the company's "etiquette champion" during an exercise in deportment and decorum. Trailing some distance behind was Aegon public affairs manager Lesley McPherson. Speaking to Diary, White said: "I told Lesley it was important that there are losers in order to create ...

  • Would US approach perk up pensions?

    3 Jul 2003

    Pension professionals have greeted the possibility of US-style 401(k) incentives as just the sort of policy move needed to kickstart workplace pension provision. In an exclusive interview with Money Marketing, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith expressed interest in the American initiative which connects employers' pensions with take-up among their staff. There have been widespread calls for incentives, with data on take-up of occupational schemes painting ...

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