Money Marketing
2 May 2001

  • 'Investors are being misled on with-profits risk'

    3 May 2001

    Mortgage lending rocketed in March, reflecting the traditional spring boost to the property market, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The monthly CML survey of banks and building societies shows gross lending up by 22 per cent to £11.3bn in March from £9.3bn in February. This is similar to last year's figures of £10.8bn in March up from £7.9bn in February. House purchase loans rose to £7.2bn in March from £5.3bn, accounting ...

  • 'Stakeholder not sparking pension revolution'

    3 May 2001

    The Industrial Society says there is no real evidence of a pension revolution brought about by stakeholder and there is no rush to switch from defined-benefit schemes to defined-contribution schemes. Nearly 60 per cent of the 5,600 respondents to the society's latest survey on pension schemes felt that the impact of stakeholder on occupational pension provision was uncertain. The report said it is wrong to move to greater reliance on private pensions without better safeguards ...

  • 5.69 per cent fixed loan deal among C&G offers

    3 May 2001

    Cheltenham & Gloucester, the UK's third-biggest lender, is setting up a new range of fixed-rate mortgages. The loans offer rates of between 5.39 per cent and 6.09 per cent, depending on the size of the loan and the duration of fixed-rate period which are from two to five years. Early repayment charges will be restricted to the length of the fixed-rate period. For example, on a fixed loan of £50,000 over three years, the rate is 5.59 per cent and 5.69 per cent for a fixed ...

  • A birthday gift for everyone

    3 May 2001

    Last week, the Government announced plans to introduce the child trust fund. These plans come after nearly two years of debate on asset-backed welfare policies. AMP has been involved with the scheme since the idea was first mooted in the UK in 1999 after a similar scheme was introduced in the US. We were the principal sponsor and have been an active participant in the research carried out by the Institute of Public Policy Research that led to the development of the scheme. We believe ...

  • Aberdeen offers corporate bond discount

    8 May 2001

    Aberdeen Unit Trust Managers is offering a 0.5 per cent discount on its range of corporate bond Isas until July 16.

  • ABI publishes income protection best practice statement

    8 May 2001

    The ABI is publishing a revised statement of best practice for income protection insurance to deal with the concerns of the Office of Fair Trading. The statement also includes an ABI Saltr raising standards initiative compliant key features document for income protection.

  • Advisers should thank L&G

    3 May 2001

    IFAs should thank John Morgan, head of public relations at Legal & General, for claiming: "Any intermediary who feels a person needs full advice on whether they buy a pension is incorrect" (Money Marketing, April 5). What Mr Morgan's statement does is to confirm what many of us have argued for some time, that the company's aims and objectives are inimical to the interests of independent advice. Dr Philip Thomas Thomas Financial Planning, St Helens,Merseyside

  • Advisers' anger at LeggMason moves to cut commission

    3 May 2001

    LeggMason Investors has been slammed by IFAs for direct-mailing their clients with det-ails on new products and cutting out their commission. IFAs says LeggMason has provided Johnson Fry Pep planholders with specific maturity details while giving IFAs only generic sample letters. LeggMason took over Johnson Fry in December 1999. Investors will pay no initial charge if they transfer their maturing investment into a LeggMason unit trust, cutting out IFA commission. The company says ...

  • Baggette Tyror rebrands as Bluestone Financial Services

    2 May 2001

    IFA Baggette Tyror is re-naming itself BlueStone Financial Services as part of its expansion plans. The firm says having been in business for 15 years it has reached a key stage in its development and thought it appropriate it should move forward with what it feels is a more modern name. It is now looking to increase the number of advisers and has also recruited a communications and marketing manager. 

  • Barclaycard to sponsor Premier League

    3 May 2001

    Barclaycard will sponsor the FA Premier League for the next three seasons in a £48m deal. The competition will be called the FA Barclaycard Premiership from the start of next season. Barclaycard will use the sponsorship to accelerate the growth and development of its businesses in the UK and support its expansion internationally. The deal includes worldwide marketing rights and programme credits.

  • Bristol & West - Direct Rate Tracker

    8 May 2001

    Tuesday, 8 May 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£100,000.Interest rates: 6.3 per cent gross a year, 6.13 per cent gross a month.Term: Until May 1, 2003.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: 12 free withdrawals a year.Tel: 0808 1811111. 

  • Britannia hails 'endorsement' of mutuality

    3 May 2001

    Britannia Building Society says members have voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of mutuality by re-electing pro-mutual candidates to the board at the AGM. Five board members of the UK's second-biggest society, including chairman Barrie Bernstein, were re-elected last week by over 91 per cent of the 308,000 members who voted. Around 1.25 million members were eligible to vote. Each director polled an average of 20 times as many votes in favour of their remaining on the board as ...

  • Charcol switching site to supermart

    3 May 2001

    Mortgage IFA Charcol is to convert online broking service Charcolonline into a fund supermarket offering a range of products and services from other companies. Charcol, acquired by Bradford & Bingley in February 2000, will reposition its mortgage website later in the year as a supermarket offering products including stakeholder, bonds and Isas. The technology for the electronic platform will also be used to power a similar service which B&B intends to offer under its own brand ...

  • CIS puts £3m into admin

    3 May 2001

    CIS is investing £3m in a stakeholder admin system from Marlborough Stirling. Marlborough, which specialises in software and services to the mortgage, life, pension and investment market sectors, has been working with CIS for 10 months on implementing the system. Marlborough's systems allow CIS to provide stakeholder pensions via multiple channels. CIS's direct salesforce of 4,500 can process pensions on laptop computers while its website takes online applications. Pension ...

  • Clients' unemployment 'can lead to clawback'

    3 May 2001

    IFAs who do not recommend unemployment cover risk losing significant amounts of commission to clawback, according to specialist insurer Goodfellows. The firm interviewed 1,000 of its mortgage payment protection claimants who have been unemployed for longer than four months. It found that 63 per cent of respondents have been forced to cancel or suspend contributions to their pensions and other financial services products due to financial hardship. This has led to commission being ...

  • Compelling debate on compulsion

    3 May 2001

    The inevitability of the Government making stakeholder pensions compulsory for employers was high on the agenda of the Question Time session at last week's LIA convention. LIA chief executive Jeff Travis, Aifa director general Paul Smee, LIA public affairs director John Ellis, FSA investment policy manger Brenda Gibson and Zurich Financial Services director of government and public affairs Karl Snowden debated the timetable for compulsion. Questioned on whether stakeholder will ...

  • Consumer credit up 9 per cent

    8 May 2001

    Total consumer credit outstanding increased 9 per cent to £128bn in 2000 from £115bn in 1999, equating to an average debt of £2,810 per adult in the UK, according to research published by Datamonitor.

  • Cover chaos in LTC limbo

    3 May 2001

    Legislative uncertainty and lack of regulation mean long-term care insurance could be being miss-sold, according to a leading campaigner for the elderly. Association of Retired Persons Over 50 director of social policy Don Steele says LTC is being sold without full knowledge of what the level of free healthcare will be and to what extent regional variation will affect the cover needed. He says state provision in Scotland is already expected to be higher than in England and Wales ...

  • Dance of ages

    3 May 2001

    Wide disparities between men and women remain in financial services, particularly on pensions and annuities. The FSA's recent report, Women and personal finance: the reality of the gender gap, showed that only 22 per cent of women have pensions compared with 40 per cent of men. While the report found that men and women in similar positions had similar levels of financial product ownership, when it comes to self-provision for retirement there are signifi-cant differences. The ...

  • Doubts on Money Channel?

    3 May 2001

    The future of The Money Channel, the digital finance TV channel transmitted on Sky, is in doubt after it announced the suspension of its shares. The move could spell the end of personal finance TV following the closure of rival SimplyMoney two weeks ago. A spokesman for the channel whose founders included Adam Faith and Paul Killik, says a team of accountants have been appointed to assess financial viability and would be reporting later this week. He says: "Revenues do not cover ...

  • Exeter appoints institutional sales head

    4 May 2001

    Exeter Fund Managers is appointing Kevin Long as associate director, institutional sales to lead its expansion into the institutional market.

  • F&C's guide points to the Pep opportunities

    3 May 2001

    Foreign & Colonial is publishing a free guide for investors explaining opportunities created by changes to Pep rules. Pep investment restrictions have been lifted, removing the obligation to place the majority of investments in the UK or Europe and allowing more internationally diversified portfolios. Another change will allow investors to transfer single-company Peps into a general Pep, diversifying into a broad spread of stocks and shares through unit trusts, investment trusts ...

  • FI&S in retail fund push

    3 May 2001

    Friends Ivory & Sime is reorganising its fund range and planning new launches in a bid to become a major retail brand in the UK investment market. The range will concentrate on FI&S's expertise in areas such as socially responsible investment and UK smaller companies, with the first launches to go ahead this summer. Following the success of its Baronsmead funds, FI&S will also continue to focus on the VCT market and is expected to offer the first socially responsible VCT later ...

  • Financial Services Forum appoints board members

    8 May 2001

    The Financial Services Forum, a trade body for financial services marketing practitioners, is appointing five new senior marketing professionals to its advisory board.

  • Four-step approach to emulate wizards of Oz

    3 May 2001

    How can you ride the transition from an up-front commission basis to a scraping-the-barrel scenario? With the potential for a further eight million customers as a result of the Government's announcement on concurrence, more and more IFAs can visualise the need to advise the generic public on pensions as opposed to concentrating efforts on targeted clients. It is hard to compromise your professional image, and ultimately lifeline, by turning away clients. Many clients ...

  • Friends slated for block on windfalls

    3 May 2001

    A Belfast IFA has lambasted Friends Provident for denying some rebate-only pension scheme members windfall payouts when it demutualises. Aon McMillen Consulting senior consultant Richard Oats says he was puzzled when colleagues and clients were sent paperwork to validate their claims to windfalls ahead of the demutualisation. Oats had joined a rebate-only pension scheme before Friends announced its intention to demutualise last year. But because there had been no contribution ...

  • FSA manager warns of stake squeeze on firms

    3 May 2001

    An FSA official has warned that making all employers offer and contribute to stakeholder would stretch already straining margins for giving advice on the new pension. During the question time session at last week's LIA Conference in Birmingham, the FSA's investment business policy manager Brenda Gibson said the squeeze on providing advice caused by the 1 per cent maximum management charge would be increased by the introduction of compulsion. Gibson said: "If 1 per cent on ...

  • FSA to adopt new policy for reports on firms

    2 May 2001

    The FSA has set out a new integrated policy for commissioning skilled persons to provide reports on firms. Whether to use skilled persons for special reports will be decided case by case, considering costs to the firm and particular circumstances. The reports will be commissioned to analyse information, to assess situations, to offer advice and recommendations and give risk assessment. The new policy comes in from N2.  

  • FSA to continue concessions at N2

    2 May 2001

    The FSA says all waivers and individual guidance under PIA rules will automatically continue once it assumes full powers at N2.

  • Gerrard in board shake-up after merger

    2 May 2001

    Gerrard Investment Funds is restructuring its board after merging with Capel Cure Sharp in February.

  • Going back to basics on state pension provision

    3 May 2001

    Successive Governments have paid lip service to the notion of "simplicity" in pensions while gradually making things more complicated. The Liberal Democrats propose a genuine simplification of pensions, with both the state and the private sector having an important and clearly defined role to play. Our blueprint for pensions starts with the basic state pension as a genuine foundation. Under both Labour and Conservative policies, the basic pension will wither and die. Labour ...

  • Halifax and BoS set for £26bn merger

    3 May 2001

    Halifax and Bank of Scotland are in talks over a possible £26bn merger to create a bank to rival the big four on the high street. Halifax, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, confirmed last week that the companies are negotiating a "merger of equals" although, at £17bn, Halifax is valued at around £7bn more than BoS. The banks say a merger would be on a nil-premium basis involving a straight swap of shares. The move has taken the industry by surprise as BoS is ...

  • Heath says IFAs need a new name

    3 May 2001

    The phrase "independent financial adviser" may need to be changed to increase clarity among consumers, according to former IFA Association director general Garry Heath. Heath, director of Portfolio Members Services, says polarisation underpins the status of IFAs and if polarisation is scrapped, it could be time to redefine the territory to send a clear message to clients. He says: "Most IFAs are wrong to believe the word 'independent' attached to 'financial' and 'adviser' ...

  • Henderson launches European absolute return fund

    4 May 2001

    Henderson Global Investors is launching a European Absolute Return Fund for private banks, institutions, and high net worth individuals.

  • IFA firm targets home equity

    3 May 2001

    An IFA firm has been set up specialising in the home equity-release market. Preston-based Key Retirement Solutions, formerly Countrywide Retirement Solutions, has taken IFA status to give specialist advice to the retired marketplace. The company believes the equity-release market is set for considerable growth and says homeowners are becoming increasingly equity-rich but cash-poor. It says the average weekly disposable income for a retired household in 1994 was £170 compared ...

  • IFA going online for 24-hour sales

    3 May 2001

    Riach Independent Financial Advisers is setting up a website which offers users the chance to buy financial products direct. The website at www.logon 2money.co.uk aims to remove the paperwork associated with buying a wide range of financial products such as unit trusts, Isas, mortgages and life insurance. Principal Bob Riach says IFAs not using the internet may be left behind by intermediaries who are beginning to embrace e-commerce. By utilising the internet, he says IFAs ...

  • IFonline launches MPPI service

    8 May 2001

    IFonline is launching a new broker service for mortgage payment protection insurance that allows applications to be made without re-keying the data for the mortgage application.The MPPI system follows IFonline's incorporation of a solicitor referral system last month.IFonline sales and marketing director Mike Douglas says: "IFonline is striving to provide useful tools for intermediaries to allow them to conduct their business quicker and more effectively."

  • Industry and CA clash over Catmarked advice

    3 May 2001

    The IFA sector has hit out against Treasury proposals to Catmark financial advice while the Consumers' Association has broadly welcomed a quality standard. The ABI has warned that introducing a Cat standard for advice would be wrong, with more work needed on the objectives and scope and the role of the Government and regulator. In its paper, Standards for Retail Financial Products, the Treasury proposes to introduce a Cat standard for a healthcheck financial advice service, ...

  • Inside EDGE PETER DORNAN

    3 May 2001

    I had a conversation with one of my marketing colleagues last week regarding the latest technology craze that was going to hit the world of financial services - m-commerce.M for mobile that is. In terms of how the industry has embraced and failed to embrace in some respects e-commerce initiatives over the last few years, it was something that raised my eyebrows. Clearly, the introduction of consecutive new generations of information and communication tools - phone, mainframe computers, ...

  • Inter-Alliance buys Pru sales force

    4 May 2001

    National IFA Inter-Alliance has struck a deal with the Prudential to buy its sales force.

  • Investment Update

    3 May 2001

    New Star Asset Management has raised £25m of new equity from investors, including a number of undisclosed UK financial institutions and wealthy individuals. As well as subscribing for equity now, the group of inv-estors has agreed in principle to provide an additional £125m in future to finance major acquisitions. Close Brothers Group fund management division Close Investments has acquired Chartered Trust Services, the Cayman Island-based trust and company ...

  • Investment View

    3 May 2001

    Don't you just love it when government agencies fall out? The European Central Bank's recent decision not to cut interest rates prompted a rebuke from the Washington-based IMF. The message was loud and clear - the ECB was not proving to be a team player. On this occasion, Mr Duisenberg and his colleagues probably felt on strong ground. Inflation figures from Germany and Italy were well above the target 2 per cent. The ECB can point to the legal imperative of controlling inflation ...

  • Irish Parliament: more room for charges

    3 May 2001

    The Republic of Ireland has unveiled its planned stakeholder-style pension, the Personal Retirement Savings Account, but without the tough charging regime. The new pension shares all the hallmarks of stakeholder, including an emphasis on portability and flexibility, but the products have charges capped at 5 per cent of contributions and 1 per cent of total assets. Scottish Equitable pensions development director Stewart Ritchie says: "It is interesting that a country with a pension ...

  • Isa sales fall and IFAs lose ground to direct rivals

    3 May 2001

    The 2000/01 Isa season ended disappointingly, with sales in March falling to £1.3bn from £2.3bn in the same month last year, according to Autif figures. Investors' traditional end-of-year rush was muted, with total net sales for the year to April 2001 down by 13 per cent at £9bn from £10.4bn for the previous tax year as investors, burned in the technology stock bubble of last spring, stayed away. IFAs' share of Isa sales fell to 41 per cent of all ...

  • John Malone

    3 May 2001

    Sometimes I turn off my mobile phone for a couple of hours and find I have 20 messages on my voicemail when I switch it back on." There are not many people in the mortgage industry whose opinion is sought after quite as much as Scottish Amicable's national mortgage manager John Malone. With a career spanning over 35 years in financial services, the 57-year-old industry veteran has taken on the mantle of elder statesman of the mortgage market. Malone even refers to himself ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    3 May 2001

    Many families face the harrowing task of arranging long-term care for a member of their family who requires 24-hour care and attention. This can arise unexpectedly and require an immediate solution. The Pension Annuity Friendly Society has introduced a scheme that allows the individual to pay a lump sum for pre-determined nursing home costs for life to ensure the impaired person is cared for properly. The nursing home bills are met for the rest of the person's life with immediate ...

  • Just whose baby was the £800 bond idea?

    3 May 2001

    There has been a scramble by product providers and thinktanks to claim authorship of the Government "baby bond" proposals although the idea has been dismissed by many IFAs. Under the proposals announced last week, children will get an endowment of £800 to help give them a start in life, with strict guidelines applying to how the cash is invested. The payment will be made in four instalments with an initial payment of £500 at birth, followed by payments at five, 11 and ...

  • Killik's short shrift for shorting effect

    3 May 2001

    Stockbroker Killik & Co last week laid out its explanation for this winter's chill across the world's stockmarkets. While it acknowledged that factors such as a buyers' strike in technology are partly responsible, it also turned its fire on hedge funds, suggesting their recent proliferation in the UK has been a major contributor to slowing markets. The last year has seen more UK hedge fund launches than ever before, with many investment houses losing high-profile active ...

  • L&G is set to withdraw Isa mortgage package

    3 May 2001

    Legal & General is set to withdraw its Isa-linked mortgage package, citing plummeting sales of interest-only loans as the reason for the move. From May 18, L&G is pulling the plug on its Isa-backed flexible mortgage to concentrate on selling family protection products such as term insurance, critical-illness and mortgage payment protection insurance. It says the withdrawal is due to the fall in demand for interest-only mortgages. But IFA London & Country says the component ...

  • L&G sets up 'best of breed' supermarket

    3 May 2001

    Legal & General is to enter the fund supermarket war with a direct and IFA offering to rival Fidelity and Cofunds. The new platform, which will be launched in September, will see fund managers vie to offer a "best of breed" selection of funds, with around six funds per sector. The funds will be selected by Legal & General, based on past performance, strength of brand and IFA and consumer opinion. It will be the first to move away from the traditional supermarket model, which ...

  • Market Harborough discounts that flexible feeling

    2 May 2001

    Market Harborough has introduced a flexible mortgage that has a two year discount.

  • Marsden fixes for five

    4 May 2001

    Marsden Building Society has brought in the five year fixed rate mortgage.

  • Mercantile brings down rates with new mortgage

    2 May 2001

    Tyneside-based Mercantile Building Society has brought in the 1.85 per cent discounted mortgage.

  • Metropolitan Tenant's House Purchase Advisory Bureau reprimanded by OFT

    2 May 2001

    The Office of Fair Trading has forced a mortgage broker to change its advertising because it gave false impressions of the Government's right to buy housing scheme.

  • Mix the old and new

    3 May 2001

    A highly contentious statement at the beginning of a press release is a well known way to attract attention. But you can easily be accused of talking up your own interests. I fear that Forrester Research may have fallen into exactly that trap with the press release for its recent report Unwrapping UK Pensions. I am not surprised that the statement: "The internet will transform personal pensions distribution in the UK… providers will integrate pensions with other investments ...

  • Mortgage lending Springing forward

    3 May 2001

    Mortgage lending rocketed in March, reflecting the traditional spring boost to the property market, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The monthly CML survey of banks and building societies shows gross lending up by 22 per cent to £11.3bn in March from £9.3bn in February. This is similar to last year's figures of £10.8bn in March up from £7.9bn in February. House purchase loans rose to £7.2bn in March from £5.3bn, accounting ...

  • Mortgage Next teams up with B&W

    8 May 2001

    Mortgage Next is teaming up with the Bristol & West to introduce the buy to let three-year fixed fee saver.

  • MP's plea for lenders to stop 'misery'

    3 May 2001

    Royal Bank of Scotland and sub-prime lender igroup have been slammed in the House of Commons for failing to end the "misery" of borrowers with subsidiary companies. Labour MP Dr Brian Iddon last week accused subsidiaries of lenders such as igroup - in which RBS has a 49 per cent stake - of targeting financially vulnerable borrowers with the aim of repossessing and reselling the properties they lend on, with the consent of parent firms. Iddon said such companies often dupe people ...

  • MVAs get new name for clarity

    3 May 2001

    The ABI's Saving and Long-Term Risk Raising Standards initiative is renaming with-profits market value adjusters as market value reductions in a bid to make the penalty clearer for consumers. The requirement is not mandatory. ABI spokesman Vic Rance says: "We decided it will be more useful to call adjusters a reduction as in practice this is what they are and it makes it clearer to customers they are a bad thing." IFA Diane Saunders says: "I often feel when dealing with ...

  • Nationwide claims remortgage boom

    3 May 2001

    Nationwide says remortgaging business has rocketed tenfold through its branch network since it sparked the mortgage war with rival Halifax in February. The UK's biggest building society says branch managers report they are processing more mortgage business than ever before. Although IFAs continue to record plummeting new mortgage sales with the society, claiming cheaper loans are available elsewhere, Nationwide says borrowers of rival lenders are flocking to it to remortgage. The ...

  • Nationwide's long-term value

    3 May 2001

    Consumers like Nationwide's new mortgage pricing so it is disappointing to find that some IFAs are less positive. Our change in approach has been quite radical but we are convinced that, as IFAs become more familiar with what we have done, they will do more business with us. We are receiving less introduced business but it has certainly not collapsed as some have suggested. At the same time, our branches have never been busier. While we are doing significantly more remortgage ...

  • Networks adding up FSAVC bills for members

    3 May 2001

    The IFA sector is bracing itself this week for a multi-million-pound hit from the costs of the FSAVC review as networks reveal the costs that members are likely to face. The biggest IFA network Misys says it is preparing to shoulder a £3.3m bill for the review and plans to pass on a further £3.3m to its member firms. Each firm can expect an average cost of £2,200. Network M&E says it expects the review to cost at least £1m but says it will absorb up to £700,000 ...

  • Northern Rock creates flexible mortgage with a difference

    8 May 2001

    Northern Rock is getting flexible with the introduction of the together connections mortgage, one of the small number of flexible mortgages that come with additional features.

  • Norwich Union covers up

    2 May 2001

    Norwich Union has designed a cafeteria-style protection plan aimed at employers who have a Norwich Union pension plan in place for their employees.

  • Now is the perfect time for advisers to stop selling products and to start selling their advice

    3 May 2001

    By limiting the charge on stakeholder to 1 per cent, the Government has very neatly taken a giant leap towards removing front-end charges for all products. I regularly hear of companies offering 1 per cent-style pension plans but with commission terms of 30 to 80 per cent of Lautro rates. This means one of two things. Either companies are confident of buying market share or they are convinced that all these plans will run the majority of their full term. Rather ...

  • OFT names advisory panel members

    8 May 2001

    The Office of Fair Trading has announced the members of its new advisory panel which includes Consumers’ Association head of policy research and analysis Michelle Childs, former Financial Times editor Sir Geoffrey Owen, professor of law at King’s College Richard Whish. The panel advises on the OFT’s strategy, new policy developments, and areas for research. 

  • Outside View Robert Reid

    3 May 2001

    "No plan survives contact with the enemy." I cannot remember the name of the Prudential broker consultant who gave me that one-liner several years ago but I do know he was ex-Army and that is where he got it from. After all these years, I am still very grateful for the gift. In our business, the "enemy" is the marketplace or ultimately the customer. No matter now carefully we plan, how clever we are or how expensive the consultants we employ, once the ink is dry on the plan it is ...

  • Pavilion Asset Management - Target Return Fund

    2 May 2001

    Wednesday, 2 May 2001. Type: Offshore open-ended investment company. Aim: Growth by investing in hedge funds. Minimum investment: $100,000. Place of registration: Dublin. Investment split: 100 per cent in hedge funds. Isa link: No. Charges: Initial up to 5 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent. Commission: Initial up to 5 per cent, renewal subject to negotiation. Tel: 020 7616 4740.  

  • PIA disciplines MP Saunders (Financial Services)

    2 May 2001

    The PIA has taken disciplinary action against IFA firm MP Saunders (Financial Services) of 183-191 Ballards Lane, Finchley Central, London. It has been fined £15,000, ordered to pay costs of £3,150 and reprimanded for pensions review failings.

  • PIMco Trustees - The Essential Sipp

    4 May 2001

    Friday, 4 May 2001.Type: Full sipp.Minimum investment: £1,200 a year.Investment choice: Unit trusts, stocks and shares, deposit accounts, investment trusts, open-ended investment companies, futures and options, commercial property, land including development land, second hand endowments, Aim stocks.Charges: Initial £425, annual £375.Options: None.Commission: None.Tel: 01737 779939. 

  • Planning for health protection

    3 May 2001

    George and Vera are in their late 50s. Both are now retired with a total pension income of £20,000 a year gross, which would reduce by about £5,000 if either of them died. Their estate is worth about £500,000, of which £250,000 is represented by their jointly owned Wiltshire home and around £150,000 by joint bank and building society deposit accounts. George and, to a lesser extent, Vera are starting to become worried about the possible costs of long-term ...

  • Principality introduces three year fixed mortgage

    3 May 2001

    The Principality Building Society has introduced the 5.95 per cent fixed rate mortgage.

  • Privilege Portfolio - Euro Socially Responsible Growth Fund

    3 May 2001

    Thursday, 3 May 2001.

  • Product Matters

    3 May 2001

    Focus funds are the new buzzwords as launches from groups such as Gartmore, ABN, Merrills, Lazards and now R&SA testify. They are a reaction against the craze in benchmark funds that have come to dominate much of the industry. It was the trackers' success that caused many funds to hug closely to their benchmarks. But many have failed to add value, giving extra ammunition to the index brigade. Focus funds will be highly concentrated with 30 to 40 stocks and not benchmark-oriented. ...

  • Promoting a protection package

    3 May 2001

    April 6 may seem an illogical date on which to start a new financial year but apparently the reason is historical involving the Romans, Papal declaration and a timespan of several centuries. The date was finally settled upon in the mid-18th Century. The start of this financial year may also be a historical landmark for ushering in the era of stakeholder pensions. Stakeholder carries an underlying message about the importance of self-provision. This emphasis is critical as it underlines ...

  • Pru picks new ad agency to push intermediary arm

    3 May 2001

    Prudential has appointed ad agency TBWA/GGT to handle the £5m marketing and advertising account for Prudential Intermediary Business. A key part of the remit will be to build the profile of the recently launched Scottish Amicable Financial Services brand which falls within the PIB division. The Pru says it had outgrown agency Citigate-Smarts, which handled marketing and ads for the intermediary business for the past six years. The Pru says one of the reasons for choosing ...

  • Putnam hooks up to health

    8 May 2001

    Putnam Investments is tapping into the world of medicine with the introduction of the Putnam health sciences equity fund.

  • R&SA splits operation to create a direct arm

    3 May 2001

    Royal & Sun Alliance is to split the branding of its intermediary and direct channels, with a new image and name for its direct arm. The direct brand will aim to build on R&SA's general insurance business although its long-term plans include offering life and pension products. It will be run as a separate entity to its intermediary channel. R&SA says it remains committed to IFAs and currently carries out 85 per cent of its business through intermediaries. The new brand is aimed ...

  • Rathbone takes Sipp shows on the road

    3 May 2001

    Rathbone Investment Management is set for a whistle-stop UK tour promoting the benefits of self-invested personal pensions. The seminars aim to examine the advantages to IFAs and their clients of managing pensions as part of an overall investment portfolio rather than separately. They will focus on income drawdown, property purchase and investment portfolios. The tour starts in Winchester on May 9 followed by dates in Edinburgh, Bowness, Manchester, Maidstone, London, Gatwick ...

  • Rayburn sets up benefit consultancy

    3 May 2001

    City of London-based IFA, the Rayburn Group is launching a specialist benefits consultancy division called Rayburn Sigma. Rayburn Sigma will be run by the group's managing director Roula Rayburn and sales director William Fleischmann-Allen. The division has been set up to help IFAs create and implement innovative benefit solutions to increase the profitability of their corporate clients by adding value to their businesses rather than by adding to the employers' costs. It ...

  • Review for best execution rules

    3 May 2001

    The FSA is launching a rev-iew of best execution rules, which aim to ensure firms get the best deal for consumers buying and selling equities and other investments. The move is in response to the growth of online share dealing and its impact on how users get the best deal when transacting electronically. The FSA says electronic trading has made the rules, which require firms to take reasonable care to establish the price which is the best available for the customer in the marketplace, ...

  • Royal & Sun Alliance International adds technical service to website

    8 May 2001

    Royal & Sun Alliance International Financial Services is adding a new technical services section on its website aimed at providing information and guidance on the life office’s product range and meeting the tax planning needs of clients. It will include information on trusts and have a guide to UK inheritance tax planning. It also plans to have updates on legislative changes affecting offshore business and sales ideas.  

  • Rushed into retirement

    3 May 2001

    My company has been put in receivership. With my 60th birthday in a few weeks, everyone seems to be rushing me with regards to my pension. Is it possible to slow things down a little? I can understand the reasons for rushing you but I hope we will find that not only is it unnecessary but it actually works against your interests. With your company in receivership, the normal assumption will be that your employment ceases. Also, because the normal retirement age of your pension ...

  • Scarborough buy to let joins discount gang

    4 May 2001

    Scarborough Building Society has introduced a two-year discounted rate buy-to-let mortgage that is available for loans of up to 80 per cent of valuation.

  • Searching for the engine to power IFAs' websites

    3 May 2001

    We were delighted to read the letter (Money Marketing, April 12) in which the anonymous author delivered yet more praise for our IFA Window website service and also made some good points about the need for IFAs to actively promote their sites if they are to get maximum value. We believe our service is the biggest and most popular service on the market, with over 2,100 websites representing IFA firms from all the major networks as well as independents and our support for their marketing ...

  • Select plan from Friends Provident

    8 May 2001

    Mitchell says: "The premiums would appear to be competitive, especially where taken as a package. Friends Provident has a very good reputation in the income protection market." Crossan quantifies his comments: "Dependent upon the benefits selected within the plan, the premiums can be quite competitive. However, care has to be taken to ensure where a restricted selection of benefits are taken, the cover could be obtained elsewhere at a lower rate on an individual basis." Moving ...

  • Select plan from Friends Provident

    8 May 2001

    Mitchell says: "The plan is unusual in so far as only one application form is needed, but the policies themselves are separate legal entities. This does give greater flexibility. There is a wide range of choice as to the types of cover provided, ie level, decreasing or increasing and the vast majority of clients needs should therefore be addressed by this contract." Crossan says a good feature is: "The ability to arrange levels of cover within the menu system without reference ...

  • Select plan from Friends Provident

    8 May 2001

    Tuesday, 8 May 2001. Friends Provident Select Protection Plan Type: Cafeteria style protection plan covering critical illness, income protection, life and houseperson's cover. CRITICAL ILLNESS Minimum premium: £7.50 a month, £75 a year. Maximum cover: £1m. Illnesses covered: Alzheimer's disease/pre-senile dementia before age 65, angioplasty, aorta graft surgery, bacterial meningitis, benign brain tumour, blindness, ...

  • Sites for sore IFAs

    3 May 2001

    Technology is a wonderful thing. It is now available to help IFAs - and their customers - at every stage of the sales chain from promotion, research and needs analysis, through transaction to client servicing. If all this is integrated, IFAs can benefit from significant efficiencies, enabling them to devote more time to their clients and their business. Sounds great, doesn't it? But, understandably, IFAs are looking beyond the glossy web sites and software. They put a high priority ...

  • Skandia - Multipension Personal Pension - Individual

    2 May 2001

    Wednesday, 2 May 2001. Type: Individual personal pension. Minimum premium: Monthly £100, single £2,500. Minimum-maximum ages: From birth-74. Fund links: 222 funds from Aberdeen Asset Management, ABN AMRO, Alliance Capital Management, Baring Asset Management, Baring, Houston & Saunders, BlackRock International, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management, Dresdner RCM, Fidelity Investments, Foreign & Colonial, Framlington, ...

  • SLFoC appoints Hanby as managing director of UK insurance operations

    3 May 2001

    Sun Life Financial of Canada is appointing Peter Hanby as managing director of its UK insurance operation. Steve Melcher, the previous managing director, will become non-executive chairman. Hanby, was formerly finance director. He qualified as an accountant in 1973 and held positions with Unigate, Granada and the Prudential. 

  • Small firms facing business dilemma

    3 May 2001

    How does a small, specialist IFA firm respond to the challenges created by the introduction of stakeholder? At Informed Choice, we have identified the following issues as the challenges that need to be addressed. Should we attempt to become a major player in the stakeholder market and what impact will that have on our business goals? Can we grow our business by participating in the stakeholder market and continue to deliver the level of service we currently offer to customers ...

  • SocGen arm setting up income fund

    2 May 2001

    Dublin based Societe Generale subsidiary Inora Life is launching a new dynamic income fund in its Offshore Generation Bond series. The fund with a minimum investment of £6,000 launches on June 11 and closes on July 20 will be distributed solely by IFAs. Inora Life says the fund is linked to stocks carefully selected to provide potential for the best possible performance in all market conditions, including BP Amoco, Nestle and Glaxo Smith Klein. 

  • Sow the seeds for a trip to the Big Apple

    3 May 2001

    This week's issue of Money Marketing offers readers the chance to win either a four-day trip to New York or a £10,000 garden makeover. Mortgage introducer Mortgage Next is celebrating its fifth anniversary by offering readers the chance of a holiday for two in the Big Apple. The winner will enjoy a four-night stay in a five-star hotel in the centre of the city. Entrants must correctly answer four questions about Mortgage Next. Turn to page 26. Merrill Lynch, sponsor of ...

  • SSAS firm moves into Sipp sector

    3 May 2001

    SSAS Pimco Trustees is entering the self-invested personal pension market with a product aimed at the sophisticated end of the market. Pimco believes the Sipp market is splitting into two categories - low-cost, limited-investment products and bespoke, products with higher service levels and wide choice. Features of the Essential Sipp include the trust deed insisting the scheme member is a co-signatory, with the other trustees, of the bank accounts which are held at Bank of Scotland. ...

  • Stakeholder set to backfire and miss its target

    3 May 2001

    An FSA report published last week under the auspices of the FSA says stakeholder will drive advice and competition out of the market, marginalising the very audience for which it was designed. It seems that, before the industry can even cry: "We told you so," stakeholder is likely to backfire against its primary objective of increasing pension cover. But the FSA was very careful in tucking away a disclaimer within the report, stating that its findings on the impact of stakeholder ...

  • Standard Life widens pension investment choice

    2 May 2001

    Standard Life is broadening the investment choice on its personal pensions.

  • The White Stuff

    3 May 2001

    Last year, I commented on a leading case affecting financial settlements in divorces - White v White. At the time I noted that the implications of the judgement from the House of Lords threatened to change the complexion of these divorce settlements completely. However, I warned that the courts might, especially where the couple's assets were not as great as those in the White case, continue to award the spouse with the lower level of assets and/or income only enough of the other ...

  • The worth of times

    3 May 2001

    EN writes: A financial planner who works in my firm is technically excellent (he has full AFPC). He works very hard but overcomplicates matters with clients and is disorganised. He also seems unable to motivate clients and, therefore, to produce an acceptable level of income (fees and commission) for himself and the firm. I have spent a considerable amount of time with him to no avail. What do you suggest? I suspect that the person sees his area of excellence as knowledge. The ...

  • Threadneedle Pensions - Cautious Pathway

    2 May 2001

    Wednesday, 2 May 2001.Type: Pooled pension fund.Aim: Growth by investing in bonds and equities.Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000.Investment split: Property 4 per cent, overseas equities 25 per cent, UK equity 25 per cent, overseas bonds 16 per cent, UK bonds 30 per cent.Charges: Annual 0.35-0.85 per cent.Commission: None.Tel: 020 7464 5691. 

  • UCB aims to boost identity with Nationwide name

    3 May 2001

    Specialist lender UCB Home Loans is launching a new corporate identity to reflect the image of its parent, Nationwide, from June 1. UCB, which specialises in self-certification mortgages, says its current look does not capitalise on the familiar and trusted Nationwide name. It believes its image, created following its acquisition by Nationwide five years ago, is dated and tired. UCB decided on the rebranding following research among customers, intermediaries and staff which ...

  • US multi-manager SEI opening with Fof trio

    3 May 2001

    US multi-manager giant SEI Investments is to begin its assault on the IFA market in July with the launch of three UK-based funds of funds. The SEI growth, balanced and income unit trusts will invest in a range of actively managed funds from managers across the globe, including smaller UK houses such as SG Asset Management and Liontrust, through two Dublin-based Oeic funds of funds. SEI is currently waiting for regulatory approval of its two Dublin-based Oeics, which will hold its ...

  • Verity's View

    3 May 2001

    Given the zeal with which politicians love to bash the financial services industry, last week's announcement on Baby Bonds carried a touch of irony. Here were Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, David Blunkett gathered to say how they planned to end child poverty within a generation. Turns out they are handing over this Herculean task to those who on another day would be panned by politicians as the worst of the profiteers, enemies of the public interest, predators preying ...

  • Virgin Direct pension sales up

    8 May 2001

    Virgin Direct pension sales for April were up 152 per cent on the same period last year. Nearly 10 per cent of its stakeholder sales were for children and 31 per cent were taken out by savers in their 20s. A fifth of sales came through the internet and the average direct debit contribution in to a stakeholder was £118. 

  • Voyage of the star ship Enterprise

    3 May 2001

    And so on this voyage of discovery through the wonderful world of share option schemes we arrive at the most recently discovered island in the archipelago - the Enterprise Management Incentives scheme. That some of you may be confused by the range of share option schemes on offer is hardly surprising. This latest version looks set to take over from the approved share option schemes that we have known (and maybe even loved) to date. The EMI scheme has certain similarities to an ...

  • Website for gays teams up with MSN

    3 May 2001

    The website says the gay market is one of the most lucrative in the country and estimates it is worth £95bn. It says the average £30,000 earnings for gay men and women is significantly higher than the national average of £19,000. Average disposable income in the gay population is higher, as is ownership of pension plans and shares. The website has also found that gay and lesbian e-commerce activity outstrips non-gay web use. It believes that financial services companies ...

  • Why won't they pay out this permanent claim?

    3 May 2001

    I want to tell you about a client of mine of some 18 years. My client saved regularly and strived to better his standard of living and look after his family. He had worked as a full-time employee with an exemplary attendance record since leaving school and also ran his own self-employed business with the help of his family. He suffered a bad injury in 1994 due to a car accident and has not worked since. He has spinal injuries and psychological problems that suggest he will not ...

  • Woolwich retraining hundreds of tied advisers to become IFAs

    3 May 2001

    The Woolwich is retraining hundreds of its tied advisers as IFAs in a move which will create one of the biggest independent salesforces in the UK. As part of a restructuring process to bring all regulated sales under its existing IFA service Wifas, Woolwich is retraining a large proportion of its nearly 800-strong direct salesforce as IFAs to enable them to sell a wider range of investment and life products. The move will more than double to 480 the number of IFAs providing face-to-face ...

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