Money Marketing
20 June 2001

  • 'Davies overstepped mark on Equitable'

    21 Jun 2001

    FSA chairman Sir Howard Davies has come under fire from IFAs who are critical of his decision to advise Equit-able Life policyholders to accept the compromise deal on offer. Davies stands by remarks reported in the press last week when he said guaranteed ann-uity rate policyholders should accept the offer of compensation from Halifax in exch-ange for their guarantees. He said that there was no reason to think Equitable investors would do worse than other investors if the liabilities ...

  • 'End MVA discretion in contract'

    21 Jun 2001

    Life office discretion over the implementation of market value adjusters on with-profits policies should be abolished, said leading IFA and FSA Small Practitioners Panel joint chairman Roger Sanders. Speaking at the FSA's with-profits open meeting this week, Sanders said providers should be forced to state their policy on MVAs in the form of a contractual statement. He said IFAs, who were accused of commission bias in the meeting, want clear bonus policy statements, asset class ...

  • A Consumer's View

    21 Jun 2001

    As the economy slows, new business drops off and profit margins are squeezed by the 1 per cent stakeholder regime, financial services companies would do well to heed a warning from FSA chairman Howard Davies. Somewhat late in the day, the FSA is getting tough with institutions over their poor administration. "Of course, costs must be cut when business volumes fall but we warn firms now that over-pruning back offices could be a dangerous course of action to take. Firms must resource, ...

  • A whole new ball game for sponsorship

    21 Jun 2001

    Lincoln Unit Trust Managers is cock-a-hoop over lending its name to the prestigious World Croquet Championships. While rival investment houses Aberdeen and Leggmason make do with endorsing piffling sideshows such as the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and Jordan Formula 1 team, Lincoln has put them in the shade by sponsoring highly tuned sportspeople clumping balls through metal hoops. But wait. Imagine the Diary's excitement to discover the British team boasts the reigning individual ...

  • ABI guides on execution-only pension transfers

    21 Jun 2001

    The ABI has issued its members guidance to ease their fears of stakeholder misselling allegations over execution-only pension transfers. The issue surrounds regulations which force providers to accept transfers from all other pension arrangements. This is particularly a problem for transfers from defined-benefit occupational schemes as it is unli-kely to be in the member's best interest to transfer into a money-purchase scheme. But members may not be alerted to this hazard unless ...

  • Actuaries press radical alternative to annuities

    21 Jun 2001

    A report by a Faculty and Institute of Actuaries working party is urging the Govern-ment to consider its radical proposals to revamp the current pension annuity rules. In a paper published this week, the retirement choices working party unveils details of its personal distribution plan, which would be a guaranteed retirement income vehicle, doing away with compulsory annuity purchase. The plan would require a change in legislation to allow retirement funds to be inves-ted and drawn ...

  • AITC 'its' ads are axed as firms vote for shift to PR

    21 Jun 2001

    The plug has been pulled on the controversial "its" campaign after AITC members voted to end funding for gen-eric TV, newspaper and poster advertising. Two-thirds of the association's 300 member companies voted, with 60 per cent against further spending on generic advertising. But 84 per cent supported an increased contribution of half a basis point of funds under management for a programme of PR initiatives. The AITC will concentrate on developing the IFA market through ...

  • AMP buys Towry Law

    26 Jun 2001

    Australian insurance giant has announced its offer to buy national IFA Towry Law.

  • AMP launches online investment site

    20 Jun 2001

    AMP is launching a new online investment service, targeting consumers in the 45 to 65 age range.

  • Aon Consulting appoints pensions expert

    22 Jun 2001

    Aon Consulting has appointed Ian Bell as head of third party pensions administration at its Birmingham office.

  • Are investors dazzled by stars in their eyes?

    21 Jun 2001

    At first glance, Nicola Horlick's criticism last week of the star fund manager culture would appear to make no more sense than Big Brother's Nasty Nick disputing the power of television to deliver instant fame. Horlick is probably the UK's highest-profile star fund manager, being one of the few who can be regarded as a household name. A quick search of the British press finds 1,552 mentions of her name over the past five years - almost 1,000 more than Merrill Lynch's ...

  • Axa and NU slated on admin backlogs

    21 Jun 2001

    Bunglebusters this week comes courtesy of Axa Sun Life and Norwich Union. Both companies have come under fire from IFAs for problems over back-office personal pension admin. IFA Hartley Greatbatch & Co principal Keith Lewis says both Axa and NU have been sending out policies in the wrong name and with the wrong details and taking up to seven weeks to process single premium top-up documents. Axa says the admin bottleneck has been created by the introduction of stakeholder, the ...

  • Baby bond boomers

    21 Jun 2001

    "Give me a child of seven and you have the man for life." So said the Jesuits. And it is to this logic that the Labour Government is appealing with its proposal for a child trust fund. Those looking for clues to understand how the Govern-ment views financial services and possible future policy direction should be looking at the document in which this was set out, believes Aifa director general Paul Smee. Last time round, the big ideas were the establishment of a unified regulator ...

  • Bacon & Woodrow to appoint Government stakeholder providers

    20 Jun 2001

    The Civil Service and NHS have both appointed Bacon & Woodrow to manage the selection of their stakeholder and AVC providers, which together will affect nearly 2m employees.

  • BCAM trots out with the PIG

    25 Jun 2001

    BC Asset Management has introduced the property income and growth fund, a split capital investment trust that invests in commercial property.

  • Bestinvest hooks up with TrustNet

    20 Jun 2001

    Bestinvest is appointing TrustNet to provide data for its online fund profiles to its more than 50,000 private investors.

  • BFS starts to look at propertied split caps

    26 Jun 2001

    Split-capital funds specialist BFS Investments is getting into the property market for the first time with the introduction of the BFS managed properties fund.

  • Borrowers claim brokers fail to disclose charges

    21 Jun 2001

    Most mortgage borrowers believe they are being kept in the dark by lenders and intermediaries when taking out a homeloan, according to Loans.co.UK. In a survey of 1,100 borrowers, the intermediary website found most new borrowers believe brokers and lenders do not tell them about charges and penalties to avoid deterring them from taking out a mortgage. The most common complaints were brokers failing to disclose the amount of commission they receive from a lender and the redemption ...

  • Bowes top on national press quotes

    21 Jun 2001

    Chase de Vere spokeswoman Anna Bowes is the most quoted pundit in the national press, according to the PressWatch financial analysis for May. The monthly monitoring of financial national media coverage found Bowes was quoted almost twice as much as any other IFA last month. The report says: "She continues to make personal financial advice a readable and entertaining subject." The analysis identified Bowes' take on stakeholder as a good investment for children as a key factor ...

  • Bright quits early as CII president

    21 Jun 2001

    Founder and former chief executive of the floundering Independent Insurance company Michael Bright has stepped down as president of the Chartered Insur-ance Institute. Bright, who earned £650,000 last year at Independent, was intended to keep the presidency until September but gave it up early after resigning from Independent Insurance. Independent's main business is insuring professional property and employers' liability Pricewaterhousecoopers has been appointed as ...

  • Britannia slashes SVR

    20 Jun 2001

    Britannia Building Society is slashing mortgage rates twice next month in a bid to retain existing borrowers.

  • Change in global trends

    21 Jun 2001

    Investors should focus on all elements of risk and return in making investment decisions and not be swayed purely by country or sector factors, according to Schroders. The fund manager claims the recent re-emergence of country-specific factors in influencing risk and return predictions is making it essential for investors to take all potential impact factors into account when making investment choices. It says UK stocks are beginning to take significantly different courses after ...

  • Chelsea Building Society - 1 Year Fixed Rate Bond (17th Issue)

    25 Jun 2001

    Monday, 25 June 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-£500,000.Interest rates: 5.75 per cent gross a year, 5.6 per cent gross a month.Term: Until November 1, 2002.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: 60 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawn until November 2, 2002.Tel: 08702 404808. 

  • Chelsea Building Society - 2 Year Fixed Rate Bond (9th Issue)

    26 Jun 2001

    Tuesday, 26 June 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-£500,000.Interest rates: 6 per cent gross a year, 5.84 per cent gross a month. Term: Until November 1, 2003.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: 60 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawn until November 2, 2003.Tel: 08702 404808. 

  • Close launches first FTSE4Good fund

    25 Jun 2001

    Close Fund Managers has announced it is launching the first FTSE4Good UK fund on July 10 that will be listed on the new ethical index going live on July 31.The fund manager has been closely involved with the design of the index , which will only list ethical companies that meet socially responsible investment criteria.Close is offering a 1 per cent discount on the set-up charge on the fund from its launch until the initial offer period expires on July 30.

  • Competition law reforms 'have lead to less choice'

    21 Jun 2001

    IFAs have accused the Gov-ernment of operating double standards over its plans to modernise competition laws. Advisers claim that instead of creating competition, the Government's reforms of the financial services sector have lead to consolidation and less consumer choice. They point to how the introduction of stakeholder has led to the merger or acquisition of sma-ller life offices and IFA firms. According to proposals set out by Chancellor Gordon Brown this week, there will ...

  • Consumers' Association director awarded Queen's honour

    21 Jun 2001

    Director of the Consumers' Association Sheila McKechnie has been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours. McKechnie already holds an OBE, the most recent announcement upgrades her honour to a DBE.Also included in the Birthday Honours were former head of home financial services at the Treasury Paula Diggle and Scottish Widows chief executive Mike Ross. Both were awarded an OBE.

  • Davy set to net £6.6m

    21 Jun 2001

    DBS chairman Ken Davy stands to net an estimated £6.6m if the offer from Misys to buy the network he founded in 1983 goes ahead. Davy, who as principal shareholder owns 8.88 per cent of DBS shares, has been looking for a buyer for the business for some time. DBS's share price more than doubled on the news of the takeover but Misys' share price fell by nearly 5 per cent. Misys will pay 150p for each DBS share, more than double the 73p they were trading at before the ...

  • Discount life insurance for vegetarians

    21 Jun 2001

    Vegetarians are to be rewarded for their healthier lifestyle with discount life insurance rates from Animal Friends Insurance, the not-for-profit insurance agency.

  • Endowment complaints rocket 300 per cent

    26 Jun 2001

    Complaints over mortgage endowments rocketed 300 per cent in the year to this March, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

  • Financially excluded plea for basic advice

    21 Jun 2001

    The financially excluded want more advice and education on financial services, according to research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The report, called Tackling financial exclusion, carried out by researchers at Bristol University, found a high level of distrust of financial services firms. However, those asked said they liked the Post Office's Universal Banking proposals and, even though they wanted to save, they said they were uninterested in pensions and ...

  • Free float sees Japan market cap in free fall

    21 Jun 2001

    Passively managed funds should now reflect the indices that they track more accurately after the FTSE switched to free float last week. Free float requires fund firms to cut investments in companies with high proportions of shares unavailable for trading. Tracker managers now only have to buy shares in proportion to the number of shares that are tradable, meaning prices are not forced up by traders chasing £1.4 trillion of FTSE index shares. Fund managers say this removes ...

  • Freedom message behind ABN ads Unum backs disabled

    21 Jun 2001

    ABN Amro is running an ad campaign to publicise its Pep transfer facility and high- light its involvement in the UK equity market. The campaign, designed by ad agency Radiate Design, starts this month in the financial trade and consumer press and will initially run until the end of August. ABN says the aim is to illustrate the flexibility and freedom of Peps. The focus is on single-company Peps which can now be transferred into unit trusts. A TV ad shows stocks used ...

  • FSA is looking for a new recipe for PI

    21 Jun 2001

    The FSA's willingness to reconsider mandatory professional indemnity insurance has taken the industry by surprise. While many IFAs have welcomed this is as a pleasant surprise, lawyers and insurance brokers are horrified that PI could be scrapped. The proposals are set out in the FSA's consultation paper on its new Integrated Prudential Sourcebook. It acknowledges it is primarily IFAs who are affected by the obligation to take out PI. The paper sets out both sides of ...

  • FSA releases compliance training for IFAs

    26 Jun 2001

    The FSA has released a CD training programme for IFAs aimed at improving understanding of compliance issues amongst intermediaries.

  • Fund firms' ad spend rockets

    21 Jun 2001

    The advertising spend of some of the UK's biggest fund firms leapt by up to 184 per cent during this year's Isa season compared with last year despite depressed Isa sales. The statistics are based on advertising rate card costs and give an approximate guide to total advertising spend, not just Isa advertising, although the figures do not take special deals into account. Figures from advertising monitoring service MMS Medialog show overall expenditure by fund companies in ...

  • Gartmore looks for stability

    21 Jun 2001

    Gartmore’s stable growth fund is a unit trust aimed at investors who are looking for a low-risk investment. It has been designed for growth by investing in zero dividend preference shares from split capital investment trusts.

  • Gartmore's Prvulovich zeros in on stable growth fund

    21 Jun 2001

    Gartmore is calling on the skills of star manager Richard Prvulovich for the launch of a new fund of zeros. The stable growth fund is set for launch on July 11 and will invest in the zero-dividend preference shares of multi-share class closed-end investment trusts, such as split-caps. The fund aims to provide long-term capital growth. It will have a gross redemption yield of 8.4 per cent. Initial charge is 1.59 per cent and annual 1.5 per cent. There is an exit charge of 1.5 ...

  • GE buys National Mutual

    22 Jun 2001

    American giant GE is buying National Mutual, after the pension specialist said it was reviewing its mutual status in March. Details of the terms of the deal are yet to be made public. 

  • Get a line on benefits of sales hubs

    21 Jun 2001

    IFAs will not want to get left behind in the scramble for web presence, according to IFA web service provider My Money Adviser. The new company is touring the country advising IFAs of the benefits of its e-commerce sales hub service. Sales hubs are websites delivered in the IFA's brand, which allow clients to transact business as well as access a broad range of information. The company says big and small IFAs are looking to show their clients more than just an online brochure. The ...

  • Global Warming

    21 Jun 2001

    Britannic Asset Management has added the global financial services fund to its stable of sector funds. The panel compare it with two existing global financial funds which aim for capital growth - Hill Samuel's financial trust fund and Fram-lington's financial fund. Discussing the market suitability of the Britannic fund compared with the Hill Samuel and Framlington funds, Hall says: "The Britannic fund will compare well with the other two funds where investors perceive that the ...

  • Govett trust votes against liquidation

    25 Jun 2001

    Govett Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust shareholders today voted to rebut a move from Charlemagne Capital, formerly Regent Europe Asset Management, to liquidate the trust.

  • Half of UK companies looking at share schemes

    21 Jun 2001

    More than half of the UK's largest companies are considering offering employees the opportunity to buy shares in the firm according to research from consultancy Watson Wyatt.

  • Halifax and BoS decision delayed for three weeks

    26 Jun 2001

    Halifax and the Bank of Scotland will have to wait another three weeks until they learn if they will be allowed to merge.

  • Has new review chief Sandler already come to a conclusion?

    21 Jun 2001

    The man selected to head the Treasury's "son of Myners" review into the retail financial services industry appears to have prejudged the outcome of his inquiry despite only being appointed this week. Ron Sandler, chairman of City stockbroking firm Kyte and previously NatWest chief operating officer and Lloyd's of London chief executive, is to look at the entire retail financial services sector, including the role played by IFAs. His appointment follows Gartmore chairman Paul ...

  • Healthy profit made from changing rules

    21 Jun 2001

    I have recently become a directly registered fee-only financial planner, having spent 10 years as a tied agent and 11 years as an IFA in a big network. I now have an increased responsibility to ensure I main-tain an up to date knowledge of FSA requirements such as T&C, previously advised to me by my network. I have been struck by a surprising similarity. When I first joined Imperial Life of Canada in 1980, I was taught to meet with the client, conduct a fact-find, (yes, ...

  • High cost in high street if the Nationwide demutualised

    21 Jun 2001

    If Nationwide Building Society were to demutualise, UK borrowers and savers would pay over £30bn more in higher mortgage rates and lost interest over the next 10 years, warns the Consumers' Association. The claim comes after the CA analysed research of the last five years which examined the potential impact of the remaining building societies converting to banks. The CA claims a Nationwide conversion would seriously undermine competition on the high street by removing ...

  • IFA finds 24p fee hard to stomach

    21 Jun 2001

    Being an IFA in these crazy times of 1 per cent charges and low commission rates is proving a little too much for some of our boys on the front line. Roberts Clark director Ashley Clark was looking forward to banking a stakeholder fund-based commission cheque for 24p. But he was nearly pushed over the edge to find he would be charged 25p to bank it. But he would not be beaten. He would not starve. Unfortunately, by the time he remembered he can claim business expenses ...

  • Independent view

    21 Jun 2001

    A recent Treasury discussion document asked for views on the subject of Catmarking of advice. You may have read the document. Assuming you had the time and inclination, you may have even responded to the document. Of course, many potential respondents may have doubted the point of making a response. After all, responses to such discussion documents are ignored by the Government, aren't they? Regardless, it is probably the case that most IFAs would be somewhat taken aback by ...

  • Inside EDGE ANNE MCMEEHAN

    21 Jun 2001

    It does not take a genius to recognise that if you want something that is absolutely right for you and you are looking for value for money, it makes sense to shop around. The problem is, though, that the process of shopping around is seldom an appealing experience. Boring is the word that springs to mind. Of course, you will find techies of all ages loitering for hours in shops in Tottenham Court Road keenly scrutinising the latest bit of kit from Silicon Valley. There ...

  • Intelligent thing would be to change system

    21 Jun 2001

    I feel I have to write in and get a few things off my chest regarding the Intelligent Finance product. The IF product is inno-vative, competitive and, yes, intelligent. It is, I believe, the future of banking products. But why on earth can't we recommend a client to IF with basic information and then let IF and the client get together and complete the remaining details such as bank sort codes, etc? IF tells me there is a security reason along with consumer credit reasons. ...

  • Investment view

    21 Jun 2001

    Last week saw one long-standing leader toppled and replaced by what many view as an upstart. No political infighting this but rather the emergence of the corporate bond market as the dominant force in the fixed-interest arena in this country. UK Government bonds have been overtaken in value by corporate and other non-Government bonds for the first time since the Second World War. What is more the gap - pres-ently minuscule - is expected to widen. In part, this is due to the British ...

  • Ipswich fixes interest in fixed rates

    20 Jun 2001

    Ipswich Building Society has introduced a three year fixed rate mortgage that is available for loans of up to 95 per cent of valuation. The mortgage is fixed at 5.99 per cent until October 31, 2004 and has an arrangement fee of £295. Borrowers who redeem during the fixed rate period must pay 2.5 per cent of the original advance. The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that fewer borrowers are choosing fixed rate mortgages. In May 2001, fixed rate ...

  • Is the Government putting the cartel before the horse?

    21 Jun 2001

    The 'son' of Myners has been revealed as Mr Ron Sandler, a Lloyd's of London man, presumably to the relief of the Gartmore chairman who can now concentrate on fund management. Money Marketing remains unconvinced of a need for a review, given the overlap with several FSA initiatives. But the appointment of a neutral is good news. But we would offer some advice. First, companies often consider what change would help their business and then make this change "coincide" with ...

  • Jim Roberts

    21 Jun 2001

    A self-confessed "enlightened socialist", Skandia director of investments Jim Roberts is ready to attack some of the FSA's stances with vigour. The Liverpudlian is currently leading a protest against the regulator's position that past performance is no guide to the future. At Skandia's Pathfinder conference last week, Roberts announced the life office will be writing to the FSA with evidence to the contrary. After his views were reported in Money Marketing, Roberts was ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    21 Jun 2001

    In today's volatile stockmarkets, it is often easier to forecast which shares are likely to go down rather than those which are likely to go up. But how do investors take advantage of this? The answer is to invest in a long, short fund. One which has been drawn to my attention by a top IFA is Elysian, managed by Paul Hopkins who has had over 20 years experience in this field. He was previously head of European portfolios and director of global equities at Bankers Trust and head ...

  • Lambeth looks to three-year discount

    25 Jun 2001

    Lambeth Building Society is going for the discount market with the introduction of the three-year discount mortgage.

  • Leeds & Holbeck - Two Year Mini Cash Isa

    26 Jun 2001

    Tuesday, 26 June 2001.Type: Mini cash Isa.Minimum investment: £1.Maximum investment: £3,000.Catmarked: No.Interest rate: 6 per cent.Charges: None.Commission: None.Tel: 0121 643 6741. 

  • Lipper launches new fund rating service

    20 Jun 2001

    Fund research specialist Lipper has launched a new funds rating system, Lipper Leaders, that will list funds who perform distinctly superior compared to their peers. All funds tracked by Lipper are given a rating of one through five. Those funds that receive a one either for consistent returns or preservation of capital will be designated a Lipper Leader.The new rating system will be available to IFAs as a marketing tool and directly to investors at lipperleaders.com.

  • Lipper launches new fund-scoring service

    21 Jun 2001

    Fund research specialists Lipper is offering a new fund- scoring service which rates funds in terms of consistent performance and capital preservation. The Lipper Leaders ratings will be published every month with a list of the top-rated funds available on a new website at www.lipperleaders.com. Funds will get scores of between one and five in each performance category, with one being the best and five the worst. The consistent return scores are based on how much excess return ...

  • M&G sees demutual trend

    21 Jun 2001

    M&G predicts that demutualisation will become a global trend, propelling thousands of investors into the equity market for the first time. The claim follows the ongoing demutualisations of Friends Provident and National Mutual in the UK and US life insurer Phoenix, which floated for $1.65bn (£1.17bn) this week. M&G says in recent years demutualisations such as Halifax and Woolwich gave investors their first foot in equities. M&G believes that the quoted status of demutualised ...

  • Major multi-tie could emerge if polarisation gets scrapped

    21 Jun 2001

    The Misys/DBS deal could lead to the creation of a major multi-tie operation, with the heads of both businesses keeping their options open until the regulator decides the future of polarisation. Both businesses indicated they would consider offering members the option to multi-tie. But IFAs believe providers will be very concerned about Misys' growing influence on distribution, given its reputation for driving a hard bargain, whether it multi-ties or not. Providers believe ...

  • Make with-profits more transparent

    21 Jun 2001

    With-profits contracts are generally long term in nature. Over the term of the contract, policyholders are generally unaware of charges (implicit), investment performance (undisclosed), smoothing impact, incidence of market value adjusters and other factors which might affect bonus (for example, profit-sharing from other business sources). A policyholder who takes out a 25-year with-profits endowment takes a lot on trust. It is surely not unreasonable that advisers can be informed ...

  • McDonald's chooses Invesco for stakeholder

    25 Jun 2001

    Invesco has been appointed as stakeholder pension provider by McDonalds Restaurants.

  • Millfield turnover and IFAs leap

    21 Jun 2001

    National IFA Millfield Group made an operating loss of £360,000 over the past year while turnover rose to £11m from £6.6m in the previous year. The firm spent £3.4m in admin expenditure supporting its expansion programme, including investment in offices, infrastructure and recruitment, up from £2.1m in 20000. Millfield which floated on the Alternative Investment Market in March, has increased its number of IFAs by 23 per cent to 107 from 87 last year ...

  • Misys announces purchase of US healthcare business

    25 Jun 2001

    Misys has continued its shopping spree with the announcement it is purchasing Sunquest, the US healthcare systems business for £279m.

  • Misys deal could face probe over competition

    21 Jun 2001

    The Misys deal may face investigation by the competition authorities depen-ding on how the Office of Fair Trading defines market share. Misys is referring the DBS deal to the OFT this week and is confident it will pass the competition regulations. But investigations by the OFT and possible further action will depend on how the OFT defines what constitutes a 25 per cent IFA market share. Misys says it has only 13 per cent of the value of the IFA market based on productivity but ...

  • Misys goes mega in DBS deal

    21 Jun 2001

    Misys is creating a "meganetwork" with 7,250 registered IFAs and 3,700 member firms after snapping up rival DBS Management in a deal valued at £75m. The Misys offer of 150p a share, a 105 per cent premium on DBS's closing share price of 73p on Monday this week, has been accepted by DBS chairman Ken Davy and the other five directors, who in total hold 9.2 per cent of the current issued share capital. Misys says it has already received support from 40 per cent of shareholders. DBS ...

  • Misys IFA services appoints research head

    21 Jun 2001

    Misys IFA Services is appointing Ian Costain as head of research, with responsibilities extending to the Countryside Asset Management arm.Costain, a qualified actuary, was formerly with NatWest Life and Royal Bank of Scotland where he led their stakeholder pension launch.Misys IFA Services Rick Francis says: "This appointment underpins the commitment of Misys IFA services to ensure the highest quality of support services for its network membership."

  • Misys IFA Services launches interactive mortgage website

    21 Jun 2001

    Misys IFA Services has added a new interactive website to its Mortgage Connections loans service, which gives members access to information on lenders and products.

  • Mortgage Board mauls FSA red tape plan

    21 Jun 2001

    The FSA has been slammed by the Mortgage Code Compliance Board for issuing draft rules on mortgage regulation which could swamp borrowers with unnecessary product information. MCCB chief executive Luke March claims FSA proposals outlined in a consultation document last week are likely to leave borrowers in the dark about the terms and conditions of their mortgage. His comments come as he reiterated his fears that FSA rules forcing lenders to monitor the information given to borrowers ...

  • Multi-managers on the menu

    21 Jun 2001

    Most life offices which are serious about distributing pension products through IFAs now offer funds managed by outside investment houses as well as their own. It is almost a case of having to. Their competitors offer this facility and IFAs expect them to offer it too. The offerings typically consist of UK and managed equity funds in the hands of the specialist fund management houses that tend to dominate the retail and institutional investment scenes. This is really an adaptation ...

  • Neutral territory

    21 Jun 2001

    Last week, on a round-trip train journey between London and Leeds, I had to read all 134 pages of the FSA's approach to the regulation of e-commerce. Somewhere around page 50,I found myself looking for a door to jump out of. Unfortunately on the current GNER rolling stock you cannot do this while the train is moving. This is really the first time we have seen any substantial output from the regulator or its predecessors on e-commerce for several years. The FSA has struggled to get ...

  • No fees from Portman

    20 Jun 2001

    Portman Building Society has introduced a two-year discounted rate mortgage that has no arrangement or early redemption fees.A 1 per cent discount is offered until August 1, 2003, giving a payable rate of 5.54 per cent. This mortgage is available for loans of up to 95 per cent of valuation and no mortgage indemnity guarantee is payable for loans of up to 90 per cent of valuation. Borrowers who take out higher loans must pay £8.50 for every £100 they borrow above 90 ...

  • Occupational pensions 'reduce pensioner poverty'

    20 Jun 2001

    Occupational pensions are a major factor in reducing pensioner poverty, according to new research conducted for the National Association of Pension Funds.

  • Occupational pensions in danger warns consultancy

    22 Jun 2001

    Occupational pensions are under threat from proposals outlined in the Chancellor's enterprise shake-up announced last week says employee benefits consultancy Buck Consultants.

  • Outside View Robert Reid

    21 Jun 2001

    Monday mornings are never the best time to attend a provider event but this case was an exception. I, along with many others, attended an excellent session with Skandia, which looked at the future of our sector. It was extremely well arranged and left me with a more positive view going forward. I was delighted to see that Jim Roberts was prepared to take the FSA to task over the past performance issue in the comparative tables which had been put on the "too difficult" pile far ...

  • Passive tense as FTSE floats free

    21 Jun 2001

    Passive fund managers are having to make serious upheavals to index tracker funds after changes to the way the FTSE evaluates companies. From close of trading last Friday, the FTSE will exclude any strategic holdings that normal investors cannot participate in when calculating index weighting. This means cross-holdings from other companies, family-owned or Government-owned shares will no longer be included in the company's value. Only share capital that is freely available for ...

  • Pension Credit Bill in Queen's speech

    20 Jun 2001

    The Pension Credit Bill looks set to make the statute book early this parliament, after being announced in the Queen's speech today.

  • Pensioners guide from Age Concern

    25 Jun 2001

    Age Concern is publishing the 23rd edition of its guide to taxes and investment opportunities specifically designed for pensioners.

  • Playing the yield

    21 Jun 2001

    Savings accounts are no longer an attractive way of generating sufficient income in the current environment of falling interest rates. Investors are turning elsewhere for higher levels of income. For clients looking for a balance of income and growth, many investment managers offer distribution funds. These are generally cautiously managed funds designed to pro-vide income and growth within low-risk parameters. Distribution funds provide income through typically twice-yearly distributions ...

  • Police Mutual appoints chief executive

    25 Jun 2001

    Police Mutual Assurance Society, one of the UK's largest friendly societies with assets over £1bn, is appointing Graham Berville as chief executive, to succeed Peter Sharpe.

  • Portman fixes on two years

    21 Jun 2001

    Portman Building Society has unveiled a two year fixed rate that is available for loans of up to 95 per cent of valuation.

  • Portman adds to fixed rate mortgage market

    25 Jun 2001

    Portman Building Society has brought out the 3.99 per cent fixed rate mortgage.

  • Portman fixes for five for first time buyers

    26 Jun 2001

    Portman Building Society has introduced the 5-year fixed rate mortgage.

  • Practitioner and consumer panels get statutory status

    21 Jun 2001

    The FSA is now required to publish replies to the Financial Services Consumer and Practitioner Panels as both get their full statutory powers this week. A section of the Financial Services and Markets Act which comes into effect this week means it is now the FSA's duty to consult practitioners and consumers and to include them in its accountability framework. Both panels have been working in anticipation of statutory status since their establishment in 1998. The current ...

  • Pressure is mounting on The Exchange to stay independent

    21 Jun 2001

    IFAs and technology experts say it is vital The Exchange stays independent in the face of a combined Assuresoft and m-link operation after the Misys/DBS take-over deal. Assuresoft is thought likely to be the dominant portal in the merger alth-ough Misys says it will combine features from both to create a new site which gives fact-finds, needs analysis, quotations and new business transactions. The Exchange and Syn-aptic Systems are now the two major independent IFA portals. Specific ...

  • Principality adds to its discount options

    20 Jun 2001

    Principality Mortgages has introduced the discount option five mortgage.

  • Product Matters

    21 Jun 2001

    We are seeing a raft of fixed-term stockmarket-linked products. If it is not enough that I have to look at them during the day, I often arrive home to find that another IFA has mailed one of them to me. I won't beat about bush on this - I am not a fan of these products. My concerns stem mainly from the fact that to generate attractive headline income payments, the product developers have had to drop the investment timeframe down to around three years and two months. Generally, ...

  • Profitability paramount as life offices squeezed

    21 Jun 2001

    Profitability is more than ever the number one issue for UK insurance companies as the market becomes fiercer, according to a report into the insurance industry. Threats from overseas insurers and the squeeze on pension profits following stakeholder, means life offices will have to cut back on operating costs to survive, according to the report entitled, Insurance Companies, by market researcher Key Note. The report anticipates fewer and bigger players as companies merge and take ...

  • Proposals to meet FSA's PI objectives

    21 Jun 2001

    The story in Money Marketing last week, headlined, FSA looks at scrapping PI, may have given your readers a misleading impression of our intentions. As CP 97 made clear, the FSA is proposing in the Integrated Prudential Source-book that PI would be manda-tory for financial advice firms with capital resources below £50m. PI provides protection for investors by increasing the funds available to meet investor claims in the event of problems arising within a firm. This helps ...

  • R&SA keeps More Than brand away from IFA channel

    21 Jun 2001

    Royal & Sun Alliance has launched its new direct service with a new brand name, which is aimed at keeping it separate from its intermediary channel. The new More Than brand brings together under one operation RSA's direct offerings across its product range, from healthcare, life and investments to general insurance. Pensions are not currently available but are not being ruled out. R&SA says its intermediary channel will not be affected by More Than and will now operate as a ...

  • Rathbone extends Pep transfer discount period

    22 Jun 2001

    Rathbone Unit Trust Management is extending its discount offer period on Pep transfers until July 31, 2001.

  • Royal London chosen by JJB for stakeholder

    26 Jun 2001

    Sports retailer JJB Sports has chosen Royal London as stakeholder provider to its 11,000 employees across the UK.

  • Scarborough profits down

    20 Jun 2001

    Scarborough Building Society's profits fell 11 per cent to £4.7m for the year to April 2001, from £5.3m the previous year.The fall comes as Scarborough increased its total assets by 10 per cent to £1.2bn from £1.1bn over the same period.Scarborough chief executive John Carrier says: "Our objective is to provide long term value and we have returned real financial benefits worth £6.4m to our members over the past three years."

  • Scot Prov International moves into Saudi market

    26 Jun 2001

    Scottish Provident International Life Assurance is to enter the Saudi Arabian market after signing a deal with Saudi Hollandi Bank.

  • Scottish Widows waives windfall

    21 Jun 2001

    Scottish Widows will not continue to chase customers for reimbursement of the excess windfalls paid out following its takeover by Lloyds TSB last year.The life office had contacted around 200 policyholders demanding they pay back the additional money it accidentally paid to them at the time of the takeover.It now says it will no longer seek to reclaim the excess windfalls from policyholders who received them in error or where there has been undue delay in contacting them.

  • Share and share alike

    21 Jun 2001

    Having looked at unapproved and approved share option schemes over the past few weeks, including the relatively new Enterprise Management Incentives scheme, I would like to turn my attention to non-option share schemes. The main example of these until April 6, 2001 was the approved profit-sharing scheme. Profit-sharing schemes have been permitted since 1978. However, following the introduction of the all-employee share ownership plan, no new schemes have received Inland Revenue ...

  • Skandia aspots bottom-up style

    21 Jun 2001

    Giddy with confidence after recently securing its exclusive deal with New Star, Skandia clearly now has no fear. Speaking at the Skandia Pathfinder conference last week, Skandia director of investments Jim Roberts systematically ripped apart the FSA's arguments over past performance in front of 1,500 IFAs, before premiering its latest piece of artwork showing FSA chairman Howard Davies in a dunce's hat. Roberts has since been summoned to Canary Wharf to discuss his presentation ...

  • Skipton launches three year fixed rate bond

    21 Jun 2001

    Skipton Building Society is offering a three year fixed rate bond, paying an interest rate of 5.75 per cent.

  • Smooth move

    21 Jun 2001

    Why are so few life offices offering gua-rantees on their with-profits stakeholder? Birks: Isn't a better question why are so few life offices offering with-profits stakeholder? I can't say for definite. If R&SA were to offer with-profits stakeholder, I think we would offer the same guarantee (that is, money back on normal retirement (+/- one year) if invested for at least 10 years) as for non-stakeholder products. We would need to clarify how, under the latest guidance, ...

  • SocGen Looks to corporate bonds

    25 Jun 2001

    Meadows says: "The fund only pays a quarterly income. Surely if you want to stand out from the crowd you should try and be different. Go on, try monthly, or is SocGen making a fanfare but offering something that is little different from the rest of the market?"

  • SocGen Looks to corporate bonds

    25 Jun 2001

    SOCGEN ASSET MANAGEMENT

  • Speculation grows over Old Mut successor

    26 Jun 2001

    Speculation is growing over the likely replacement of Old Mutual chief executive Mike Levett, with the firm's life insurance chief executive Jim Sutcliffe leading the pack.

  • Stakeholder sales disappoint through lack of marketing

    26 Jun 2001

    Lack of investment in marketing is causing disappointing sales of stakeholder pensions according to research from the Financial Services Forum.

  • Standard Life Bank hooks up with IFonline

    25 Jun 2001

    Standard Life Bank is the latest lender to join the IFonline trading platform, bringing the number of lenders committed to the site to 50.

  • Standard Life European Private Equity Trust

    20 Jun 2001

    Standard LifeType: Investment trust.Aim: Growth by investing in private equity funds which invest in unquoted companies.Minimum investment: £50.Maximum investment: No maximum.Investment split: 100 per cent in private equity funds which invest in unquoted companies.Types of share: Ordinary shares.Isa link: NoPep transfers: No.Redemption date: None.Charges: Annual 0.8 per cent.Commission: None.Tel: ...

  • Success in succession

    21 Jun 2001

    All the statistics say that the stereotypical IFA has an average age of 54. With the new regulatory regime and multi-ties around the corner, the thoughts of many IFAs must be turning to leaving the business and selling up. I have never seen any figures on how well the average IFA plans for their pension but I suspect, like the vast bulk of people, this will nowhere match what they need to live on. The need to bridge the gap is usually plugged by an IFA selling their practice for ...

  • Teather & Greenwood appoints pharms analyst

    25 Jun 2001

    Teather & Greenwood is appointing Stephen Waterman as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology analyst, teaming up with existing analyst Howard Miller.

  • Tep advice packs from Policy Portfolio

    22 Jun 2001

    IFAs advising on traded endowment policies can now lay their hands on a free guide to help them explain the TEP market to their clients. The pack, supplied by Policy Portfolio, offers assistance for advising on surrendering policies and using TEPs as an investment, both earn the adviser commission.

  • The Daley Update

    21 Jun 2001

    Abbey National Asset Managers has strengthened its European equities team with the appointment of three new fund managers. Maureen Hemphill joins from Murray Johnstone and Martin Robertson and Jeremy Hall join from Scottish Life. Scottish Life has also lost fund manager Alan Murray to rival Edin-burgh Fund Managers, where he will be derivatives fund manager. Three of Canada Life's unit trusts - balanced, Japanese growth and highincome - have been awarded A ratings from Standard ...

  • The Mortgage Operation - Mortgage Cover Plan

    26 Jun 2001

    Tuesday, 26 June 2001. Type: Decreasing term assurance. Minimum sum assured/premium: £1,000/£8 a month. Minimum-maximum term: Five years - 45 years. Charges: None. Commission: Initial 135 per cent of first years premium. Tel: 020 7571 3016.  

  • The national wealth service

    21 Jun 2001

    Wealth has a habit of concentrating itself in the hands of the few - and IFAs want those hands to be their own. Targeting the high-net-worth market is seen as an attractive survival strategy for IFAs. Not only IFAs, but the banks have been seeking to bolster profit margins by focusing on the rich too. Wealth management services aimed at the mass affluent have been all the rage but Lloyds TSB's delayed launch of Create suggests the market may be getting overcrowded. But IFAs ...

  • The value of the discount broker

    21 Jun 2001

    Anne McMeehan clearly knows little about the discount side of the industry. In my experience, discount brokers disseminate more information about a more varied range of good investments than any other sector of the industry. Having done that, they happen to offer economies of scale to their clients in the form of discounts but the discount is only the icing on the cake. Whether they are in the mood to buy or not, my clients look forward to my newsletters and frequently ring ...

  • Three new ABI staff for media push

    21 Jun 2001

    The ABI has appointed three new staff to its senior team this week as part of plans to boost its profile in the media and with the Government. Joanne Segars has been appointed head of pensions. She was most recently senior pensions officer at the Trade Union Congress, where she developed the TUC's stakeholder pension. The post also included responsibility for advising the General Council on issues surrounding state and occupational pension policy. The new head of health is Richard ...

  • Untrustworthy individuals

    21 Jun 2001

    Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to identify the perfect individuals to select as trustees of a trust holding investments and/or life insurance products as assets. After pretty much rubbishing the settlor's spouse as a candidate - except where the settlor deludes himself or herself that they are in and likely to remain in a blissfully happy marriage - I started to look at close friends and business colleagues. Before expanding on this, it is perhaps worth looking ...

  • Unum backs disabled

    21 Jun 2001

    Unum is sponsoring a series of 25 guides published by the Employers Forum on Disability. This sponsorship is part of Unum's New Beginning campaign, set up in March to raise the profile of issues affecting disabled employees. The papers give employers advice and guidance on subjects such as adjustments that employers should make to accommodate visually impaired workers, people with mental health problems and other conditions, including diabetes. Unum chairman Lawrence Churchill ...

  • Virgin Direct accuses industry of neglect

    21 Jun 2001

    Virgin Direct is accusing the financial services industry of "institutionalised neglect of the customer", and has called for the ‘son of Myners’ review to recommend legislative change to address the issue.

  • Virginmoney calls for code on aggregation

    21 Jun 2001

    Virginmoney.com is leading calls for a voluntary code on account aggregation amid regulatory concerns that such services may be illegal. The move follows the publication last week of the FSA's discussion paper on the regulation of e-commerce, which warns providers not to sign up to any aggregation service that may see them fall foul of the law. Account aggregation is a service which allows people to combine all their online accounts on one website under one password. The ...

  • Waiter, there's a walrus in my soup

    21 Jun 2001

    It always seems rather sad to me when people who have enjoyed considerable eminence in business, or in politics, try to remain in the limelight by knocking the efforts and initiatives of those who succeed them. This was my reaction to Robert Reid's contribution (Money Marketing, June 7). Robert stumbles back into the arena like some financial services equivalent of John Prescott, with a haymaker to the chin of Paul Smee of Aifa for Advice First (an excellent initiative supported, ...

  • Wentworth Rose teams up with iii

    20 Jun 2001

    IFA Wentworth Rose is teaming up with personal finance website Interactive Investor International with the aim of providing the over 50s with advice on their retirment options.

  • Were the red letters junk mail?

    21 Jun 2001

    Millions of endowment mortgage borrowers have been panicked by letters over the past year or so from their insurance companies. These letters have suggested that growth of their endowments has been slower than forecast at the beginning and the policy was not on target to pay off the mortgage as planned. Some policies have already failed to do their job. So it was perfectly reasonable for the FSA to feel it should do something. In early 2000, the ABI instructed life offices to carry ...

  • West Brom offers cash transfer service

    21 Jun 2001

    Unum is sponsoring a series of 25 guides published by the Employers Forum on Disability. This sponsorship is part of Unum's New Beginning campaign, set up in March to raise the profile of issues affecting disabled employees. The papers give employers advice and guidance on subjects such as adjustments that employers should make to accommodate visually impaired workers, people with mental health problems and other conditions, including diabetes. Unum chairman Lawrence Churchill ...

  • Women are catching men in online banking

    20 Jun 2001

    While men are still more likely to bank online than women, the gap is closing rapidly, according to a Mori poll for Nationwide.

  • Working women in cash fears on care for elderly

    21 Jun 2001

    Eighty-three per cent of working women are concerned about funding care for the elderly, according to a survey by Bupa and magazine Top Sante. The Women and Work Survey 2001 of 5,000 working women also found that almost all working women do not think there is enough information available regarding options for elderly care. The survey says there are seven million informal carers in the UK and that many older people find it difficult to cope and rely on friends and relatives ...

  • Yorkshire looking to long term

    21 Jun 2001

    Our decision to continue the debate on how IFAs are paid for selling mortgages is brought about by a number of issues currently in the public domain. The current market dynamics are fine for borrowers who are shopping around for a new mortgage on a regular basis but most of the current deals leading the market are being paid for by borrowers who do not shop around. The trend is for more and more people to shop around but if everybody does these deals will disappear as they ...

  • Young artists vie for IFAP prize

    21 Jun 2001

    The final of IFA Promotion's children's charity art competition takes place this week between 14 young artists at the Imagination Gallery in London. The winners of the Paintbox Appeal regional heats are set to join up with IFAs, IFAP sponsors and industry figures to see who scoops the first prize which totals £1,800. The winner gets two £400 bonds and £1,000 goes to the winning hospital. The two runners-up will get Playstation 2 consoles and all 14 contestants ...

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