Money Marketing
20 September 2006

  • £2bn in pension credits will remain unclaimed this year, says IFAP

    25 Sep 2006

    £2 billion of pension credits will remain unclaimed this year, with between 34 per cent and 44 per cent of pensioners failing to realise their entitlements, according to research from IFA Promotions.

  • 10 per cent employer contributions needed to close savings gap, says consultant

    25 Sep 2006

    Employers need to pay between 9 and 10 per cent into pensions schemes on top of employee contributions to close Britain’s £27 billion savings gap, says financial services consultant Mercer Oliver Wyman.

  • 10% of towns have average house price over IHT threshold

    25 Sep 2006

    The average house price is now over the inheritance tax threshold in 10 per cent of English towns, according to new research by Halifax.

  • A question of class

    21 Sep 2006

    In my last few articles, I have been examining and discussing a number of issues which affect retirement planning decisions, or rather should affect them if clients are aware of the principles involved.

  • Advice project could save 100m a year

    21 Sep 2006

    Providing generic financial advice to people on low to moderate incomes could save the Government 100m a year in welfare payments, claims the Resolution Foundation.It says the figure is based on modelling by Deloitte & Touche looking at the impact of providing low-level advice to the 15 million people who are on below average income but above state benefit levels.It says that within 10 years of delivering the advice, the Government's bill for pension credit could be slashed ...

  • Advisers don't like talk of Gartmore bidding for Jupiter

    21 Sep 2006

    Leading investment advisers would not be in favour of a merger between Gartmore and Jupiter after reports that Gartmore's private equity backers are lining up a bid for the fund firm.There are concerns that any move by Gartmore for Jupiter would result in an exodus of fund managers from the Commerzbank-owned fund house and that the two firms have too much overlap to be a good fit.There are also worries it could damage Jupiter's culture and undermine the new sense of purpose ...

  • Advisers underestimate life expectancy at their peril, warns Pensions Regulator

    26 Sep 2006

    Underestimating life expectancy among their members could leave pension schemes with tens of millions of pounds of unforeseen liabilities, the Pensions Regulator has warned.

  • Aegon offers US-style annuity alternative with income pledge

    21 Sep 2006

    Bonds proved to be an unpopular choice when the Adviser Fund Indices were last rebalanced on May 1.All three benchmarks were underweight in fixed interest, when measured against the comparable Association of Private Client Investment Man- agers and Stockbrokers' portfolios.Fixed interest has since come back into favour with retail investors following the sharp equity market corrections which began in mid-May. Over 1bn of retail money flowed into the IMA's bond sectors in May, ...

  • AFI panel says equities and large caps to outperform over 12 months

    22 Sep 2006

    A survey of the Adviser Fund Index (AFI) panel has shown overwhelming confidence in equities with large caps in particular tipped to outperform over the next 12 months.

  • Ant and Dec miss critical point on business protection

    21 Sep 2006

    TV presenters Ant and Dec have taken out life insurance in case either of them dies but Scottish Widows protection marketing manager Nick Kirwan believes that they should have considered critical-illness cover.If either of the pair dies, the other will receive a payout of at least 2m. But Kirwan says as Ant and Dec are still young, it is more likely that they will get a critical illness than die, so perhaps they should have taken out CI cover instead.He says this scenario highlights ...

  • Axa and Winterthur will merge group pensions

    21 Sep 2006

    Axa and Winterthur are to merge their group personal pension businesses but will continue to run individual personal pension and investment segments separately.Axa announced its 5.4bn acquisition of Winterthur Group from Credit Suisse in June, citing its reputation among high-end IFAs as a key driver behind the deal.It says the decision not to merge the IPP businesses will enable Winterthur to cont-inue to focus on the higher end of the IFA market with commission-free transparent ...

  • Barclays first to say advisers must pass long-term care exam

    21 Sep 2006

    Firm claims other players are falling behind without CF8 qualification

  • Barings appoints Scholefield as global head of equities

    25 Sep 2006

    Baring Asset Management has appointed Tim Scholefield to the new position of head of global equities.

  • Basic instincts

    21 Sep 2006

    Autumn may not quite be here but the evening light is beginning to fade faster and the summer holidays are well and truly over. Over the past six weeks, school leavers and university graduates alike will have been doing their fair share of thinking.

  • Bestinvest see profits up 71 per cent

    26 Sep 2006

    Bestinvest brokers latest results has revealed a 71 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to over 6m.

  • BNP sets up life firm

    21 Sep 2006

    The British National Party has launched a financial services arm called Albion Life Insurance to help fund its campaigns and electioneering.Albion, which describes itself as a non-profit organ- isation, appears to be acting as an introducer to an unnamed broker targeting BNP members with life insurance products but it does not appear on the FSA website.The link between Albion and the BNP is made explicit on Albion's website, which says: "By taking out a life policy with Albion ...

  • Bonds fall out of favour

    21 Sep 2006

    Bonds proved to be an unpopular choice when the Adviser Fund Indices were last rebalanced on May 1.

  • Borrowers face mortgage burdens into retirement

    26 Sep 2006

    More than a third of homeowners face the prospect of working into retirement just to pay their mortgage, according to research from The One Account.

  • Broker Talkback

    21 Sep 2006

    Do you agree with calls from FundsNetwork and Standard Life for the FSA to bring in a single key features document for fund supermarkets?Yes "Anything that tidies the process up is a good idea. There is not anything wrong with the current system but it can be a bit confusing at times."John Kennedy, Sovereign Financial ServicesYes "Sometimes things can get messy so it would be great to only have one KFI but I am not holding my breath as these things do not always happen as you ...

  • Brokers wary of 20-year fixed deal

    21 Sep 2006

    Newcastle Building Society is offering a new 20-year fixed-rate homeloan at 5.49 per cent for direct customers.Loans can be between 15,000 and 250,000 up to 90 per cent loan to value. There is a 499 completion fee and early repayment charges range from 1 per cent to 6 per cent.Purely Mortgages chief executive Mark Chilton says: "The rate is good but it is not a product that intermediaries would sell as they are worried about locking people in for a long time because of the uncertainties ...

  • Burns-Anderson opens up a retirement route

    21 Sep 2006

    Burns-Anderson has introduced a retirement service for its network members allowing them to sell their businesses on to the firm's in-house IFA.The service, which was announced at the Bristol-based network's annual member conference held in St Andrew's Bay in Scotland last week, will provide appointed representatives with an exit strategy and offer them additional revenue from their practices beyond the perceived value of their clients' assets.Head of marketing Adrian Lewis ...

  • By the book

    21 Sep 2006

    The first thing that people ask when you tell them you have written a book is rarely what the book is about. What they are usually interested in is how they can get their own book published. It is often said that we all have a book inside us. Getting the book out is not quite as complicated as you might have thought.

  • Churning over

    21 Sep 2006

    FSA chairman Callum McCarthy has joined the debate started by Ned Cazalet about life offices eating each other by paying big up-front commission and setting up a churners' merry-go-round.

  • City Financial global health fund revamp

    21 Sep 2006

    City Financial has gained shareholder approval to change its CiF global health fund into the multi-manager diversified total return fund and is planning new fund launches within the next month.

  • CML reveals another month of record lending

    20 Sep 2006

    Gross mortgage lending hit a new record in August reaching £32.7bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • 'Commission culture hindering take-up of wrap'

    21 Sep 2006

    Wrap adoption is being hindered by the IFA market's over-reliance on commission, according to round table panellists.Family Office IFA Sebastian Lyle told the Money Marketing Wrap Round Table that the mass IFA market still prefers indemnity commission and does not understand that selling a wrap proposition is a long-term commitment.He said: "The FSA wants to encourage wrap adoption and believes it is a good thing but from the IFA point of view the real issue over wrap adoption ...

  • Concern grows over Sipp regulation delay

    21 Sep 2006

    Pointon York Sipp Solutions managing director Christine Hallett fears that Sipp regulation will be delayed as the FSA is still unsure what it is meant to be regulating.Sipp providers are hoping the regulation, scheduled to come into force next April, will allow Sipps to keep their flexibility. Many firms are also waiting anxiously for next month's consultation paper from the Department for Work and Pensions on whether protected rights will be allowed in a Sipp.But Hallett says ...

  • Correspondent's Week

    21 Sep 2006

    This week by Lizzie Catt, Daily Express personal finance writerMonday is a heads-down day for us as we finish features and decide on news stories for Wednesday's section.

  • Critical masses

    21 Sep 2006

    The critical-illness insurance marketplace is forever being characterised by two unflattering traits - that it fosters an ongoing price war and that it is starved of product innovation.

  • Defaqto plugs hole in system

    21 Sep 2006

    Defaqto has denied claims that a flaw in its security system allowed users to access the AequosEngage and Aequos Online accounts of other firms' administrators.AequosEngage launched in May and a list of master passwords and user names of all AequosEngage and Aequos Online customers was available to users in an unencrypted format until the loophole was plugged last month. One password of a Defaqto director was said to be "password".But Defaqto insists that Aequos requires a second ...

  • Diary

    21 Sep 2006

    Edeus chief executive Michael Bolton is known by most of the mortgage broking market as a successful pioneer and as an outspoken character. But not many know him as a hologramuntil now.At the Edeus launch last week, both he and managing director Alan Cleary explained the virtues of their new lender not in person but as holograms projected at the Odeon Leicester Square.So here pictured above is Bolton in all his glory as, er, a pixelated hologram.Whatever next - Michael Bolton ...

  • Eeasybrokers selling Invalid motor insurance policies

    20 Sep 2006

    The FSA is urging consumers that have bought motor insurance from Double Easy Brokers - trading as Eeasybrokers - to arrange new motor insurance immediately.

  • Employers are not nannies

    21 Sep 2006

    It still has not occurred to trade unions, the Government and large swathes of the financial services industry that it really is not an employer's task to look after the pension provision of staff. They are not benefit agencies or nannies. In the last analysis, they provide a good or service and pay a market rate to their workers. It is then up to the employee to spend his or her money as they think fit. These Government impositions will do nothing but skew the labour market. ...

  • Fee model is out of this world

    21 Sep 2006

    I refer to Robert Reid's article (Money Marketing, August 17). As you expect from Robert. he gave a clear and frank view on the threat that churning and persistency has on our industry. He cleverly compared this with some of the current crop of reality TV shows. At Scottish Life we have let our IFA audience vote and they have virtually evicted initial commission from the house in favour of a clearer, more transparent model. So if the industry is looking to solve its problem, maybe ...

  • Field continues pensions attack

    22 Sep 2006

    Former welfare minister Frank Field has continued his onslaught against Government pension reforms calling on the pensions industry to be more vociferous in its criticism of the plans.Speaking at the Merseyside Life & Pensions Society, Field said the apparent developing consensus around reforms was dangerous.He brought up the spectre of the Dangerous Dogs Bill as an example of a policy that commanded overwhelming support but was ‘one of the worst thought through pieces of legislation ...

  • Find acquires Defaqto

    26 Sep 2006

    Consumer finance portal Find has acquired Defaqto parent The Independent Research Group.

  • Fine line for PPI

    21 Sep 2006

    Payment protection insurance Britishinsurance.com managing director Simon Burgess says PPI providers and brokers must take heed of the recent regulatory action and improve their products and the sales process

  • Flaw show

    21 Sep 2006

    After three months, the consultation period on the Government's White Paper on pension reform has now ended and there are many elements of the plans that provoke disagreement.

  • Friends aims for Fidelity sits switches

    21 Sep 2006

    Advisers have criticised Friends Provident's UK special situations fund which has been launched as an alt- ernative to Fidelity's special sits split.The new life and pension fund aims to replicate the geographical exposure of Fidelity's original fund and is made up of three extern- ally managed funds - Merrill Lynch UK special situations fund, M&G recovery fund and Artemis global growth fund.The Merrill Lynch and M&G funds will each make up 42.5 per cent of the port- folio with ...

  • Friends Prov closes AR network

    22 Sep 2006

    Friends Provident has closed down its appointed representative network of 200 mortgage advisers.

  • FSA calls on providers to monitor advisers

    22 Sep 2006

    The FSA has called for providers to take more responsibility for the quality of distribution and monitor the quality of advice provided by advisers.Speaking at the FSA’s annual Asset Management Conference, chief executive John Tiner said although providers need not necessarily proactively monitor the behaviour of individual distributors they should look to see what aggregate statistics say about quality of sales.Tiner said a consultation paper to be published next week will explore ...

  • FSA completes network probe but won't name mystery four

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA's investigation into the four mortgage networks that voluntarily agreed not to take on any new appointed representatives has closed but the identity of the quartet remains a mystery.The regulator says its probe is complete but is tight-lipped on whether any of the four are now able to recruit or whether any action has been taken to prevent them hiring.It is likely at least three of the four can continue recruiting as no enforcement action has been made public, as usually ...

  • FSA fines Berry Birch & Noble former chief

    22 Sep 2006

    Berry Birch & Noble Insurance Brokers former chief executive Paul Harrison has been fined £17,500 by the FSA for failing to have proper systems and controls in place to protect customers’ money held by the firm.

  • FSA fines IFA firm for compliance breaches

    21 Sep 2006

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Langtons IFA Limited £63,000 for failing to properly apportion roles and responsibilities to its senior management.

  • FSA outlines further details on home reversion regulation

    22 Sep 2006

    The FSA has published details of the authorisation process for firms that need to apply to be regulated for home reversions and Islamic mortgages.

  • FSA urges industry to prepare for bird flu

    26 Sep 2006

    The FSA is to lead a six-week exercise to test the resilience of financial institutions in the event of an avian flu pandemic starting on October 13.

  • FSA will compile hit-list of brokers in fraud probe

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA is to fight fraud by investigating mortgage brokers associated with high levels of arrears, benefit claims and complaints.

  • Geography lesson

    21 Sep 2006

    Asset allocation decisions for investors are implicitly and explicitly influenced by their attitude to the US. Wall Street is the biggest market, the US is the biggest economy and, courtesy of a high spending consumer, has been the dominant source of growth in economic activity - the catalyst of the recovery.

  • Government tells mortgage industry to go green

    21 Sep 2006

    The Government is calling on mortgage lenders to provide green mortgages to help save the environment.

  • Healthy prospects

    21 Sep 2006

    Recent research by leading independent analyst Laing and Buisson shows that private medical insurance is holding firm.

  • Hip trip for the NPSS

    21 Sep 2006

    It looks as though the problems emerging with the proposed National Pensions Savings Scheme could delay reform for many years or could even see the NPSS go the same way as home information packs and just be dropped.

  • Hold fire on pensions

    21 Sep 2006

    I have just been made redundant and social security want to know what pensions I can expect before it pays me any form of credit. I only have a few small pensions, not worth much, should I take them?

  • Horses for courses

    21 Sep 2006

    When it comes to investments, different clients have different needs. At one end of the scale are people who are willing to take a higher risk for greater potential returns. At the other end are people who will never feel safe in anything other than cash.

  • Hot property

    21 Sep 2006

    Keydata has introduced yet another innovative product. Its new income property bond pays 7 per cent a year or 1.75 per cent quarterly for a fixed term of six years.

  • House call

    21 Sep 2006

    Commentators often seem keen to dismiss the summer months as a period of low liquidity and reduced investor participation but economic releases show no respect for such arguments and it has certainly been worth following this data closely in recent months.

  • HR Trustees picks up Hoverspeed pension plan

    26 Sep 2006

    HR Trustees has been appointed as independent trustee to the Hoverspeed pension plan by the Pensions Regulator.

  • HSBC in call for enforcer

    21 Sep 2006

    HSBC is arguing for a system of personal accounts with a contribution cap allowing the accounts to be taken out of the means-testing and pension credit system.It says this would allow people to save without worry with no advice required. The system would be compulsory or what HSBC calls enforced saving.The bank argues that the 8 per cent figure proposed of employer plus employee contribution will not be high enough to give a reasonable retirement income so it would like to see ...

  • IFA warns wraps offer compliance bypass

    21 Sep 2006

    Wrap platforms can be used to bypass network restrictions on the amount an adviser can invest with a single provider, says Family Office IFA Sebastian Lyle.Lyle told the Money Marketing Wrap Round Table last week that Positive Solutions puts a 20 per cent cap on the proportion of money its members can invest with a single provider. However, he said the network deems wraps and fund supermarkets to be the product provider rather than the underlying fund manager.He said this means ...

  • IFAs reassured on client data

    21 Sep 2006

    Fund supermarkets have assured IFAs that they will not use client data held on their systems to sell direct.Standard Life marketing director John Taylor told the Money Marketing Wrap Round Table: "We are an IFA-focused business and are very reliant on their business."If we were to abuse an IFA's client data, it would be commercial suicide."FundsNetwork executive director David Dalton-Brown said more than 80 per cent of parent company Fidelity's business is sold through IFAs.He ...

  • IFS sets exam for complaints staff

    21 Sep 2006

    A dozen financial advisers in Northern Ireland have grouped together to promote the benefits of Chartered Financial Planner status.Led by KM Financial Planning Services Kieron May, the Northern Ireland Chartered Financial Planners' group is hosting a one-day conference for solicitors, accountants and financial planners to discuss inheritance tax and estate planning after the Finance Act.Guest speakers will include CII deputy director general Bob Bullivant, PFS chief executive ...

  • IHT realities

    21 Sep 2006

    As I enter my 26th year of working within financial services, I have been reading the column inches (more like miles) of coverage about the changes to trust law and the inheritance tax realignment.

  • IMA attacks ABI fund plan as a 'lottery'

    21 Sep 2006

    The Investment Management Association dismisses the "insurance industry model" for personal accounts as a "lottery" and backs the Pension Commission's proposals for a centrally administered personal accounts scheme.It says default fund provision based on competing branded providers could create "a lottery" of uneven outcomes for savers as they are forced to choose the default fund for their money.It proposes establishing an independent NPSS board to take on the responsibility ...

  • Into the mix

    21 Sep 2006

    The traditional sink-or-swim method of recruiting and training financial advisers is no longer the answer to the challenges our industry faces in attracting new blood.We need smarter and more efficient approaches, partly because we cannot afford to squander big numbers of new recruits who have the talent to succeed but who may not be identified by such a crude process.Further, in a business climate where costs are high and margins are tight, we do not want to waste money on ...

  • Jefferson to leave Henderson

    25 Sep 2006

    Henderson Global Investors head of UK wholesale Phil Jefferson is set to leave the group to pursue other opportunities.

  • Keep it simple to cut risk, says FSA

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA has told the Government that the simpler it makes personal pension accounts the less risk of consumer detriment and the less need for the regulator's involvement.It says a simple system could mean that many, if not all, the risks of unsuitability could be mitigated through information, education and possibly stakeholder-style decision trees and generic advice although it admits some people would still make the wrong decision.Specifically addressing the risks of the branded ...

  • Leeds launches 2-year fixed rate postal bond

    21 Sep 2006

    Leeds Building Society has launched a two-year fixed rate postal bond that pays 5.60 per cent until October 31, 2008 and has a monthly interest option paying a rate of 5.35 per cent for people requiring an income.

  • Mackay tempted back to Skandia with elevated role

    20 Sep 2006

    Billy Mackay is returning to Skandia after leaving the firm to join Barclays Wealth Management just last month.

  • Making advances

    21 Sep 2006

    Conference season is approaching for the political parties, as it is for the professional bodies.

  • Merger might

    21 Sep 2006

    Nationwide Building Society's planned merger with Portman has been met with optimism by a broker market desperate for a lender to emerge from the pack to challenge HBOS's dominance.

  • Mini adventure

    21 Sep 2006

    Last week I was looking at loan trusts and how, even with a nil value for the settlement on commencement (the entire value of the settled property being constituted by the funds loaned which, net of the current outstanding loan, leaves a nil value), there could be a value in excess of the nil-rate band available to the settlement at the time the first periodic charge arises.

  • Mortgageforce to be reckoned with

    21 Sep 2006

    Home ownership is as popular today as it has ever been and all the indications are that this trend is likely to remain. There are also more mortgage products on offer than ever before and independent research confirms that consumers need help when it comes to finding the best deal for their needs.In research carried out by MORI for the Council of Mortgage Lenders, more homebuyers said that, 'recommendation by a mortgage intermediary' was their main reason for taking out a particular ...

  • Move to set up Reit diploma

    21 Sep 2006

    The Reits and Quoted Property Group is looking to develop an adviser Reit diploma but some in the industry suggest the subject should be introduced as part of existing exams.RQPG, the group behind the reita.org website, says it is looking for partners to develop a specialist diploma focusing on Reits. It has started approaching property companies and industry bodies to help devise a syllabus.But Hargreaves Lansdown senior investment manager Ben Yearsley questions the need for ...

  • Music to my ears

    21 Sep 2006

    My first foray into the world of work was at the tender age of 16 when I paid my way through college and university with a part-time job in the meat department at my local Waitrose in Godalming.It was there that I first felt the thrill of the pay rise 5p an hour, which left me with an extra 44p a week. Despite this excess of riches, I left there after university having learnt two vital life lessons - one, retail is a lot of hard work with very limited reward and, two, there are few ...

  • Mutuals going to the ball

    21 Sep 2006

    "Mature, well-endowed Mutual WLTM trim attractive partner. Must have GSOH and a specialised lending division". Perhaps not how it happened, but nonetheless the intriguing union between Nationwide and Portman announced last week carries significant portents for many.

  • NAPF wants to stop schemes levelling down

    21 Sep 2006

    The National Association of Pension Funds has attacked both the industry and pension commission's models for personal accounts and warned the Government that the scheme could severely hit existing pensions if it is designed poorly.In its submission on the Pensions White Paper, the NAPF says both models fail to achieve the best solution with regard to simplicity, choice and competition.It says if it was forced to choose between the two options, it would support the Turner-inspired ...

  • Nationwide's pledge on merger job losses

    21 Sep 2006

    Nationwide has pledged to keep compulsory redundancies as low as possible following the announcement of its planned merger with Portman.The two building societies have admitted that the current combined workforce of over 18,500 staff will have to be trimmed when the amalgamation is complete in September 2007 but the exact numbers are still to be determined.Most job losses are likely to come through natural wastage, with Nationwide revealing that it has a turnover of around 1,000 ...

  • New chief exec for Assureweb

    21 Sep 2006

    Former HBOS Financial Services managing director John Spellman has been appointed chief executive at Assureweb.Chief executive Nigel Hopwood is leaving after just 18 months at the technology firm.Hopwood, who joined Assureweb as managing director last March, says he is taking a break but expects to return to financial services in the near future.He says: "I have been planning this for some time. I have been commuting long distances for four years and am now looking for an ...

  • Northern Ireland brokers push CFP status

    21 Sep 2006

    A dozen financial advisers in Northern Ireland have grouped together to promote the benefits of Chartered Financial Planner status.

  • Old Mutual doubles life and pension sales

    21 Sep 2006

    Old Mutual has more than doubled life and pension sales in the firm's first set of results since buying Skandia in February.Sales for the first half of this year hit 732m from 319m on an annual premium equivalent basi and profits have grown by 39 per cent to 885m from 638m in the first half of 2005.Skandia UK increased sales by 16 per cent to 262m, bolstered by changes to tax rules.Funds under management increased by 38 per cent to 218bn from 158bn.Chief executive Jim ...

  • On the threshold

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA's consultation period on the age 70 rule has now ended. Would you like to see the rule abolished or the age threshold raised to 80? Which option do you think the FSA is likely to take? Would you like the rule to be scrapped on all types of whole-of-life plans or only certain types?

  • 'Paraplanners are now professionals in their own right'

    21 Sep 2006

    Salaries soaring as demand for good paraplanners outstrips supply

  • People on the move

    21 Sep 2006

    InvestmentRod Davidson has joined Scottish Widows Investment Partnership as head of fixed income from Aberdeen Asset Management, where he held a similar position.Jamie Hooper, manager of the F&C UK equity fund, is joining Framlington in November to manage the UK growth fund currently being managed by Nigel Thomas since Chris Murphy left the group earlier this year.Andrew Dalrymple has left First State Investments, where he managed the firm's global opportunities ...

  • Personal effects

    21 Sep 2006

    Among the many misconceptions that the overwhelming majority of members of the public - and not a few IFAs - have about journalists is the one that we spend most of the time writing articles.

  • Pet detective

    21 Sep 2006

    Now that the dust is settling on the Chancellor's smash and grab raid on trusts, you need to start thinking about your clients' inheritance tax planning in a number of new ways.

  • Pima presses for Isa links

    21 Sep 2006

    Pima wants personal accounts to be linked to Isas to create a more flexible approach to long-term saving.It says a percentage of money in personal accounts should be allowed to be filtered into Isas and believes the move would put consumer demands and real life needs at the heart of pension reform by harnessing the popularity of Isas.It says the "artificial" distinction between medium and long-term savings should be scrapped and the Government should build on the work of the ...

  • Platforms under fire for holding up re-reg

    21 Sep 2006

    Wrap and platform providers have been accused of protectionism by not allowing bulk re-registration on and off their platforms.At the Money Marketing Wrap Round Table, IFAs called on wrap providers to make the enabling of bulk re-registration a priority.Falcon Group business development manager Piers Denne said platforms are likely to develop in different ways and speeds, meaning advisers may want to switch providers further down the line.He said: "It is almost like protectionism. ...

  • Poll claims backing for Fidelity fund

    21 Sep 2006

    Fidelity says almost three out of four advisers will recommend its new global special situations fund to their clients.The firm says its research found the main reason IFAs will support the global fund was the depth of Fidelity's global investment resources followed by attraction to the fund's unconstrained mandate.The poll of 111 intermediaries was produced to coincide with the launch of the fund, which began trading on Monday this week following the split of its 6bn UK special ...

  • 'Poso probe is needed to check fees'

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA may need to probe the fees charged by lenders operating point-of-sale offers, claims BM Solutions.The firm, which will launch its Poso by Christmas, says once the technology is implemented, the service becomes cheaper than having a professional valuing the property on site and it says lenders should not charge the same fees.The FSA is not a price regulator but BM says either it or the Office of Fair Trading should ask lenders to justify charging the same rates for a ...

  • Praise for Prudential stance

    21 Sep 2006

    I want to congratulate the Prudential for publicly declaring that it will take steps to deal with churning. Last year, I was invited to a discussion hosted by Prudential distribution director Andy Briggs and, interestingly, the IFAs around the table debated this question quite fiercely. I recall being quite aggressive in my assertion to Andy that as a provider the Prudential had a moral responsibility to tackle churning where they could prove it existed. I also suggested, with ...

  • Principle still applies for non-advised business

    21 Sep 2006

    Lifesearch claim that consumers who buy protection products without advice cannot seek redress form the Financial Ombudsman Service. This is not the case. The fundamental principle, which applies both to advised and non-advised sales, is that firms should treat their customers fairly and provide them with clear, fair and not misleading information. We require firms to give customers a policy summary, in addition to the full policy information, designed to provide key information ...

  • Private thoughts

    21 Sep 2006

    In the past, I have often referred to the roadshows organised for private investors by the Association of Investment Trust Companies, the AITC - or AIC as it will shortly become when the word trust is removed from the title.My interest in these is twofold. Having had a long association with the investment trust movement and being broadly sympathetic and supportive of its aims and achievements, I am always happy to address the gatherings on the topic of how markets are likely to behave. ...

  • Problems outweigh benefits

    21 Sep 2006

    I have to say that the idea of limited advice seems to me to be an all but guaranteed recipe for creating a great deal of problems for everyone that will far outweigh any benefits. Why would any adviser who is genuinely seeking to provide a comprehensive and professional financial planning service have any interest in a dumbed-down process that will effectively constitute little more than a short cut to a product sale? The "abridged" edition of the FSA conduct of business rulebook ...

  • Product Matters: Take Five

    21 Sep 2006

    Drawing on its successful experiences of variable annuities in the US, where it is a $130bn market, Aegon has just introduced its Five For Life plan, which I feel is an interesting product with some valuable guarantees attached.The plan is halfway between an insurance bond, offering 5 per cent annual withdrawals, and a purchased life annuity with a guaranteed income for life.The client has the flexibility to access their investment and there are potential death benefits, unlike ...

  • Professional touch

    21 Sep 2006

    Darren Mackle, Consultancy View

  • Put focus on value rather than costs

    21 Sep 2006

    Increase in state pension ageRather than one specific state pension age, we would prefer to see a flexible decade of retirement, during which benefits can be taken or can be delayed.

  • R&M boutique sets out its stall

    21 Sep 2006

    River & Mercantile, the brainchild of two former Liontrust chiefs, finally goes live at the end of November.

  • Red hot pokers

    21 Sep 2006

    Fidelity's Sanjeev Shah on trying to secure a new flatmatey Lesson 1 in PR diplomacy - never let a journalist know that your golf game is more important than their call.It could well be the difference between a front-page story and being relegated to, I don't know say, the Diary page.So, when Tom Cooper of Winningtons PR was contacted to arrange a meeting with Sumus's group chief executive , the distracted response given was possibly the least expected ever: "Sorry, I'm ...

  • Regeneration gap

    21 Sep 2006

    If you ask any industry professional, what are the major difficulties their profession will face over the coming 20 years, you will get a whole host of answers depending on their own personal view.

  • Regulator hands out religious edict on Asps

    21 Sep 2006

    The FSA has warned IFAs to check the religious background of clients when selling alternatively secured pensions despite insisting that Government restrictions have nothing to do with its rules.Last month, the Treasury told Money Marketing it would scrap Asps if IFAs continued to "wilfully abuse" them to avoid inheritance tax.It says Asps were only set up for people with religious objections to annuities but admits that imposing legal restrictions on the industry could breach ...

  • Resolution profits soar

    21 Sep 2006

    Resolution’s asset management business increased by 150 per cent to £14.5m in the first half of 2006.

  • 'S2P is standing in the way of equality'

    21 Sep 2006

    Retention of the second state pension is a major sticking point in the Government's Pensions White Paper proposals and will mean continued inequality between high and low-earners, according to the Pensions Policy Institute.In its response to consultation on the White Paper, the PPI says that measures such as reducing the number of qualifying years for the basic state pension would help to provide greater equality between men and women.But it says the plans fail to address inequality ...

  • Schroders adds Goldman Sachs dynamic fund to its portfolios

    21 Sep 2006

    The Schroders multi-man-ager team has added Goldman Sachs dynamic opportunities - the biggest London-listed hedge fund of funds - to all three of its multi-manager portfolios.Dynamic global opportunities is a closed-ended fund of hedge funds which raised 274m during an initial public offering in July.The fund has a relatively concentrated portfolio and is managed by Goldman Sachs' New York-based hedge fund strategies group, which is responsible for around $15bn in hedge fund ...

  • Scot Wids axes 200 jobs

    26 Sep 2006

    Scottish Widows is to axe around 200 jobs following a review of its customer services division.

  • ScotProv reprices protection range

    25 Sep 2006

    Scottish Provident has repriced premium rates on its death and critical illness insurance plans and has redesigned its application form to prevent non-disclosure.

  • Sense of release

    21 Sep 2006

    Duncan Young, Provider View

  • Simon Wombwell

    21 Sep 2006

    If Scottish Widows Investment Partnership head of UK distribution Simon Wombwell ever tires of life in financial services, he always has the option of applying for the manager's job at his beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

  • Skandia and Selestia announce details of integrated platform

    22 Sep 2006

    Skandia and Selestia have announced further details of their new investment platform, which combines the current Skandia MultiFunds and Selestia platforms.

  • Snowdonia range on Canada Life platform

    21 Sep 2006

    The Snowdonia fund of funds range from Buckles Investment Services has been added to Canada Life's onshore platform.The Snowdonia growth, balanced and income fund have attracted over £100m since launch and are already available through AIG Life.Buckles was keen for the Snowdonia funds to be available through Canada Life's flexible investment bond as onshore bonds represented a weakness in its distribution strategy.Buckles has not ruled out further links with other companies ...

  • Staffs trading standards to oversee claim-chasers

    21 Sep 2006

    The Department for Constitutional Affairs has chosen Staffordshire County Council's trading standards unit to supervise the regulation of claim management companies nationwide.Head of claims management regulation Mark Boleat says it is the first time that such a body has been picked by the Government for a regulatory role. He admits there is a risk factor in the arrangement but says SCCTS has proved itself at a local level and the arrangement will be watched closely to see if it ...

  • Stubborn Asp is baffling advisers

    21 Sep 2006

    The Asp mess continues to get messier. IFAs can do the bidding of the Treasury and avoid being called nasty tax-avoidance advisers by not recommending Asps.

  • Swapping sex for living longer

    22 Sep 2006

    Britons are prepared to be celibate if it means they can live to 100 according to a survey by Bupa.

  • Swiss Re to axe 2,000 jobs

    25 Sep 2006

    Swiss Re is to cut 2,000 jobs by the end of 2007 as part of its continuing integration of GE Insurance Solutions to the business.

  • Taking care of business

    21 Sep 2006

    Immediate Needs Forum chairman Robert Hamer is so concerned about NU's withdrawal that he is looking very closely at GE Life, one of the remaining three LTC providers, to check it does not also intend to pull out.

  • Taking stock

    21 Sep 2006

    For the past few years, a lot of fund managers have sought to emphasise their stock-picking prowess. Whereas previously they spoke proudly of the quality of their macroeconomic analysis or their thematic processes, more recently it has been about stocks and, in particular, the wide range of money-making opportunities that exist in mid-cap stocks, not just here in the UK but also in the US, Europe and Japan.

  • Tenet wants to axe the payment menu

    21 Sep 2006

    The Tenet Group is calling for the payment menu to be scrapped because it says it is failing to help consumers compare prices.The network considers that expressing cost as a reduction in yield rather than as commission would provide a more transparent and readily understandable remuneration method.Chief executive Simon Hudson says because the menu, which was introduced with depolarisation last June, is neither transparent nor clear, it flouts the principles of the regulator's ...

  • This week in Investment

    22 Sep 2006

    HSBC's announcement that it is to shift its core UK equity business away from Halbis Partners to its multimanager team has raised a few eyebrows in the investment community.

  • This week in Mortgages

    25 Sep 2006

    So the investigation into the network four, as many have called them, is over, but the gossip is unlikely to die down just yet.

  • This week in Pensions

    20 Sep 2006

    With the Pensions White Paper consultation finally drawing to a close this week it has been very difficult to get many pensions stalwarts to talk about anything else.

  • This week in Regulation

    25 Sep 2006

    Aifa's call for the introduction of limited or focused advice on specific product areas has been welcomed by many in the industry as long as important caveats are established.

  • Threesixty website to offer IFA 'showroom'

    22 Sep 2006

    threesixty services is inviting IFAs to showcase themselves and their businesses to clients on its website.

  • Title

    21 Sep 2006

    Staff who handle complaints for IFAs and providers will soon be able to take a new complaint handling exam developed by the Institute of Financial Services.The qualification is a joint initiative between the IFS school of finance and outsourcing consultancy Huntswood which specialises in complaint handling.The final syllabus is currently under wraps but provisional work suggests that the exam will include recent major issues in complaint handling, customer segmentation and possible ...

  • Train of thought

    21 Sep 2006

    To the relief, perhaps, of many IFAs, the FSA in its 2006/2007 business plan signalled its intention to move away from reliance on detailed rules towards an approach to regulation based on higher-level principles - in other words, less box-ticking, more professional judgement.

  • UCB in double launch with intermediary pair

    25 Sep 2006

    Specialist lender UCB Home Loans is to launch of a number of exclusive products with Openwork and Premier Mortgage Service from tomorrow.

  • Vertex in talks with Trigold

    21 Sep 2006

    Vertex is understood to be in acquisition talks with several companies including mortgage sourcing system Trigold.

  • West Brom to appoint new chief executive

    21 Sep 2006

    West Bromwich Building Society will have a new chief executive next month.

  • Yield of dreams

    21 Sep 2006

    The method used by charities to show costs could clear up public confusion

  • Young Americans

    21 Sep 2006

    Of all the unit trust sectors, it has to be said that America remains the most disappointing. Whereas most of us can reel off our favourite fund managers in Europe, the UK and the Far East, it becomes so much harder in America where finding consistency of performance is near impossible. One fund which has hit my radar is the M&G American fund run by Aled Smith.

  • Young borrowers falling into homeloan arrears

    21 Sep 2006

    Around 770,000 borrowers have missed one or more mortgage payments in the last 12 months, says Citizens Advice.Research from the charity shows that younger people are more likely to have missed a mortgage payment, with 13 per cent of 21-24 year-olds surveyed said they had missed one or more payments in the last year. It says some people who are new to homeownership may be getting straight into difficulties.The findings come after a report by Standard & Poor's last month predicted ...

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