Money Marketing
21 March 2007

  • £35M wasted as PTA is axed

    22 Mar 2007

    Wednesday's Budget sounded the death knell for stand-alone pension term assurance.

  • A few good funds

    22 Mar 2007

    Simon Hildrey says fund outperformance is difficult to find in the US as the stockmarkets are so efficient but there are some shining exceptions.

  • A simple plan

    22 Mar 2007

    Helen Pow says advisers are seeking a way through the present complexity of protection policies.

  • A-day after tomorrow

    22 Mar 2007

    Chris Read, chairman of pensions administration technology solutions provider Dunstan Thomas, looks at the way ahead for pension admin as Sipps go on booming.

  • Adviser Fund Index

    22 Mar 2007

    The Adviser Fund Index panellists are bullish on the German economy, according to the second mid-season AFI questionnaire conducted in February. Seven of the 15 respondents predict that Germany will generate the strongest gross domestic product growth of the major economies over the next 12 months. This is a sharp increase from just one vote in the first questionnaire last July.

  • Advisers key to BTL process, says A&L

    26 Mar 2007

    Mortgage advisers are providing a much-needed lifeline to three-quarters of landlords who seek advice, according to research for Alliance & Leicester.

  • Advocate is picked for orphan cash

    22 Mar 2007

    Prudential has set the ball rolling on reattribution of the £9bn inherited estate in its with-profits fund by nominating a policyholder advocate.

  • AIM tax reliefs to remain

    22 Mar 2007

    The London Stock Exchange has rushed to reassure investors the current tax reliefs for AIM listed shares will continue to apply. There had been some worry within the industry that changes announced in yesterday’s Budget may affect the tax reliefs for shareholders of qualifying AIM companies, including the potential loss of IHT benefits.But an LSE spokeswoman says it has confirmed with the Government that this is not the case.The spokeswoman says: “Note 37 to the 2007 Budget ...

  • An echoing report

    22 Mar 2007

    I do not know whether any of you have noticed but the world of personal finance has a way of creating amazing yin and yang-style symmetries.

  • Back in a big way

    22 Mar 2007

    The last few years have been characterised by the unremitting outperformance of small and mid-cap companies over their large-cap brethren. This trend has been present in almost every corner of the world and is strong enough to be a key determinant of investment success or failure.

  • Back to the future

    22 Mar 2007

    Lucian Camp, chairman of advertising agency cchm:ping, reckons this year's Isa advertising is very much a case of repeat performances.

  • Barings apply for distributor status for three Fof portfolios

    27 Mar 2007

    Barings Asset Management has applied for distributor status for its range of three multi-asset fund of funds portfolios

  • Batchelor focuses on UK for Lehman

    22 Mar 2007

    Guy Batchelor has been appointed as Lehman Brothers UK mortgage business sales and marketing director.

  • Bleak future for Aim VCTs

    22 Mar 2007

    New qualifying rules for companies raising money under venture capital schemes look set to kill the Aim VCT market, according to Octopus Asset Management chief executive Simon Rogerson.

  • Blood line

    22 Mar 2007

    The industry must pull together to attract new blood into the industry.

  • Bluff justice

    22 Mar 2007

    The FSA has given small firms until the end of March to get to grips with treating customers fairly. It is already ringing adviser firms to interview the principal about their TCF gap analysis and action plan and these calls are likely to increase after the deadline expires.

  • Broker Talkback

    22 Mar 2007

    Should Santander ditch the Abbey brand?

  • Budget 2007: Pension incentives rise for high-rate taxpayers

    22 Mar 2007

    Budget tax changes have given advisers a strong case for advising higher-rate taxpaying clients to put more into a pension, says Hargreaves Lansdown head of pensions research Tom McPhail.

  • Budget 2007: Short life of one of A-Day's biggest successes

    22 Mar 2007

    This Budget turned out to be a Black Wednesday for those wanting to protect their families.

  • Budget 2007: Technical Connection Budget Commentary

    22 Mar 2007

    In what will probably be his last Budget, Gordon Brown saved the best for last - a reduction in basic-rate tax to 20 per cent in 2008/09 backed up by measures increasing general tax allowances and personal reliefs.

  • Budget 2007: Without a trace suspense story

    22 Mar 2007

    The Government has set up "suspense accounts" alongside its crackdown on Asps for the funds of people who cannot be traced at 75.

  • Budget blow for Asps

    22 Mar 2007

    With less than two weeks to go before Gordon Brown's "final" Budget pension experts everywhere are crossing their fingers and toes and hoping for the best.

  • BUDGET REACTION: Aim investors could face IHT crackdown

    22 Mar 2007

    Individuals looking to avoid inheritance tax through investing in Aim-listed shares could be caught by a potential shift in the listing rules indicated in yesterday's Budget, warns Standard Life.

  • BUDGET REACTION: BBA warns Chancellor’s gifts may be false

    22 Mar 2007

    The British Bankers’ Association has accused the Chancellor of ‘giving with one hand and taking away with the other’, in his final Budget.Chief executive Angela Knight says Gordon Brown has announced a significant number of tax changes which need to be analysed.But she says when the “dust settles” it will show any benefits from the cut in the basic rate of income tax will be wiped out by other changes in taxation announced.Knight welcomed the Brown’s commitment to green mortgages.Knight ...

  • BUDGET REACTION: BSA expects more green measures

    22 Mar 2007

    The Building Societies Association has welcomed the Government’s moves to promote household energy efficiency, but described them only as a first-step.

  • BUDGET REACTION: Jupiter welcomes Isa increase

    22 Mar 2007

    Jupiter has welcomed Chancellor Gordon Brown's decision to raise the maximum limit on Isa's as a "step in the right direction".

  • BUDGET REACTION: Law firm warning over VCT & EIS changes

    22 Mar 2007

    Budget changes to enterprise investment schemes and venture capital trusts could stifle investment, law firm Osborne Clarke warns.

  • BUDGET REACTION: Providers angry at millions wasted by PTA axe

    22 Mar 2007

    Providers have reacted with dismay to the Chancellor's move to kill off pension term assurance announced in the Budget yesterday.

  • BUDGET: 2 per cent cut in income tax

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown in a surprise announcement cut basic rate income tax from 22 per cent to 20 per cent from next year.

  • BUDGET: Asps killed off as estate planning tool

    21 Mar 2007

    The Government has confirmed it will retain the crippling 82 per cent tax charges on death benefits for Alternatively Secured Pensions.

  • BUDGET: Brown confirms carbon-free stamp duty exemption

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has confirmed in today's Budget that all new carbno-free homes worth up to £500,000 will be exempt from stamp duty from October. This commitment was set out in December's pre-Budget report but without an indication as to which homes would benefit from the exemption.

  • BUDGET: Chancellor cuts corporation tax

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has cut the corporation tax from 30 pence to 28 pence in his budget speech.The Conservatives called for a cut to 27 pence over the weekend.The Chancellor also announced that inflation will fall further this year from 2.8 per cent to 2 per cent which makes it now the lowest rate of all the major economies.

  • BUDGET: Chancellor equalises cash weighting in Isas

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown is to raise the maximum annual Isa investment limit to 7,200 by lifting the cash component to 3,600 by 6 April 2008.

  • BUDGET: Chancellor sets new changes for VCT and EIS schemes

    21 Mar 2007

    The Government has set new qualifying rules for EIS, VCTs and CVS that will limit the number of employees allowed and capital a company can raise in any 12 month period.

  • BUDGET: Government increases FAS from £2bn to £8bn to help "all" pension victims

    21 Mar 2007

    The Government says it will help all pension victims by extending the Financial Assistance Scheme from £2bn to £8bn.

  • BUDGET: Government kills PTA

    21 Mar 2007

    Pension term assurance has been killed by the Chancellor.

  • BUDGET: Government launches competition to help FTBs

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown revealed that the Government will launch the first stage of a shared equity competition to help first-time buyers get on the housing ladder.

  • BUDGET: Government raises personal allowances for pensioners

    21 Mar 2007

    The Government has announced generous increases in personal allowances for pensioners in the Budget.

  • BUDGET: IHT threshold to £350,000 by 2010

    21 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced the inheritance tax threshold will be increased from £285,000 this year to £350,000 by 2010.He says this will mean 94 per cent of estates will be exempt from IHT. Brown also said the capital gains tax allowance for individuals will increase from £8,800 to £9,200 in the next financial year. For families, this exemption limit will double to £18,400.

  • Bupa group risk goes online

    26 Mar 2007

    Bupa Group Risk has launched an online system that enables intermediaries to generate a quote and purchase cover within 30 minutes.

  • Cameron attacks tax cut from 'man in deep hole'

    22 Mar 2007

    Conservative leader David Cameron has attacked the Chancellor's surprise cut in income tax, suggesting that it is a desperate move by a "man in a deep hole".

  • Cavanagh boosted by growth in turnover

    22 Mar 2007

    Cavanagh Group went back into profit last year following strong growth in turnover.

  • Chilton joins new lender

    22 Mar 2007

    Mark Chilton has joined Network Data as chief executive of its new lender Homeowners Mortgages.

  • Close to raise Enterprise VCT cap

    26 Mar 2007

    Close is to raise the maximum subscription for shares in the Enterprise VCT from £20 to £30m in a bid to catch elevated investor demand.

  • Coach and courses

    22 Mar 2007

    Advisers should use a coach to give them well-structured feedback on their client skills.

  • Cofunds appoints Fail as head of product

    26 Mar 2007

    Andy Fail has joined Cofunds as head of product.

  • Consolidation looms in friendly transfer move

    22 Mar 2007

    Friendly societies are now more likely to be taken over by life offices after tax changes in the Budget which lifted restrictions on the transfer of tax-exempt products.

  • 'Correction is a lesson to complacent investors'

    22 Mar 2007

    F&C stewardship growth and income manager Ted Scott says the recent correction in UK markets should be seen as a warning for investors that stockmarkets will not go up in a straight line for ever.

  • Correspondent's Week

    22 Mar 2007

    This week by Money Marketing columnist Brian Tora.

  • Cost-cutting strategy lifts share price

    22 Mar 2007

    Prudential's share price rose by 4 per cent following the news last week of a massive overhaul of its UK business and its 2006 full-year results.

  • Credit where it's due

    22 Mar 2007

    It's been a week of adverse credit and consumer credit for the buy to-let market. Guy Anker reports.

  • 'Don't throw financial novices to the sharks'

    22 Mar 2007

    Consumer leader warns regulated advice must be restructured before generic regime can benefit the public.

  • Door shut on FTBs as prices soar

    22 Mar 2007

    Today's changes will do nothing to help first-time buyers to get on to the ladder as advancing house prices outstrip ann-ual pay awards and more people are caught by stamp duty.

  • Dunstan Thomas launches stochastic modeling tool

    26 Mar 2007

    Dunstan Thomas is launching a tool for advisers that makes probability-based calculations of likely income at maturity, given specific investment options chosen by pensions and investments policyholders.  These calculations are made using a number of stochastic models which will now be offered within Dunstan Thomas’ Imago Adviser Tools.

  • Ellis leaving PFS after 26 years in industry

    22 Mar 2007

    Personal Finance Society public affairs director John Ellis is to stand down after 26 years in the industry.

  • Empty Budget for mortgages

    23 Mar 2007

    The Budget dominated most people's thoughts in the mortgage market this week but many were left disappointed at the lack of initiatives to help first-time buyers get on the housing ladder.

  • Equitable deal sees £1.8bn transferred

    22 Mar 2007

    Equitable Life says it will consider offloading its entire book of with-profits business in 2008 for the right price after Prudential took on 60,000 of its policyholders in a deal last week.

  • Error prevents FTSE return for Schroders

    22 Mar 2007

    A mistake by the FTSE Group is believed to have stopped fund management firm Schroders returning to the FTSE 100 last week. Schroders, which was relegated from the FTSE 100 for the first time in 12 years last September, was overlooked in favour of media group Daily Mail and General Trust, which took the place of Cairn Energy despite Schroders having a higher market value at that point. FTSE Group admits that Schroders should have been in contention for a promotion at its ...

  • Ethical choice and treating customers fairly

    22 Mar 2007

    How interesting to read Chris Salih's recent article entitled, Green piece, in Money Marketing.

  • European Equitable Life committee to unveil report in April

    21 Mar 2007

    The European Parliament’s committee into the collapse of Equitable Life has delivered the first draft of its report which will be made public at its next meeting in April.The report was unveiled to the committee by British Liberal MEP Diana Wallis and members will now submit suggestions for change before the report is made public on April 11.The inquiry has looked into whether EU insurance legislation was correctly implemented in Britain and what recommendations can be made for ...

  • Evanridge seeking 20% retrun from Swedish property

    22 Mar 2007

    Evanridge seeking 20% return from Swedish property Swedish property investment fund that is targeting returns of up to 20 per cent a year. Evanridge Swedish property 2 LP is aimed at high-networth individuals with at least £50,000 to invest. Evanridge will look to close the fund at £10m but use gearing to invest in £50m of property, with an anticipated 70-30 split in favour of residential. The portfolio is an unregulated private investment scheme and has a fixed ...

  • F&C plans return to profits

    22 Mar 2007

    F&C plans return to profits F&C Asset Management has set out plans to bolster profits by 50 per cent in the next two years after revealing it made a further loss last year. The fund firm¹s £30.6m loss in 2006 was an improvement on the previous year¹s loss of £106.3m but reflects the removal of further big investment mandates. The loss of the Resolution account after the life company consolidator moved fund management back in house was a key driver behind F&C¹s assets under ...

  • Fair comment

    22 Mar 2007

    One of the upsides of doing commentaries is that I can write about whatever takes my fancy or has caught my eye recently.

  • FAS track to helping the pension victims

    22 Mar 2007

    The Government has pledged to help all 125,000 pensioners that lost their final-salary schemes when their employers went bust by boosting the Financial Assistance Scheme from £2bn to £8bn.

  • Firms fail to gauge recruitment value

    22 Mar 2007

    Many companies are increasing their recruitment expenditure without putting checks in place to ensure that they are getting value for money, according to Cranfield School of Management.

  • Firms missing Sipp deadline

    22 Mar 2007

    Clients warned they will lose FSCS and FOS protection.

  • Flight of fancy

    22 Mar 2007

    You never know who you might be sitting next to on a plane.

  • Fragile goods

    22 Mar 2007

    It had been my intention to write about Bill Mott's new fund this week.

  • FSA creates two tier ICOB regime

    21 Mar 2007

    The FSA has confirmed today it is considering the introduction of a two tier insurance conduct of business regulation regime.

  • FSA propose widening of hedge fund availability to UK retail consumers

    27 Mar 2007

    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced proposals to allow UK retail consumers to invest in funds of hedge funds and other alternative investments sold by firms authorised in the UK.

  • FSCS overhaul set to halve advisers' bills

    22 Mar 2007

    Aifa has welcomed the radical reform of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which it says will see the average advisers' bill cut by half.

  • Fund firms dismayed by £200 Isa increase

    22 Mar 2007

    Advisers and fund firms were united in their disappointment at the Budget decision to raise the Isa limit by just £200.

  • Fund managers Gored for short-term focus

    22 Mar 2007

    Former US vice-president Al Gore has hit out at company bosses and fund managers for damaging the environment by focusing on short-term goals.

  • Gambhir heads to MPC Investors

    21 Mar 2007

    Ajay Gambhir is to join MPC Investors after resigning as head of JP Morgan Asset Management.

  • Gambhir leaves JP Morgan after a decade

    21 Mar 2007

    Fund manager Ajay Gambhir has left JPMorgan after 10 years with the firm, with Jonathan Ingram taking his place as head of the European higher alpha team.

  • General knowledge

    22 Mar 2007

    A recent article said advisers will soon have access to three new mortgage-related general insurance offerings which will compete with Paymentshield.

  • Generic regime will point way to regulated advice

    22 Mar 2007

    Treasury Economic Secretary Ed Balls claims that generic advice will be a signpost to regulated advice and benefit the whole adviser community.

  • Germany set to open up market for Reits

    22 Mar 2007

    Germany is being put forward as the next major growth area for Reits by La Salle Investment Management.

  • Gimme shelter

    22 Mar 2007

    This is somewhat of a departure from my normal subject matter as today I will focus on Isas and the recent market volatility.

  • Godiva makes six key promises to brokers

    21 Mar 2007

    Godiva Mortgages has made six key pledges to brokers ahead of its launch tomorrow.

  • Great expectations

    22 Mar 2007

    Simon Ellis, managing director of Fidelity International's multi-manager business, sets out a procedure for selecting multi-managers on a similar basis to choosing other suppliers by looking for consistent delivery.

  • Group therapy

    22 Mar 2007

    The tax and NI benefits are considerable for group life schemes that meet the relevant conditions to be treated as excepted.

  • Half of City workers happy with bonuses but want new jobs

    22 Mar 2007

    Nearly half of all financial services City workers are considering changing their jobs despite earning the bonuses they wanted this year.

  • HBOS and Abbey to launch green loan products

    21 Mar 2007

    HBOS and Abbey have announced plans to launch a green loans next year.HBOS says it will launch of green mortgages, while Abbey has committed to launching green personal loans.The news comes after today's Budget where the Chancellor re-affirmed the Government's desire for the mortgage industry to launch green mortgages.HBOS head of products Peter Jackson says: “Green finance is clearly an area where lenders can play an important part. We will launch a green mortgage next year."

  • Icob rethink for non-advised protection

    22 Mar 2007

    The FSA is overhauling the way that non-advised protection products are sold under its proposed two-tier insurance conduct of business regime.

  • ID crisis raises animal instincts

    22 Mar 2007

    News reaches the Diary of an identity crisis at a so-called rival recently acquired by another publishing house.

  • IFS foundation degree opens door to industry

    22 Mar 2007

    The IFS School of Finance has launched a new foundation degree in financial services management.

  • Income tax cut but National Insurance rises

    22 Mar 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown's surprise Budget package was to cut basic-rate income tax from 22 per cent to 20 per cent from April 2008.

  • Independent examiner to probe DWP complaints

    22 Mar 2007

    The Department for Work and Pensions has appointed an independent case examiner to consider complaints from customers dissatisfied with the way that their complaints have been handled by the department.

  • James Hay adds 13 new funds

    27 Mar 2007

    James Hay has added 13 new funds from Aegon, Fidelity, M&G and Morley to its wrap platform.

  • Janet and Jeremy Davies

    22 Mar 2007

    The married couple who run Symponia wanted to set up a network to help advise the families of people going into nursing homes and have widened widened their reach to cover financial planning for all people over 65. Interview by Nicola York.

  • Jupiter growth exempt is now high alpha

    22 Mar 2007

    Jupiter has renamed its £14m growth exempt fund as the high alpha fund and has raised minimum investment from £5,000 to £100,000.

  • Jupiter MBO is joint private equity deal

    22 Mar 2007

    Jupiter's senior management is buying the firm from Commerzbank, taking joint ownership with private equity firm TA Associates for a sum exceeding the German bank's price tag of £740m.

  • Jupiter rising

    21 Mar 2007

    It has been a strange week for us reporters on Money Marketing.

  • Keep it in the family

    22 Mar 2007

    A pensioner seeks advice on reducing his overall tax burden.

  • Keeping it in the family

    22 Mar 2007

    The taxation of scheme pensions is to be brought in line with changes to Asp death benefits announced in last year's pre-Budget statement. This effectively kills off small "family" pension schemes.

  • Kensington CEO Maltby in shock departure

    23 Mar 2007

    Kensington Group chief executive John Maltby has quit, to be replaced by Kensington Mortgages managing director Alison Hutchinson.

  • Kill the overkill

    22 Mar 2007

    We must hope that The Pension Regulator takes a lighter touch to rules.

  • L&G boosts CI cover

    22 Mar 2007

    Legal & General has upgraded its critical-illness policy and added three new conditions. The policy incorporates the Association of British Insurers updated CI definitions of best practice which all insurers must implement by April. L&G has widened the definitions for some illnesses aimed at improving clarity for customers and has added cover for encephalitis, systematic lupus erythematosus and primary pulmonary hypertension. The definitions on three illnesses ...

  • L&G Intl to kick off with pooled portfolio bond

    22 Mar 2007

    Legal & General has confirmed it will start an international life company this year to operate from Ireland. Money Marketing revealed the launch last October when it reported that L&G was recruiting a chief executive to set up an offshore division based in Dublin L&G International, which will be launched in the second half of this year, will initially sell an international pooled portfolio bond targeted at UK investors. The move follows L&G's launch last year of ...

  • Lenders sow seeds of first green loans

    22 Mar 2007

    HBOS and Abbey plan to bring out green loans next year after the Chancellor underlined the Government's desire for the mortgage industry to create environmentally-friendly products.

  • Magic or tricks of the mind?

    22 Mar 2007

    In a Budget for families and the future, the Chancellor announced the most far-reaching changes to the personal tax regime since coming to office 10 years ago.

  • Matter of time

    22 Mar 2007

    Time sheets conjure up ideas of Big Brother but the reality is very different.

  • Maximiser strength

    22 Mar 2007

    The Schroder income maximiser, yielding 7 per cent a year, is an excellent and unique innovation and is the ideal investment for the average investor who wants a high income but also potential capital growth.

  • Missed opportunities for IHT

    22 Mar 2007

    All those working in the field of estate planning might be relieved that the Chancellor's 11th Budget was so uneventful for IHT compared with the shock announcement in last year's Budget affecting gifts to trusts.

  • Mortgage guru Yousefi quits A&L

    22 Mar 2007

    Alliance & Leicester head of intermediary mortgage Mehrdad Yousefi has quit after 18 years at the lender.He will remain at A&L until a successor has been appointed, with rumours suggesting he is set to join Merrill Lynch.An A&L spokeswoman says: "He will stay until we have sorted out a successor to ensure an orderly transition."

  • Mortgages PLC completes £575m deal

    21 Mar 2007

    Mortgages PLC has announced it has completed its latest securitisation deal worth £575m.

  • My Beautiful Career - Driving ambition

    22 Mar 2007

    As is normal practice with autobiographical articles, one's academic achievements should always feature in a prominent manner. So I am happy to report that I achieved an O level in woodworking, of which I am boastfully proud.

  • My Beautiful Wrap - The time machine

    22 Mar 2007

    Wraps really are living up to their initial promise, offering the opportunity to research the best way to create and/or amend a portfolio of long term investments to match an investor's individual needs.

  • Nationwide launches 25-year fixed-rate mortgage

    26 Mar 2007

    Nationwide Building Society has launched a 25-year fixed rate mortgage.

  • Nationwide starts drive on charges

    22 Mar 2007

    Nationwide has started a high-profile ad campaign against Halifax and other providers which levy higher lending charges.

  • Net result

    22 Mar 2007

    The continuing success of most firms of IFAs lies in their ability to build productive, face-to-face relationships with their clients. However, if that IFA still does not have a web presence or is not being promoted effectively online, then future potential clients are going to find it increasingly difficult to locate them.

  • New frontiers

    22 Mar 2007

    I was recently asked what have been the major innovations in the market in the last 25 years. After all, I am one of the few who can remember that far back.

  • New management team for Axa's protection business

    22 Mar 2007

    Axa has appointed a new senior management team to run its protection business as part of a restructure announced last November. Protection managing director Graham Harvey has appointed Jamie McIver to the role of director of sales, Iain Mallon as head of marketing and Tim Hopkinson to the role of head of development. McIver joined Axa in December 2006 after 15 years with Friends Provident where he helped to grow the direct salesforce. Mallon joined Axa in 1999 as ...

  • New Star to launch private equity Fofs vehicle

    23 Mar 2007

    New Star is to join the private equity fray with the launch of a fund of funds vehicle exposed to mid-market buyout funds in the UK and Europe.

  • Nick of time

    22 Mar 2007

    Money Marketing apologises to Informed Choice MD Nick Bamford for our recent article revealing that FSA research shows the average age of advisers is almost 10 years less than the commonly quoted figure of 55.Bamford says: "It used to be the case that I was below the average age for an IFA but today I discover I an older than the average. Thanks a bunch, you lot."Sorry, Nick.

  • 'North/South divide to be cut by enterprise-based wealth'

    22 Mar 2007

    The North/South divide is set to narrow by 2015 due to an anticipated upsurge in enterprise-based wealth in Northern Ireland and the North West, according to SG Hambros.

  • Now SSAS under threat from 82% Asp charges

    22 Mar 2007

    The Government will retain the crippling 82 per cent tax charges on death benefits for alternatively secured pensions as it announces a wider crackdown on inheritance tax avoidance in pensions.

  • Offshore bond tax crackdown

    22 Mar 2007

    The Chancellor has clamped down on avoidance tactics by investors using offshore bonds for tax-free growth on investment income through commission rebates.

  • Out of Context

    22 Mar 2007

    "Was Andy Briggs standing next to the camera while you were a few feet away? Or was he standing on a box?"

  • Pension rescue at the 11th hour

    22 Mar 2007

    Just when you thought he didn't care, Gordon has presented the final-salary pension victims with a great big bouquet of cash.

  • People on the move

    22 Mar 2007

    Investment

  • PFS targeting colleges with mentor scheme

    22 Mar 2007

    Society wants 5,000 advisers to give specialist tuition in bid to attract business students.

  • Pointon York opens door to unquoted shares via Sipp

    22 Mar 2007

    Pointon York Sipp Solutions is to allow clients to hold unquoted shares in its Sipp.

  • PPP, RIP

    22 Mar 2007

    The days of personal pension plans are surely numbered.

  • Pru opens the factory gate

    22 Mar 2007

    Life market consultant Ned Cazalet says Prudential needs to stick to a consistent strategy if it is to persuade policyholders and shareholders it is committed to the UK market.

  • Pru takes a wholesale risk

    22 Mar 2007

    Prudential has certainly made waves with a move to factory gate pricing on some product lines.

  • Pru to work with PFS to promote protection

    27 Mar 2007

    Prudential is to work with the Personal Finance Society on a series of technical IFA training workshops across the UK.

  • Put PTA on risk to keep the rewards

    22 Mar 2007

    The abolition of stand-alone pension term assurance means providers must ensure that pipeline PTA business is placed on risk so customers retain tax relief. Failure to do so could result in customers losing decades of income tax relief.

  • Questioning surveys

    22 Mar 2007

    How can the opinions of a few hundred people represent the population?

  • Quote unquote

    22 Mar 2007

    Christine Hallett, managing director of Pointon York Sipp Solutions, explains the taxation intricacies of holding unquoted shares in a Sipp.

  • Range of lifestyle solutions from F&C

    22 Mar 2007

    F&C is introducing four lifestyle funds of funds that will combine the multi-manager skills of Richard Philbin and his team with a risk-profiling tool created by Distribution Technology.

  • Rate reasoning

    22 Mar 2007

    The outlook for credit is broadly positive but interest rate trends present a challenge for investors.

  • Relief workers

    22 Mar 2007

    Bupa staff in Staines and Manchester have once again been giving it plenty of Red Nose action in aid of Comic Relief.About 400 volunteers have risen to the challenge of manning 160 lines set up for the charity event to take thousands of calls for donations in the five-anda half hours that the lines were open.Last year's efforts by Bupa staff drew in an impressive 200,000 in donations through 7,600 calls.

  • 'Remove stigma of non-conforming borrowing'

    22 Mar 2007

    The stigma attached to being a non-conforming borrower must be removed, says Kensington regional sales manager for Scotland Bob Ollason. Speaking at the Financial Services Scotland conference earlier this month, Ollason pointed out that a high proportion of mortgage brokers are themselves likely to be treated as non-conforming borrowers when they take out a homeloan. He said because many brokers are self-employed, they may not comply with the requirements to be considered ...

  • Retail reasoning

    22 Mar 2007

    The aims and concerns of the IFA sector as the distribution review unfolds.

  • Retro rule boosts overseas property

    22 Mar 2007

    Overseas property owners have been handed a tax boost after the Government revealed that directors buying property through a company will not face a benefit-in-kind tax charge.

  • Role call

    22 Mar 2007

    As we approach the end of another financial year, many people start to think of their earnings, career, how their job has gone over the last year and whether staying put will meet their career aspirations. This process often leads to people thinking about changing jobs.

  • Rowanmoor director David Seaton...

    22 Mar 2007

    Rowanmoor director David Seaton expressed his disappointment at the lack of coverage of his company in Money Marketing, explaining to the editor that he took the pension reporter out for a coffee but the reporter appeared to be asleep. The reporter would like to point out that he was not asleep and is very interested in income drawdown.

  • Sense of release

    22 Mar 2007

    Mark Roberts, head of faculty financial regulation and corporate & academic relationship at the IFS School of Finance, talks about how regulation will change the face of equity release and the IFS' new certificate.

  • Seven up for ethical fund

    22 Mar 2007

    Seven Investment Management has become the latest firm to launch an ethical fund.

  • Shame over commission tax block

    22 Mar 2007

    As usual, the detail is never in the speech but in the papers that follow. Blocking the use of commission to inflate investment returns will be bad news for some wealth managers.

  • Skandia appoints new protection marketing manager

    22 Mar 2007

    Skandia has appointed Ian Brown as new protection marketing manager replacing Alison Turner Homes who left last year to go to Resolution.

  • Skandia welcomes HMRC trusts confirmation

    23 Mar 2007

    Skandia has welcomed HM Revenue & Customs clarification that gifts to minors using absolute trusts will be recognised as Potentially Exempt Transfers rather than Chargeable Lifetime Transfers.

  • Small firms hit by tax rises

    22 Mar 2007

    One-person-band advisers and their sole trader clients who are not self-employed have been warned to expect tax hikes following yesterday's Budget.

  • Smith to take on M&G Asia

    21 Mar 2007

    Aled Smith will take over management of the M&G Asian fund next month.

  • Someone to watch over me

    22 Mar 2007

    Some analysts scorn funds of funds as the lazy option for investment IFAs but they can ensure clients' portfolios are kept under closer scrutiny than most hard-pressed advisers can manage themselves, says Samantha Downes.

  • South African link-up for new protection firm

    22 Mar 2007

    Prudential and South African insurer Discovery are to set up a new protection company for the UK market under the provisional name of Pru Protection.

  • Special effects

    22 Mar 2007

    Most of us will have seen comment in the press referring to the "special relationship" between the US and the UK.

  • Standard facing PHI row

    22 Mar 2007

    Financial Ombudsman Service to probe case after company turned down claim for £20,000 angioplasty.

  • Sub-prime suspects

    22 Mar 2007

    As the US sub-prime mortgage market goes into freefall, Helen Pow considers if the adverse problems might cross the Atlantic.

  • Symponia reviews LTC for Axa

    22 Mar 2007

    Symponia reviews LTC for Axa Symponia is working with Axa to carry out reviews of its pre-funded policyholders. Lifetime Care, the longterm care business of Axa, sold around 9,000 pre-funded policies during the 1990s through its direct salesforce which was disbanded in 1998. The policies were taken out by people worried about possible future care costs and the plans were designed to pay out a monthly benefit when the policyholder was unable to perform certain tasks. Claims by policyholders ...

  • Takeaway

    22 Mar 2007

    The article and editorial concerning Sesame in Money Marketing last week interested me. I thought that the expression MBO stood for management buyout, whether partial or total, and that this implies that the management paying money to acquire the business.

  • Tax break urged for the NPSS

    22 Mar 2007

    Pension Funds is calling for tax incentives to help employers adjust to the additional £2bn a year costs of auto-enrolment. In its response to the consultation on the second Pensions White Paper, the NAPF has proposed a ³good pension fiscal incentive² which would provide employers offering highvalue contributions a small rebate during the three year transition from2012-15 to encourage the continued provision of good workplace schemes. It backs the Government¹s decision to establish ...

  • Ten more quit in Suisse exodus

    22 Mar 2007

    Credit Suisse Asset Management interim head Kelly Prior has quit to join Gary Potter and Rob Burdett at Thames River.

  • Testing time for consensus

    22 Mar 2007

    Paul McMillan reports on the growing clamour from the pension industry and politicians against means-testing in the new reforms.

  • The directors' cut

    22 Mar 2007

    I am now approaching the end of this series of articles relating to key issues in director share purchase.

  • The fine line

    22 Mar 2007

    Chris Salih considers what really lies behind multi-asset funds.

  • The pick of the VCTs

    22 Mar 2007

    James Phillipps reports on brokers' choices for venture capital trust investment. With the tax year drawing to a close, three leading investment advisers have published their recommendations for both specialist and generalist VCTs. Although VCT supply is expected to exceed demand vastly this year following the Chancellors tax relief changes, the Association of Investment Companies maintains that the products are still attractive as tax-efficient diversifiers. Association ...

  • The Reit stuff

    22 Mar 2007

    Andrew Jackson, manager of Standard Life Investments select property and global Reits funds, on how Reits are opening up the property market by giving investors tax-efficient access to overseas deals.

  • TMT mortgage academies bid to draw new blood

    22 Mar 2007

    It will introduce academies nationwide, with two in London and one in the Northwest. As the project develops, more academies will be launched in other locations.

  • Towry Law is buying Baker Tilly FS for £9m

    22 Mar 2007

    JS&P Towry Law has snapped up Baker Tilly Financial Services for £9.5m.

  • Trevor Matthews to head up new retail division at SL

    22 Mar 2007

    Standard Life Assurance chief executive Trevor Matthews is to head up a new UK Retail Division which will encompass UK life and pensions, Standard Life Bank and Standard Life Healthcare as part of a cost cutting exercise.

  • UCB reduces rates of self-cert and full status loans

    27 Mar 2007

    UCB Home Loans, will reduce of its range of residential self-cert and full status fixed rate mortgages by 0.15 per cent from this Thursday.

  • Unfair comparison on charges

    22 Mar 2007

    Nic Cicutti was not accurate in comparing bank charge complaints with endowment (and other financial products) complaints.

  • Unfettered Fofs outperform cautious managed average

    22 Mar 2007

    Research by T Bailey has found the average unfettered fund of funds outperformed the cautious managed sector average by 0.51 per cent over one year and 2.51 per cent over three years to February 28.

  • Win Grand Prix tickets

    22 Mar 2007

    Sterling is celebrating the second anniversary of its multimanager protected profits funds by offering readers the chance to win two tickets to the Spanish Grand Prix.

  • Wrap revolution

    22 Mar 2007

    The wrap revolution in the intermediary market is gaining momentum as advisers realise the cost savings. However, wrap's potential could go far beyond housekeeping for intermediaries.

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