Money Marketing
21 September 2005

  • 'A-Day opportunity for mass market'

    22 Sep 2005

    Providers are calling for Sipps to be renamed as member-directed pension schemes after A-Day amid concerns that the name confuses investors.The Sipp Provider Group is behind the move and is set to merge with the Association of Pensioneer Trustees and rebrand as the Association of Member-directed Pension Schemes. It believes some investors do not realise the product is a personal pension and think it is designed to invest in people's own businesses.Dissenting voices in the SPG, ...

  • 10 Year Fixed-Flexi Mortgage

    22 Sep 2005

    West Bromwich Building Society10 Year Fixed-Flexi Mortgage

  • A push up the ladder

    22 Sep 2005

    First-time buyers Charcol senior technical manager, mortgages, Ray Boulger says a parent's Sipp investment could help their children move into their first home

  • A split decision

    22 Sep 2005

    Anthony Bolton is the stuff of legend but, says Hargreaves Lansdown head of research Mark Dampier, Fidelity has confused the issue of his retirement and set the speculation mill racing with the controversial split of the special sits fund

  • Abbey - Safety Plus Growth Issue 23

    26 Sep 2005

    AbbeySafety Plus Growth Issue 23

  • ABI links up with SAS to launch Operational Risk Insurance Consortium

    26 Sep 2005

    The Association of British Insurers and SAS, the risk intelligence firm, are launching the Operational Risk Insurance Consortium, a new international initiative to assist the insurance industry with quantifying and managing operational risk.

  • ABN Amro Asset Management - India Equity Fund

    27 Sep 2005

    ABN Amro Asset ManagementIndia Equity Fund

  • 'A-Day opportunity for mass market'

    21 Sep 2005

    Investment Management Association chief executive Richard Saunders has called for the fund management industry to step forward as the provider of individual pension savings schemes.

  • Adviser faces 43 charges in 10m fraud

    22 Sep 2005

    Swansea magistrates court was told that Graham Price, 58, of Llansamlet, Swansea, has been charged with 43 separate counts of theft and deception.According to the charge sheet, five of the counts relate to a total of 4.3m allegedly stolen from the Halifax. A further 21 separate theft charges involve close to another 1m. Magistrates were told he is also facing another 17 charges of obtaining money by deception.Media reports have indicated that the alleged fraud centres in an ...

  • Age Concern set to back scheme for free advice

    22 Sep 2005

    Age Concern is set to back LibDem proposals to provide free basic and generic financial advice to the public.At the Money Marketing/ Cicero Consulting summit in June, LibDem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable put forward plans for a network of free financial advice centres, funded by the Government and industry.The aim would be to provide free generic financial advice to sections of the public which the LibDems believe are excluded from financial services.The plans were costed ...

  • Ailo chief executive Fairclough resigns

    23 Sep 2005

    Association of Intertnational Life Offices chief executive Stuart Fairclough has resigned with immediate effect.

  • An ill wind

    22 Sep 2005

    Nicola York looks at how the damage wreaked by Hurricane Katrina could spill over into the UK life insurance and critical-illness cover sectors

  • Andy Chapman joins Pioneer as chief executive

    23 Sep 2005

    Pioneer Friendly Society announces the appointment of Andy Chapman as Chief Executive, effective September 26.

  • 'Ban banks from protection hard sell'

    22 Sep 2005

    Paymentcare is calling for a ban on banks selling payment protection insurance to customers when signing a loan agreement because of concerns over misselling.The call comes in support of the recent appeal by Citizens Advice to the Office of Fair Trading to launch a probe into the multi-billion-pound PPI industry.Paymentcare managing director Shane Craig says the UK should switch to a US-style system where banks are not allowed to push PPI or ASU cover to borrowers when they ...

  • Bank of Ireland completes the sale of B&W branches

    21 Sep 2005

    Bank of Ireland has completed the sale of its Bristol & West branch network and associated deposit book to Britannia Building Society.

  • Basel brush

    22 Sep 2005

    According to a recent report, a homosexual couple applied at an HSBC branch for a mortgage that required life cover and were told they could only take out insurance if they took an HIV test.

  • Basel Two 'may see move to credit-scoring'

    22 Sep 2005

    The advent of Basel Two may mean significant changes to mortgage products and client credit checks, says John Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger.With implementation only 18 months away, lenders are preparing systems to incorporate the stringent risk management measures required by the international regime.Boulger believes lenders will have to adopt credit-scoring across the board to fulfil the regulatory requirements. He says capital risk-taking depends on lenders ...

  • Bland takes over Kenmirs IFA role

    23 Sep 2005

    Stephen Bland has been appointed FSA director of the small firms division meaning he also takes over from David Kenmir as head of the regulators intermediaries sector.Bland had been acting in the role for the last ten months but now assumes it full time.Kenmir will remain managing director of regulatory services and will still be involved in adviser regulation through responsibilities for the firm contact centre, regulatory reporting and the FSA fee processes.Also, Sally Dewar ...

  • Blunkett says pension woes are global

    22 Sep 2005

    Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett says countries around the world face the same challenges on pensions.Blunkett told a Centre for American Progress event in Washington that although countries may have different pension dilemmas they all face the same fundamental challenges. He said across the European Union, the working population is set to fall by 7 per cent over the next 25 years and emotive issues must be faced to deliver long-term change.Governments need to establish ...

  • Britannia International - Optimum Growth Bond 11

    26 Sep 2005

    Britannia InternationalOptimum Growth Bond 11

  • Britannic launches UK boutique

    22 Sep 2005

    Britannic is launching a UK alpha boutique to be run by David Stevenson and Andrew Kelly of SVM.The boutique is to be run in Edinburgh in the same style as the firm's London-based European boutique, under Barry Norris and Oliver Russ. It will launch a UK opportunities unit trust and a UK equity long short hedge fund. Stevenson and Kelly currently manage the SVM UK opportunities fund and the SVM Saltire hedge fund and will move to Britannic after working their notice.

  • Buy-to- let fund opens door to property

    22 Sep 2005

    Curzon Capital claims its new residential buy-to-let fund, which it is launching through a number of advisers in advance of A-Day next year, is the first of its kind.City Living, initially set at 50m, is aimed at self-invested personal pensions.It will be run in conjunc- tion with Cluttons LLP, which will act as property adviser and manager. KPMG will give tax advice.Sipp subscriptions up to an initial 25m will be geared up with an initial borrowing facility of 25m for the ...

  • 'Chancellor is an oil hypocrite'

    22 Sep 2005

    Chancellor Gordon Brown's aggressive taxation of North Sea oil exploration amounts to "manipulative hypocrisy", says one of the UK's highest-profile fund managers.Framlington income manager George Luckraft says Brown's criticism of Opec's high oil prices is at odds with his socialist policies.Brown says Opec is restricting oil supplies and is not investing sufficiently in new production but Luckraft says it is the Chancellor's aggressive taxation of North Sea oil drilling companies ...

  • Charter is vital step on road to a profession

    22 Sep 2005

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has finally won chartered status - a very significant step along the road to making advisers into a profession.The bar is set very high.

  • Concern over special sits split

    22 Sep 2005

    Skandia is in discussions with Morgan Stanley over concerns that clients in a structured product linked to Fidelity special situations could be disadvantaged by the portfolio being split.Morgan Stanley underwrites the capital guarantee on the Skandia protected portfolio, which took in millions of pounds and gives exposure to a basket of funds, including Anthony Bolton's special sits, with capital protection.Fidelity is splitting the fund - and client unitholdings - into two ...

  • Consumer View: Footing the care bill

    22 Sep 2005

    Who pays for long-term care is a delicate subject des- igned to raise the blood pressure of millions of carers and their families, who foot the bill in terms of stress, time and money to look after elderly relatives.

  • Correspondent's week

    22 Sep 2005

    This week Corey Boles, a reporter at Dow Jones Newswires

  • Cummings and goings

    22 Sep 2005

    Whenever a new person walks into a high-profile job, it is always intriguing to see how he or she differs from their predecessor, not just in terms of approach but priorities.

  • Defaqto exceeds 1,000 Aequos Bankhall licences

    23 Sep 2005

    Defaqto says over 1,000 licences have been issued to Bankhall firms as they shift to its Aequos online system.

  • Equitable battle could see a deal

    21 Sep 2005

    The long-running legal battle between Equitable Life and its former directors and auditors Ernst & Young this week amid speculation the two could yet reach a settlement. In a seperate move, Equitable Members Action Group gained support of several MEPs in its bid to get the European Parliament to seek compenstion for investors from the Government.

  • Equitable battle could see a deal

    22 Sep 2005

    There was speculation this week that the legal battle between Equitable Life and its former directors and auditors Ernst & Young could reach a settlement.

  • Equitable drops case against Ernst & Young

    22 Sep 2005

    Equitable Life has dropped its 700m claim against its former auditors Ernst & Young.

  • Equitable says no heads will roll after E&Y case collapses

    22 Sep 2005

    Equitable Life says no executive heads will roll over the collapse of its lawsuit against former auditors Ernst & Young.

  • Fidelity slashes UK tracker fee to 0.1%

    22 Sep 2005

    Fidelity has reduced the annual charge on its UK index tracker fund to 0.1 per cent from 0.5 per cent and says investors in trackers could save a total of 55m by switching.The total expense ratio for the Moneybuilder index fund falls from 0.7 per cent to 0.3 per cent, which Fidelity says is the lowest in the market.The fund company's research shows that 16 fund groups are charging 1 per cent or more on UK tracker funds with a combined value of 4.6bn, making up over one-third ...

  • First National - Near Prime One Year Discount

    21 Sep 2005

    First NationalNear Prime One Year Discount

  • Flat land

    22 Sep 2005

    Nicola York finds that property prices have hit a plateau and we may be about to see serious falls in some areas of the country

  • Forum starts dialogue between FSA and marketers

    22 Sep 2005

    A financial promotions action group is being formed by the FSA and senior marketing professionals to promote best practice in the marketing of financial products.The regulator's financial promotion team and industry marketers will meet at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on October 6 to launch the group.FPAG aims to open up a dialogue between the industry and FSA to identify a common approach to marketing. It will try to anticipate marketing issues that could affect ...

  • Fraud checks get red flag from Absolute

    22 Sep 2005

    Insurers' traditional methods of identifying likely fraudsters are outdated, discriminatory and cost the industry millions of pounds, says specialist fraud solutions provider Absolute Customer Management.Traditionally, insurers use red flagging which covers issues such as race, gender and the area in which a claimant lives. Absolute says this often means that young men, especially those from a deprived area or from an ethnic minority are discriminated against and considered high ...

  • Fraudster told to pay back 100k or face three years more in jail

    22 Sep 2005

    A financial adviser jailed for conning elderly and infirm clients out of their life savings has been told he faces an increased prison sentence unless he compensates his victims.Hugh Rhys Oliver , 49, of Stepaside, Newtown, Powys, was jailed for two years after admitting forgery and deception charges when he appeared before Mold crown court ear- lier this year. The court heard that that he had fraudulently obtained 160,000 from eight elderly or infirm clients.Now it has been ...

  • Friends links bond to FundsNetwork

    21 Sep 2005

    Friends Provident is to offer access to Fidelity FundsNetwork within its offshore bond. Friends says clients will now have access to FundsNetwork’s 900 funds from 54 providers to allow for easier switching between funds as their investment needs change.

  • FSA approved precipice bond brochures by NDF

    22 Sep 2005

    The FSA had been checking NDF extra-income and growth plan marketing material for five years before thousands of investors lost much of their capital on the plans.Money Marketing has seen an FSA note of a meeting between NDF and the FSA in December 1999 in which the regulator questioned NDF marketing material. The note says the FSA is "not criticising the product itself, which we accep- ted was not as risky as some other products but we were concerned about the balance of the brochure".The ...

  • FSA bans IFA on bond misselling

    22 Sep 2005

    The FSA has banned a former director of a St Albans IFA for a catalogue of rule violations including precipice bond misselling.Idris Nagaty, formerly a director of liquidated firm Young Ridgway Associates, breached a number of the FSA's Statements of Principle for approved persons.The FSA judged that Mr Nagaty failed to ensure that the firm was properly organised and managed, failed to ensure sales of precipice bonds were sufficiently scrutinised and failed to implement an adequate ...

  • FSA slip-up reveals its view of depolarised industry

    22 Sep 2005

    The FSA has unwittingly broken its silence on the emerging shape of the IFA market post-depolarisation after mistakenly releasing deleted extracts from a recent speech by chairman Sir Callum McCarthy.In the original draft of the speech given earlier this week, McCarthy suggested that most IFAs have managed to adapt to depolarisation and the requirement to offer fee and commission payment options to their clients.He said early indications are that many IFAs have retained their independent ...

  • FSA starting new probe into self-cert

    22 Sep 2005

    The FSA is to investigate self-certification mortgages again, less than two years after giving the sector a clean bill of health in a previous investigation.The regulator's second examination comes on the back of industry criticism of its first attempt in February 2003 and allegations that some brokers are continuing to encourage clients to inflate their salaries to qualify for self-cert mortgages, as alleged in a BBC Money Programme investigation in January 2003.The new investigation ...

  • Fund managers shun volatile commodities

    22 Sep 2005

    The resource-driven markets posed a major dilemma for UK equity income fund managers in the first seven months of this year , says Standard & Poor's latest update on the sector.S&P fund analyst Michael Hockings says some managers were reluctant to invest in sectors where profits are dependent on commodity prices and trends are difficult to predict.The FTSE All-Share index, including reinvested income, rose by 12.4 per cent over the period while the median equity fund income ...

  • 'Fund selection is key rather than allocation'

    22 Sep 2005

    Individual fund selection rather than asset allocation is the driver for returns in the current economic climate, according to Jupiter's multi-manager team.

  • Gartmore's Euro specialist expected to sign new deal

    22 Sep 2005

    Gartmore European manager Roger Guy is expected to end speculation over his future this week by signing a new contract with the fund firm.Rumours were rife in the summer that Schroders was trying to lure Guy. However, the opportunity for Guy to move to Schroders appears to have closed after it recruited Leon Howard-Spink from Jupiter and Gary Clarke from Gartmore.Guy has been at Gartmore for 12 years and runs its 1.6bn European select opportunities fund, along with Guillaume ...

  • Greenwood storms into insurance stocks

    22 Sep 2005

    Investing in insurance stocks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is a way to capitalise on kneejerk valuations, says Iimia growth manager Nick Greenwood.Greenwood has invested a portion of the 15m Iimia growth portfolio in the Hiscox insurance portfolio fund, which invests globally in insurance companies and has a one-third exposure to insurers affected by hurricane claims.In August, the Hiscox fund returned -4.4 per cent, reflecting a sell-off in the asset class.Greenwood ...

  • Halo hello

    22 Sep 2005

    Sam Shaw examines the new chartered financial planner status

  • Hat-trick for Money Marketing at ABI awards

    22 Sep 2005

    Money Marketing scored another hat-trick at the 10th annual Association of British insurers' awards ceremony last Wednesday evening.MM was voted best financial trade publication, reporter Andrea Tryphonides was named best life insur- ance trade journalist of the year and editor John Lappin picked up an award for excellence in financial trade journalism.At April's Headline Money awards, MM won its third consecutive prize for trade media team of the year, deputy editor John Greenwood ...

  • Henderson cuts two Euro holdings

    22 Sep 2005

    Henderson Global Investors' multi-manager team has sold out of the Schroder European alpha plus fund and reduced its weighting in Gartmore's European focus fun as part of a review of its Continental holdings.

  • Henry catchpole

    22 Sep 2005

    As his beloved football team, Ipswich Town, battle it out for a chance to join the big boys in the Premiership next season, so Suffolk Life's chief executive is relishing the prospect of captain- ing a niche player in the growing Sipp market from next April. James Phillipps finds he is confid- ent of helping 25,000 or more clients to achieve their goals

  • Hitching a lift

    22 Sep 2005

    Norwich Union head of public relations James Evans got some impromptu and rather unwelcome training in for a marathon he is about to run when checking into the Tower Thistle ahead of last week's Money Marketing 20th anniversary bash.An unsympathetic receptionist told Evans that the lift was out of order and his room was on the eighth floor before leaving him to drag his luggage up unaided. Congratulations to Hargreaves Lansdown pension supremo Tom McPhail for his sublime performance ...

  • IFA fined 25k for system failures

    22 Sep 2005

    The FSA has fined IFA CFS Independent 25,000 for serious failures on systems and controls, risk management and compliance. The regulator concluded that CFS had a poor risk management strategy, relied heavily on third parties to comply with regulatory requirements and was not aware of key obligations when a firm is entrusted with client money and client assets.

  • IFA fined 25k for system failures

    21 Sep 2005

    The FSA has fined IFA CFS Independent 25,000 for serious systems and controls, risk management and compliance failures. The regulator concluded CFS had a poor risk management strategy, relied heavily on third parties to comply with regulatory requirements, and was not aware of key obligations when a firm is entrusted with client money and client assets.

  • IFA View: The curse of taxation

    22 Sep 2005

    Of every 100 you earn, you pay 11 per cent to the Government in National Insurance contributions and a further 22 per cent in income tax, or 40 per cent if you are a higher-rate taxpayer.

  • IFAs fail to send out A-Day letters

    22 Sep 2005

    Advisers who believe pre-A-Day planning starts and ends with the 1.5m pension fund issue are ignoring client needs and face the wrath of the FSA, according to O&M Systems.The specialist software firm says most IFAs have only a small number of clients affected by the 1.5m limit but other iss- ues that have had less publicity need to be addressed.For example, the tax-free cash implications for clients with existing section 32, executive pension and deferred occupational plans, ...

  • In the works

    22 Sep 2005

    Group schemes Hargreaves Lansdown pensions research manager Tom McPhail says Sipps have exciting potential in the workplace and looks at how plan design is progressing

  • Information overload

    22 Sep 2005

    Mortgage key features are "unnecessarily complicated, ludicrously lengthy and often misleading documents," said the chairwoman of the financial services consumer panel at the FSA annual meeting.

  • Investment View: Put America on the map

    22 Sep 2005

    Last week had a global feel about it so far as I was concerned. Aside from the spectacle of England regaining the Ashes from a cricket-mad nation on the other side of the world, I was privileged to receive presentations on the US and Japan from leading investment houses.

  • JO Hambro Capital Management - JOHCM American Growth Fund

    27 Sep 2005

    JO Hambro Capital ManagementJOHCM American Growth Fund

  • Jupiter - Jupiter Japan Income Fund

    21 Sep 2005

    Jupiter Jupiter Japan Income Fund

  • Jupiter aims for Japan income

    22 Sep 2005

    Jupiter Asset Management says its Japan income fund managed by Simon Somerville is the first of its kind in the UK retail market.The fund aims to produce growth and income by investing in Japanese equities and will seek to achieve a yield of 2 per cent in the first year.Somerville believes that the prospects for Japan are good with a sustainable rec- overy under way in the country, helped by the reforms implemented by prime minister Koizumi.Japanese companies' profits and ...

  • Jupiter waves wand for Merlin fund

    23 Sep 2005

    JupiterJupiter Merlin Balanced Fund

  • Keep up with the live issues

    22 Sep 2005

    Next Tuesday, September 27 will see the biggest one-day show for financial intermediaries in the North eturn to Manchester's G-Mex.

  • Kent Reliance leads way for building society growth

    22 Sep 2005

    Building societies have seen their third successive year of double-digit growth.Statistics from KPMG Financial Services.show that total building society assets have reached 247.3bn, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year, while societies have maintained their 18 per cent share of the market.Much of the growth in the society market is attributed to Nationwide which, with assets of over 111bn at April, represents 45 per cent of the total building society sector.The fastest-growing ...

  • Keydata bond by far the best

    22 Sep 2005

    Keydata's secure income bond has been welcomed by the market because it provides a 7.5 per cent annual income, tax-free through Isas and Pep transfers and an even better growth option.

  • Keydata defends strategy as Tenet shuns income bond

    22 Sep 2005

    Tenet is refusing to sell Keydata's secure income bond, which invests in US traded life policies, under an agreement reached with its PI insurers.The group, which owns networks Interdependence and M&E with over 1,150 IFAs, claims the product's links to the US traded life market mean it is based on unproven actuarial assumptions and a market which has seen a number of cases of fraud.Keydata head of commu- nications Roddi Vaughan-Thomas says he disagrees the term "secure" is misleading. ...

  • L&G adds sixth tranche of protected FTSE plan

    22 Sep 2005

    Legal & General is offering a sixth tranche of its protected capital growth plan, with returns linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index.The product, which runs for six years, offers a minimum of 21 per cent growth or 50 per cent of the rise in the FTSE 100 if this is greater.It is available for an eight-week offer period from until November 4 and matures on November 9, 2011.Minimum investment is 500 and the plan is available for Isas and Pep transfers.Commission ...

  • Laing joins net-based support firm

    22 Sep 2005

    Ex-Bankhall director of group business relations Arnold Laing has joined the board of broker-support.com.Laing believes that broker-support.com will serve as a complementary service to Bankhall.The web-based support service provider is based in Knutsford, Cheshire and was set up in October last year.It focuses on personal finance customers, saying most people do not have the need for complex investment and pension solutions, whereas nearly everyone will get involved in general ...

  • Let's rise from the Ashes

    22 Sep 2005

    England's success in the Ashes has captured the imagination of countless people who hitherto thought that cricket was boring. What we saw was two great sides showing tremendous professionalism and team spirit as they strove for one of the greatest prizes in their sport.

  • LibDems' Cable denounces property Sipps as 'wicked'

    22 Sep 2005

    The LibDems have intensified their attack on the A-Day changes allowing residential property in a Sipp, with Sha- dow Chancellor Vince Cable branding the plan "wicked".Speaking at a fringe conference event in Blackpool org- anised by the IMA, Cable said the move will encourage more people to invest in property at a time when many are already overexposed.The LibDems have campaigned for a reversal to what they see as a loophole in next April's simplification and believe that the ...

  • LTC system is incoherent and needs reform, says Rowntree

    22 Sep 2005

    The system for paying for long-term care is unfair and incoherent, according to a discussion paper by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.It calls for a debate on how to share the costs of long-term care to meet the needs of an ageing population.The paper, Facing the Cost of Long-term Care, suggests that the present system is unsustainable because it does not provide clear-cut guides as to the entitlements of people requiring care and does not present a generally accepted set of ...

  • Luckraft won't do the splits

    22 Sep 2005

    Framlington fund manager George Luckraft says he will not split his successful equity income fund in two in the style of Fidelity's special situations fund.Luckraft, who has been at Framlington for three years, is understood to have signed a deal tying him in until 2010 when Axa bought the fund boutique in August.Framlington soft-closed the equity income fund at 658m in February after it grew from 157m at the end of 2003, saying there could be a risk to performance if it got ...

  • McCarthy warns of July 7 lessons

    21 Sep 2005

    The FSA chairman has warned the financial industry to learn lessons from the 7 July London bombings and be fully prepared for future attacks. Speaking at Mansion House earlier this week Sir Callum McCarthy urged businesses to ensure they have adequate back up arrangements. He also said too much comment was guilty of "gross oversimplification" by assuming that regulation is inherently bad.

  • Midshires is shutting down on the high street

    22 Sep 2005

    Birmingham Midshires is scrapping its high-street branches in a phased programme to be completed by next March.The company will close 48 of its 67 branches while the remaining 19 will become Halifax-branded.Customers will be given the option of banking at their nearest Halifax branch. Those still wanting branch access may use any of the 1,100 Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches.The 470 branch staff will be offered alternative roles in the company or in the wider Halifax ...

  • Millfield publishes compliance guides

    22 Sep 2005

    Millfield is producing a series of advice suitability guides for members who still need help with documentation when facing rising compliance standards.The series will launch at the end of September and a total of 15 guides will be issued throughout the rest of 2005. They will be available online by the end of the year, says training and development director Alec Adams.The programme is being piloted in a paper-based format, with T&C supervisors and a sample of IFAs. The first ...

  • Millfield sells its offshore business

    22 Sep 2005

    Inter-Alliance Group (Cyprus), PGMS Holdings and Sterling Associates will change hands in a deal announced this week, reducing Millfield's annual cost base by 1.5m. Millfield says its total cost base has now fallen from 49m to 30.5m since December 2004.Millfield and De Vere are finalising a strategic partnership which allows the two to act as reciprocal introducers of business, through which Millfield can contact De Vere's 2,000 UK-domiciled clients.Millfield chief executive ...

  • Move with the times

    22 Sep 2005

    Any innovation in the equity-release market is to be welcomed. Prudential's Property Value Release product seems to have all the right features and the rate - at 6.45 per cent - is there or thereabouts. Portman charges 6.15 per cent while Mortgage Express charges 6.64 per cent. Northern Rock has a fixed rate of 5.99 per cent.The ability to draw down money gradually is welcome as you can access it when you need it rather than as a lump sum which has to be invested. Although Pru says ...

  • Multi-manager View: David and Goliath

    22 Sep 2005

    A major factor determining the relative performance of an equity portfolio is the proportion devoted to big and smaller companies. It is not unusual for the leviathans to outpace the minnows (or vice versa) by 10 or 20 per cent in a single year.

  • Multi-managers go back to tech

    22 Sep 2005

    Multi-managers Miton Investments and the Iimia are investing in technology funds amid growing optimism of a recovery in the sector.

  • Multiple choice

    22 Sep 2005

    Multi-manager has evolved consider- ably over the past 10 years and is now a major segment within the fund management industry.

  • NAPF wants independent body

    22 Sep 2005

    The National Association of Pension Funds is calling for a new independent standing commission to report to the Government on the impact of economic, demographic and social changes on the UK's pension system and to advise ministers on measures to maintain the pension system in the long term.

  • NAPF wants independent body

    21 Sep 2005

    The National Association of Pension Funds is calling for a new independent standing commission to report to the Government on the impact of economic, demographic and social changes on Britains pensions system, and to advise ministers on the measures necessary to maintain the UK pension system in the long term.

  • No designs on Keydata

    22 Sep 2005

    We received numerous promotional packs from Keydata on its new secure income bond which at first glance looks extremely enticing. Income of 7.5 per cent a year with very low risk is quite a combination and with no link to any stockmarket either. I asked our network for their comments and part of their response was: "The product design is such that we are unable to grant approval for it. The returns are generated from assets backed by the American traded life policy market which is relatively ...

  • Offshoring is forecast to double in three years

    22 Sep 2005

    Offshoring in the financial services sector is set to double by 2008, says consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers.The firm's research, Offshoring in the Financial Ser- vices Industry: Risks and Rewards - shows that 25 per cent of financial services companies outsource between 10 and 20 per cent of their workforce but this is expected to reach 50 per cent in three years.Asked what the three main reasons were for offshoring, cost saving came top with 79 per cent followed by improved ...

  • Old Mutual to launch hostile bid for Skandia

    23 Sep 2005

    Old Mutual will launch a hostile bid for Skandia Life after its 3.1bn offer for the Swedish company was rejected this morning. A majority of eight to three of the Skandia board ruled the offer is not attractive for Skandia's shareholders. Old Mutual said its offer remained a compelling proposition for Skandia Life's shareholders and that it would persist with the bid.

  • On to a loser with system

    22 Sep 2005

    If I say that I handle complaints to the FOS for a number of IFAs, then your IFA readers will understand why it is always with a very profound sense of relief that I reflect that legal services in Scotland are not, as yet anyway, subject to the same surreal system.Where you have a system in which a complaint may be raised without any sanction of adverse cost, no matter how spurious the grounds may be, and no sanction against telling anything other than the unvarnished truth, then ...

  • Pensioner Cell Block H?

    22 Sep 2005

    British justice is founded on the principle that we are innocent until proven guilty. A similar principle guides the application of inheritance tax law to pensions.

  • Pink Home Loans - Amber Home Loans Heavy Adverse 1% Discount

    23 Sep 2005

    Pink Home LoansAmber Home Loans Heavy Adverse 1% Discount

  • Platinum Capital Management - Platinum Global Dividend Fund

    23 Sep 2005

    Platinum Capital ManagementPlatinum Global Dividend Fund

  • Profits leap for Friends

    22 Sep 2005

    Friends Provident saw profits soar by almost half in the first six months of this year.Life and pension business rose by 15 per cent from 176m to 202m on an APE basis. This compares with average market growth of around 5 per cent, after stripping out a single one-off deal between Prudential and Resolution Life which lifted that figure to 8 per cent.Overall, group profits rose 46 per cent to 233m compared with 160m in the same period last year. Friends share of the life and pension ...

  • Property investors desert London says Landlord Mortgages

    26 Sep 2005

    Landlord Mortgages annual BTL review reveals property investors are deserting London due to high property prices.

  • Pru's unitised WP fund up 8.4% in first year

    22 Sep 2005

    Prudential's unitised with-profits product, Prufund, has exceeded expectations by delivering 8.4 per cent in its first year - significantly above the 3.4 per cent annual bonus on its traditional with-pro- fits fund.The firm says the two products will deliver very similar returns over the longer term when terminal bonuses are factored in, as they both invest in the near-70bn Pru life fund, recently upgraded to a rating of nine out of 10 by Cazalet Consulting.Pru announces the ...

  • RBS Group canvasses brokers on its brands

    22 Sep 2005

    Brokers say its four main lending brands - RBS, First Act- ive, One Account and NatWest - need better definition to compete in the intermediary market.Group earnings were 6.9bn for the year to December 2004 and RBS Group vowed to challenge industry giants such as HBOS for market share.But brokers say it has a less clear vision of its components while the HBOS brands - particularly Halifax and BM Solutions - are successful in their own right.Savills Private Finance managing ...

  • Reality bites

    22 Sep 2005

    Last week, I reviewed the increasing and seemingly inexorable rise in the importance of searching for the commercial reality in tax planning transactions in order to ascertain how effective they would be in achieving their purpose.

  • Regulator's small firm director defends TCF

    22 Sep 2005

    FSA acting director of small firms Stephen Bland has hit back at critics of the treating customers fairly initiative.Speaking at Aifa's first Leaders of the Industry lunch in London recently, Bland claimed that the fierce criticism levelled at TCF was unfounded.He said that arguments claiming TCF was ill defined, unnecessary and amounts to product regulation by the back door are contradictory and added that pension unlocking and advice on equity release showed the need for the ...

  • Remortgages hit two-year high

    22 Sep 2005

    Remortgaging boosted lending figures in August. Gross lending rose by 9 per cent from July, says the CML, to 27.5bn in August, the highest since July 2004. Remortgaging rose by15 per cent to 11.7bn from 10.2bn in July, the highest since October 2003.

  • Remortgages hit two-year high

    21 Sep 2005

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports remortgaging boosted lending figures in August 2005, with gross mortgage lending rising by 9 per cent from July. Lending of 27.5bn in August resulted in the highest reported figure since July 2004. Remortgaging rose 15 per cent to 11.7bn from 10.2bn in July, the highest figure since October 2003.

  • Research finds healthy people are the best money managers

    22 Sep 2005

    People who look after their health are likely to be better at managing their money, suggests research from Legal & General.Seventy-one per cent of the 1,000 people questioned in L&G's survey admit to having an unhealthy or unbalanced lifestyle compared with 29 per cent who claim to have a healthy regime.The 17 per cent of respondents who are unhealthy - taking no exercise and no interest in what they eat - also make the worst money managers, with 73 per cent not planning and ...

  • Retention fee deal from Woolwich

    22 Sep 2005

    Woolwich is offering a retention procuration fee for brokers along with a range of products for the intermed- iary market.Intermediaries will be paid a procuration fee if they feel the best advice they can give is for clients to stay with their current lender.A pilot scheme has been running since November 1, 2004, with members of the Legal & General mortgage club, ahead of a national rollout.The retention range of products allows existing Woolwich mortgage customers to have ...

  • Rignall joins Sesame to boost mortgages

    22 Sep 2005

    Sesame has appointed Paul Rignall as mortgage product manager, joining from St James's Place where he was mortgage marketing manager.He replaces Andy Young who left for TBMC in April. Rignall was responsible for mortgage and general insurance at SJP and he previously worked for Zurich.Rignall will be responsible for management and development of Sesame's mortgage proposition.Sesame has written around 14bn in mortgage business. Its most recent venture has been to introduce ...

  • Schroders launches new income product

    26 Sep 2005

    Schroders is launching an income product that uses covered call options to generate a 7 per cent yield on UK large cap stocks.

  • ScotEq helps plant contracting-out tree

    22 Sep 2005

    Scottish Equitable is working with the FSA to design a contracting-out decision tree.The complexity of the issue means few intermediaries are keen to advise on the issue.The move coincides with the Government Actuary's Department making its recommendations for the level of contracted-out rebates for the next five years. The GAD has ignored FSA research calling for a 40 per cent rise in rebates and prop- oses that rebates should fall for younger people.People closest to retirement ...

  • Scottish Life appoints Polson as head of corp business

    23 Sep 2005

    Scottish Life has appointed Mark Polson in the new position of head of corporate business.

  • SimplyBiz makes 950k profit

    21 Sep 2005

    SimplyBiz has reached a pre-tax profit of 950,000 for the first six months of 2005, in less than three years. The support services provider says it is saving member firms over 10m in charges.

  • Sipp building

    22 Sep 2005

    The media frenzy over changes to Sipps should not be allowed to distort investment fundamentals, says Philip ScottSipp building

  • Sipp euphoria could see rise in misselling

    22 Sep 2005

    Product providers and advisers should be aware of the heightened risk of misadvising and misselling amid Sipp fervour, warns City law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.Churning, investing too much into a Sipp, unsuitable alternative investments, residential property and tax avoidance are cited as the five main danger zones by the firm.RPC partner Charles Suchett-Kaye is cautioning advisers against getting carried away with the excitement surrounding the new pension rules as individuals ...

  • Skandia rejected Old Mutual bid for lacking industrial logic

    23 Sep 2005

    Skandia Life's board offered a vision of a promising future as an independent company as one of its prime reasons for rejecting Old Mutual's 3.1bn takeover bid this morning. Although Old Mutual's offer has been judged as financially fair by independent assessor ABN Amro, Skandia Life says the combination of Old Mutual and Skandia lacks industrial logic. It says the overall synergies are limited and there is limited overlap between the companies.

  • Skandia sees record high-value CI sales for August

    26 Sep 2005

    Skandia says has witnessed record high-value critical illness sales for August.

  • Skandia squabble could open door to Old Mutual

    22 Sep 2005

    A split between Skandia Life's UK and Swedish management over plans to slash in 65m costs could undermine attempts to fend off a 3.1bn takeover bid from Old Mutual.The Skandia Life board will decide whether to recommend the Old Mutual offer to its shareholders this week.If Skandia rejects the bid, Old Mutual has signalled its intention to launch a hostile bid if necessary.The Swedish insurance company was last week forced to release its business plan to the Swedish stockmarket. ...

  • Small is bountiful

    22 Sep 2005

    I have often wondered why large-capitalisation stocks form the bulk of many a private individual's portfolio and are what my mother means when she asks me: "What has the stockmarket done today?"

  • Some like Sipps hot

    22 Sep 2005

    It's A for alternative investments as A-Day fever gets a grip on the Sipp market.A straw poll of advisers and Sipp administrators reveals a wide variety of enquiries about potential Sipp investments.As well as being asked about putting investments such as stamps, classic cars and fine wine in pension pots, Central Financial Planning has been approached about the Sipp suitability of a portfolio of nude photographs and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia while Suffolk Life has been asked ...

  • Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited - Near Prime Five Year Fixed Self-Cert

    22 Sep 2005

    Southern Pacific Mortgage LimitedNear Prime Five Year Fixed Self-Cert

  • Specialist Mortgage Funding relaunches with new identity

    23 Sep 2005

    Specialist Mortgage Funding Ltd, the mortgage packager is relaunching as SMF, together with a new logo and corporate identity.

  • Square Mile and Hamptons sever link

    22 Sep 2005

    Hamptons International Mortgages has served notice to Square Mile Mortgage Finance after a review of its appointed-rep proposition as it continues to cement relationships with Key Retirement Solutions and Towry Law.Square Mile MF says it is parting amicably from Hamptons and will become an appointed representative of Cobalt Capital as of October 1.Square Mile MF takes all eight RIs and administrative staff of three to new offices in the City. This is Cobalt's next step in its ...

  • Standard Health buys First Assist

    21 Sep 2005

    Standard Life Healthcare has announced the purchase of the private medical insurance business of First Assist Insurance Services for an undisclosed sum. It is expected for the transfer of business to be completed by 2006. The deal includes the transfer of all people involved in the running of this business along with all current contracts.

  • Standard Health buys First Assist

    22 Sep 2005

    Standard Life Healthcare has bought the private medical insurance business of First Assist Insurance Services.

  • States of affairs

    22 Sep 2005

    I am an American who is about to work in Bristol on a long-term contract for a financial services company. What financial plans do I need to make and how will I be taxed in the UK compared with the US?

  • Surveys measure seismic waves in pension world

    22 Sep 2005

    The Association of Consulting Actuaries' 2005 Pension Trends Survey and the Government Actuary's Department's 2004 Occupational Pension Schemes Survey highlight significant changes in UK pension provision and the attitudes of employers in setting up and running schemes for employees.

  • Syndicate set to buy Ashcourt Holdings

    22 Sep 2005

    Fund firm acquisition vehicle Syndicate Asset Management is seeking Aim listing and is buying asset manager and financial planning firm Ashcourt Holdings.Syndicate was set up to build a fund management group by buying smaller firms. It has raised 33m at 60p per share in pre-IPO financing.The firm is offering 210p per share for each share of Ashcourt holdings, valuing the firm's existing issued share capital at 12.9m and 13.1m if the firm exercises all its outstanding share options. ...

  • The dark side of Sipps

    22 Sep 2005

    A-Day There is still much confusion among advisers and investors which needs to be clarified before A-Day, says John Moret

  • The lights are going out for Ratebuster

    22 Sep 2005

    DWS is to close its Ratebuster product in April 2006 and head of retail Andy Clark is "turning out the lights" on the firm's retail operation.Ratebuster was launched in March. It has performed poorly and is expected to return even money on an initial investment.At launch, Ratebuster targeted annual returns of 7.75 per cent by investing the interest accrued from depositing the money in securities.Deutsche Bank backed the product but Aberdeen has decided to stop offering it ...

  • The mane chance

    22 Sep 2005

    The day before Jupi- ter launched its Japanese income fund, prime mini- ster Junichiro Koizumi won the Japanese election with a surprising majority.

  • Time to treat advisers like grown-up

    22 Sep 2005

    Prior to placing business with product providers, I was obliged to furnish them with details of both my company and its registration with the FSA.Subsequent to obtaining notification of my agency number and the return of my signed agreement to their terms and conditions, I was accepted as a suitable person/company to introduce business and to service existing business. Why, therefore, are many companies paranoid about releasing details of client plans to me?Either I am a responsible ...

  • Tiner calls for stress test to stop missales

    22 Sep 2005

    FSA chief executive John Tiner has warned financial companies to stress-test new products against big stock- market falls and check that the products are appro- priate for their target customers to help guard aga- inst misselling.Tiner, speaking at the FSA annual asset management conference in London on Monday this week, said that by incorporating testing at the product design stage, firms can identify that the right safeguards are built into the sales and after-sales processes ...

  • TMB quartet quit for Deutsche Bank

    22 Sep 2005

    Four directors of The Mortgage Business are joining Deutsche Bank in what is the bank's clearest indication yet that it is moving into lending in the UK.Deutsche has recruited TMB managing director Bill Dudgeon, sales and marketing director Mark Bergin, strategy and planning director David Parry and operations director Paul Graham. The four will be taking on the same roles at the new Deutsche business. Although no site has been identified, they will for now be remaining in Chester.Dudgeon ...

  • Turner says he is caught in a compulsion conundrum

    22 Sep 2005

    Pension Commission chairman Adair Turner used his speech at the Trades Union Conference in Brighton last week to emphasise the arguments against pension compulsion without ruling out the controversial policy.He told the conference delegates - many of whom advocate compulsion - that the weight of public opinion is firmly against compelling people to save and it is no good resolving the conflict by introducing employer-only compulsion as evidence suggests that this would come at the ...

  • 'Two or three multi-ties set for domination'

    22 Sep 2005

    Two or three multi-ties will dominate financial services, according to Thinc Destini's group chief executive Simon Chamberlain.Speaking at the multi-distributor's inaugural conference in Wales last week, Chamberlain said he believes there will be a rise of white-labelling agreements between com- panies acting in the style of commission clubs.Thinc Destini is in the process of signing a white-labelling agreement which will be announced soon.Chamberlain says the firm is well ...

  • Wake up little sushi

    22 Sep 2005

    At the launch of Jupiter's Japanese income fund a gaggle of hacks learnt how to make sushi.Risky business, mixing journalists and sharp knives, especially given that the first question asked by the teacher was "Is anybody drunk?"

  • Wall of cash sees Standard go global with new fund

    22 Sep 2005

    Standard Life is introducing a select property fund offering global commercial property exposure after its UK property fund got too popular.The firm's UK property fund is 11 per cent invested in cash, with inflows of 50m a month and Standard is struggling to invest the money in what it describes as a competitive UK commercial property market.It is hoping to attract investors looking for property exposure and liquidity to its alternative offering and is understood to be considering ...

  • When Property investments go pear-shaped

    22 Sep 2005

    In this series of articles, I am looking at the main asset classes with regard to their recent, present and short-term future investment returns and volatility. I am also highlighting the use of the various asset classes in different client portfolios.

  • Whose case to answer?

    22 Sep 2005

    As a DBS/Sesame member, I sold only a few NDF guaranteed income bonds in 2000/01. The products were on the DBS highly recommended panel.The risk rating of this product changed from cautious to highly risky and we as advisers are being sued for misselling.However, in a recent claim which went against me, Sesame found nothing wrong in the advice given and the procedures adopted but the FSA found in my client's favour.However, the FSA stated in its response that I had not done ...

  • Whose case to answer?

    22 Sep 2005

    As a DBS/Sesame member, I sold only a few NDF guaranteed income bonds in 2000/01. The products were on the DBS highly recommended panel.The risk rating of this product changed from cautious to highly risky and we as advisers are being sued for misselling.However, in a recent claim which went against me, Sesame found nothing wrong in the advice given and the procedures adopted but the FSA found in my client's favour.However, the FSA stated in its response that I had not done ...

  • Zurich discusses deal with Capita

    21 Sep 2005

    Capita Group is in talks with Zurich Financial Services concerning a potential business relationship. The business processing and outsourcing firm says the talks involve assistance with operations within Zurich's UK life business. Zurich says talks are in early stages but has confirmed discussions are going ahead with relevant staff.

  • Zurich International Life introduces 37 new funds

    26 Sep 2005

    Zurich International Life has added 37 new funds to its international proposition to be available from October 3, 2005.

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