Money Marketing
22 January 2003

  • 'Criminal checks are being ignored'

    23 Jan 2003

    Independent broker Mortgage Watchdog is accusing the Mortgage Code Compliance Board and FSA of failing to protect consumers by ignoring legislation requiring criminal checks on financial services employees. Mortgage Watchdog managing director Monty Burn says Home Office legislation states applicants for financial services jobs must be passed by the Criminal Record Bureau to uncover any previous convictions, including fraud. But this requirement under the Police Act 1997 and amendments ...

  • 'Green Paper will boost income drawdown'

    23 Jan 2003

    The Pensions Green Paper has given income drawdown a massive boost by liberalising the rules governing when and how retirement income can be taken, claims pension consultantcy Towers Perrin. The company says Inland Revenue proposals to remove the requirement to buy an annuity by the age of 75 and replace it with a requirement to use all funds to provide income mean the income-drawdown sector will grow. Under the proposals, if a drawdown investor dies after 75, any funds remaining ...

  • 'More generous tax breaks and axe funding cap'

    23 Jan 2003

    The Government should give employers more generous tax breaks and remove funding caps to their pensions as long as they contribute to employees' schemes, says the Society of Pensions Consultants. President Donald Duval, testifying before the select committee last week, told MPs that improved tax breaks for employees will not motivate them to save more as, in many cases, they cannot afford to do so. But by giving employers greater tax advantages for contributing to occupational ...

  • 'Pension crisis is a myth'

    23 Jan 2003

    The pension crisis is a myth as any problems dogging the system could be solved through education, according to experts. Testifying before the select committee last week, representatives of prov-iders, consultants, actuaries and the ABI all denied there is a crisis and said much of the problem is cyclical in nature. Faculty of Actuaries chairman Tom Ross told the committee that there is a crisis of confidence in the system but said expectations in the past have been unrealistic. Head ...

  • 'White label ban will hit small fund firms'

    23 Jan 2003

    Product providers will not be allowed to sell other products branded as its own as white labelling is to be banned by the FSA in its depolarisation proposals. In its place, the regulator has opted for a system which it is calling co-branding, where the distributing provider must tell consumers who has manufactured the product that they are buying. The move has been criticised by fund managers, who believe it will prevent smaller specialist managers capitalising on the distribution ...

  • £140m cost of key facts format

    23 Jan 2003

    Proposals for the next generation of product disclosure could cost the industry £140m with the end of key features documents and separate disclosure regimes for life and pensions and investment products. According to a draft FSA consultation paper on product disclosure due to be published on January 31 but seen by Money Marketing, KFDs will be replaced by key facts, a new format transforming product information to consumers. The most radical difference between the two new ...

  • £140m cost of key facts format

    23 Jan 2003

    Proposals for the next generation of product disclosure could cost the industry £140m with the end of key features documents and separate disclosure regimes for life and pensions and investment products. According to a draft FSA consultation paper on product disclosure due to be published on January 31 but seen by Money Marketing, KFDs will be replaced by key facts, a new format transforming product information to consumers. The most radical difference between the two new ...

  • 38% of UK executives looking to retire early

    23 Jan 2003

    UK senior executives are more likely to want to retire early than their counterparts in any other European country, according to research by logistics firm UPS. Its 12th annual Europe Business Monitor survey of UK business leaders shows that 38 per cent plan to retire early, with a further 32 per cent saying they would like to get out early but will probably have to continue working. The findings of the survey of 1,452 senior business leaders come after the Pensions Green Paper ...

  • ABI describes armed forces life cover story as misleading and inaccurate

    27 Jan 2003

    Existing life cover held by members of the armed forces will not be affected by call up or deployment to the Gulf, confirmed the Association of British Insurers.The ABI has hit out in response to a weekend report in the Times newspaper which it described as misleading and inaccurate.

  • Actuary accuses firms of cover-up in DB 'scandal'

    23 Jan 2003

    Company finance directors are covering up the reality to shareholders and employees by claiming that shifting occupational pension schemes from defined benefit to defined contribution will save money, a leading actuary has told MPs. Testifying before the Parliamentary Work and Pensions select committee's inquiry last week, Hymans Robertson senior partner Ronald Bowie said companies closing their DB scheme to new entrants and offering a DC pension to employees is a "scandal". He ...

  • All change for £20m Raising Standards scheme

    23 Jan 2003

    FSA managing director John Tiner has stoked fears that the Raising Standards initiative could become redundant, claiming it is based on the old regulatory regime which is about to be overhauled. Despite saying he was pleased with the progress of the initiative, Tiner, speaking at the Raising Standards annual conference, said a new regime dubbed "son of key features" or key facts document is about to be introduced (see story on right). ABI director general Mary Francis said more ...

  • All change for £20m Raising Standards scheme

    23 Jan 2003

    FSA managing director John Tiner has stoked fears that the Raising Standards initiative could become redundant, claiming it is based on the old regulatory regime which is about to be overhauled. Despite saying he was pleased with the progress of the initiative, Tiner, speaking at the Raising Standards annual conference, said a new regime dubbed "son of key features" or key facts document is about to be introduced (see story on right). ABI director general Mary Francis said more ...

  • AMP axes annual and terminal bonuses on NPI policies

    23 Jan 2003

    AMP is scrapping annual and terminal bonuses for 120,000 NPI with-profits policyholders, blaming the rising cost of guaranteed annuity options. Two million Pearl endowment holders with conventional with-profits policies will have last year's 2.25 per cent annual bonus reduced to zero. Payouts across AMP UK's with-profits range will be slashed by 20 per cent. Annual bonuses will be between 0 and 5 per cent. The NPI products which will not get annual or terminal bonuses are ...

  • AMP axes annual and terminal bonuses on NPI policies

    23 Jan 2003

    AMP is scrapping annual and terminal bonuses for 120,000 NPI with-profits policyholders, blaming the rising cost of guaranteed annuity options. Two million Pearl endowment holders with conventional with-profits policies will have last year's 2.25 per cent annual bonus reduced to zero. Payouts across AMP UK's with-profits range will be slashed by 20 per cent. Annual bonuses will be between 0 and 5 per cent. The NPI products which will not get annual or terminal bonuses are ...

  • An English plan abroad

    23 Jan 2003

    We have recently employed a foreign national within our company and I know he is eligible to join our group personal pension and benefit from the employer contribution that we make. However, our employee does not see working in the UK as permanent and will wish to return home at some time in the future. I believe he could transfer the GPP benefits abroad but I and my employee would like to know more about how this would work in practice. It used to be the case that any application ...

  • Banks face FSA probe as Bond investors lose cash

    23 Jan 2003

    Major banks such as Lloyds TSB look set to bear the brunt of FSA action over structured products after the regulator admitted that high-street retailers rather than IFAs may be guilty of misselling. The FSA is investigating sales of index-linked bonds amid fears that thousands of products maturing this year will fail to return capital to investors. The regulator believes that many investors may have been unaware that stockmarket falls could leave them empty-handed. It had been ...

  • Barclays and Woolwich move IFAs into Europe

    23 Jan 2003

    Barclays Bank and its Woolwich subsidiary are expanding their IFA operation into Europe for the first time, targeting British expatriate customers. The group will be based in Luxemburg and plans to start providing full financial advice from March. It will trade under the brand of Barclays International Financial Advisory Service as it believes Barclays is a better known name in Europe than Woolwich due to its international banking presence. Bifas will be headed by Woolwich Independent ...

  • Bristol & West - Guaranteed FTSE Bond

    27 Jan 2003

    Monday, 27 January 2003Type: Guaranteed equity bondsAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £2,500-£1mTerm: Three or five yearsGuarantee: Capital returned in full regardless of the performance of the indexReturn: Up to 100% of growthClosing date: April 5, 2003 Commission: Initial 2.5%Tel: 0845 113 1177

  • Britannic offers cash-back on term

    28 Jan 2003

    Britannic Assurance has released a new term product providing a proportion of the premium to policyholders who do not claim before the end of the term.Like traditional term, the Cash-back Plan pays out upon death during the term, but unlike others, 50 per cent of paid-out premiums will be returned to the policyholder at the end of the term.The 15-year term product has been on the market since the beginning of January and is available for consumers aged between 18 and 49. Britannic ...

  • C&G rolls out fixed-rate bond

    27 Jan 2003

    Cheltenham & Gloucester is launching a two-year fixed rate bond paying 4 per cent per annum gross until April 2005.The interest is paid on any investment over £500. Any additions can be made as long as the bond is open to new investors. For investors needing to access their investment urgently there is a withdrawal facility, subject to a charge equivalent to 120 days' gross interest on the amount taken out.Sales director Nick Hale says: "The bond provides ...

  • Comply with me

    23 Jan 2003

    In the next year, all brokers will need to make key decisions about how to face up to the demands of regulation in 2004. Any sensible intermediary will give him or herself at least six months to bed down new systems and practices before regulation makes them compulsory. Decisions will need to be made this side of the summer break so that changes can be made in the autumn and new procedures adopted during the winter and spring. The key issue for brokers will be whether to become ...

  • Compulsion is only way, warns Aussie supremo

    23 Jan 2003

    Price caps fail to work in a complicated distribution system like the UK and only serve to damage the market according to the architect of the Australian compulsory pension system. Senator Nick Sherry, currently the Australian shadow minister for retirement incomes and savings but was previously the minister in the last Labour government, also says compulsion is the only way forward to pay for retirement and condemns voluntarism as a failure. Sherry, who testified last week before ...

  • Compulsion is only way, warns Aussie supremo

    23 Jan 2003

    Price caps fail to work in a complicated distribution system like the UK and only serve to damage the market according to the architect of the Australian compulsory pension system. Senator Nick Sherry, currently the Australian shadow minister for retirement incomes and savings but was previously the minister in the last Labour government, also says compulsion is the only way forward to pay for retirement and condemns voluntarism as a failure. Sherry, who testified last week before ...

  • Cooling-off plan for all drawdown investors

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is planning to introduce a cooling-off period for everyone buying an income-drawdown policy. Previously, only clients exercising an open market option benefited from a cancellation period. This meant that policyholders buying a plan from their pension provider did not have this option. The FSA makes the proposal in its latest Miscellaneous Amendments to the Conduct of Business rules, published last week. IFAs welcome the move as they say a large amount of drawdown business ...

  • Correspondent's week

    23 Jan 2003

    There is a tangible air of anticipation and excitement in the SimplyBiz offices - particularly surrounding those who are lucky enough be heading off for the first SimplyBiz seminars to be held in the South. For those of you who do not know, the SimplyBiz offices are in the heart of Huddersfield and we do not get much in the way of bright lights here so the thought of the big city - complete with colour TV, lager tops and shops that stay open all night - is almost too much for us to ...

  • Declaration to consumer replaces better than best

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is to scrap the better than best rule, replacing it with a declaration to consumers of any financial ties to providers and a prohibition on sales targets linked to inward investment as part of consultation paper 166: Reforming Polarisation. As proposed in CP121 in January last year, the draft rules for depolarisation will see the end of the rule which prevents IFAs placing business with providers owning more than 10 per cent of their firm unless they can demonstrate it is the ...

  • Declaration to consumer replaces better than best

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is to scrap the better than best rule, replacing it with a declaration to consumers of any financial ties to providers and a prohibition on sales targets linked to inward investment as part of consultation paper 166: Reforming Polarisation. As proposed in CP121 in January last year, the draft rules for depolarisation will see the end of the rule which prevents IFAs placing business with providers owning more than 10 per cent of their firm unless they can demonstrate it is the ...

  • Decline and fall of the IFA empire

    23 Jan 2003

    I find myself looking with trepidation and sadness at the future that lays ahead of us in financial services. A multiplicity of headlines flash past, each signalling a deeper plunge into chaos for consumers and regulated practitioners, independent or not. Providers will be caught up in penalties, fines, increased costs and lower performance, to the detriment of consumers. The Consumers' Association will continue to badger us and cast about for new causes to blame. All this ...

  • Don't miss "carry-back" deadline says Jupiter

    27 Jan 2003

    People saving for retirement should take advantage of their carry-back pensions tax-break before the January 31 deadline says Jupiter.Jupiter estimates some individuals approaching retirement could contribute up to £38,160 and claim tax relief worth up to £15,264 at 40 per cent tax.Jupiter unitised pensions development director Colin Maloney says: "Whilst 'carry forward' was abolished last January, the valuable carry-back tax break remains intact, allowing ...

  • DWS adds income fund to stable

    27 Jan 2003

    DWS Investments has expanded its stable of UK funds with the creation of the DWS UK equity income plus fund. This Oeic aims to produce a rising level of income with some scope for capital growth by investing in 40 UK stocks. It will have an initial target yield of 6 per cent and each of the 40 stocks will be equally weighted at 2.5 per cent of the portfolio. However, weightings are allowed to move 1 per cent either side of this target. The portfolio will be a more concentrated ...

  • Easy-dial - Enterprise Investment Scheme

    23 Jan 2003

    Thursday, 23 January 2003Aim: Growth by investing in telecommunicationsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Opening/closing date: September 23, 2002/April 11, 2003Charges: ImplicitCommission: Initial 3% Tel: 020 8939 9021

  • Ellis is a little too late with a lesson in ethics

    23 Jan 2003

    John Ellis's article on ethics raises some interesting and thought-provoking issues. To "teach" ethics to adults seems to be very much like closing the stable door, etc. If the difference between right and wrong is not apparent by the time a person becomes an adviser (at least early 20s), then it never will be. The biggest possible financial gain and the morally most reprehensible has always been achieved by pinching what belongs to someone else. When this process is concealed ...

  • Five financial firms among the top reputations in UK

    23 Jan 2003

    Northern Rock, Fidelity, Egg, Nationwide and Legal & General have some of the best reputations in corporate UK, according to Presswatch. But four financial services companies - Equitable Life, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Royal & Sun Alliance - fall among the 10 UK companies with the poorest reputations in the annual survey. High-street retailer Marks & Spencer came top in terms of positive mentions in the national press in 2002. Northern Rock and Egg, at fourth and ...

  • FOS says split-cap complaints to hit 2,000 by March

    23 Jan 2003

    Complaints about split-capital investment trusts are expected to rocket to 2,000 by March from zero a year ago, says the Financial Ombudsman Service. The estimate is part of the FOS's annual plan and budget, published last week, in which it predicts a further 3,000 complaints about the product in the 12 months from March 2003 as the scale of the problems become clear. Endowment policies linked to mortgages are still the biggest grievance although the number of complaints dropped ...

  • Framlington chief Vogel quits to set up own firm

    23 Jan 2003

    Framlington chief executive Mike Vogel has stunned the group by resigning to set up an independent private client investment business. In a move which has left the fund management company temporarily without a chief executive, Vogel,who has been with Framlington for eight years, has left to pursue a long-held ambition to run his own firm which aims to service high-net-worth investors. Framlington says the move will not put Vogel in direct competition with the company. Over ...

  • Friends aids advisers with OPPs guide

    23 Jan 2003

    Friends Provident is offering IFAs a guide to restructuring an occupational pension scheme. The guide includes inf-ormation on the requirements for amending, restructuring and winding up an occupational scheme. It also offers IFAs and trustees advice on making a scheme paid up or frozen and surrendering a contracting-out certificate in a situation where benefits continue to accrue but the scheme does not wind up. It also explains how trustees can secure their liabilities. The ...

  • Friends cuts protection rates and adds benefits

    23 Jan 2003

    Friends Provident is cutting premiums on its income protection products and adding features including a 10 per cent discount for sums assured of £400 or more a week. However, the 10 per cent discount only applies to policyholders in occupation class 1. The changes see the maximum sum assured increased to £2,400 from £2,000 a week and the removal of the limit for the maximum period of benefit, which was previously 104 weeks. Friends has also removed the civil ...

  • FSA budget to increase by 3 per cent

    28 Jan 2003

    Britannic Assurance has released a new term product providing a proportion of the premium to policyholders who do not claim before the end of the term.Like traditional term, the Cash-back Plan pays out upon death during the term, but unlike others, 50 per cent of paid-out premiums will be returned to the policyholder at the end of the term.The 15-year term product has been on the market since the beginning of January and is available for consumers aged between 18 and 49. Britannic ...

  • FSA making life harder for itself

    23 Jan 2003

    We have always argued that the FSA is making a big mistake in killing off polarisation at a time of such uncertainty. But if it must do this foolish thing - and change has been inevitable for more than 12 months now - then the latest package of measures is as good as any other. We now know that multi-ties are to be allowed, with no restrictions on the numbers of ties. IFAs must cover the whole market and have a fee option. Better than best goes, which will lead those IFAs who have ...

  • FSA opens the box To depolarisation

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA has called last orders on polarisation, opening up distribution of financial services and opening itself up to claims of massive consumer detriment with a box-ticking disclosure regime in one fell swoop. FSA consultation paper 166: Reforming Polarisation: Removing the Barriers to Choice, published this week, creates any number of distribution models and allows hybrid firms to move between tied, multi-tied or independent depending on a client's needs. The Consumers' ...

  • FSA opens the box To depolarisation

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA has called last orders on polarisation, opening up distribution of financial services and opening itself up to claims of massive consumer detriment with a box-ticking disclosure regime in one fell swoop. FSA consultation paper 166: Reforming Polarisation: Removing the Barriers to Choice, published this week, creates any number of distribution models and allows hybrid firms to move between tied, multi-tied or independent depending on a client's needs. The Consumers' ...

  • FSA says proposals won't spark IFA shift to multi-ties

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is predicting that very few, if any, IFAs will decide to go multi-tied as a result of its proposals in CP166. Although not providing any further details on numbers, head of retail projects David Severn says the regulator's research shows that most IFAs want to retain their independence, with most multi-ties likely to come from the tied sector. The FSA acknowledges that if a large percentage of the IFA community becomes multi-tied, it would represent a significant adverse ...

  • FSA says proposals won't spark IFA shift to multi-ties

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is predicting that very few, if any, IFAs will decide to go multi-tied as a result of its proposals in CP166. Although not providing any further details on numbers, head of retail projects David Severn says the regulator's research shows that most IFAs want to retain their independence, with most multi-ties likely to come from the tied sector. The FSA acknowledges that if a large percentage of the IFA community becomes multi-tied, it would represent a significant adverse ...

  • Getting the messaging

    23 Jan 2003

    The first experience that most novice computer users have of electronically managing information concerning people they communicate with, either online, or for general appointments, tends to be some use of Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. This is an inevitable consequence of Microsoft's dominance of the market for desktop suites, web browsers and operating systems. Outlook has over its last few releases become a very powerful tool with an increasingly powerful ability to manage ...

  • Giving up the lion's share

    23 Jan 2003

    The Diary has learnt from a disgruntled group of Antipodian backpackers that they were forced to share their youth hostel dormitory with a family of five from Bristol visiting London for the weekend. We understand that the daddy was none other than Hargreaves Lansdown's ubiquitous pension spokesman Tom McPhail together with his girlfriend and their children who were in London with cheap tickets for The Lion King musical. The Diary understands that the children were treated to ...

  • Govett says its US fund well-placed to survive war

    27 Jan 2003

    Fund manager Govett says because of increased exposure to defence stocks, its US opportunities fund is well-placed to weather a war against Iraq.While quick to point out it still does not believe war is inevitable, manager of Govett's fund Gil Knight says the fund is lean enough to survive a war in the Gulf region.The fund has recently increased its exposure to United Technologies and CACI International, both of which have interests in defence electronics.Knight ...

  • Govt looks set to go ahead with axing Isa tax breaks

    23 Jan 2003

    Government plans to scrap the dividend tax breaks on Isas in 2004 seem unlikely to be revised despite continued pressure from the Pep & Isa Managers Association. In a meeting with Treasury Financial Secretary Ruth Kelly last week, Pima chief executive Tony Vine-Lott argued that abolishing the 10 per cent tax break on Isa dividends would prompt up to 50 per cent of investors to shun equity Isas. He told Kelly that the move would simply encourage investors to move into cash Isas ...

  • Greengross made patron of disabled workers campaign

    23 Jan 2003

    The Unum Provident-sponsored New Beginnings campaign, which aims to get 250,000 disabled people back to work by 2010, has appointed Baroness Greengross as its patron. The aim is to improve return-to-work incomes for one-quarter of the UK's disabled people. The campaign is supported by the CB1, the Disability Rights Commission and the Department for Work and Pensions. Greengross is vice-chairwoman of the Britain in Eur-ope Campaign and a board member of Help Age International. ...

  • Halifax finds house prices have leapt 306 per cent since 1983

    27 Jan 2003

    New research from Halifax bank tracking the last 20 years of UK housing show property prices have increased by 306 per cent. The average price has leapt to £121,742 from £29,993 since the Halifax house price index started in 1983. It says the north/south divide has widened significantly. Prices in London are now 76 per cent above the national average compared with 28 per cent in 1983. In Scotland prices are 59 per cent of the UK national average compared with 93 per cent ...

  • Household savings plummet

    23 Jan 2003

    The public is blind to media and Government warnings of a high risk of pensioner poverty, according to research from Royal London. Figures from the firm's second British savings report show household savings have taken a nosedive since the first report in May 2002. The survey shows individuals' regular personal savings, including pensions, bank and building society accounts and Isas, have fallen by 40 per cent to an average £203 a month in October 2002 from £358 ...

  • How to build stakeholder business

    23 Jan 2003

    Providing a stakeholder pension in the 1 per cent world can be achieved if some creative thinking is applied. Unfortunately, many of the UK's more well known commercial providers are not having the success they would have liked with sales. Within the constraints of the maximum annual charge of 1 per cent, it is unlikely that a monthly contribution of £20 would be enough to cover the costs associated with a big life office. The issue that these offices face is that their ...

  • Howard sets first-year target of up to 100 firms for M2

    23 Jan 2003

    Former Maddison Monetary Management managing dir-ector Mark Howard is launching new IFA M2 Financial this week with the aim of recruiting between 50 and 100 firms to the group within the next year. M2, which will offer a fee-based financial planning service, is targeting small and medium-sized firms with the aim of creating a national presence targeting the professional advice market. The firm is believed to have extensive internal and external funding running into several millions. ...

  • HSBC International - Nasdaq Annual Growth Fund

    22 Jan 2003

    Wednesday, 22 January 2003Type: Capital protected fundAim: Growth linked to the performance of the Nasdaq 100 indexMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000, $5,000, euros 5,000Place of registration: DublinInvestment split: 100% linked to the performance of the Nasdaq 100 indexGuarantee: Capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: Up to 100% of growth in indexCharges: Initial 5%Commission: Initial ...

  • Independent view

    23 Jan 2003

    I am currently reading a book about how small changes in the tide can have big effects on communities, either decimating or rejuvenating them. It struck me that there are analogies in our field. Sometimes imperceptibly small changes can have a big impact and none more so than when they are instigated by external forces. The problem with external forces is that they can never fully understand the field in which we work or have the same degree of affection that we who work in financial services ..

  • Inora Life - Accumulator Growth Fund (Series 2)

    22 Jan 2003

    Wednesday, 22 January 2003Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the Eurostoxx 50 index or the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 indexMinimum investment: Lump sum Euro 10,000, $10,000Place of registration: DublinInvestment split: 100% linked to the performance of the Eurostoxx 50 index or the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 indexGuarantee: 110% of capital returned linked to the performance of the Eurostoxx 50 index or 107% ...

  • Inside Edge

    23 Jan 2003

    With the Government continuing to rule out pension compulsion, how can the industry help in the take-up of stakeholder pensions? Against a backdrop of world political instability and tumbling economic markets, it would be easy to forget the problems we face in our own backyard. One of the biggest is the risk of impending poverty for today's employees, who will be tomorrow's pensioners. In November, the ABI said: "People are still not saving enough. Ninety per cent of employer-designated ..

  • Inter-Alliance in overseas venture

    23 Jan 2003

    National IFA Inter-Alliance is to launch a joint venture with offshore financial services network group OFS WorldNet and has taken a 50 per cent stake in the group for an undisclosed sum. The deal between the IFA's Cyprus-based subsidiary Inter-Alliance International and OFS will see the network group rebranded as Inter-Alliance WorldNet. The plan is to develop the new business as IA WorldNet as an international services provider and build on its membership of 70 IFAs. Inter-Alliance ...

  • Invesco ads aim to reassure investors

    23 Jan 2003

    Invesco Perpetual is running an ad campaign in the national, trade and consumer press designed to reassure investors it is doing all it can to weather the current market volatility. The campaign uses two straplines - "With you every step of the way" and "Your investment partner for life" - to reflect its commitment to developing long-term relationships with investors. The ads feature a fictional family which Invesco Perpetual says will give investors a sense of security, relationship ...

  • Investment analysis

    23 Jan 2003

    Continued uncertainty about the prospects for the global economy weighed on world stockmarkets last week following a number of pessimistic corporate forecasts, mixed economic data and heightened tension in Iraq. Although Japanese equities bucked the downward trend, the FTSE World index index still lost 1.9 per cent. Three consecutive days of falls saw US equities suffer their first week of losses this year. Microsoft, IBM, Intel and General Electric sent out weak signals for the year ...

  • Investment View

    23 Jan 2003

    The London stockmarket was not a happy place last week. It was not that the news flow was disappointing but somehow the market just got it into its head that it wanted to go down. Given that Wall Street was beginning to build up a head of steam, the London performance was worrying. On the positive front, Christmas did not appear to have been quite as bad as some had forecast. The picture was mixed but the British consumer has not yet shut up shop. The care being exercised, though, ...

  • Investment view

    23 Jan 2003

    Some of the biggest IFAs in the UK have been warning investors for years about the risks associated with structured products but only now is the issue coming to a head. After three years of heavy stockmarket falls, many index-linked bonds are set to bring big losses for investors. Despite this, more firms are entering the structured product market because demand shows no sign of abating, with investors lured by the promise of double-digit income. Hargreaves Lansdown head of ...

  • Jayne-Anne Gadhia

    23 Jan 2003

    Jayne-Anne Gadhia, managing director of The One Account, compares losing the Virgin brand name with giving up her surname when she got married. The current account mortgage lender is the first company set up by Virgin forced to drop the household name - loved and loathed in equal measure - after being acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland. The One Account is offering a flexible product tailored for intermediaries - the first time that it has created a product solely for IFAs. Gadhia ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    23 Jan 2003

    One of the best investment boutiques, JO Hambro Capital Management, set up by James Hambro and Nichola Pease, has attracted some of the best fund managers in the UK. Mark Costar, who previously managed around £2bn of assets at Clerical Medical, is now managing the JOHCM UK growth fund. At Clerical Medical, he also ran the UK growth fund which, under his management, achieved top-decile performance with low volatility and outperformance of its benchmark in every calendar year. He ...

  • L&C passes on sub-prime leads

    23 Jan 2003

    Mortgage IFA London & Country is passing sub-prime loan leads on to franchise group Mortgageforce and specialist broker and packager The Mortgage Operation, saying such business is not its core target market. L&C put the sub-prime business out to tender last year and has since signed deals with the two firms. The arr-angement with Mortgageforce starts this month while TMO is set to start getting referrals in February. L&C says it is piloting the scheme with these firms ...

  • Last-ditch bid by the ABI to save bond tax benefit

    23 Jan 2003

    The ABI is mounting a desperate rearguard action to save the 5 per cent deferred tax rule on life bonds after the Government privately indicated it could be scrapped as soon as this year's Budget. The Inland Revenue is understood to have told the ABI that the industry needs to make an overwhelming case very quickly on why the tax concession should not be abolished. The ABI estimates around 660,000 people over 65 took advantage of the rule to make withdrawals from life policies ...

  • Matrix Private Equity - Matrix Enterprise Fund II

    28 Jan 2003

    Tuesday, 28 January 2003 Aim: Growth by investing in unquoted companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £25,000Opening/closing date: January 20, 2003/April 5, 2003 Charges: Initial 5%, annual 2.5%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 020 7292 0874

  • Mellon appoints COO

    28 Jan 2003

    Mellon Global Investments has appointed Greg Brisk as chief operations officer.Brisk, previously European head of risk and compliance, will assume responsibility for Mellon's global operations. He also joins the board of directors.Prior to joining Mellon in 1999 Brisk worked for the FSA, where he was a banking regulator with responsibility for London-based American banks.

  • Modray to join Bestinvest in marketing and PR role

    23 Jan 2003

    RJ Temple consultant Justin Modray is joining rival IFA Bestinvest, with responsibility for some of the PR and research functions previously carried out by Jason Hollands. He will join Bestinvest in March following the departure of former deputy managing director Hollands, who joined Isis last week as group communications director. Modray will be responsible for some PR and research at Bestinvest in addit-ion to his core marketing and business development roles. After working ...

  • Moore's code

    23 Jan 2003

    It seems hard to believe but financial services was once seen as something of a backwater in the world of City journalism. Not any more. The last few years have been a time of unprecedented change for the industry - some would say that it has been in turmoil. This it is not going to stop any time soon. Not a week goes by without the industry hitting the headlines and the news has all too often been bad. The sweeping reforms imposed by the Government would have been a challenge at any ...

  • Multi-ties could come in by end of the year

    23 Jan 2003

    Multi-ties could exist as soon as the end of the year as the FSA estimates the final rules for depolarisation will be in place by the fourth quarter. Their implementation comes sooner than expected as, following the publication of CP121 last January, it was estimated that depolarisation would not occur until at least mid-2004. The FSA says final rules for the menu-based system and for distribution post-polarisation are expected to be published by the end of the year, when firms ...

  • NDF Administration - Higher Income & Growth Plan 3

    22 Jan 2003

    Wednesday, 22 January 2003Type Guaranteed equity bondAim: Income or growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £10,000, £7,000 Isa-£1mTerm: Five years two monthsGuarantee: Capital returned in full provided the index does not fall by more than 40%Return: 8% gross income a year, 0. 64% gross income a month, up to 50% growth at end of termClosing date: February 28, 2003 Commission: ...

  • No faith in the majority

    23 Jan 2003

    So, the majority of IFAs see rises in base rates and the FTSE. I do not like majorities because they are virtually always wrong. One of the tenets of my business is that I tell clients all forecasts are wrong, including mine. However, I think that most IFAs must be living on Planet Zog because it is hardly rocket science to see that the FTSE is 25 per cent over-valued. The only thing which drives share pries forward in the long run is company profits and the measurement is the price/earnings ...

  • Northern Rock widens choice for borrowers

    23 Jan 2003

    Northern Rock is introducing a range of flexible and traditional mortgages intended to offer a wide choice of competitive rates. A two-year flexible fixed-rate mortgage is available, starting at 3.39 per cent up to 85 per cent loan to value, increasing to 3.59 per cent on an LTV of 95 per cent. It has an early repayment charge of 3 per cent of the original balance for full redemptions in the first four years. Long-term fixes include 10and 15-year loans at 5.79 per cent up to ...

  • nvesta - Dual Advantage Plan

    28 Jan 2003

    Tuesday 28, January 2003Type: Capital protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-no maximumTerm: Five years six monthsGuarantee: Capital returned in full provided index does not fall by more than 50%Return: 42% growth provided index does not fall by more than 50%. If index falls by more than 50% but the final index level is higher than the start level, then 70% of increase ...

  • nvesta - Triple Tracker Plan

    27 Jan 2003

    Monday, 27 January 2003Type: Capital protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-no maximumTerm: Five years six monthsGuarantee: Capital returned in full provided index does not fall by more than 50%Return: Three times the growth in index subject to a maximum of 75%Closing date: March 21, 2003 Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 020 7454 0704

  • Old gold

    23 Jan 2003

    In my last article, I began to outline what I believe will prove to be among the most important developments in financial planning, the implications of which will need to be given a great deal of thought by all financial advisers. A European ruling means that our Government will be obliged to introduce legislation by 2006 enabling all employees to continue working as long as they wish, subject to their mental and physical ability to continue in their job. I would therefore suggest ...

  • Online tech support to aid IFAs and public

    23 Jan 2003

    Internet IFA NeedAnAdviser.com is offering an online support tool aimed at answering technical questions from smaller IFA firms and the general public. The ask an adviser service will be available over the phone or by post for £9.99 a month. The company says it has developed the service in response to an increasing number of hits on its website from smaller IFA firms needing extra support on issues such as FSA regulation. If users have any technical queries or problems ...

  • Opra swoop uncovered £4m bogus pension sting by IFAs

    23 Jan 2003

    Two Midlands IFAs face up to five years in prison after defrauding the Inland Revenue in a £4m scam to transfer cash from occupational pension schemes. Stephen Russell, 60, and William Ferguson, 56, pleaded guilty to four charges of cheating the public purse after transferring the occupational scheme rights of around 200 people into bogus pension schemes. They operated a network of dormant companies that held Pension Schemes Office approval. The pair will be sentenced on ...

  • Out of context

    23 Jan 2003

    •"Even my mother gives me a hard time for being an actuary." - Scottish Equitable sales actuarial director John Quinlivan. •"I came away from school with a funny one." - Yorkshire Building Society PR David Holmes on picking up a regional accent. •"My landlady last night is the lady IFA of the year." - Prudential Premier Mortgage Services managing director John Malone on his bed and breakfast accommodation chez Hornbuckle Mitchell Group diector Viv Belcher. •"Keep ...

  • Outside edge

    23 Jan 2003

    The compulsion question has been driven down Quango Gardens, that well-known cul-de-sac housing all manner of Blairite worthies locked in earnest debate about policies that the Government dare not contemplate, at least not this side of the next general election. We have a Green Paper from the Department of Work and Pensions and a consultation paper from the Inland Revenue. Neither risks any contact with the nub of the gist, which is about the interface between the state pension and ...

  • Pass master of the review

    23 Jan 2003

    "Extensive collaboration among the UK's life offices" is not a phrase you hear uttered every day in the world of financial services. Many may be keen to make such claims but win-win situations within the industry are usually about as common as an English cricket victory in an Ashes series. Occasionally, however, an industrywide initiative takes place which manage to combine successfully both of the above notions. A good example of this is Pension Advisers' Support System ...

  • Pensions at the polls

    23 Jan 2003

    With most of the world focused on events unfolding in the Middle East, the promise of action on a whole host of pressing home-front issues seems unlikely. We have hit mid-term blues for all the parties, with none of them enlivening the spirit. The turnout at the last general election was a mere 59 per cent and my prediction is that, unless something radical happens to engage voters, this figure can only drift lower when Tony Blair goes to the polls again. We are coming close to ...

  • Premier Connections network offers healthcare panel

    23 Jan 2003

    Southampton-based non-regulated network Premier Connections is expanding its services to offer its 2,000 members access to a panel of private healthcare providers for the first time. The network, which already has ties with protection product providers, lenders and general insurers, has put together a panel of PMI providers including Bupa, Norwich Union, PPP Healthcare, WPA and Clinicare. There will be no additional costs to advisers for using the service as Premier says it will ...

  • Radical rethink to give public greater choice

    23 Jan 2003

    Sweeping changes to the polarisation regime will end many restrictions on what business a firm can conduct. The FSA proposes removing the barriers to choice in draft regulations for the depolarised world, which could become a reality by the end of the year. Multi-ties are created, gap-filling is allowed, the better than best rule is scrapped and white-labelling of products is banned. The only obligations on IFAs will be that they must give advice on the whole market and offer consumers ...

  • Regulator to give early warnings on problem companies

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is planning to take the unprecedented step of issuing public guidance about specific problems with firms which could see it give early warnings over stricken companies such as Equitable Life. Unveiling the plans at the Raising Standards conference in London this week, FSA managing director John Tiner, who is widely tipped to become the regulator's next chief executive, accepted that the move would be fraught with legal difficulties. The FSA has avoided giving out information ...

  • Regulator to give early warnings on problem companies

    23 Jan 2003

    The FSA is planning to take the unprecedented step of issuing public guidance about specific problems with firms which could see it give early warnings over stricken companies such as Equitable Life. Unveiling the plans at the Raising Standards conference in London this week, FSA managing director John Tiner, who is widely tipped to become the regulator's next chief executive, accepted that the move would be fraught with legal difficulties. The FSA has avoided giving out information ...

  • Sandler bid to restrict term adviser is rejected

    23 Jan 2003

    Ron Sandler's recommendation to restrict the term adviser to IFAs has been rejected by the FSA. Instead, it will allow most firms carte blanche in naming themselves as long as it is clear to consumers what service they provide. Under the new proposals in CP166, IFAs will be the only regulated firms which must meet defined criteria to use a specific name when marketing themselves to consumers. An IFA will also have to provide advice on the whole of the market and offer the ...

  • Sandler bid to restrict term adviser is rejected

    23 Jan 2003

    Ron Sandler's recommendation to restrict the term adviser to IFAs has been rejected by the FSA. Instead, it will allow most firms carte blanche in naming themselves as long as it is clear to consumers what service they provide. Under the new proposals in CP166, IFAs will be the only regulated firms which must meet defined criteria to use a specific name when marketing themselves to consumers. An IFA will also have to provide advice on the whole of the market and offer the ...

  • ScotProv bid to calm protection fears

    23 Jan 2003

    Scottish Provident is running an advertising campaign aimed at answering advisers' concerns about the future of the protection market. The campaign, called The Turbulent Market, will be run as a series of question-and-answer-style ads. ScotProv hopes it will go some way to allay fears that advisers may have about the cost and benefit of selling protection. It believes rates are likely to stabilise. ScotProv's first ad poses such questions as: Why are reinsurers changing ...

  • Scottish Life waives policy fees on Talisman plans

    28 Jan 2003

    Scottish Life is removing policy fees for single premiums or transfers of £10,000 or more or contributions over £100 a month into its Talisman personal pension plan, or contributions over £250 into its Talisman executive pension plan.Scottish Life individual pensions marketing manager Mark Polson says: "The retirement market is an increasingly competitive area for IFAs as consumers are bombarded with information regarding retirement planning. To aid advisers in ...

  • Shrinking feeling

    23 Jan 2003

    Kate Winslett gets it. Nicholas Cage gets it. Anyone appearing in Hello! gets it and now Wolverhampton's own Don Clark (above) is getting it too. Scrutiny of this picture of Torquil Clark's director shows a shrinkage of his left arm caused by the dark art of photographic image enhancement. In the original snap, Don's arm is leaning on a fencepost that was so objectionable to the creators of the TQ brochure, like Trotsky himself, that it had to be airbrushed out of history. Have ...

  • Skipton to pay up to £9m for Pearson Jones stake

    23 Jan 2003

    Skipton Building Society is taking a 75 per cent stake in IFA firm Pearson Jones for an initial sum of £3m and a potential payment of up to £9m, depending on its performance. The majority stake in the firm, which has 29 RIs, sees Skipton add to its existing stable of IFA businesses, including Skipton Financial Services and execution-only firm Direct Life and Pensions. It brings the total IFAs in the Skipton group to 100. The society says it may look at a multi-tie structure ...

  • Standard slaps on 27% MVA

    23 Jan 2003

    Standard Life is imposing a market value adjuster of up to 27 per cent on its with-profits funds to deter an exodus. The move more than doubles the firm's previous 10 per cent MVA imposed in September last year. Standard says the rise was prompted by a marked increase in withdrawals following bonus cut announcements last week by rival insurers such as Britannic, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows. The company says the move is aimed at protecting investors remaining in the ...

  • Standard slaps on 27% MVA

    23 Jan 2003

    Standard Life is imposing a market value adjuster of up to 27 per cent on its with-profits funds to deter an exodus. The move more than doubles the firm's previous 10 per cent MVA imposed in September last year. Standard says the rise was prompted by a marked increase in withdrawals following bonus cut announcements last week by rival insurers such as Britannic, Norwich Union and Scottish Widows. The company says the move is aimed at protecting investors remaining in the ...

  • Stripped bare of Lady Godivas

    23 Jan 2003

    Everyone wants free cash and hunters of alpha value could have done worse than getting themselves sent to Coventry during the five-day bonanza when computer problems saw its ATMs giving out used Lady Godivas. Stretching its TLC not PLC strapline to the extreme, Coventry Building Society has left us all thinking, how honest are we, with a frenzy of customers and non-customers helping themselves to £850,000-worth of the building society's cash. Twelve of the lucky folk have ...

  • Stub out filters

    23 Jan 2003

    In the throes of major reform and the battle for 1 per cent products, we have to remember that this is about meeting the needs of ordinary people needing access to unbiased advice to diagnose their needs and where, appropriate, recommend quality, value for money, flexible products. Consumers have many financial needs but the big issues now are pensions, the massive rise in personal debt and how we manage the fallout from the explosion if the economy falters. Restructure must deal with ...

  • Take account of wraps

    23 Jan 2003

    Online fund supermarkets have not been in existence for much more than two years but they are already a significant feature of the financial services landscape. Looking forward, there is a new development which is already being touted as the next big thing - wrap accounts. These accounts have been around in the US and Australia for some time but they are only just appearing in the UK. The concept of a wrap account involves the following: •An internet-based technology platform ...

  • Talkback

    23 Jan 2003

    "No, they should keep it - in the past, anything with Scottish in front of it sold better. The disappearance of another name would be sad. None of my customers will relate Aegon to their pensions and investments." Nick Payne, Cabot Financial Management "No, they should definitely stick with the trusted ScotEq name other than a giant multinational - that name means very little to my clients." Christopher Blastland, CGB Associates "No. Scottish Equitable has a lot of allegiance ...

  • Termination of endearment

    23 Jan 2003

    Last week, I started to consider the theme of refining one's business offering to reflect actual and anticipated needs in these relatively hard times. Of course, at any time, it is essential that an adviser properly segments his or her marketplace and builds, communicates and delivers propositions that are relevant to that client or client segment. When looking at an individual client, the service will in effect be bespoke or at least partially bespoke where a generally used ...

  • Thames River Capital - Thames River Global Emerging Market Fund

    24 Jan 2003

    Friday, 24 January 2003Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in global emerging marketsMinimum investment: Lump sum £25,000Place of registration: DublinInvestment split: 100% in global emerging marketsIsa link: NoPep transfers: NoCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1.75%Commission: Initial up to 5%Tel: 020 7360 1272

  • Three funds for every firm on All Share

    23 Jan 2003

    There are nearly three retail investment funds for every company listed on the FTSE All Share index, according to the Consumers' Association, which it says is untenable and must be corrected through consolidation. The CA calculates that at July 1, 2002, there were 2.7 retail funds for each of the 709 companies listed on the index. Senior policy adviser Mick McAteer says there are 1,999 retail funds defined as unit trusts, individual pensions, investment trusts and unit-linked ...

  • Traditional names are lost in the Scots mist

    23 Jan 2003

    There was a time when to have the word Scottish in a life company's branding meant a distinct advantage, conjuring up images of conservatism and probity when it came to money. But life companies are now ditching or diminishing their Scottish branding. Scottish Equitable looks as though it could become the next in line to ditch its Scottish heritage. Parent company Aegon UK is understood to be concerned about consumer recognition of its brand and possible connections with stricken ...

  • Twefs reborn as Children's Mutual

    23 Jan 2003

    Tunbridge Wells Equitable Friendly Society is changing its 122-year-old name as it relaunches itself as Children's Mutual. Under the new brand, the society aims to provide support services and investment veh-icles for parents and IFAs to create portfolios for children. The move comes after consumer research showed more people claimed to recognise the then non-existent Children's Mutual than had heard of Twefs. According to the research, more than three-quarters of parents ...

  • Two discount players join Chelsea loan team

    23 Jan 2003

    Chelsea Building Society is offering two new discounted mortgages and has extended the term on two of its fixed-rate loans. Its new range includes a three-year discounted mortgage for new and existing borrowers offering a discount of 1.5 per cent, giving a current rate of 4.19 per cent. After the discount period, it reverts to the society's standard variable rate, currently 5.69 per cent. The second loan, which is only available for remortgages, currently has a rate of 4.44 ...

  • Viatical take-off

    23 Jan 2003

    Finding investments likely to make decent returns can be pretty tricky right now. The argument for buying at the bottom of the market can be hard to make to the nervous investor, but for those who are taking a pessimistic view of equities over the medium term, a new investment class from the US could be worth considering. Firmly established in the US but invisible in the UK until now, viatical policies invest in the products as an asset class. The word viatical comes from the Latin ...

  • Voluntary jurisdiction warning to brokers

    23 Jan 2003

    National broker Mortgageforce warns that intermediaries and lenders choosing to adopt voluntary jurisdiction from the Financial Ombudsman Service may unwittingly be hit with retrospective complaints. From this month, mortgage advisers and providers have the option of signing up to the ombudsman in advance of being compelled to come under its complaint scheme when FSA regulation starts in 2004. At the moment, consumer complaints against MCCB-authorised brokers are handled by the ...

  • Widows goes into gobbledegook to slash payouts

    23 Jan 2003

    IFAs are accusing Scottish Widows of going against the spirit of the Raising Standards initiative with its "opaque" with-profits bonus declaration which sees many payouts cut by up to 22 per cent and others getting no terminal bonus. Widows, a front-runner in the ABI initiative which extols the virtues of plain English, has been attacked for the cryptic presentation of its bonus declaration and using terms such as "rate of price increase" to describe the cuts. A Widows spokesman ...

  • Widows goes into gobbledegook to slash payouts

    23 Jan 2003

    IFAs are accusing Scottish Widows of going against the spirit of the Raising Standards initiative with its "opaque" with-profits bonus declaration which sees many payouts cut by up to 22 per cent and others getting no terminal bonus. Widows, a front-runner in the ABI initiative which extols the virtues of plain English, has been attacked for the cryptic presentation of its bonus declaration and using terms such as "rate of price increase" to describe the cuts. A Widows spokesman ...

  • Zurich protects profits on bond

    23 Jan 2003

    Zurich Financial Services is offering a protected profits fund for investors in its sterling bond and Isa range that allows investors to switch from equities to cash and guarantees the final value of the fund. Developed with Barclays Capital, the sterling protected profits fund guarantees to pay out at least 80 per cent of the fund's highest-ever value, making it suitable for cautious investors, according to Zurich. The fund invests in a combination of three Threadneedle Asset ...

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