Money Marketing
22 October 2003

  • ཤ% of bank and society staff could be misleading public'

    23 Oct 2003

    Sales tactics employed by high-street bank and building society salespeople are so vague that nearly 40 per cent of them could be accused of seriously misleading consumers, according to a survey from ING Direct. In what it calls one of the most comprehensive consumer surveys of the UK savings market, ING reveals that 39 per cent of salespeople could be guilty of misleading consumers, 37 per cent made questionable claims about their firms' savings rates and 35 per cent failed to ...

  • 'Advice stranglehold causing confusion'

    23 Oct 2003

    Complexity in the state pension system and the stranglehold on advice caused by the stakeholder price cap have caused widespread confusion over pensions, says Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary David Willetts. Speaking at the ABI/Money Marketing Saver Summit in London this week, Willetts was responding to new YouGov research for the ABI which shows that 56 per cent of the population feel their understanding of pensions is either fairly or very bad. Only 6 per cent said they understood ...

  • 'Only high earners to gain under Tory plans'

    23 Oct 2003

    The Pensions Policy Institute has attacked Conservative proposals aimed at reducing the number of people receiving means-tested benefits. The thinktank claims high earners would gain disproportionately but many women would lose out under the plans. Conservative policy would link rises in the basic state pension to earnings while the means-tested guarantee credit would be linked to prices. The aim would be to shorten the gap between the state pension and guarantee credit over ...

  • 'Pension limit could hit up to 600,000'

    23 Oct 2003

    The number of people who could be affected by the £1.4m lifetime pension limit is significantly greater than the Government suggests, says immediate past NAPF chairman Peter Thompson. At last week's Taxbriefs conference in London, Thompson, who is worldwide partner at Mercer Human Resource Consulting said he had spoken to one company with white-collar staff who said they had 2,000 people likely to be affected. Thompson believes the figure of 5,000 put forward by the Government ...

  • £1bn writedown is unlikely to hit AMP policyholders

    23 Oct 2003

    AMP's move to devalue the UK arm of its business by about £1bn as it heads into a planned demerger in December is unlikely to have any effect on policyholders, according to ind-ustry experts. The company said last week that a reduction is needed to account for any difference between the current book value of the UK operations, which include Pearl, London Life, NPI, Henderson Global Investors and Towry Law, and the expected market value of the operations when it lists, which ...

  • A consumer's view

    23 Oct 2003

    Like most of this Government's initiatives on pensions, the proposal to put a £1.4m cap on an individual's pension fund is simply unworkable, even if the figure is increased to £2m. The reasons are obvious. What will happen when the fund nears this threshold and a sharp burst in share prices pushes it over the threshold? According to the new regulations, the individual will suffer a tax penalty of 60 per cent on cash over the £1.4m threshold. But what if ...

  • A fair deal for IFAs - IFAs' views

    23 Oct 2003

    Mark Harvey moved his firm St John's Financial Services, based in Copthorne, West Sussex, from IFA Network to Bankhall. Harvey says: "We felt that we were being treated to a one size fits all approach. At our previous network,we were just an extension of their salesforce and paying a very high price for very little support. "As an entrepreneurial business, we wanted to specialise and not be pushed into a corner over issues such as training and fact-finds. Members are put off ...

  • A fair deal for IFAs - The campaign's aims

    23 Oct 2003

    A fair deal for IFAs and brokers on regulation Aims: •To identify the top problems for advisers from regulation by the FSA and with the Financial Ombudsman Service •To ask the industry for its suggested solutions to these problems. •To feed the concerns into the select committee. •To challenge the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service to justify their current practices. A fair deal for IFAs and brokers on provider service Aims: •To ...

  • Abacus adds diverse range of loans

    23 Oct 2003

    Abacus Permanent is adding a selection of prime, sub-prime, self-cert, flexible self-cert and buy-to-let products to its range. They include a flexible true self-cert lifetime tracker at the Bank of England's base rate plus 1 per cent for the loan's lifetime, with no redemption penalties. Also available are two-year and five-year buy-to-let trackers at base rate plus 0.9 per cent and a five-year self-cert tracker at base rate plus 0.85 per cent. Procuration fees are set ...

  • Abbey - Wrap Service

    27 Oct 2003

    Type: Wrap accountAim: Income and growth by investing in choice of Wrap Sipp, Wrap mini stocks & shares Isa, Wrap mini cash Isa, Wrap Tessa only Isa, Wrap Pep or Wrap Investment PortfolioMinimum investment £100,000Investment split: Client's choice of collective investments, stocks & shares, bonds, gilts, second-hand endowment policies, cashIncome facility: YesCharges: Minimum £600 a year, thereafter subject to negotiationCommission

  • Abbey chief Arnold meets with brokers to discuss service

    23 Oct 2003

    Abbey chief executive Luqman Arnold has met with leading mortgage brokers to discuss criticisms of the bank's service and said Abbey is committed to not offering dual priced mortgages in future. In a letter, which was featured recently in MM, the brokers challenged Arnold to improve overall service quality at Abbey, along with large loans, packaging, online capabilities and dual pricing. In addition to Arnold, the meeting was attended by Savills associate director Simon Jones, ...

  • Abbey launches new build mortgages

    28 Oct 2003

    Abbey has launched three mortgages for those buying in the new build sector.All three are three year trackers, the first for a minimum deposit of 25 per cent at Bank of England base rate plus 0.39 per cent (current rate 3.89 per cent), the second for a deposit of at least 5 per cent at base rate plus 0.49 per cent (current rate 3.99 per cent) and the third for a deposit of 5 per cent at base rate plus 0.69 per cent (current rate 4.19 per cent). The final product also provides £200 ...

  • Abbey offering net deal on ScotProv protection plans

    23 Oct 2003

    Abbey for Intermediaries is offering an extra 10 per cent of Lautro on all Scottish Provident protection business applications received electronically as part of the launch of ScotProv's new generation eBusiness systems. The rate is available until March next year. Abbey says the new systems, aimed at improving functionality and processing speed, mean that intermediaries can prepopulate application forms from the quote, transmit applications electronically individually or in batches ...

  • Abbey presents wrap

    28 Oct 2003

    Abbey is offering a wrap service as a way for investors to simplify complex investment and pension arrangements.Wrap accounts are popular in Australia and the US but are now starting to take off the UK. They enable advisers to manage a client's entire portfolio through a single administration platform, thereby reducing time spent on paperwork. As there is one point of contact, advisers can reduce the time they would normally spend on contacting a number of different providers.Abbey's

  • ABI heads DWP move to create pension pack for workers

    23 Oct 2003

    The Department for Work and Pensions is appointing the ABI to head an industry consortium to create a pension information pack which employers can give to employees. The consortium will get input from all the main bodies in the pension and advice industry for a DWP pilot of different forms of pension information and advice in the workplace from next spring. Work on the employer pack will focus on what employers are able to say to their employees about the pension schemes they offer. Speaking ...

  • Act now to prevent directive from harming industry

    23 Oct 2003

    Open letter to Chancellor Gordon Brown On October 7, 2003, the European Council of Finance Ministers voted on the investment services directive, including article 18 and the suitability test associated with the distribution of financial products. At that meeting, some important amendments were made to the previous draft which had been voted on by the European Parliament on September 25. The legislation will have significant and far-reaching consequences. As it stands now, ...

  • Barclays acquires Gerrard for £210m

    27 Oct 2003

    Barclays Bank has acquired Gerrard Management Services from Old Mutual in a deal worth £210m.Subject to regulatory approval, Gerrard, one of the UK's leading private client wealth managers with £12.5bn under management, will be brought together with Barclays' in-house wealth management operation, Barclays Investment Management. The bank says the move will create the UK's biggest private client investment manager with £21.4bn under management in discretionary ...

  • BBN Trustees designs bespoke Sipp

    23 Oct 2003

    Berry Birch & Noble Trustees has introduced a Sipp which it claims offers a "personalised, professional, bespoke service". The Sipp will be available to all IFAs and not just members of the Berkeley Berry Birch Group. It will offer a streamlined property purchase package using BBN Trustees' local professional contacts to provide "smooth, competitive, speedy" property purchase. The fund has links with several discretionary fund managers, including Berkeley Fund Managers, ...

  • Beamer me up, says Top gear star

    23 Oct 2003

    BMW drivers are all knobs. Such is the verdict of ex-Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson. Speaking to a group of leading lights in the mortgage industry, the self-proclaimed doyen of political incorrectness revealed his hatred of the Beamer. The Diary can only suggest that Willson does a bit more research into his audience next time as, given the intermediary's general predilection for the BMW, the remark caused a ripple of displeasure. Mortgage Brain chief executive Mark ...

  • Berkeley Birch & Noble expands SIPP team

    24 Oct 2003

    Following the launch of a full SIPP service for members Berkeley Berry Birch members, trustee group Berry Birch & Noble is expanding its SIPP team. The new strategy includes the appointment of Tony Moore as development manager from AMP Pensions Trustees. Moore will coordinate BBN's SIPP business which will include a property purchase package.

  • Birmingham Midshires suspends three advisers

    28 Oct 2003

    Birmingham Midshires has suspended three mortgage advisers following information received from the BBC's "The Money Programme".The information received centred around allegations that the advisers may have encouraged BBC staff posing as prospective customers to inflate their earnings at the application stage for a self cert mortgage.In response BM has temporarily ceased offering self cert mortgages through its branch network, and has recalled its 25 mortgage advisers ...

  • Brave nude world

    23 Oct 2003

    I would like to identify and discuss recent legislative and case law developments in financial services, starting with pensions. When I last wrote about pensions, I envisaged that, for the first time in many years, there would be few further major changes in the foreseeable future. How wrong could I have been? Great leaps forward have been taken recently in the areas of scheme wind-up rules, transfer values, amendments to the Inland Revenue's lifetime limit, the state second pension ...

  • Britain a 'can't save, won't save' society - IFA Promotion

    27 Oct 2003

    Two thirds of people claim they can't afford to save more, but spend at least £54 billion a year on unnecessary luxuries, according to research by IFA Promotion.The survey shows 13 million people claim they can't afford to save anything over 3 million of these non-savers are finding ways to keep buying unaffordable luxuries, mostly by taking on extra debt. David Elms, Chief Executive of IFA Promotion, says, "We've become a 'can't save, won't save' ...

  • Cable calls for misselling definition

    23 Oct 2003

    Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vincent Cable has called on the FSA to define misselling to protect the public and the industry. Cable says an accurate, functional definition of misselling would provide consumers with a valid set of rules to understand their rights and give advisers a clear framework. He says a definition is the obvious starting point for any FSA regulation and enforcement on misselling. Cable's comments come as Money Marketing widens its campaign to ...

  • Caught short on policies?

    23 Oct 2003

    Independent insurance analyst Ned Cazalet believes that around 90 per cent of mortgage endowment policies are on track to fall short (Money Marketing, October 9). He is right to draw this to our attention. Standard Life refutes his report, Caught Short. Well, they would, wouldn't they? I am one of the 90 per cent group. My endowment has run 17 years, eight to go, with one of the biggest life companies in the UK. This year is the first time that I have received a warning letter, ...

  • Cavanagh buys Ernst & Young IFA for £3m

    23 Oct 2003

    Cavanagh is set to buy Ernst & Young Financial Management for £3m. The deal for the Scottish IFA arm of accountancy firm Ernst & Young, revealed exclusively in Money Marketing in July, will bring 36 RIs to Aim-listed IFA Cavanagh, bringing its adviser numbers up to 76. The acquisition will see EYFM rebranded as Cavanagh Financial Management. There are plans to increase the company's marketing budget to promote the new division. Cavanagh says the EYFM is a natural ...

  • CBI slams Govt plan for pension protection fund

    23 Oct 2003

    The Confederation of British Industry has attacked the Government's plan for a pension protection fund, arguing that a string of company insolvencies would leave employ-ers facing an open-ended commitment. At a conference in Lon-don last week, CBI representatives pointed out that a similar protection fund in the US now has a deficit of £8.8bn and says a UK fund can only work if it is backed by the Govern-ment - a commitment which the Department for Work and Pensions is yet ...

  • Centre stage for state pensions

    23 Oct 2003

    State pensions have suddenly become more newsworthy. After years of being mista-kenly regarded as the poor relation compared with occupational and private pensions, state pensions are taking on greater significance. The decline in occupational pensions especially definedbenefit schemes and the problems over schemes that have failed or will fail to pay out the promised levels of income have encouraged pension practitioners to focus more on the first pillar of income in retirement - ...

  • Cheltenham & Gloucester - Capped Rate Mortgage

    23 Oct 2003

    Type: Capped-rate mortgageCapped term: Until January 31, 2008Capped rate: Up to 90% of valuation 4.99%, up to 95% of valuation 5.29%Minimum loan: £20,000Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to no maximumIncome multiples: Up to 3 times principal income plus second or 2.75 times jointRedemption fee: 4% of amount repaid until February 1, 2005, 3% until January 31, 2006, 2% until January 31, 2006, 1% until January 31, ...

  • Credit Suisse merges funds

    23 Oct 2003

    Credit Suisse Asset Management is merging its small-cap opportunities fund with its UK mid 250 fund. IFAs believe the move is due to the fact that the fund house had two small-cap funds as a result of its acquisition of the asset management arm of Sun Life Financial of Canada in 2001 and is now acting to cut out duplication. UK mid 250 fund manager Crispin Finn says: "We have had a strong recovery since March in cyclical mid-cap stocks, which we believe are now due for a pause. ...

  • DB schemes can convert GMPs into benefits

    23 Oct 2003

    Contracted-out defined-benefit schemes will be allowed to convert guaranteed minimum pensions into scheme benefits under simplification proposals by the Department for Work and Pensions. Under the plan, schemes will be able to convert benefits on an actuarial equivalence basis which will allow members' GMP benefits to be taken at the same time as other scheme benefits and earlier than the current state retirement age of 65. Grouping all benefits tog-ether will also mean that ...

  • Easy money?

    23 Oct 2003

    Equity release can provide cash-poor elderly clients with a lifeline and advisers with a healthy new income stream. The sales figures are impressive and the untapped promise of the soon-to-be regulated market enticing - so why do the plans have some advisers running for cover? Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, based on returns from 21 lenders active in the equity-release market, show that £498m was borrowed by older homeowners in equity-release mortgages in the first ...

  • Edinburgh Small Companies Trust ahead on restructuring

    24 Oct 2003

    The board at Edinburgh Small Companies Trust says its restructuring is progressing faster and at a lower cost than previously anticipated. In August 2003 ESCT selected Standard Life Investments to act as the company's new investment manager for its £63.2m investment trust. The board instructed Standard Life Investments to realign the portfolio with the fund manager's investment process and in a way that minimised costs to shareholders. It was anticipated the majority ...

  • Equitable gets go-ahead to sue former directors

    23 Oct 2003

    Equitable Life has been given the green light to sue former non-executive directors of the company for £3.3bn after the High Court threw out a request by nine former directors to reject the case. Meanwhile, policyholders who were sold policies between 1993 and 1998 and have already lodged misselling complaints with the Financial Ombudsman Service are to receive compensation offers. Equitable says around 1,000 letters have been sent out through the FOS because once a policyholder ...

  • Ex-Chancellor criticises failure to fight Euro push

    23 Oct 2003

    Former Chancellor Lord Lawson has attacked the Government's failure to veto a decision by the EU's Italian presidency to force through the Investment Services Directive which could damage execution-only sales in the UK. Speaking in the House of Lords last week, Lawson asked why the Government did not invoke the "Luxemburg compromise", a power which allows a member state to veto a vote if it considers the proposal to be on a matter of vital national interest. Proposed changes ...

  • False claims in direct offers

    23 Oct 2003

    I have long thought that it is untenable for any mailshot to be sent out saying that it is from an independent financial adviser where only the adviser really knows that advice is not being given. It can only serve to confuse the reader. To hide behind the direct-offer rules amounts to little more than trickery. It gives IFAs a bad name and quite rightly so. It lets the rest of us IFAs down very badly. IFAs should be allowed to have a separate direct-offer mailshot business if ...

  • Fidelity joins MOM pack

    23 Oct 2003

    FIDELITYMulti-Manager Growth PortfolioType: Oeic fund of fundsAim: Growth by investing globally in equity fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: UK 55.4%, US 29.25%, Europe 8.9%, Japan 4.8%, Asia-Pacific 1.65%Isa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.25%, annual 1%Special offer: Initial charge reduced to 3% on lump sum investmentsOffer period: Until November ...

  • Fidelity's Bolton succeeds in shareholder revolt

    22 Oct 2003

    A group of fund managers led by Fidelity's Anthony Bolton have succeeded in their bid to reverse the decision to appoint Carlton chief Michael Green as chairman of the new ITV. Carlton has issued a statement confirming that Green will remain its chairman until the deal completes but Granada - its merger partner - says ITV's chairman should be an outsider. Bolton, Fidelity's top fund manager, has played a central role in the shareholder revolt.

  • Fighting for a fair deal for IFAs

    23 Oct 2003

    Money Marketing this week launches a campaign for a fair deal for IFAs and brokers. The campaign has three strands - regulation, service standards from providers and service standards from networks. Our reasoning is simple. First, with a dramatically changing marketplace and a rapidly changing regulatory scene, advisers' voices can be drowned out. We intend to ensure their voices are heard. This is not a criticism of trade bodies but an acknowledgement that under the ...

  • First State gets resourceful

    27 Oct 2003

    First State Investments has introduced the First State global resources fund, which will be followed by three other funds in its Oeic range.The fund aims for growth by investing globally in the natural resources sector. It is based on the Colonial First State global resources fund which is managed by its Australian parent company. Figures from Standard & Poor's show the Colonial First State Wholesale global resources fund is ranked first out of eight ...

  • First State gets resourceful

    27 Oct 2003

    First State Investments has introduced the First State global resources fund, which will be followed by three other funds in its Oeic range.The fund aims for growth by investing globally in the natural resources sector. It is based on the Colonial First State global resources fund which is managed by its Australian parent company. Figures from Standard & Poor's shows the CFS WS global resources fund is ranked first out of 8 funds over three yers based ...

  • First State Investments - First State Asia Pacific Fund

    28 Oct 2003

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in Asia Pacific mid capsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% Asia Pacific mid capsIsa link: YesPep transfers: Yes:Charges: Initial 4%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial up to 4%, annual 1.5%Tel: 0800 917 1717

  • First State Investments - First State Global Emerging Markets Leaders

    28 Oct 2003

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing globally in emerging marketsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% global emerging marketsIsa link: YesPep transfers: Yes:Charges: Initial 4%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial up to 4%, annual 0.5%Tel: 0800 917 1717

  • First State Investments - Greater China Fund

    27 Oct 2003

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in China, Hong Kong and TaiwanMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Isa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial up to 4%, annual 0.5%Tel: 0800 917 1717

  • Five-year fixes below 5 per cent will become obsolete - Leeds & Holbeck

    28 Oct 2003

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society says the days of five year fixed rate mortgages below 5 per cent are numbered, head of marketing Tony Burdin says: Due to better than expected economic figures, it is almost certain that there will be a base rate increase in November, and this coupled with the increased cost of long term money will result in all lenders having to make their fixed rate deals significantly more expensive."

  • Friends in deed

    23 Oct 2003

    I have heard that several people can join together to buy a property using their personal pensions. Together with one or two work colleagues and friends, I am thinking of doing this to buy an office block for my company to work from. Does this make sense? The short answer is, yes, you can do it and, yes, it does make sense. Unfortunately, as with everything in pensions, there are many problems that have to be clearly understood before committing yourself. Involving friends ...

  • Friends Prov Int. appoints international servicing manager

    22 Oct 2003

    Friends Provident International has announced the appointment of Calvert Hassard as international servicing manager. Hassard has held senior positions with several Isle of Man companies including being Allied Dunbar International managing director and Scottish Provident International director of operations He will pick up responsibility for the delivery of Friends Provident International's service proposition for both the Guernsey and Isle of Man based products and will continue ...

  • Friends Prov release positive third quarter results

    28 Oct 2003

    Friends Provident has recorded strong third quarter results with life and pensions business up 24 per cent to £114m APE for the quarter from £92m last year. Helping in the growth was an increase in new protection business of 50 per cent over the nine month period, increasing to a record £48m APE from £32m last year. New pensions business in the third quarter was up 16.1 per cent to £63.6m from £54.8m last year and new life business up ...

  • FSA admits it doesn't know how long splits' inquiry will take

    23 Oct 2003

    The FSA has been forced by the Treasury select committee to admit it does not know how long its inquiry into split-capital investment trusts will take although it claims it is doing everything it can to speed it up. Under fire from committee members, FSA chief executive John Tiner admitted that the inquiry had been widened to include 21 firms but he was still unable to give a definite completion date. The panel of MPs questioned the FSA chiefs on the pace of the "three-strand' ...

  • FSA concerns over US hedges

    28 Oct 2003

    The FSA is concerned over American hedge fund activity that has profited from exploiting unit trust pricing practices.It is questioning investment firms because it is worried American hedges are offering UK managers large fees for short term UK unit trust trades, which could harm returns for long term investors.Market timing funds are legal in the US and UK but US regulators have recently identified illegal trading practices where mutual fund and hedgef und managers have ...

  • FSA in U-turn on inspecting product details

    23 Oct 2003

    The FSA has pulled back from plans to vet precipice bond marketing material before it reaches consumers. Speaking at a Treasury select committee meeting, LibDem MP Norman Lamb demanded to know why action on precipice bond literature promised by director of investment firms David Kenmir had not been carried out. Lamb brandished a letter sent to him by Kenmir on April 10 in which he said: "We have therefore decided to ask all firms producing brochures on these products in future ...

  • FSA stepping back from employed self-cert ban

    23 Oct 2003

    The FSA has relented on banning employed people from taking out self-cert mortgages. The final rules for mortgage regulation, set out last week, change the regulator's self-cert stance as the draft rules excluded employed borrowers from the sector. Firms have a year to prepare for regulation, which comes in on October 31, 2004. The self-cert move has had a mixed response, with some saying the product meets a need and others concerned that the clause could be misused. The ...

  • FSA to expand consumer education efforts

    23 Oct 2003

    The FSA is to expand its consumer education role with a steering group to establish a consumer agenda. The creation of the financial capability steering group comes before an announcement expected on November 3 by FSA chairman Callum McCarthy and chief executive John Tiner on how the FSA it plans to strengthen its consumer education efforts. That is expected to coincide with a shake-up of FSA senior management that has been expected since Tiner's appointment in July which will ...

  • GAM launches UK fund for Hollyman

    22 Oct 2003

    GAM is this month launching a UK dynamic fund for Ross Hollyman, the fund manager it recruited from JPMorgan Fleming. Benchmarked against the FTSE All Share, the fund, which launches on November 17, will seek capital appreciation with Hollyman applying a disciplined, systematic, bottom-up style based on quantitative analysis. Investors applying before November 14 will pay no initial charge. The annual charge is 1.5 per cent and the minimum investment is £3,000.

  • Gartmore launches healthcare hedge fund

    22 Oct 2003

    Gartmore has launched its first healthcare hedge fund opening to investors in November. The Gartmore hedge fund assets are now valued at US $3.5bn. The AlphaGen Areneb fund is fund number 11 in the AlphaGen range and will be managed by Paul Cluskey .

  • Gaskin to set up mutual network

    23 Oct 2003

    Jim Gaskin is to set up a new national IFA network, branded IFA Mutual, at the end of this month, claiming present networks are not giving members a fair deal. Former Misys IFA chairman Gaskin says he believes the new package will be unrivalled. He argues that most networks are out to build equity for themselves but IFA Mutual members will hold 70 per cent of the equity, will take part in key decisions and benefit from a share in the profits. Gaskin has been out of the industry ...

  • GE Life joins initiative to simplify LTC applications

    23 Oct 2003

    Retirement specialist GE Life has joined four other providers to participate in the common process for immediate-care LTC plans. The process is an agreement which allows advisers to use a single application form to apply to all the providers at the same time for a long-term care quote. A company that sources medical records from clients' GPs is used in the process to speed up underwriting and improve the accuracy of quotes. Head of product development Simon Thomlinson says: ...

  • Gerrard offering end-to-end planning service

    23 Oct 2003

    Gerrard has launched an end-to-end financial planning service predominantly targeting its 80,000 stockbroking clients who require extensive financial advice. Gerrard has recruited 30 advisers for the service, which will resemble an IFA platform with the ability to search for products across the whole market. Although it says it is not competing with the highend IFA market, Gerrard is hoping to attract new customers referred by its existing client base. The new division, called ...

  • Ghost host?

    23 Oct 2003

    The new, slicker Abbey gave one IFA reason to smile this week when it emailed him details of its Scottish Mutual choice income bond. The IFA in question was aware that the ScotMut brand is to be phased out next year but was more than surprised by the replacement brand. The IFA was surprised when a call to the 0800 number on the bottom of the message was met with an ad for a Scottish Widows bond. Ghosts in the machine or some telecommunications gremlin?

  • Gift wrap

    23 Oct 2003

    Most IFA businesses have historically relied on product sales to produce an income so that success or failure has depended on the volume and size of completed transactions. Ongoing income from previous transactions has been the exception rather than the norm. This means that many businesses have only been as good as their next sale, which has not necessarily been helpful in terms of creating business continuity or for long-term client relationships as no income has been derived from ...

  • Give IFAs a fair deal on regulation

    23 Oct 2003

    The FSA top brass are discussing plans for an early warning system to detect misselling - a great idea but one that begs a thousand questions. The biggest issue is what will the FSA do once it is warned? The regulator is also planning a massive expansion of its consumer division to educate consumers. This is arguably good news but should the industry really be paying for it unless it can guarantee value for money? Certainly, neither initiative will be effective without the ...

  • Griffin pays £80k for client bank of IFA Lamensdorf

    23 Oct 2003

    The client bank of collapsed IFA Lamensdorf has been bought by Griffin Investment Services for £80,000 in a sealed bid auction. Griffin says the Lamensdorf client bank, with over 15,000 clients, currently has renewal worth more than £250,000 although it expects this to settle at £150,000. Griffin is an appointed representative of IFA Leslie & Nuding which is based in London. Leslie & Nuding has another appointed representative firm, City Trading Post, ...

  • Half of brokers say they've had no regulation help from lenders

    23 Oct 2003

    The majority of mortgage brokers are confused about the options open to them under FSA regulation, with almost one in five looking to move into the unregulated market for the first time, according to a survey conducted by networkone. Ten per cent of brokers indicate that they are looking to open an unregulated arm for the first time because of the excessive red tape of regulation while 7 per cent say they planned to quit the residential market for good. The survey also shows that ...

  • Hargreaves warns Chancellor of Euro threat

    23 Oct 2003

    Hargreaves Lansdown is urging Chancellor Gordon Brown to fight suitability tests on execution-only business or face spiralling transaction costs following a Government failure to press for changes to the EU legislation at the Council of Ministers earlier this month. In a letter to the Chancellor, HL chief executive Peter Hargreaves warns that implementation of article 18 of the Investment Services Directive relating to non-advisory business will cost jobs, slow down economic growth ...

  • Hectare's house

    23 Oct 2003

    Last week, I started to look at the importance of the principal private residence in tax and financial planning. The continuing rise in property values and the depression in the value of equity-based assets has increased this importance for many. One of the most important tax reliefs for many people is without doubt capital gains tax relief on the sale of the principal private residence. Tax relief on what can be significant gains - even if unrealised - is the source of much consumer ...

  • How deep does the watchdog's bite sink?

    23 Oct 2003

    Calls for the relationship between the FSA and Financial Ombudsman Service to be scrutinised as part of the Treasury review are gaining support within the industry. The Treasury will announce final details of its statutory review of the regulator before the end of November, with the process due to begin in December. But it will still not confirm whether the FOS is to be included in the review. The increasing power of the ombudsman to make policy through complaint decisions has ...

  • HSBC - Capital & Growth PLan

    24 Oct 2003

    Type: Capital-protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-no maximum, Isa £7,000Term: Six yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: 21% growth at end of three years if index grows by 21% or more, 55% growth at end of five years if index grows by 55% or more, or 100% growth in index at end of six yearsClosing ...

  • Ian Muirhead: Play it by the rulebook

    23 Oct 2003

    In the third article in the series on making professional connections, Ian Muirhead, of Solicitors for Independent Financial Advice, explains the Law Society's rules affecting solicitors' involvement in financial services work. The Solicitors' Act 1974 contains the principal statutory provisions affecting solicitors. The Law Society of England and Wales, the solicitors' governing body, which has counterparts in Scotland and Northern Ireland, is empowered to make and ...

  • IFAP says advisers getting more tech-friendly

    23 Oct 2003

    IFAs are becoming more educated as well as technologyand gender-friendly says IFA Promotion research. Its annual member audit shows that the number of firms offering access to female financial advisers is up by more than a third on last year to 2,942 while the number of qualifications above the FPC3 level achieved by members rose by 52 per cent. The number of members with a website also rose by 14 per cent to nearly 5,000. The survey reveals that 82 per cent of IFAs offer consumers ...

  • IFAs reject NU claims over Tesco commission rebate

    23 Oct 2003

    Norwich Union has come under renewed pressure from IFAs who reject its argument that the only reason its products are available at a cheaper rate through Tesco stores is because the supermarket rebates commission to consumers. Last week, Money Marketing reported that Sesame said it was "going to bat" for its members, angry that although globally Sesame is NU's biggest corporate client, consumers are able to get cheaper term insurance from the company through Tesco. NU says because ...

  • Independent edge

    23 Oct 2003

    When asked if she felt multi-tying was the only way forward, Finance 4 Women managing director Karen Ritchie says: "It is absolutely imperative that IFAs continue to remain independent but it will probably mean advisers will need to become more specialised than they are now." She concedes it may be true staying independent and offering advice on all areas of the market may become more and more difficult. "The days of being a general practitioner are becoming more and more a thing ...

  • Independent view

    23 Oct 2003

    Have you ever glibly said to someone: "If that pesky Gordon Brown would only stop pinching £5bn a year from pension funds we would all be in a much better state"? You know the line. How many times have you heard it? Dozens I would guess, from my own experience, from colleagues to politicians, friends down the pub to life office bosses. We are so familiar with it that it sounds like a broken record, a phrase that just rolls off the tongue. I have to admit that I too have used ...

  • Inter-Alliance signs up for Exweb

    23 Oct 2003

    Inter-Alliance has signed up for The Exchange's comparative quotations and electronic new business services. It is the second major IFA to join Exweb in the last three weeks following Bankhall's decision to offer the service to its members through IFA Engine. Exweb already has 18,500 users. The IFA Engine deal could boost this by 5,000 new users and Inter-Alliance will add 750 licences. The Exchange will be integrating its services into Inter-Alliance's back-office system ...

  • Investment analysis

    23 Oct 2003

    Most of the world's stockmarkets again made positive progress last week although there was evidence of profit-taking on Thursday and Friday as investors looked to lock in some of the strong gains made since the beginning of October. The FTSE World index advanced by 0.3 per cent and has now risen by 21.5 per cent since the start of the year. The week's economic numbers were generally satisfactory. In the US, the start of the third-quarter earnings' season provided encouragement ...

  • Investment view

    23 Oct 2003

    So, the next move in interest rates looks set to be up. This is despite the fact that interest rates in this country are significantly lower than in America or continental Europe. But according to the Bank of England's new governor, Mervyn King, the predilection of consumers to borrow and spend needs to be reined in. That and, of course, the fact that the UK economy appears to be more robust than we had previously thought. The revisions upwards have been significant. So much for official ...

  • Isaacs leaves board of Inter-Alliance

    28 Oct 2003

    Former Inter-Alliance chairman Vincent Isaacs has resigned his role as non-executive director of the national IFA.Taking over as non-executive directorship is chartered accountant Tom Morton who is a former non-executive director of IFA HST Financial, now part of Inter-Alliance.

  • Isis Asset Management - Isis Property Trust

    22 Oct 2003

    Isis Property TrustType: Closed-ended investment companyAim: Income and growth by investing in UK office, retail and industrial propertiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: Offices 31%, retail 34%, industrial & warehousing 35%Place of registration: GuernseyYield: 7% a yearCharges: Initial 2.4%, annual 1.3%Commission: Initial 1%Tel: 0845 799 2299

  • Julian Gibbs

    23 Oct 2003

    With some precipice bonds failing to return much of investors' capital, most IFAs are now recommending the types of bonds which return 100 per cent of the rise in the FTSE 100 index with no maximum. However, Nvesta has introduced two contracts which I find more sensible in today's climate. The first is for investors who think the FTSE 100 will rise by more than 75 per cent over a six-year period. The Super Tracker 30 Plan 2 offers a minimum return of 130 per cent as long as the ...

  • Keeping quiet is not an option for the industry

    23 Oct 2003

    What, I hear you ask, is a readers' editor? Well, across the pond in the US, they refer to them as an editor-at-large. Despite the grandness of the title, my brief is relatively straightforward. Those of you who are fans of Steve Martin will recall the firm Three Amigos, where their catchphrase was "wherever there is injustice, wherever there is danger, we will be there". I will be taking on issues that the news team have dropped, too early in my opinion, and taking issue with ...

  • Kevin Carr on Protection

    23 Oct 2003

    Despite a record year in 2002, this year's latest figures show sales of protection products in the UK to be rising by a further 10-12 per cent. However, the public can misbuy as much as they can be missold, in fact, we could argue more so, and the ongoing misconception that cheapest is best in the protection market has potentially significant implications for us all. How many products are there where the best value is genuinely neither the cheapest nor the dearest? Generally speaking, ...

  • L&G looking for critical views

    23 Oct 2003

    Legal & General has begun an extensive research programme with IFAs to determine how the new generation of critical-illness insurance products should look. Protection event director Ronnie Martin says medical advances are seeing pressures build on guarantee promises within CI products. He says previous changes in the market have been led by providers and reinsurers. L&G believes the "key link in the chain" is the IFA and wants their views. The research will be carried out ...

  • L&G report encouraging third quarter results

    22 Oct 2003

    Legal & General's results for the third quarter show total new business up 8 per cent to £226m on the same time last year. UK group business rose by 63 per cent to £26m from £16m and UK individual business up 4 per cent to £177m from £170m. New individual business sold through IFAs for the nine months to September 30 increased to a total of £283m from £262m last year.

  • Levy lessons for the FSA

    23 Oct 2003

    The general public would greatly benefit from some sound financial education. The fact that institutions know there is demand for credit cards charging over 25 per cent a year is proof enough. Many would be surprised if a rigorous cost-benefit analysis of the work that the FSA has done to date would show that the cost of additional regulatory bureaucracy imposed since Maxwell has exceeded the benefit to consumers, so we should be sceptical of the notion that handing another levy to ...

  • LIA's view

    23 Oct 2003

    It was interesting to read the recent comments by David Severn of the FSA, suggesting there are likely to be only three viable business models for financial advice in the future - fee-based financial planning, multi-tie distribution and direct salesforces. Traditional direct salesforces are less in evidence and I assume the reference here is to a salesforce selling simple products with a minimum of advice. So the advice market, on this analysis, comes down to two options. The FSA ...

  • Lifeboat and Briefing set up pension transfer deal

    23 Oct 2003

    IFA firm Lifeboat has linked up with pension specialist Professional Briefing to offer a pension transfer service. Lifeboat Pensions Solutions will be available to all 2,000 Lifeboat agents and advisers through Professional Briefing, where Money Marketing technical expert Keith Popplewell's is managing director. Lifeboat Group has recently amalgamated all four sections of its business into one single adviser division ahead of mortgage and general insurance regulation. It ...

  • Lincoln launches bond for IFA market

    27 Oct 2003

    Lincoln Financial Group is launching a guaranteed investment bond for IFA distribution. The GIB can be used as a guaranteed income or guaranteed growth bond with income available at an average rate of 3.7 per cent.

  • Lloyds TSB bond tactics revealed by ex-salesman

    23 Oct 2003

    A former Lloyds TSB salesman says the FSA fine on the bank for misselling precipice bonds is "woeful" and describes a sales culture where staff were pressurised into meeting sales targets for high-income bonds. David Purling, now an IFA, says staff not on target to meet their sales "pledges" could expect to be "summoned" to area headquarters for coaching and were "constantly berated" by local management. Lloyds was fined £1.9m by the FSA for misselling the bond, with the ...

  • London and South-east lead as rental yields rise

    23 Oct 2003

    Rental yields continued to rise in September, with London and the South-east leading the rest of the country, according to Paragon Mortgages' latest buy-to-let index. The index reveals that average rental yields rose to 7.6 per cent in September from 7.57 per cent in August. The North/South divide is narrowing, with southern parts of the country seeing significant increases in yields while yields for the Midlands and the North fell slightly. The South-east (+2.36 per cent), ...

  • Manchester Building Society signs new deal with AXA

    27 Oct 2003

    AXA has signed a new deal with Manchester Building Society to sell its products through the society.This will begin with non-regulated term assurance and a suite of protection products, being sold through face to face advice and by telephone. This product range will be extended to offer a "full financial planning service" as the relationship develops.AXA already has relationships with other building societies such as Birmingham Midshires and the Staffordshire Building Society.

  • Marlborough Stirling shaves SLFoC's operating costs

    27 Oct 2003

    Technology outsourcing firm Marlborough Stirling has completed a systems replacement programme with Sun Life Financial of Canada that it says cuts operating costs by 60 per cent.SLFoC now has operating costs of 0.6 per cent of funds under management, with all 800,000 of its life, pension and investment policies migrated from its four systems to Marlborough Stirling's Lamda platform.Marlborough Stirling director of life and pensions David Davies says: "Updating their ...

  • Money Portal still waiting to finalise Aaron deal

    23 Oct 2003

    The Money Portal's acquisition of David Aaron Partnership, due to complete last month, has yet to go through, with both parties admitting they are still locked in discussions. TMP said in August it was acquiring both DAP and Bates Investment Services in a move it said would propel it into the top three distributors of UK retail funds. But although the deal with Bates has completed, the agreement with DAP has not, with TMP saying "various matters" have come up to delay its signing. TMP ...

  • Mortgage 2000 - Self Cert 3 Year Tracker

    23 Oct 2003

    Type: Self-certified tracker mortgageTracker term: Three yearsTracker rate: Bank of England base rate plus 0.95%Payable rate: 4.45%Minimum loan: £25,000Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000Income multiples: Up to 3.5 times principal income plus second or 3 times jointArrangement fee: £395Conditions: 0.5% ...

  • Mortgage brokers still unclear about future

    24 Oct 2003

    Almost half (42 per cent) of mortgage intermediaries are still unclear about their future, according to research carried out by Mortgage Business Expo. Over 2,000 mortgage intermediaries were asked what their plans were come mortgage regulation next October. Forty two per cent are undecided, 38 per cent intend to take principal status, and 20 per cent plan to go down the appointed representative route.Mortgage Business Expo show director Andy White, says: "I am surprised at how ...

  • MPs form all-party committee for Equitable report

    27 Oct 2003

    MPs have formed an all-party committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ann Abraham's Equitable Life report. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb says he is assembling the committee with the help of Labour MP Ian Gibson to investigate what they call was a "narrow scope" for parliamentary ombudsman Abraham's report. Treasury Select committee member Lamb says MPs are furious Abraham refused to investigate events before 1999.Lamb says: "It is important that ...

  • Multi-tie edge

    23 Oct 2003

    Berkeley Berry Birch is planning to multi-tie a section of its business. Group chief executive Stephen Ingledew says: "You need to be careful with the term multi-tie because in a lot of cases we still use the term the way it was used in the late Eighties and early Nineties. It does not mean the same thing any more and this prevents the debate moving forward. "Ten years ago, when the term first came about, products were personal pensions, life insurance, endowments. These were very ...

  • NAPF puts warning on occupational schemes

    28 Oct 2003

    The National Association of Pension Funds is adding a risk warning to its literature on occupational pensions. NAPF leaflets have previously said outright that joining an occupational scheme makes sense. Now leaflets will recommend joining but point out that there is a risk of schemes going insolvent.NAPF spokesman Andy Fleming says: "The change of wording reflects the fact that as with any other form of investment there is some element of risk. This was not explained in the past."

  • National Savings & Investments maximises security

    22 Oct 2003

    National Savings & Investments' latest guaranteed equity bond differs from previous issues by offering a participation rate rather than a cap on growth.The guaranteed equity bond is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index during a five-year term. In addition to the return of the original capital regardless of the index performance, investors will receive 95 per cent of the growth in the index.The previous bonds offered by National Savings ...

  • New world domination

    23 Oct 2003

    In the struggle to dominate the emerging financial services landscape, it is clear that battle plans are being drawn and that the power base appears to be shifting towards the distributors. The real impact of wraps is yet to play out - the question is who will win? Change drivers The recent regulatory challenges, including Sandler, depolarisation and the demise of with-profits, have moved the industry forward in preparing for the strategic changes required to transform the ...

  • Newton chooses new chief for income fund

    23 Oct 2003

    Newton Investment Management has picked Glen Pratt to take over management of the Newton income fund, picking up the reins from John Wood. Newton says the change is to take place over the next six weeks, with Pratt, who has been an alternative manager on the fund since January, taking over on December 1. Pratt joined Newton in January from Fidelity, where he was manager of the Fidelity UK aggressive fund, which achieved top-quartile performance over the last four years. Wood ...

  • Norwich Union - Capital Protected Growth Plan

    24 Oct 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-no maximum, Isa £3,000-£7,000Term: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: Up to 55% growthClosing date: December 5, 2003, Isa/Pep transfers November 7, 2003Commission: Initial 3.5%Tel: 0845 302 2559

  • Norwich Union - Capital Protected Growth Plan

    24 Oct 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-no maximum, Isa £3,000-£7,000Term: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: Up to 55% growthClosing date: December 5, 2003, Isa/Pep transfers November 7, 2003Commission: Initial 3.5%Tel: 0845 302 2559

  • Not something to treasure

    23 Oct 2003

    The Diary wonders if corporate hospitality has gone a step too creative? Being ferried around the great landmarks of London in a taxi is not unusual for a non-Londoner trying to locate Stockwell by night but participating in a taxi treasure hunt by day was a new challenge even for a personal finance journalist used to being PR'd. Teams faced not only motion sickness but severe migraine trying to figure out a number of questions to locate various tourist spots around London. They ...

  • NU faces problems over equity release

    23 Oct 2003

    Norwich Union's equity-release product could effectively be banned once FSA regulation comes into force next year, says Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger. NU's early repayment charges are calculated on a mark-to-market basis and are uncapped. The FSA will stipulate that providers must define redemption penalties once regulation begins in October 2004. Boulger says as NU would be unable to calculate a redemption penalty, it would be forced to quote the maximum possible ...

  • NU is living in a glasshouse with equity-release plan

    23 Oct 2003

    People in glasshouses should not throw stones. I am surprised that Norwich Union feels brave enough to poke its head above the trenches and launch a verbal assault on competitors. Its own "flexible cash release plan" is, in my opinion, one of the least appealing plans on the equity-release scene. Intermediaries who recommend this plan are leaving themselves wide open to potential misselling claims in two ways. 1: The fixed rate of interest (currently 7.29 per cent) is actually ...

  • NU records steady third quarter results

    24 Oct 2003

    Norwich Union's third quarter results show total sales are down 15 per cent to £862m APE over the first nine months, from £1,009m last year, and for the quarter life and pension sales were down slightly to £271m APE from £278m last year.Overall bond and savings over the nine month period dropped to £1,352m from £2,251, reflecting the drop in the with-profit bond market, but increased focus on group pension schemes saw sales there rise to £672m ...

  • On yer bike

    23 Oct 2003

    As IFAs struggle to convince clients to save enough into their pensions, Sesame's prediction of the end of the long-term care insurance market is perhaps unsurprising. Some IFAs feel that the need to insure against LTC costs is being pushed right to the bottom of individuals' financial planning priorities. The latest ABI figures certainly seem to support Sesame research manager Dale Tranter's findings, which showed stagnant sales of LTC products - an area where some looked ...

  • Opra introduces new

    22 Oct 2003

    The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority has introduced simpler supporting guidelines for whistleblowing on occupational schemes today. A new traffic light system will reduce the number of minor reports Opra receives by classifying breaches as green, amber or red. Opra chief executive Tony Hobman says: "Opra is moving towards a more risk based segmented approach to regulation. These new guidelines for whistleblowers are a key stepping stone to implementing our new way of ...

  • Out of context

    23 Oct 2003

    •"Oh no I'm only not drinking because I can't go and see the midwife stinking of booze." - A pregnant PR discusses teetotalling with a temporarily teetotal journalist. •"I need to face forwards. Always. I get motion sickness." - Anxious Kensington Mortgages adviser Keith Street embarks on a treasure hunt by taxi. •"I hate the term finger buffet - it creates nasty visions in my mind." - Winterthur investment marketing manager Bernard Henshall. •"It's ...

  • Portman launches two year stepped discount mortgage

    22 Oct 2003

    Portman is launching a two year stepped discount remortgage product, currently at a rate of 2.99 per cent.Borrowers have the option of switching to a fixed rate in the first year, without incurring any early repayment fees.The product offers a discount of 2.41 per cent below Portman's SVR (currently 5.40 per cent) in the first year, followed by a discount of 1.41 per cent in the second and final year.Group communications manager Helen Shaw says: ...

  • Product matters

    23 Oct 2003

    People may question the wisdom of a company that decides to launch a with-profits product in the current environment but Prudential has launched the Prudence prospects bond with a specific purpose in mind. This is designed for investors who are happy with the concept of with-profits but have concerns over the future prospects of their existing WP bond provider. The idea is that the higher allocation rates can be used to offset some or all of the market value reduction that investors ...

  • Pru poll finds public looking for cash lessons

    23 Oct 2003

    Most people believe there is a need for more education and training in financial matters. Eighty-eight per cent of those questioned in Prudential's financial literacy survey said more education and training are needed while 69 per cent said their education has not prepared them sufficiently to deal with their personal finances. However, just 7 per cent said they lack the confidence to deal with their financial affairs themselves and rely totally on outside help while 78 per ...

  • Raising state pension age should not be ruled out - PPI

    24 Oct 2003

    The UK is not ready to raise state pension age yet but should not rule it out as a policy option says the Pensions Policy Institute.The PPI says there is evidence people are already starting to work longer and, although unpopular at present - mainly because of the effect of the policy on manual workers - many of the perceived problems with the policy could be mitigated as part of wider reforms of state pensions and social security policy.The PPI says moving the state pension ...

  • Reid all about it

    23 Oct 2003

    Syndaxi Financial Planning director Robert Reid has been appointed readers' editor of Money Marketing, a new position established to help rep-resent the views and opinions of the paper's readership. The role has been created to help continue the balance of the newspaper's reportage and to provide a focused forum for reader issues. Reid has written extensively for Money Marketing for a number of years and says he is well placed to act as a conduit for readers' views. He ...

  • Routes to release

    23 Oct 2003

    Equity release is predicted to be a booming market but against a backdrop of increasingly well-publicised risks, how can IFAs trade safely? Concerns surrounding equity release appear to have become heightened in recent mon-ths. The sceptics believe the area seems to be the odds-on favourite to be the next misselling scandal to undermine confidence in financial services and IFAs. The fact that equity release has been unregulated and is sold to what is perceived as a vulnerable market ...

  • S&P upgrades Investec funds

    28 Oct 2003

    Standard & Poor's has upgraded two of Investec Asset Management's UK funds. The UK smaller companies and UK opportunities funds have both received a 'AA' rating in S&P's review of its UK growth book. Investec joint managing director David Aird says: "We believe this acknowledges the depth of resource, the quality of our people and our clearly defined investment process."

  • SimplyBiz setting up network

    23 Oct 2003

    IFA service company Simply-Biz is joining forces with IFA firm Kilminsters to launch a nursery network aimed at offering a smooth ride to direct regulation for start-up firms and network leavers. Called Simply Stepping Up, the compliance regime is designed as a stepping stone, with members expected to become directly regulated within about six months. Members will be charged 7.5 per cent of turnover by Kilminsters plus a monthly fee of £250 per RI to cover professional indemnity ...

  • Skandia bonds with fund of funds

    22 Oct 2003

    SKANDIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENTBond Income FundType: Oeic fund of fundsAim: Income by investing in bond fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, Isa/Pep transfers £10,000, monthly £50Investment split: Merrill Lynch corporate bond mandate 18%, Threadneedle High Yield Bond Fund 18%, Goldman Sachs sterling bond mandate 10%, BGI Sterling Bond Fund 18%, Goldman Sachs global high yield fund 18%, Fidelity moneybuilder high ...

  • Skandia Investment management - Equity Income Fund

    22 Oct 2003

    Equity Income FundType: Oeic fund of fundsAim: Income and growth by investing in equity income fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, Isa/Pep transfers £10,000, monthly £50Investment split: Lazard UK equity income mandate 18%, Liontrust first income fund 18%, Merrill Lynch IM UK securities mandate 18%, Newton higher income fund 18%, SGAM UK equities mandate 18%, Martin Currie UK assets mandate 10%Isa link: YesPep ...

  • Smart-Move sets up adverse system to find best plans

    23 Oct 2003

    Smart-Move is offering an adverse mortgage sourcing system it says is unique as it pinpoints the best product for the client. It says the system can identify products to precisely match the individual needs of adverse credit clients. The sourcing system also highlights why other products failed to match the client's needs, for example, if the loan to value test fails or the client's income is disregarded due to arrears. Smart-Move says the sourcing system provides a complete ...

  • Stamp of approval

    23 Oct 2003

    If you are going to have a Champagne reception, you might as well do it in style, such is the philosophy of Standard Life investments. One IFA invited to a recent SLI bubbly session was taken aback at the parsimonious nature of the invitation when coming to RSVP. Although beautifully embossed and crafted from generously thick card, on its obverse the invitation bore the words "please affix stamp". You cannot be too careful.

  • Standard bearer

    23 Oct 2003

    IFAs are calling for the end of automated call-handling systems and for greater openness from providers on their with-profits strategies. This is what IFAs have been telling PPIAB representatives at Money Marketing events across the country. The suggestions came in response to being asked how the Raising Standards quality mark scheme should be extended. It seems that, slowly but surely, the message is getting across that Raising Standards does what it says on the tin - it raises ...

  • Stonebanks gets closer to second carpetbagging attempt

    27 Oct 2003

    Standard Life carpetbagger David Stonebanks is getting closer to his goal of having a second attempt at forcing the insurer to hold a special general meeting to vote on demutalisation.Stonebanks has informed supporters that the Scottish barrister looking over his resolutions for the meeting is hopeful that the review will be complete by the end of this week.Stonebanks says he intends to find out from Standard Life what the latest date for submission of the request forms ...

  • Supermarkets facing a battle for survival

    23 Oct 2003

    Cofunds' enquiries into the methods that fund groups use to charge registration fees to their funds has thrown the spotlight on the plight of fund supermarkets. According to fund managers, Cofunds' move - effectively investigating which groups benefit most from having portfolios aggregated on its platform - is symptomatic of the ways in which supermarkets may have to seek extra revenues to keep them afloat. Although many supermarkets are rumoured to be in poor financial health, ...

  • Talkback

    23 Oct 2003

    "Yes. Quite right, too. If NU can do it for Tesco, they can do it for advisers as well." Trevor Jackson,Premier Financial Management "Yes. It is the only thing to do. It is diabolical that the supermarket chain is able to get better rates than advisers." Richard Atkins, Regent Financial Management "Yes. As a member, I would not be happy if Sesame did not go to Norwich Union to see what could be done about this." Barry Gilbert Prior, BG Prior "Yes, definitely. I ...

  • Target-based sales culture led to Lloyds' fiasco

    23 Oct 2003

    I read Lorna Bourke's article on the Lloyds TSB misselling fine with great interest as a former Lloyds TSB financial consultant who was involved in the EIGP fiasco (Money Marketing, October 9). I have happily seen the light and am now an IFA. I worked for Lloyds for two years, coming out of my training just in time to miss the first two tranches, but I was in situ for tranches three and four. I was never comfortable with the product as I was one of the few who took the time ...

  • The Finance Centre says no to regulation

    27 Oct 2003

    The Finance Centre will remain a pure packager under mortgage regulation next year. It will work in partnership with networks and lenders offering packaging services, and as it will not provide advice to consumers it will not have to become FSA regulated.Senior partner Wayne Smethurst says: "We have considered the various strategic options open to us and have decided to focus on what we do best - packaging. We want to work in partnership with lenders and regulated networks to ...

  • Tiner wants to see watchdog in FSMA review

    23 Oct 2003

    FSA chief executive John Tiner has backed calls from the industry for the Treasury to include the Financial Ombudsman Service in its statutory review of the regulator. Responding to MPs at a Treasury select committee meeting this week, Tiner said he wanted to see the Treasury include an analysis of the relationship between the FOS and the FSA in its two-year review. The growing power of the ombudsman backed by the Consumers' Association has caused many in the industry to ask ...

  • Treasury and FSA consult on EU financial conglomerates directive

    22 Oct 2003

    The Treasury and Financial Services Authority have published a consultation paper on the proposed EU Financial Conglomerates Directive. The Directive requires prudential supervision for companies straddling the insurance, banking and investment sectors by a single supervisory co-ordinator. Financial Secretary Ruth Kelly says: "This Directive is a key element in the Financial Service Action Plan and is necessary to ensure that the supervision of corporate groups takes full account ...

  • Vincent Cable

    23 Oct 2003

    As the new Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, as the LibDems now style their front-bench spokespeople,Vincent Cable had his first opportunity to have an exchange with Gordon Brown last week. He challenged him on whether the Government was in agreement with the Governor of the Bank of England who has warned of a looming combination of an economic slowdown and rising interest rates. The exchange opened Cable's eyes to what he believes may be a distinct disagreement between the ...

  • Wesleyan jobs to go in move to affinity sales

    23 Oct 2003

    Wesleyan Assurance Society is cutting back its insurance saleforce as part of plans to shift from the mass market towards affinity group business and medical products. As part of the plans, the group will increasingly concentrate on its 81-RI IFA British Medical Association Services which it bought last year. It will also develop more medical sickness products. The job losses, which Wesleyan cannot quantify, will come from the 150-strong insurance salesforce which is being "scaled ...

  • Will we see 10 years of rate rises?

    23 Oct 2003

    Mortgage experts are trying to dispel fears of interest rate rises for 10 years after a speech from Bank of England governor Mervyn King. Speaking in Leicester last week, King referred to the economic successes of the 1990s and concluded that such success would be unlikely to continue for the next 10 years. He said: "It is over three and a half years since interest rates were last raised - the longest such period since the bank rate was held constant at 2 per cent through the 1940s. ...

  • Winterthur appoints new operations director

    28 Oct 2003

    Winterthur Life UK has appointed Nick Elphick to the new role of operations director. Elphick has previously been head of operations for Winterthur, but will now take on wider responsbility including being responsible for administering new and existing business within the IFA sales channel. He will also be responsible for provision of the administration, sales support and operations support across the company.Winterthur Life chief executive Mike Kellard says: "Nick has made a ...

  • Witan appoints chief executive

    23 Oct 2003

    The £1.3bn Witan Investment Trust is seeking to appoint its first chief executive in a move which could see current manager Henderson Global Investors lose its contract. Witan says the chief executive will be charged with establishing a process for managing asset allocation and selecting managers to run assets. The board says it wants to improve the trust's performance and reduce the level and volatility of its discount.

  • With-profit bond sales hurt Pru's UK results for third quarter

    22 Oct 2003

    The downturn in with-profits bond sales has taken its toll on Prudential's UK new business figures for the third quarter but the firm says market conditions are beginning to stabilise and there are signs of improvement. Its UK and Europe insurance sales for the first nine months were down 18 per cent to £464m compared to £566m last year. However, excluding with-profits bond sales, its UK sales were actually up 6 per cent on the back of strong corporate pension and individual ...

  • Wrao choices

    27 Oct 2003

    ABBEY WRAP SERVICEType: Wrap accountAim: Income and growth by investing in choice of Wrap Sipp, Wrap mini stocks & shares Isa, Wrap mini cash Isa, Wrap Tessa only Isa, Wrap Pep or Wrap Investment PortfolioMinimum investment £100,000Investment split: Client's choice of collective investments, stocks & shares, bonds, gilts, second-hand endowment policies, cashIncome facility: YesCharges: Minimum £600 a year, thereafter ...

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