Money Marketing
23 February 2005

  • FundsNetwork joins forces with NU to offer investment bond

    28 Feb 2005

    FundsNetwork has teamed up with Norwich Union to offer an onshore investment bond as part of the development of the supermarket platforms wrap service.

  • .. but estate agents are busy as more property comes on the market

    24 Feb 2005

    January was busy for estate agents after a surge in property placed on the market and an increase in mortgage applications, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.

  • A consumer's view

    24 Feb 2005

    Consistency is not something for which the FSA is well known and nowhere is this more apparent than in the regulation of general insur-ance which came into effect on January 15.

  • A matter of time

    24 Feb 2005

    In previous years, we have had many calls from surveys asking us to spend time answering questions. We appreciate that the individual caller has a job to do but their employers clearly have no respect for our time.

  • A new lease of life

    24 Feb 2005

    Buy to let is bucking the slowing property market with rising rents and long-term confidence from landlords.

  • A&L flexing fees to boost advisers

    24 Feb 2005

    Alliance & Leicester is keen to invigorate its relationship with mortgage intermediaries by introducing flexible features and systems in the coming months.

  • A&L stepping in to help FTBs on duty

    24 Feb 2005

    Alliance & Leicester is moving into the specialised first-time buyer market in its first venture into specialised lending.

  • ABI sets May deadline for industry responses to report

    24 Feb 2005

    The ABI is calling for responses to its report by May 31, the week before fee menus bec-ome mandatory across the financial services sector.

  • ABI wants to axe indemnity commission

    24 Feb 2005

    ABI proposals for indemnity commission to be scrappedhave been attacked by Aifa as being a knee-jerk reaction to the Treasury select committee's criticism of commission.Research carried out for the ABI by Charles River Associates calls for the abolition of indemnity commission, production of annual commission statements for consumers and an equalisation of commission levels across products with similar aims.The radical plans come despite CRA finding no evidence of advisers selling ...

  • Advisers assess the industry jousting

    24 Feb 2005

    IFAs say the argument between Neptune and Britannic over two fund managers moving reflects fund companies' sensitivity at losing managers.

  • Alexander Hall increases FTB business

    28 Feb 2005

    Alexander Hall, the London-based mortgage broker has increased its percentage of first time buyer business.

  • Alternatives to an over-reaction

    24 Feb 2005

    It is remarkable how attempts to improve confidence in savings often simply undermine it.

  • An ill wind-up blows no good - Keith Popplewell

    24 Feb 2005

    This week, I am continuing my series of articles looking at recent and imminent developments in the world of pensions.

  • Axa looks at Dublin for offshore base

    23 Feb 2005

    Axa is investigating Dublin as an option for an EU-based alternative to its Isle of Man offshore centre. Axa says it is happy with its Isle of Man base but expects to have sufficient business to run two offshore jurisdictions.

  • Balanced Aim

    24 Feb 2005

    First State Investments is aiming to raise up to £20m for its Aim VCT, a venture capital trust which invests in the Alternative Investment Market.The management team for the VCT is led by First State head of UK equities Paul Jourdan, who runs the First State British smaller companies fund.This fund, which contains Aim-listed holdings, was established in 1998 and has invested more than £15m in Aim investments over the past three years.Jourdan and senior analyst ...

  • Bank of Ireland confirms the sale of Chase de Vere to AWD

    28 Feb 2005

  • Bid to help children make a flying start

    24 Feb 2005

    The Scottish Investment Trust has set up a scheme for children that, unlike the child trust fund, allows access to investments at any time.

  • Blots on the landscape - Patrick Gayle

    24 Feb 2005

    It is approaching crunch time for IFAs, who are just weeks away from deciding their future and whether they will retain their independent status. As the debate continues to rage, however, I am astounded at the number of market commentators who are completely missing the point.

  • Broker talkback

    24 Feb 2005

    Do you think responsibility for risk ratings should lie with IFAs rather than with providers?

  • Brothers in alms

    24 Feb 2005

    The Smiths are keen to implement a savings strategy for their two children - James, who is seven, and new arrival Matthew.The grandparents have said they will help but the Smiths are confused. What should they be advised?

  • Budget date announced

    23 Feb 2005

    The Treasury has announced that Gordon Brown will deliver his Budget on March 16. It is likely to be the last Budget before the General Election.

  • BUPA cuts cost of critical illness insurance

    28 Feb 2005

    Bupa says it is reducing the rate of critical illness insurance from March 1 2005.

  • Burns-Anderson renews PII policy for members

    23 Feb 2005

    Burns-Anderson has renewed its Professional Indemnity Insurance policy with effect from February 1 2005, broadening its cover to operate in a more competitive market.

  • Capita PPML picks Coxell as MD

    24 Feb 2005

    Capita PPML has appointed former Marlborough Stirling chief executive Graham Coxell as managing director.

  • Charcol chief collars firms on loan ads

    24 Feb 2005

    Some mortgage promotions are still not complying with FSA regulation despite the regulator pled-ging a crackdown on misleading advertising, says Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger.

  • Chelsea Building Society - Self-Cert Two Year Discount Mortgage

    28 Feb 2005

    Chelsea Building SocietySelf-Cert Two Year Discount Mortgage

  • Chelsea Building Society - Two Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

    24 Feb 2005

    Chelsea Building SocietyTwo Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

  • Chelsea on hold as Isa call centre quits

    24 Feb 2005

    Chelsea Financial Services' call centre provider has quit over FSA fears at the height of the Isa season.

  • Chrysalis merger gets go-ahead

    24 Feb 2005

    Chrysalis shareholders have voted in favour of merging four VCTs to streamline performance, the first time for such a VCT merger.

  • Close set up new Jersey based division

    1 Mar 2005

    Close Private Bank has set up a new division specifically designed to service the global corporate market.

  • Correspondent's view

    24 Feb 2005

    Alison Bone

  • Coventry Building Society - 5.99% Flexx Buy-to-Let

    28 Feb 2005

    Coventry Building Society5.99% Flexx Buy-to-Let

  • Critical list

    24 Feb 2005

    The critical sector is still in a state of flux but eventually it must move to cover only core illnesses and simplify the processes.

  • Cross words

    24 Feb 2005

    Our panel of experts give their opinions on cross-subsidies, the prospects for single ties and sourcing systems.

  • Downing Corporate Finance - Downing Protected VCTs II and III

    1 Mar 2005

    Type: Venture capital trustsAim: Growth by investing in asset-backed unquoted companies and fixed-income securitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum 5,000Closing date: April 5, 2005 for 2004/05 tax year, April 29, 2005 for 2005/06 tax yearCharges: Initial 5.5%, annual up to 2.5%Tel: 020 7411 4700

  • Downing doubles up with protected VCTs

    23 Feb 2005

    Downing Corporate Finance is aiming to raise up to 40m through two lower-risk VCTs which will mirror each other.

  • Duncan joins PPF

    25 Feb 2005

    Alan Duncan has been appointed director of operations for the Pension Protection Fund.He joins from Invesco Pensions where he was also director of operations. Before that he worked for Fidelity where he was vice president, business development and strategic planning.He begins at the end of February and will be responsible for directing day to day core operations at the PPF. He will also become a member of the Board.PPF chief executive Myra Kinghorn says: "I am delighted that ...

  • DWP launches new website

    1 Mar 2005

    The DWP has launched a new website aimed at offering advice and examples of good practice in employer pension provision.Employer Task Force chairman Sir Peter Davis and Alan Johnson MP unveiled the website which has been produced following an ETF report recommendation published in December.The website can be found at www.pensionsatwork.gov.uk.Davis says: "By drawing together all existing material on good practise, offering helpful advice and giving support to companies, this ...

  • DWP set to back tax-free cash for protected rights

    24 Feb 2005

    The Department for Work and Pensions is set to confirm that people can take 25 per cent of their protected rights as tax-free cash in the next few weeks.

  • Ellis says pendulum is swinging towards fees

    24 Feb 2005

    The Personal Finance Society believes the ABI's report has opened up the fees vs.commission debate. The PFS welcomes the report, saying that the debate needed to be resurrected for the benefit of consumers.

  • Eurolife's bond investors to vote on partial payout

    24 Feb 2005

    Thousands of investors in the Eurolife secured bond are being asked to vote on a partial repayment plan to recoup some of the £17m losses.Around 2,300 investors should have been repaid capital on January 23 but have had to wait three weeks for news of the restructuring proposal.The proposal issued by Eurolife involves the repayment to bondholders of between 60 per cent and 86 per cent of the original issue price, which it claims, taken together with the interest received ...

  • Events Diary

    24 Feb 2005

    February 24Insurance Institute of LondonRegulatory Trends in the EU and the Wider WorldLondon020 7600 1343March 2Insurance Institute of LondonTrends in LongevityLondon020 7600 1343March 22IFA PromotionPress ClubDundee, Tayside & Fife020 7294 3681March 23IFA PromotionPress ClubAberdeen020 7294 3681April 6IFA PromotionPress ClubTelford, Shropshire020 7294 3681April 12IFA PromotionPress ClubLiverpool & North Wales020 7294 3681April 13IFA PromotionPress ...

  • F&C plans to merge funds

    23 Feb 2005

    F&C is to merge its range of open-ended onshore funds, with 53 funds being converted into 47, subject to fundholder approval. F&C intends to register the entire range of Oeics under Ucits 3, enabling the funds to be marketed across Europe.

  • Falcon raises £3m in flotation on Aim

    24 Feb 2005

    Falcon Group has listed on Aim through holding company Sumus, raising £3m through an issue of new shares.The IFA, network and service provider has 120 RIs and group chief executive Allan Rosengren says he hopes this total will rise to around 160 advisers by September.The business, founded in 1983 by Rosengren and operations director Julian Telling, had a turnover of £8.1m last year and a profit of £453,000,The directors believe that regulatory changes, including ...

  • Fidelity adds 12 funds to DC platform

    24 Feb 2005

    Fidelity has added 12 funds to its open architecture platform for defined-contribution pension clients.

  • Financial Express is aiming for wrap deals

    24 Feb 2005

    Financial Express is in talks with wrap providers over the use of its data services and other products.

  • 'Free' advice that will cost consumers dear

    24 Feb 2005

    Changes made by the Government to the financial services industry have patently failed to address the problem of the millions of people in the UK who have traditionally failed to take responsibility for their long-term financial welfare.

  • Friends slashes payouts

    23 Feb 2005

    Friends Provident has cut bonuses on with-profits policies by up to 16 per cent. A 25-year 100 per month pension policy for a male aged 40 at entry will pay 116,759 compared with 139,281 last year.

  • Friends uses cap rise to boost stakeholder cash

    24 Feb 2005

    Friends Provident will buck industry trends and offer an increased rate of commission on the individual stakeholder personal pension it is bringing to market next quarter.

  • FSA factsheet for IRR

    25 Feb 2005

    The FSA is today sending firms a factsheet explaining how arrangements for Integrated Regulatory Reporting will work.

  • FSA in loan crackdown

    24 Feb 2005

    The FSA is cracking down on unauthorised brokers who arrange and advise on mortgages illegally.

  • FSA lacked split-cap evidence

    24 Feb 2005

    The FSA has revealed it was advised by a barrister that it had insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone involved in the split-cap scandal.

  • FSA sets probe priorities

    24 Feb 2005

    The FSA plans to monitor closely the advertising and marketing of equity-release products, sub-prime mortgages and debt consolidation by providers and brokers.

  • Harris on mortgages

    24 Feb 2005

    The latest CML figures on the buy-to-let sector have been covered extensively and used as the basis for a number of articles full of doom and gloom. Much has been made of the likelihood of an erosion of support at the lower end of the housing market and the subsequent end to the boom that has shored up the UK property market.

  • How the spoken word won over our salesforce

    24 Feb 2005

    Hurrah for Bhupinder Anand (Money Marketing, February 10). What a fantastic article. How right he is.

  • HSA gains corporate exposure in BCWA deal

    24 Feb 2005

    HSA Group has completed the acquisition of Bristol-based private medical and health insurer BCWA.

  • IFA draws up one-page response to long KFIs

    24 Feb 2005

    The Mortgage Practitioner sole trader Danny Lovey has created a one-page key facts illustration in response to frustration at long KFIs from lenders.

  • IFA faces fraud charges

    23 Feb 2005

    Nottinghamshere IFA Stephen Higham, 53, a director of Oaktree Financial Services, has appeared in Newark court charged with fraud.

  • IFAs clear of bias in commission probe

    24 Feb 2005

    IFAs have been cleared of commission bias by ABI research but its investigation calls for greater transparency in relation to ongoing commission.

  • IFAs in quandary on advice options

    24 Feb 2005

    IFAs are refusing to advise clients who were invested in the Eurolife secured bond for fear of the repercussions.

  • IFAs in warning that ban would hit pensions

    24 Feb 2005

    IFAs have reacted angrily to research carried out for the ABI that calls for the abolition of indemnity commission.

  • IFAs want ruling on commission rebates

    24 Feb 2005

    IFAs have called on the FSA to clear up confusion over whether rebating commission counts as handling client money.

  • IMA challenges levy

    28 Feb 2005

    The IMA is challenging the proposed 27m levy set to fall on the asset management industry because of split-cap claims.The IMA says the current estimate involves a series of assumptions that cannot be relied on. It says the FSCS should only impose levies if it has reasonable grounds to believe it needs to raise additional funds.The IMA suggests a more flexible approach by the FSCS in the absence of evidence of an immediate need for funds.IMA chief executive Richard Saunders ...

  • Independent view

    24 Feb 2005

    It was about five years ago when I moved my client bank to a fee basis.

  • Ingenious Ventures - Ingenious Music VCT

    23 Feb 2005

    Ingenious VenturesIngenious Music VCT

  • Investment trust Isa purchases increase by 2 per cent

    1 Mar 2005

    The total purchases of investment trust Isas increased 2 per cent in 2004 to 62.33m from 60.96m in 2003.

  • Investment view - Brian Tora

    24 Feb 2005

    Smaller companies may be at the riskier end of the invest-ment spectrum but I am still a fan.

  • Isle of Man minister Bell dismisses Dublin threat

    24 Feb 2005

    In an exclusive interview with Money Marketing, Bell says Dublin’s increasing presence as a tax-efficient centre opens up opportunities for joint ventures rather than threatening the Isle of Man’s economy.

  • John Lawson on pensions

    24 Feb 2005

    Accepted knowledge of what is possible under the new pension tax rules is still very much a moving feast. This is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.

  • Julian Gibbs

    24 Feb 2005

    Keydata has introduced another innovative product which will have great appeal to income investors.

  • Just 12m for B&B's Charcol trio

    23 Feb 2005

    Bradford & Bingley says the sale of its three Charcol companies - Charcol, Holden Meehan and Aitchison & colegrave, brought in only 12.7m. B&B made a total loss of 123.2m on the sale of discounted operations. Total group profits plummeted to 105.3m from 264m in 2003.

  • Just Retirement launches into equity release market

    23 Feb 2005

    Just Retirement has launched into the equity release market after gaining Ship membership. The firm's equity release offering will sit between a roll-up mortgage and a home reversion plan. Just Retirement will offer high levels of cash release and enhanced rates for those with medical conditions. Its charges will be fixed, unlike on roll-up mortgages, and so not be affected by the client's length of life.The typical APR for the product will be between 7.1-7.9 per cent and IFA ...

  • Keep it in the family

    24 Feb 2005

    Clients often ask you to advise them on tax and financial planning for their businesses. A key part of this is catering for their wishes to pass on their business - or the value representing it - if they die before retirement.

  • L&G sets wheels turning for A-Day

    24 Feb 2005

    Confidence among homeowners has increased for the first time in eight months, according to the Woolwich consumer confidence index.

  • Lessons of the L&G case

    24 Feb 2005

    A lawyer assesses the ramifications of the recent financial services tribunal ruling on the FSA's enforcement processes.

  • LibDems want financial lessons to tackle debt

    24 Feb 2005

    The Liberal Democrats have called for financial education and awareness to be integrated into the national curriculum as part their debt action plan.

  • Life and pension sales edge up in 2004

    24 Feb 2005

    Life and pension business rose by 5.4 per cent last years to £10.2bn on an annual premium equivalent basis, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers.

  • Life offices face pension perils in contracting clients into S2P

    24 Feb 2005

    A leading pension adviser is warning that significant numbers of investors who are being arbitrarily contracted back into the state second pension by life offices could be worse off than if they stayed contracted out.

  • 'Managers must lead way in treating customers fairly'

    24 Feb 2005

    Senior managers have been told to face up to their responsibilities when it comes to treating customers fairly.

  • 'Market averages use wrong figures'

    24 Feb 2005

    Aifa director general David Severn has complained to the FSA that its estimates for market averages of advice are wrong.

  • Mike Kellard

    24 Feb 2005

    Winterthur Life's chief executive believes depolarisation will actually polarise the industry further and has positioned the life office to take advantage of a growing interest in independent advice from highnet-worth individuals.

  • Mortgage edge - Mark Howell

    24 Feb 2005

    Mortgage clubs can help reduce costs by offering support services at reduced rates to intermediaries - the ability to bulk-buy or aggregate applies to the mortgage product and to support services such as sourcing systems.

  • Mortgage Next - Mortgage Trust MT Select 2 Year Fixed Buy-to-Let

    25 Feb 2005

    Mortgage Next Mortgage Trust MT Select 2 Year Fixed Buy-to-Let

  • Mortgages are still cooling as purchases fall

    24 Feb 2005

    Gross mortgage lending fell in January to 17.9bn, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders in its latest survey.

  • MTM Capital Partners - MTM China VCT

    24 Feb 2005

    MTM Capital PartnersMTM China VCT

  • Multi-manager view - Bambos Hambi

    24 Feb 2005

    In a recent Multi-manager view Dennehy Weller managing director Brian Dennehy outlined the process he uses to select funds for his clients and suggested that other IFAs could do the same, rather than be lazy and invest with a multi-manager.

  • Neptune and Britannic in row over fund roles

    24 Feb 2005

    A row has erupted between Britannic Asset Management and Neptune over the departures of Oliver Russ and Barry Norris' to run Britannic's European fund boutique.

  • Network chief says providers don't have tech for multi-ties

    24 Feb 2005

    Alpha to Omega chief executive Stewart Wooles says none of the main product providers has the technology systems needed to underpin a multi-tie.

  • Network IFAs shun multi-ties

    24 Feb 2005

    IFA network members are rejecting the idea of offering a multi-tie option, according to research from Henry Samuels Marketing Services.

  • Newton investment Management - Newton Phoenix Fund

    1 Mar 2005

    Newton investment ManagementNewton Phoenix Fund

  • Newton widens doors on phoenix fund

    1 Mar 2005

    Newton Investment Management has made its institutional Newton phoenix fund available to retail investors.

  • Norwich offers guarantee with profit

    1 Mar 2005

    Norwich UnionWith-Profit Guarantee Fund

  • Norwich Union - Active Protector Fund

    23 Feb 2005

    Norwich UnionActive Protector Fund

  • Novelty value

    24 Feb 2005

    With the end of the tax year approaching, some investors are looking at novel schemes which seem to offer big returns but are they worth the risk?

  • NU funds to pay 5 per cent commission

    23 Feb 2005

    Norwich Union is to offer IFAs 5 per cent flat initial commission for all single-premium investments in four funds. NU will offer the commission for investments in the Norwich active protector fund, Norwich UK ethical fund, Norwich distribution fund, and Norwich managed high-income fund. The offer will apply to Oeic, Isa and Isa transfer business from February 28 to July 1.

  • NU reduces interest rates on its Fixed Rate Lifetime Mortgage

    28 Feb 2005

    Norwich Union is offering its lowest fixed rate for a lifetime mortgage.

  • NU's CPPI fund uses active and passive components

    24 Feb 2005

    Norwich Union has created an Oeic fund of funds which applies constant proportion portfolio insurance to a portfolio of six Norwich Union funds and short-term cash deposits.

  • Open secrets

    24 Feb 2005

    Last week, I looked at outright gifts and conditional gifts of an interest in property made by the first of a couple to die.

  • Our demutual friend

    24 Feb 2005

    Standard Life chief executive Sandy Crombie sets out the reasons why demutualisation is the best course for the company and how it is setting its sights on two goals this year - maxim-ising the value of the company and crystallising that value to deliver it to members.

  • Out of context

    24 Feb 2005

    "He's a bit of a wide boy but also a very wide boy." - Financial Express's Paul Wynne comments on a friend in the investment technology industry."It's brilliant. I get to do exactly the same - go to all the parties, get all the stories - but now I can work in my dressing gown while watching Trisha. I love it." - Helen Monks on the benefits of being a freelance journalist."You're not ringing to ask what kind of sh*t it is?" KeyData's Roddy Vaughan-Thomas gets technical on biomass.Any ...

  • Owners grow more hopeful of house price rises

    24 Feb 2005

    Unfunded public-sector pension liabilities are reckoned to be nearly 700bn, almost 60 per cent higher than the Government's most recent estimate.

  • Package deal

    24 Feb 2005

    Vesta Packaging managing director Mark Leaper on how regulation has divided packagers in two camps.

  • Packagers' fears over surplus2m MCCB funds

    24 Feb 2005

    The Professional Mortgage Packagers' Alliance is appealing to the FSA to pump some of the 2m in surplus funds left with the MCCB back into the mortgage industry.

  • 'Packagers need to take on admin role to survive'

    24 Feb 2005

    Packagers will have to start reinventing themselves to survive in a mortgage environment dominated by technology, says Alliance & Leicester head of intermediary mortgages Mehrdad Yousefi.

  • Pension injustice sees women working longer

    24 Feb 2005

    Women are having to work longer because they cannot afford to retire, according to research by the Office of National Statistics.

  • Pension sales boost for Winterthur

    24 Feb 2005

    Single-premium business rose by 15 per cent for Winterthur Life last year to 850m from 740m in 2003.

  • PFS says pro bono pilot is working but criticises CAB

    24 Feb 2005

    The Personal Finance Society says its generic advice pilot scheme is working and has blamed difficulties on the Citizen's Advice Bureaux.Director of public affairs John Ellis says the PFS has thrown its weight behind the scheme but stands by claims that getting advisers to do pro bono work has been a problem.He says the pilot scheme, which aims to get IFAs to commit time to giving advice in bureaux, has been hindered by a lack of clarity from the CAB head office.IFAs reacted ...

  • Platform ticket

    24 Feb 2005

    The firm is the one-stop intermediary lender of Britannia Building Society and was created from the mer-ger of Britannia subsidiar-ies Platform Home Loans and Verso.

  • Product Matters

    24 Feb 2005

    The latest capital-protectedcomes from Clerical Medical in the shape of the secure investment plan. To all intents and purposes, it is an open-ended structured product with a five-and a-half-year term with the capital guarantee at maturity.

  • Protection definition for new Clerical Oeic

    24 Feb 2005

    Clerical Medical has chosen a capital-protected definition for its new Oeic because it says it offers greater security than a capital guarantee.

  • Protection fund will see more schemes shut

    24 Feb 2005

    All things considered, I think that the pension protection fund is unlikely to achieve anything at all but the closure of yet more final-salary pension schemes.

  • Protection process

    24 Feb 2005

    Zurich has set up a unit-linked multimanager fund which uses constant proportion portfolio insurance to protect 80 per cent of the fund's highest value.The multi-manager protected profits fund applies CPPI to a portfolio of four actively managed funds - Cazenove UK growth and income, Gartmore European selected opportunities, Newton higher income and DWS American.This multi-manager portfolio comprises up to 70 per cent of the overall fund, with the remainder invested in cash ...

  • Pru keeps with-profits bonus rate at 3.25%

    24 Feb 2005

    Prudential chief executive Mark Wood says holding bonus rates on its with-profits fund shows that the asset class is still a strong vehicle for investment.

  • Question time on exam cash

    24 Feb 2005

    What has been gained by amalgamating the LIA with Sofa and producing something called the Personal Finance Society? The answer is, more money for the CII.

  • RBS is getting Active

    24 Feb 2005

    As HBOS continues its dominance in lending, a competitor could be lurking with the Royal Bank of Scotland looking to take a bigger slice of the mortgage market.

  • Reconnecting financial services and consumers

    24 Feb 2005

    With a general election looming, we start a series on the parties' policies for financial services.

  • Reid all about it

    24 Feb 2005

    Recovering from the flu always give you time to reflect and catch up on your reading. Watching the problems that the Pension Protection Fund has had over figures simply reflects that when you are trying to do something expensive on the cheap it invariably comes unstuck.

  • Rescue plan for pensions

    23 Feb 2005

    The Financial Assistance Scheme, which was set up by the Government to help people in final-salary pension schemes, is to provide workers within three years of the normal retirement age of their scheme with 80 per cent of their pension. The money will be paid as a top-up pension rather than through an annuity.

  • RIRC welcomes Turner addition

    28 Feb 2005

    The Retirement Income Reform Campaign has welcomed the Governments addition of the compulsory annuitisation rule at 75 to the Turner commission.The RIRC has campaigned for five years to secure this legislative reform in four private members bills and during the debate on the Pensions Act 2004.RIRC director Dr Oonagh McDonald CBE says: "There is now a real opportunity to build a full political consensus on this issue and to get this much needed reform to re-establish confidence ...

  • Science is golden

    24 Feb 2005

    Venture capital can be an attractive sector offering significant potential returns for investments over the longer term.

  • Scot Life Intl's Q2 sees indicative rates over 300 per cent

    1 Mar 2005

    Scottish Life International releases its indicative participation rates for Q2, topping 300 per cent for the first time.

  • Sent to Coventry

    25 Feb 2005

    Coventry Building Society5.99% Flexx Buy-to-Let

  • Skandia returns with protected portfolio investment

    28 Feb 2005

    Skandias protected portfolio investment range provides capital growth linked to an equally weighted portfolio of five externally managed funds with varying degrees of capital protection and return over a five-year term.

  • Skipton Building Society - Five Year Fixed Rate

    25 Feb 2005

    Skipton Building SocietyFive Year Fixed Rate

  • Slovenian and Croatian property fund launches

    28 Feb 2005

    Euro Property Prospects has launched the Adriatic Sub-fund, which will invest 75 per cent in Croatia and 25 per cent in Slovenia.

  • SPML enhances its whole product range

    1 Mar 2005

    Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited announces product enhancements across its entire product range.

  • Standard adds to Sigma suite

    24 Feb 2005

    Standard Life has extended its Sigma mutual funds range with a suite of Standard manager of manager funds.The range includes portfolios investing in European equity, global bond, Japanese equity, North American equity, Pacific basin equity, UK bond, and UK equity manager of manager funds.The initial charge for all the funds is 4 per cent with annual charge varying between 1.4 and 2 per cent. Charges are not guaranteed and may be altered to account for changes in costs.Management ...

  • Survey finds people are planning to double their savings this year

    24 Feb 2005

    Savings and investments look set for a big improvement this year as consumer confidence improves.

  • Survey shows huge cost of regulation

    23 Feb 2005

    A survey by Marlborough Stirling has put the cost of mortgage regulation for lenders at 345m. The FSA originally put the one-off cost to lenders at 83m. The survey total was calculated from an average spend of 2.3m.

  • T Bailey is backing investment trusts

    24 Feb 2005

    T Bailey Asset Management is holding investment trusts in its equity income fund of funds because it believes they currently represent a good short-term trading strategy in the pursuit of income.

  • Table shows most popular investment trusts for Isas

    24 Feb 2005

    A new league table ranks the most popular investment trusts chosen by Isa investors.

  • Take the risks out of A-Day

    24 Feb 2005

    Simplification is a year away and advisers must set their plans in action now.

  • The edge of reason

    24 Feb 2005

    Imagine a situation where you can claim anything you like in a document and, so long as it is outside the bounds of reasonable expectation, that claim will probably not come back to haunt you.

  • Tribunal calls for further detail from FSA in L&G case

    23 Feb 2005

    The FSA has been ordered by an appeal tribunal to submit the information used to find Legal & General guilty of widespread endowment mis-selling. Monday's hearing discussed the penalty payment charged to L&G, and its response that the regulator should pay any costs, for inconclusive auditing. The hearing called for all outstanding detail, including that called for investigation under the RDC by both L&G and the FSA, to be submitted.

  • Tribunal upholds FSA decision not to authorise firm

    24 Feb 2005

    The financial services and markets tribunal has upheld the FSA's decision not to authorise three individuals and their firm to sell life insurance.

  • VCTs boom but IFAs still wary

    24 Feb 2005

    Despite a surge in inflows work needs to be done to demystify the VCT market for investors, says Isis Equity Partners chairman David Thorp.

  • Widows is set for Virgin Money white-label deal

    24 Feb 2005

    Scottish Widows is believed to have struck a deal to white-label its protection products to Virgin Money, according to Money Marketing sources.

  • Woolwich blames four firms for its email error

    24 Feb 2005

    Woolwich has been hitting mortgage intermediaries and networks with an email that has been sent up to 3,500 times.

  • Woolwich brings out bonus bond

    24 Feb 2005

    Woolwich Plan Managers has established the 7% bonus bond, a guaranteed equity bond designed to pay 7 per cent income a year over a six-year term.

  • Year of fear for GI clients

    24 Feb 2005

    General insurance customers could be left without access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme because of a backlog of processing of interim-authorised firms.

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