Money Marketing
23 July 2003

  • ཱྀ% of IFAs not prepared for pay questionnaire'

    24 Jul 2003

    Over two-thirds of IFAs have done nothing to prepare for the equal pay questionnaire, warns leading employment law firm Peninsula. Its research reveals that 69 per cent of IFAs are not ready for the questionnaire, which came into force this month. Only 18 per cent of IFAs surveyed said they had sought expert advice on the subject while 13 per cent were not aware that the questionnaire was being introduced. The questionnaire means that employees can demand information about how ...

  • 'Focus on short-term gains is biggest disappointment'

    24 Jul 2003

    Outgoing FSA chairman and chief executive Sir Howard Davies has lambasted industry senior management for only being interested in short-term returns and not learning the lessons of pension misselling. In a parting blast at the boardrooms of the industry, Davies said the biggest disappointment of his spell at the FSA is the way high-street firms sell products for short-term gain, without regard as to whether they are suitable for customers. Speaking at the FSA's AGM, Davies conceded ...

  • 'S&P is confusing investors by dropping IMA classifications'

    24 Jul 2003

    The IMA and Standard & Poor's are at loggerheads over S&P plans to ditch the trade body's sector classifications on certain products in favour of its own. S&P is replacing the IMA classifications on its Fund Expert broker tool and website with its own global investment fund sector classifications, which, unlike the IMA's classifications, include funds domiciled outside the UK. The ratings agency says its classifications will improve clarity and help investors ...

  • 'Up to 75% of WP firms to disappear'

    24 Jul 2003

    Up to 75 per cent of with-profits providers will disappear within the next five years, according to Willis Owen managing director Richard Craven. Craven also warns there is a strong possibility that the industry could see another Equitable Life situation. His comments were part of a forum held last week at the Sanderson Hotel in London by Willis Owen, owner of the With-Profits Bond Shop. The forum included actuary representatives from Norwich Union, Prudential and Liverpool ...

  • A consumer's view

    24 Jul 2003

    The editors of the BBC's news bulletins got unusually excited recently by a personal finance story which, in the past, would have been of interest only to the trainspotter types who inhabit the technical department at your favourite life office. That the editors would even contemplate inflicting it on the public shows just how well it has now been accepted that the public does want to know about personal finance. OK, so it did have the word "endowment" plastered across the headline, ...

  • Abbey National - Recovery Plan Issue 2

    28 Jul 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£500,000 Isa £1,000-£7,000 Term: Five years six months Guarantee: Original capital returned in full at end of term regardless of performance in index Return: Up to 75% growth at end of term Closing date: October 15, 2003 Commission: None Tel: 0800 302030

  • Abbey National - Safety Plus Growth Issue 14

    29 Jul 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£500,000, Isa £1,000-£7,000 Term: Five year six months Guarantee: Original capital returned in full along with 15% growth at end of term Return: Between 115% and 140.15% at end of term Closing date: October 15, 2003 Commission: None Tel: 0800 302030

  • ABI slams victim of crime tax on insurance

    29 Jul 2003

    The ABI has slammed a Government proposal to raise a £3 levy on household insurance to raise funds for victims of crime.

  • Annabel Brodie-Smith

    24 Jul 2003

    T he last few years have been an interesting time for Association of Investment Trust Companies communications director Annabel Brodie-Smith, who has been with the AITC since 1997. She joined as a press officer at a watershed in the organisation's life and has seen it grow from an introverted institution to an extroverted trade body, she says. Many people in the industry believe that one of the lynchpins of the AITC's successful evolution has been its communication and information ...

  • B&W links up for adverse range

    24 Jul 2003

    Bristol & West is offering a range of adverse-credit mortgages with specialist lender Mortgages plc. The mortgages are available to borrowers with light, medium or heavy adverse-credit history at up to 90 per cent loan to value. Loans will be available to employed and self-cert customers for purchases and remortgages. B&W says this is a major departure from its previous offering as it used to focus on adverse borrowers whose credit level had improved or stabilised over ...

  • Bamford urges Davies to lead Sandler revolt

    24 Jul 2003

    Sofa chairman Nick Bamford is calling on FSA supremo Sir Howard Davies to use his final months as chairman and chief executive to push the Treasury to drop price capping and filtered questions from the Sandler proposals. It comes as fundamental aspects of the Sandler suite of price-capped products have been opposed by all branches of the FSA, with its outgoing chairman, practitioner and consumer panels all warning of suitability risks to the buying public and of sales regulation through ...

  • BBB appoints network chief executive

    28 Jul 2003

    IFA Berkeley Berry Birch has appointed Richard Howells as chief executive of its network division.

  • Britannic Asset Management - UK Focus Fund

    28 Jul 2003

    Type: Unit trust Aim: Growth by investing in UK companies Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £50 Investment split: Financials 25.9%, cyclical services 24.5%, non-cyclical services 15.8%, non-cyclical consumer goods 15.8%, resources 8.9%, general industrials 6.2%, basic industries 2.9% Isa Link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.5% Commission: Initial 3 %, annual 0.5% Tel: ...

  • Broker Exchange sees surge in sell-up enquiries

    24 Jul 2003

    Financial services valuations firm Broker Exchange claims enquiries from IFAs wanting to sell their businesses have doubled in the last two months. The firm says since it launched in May, it has had over 1,000 hits on its site from IFAs wanting their businesses valued. It believes one of the main drivers is widely reported falling profits and share prices across the sector from firms such as Berkeley Berry Birch, Inter-Alliance and Millfield. The firm's site includes a noticeboard ...

  • Can you see the wood for the trees?

    24 Jul 2003

    What do Alex Higgins, Phil Collins, Sir Cliff Richard, Terry Wogan and Steve Davis all have in common? As keen forestry investors in the 1980s, they were all looking for capital growth through trees. Until the Treasury axed one of forestry investment's tax breaks in 1988, high-earners were covering Scottish moorland with conifers. But while most IFAs will not have recommended it as an asset class, forest investment business has risen for three consecutive years, albeit to a ...

  • CCHM wins account to attract first-time investors

    24 Jul 2003

    Henderson Investment Trusts has appointed CCHM to promote First Time Investing, its new product for first-time investors. CCHM will be providing branding, design and marketing and will undertake a test mailing to 60,000 prospects. First Time Investing is a product wrapper for Bankers Investment Trust, an investment trust that invests in international companies. It is intended to attract savers who would normally invest in a building society savings account but want to make their ...

  • Collaborate for victory

    24 Jul 2003

    Generating a consistent and cost-effective flow of leads is a key issue for all IFAs and financial services companies. As pressures on marketing budgets and the need to justify marketing spend increases, direct marketing, with a clear correlation between expenditure and results, has traditionally come to the fore as an effective channel to market. However, companies need to look for innovative ways of reaching and unearthing those elusive new prospects as many financial lists have ...

  • Correspondent's week

    24 Jul 2003

    Sunday, a tough week ahead, but all in the course of duty. I am scheduled to make a presentation to the Sway Conference in Monte Carlo on Tuesday. Having prepared all the Power-point materials and selected all the soundbites and funny stories to keep the delegates alert, I feel very relaxed. A weekend in Switzerland provides the ideal opportunity for rest and recreation before launching into my appointed task. Little do I know what fate has prepared for me. Monday, weather fine. ...

  • Davies claims UK is failing to see any benefit from EU rule changes

    24 Jul 2003

    The creation of a single European financial market is changing our regulatory system with no apparent benefits for firms or investors, says Sir Howard Davies. Speaking at the FSA AGM, Davies said Brussels-based rule changes hitting pensions, insurance and investments have not yet translated to actual benefits for the UK. He said the pan-European market for financial services will be one of the most important issues his successors will have to face. EU regulations already on ...

  • Doing bird?

    24 Jul 2003

    A Lloyds TSB parrot-planner could be doing bird after has fiddling £2.1m out of his employer to feed his avian addiction, The Diary learns. Budgie-obsessed Lee Gardiner stole the pieces of eight from Lloyds TSB and his clients to buy a lavish collection of cockatoos, parrots and other parrotlike pollyphenalia An established bid fancier, Gardiner used his financial skills in the correct manner as treasurer of the Avicultural Society but is now expecting a period in chokey. ...

  • DWP consults on vesting rules

    28 Jul 2003

    The Department for Work and Pensions is consulting on rules that would guarantee equal treatment for to part-time workers and occupational pensions.

  • EasyGroup gets closer to online virtual IFA

    24 Jul 2003

    Budget airline entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his easyGroup have moved a step closer to offering an online virtual IFA through the easyValue website. The site, which offers customers online price guides to flights, car hire, computers, audio visual and photographic equipment, is now geared up to offer a quotation service comparing term insurance policies. The service is available through a link to easyIFA which carries the IFA Promotion symbol. Synaptic Systems provides ...

  • Fees Assured offers deal to help relatives meet care costs

    24 Jul 2003

    Long term care specialist Fees Assured is offering an accident, sickness and unemployment plan aimed at relatives of people in of care homes who are responsible for paying their fees. The product is designed to protect relatives from hefty bills when family members have to go into care homes. It allows for payments to be made direct to nursing homes. Fees Assured is also teaming up with the Pension Annuity Friendly Society to develop a new product that combines an immediate care ...

  • FSA plans splits proposals to head off further disaster

    24 Jul 2003

    The FSA plans to publish proposals governing the conduct of split-capital investment trusts, which currently do not fall under its regime, in a bid to prevent further disasters. The news comes as the AITC publishes its own code of practice. The FSA proposals, likely to come out in September, will seek to introduce safeguards such as the inclusion in company prospectuses of details of the key risks to investors and a limit on the ability of firms to cross-invest in each other. They ...

  • FSA shelves money-laundering extension

    24 Jul 2003

    The FSA has shelved an extension to its money-laundering requirements which would have forced IFAs to revisit their existing clients seeking proof of their identity. While firms will have to continue verifying client details for new business, IFAs will no longer be forced to revisit their existing books, as had been originally feared. Money Marketing exclusively revealed last August that the FSA had informed IFAs that it would not extend the obligation to contact pre-1994 clients ...

  • Gilchrist joins IFA Clarkson Hill Group

    25 Jul 2003

    Former Scottish Life sales director James Gilchrist has resurfaced as non-executive chairman with the National IFA Clarkson Hill Group.

  • Guarantees hit by second rise in L&G's CI premiums

    24 Jul 2003

    Legal & General has hiked critical-illness premiums for the second time in two months in a move which sees the gap between guaranteed and reviewable rates grow to as much as 65 per cent in some cases. The average increase to its guaranteed premiums is 36 per cent while reviewable rates remain unaffected. The provider says depending on a client's circumstances, the differential between guarantees and reviewable rates ranges between 11 and 65 per cent. While L&G says it ...

  • Heard sets up T&C firm for loan sector

    24 Jul 2003

    Former Mortgage Trust managing director Chris Heard is setting up Competent Adviser, a technology and consultancy service for the mortgage market. Competent Adviser is intended to meet the training and competence regulatory needs of all sectors of the mortgage market. It will offer an online knowledge and testing system to help firms meet the proposed FSA regulatory requirements. The firm will also offer compliance, training and strategic consultancy services to intermediaries, ...

  • High house prices shutting the door on FTBs

    24 Jul 2003

    The number of first-time buyers entering the housing market is continuing to drop, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. June's survey shows that only 30,000 buyers entered the market compared with 48,000 in June last year and these buyers accounted for just 29 per cent of all mortgage borrowing compared with 44 per cent last June and 30 per cent in May. Total gross advances reached £22.5bn in June from £21.8bn in May and £17.1bn ...

  • Highest lending volumes for Rock

    23 Jul 2003

    Northern Rock has recorded its highest ever lending volumes, flying in the face of the housing market slowdown.

  • Hopeless claims delay the endowment review

    24 Jul 2003

    Outgoing FSA supremo Sir Howard Davies says the endowment review is getting bogged down by hopeless claims due to the UK's growing compensation culture. In his final speech as chairman and chief executive at the FSA's AGM last week, Davies said complaints have been made by consumers even where they were fully aware of the terms of the product. Ironically, his comments came as the regulator's own website called on consumers to make their complaints before they miss the ...

  • Horlick steps down as SGAM chief executive

    28 Jul 2003

    Nicola Horlick, the high-profile chief executive of SG Asset Management, is to step down from the role to become a special adviser to Philippe Collas, president of SGAM Group.

  • IFAs say clients are more astute now

    24 Jul 2003

    IFAs believe their clients are more astute now about financial planning than they were five years ago, says George Street Research. Its survey reveals that 80 per cent of IFAs questioned believe that, on the whole, people are more astute about financial planning than they were five years ago, with 39 per cent of the advisers agreeing strongly with this statement. But 79 per cent of the IFAs say many people have unrealistic expectations about what to expect from their investments ...

  • IFS offers free CPD updates

    23 Jul 2003

    The Institute of Financial Services is offering free continuing professional updates, past exam papers and distance learning texts for CeMAP, CeMAP Bridge and CeFA students and completers. The free documents can be downloaded by visiting the IFS website at www.ifslearning.com

  • Iimia recruits head of sales

    23 Jul 2003

    Fund manager iimia has appointed Philip Childs, former F&C managing director of retail, as head of sales. Childs, who was with F&C for 19 years, will initially promote iimia's accelerated fund, which launched in April under the stewardship of Nick Greenwood, former head of investment trusts at Christows. iimia, which commenced trading last April, plans to seek a stock exchange listing within four years.

  • Independent view

    24 Jul 2003

    Friends and colleagues have started saying it might be sensible to write about something positive in this slot for a change. Well, I gave it some thought and rejected the notion. Not because I think their idea is bad but because there is precious little point in writing about nice things. In any case, good news does not sell, as a TV channel in the US found out. Good News TV failed just weeks after its launch due to lack of commercial interest. We all want to hear about how miserable ...

  • Inside edge

    24 Jul 2003

    Endowments are back in the news again with a vengeance. There have been four main reasons: •Further bonus rate and payout reviews by providers (including ourselves). •The latest red, amber, green figures coming out of the industry. •Insurers such as Standard Life and Norwich Union declaring that some policies will mature this year with shortfalls. •Recent pronouncements from the FSA on the appropriateness of reprojection rates of 4 per cent, 6 per ...

  • Investment view

    24 Jul 2003

    You would have thought that the outgoing head of the financial services regulator might have been a little more gracious with his parting comments. While I acknowledge that instances of product misselling remain, I think our industry could be given some credit for improving standards over recent years. I am increasingly impressed by the quality of advisers I meet as I travel around the country. Still, we now have a regime where we know where we stand. I was paid a somewhat back-handed ...

  • Investors shunning higher-risk funds

    24 Jul 2003

    Poor performance in financial markets has scared investors away from higher-risk investments, according to George Street Research. Its figures show that the majority of the 204 advisers surveyed did not agree that investors were turning towards higher-risk funds following poor market performance. Sixty-one per cent of the IFAs say their clients have not been encouraged to take high risks in the hope of higher returns. Willis Owen adviser Steven Gordon says: "I totally agree that ...

  • JPMF expands dynamic range

    25 Jul 2003

    JP Morgan Fleming has added the JPMFIF global recovery fund to its Luxemburg-based Sicav range. Despite its name, JP Morgan Fleming has not introduced this fund because it thinks a stockmarket recovery is around the corner. The fund name refers to companies with valuations that do not accurately reflect the potential for their earnings to recover. According to JP Morgan Fleming, the share prices of companies with positive earnings momentum tend to outperform their peers. The ...

  • JPMorgan Fleming - JPMF US Dynamic Fund

    29 Jul 2003

    Type: Sicav Aim: Growth by investing in US companies Minimum investment: A shares £10,000, D shares £5,000 Place of registration: Luxemburg Investment split: 100% in US companies Charges: A shares - initial 5%, annual 1.5%, D shares initial 5%, annual 2.1% Commission: Initial 3% Tel: 0207 742 9925

  • Julian Gibbs

    24 Jul 2003

    The majority of with-profits bonds investors bought the products because they could take an income tax-free of 5 per cent a year for 20 years. In most cases, they can still do this without any market value reduction but because some insurance companies have given expensive guarantees and are paying out "income" without penalties and because the value of the underlying funds have reduced severely over the last three years, most firms will not be able to pay out worthwhile bonuses for ...

  • Keydata joins early maturity gang

    28 Jul 2003

    Structured product provider Keydata Investments has brought out the progressive growth plan, a guaranteed equity bond that could mature between year one and year six, one depending on the performance of the FTSE 100 index. The bond matures in the first year if the index has risen by at least 5 per cent giving a return of 110%. It will require a 10% increase to provide a 120% return in year two, a 15% rise to produce a 130% in the third year and so on. In year six, an index rise ...

  • Majority of consumers do not understand financial products - Unisys

    28 Jul 2003

    Nearly two-thirds of consumers find themselves frustrated by financial products according to research from information technology provider Unisys.

  • Margins of error

    24 Jul 2003

    No one these days gives the IFA much credit but the fact is that we have helped in the past to ensure that the savings ratio in this country has been maintained at a reasonable level, particularly in the field of private pension provision. This is despite the fact that we have been faced over the last few years with a welter of regulatory requirements and legislative changes combined with the worst investment markets since the Second World War. In addition, many of the actions of the ...

  • Marriage guidance

    24 Jul 2003

    For this series of articles, I thought it was about time to look at one of the fundamentally important institutions - marriage, its impact on taxation and tax planning ideas and the importance of advisers ensuring that couples make the most, financially at least, of the relationship. Most advisers will have many married couples as their clients, so having a good understanding of the tax rules applying to them is fundamentally important in devising and executing even the simplest of ...

  • Misys putting Sesame float on back-burner

    24 Jul 2003

    Misys is delaying plans to float its IFA business subsidiary, blaming regulatory issues and the volatile stockmarket. The results also show its IFA business, which is to be rebranded as Sesame in August with the merging of its five existing networks into one, has lost 1,800 RIs over the last year. The figures show Misys has gone from an average of 7,400 RIs for the year ended May 31, 2002 - on the assumption that DBS was owned for the entire year - to 5,600 RIs at May 31, 2003. The ...

  • Morgan Stanley introduces protected growth bond

    23 Jul 2003

    The Morgan Stanley FTSE protected growth plan 2 is a FTSE 100 linked guaranteed equity bond that could mature earlier than its six-year term. The bond guarantees the return of investors' original capital regardless of the performance of the index. They will get 100 per cent of the growth in the index if the bond runs for six years, but it will mature in year three if the FTSE 100 index has risen by at least 25 per cent by October 2, 2006. Where this happens, investors will ...

  • National Counties weaves basket of stocks

    24 Jul 2003

    The Morgan Stanley FTSE protected growth plan 2 is a FTSE 100 linked guaranteed equity bond that could mature earlier than its six-year term.The bond guarantees the return of investors’ original capital regardless of the performance of the index. They will get 100 per cent of the growth in the index if the bond runs for six years, but it will mature in year three if the FTSE 100 index has risen by at least 25 per cent by October 2, 2006. Where this happens, investors will ...

  • New Prospect for Chelsea adverse deals

    24 Jul 2003

    Chelsea Building Society has revamped its Prospect range of sub-prime mortgage products, launched in March 1998. The range is based on three schemes. The first is designed for borrowers with up to £3,000 in county court judgments and is available initially at 4.84 per cent up to 90 per cent loan to value. The second scheme is aimed at people with up to £5,000 in CCJs and is available at 5.09 per cent for loans up to 85 per cent LTV and the third is for borrowers with ...

  • New Star in talks to buy Exeter unit trust arm

    24 Jul 2003

    New Star is in talks to buy Exeter Investment Group's unit trust business in a deal which mirrors the acquisitive fund manager's purchase of six Aberdeen Asset Management funds in January. New Star is believed to be offering £9m for the business, which has about £300m in assets under management, with Exeter thought to be keen to strike a deal to fund any potential compensation claims from disgruntled investors in its split cap trusts. As one of the major investment ...

  • New tracker mortgage from Nationwide

    29 Jul 2003

    Nationwide is launching a new tracker mortgage. The product will track the Bank of England base rate for five years with rates from 3.89 per cent (base rate plus 0.39 per cent). It will be available from August 1 and will be available to both new and existing borrowers. It allows overpayments, underpayments, payment holidays, and draw downs.

  • NI hopes

    24 Jul 2003

    I am aware that my company is paying more in National Insurance than ever before. Can I do anything to reduce my corporate National Insurance bill? The last Finance Act contained a number of changes to National Insurance. For the 2003/04 tax year, the starting point for employees' NIC continues to be aligned with that of employers and the income tax personal allowance. The threshold for NICs is £89 a week, which is the same as the previous year, but for employers, ...

  • Northern homeowners confident of price rises

    24 Jul 2003

    Homeowners are confident that the value of their houses will increase over the next year, according to Yorkshire Bank's quarterly housebuyers' survey. It reveals that 57 per cent think the value of their home will go up, compared with 51 per cent last quarter. People in the North are most confident that their property will increase in value, at 67 per cent, while those in London, East Anglia and the South-west are the most pessimistic, with 14 per cent expecting their property ...

  • Northern Rock - Guaranteed Equity Bond - Issue IV

    25 Jul 2003

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£2mTerm: Three or five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full at end of term regardless of performance in indexReturn: Three-year option - Up to 85% growth at end of term, Five year option - Up to 105% growth at end of termClosing date: August 12, 2003 Commission: NoneTel: 0845 600 4466

  • Not convinced that filters will work

    24 Jul 2003

    We join the illustrious company of Sir Howard Davies, consumer panel chairman Colin Brown and practitioner panel chairman Donald Brydon in questioning filtered questions. We would also put a cap on talk about price caps, once again enthusiastically endorsing the views of Sir Howard. Accompanying the latest Sandler suite announcements, the FSA is to examine the extension of filtered questions. The concept has been improved and yet we cannot believe that it will protect consumers - surely ...

  • Not waivering but drowning in the PI chaos

    24 Jul 2003

    So some of the bigger IFAs are to be granted "waivers" for professional indemnity insurance. This is further evidence of David Kenmir's discrimination against the small IFA in respect of PI cover and his hidden agenda to exterminate them slowly and painfully. I have traded for over 15 years without a complaint or claim. The cost of my PI cover has more than tripled and the excess is a non-compliant £25,000. Like many small IFAs, the premium constitutes a significant ...

  • Old Mutual may bid for AMP arm

    23 Jul 2003

    South African insurer Old Mutual is believed to be considering a bid for the British arm of Australian insurer AMP.

  • Open warfare at St George's daze

    24 Jul 2003

    The windswept, rolling fairways of Royal St George's Golf Club at Sandwich in Kent played host last week to this year's British Open and many fine old financial institutions took the opportunity to wine and dine their favourite clients, prospects, ooh, and those marvellous golf-loving journalists in an atmosphere of refinement and reserved British culture. As the guest of one such firm, The Diary can testify to the quality of the Bollinger, sirloin and conversation. But while ...

  • Out of context

    24 Jul 2003

    •"I don't think I'll get any butt action down there." -Quill PR Roddi Vaughan Thomas again, on where to place his water butt. •"I'm paying for this meal - you can blow your nose on the napkin if you want to." - Birmingham Midshires director of mortgages Michael Bolton. •"I can ring you when I'm on the other side of the mountain." Hargreaves Lansdown head of research Mark Dampier taking work calls in the Alps •"I can confirm that no one has streaked ...

  • Outside edge

    24 Jul 2003

    Last week I got one of my regular communications from Friends Provident about a low-cost endowment policy. The figures have got steadily sadder with each passing year but even at the now highly optimistic growth rate of 6 per cent a year, the policy will come up almost £5,000 short when it matures. That is of largely academic interest to me because in May last year I unexpectedly came into a large sum of money and got rid of the mortgage. However, hundreds of thousands of ...

  • Over-regulation has sent industry into decline

    24 Jul 2003

    I have worked in the financial services industry for over 40 years, both for insurers and IFAs, and can honestly say that I have not seen the industry in a more parlous state, with no immediate respite in sight. As well as a prolonged slump in the stockmarket, our industry is suffering from a severe bout of over-regulation. Can I say straight away that when the Financial Services Act came into force, I was among those applauding, on the basis that the cowboys would be forced out of ...

  • Peers pick marketing leaders

    24 Jul 2003

    Standard Life and Legal & General lead the way in life office marketing while Fidelity is the only fund firm which has effective marketing, according to a new report from the Financial Services Forum. The report, Financial Services Marketing Practice and Effectiveness, is the first in a series of annual studies. It found that HBOS and HSBC are seen as the most effectively marketed banks by their peers while Nationwide is well ahead of the rest of the building societies. Standard ...

  • Pension means-testing leads to misbuying fear

    24 Jul 2003

    Means-testing of state pension benefits poses the biggest suitability problem for light-touch regulation of the Sandler suite of products, says outgoing FSA chairman Sir Howard Davies. At the FSA AGM, Davies said he is concerned that pensions will be misbought by consumers if they are sold under a Sandler-style filtered question process. His attack comes ahead of October's launch of the pension credit, which will see half of pensioners eligible for means-tested benefits. The National ...

  • Pension scheme members concerned over scheme benefits - Gissings

    23 Jul 2003

    Insecurity of benefits is worrying pension scheme members according to an online survey conducted by Gissings.

  • Perilous policy

    24 Jul 2003

    Easy there, EMB adviser Stephen Catto, let us not get too heavy now. A piece in The Independent last week on what to do if your mortgage endowment is failing will have sent a chill through the hearts of IFAs. Advising clients, Catto recommends: "Take out a low-cost IFA to pay off the mortgage". Compensation culture is bad enough but we don't want consumers taking out contracts on their IFAs. Thanks to PolicyPlus International's Jo Bridger for your vigilance.

  • PI needs more than just a regulatory tweak

    24 Jul 2003

    First things first - our postbag continues to be dominated by professional indemnity insurance. The next development on this front is likely to be regulatory. We should shortly have the FSA's further thoughts on PI and its proposals for its future place in the regulatory framework. We are going to have to give these proposals our fullest attention, holiday season or no holiday season. I am hopeful of an intelligent and constructive debate - so much so that I am not going to ...

  • Product matters

    24 Jul 2003

    The buy-to-let market seems to have confounded the more pessimistic views and remained popular with those looking for investment away from the equity markets. It is not only prospective investors who have been targeted by lenders as more deals are now aimed at existing landlords. These have developed in much the same way as owner-occupied products, with lenders such as Abbey National, Woolwich and more recently Bank of Ireland offering free valuation and legal work. Irish Permanent ...

  • Providers' fears over WP moves

    24 Jul 2003

    Providers have questioned the Government's proposals for new Sandler-style with-profits funds, claiming they can not see how it will work or why insurers would want to offer such products. The Government announced plans last week to introduce a smoothed investment fund option as part of the Sandler suite. The fund would be unitised, with smoothed price unit prices published daily and providers must disclose their approach to smoothing. Scottish Widows head of marketing technical ...

  • Prudential cuts dividend by 40 per cent

    29 Jul 2003

    The Prudential has announced it is slashing its half-year dividend by 40 per cent, down to 5.3p per share compared to 8.9p per share in the same period last year.

  • Prudential on principal status

    24 Jul 2003

    In the July 10 issue of Money Marketing, an article headlined, Pru rejects principal status, has, in our view, not reported our position accurately. Prudential has not rejected principal status because it was never considered as an option in the first place due to the strategic decisions taken a number of years ago not to have a direct salesforce or an appointed rep division. Furthermore, the claim that our mortgage business will reduce significantly was based on a survey not connected ...

  • RJ Temple creditors are owed more than £1.5m

    24 Jul 2003

    Creditors of the collapsed IFA RJ Temple are owed over £1.5m, say liquidators KPMG. Those listed at a meeting last week to decide how the remaining £600,000 of company assets will be distributed include Allied Dunbar, the Inland Revenue and BT Contract Rentals. A document from this meeting seen by Money Marketing shows the total bill owed to unsecured creditors is more than £1.5m. The Revenue, owed £126,135, will be the first creditor to be paid followed ...

  • Royal London extends Guaranteed Capital Account roll-out

    28 Jul 2003

    Royal London is extending the roll-out of its Guaranteed Capital Account with a new offer period from August 1 to September 30.

  • Saints go marching out

    24 Jul 2003

    Not only a Jedi PR for Quill, Roderick Vaughan Thomas has also revealed that he is one of the founding fathers of progressive house music. While downing one of several glasses of vino at a polo match recently - how yoof culture has fallen - he admitted that in a previous lifetime he was a drummer with the Utah Saints. The Saints were, of course, an early 1990s strange-hat-wearing brigade who pioneered a new generation of dance music and refused to appear on Top of The Pops (perhaps ...

  • Savings down at societies

    24 Jul 2003

    Building societies had net inflows into savings accounts of just £65m in June compared with £865 million in June 2002. The Building Societies' Association's figures reveal the substantial drop, which was also down nearly by £500m from May's figure of £564m. It attributes the fall to competition from National Savings, holidays and signs of a recovery in the stockmarket. Gross advances for societies amounted to £3.9bn in June from £3.7bn ...

  • Schroders loses three fund chiefs to Insight

    24 Jul 2003

    Schroders has been hit by the sudden departure of three senior fund managers to Insight Investment in a move which has forced the group to intensify its search for fixedincome managers. Robert Gall, head of European fixed income, Andrew Wickham, head of sterling fixed income, and fund manager Richard Dryer will dep-art in the next few months to bolster Insight's bid to become a major institutional player. None is expected to run retail money. Gall will co-head Insight's UK ...

  • Shake-up at St James's as Weinberg to step down

    24 Jul 2003

    Industry veteran Sir Mark Weinberg is to step down as chairman of St James's Place Capital later this year to take up the role of president. Weinberg, 72, will be rep-laced by Mike Wilson, who will step up from his current position of chief executive no later than December. The company has also appointed Mark Lund as deputy chief executive and chief executive designate. When Weinberg becomes president, Lund will take the reins as chief executive and Wilson will become chairman. Lund, ...

  • Simple truth about selling regime

    24 Jul 2003

    Last week saw the publication of the FSA's feedback statement on possible options for selling stakeholder products. We found ourselves answering journalists' questions, some of which were quite curious. Sometimes you get questions which show a connection in the journalist's mind between two apparently unconnected matters. Sometimes you are happy to give the journalist a fact which, when reported, suggests that you "admitted" or "revealed" it, as if thumbscrews had ...

  • Sofa at the seaside

    24 Jul 2003

    The Sofa regional conferences are hitting Brighton and Bournemouth before the end of the month offering free workshops for members. The conferences will take place in Brighton on July 29 and Bournemouth on July 30 as part of the summer conference series which includes 14 stops around the UK, ending in Belfast on August 21. Other locations being covered include Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Leicester and Plymouth. The conferences are made up of technical presentations covering pensions, ...

  • Special offer on Friends Provident bonds

    23 Jul 2003

    Friends Provident is offering investors in its Investment Portfolio Bond (IPB)and Income Distribution Bond (IDB) up to 0.75 per cent extra allocation on their initial investment.

  • Splits tapes may unearth magic circle

    24 Jul 2003

    The FSA is investigating allegations of collusion between splits providers by analysing conversations on dealing tapes in a move that senior sources believe could unearth irrefutable evidence of a magic circle. The regulator says it is sifting through thousands of hours of recordings - equivalent to twelve-and-a-half years if played back to back - in a bid to discover whether fund managers conspired to prop up trusts' share prices. It is believed it is concentrating on late 2001 ...

  • Stockmarket forces charities to shed staff

    29 Jul 2003

    Poor stockmarket returns and rising operational costs are forcing charities to slash services and staff, according to Close Wealth Management.

  • Stonebank's Standard campaign dealt blow

    28 Jul 2003

    Standard Life carpetbagger David Stonebanks has suffered a serious setback in his campaign to demutualise the company, with the insurer rejecting his request for a special general meeting to vote on the issue.

  • Surge in online mortgage applications

    29 Jul 2003

    Most intermediaries submit mortgage cases online according to Birmingham Midshires latest research. Nearly eight out of ten of the advisers the lender questioned, 77 per cent, say they submit, track and progress to completion at least some of their cases online.

  • Surrey with fringe benefits on top

    24 Jul 2003

    Towry Law is teaming up with Surrey Country Cricket Club to offer its members access to exclusive products and financial advice. The move will see Towry provide advice to Surrey CCC members on a range of areas including inheritance tax planning, long term care planning, protection, general insurance, healthcare, retirement options, other tax and trust matters along with investment advice. All members will be invited to attend specialist seminars covering these topics and they will ...

  • Survey shows the slide from savings into debt

    24 Jul 2003

    The UK is increasingly becoming a spending culture, with debts mounting while few people are saving or investing, according to a survey of IFAs. George Street Research's latest OmnIFA survey reveals that 51 per cent of the 204 advisers questioned strongly agree there is a significant shift towards credit and spending away from saving and investing for the future. Only 9 per cent of the advisers disagreed with this statement. George Street surveyed 22 IFAs from national firms, ...

  • Sway sets up IFAonly conference

    24 Jul 2003

    Investment conference specialists Sway is setting up a new IFA-only conference, to be held in Monte Carlo in September, 2004. The venue is the same for its annual Senate Investment Conference held each June which, while including representatives from several investment IFAs, has become more focused on non-traditional IFA areas of business such as discretionary fund management. The new conference will go beyond Sway's traditional investment specialism to include the range of ...

  • Swiss Life (UK) group business hangs in balance

    24 Jul 2003

    Swiss Life (UK) has admitted its group business hangs in the balance and will close next month if it cannot find "an acceptable solution" following the shock decision to shut to individual insurance business. Swiss Life says it will consider its options, which include selling the group business, until mid-August. But if no acceptable solution can be found, this too will close to new business, with the exception of new international pooling business. Around 200 jobs will be ...

  • Switching on to profit

    24 Jul 2003

    IFAs can be a cynical bunch, especially when it comes to technology. An increasing number of firms are putting technology at the heart of their businesses but there are still many who refuse to believe it can radically improve the way they work. This week, I am looking at a software package that should convince even the most techno-phobic adviser that it is time to make friends with a mouse. The easiest way to describe the Switching Profiler software from O&M Systems is that it ...

  • Talkback

    24 Jul 2003

    "Yes, essentially so. Obviously, people aren't going to understand these filtered questions anyway and it will only be taken out by people who can afford to set up stakeholder for their children, etc." Michael Merrett, The Independent Financial Advisory Centre "Yes I do. I just feel that filtered questions are going to be misleading. Nothing will replace a fact-find or real advice." Steve Pursey, Mastersons "Yes. I doubt that people will get the right advice and the ...

  • Tax-free cash calculations

    24 Jul 2003

    It has been automatic since anyone can remember that someone retiring takes maximum tax-free cash. In today's environment, there are circumstances where people might be better advised to take everything as pension. Even after the new simplified pensions tax regime starts, this issue does not go away because, for some people, there will be ring-fenced tax-free cash entitlements at A-day. To illustrate the point, consider a man aged 65 who is retiring today from a definedbenefit ...

  • The 1% solution - say no to doing Government's work

    24 Jul 2003

    Aviva/NU sack (sorry, cut)900 staff. This is, no doubt, the thin end of a very large wedge. Can Her Majesty's Government honestly say that the 1 per cent world and the Sandler suite of products are now going to work? When are the insurance companies and investment houses going to realise that you cannot work on unrealistic profit margins? This is a slippery slope to catastrophe and the Government will not take responsibility if you participate and it goes wrong. It will ...

  • The rough with the smoothing

    24 Jul 2003

    The dust is beginning to settle after the Government firmed up proposals for the new Sandler suite of products last week but one of several areas where questions still remain is that of with-profits. The Government says it intends to introduce three products in the range aimed at lower-earners to be known as stakeholder products. The product suite is intended to go on sale in 2005 and will incorporate the existing Cat-standard cash Isa as a short-term investment; two options for ...

  • The staff of life

    24 Jul 2003

    Every time you pick up a national newspaper, the financial services sector is getting a thrashing. Hardly surprising then that many people do not bother to buy insurance or seek financial advice. We could say that the criticism is unfair and much of it is. We could compare our industry with others and say we're not so bad and some times that is true. But perception is reality for many people. If you perceive it, you believe it and that makes it real for millions of people who ...

  • Tilney branches out

    29 Jul 2003

    Tilney Investment Management's UK equity fund, which was originally set up as a unit trust in 1996, is now available to retail investors. The fund was restructured as an Oeic in 1999 and invests in a portfolio of large, medium and small UK companies benchmarked against the FTSE All Share Index. Currently, its largest holdings include BP, Vodafone, Emap and Barclays. Its objective is deliver capital growth plus a growing level of income over time. Peter Botham, the ...

  • Tilney Investment Management - Tilney European Growth Fund

    25 Jul 2003

    Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in European equities excluding the UK Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100 Investment split: Financials 26.9%, non-cyclical consumer goods 21.9%, resources 11.5%, non-cyclical services 9.2%, basic industries 7.2%, utilities 5.4%, information technology 4.7%, cyclical consumer goods 4.7%, general industrials 4.4%, cyclical services 3.8%, cash 0.3% Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: ...

  • Tilney Investment Management - Tilney UK Fixed Interest Fund

    24 Jul 2003

    Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in UK Government bonds and European corporate bonds including the UK. Minimum investment: Lump sum £500 Investment split: UK corporate bonds 30.5%, overseas corporate bonds 33.1%, securitised/structured debt 8.7%, quasi Government 5.9%, cash 14.1%, UK debentures 1%, income account 1% Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 2.25%, annual 1% Commission: Initial 1.25%, 0.4% Tel: ...

  • Tilney Investment Management - Tilney UK Smaller Companies Fund

    23 Jul 2003

    Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in UK smaller companies Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100 Investment split: Cyclical services 28%, financials 12.6%, general industrials 12.1%, basic industries 10.5%, information technology 10.5%, non-cyclical consumer 9.0 %, non-cyclical services 4.6 %, resources 4.2 %, investment trusts 3%, cyclical consumer 1.4%, cash 4.1% Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: ...

  • Tilney Investment Management -Tilney UK Equity Fund

    24 Jul 2003

    Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in UK companies Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100 Investment split: 100% in UK companies Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 4%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5 Tel: 0808 100 8878

  • Transfer advisers warned not to ignore final salary reforms

    24 Jul 2003

    Friends Provident is warning advisers writing pension transfer business to be aware of changes to final-salary legislation or risk misselling claims. The changes set to come in on August 4 include the Government's insurance scheme and anti-wind-up rules for final-salary schemes. But Friends claims these are being disregarded by many advisers. In a warning echoed by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority, Friends says the reasons for transferring have been substantially ...

  • Treasury axes plan for generic healthcheck

    24 Jul 2003

    A Treasury proposal for a generic financial healthcheck has been quietly dropped from the Sandler suite after industry consultation responses said it would be unworkable. The Treasury will not proceed with a regulated financial "makeover" advice service - originally proposed as capable of distribution through an independent advice service - because of the complexity of the advice it would have to contain. Advisers say the idea of Catmarked financial advice, first mooted two years ...

  • Wales needs more homes - CML

    29 Jul 2003

    Wales needs 33,000 new homes to clear a backlog in demand, according to research published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.Not included in this is a need for another 8,600 new homes a year from 1998 to 2016 to satisfy a strong preference by the Welsh to buy a new home rather than an existing one, possibly due to the poor condition of the country's existing housing. It says 6,100 new homes a year are needed in the private sector and 2,500 in the social sector.

  • We're all going on a pension holiday

    24 Jul 2003

    As the temperature rises and ministers pack for their holidays, a number of exciting policy proposals are being given a final polish in Whitehall.I can now exclusively reveal a barrage of announcements designed to divert the public's attention from NWMDAA (No Weapons of Mass Destruction After All) over the quiet summer months ahead. Under a new initiative to promote financial literacy among young people, the Government, in partnership with the high-street banks will launch a new ...

  • Wraps on the ropes

    24 Jul 2003

    At the tender age of six, I had the privilege of meeting the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and getting his autograph. I got this chance as he was visiting children in a Glasgow hospital where my mother was the assistant matron. Like many boxers, he was an African-American and I recall much was made in later years of The Great White Hope - Jerry Quarry, who failed to live up to expectations. The recent spate of announcements on wrap accounts prompted me to think of them as the traditional ...

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