Money Marketing
23 July 2008

  • F&C Property plans to buy Reit

    24 Jul 2008

    F&C Property has set out plans to acquire a 70 per cent stake in international property asset manager Reit for 60m. The new company, F&C Reit, will have combined assets under management of 8.5bn.

  • £900m drop in home loan approvals

    23 Jul 2008

    Figures released by the BBA today reveal the number of home loans approved in June has dropped by £900m since May.

  • 51% Pay rise for FSCS board

    24 Jul 2008

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme board of directors received a 51 per cent pay rise this year.

  • 90 per cent of consumers are without cover, says YBS

    29 Jul 2008

    A survey by Yorkshire Building Society has found 90 per cent of respondents have no protection insurance.

  • A matter of competence

    24 Jul 2008

    The question of whether the Government should compensate Equitable Life policyholders, as suggested by Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham, with a reported bill upwards of £4bn has caused a furious debate.

  • A shaw thing

    24 Jul 2008

    Annie Shaw is a freelance financial journalistAll things must pass and this column has reached the end of its useful life. It would be churlish not to mention my final fling on behalf of the Shaws. Between two days of continuous summer downpours, I spent a gloriously sunny day at Newmarket as a guest of fund manager T Bailey in the presence of PRs Martin Stott and Kirsty Wiser. Lanson Ladies' Day at Newmarket's July course provided a fitting finale for this column.

  • Abbey - 10 Year Fixed Rate

    24 Jul 2008

    Abbey10 Year Fixed Rate

  • Abbey's share of net lending soars to 26%

    29 Jul 2008

    Abbey's share of net lending in the first half of the year has soared to 25.6 per cent, taking its total to £8.3bn, more than double the same period last year.

  • ABI calls for Isa limit to be increased to £9,600

    24 Jul 2008

    The Association of British Insurers is calling on the on the Government to increase the Isa limit to £9,600 in a bid to promote savings.

  • ABI's Customer Impact Panel disappointed by survey results

    24 Jul 2008

    The Association of British Insurers’ Customer Impact Panel has expressed disappointment that there was not more improvement in this year’s survey results.

  • Addressing Northern Rock failings will push FSA over budget

    24 Jul 2008

    Measures to ensure the FSA does not repeat its failures over Northern Rock will push the regulator over its budget this year and are likely to raise industry costs for the following year.

  • Axa launches Save More Tomorrow service

    25 Jul 2008

    Axa has launched its Save More Tomorrow service on its group personal pensions and group stakeholder products.

  • Baillie Gifford - Emerging Markets Bond Fund

    24 Jul 2008

    Baillie GiffordEmerging Markets Bond Fund

  • Band aid

    24 Jul 2008

    The introduction of transferable inheritance nil-rate bands for married couples and civil partners continues to provide a massive opportunity for financial advisers to demonstrate their added value to clients and professional introducers.

  • Barclays boosts investor exposure to China

    28 Jul 2008

  • Barclays Wealth - Five-Year Guaranteed World Equity Deposit Account

    24 Jul 2008

    Barclays WealthFive-Year Guaranteed World Equity Deposit Account

  • Break-up bid speculation for HBOS

    25 Jul 2008

    JP Morgan is believed to be holding talks with interested parties over forming a consortium to break up banking giant HBOS.

  • Bright Grey offering 5% business protection discount

    28 Jul 2008

    Bright Grey is offering a 5 per cent reduction on its business protection product written from today.

  • Bright Grey to beat online target

    24 Jul 2008

    Bright Grey is on course to smash its target for business generated through its online underwriting system.

  • Broker Talkback

    24 Jul 2008

    Should advisers who want to retire by 2018 not be forced to reach diploma level as part of the retail distribution review as long as they do a single supplementary exam?

  • Brokers bitter at lack of backing

    24 Jul 2008

    Statistics from NMG Financial Services Consulting suggest that lenders are failing to provide support for mortgage brokers.

  • BSA sees £4,981m slump in net lending

    29 Jul 2008

    Net lending for societies has fallen by £4,981 million in 2007 for the first six months of the year, according to the latest figures from the Building Societies Association.

  • Canada Life expands online portal

    28 Jul 2008

    Canada Life has expanded its online portal with the aim of making business quicker and cheaper for advisers.

  • Changes continue to ring for New Star

    23 Jul 2008

    It seems that the inevitable has finally happened as New Star boss John Duffield has this week replaced Stephen Whittaker as manager of the group's equity income trust.

  • Charles Deptford replaces Stephen Whittaker on New Star equity income

    23 Jul 2008

    New Star has appointed Charles Deptford as manager of the firms equity income trust, replacing the underperforming Stephen Whittaker.

  • Checkmate gets cash for launch in early 2009

    24 Jul 2008

    Checkmate Mortgages has secured investment backing which will see Stephen Knight's postponed lender launch in early 2009.

  • China slowdown is over-hyped, says Resolution

    28 Jul 2008

    China's economy will slow less sharply than many commentators believe and will maintain double-digit growth post-Olympics, says Resolution Asset Management.

  • CII and Searchlight team up to offer broker training

    28 Jul 2008

    The Chartered Insurance Institute and Searchlight are joining forces to provide online and face-to-face training for brokers in the general insurance market.

  • CII launches new back-office qualification

    25 Jul 2008

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has launched a new certificate in life and pensions aimed at administrative, technical and support staff working in back-office functions at life and pensions providers.

  • Cofunds launches Willliams de Broe funds

    28 Jul 2008

    Williams de Broë has launched its assetmaster range of Dublin-based funds on Cofunds.

  • Co-habit forming

    24 Jul 2008

    The recent Burden case has thrown the inheritance tax treatment of unmarried people living together into the spotlight.

  • Court clarity

    24 Jul 2008

    Nic Cicutti's article in the July 10 issue of Money Marketing made a number of comments about the recent litigation in which we have been involved that are simply not true.

  • Coventry Building Society - 6.49% Offset Fixed

    25 Jul 2008

    Coventry Building Society6.49% Offset Fixed

  • Crackdown continues with three more bans

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA has banned a further three mortgage brokers in its campaign to stamp out sub-standard practice.

  • Cracking the Crunch, By Keith Street, head of Kensington

    23 Jul 2008

    It’s often said that if the US sneezes we catch a cold and, looking back at the last year in the UK mortgage market, it’s hard to argue against the fact that we are suffering from a very bad cold indeed.

  • Credit crunching

    24 Jul 2008

    Last week, I looked at the fundamentals of the new provisions for taxing investment life insurance policies. When you study the detail of the new provisions, it becomes evident that the basis of accounting adopted by a company is very relevant in determining the way in which the rules will apply.

  • Crosby report proposes extension of bail-out scheme to new loans

    29 Jul 2008

    Sir James Crosby’s interim report has suggested the Bank of England’s Special Liquidity Scheme could be extended to new home loans in a bid to revive mortgage lending.

  • Crunch is the time to turn to protection

    24 Jul 2008

    Brian Lenz makes a good point regarding mortgages and protection in his recent letter to Money Marketing.

  • David Elms

    24 Jul 2008

    After 10 years with IFA Promotion, David Elms is still brimming with ideas on how to promote the IFA brand.

  • Dawnay Day Milroy completes MBO and rebrands as Corazon

    25 Jul 2008

    Dawnay Day Milroy has completed its management buyout and has rebranded as Corazon Capital Management.

  • Defence Union complains to EU over adviser qualifications

    24 Jul 2008

    The IFA Defence Union has written to the Office of Fair Trading and the European Commission, claiming enforcing qualifications on financial advisers is a restraint of trade.

  • Discount rental offers time to save for deposit

    24 Jul 2008

    The Government is running a new rent to home buy scheme which allows families to rent a house before buying a share.

  • Do we need FSA after its Equitable failures?

    24 Jul 2008

    I have just been reading yet another article on a financial debacle and I am pondering a question.

  • Don't victimise victims

    24 Jul 2008

    If there is one thing that might safely be said about personal finance consumer journalists, it is that we always take the side of the public. Well, perhaps no longer.

  • Emerging markets undervalued by investors, says Barings

    28 Jul 2008

    Emerging economy market capitalisations will account for up to a third of global markets by 2018 but remain under-represented by investor portfolios, says Barings.

  • Equitable facts

    24 Jul 2008

    The recent flurry of press reports on Equitable has given rise to some myths and misunderstandings. Let me explode a few.

  • Equity release beats meltdown

    24 Jul 2008

    Equity-release business rose by 14 per cent in the second quarter, according to figures from Safe Home Income Plans.

  • F&C European Assets Trust falls 10% in total returns

    29 Jul 2008

    Interim figures from the F&C European Assets Trust show a 10.1 per cent fall in total returns performance in Sterling terms for the six months to 30 June 2008.

  • F&C sees Euro opportunities despite slowdown

    24 Jul 2008

    Europe’s economic slowdown will dent corporate earnings but share price weakness could create opportunities to initiate positions or add exposure to companies, says F&C Eurotrust fund manager Peter Jarvis.

  • Fee perceptions are challenged

    24 Jul 2008

    National IFA 2plan head of regulation Julie Darlington is calling for a considered debate about trail commission, fees and advice, and is challenging the idea that more client reviews mean higher cost.

  • First footing

    24 Jul 2008

    I have just completed my first week in my new role and the pace is just as hectic at a professional body as at a trade body.

  • First State loses India manager

    28 Jul 2008

    First State Indian subcontinent manager Vijay Tohani is leaving the firm after eight years.

  • Flat-rate capital gains tax is stifling enterprise

    24 Jul 2008

    The 18 per cent flat rate of capital gains tax is choking enterprise by reducing the incentives for investing in private companies, warns the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association.

  • Founder Webb quits at Unicorn

    24 Jul 2008

    Peter Webb has resigned as chief executive and director of Unicorn Asset Management. He founded Unicorn in July 2000.

  • FSA applauds credit union proposals

    23 Jul 2008

    The FSA has welcomed the Government’s proposals designed to remove restrictions on the way credit unions can operate.

  • FSA appoints ex-C&G MD as retail markets managing director

    28 Jul 2008

    The FSA has appointed former Cheltenham & Gloucester managing director Jon Pain as its new managing director of retail markets.

  • FSA arrests eight for insider dealing

    29 Jul 2008

    The FSA has arrested eight individuals and executed search warrants across London and the South East in connection with a major ongoing investigation into insider dealing rings.

  • FSA fines Hastings £735,000 for TCF failures

    28 Jul 2008

    The FSA has fined Hastings Insurance Services Ltd £735,000 for failing to treat its customers fairly after it cancelled 4,550 incorrectly priced car insurance policies.

  • FSA fines IFA firm £35,000

    23 Jul 2008

    The FSA has fined PMSG Insurance Services Ltd £35,000 for failing to ensure advice given to customers was suitable and for not organising its business responsibly.

  • FSA may regulate every individual mortgage broker

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA is considering regulating every single mortgage broker and making all IFAs giving mortgage advice subject to a separate approved person status for mortgages.

  • FSA research reveals guidance problems

    24 Jul 2008

    Managing director Richard Hobbs says the FSA's own consumer research into financial capability shows that money guidance will not succeed.

  • FSA targets 200 firms in loan fraud crackdown

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA is to make targeted visits to 200 mortgage intermediaries as part of its crackdown on mortgage fraud.

  • FSA unveils replacement for Menu and IDD

    25 Jul 2008

    The FSA has announced it will introduce the Services and Costs Disclosure Document to replace the Menu and Initial Disclosure Document in August.

  • FSA warns firms about pension transfers

    28 Jul 2008

    The FSA has warned firms that it is difficult to produce a direct offer pack for a defined benefit pension transfer that meets its financial promotions requirements.

  • FSAcensure for Mandrake

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA has imposed a public censure on Mandrake Associates Limited for serious failings in the way it handled mortgage endowment complaints. It has also prohibited William John Pirie, the firm's sole director, from carrying out any customer functions in regulated financial services.

  • FSAcensure for Mandrake

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA has imposed a public censure on Mandrake Associates Limited for serious failings in the way it handled mortgage endowment complaints. It has also prohibited William John Pirie, the firm's sole director, from carrying out any customer functions in regulated financial services.

  • FSA's retail strategy reforms are too onerous, says FSPP

    24 Jul 2008

    The FSA’s recent retail strategy reforms are not cohesive and the burden on firms is too great, according to the Financial Services Practitioner Panel.

  • FSCS paid over £1bn since 2001

    24 Jul 2008

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has passed the billion pound mark in compensation paid to consumers, according to its annual report.

  • Goodfellow to leave Skipton Building Society

    29 Jul 2008

    Skipton Building Society chief executive John Goodfellow is to leave the lender at the end of the year.

  • Government may be mulling Stamp Duty cut

    28 Jul 2008

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown is thought to be considering cutting Stamp Duty in a bid to appease middle-income voters.

  • Halifax and Bank of Scotland cut rates

    25 Jul 2008

    Halifax and Bank of Scotland will be cutting rates this weekend, the ninth decrease in rates so far this year.

  • Henderson set to launch absolute return fund

    28 Jul 2008

    Henderson Global Investors is to launch an absolute return fixed income offering early next month.

  • House prices fell 1.2% in July, says Hometrack

    28 Jul 2008

    House prices fell 1.2 per cent in July, up from a fall of 1 per cent in June, according to the latest house price survey from Hometrack.

  • House prices to rise 25% over next 5 years, says NHF

    28 Jul 2008

    The average house price in England will increase by 25 per cent over the next five years to reach £274,700, according to a new report published today by the National Housing Federation.

  • How FTSE 100 toughed it out with the bear

    24 Jul 2008

    Credit Suisse head of income funds for asset management Graham Ashby says it is no surprise that the FTSE100 was one of last leading stock-markets to enter bear market territory.

  • HSBC Bank - Capital Protected Isa 10

    24 Jul 2008

    HSBC BankCapital Protected Isa 10

  • 'Icob and Cob are stifling business'

    24 Jul 2008

    Highclere Financial Services partner Alan Lakey claims that Cob and Icob are restricting and inhibiting the financial services market.

  • IFA firm Mandrake defends itself against FSA public censure

    25 Jul 2008

    Mandrake Associates Limited has defended itself against the FSA public censure it received this week claiming it was acting in the best interests of clients and has saved the Financial Services Compensation Scheme millions of pounds.

  • IFAs see long-term opportunities in the Gulf, says research

    29 Jul 2008

    Investment intermediaries see long-term opportunities in the Gulf region according to new research from Lyxor Asset Management.

  • IHT band boost is an illusion, says Brewin Dolphin

    24 Jul 2008

    Inheritance tax legislation set out in the pre-Budget report will benefit only a limited number of people, says Brewin Dolphin divisional director of financial planning Beverley Lavin.

  • IMA welcomes govt proposals on authorised funds

    28 Jul 2008

    The Investment Management Association has welcomed HM Treasury’s consultation on an elective tax regime for authorised funds.

  • India ranks first for expat savers, says survey

    24 Jul 2008

    India is the top country for savings and investment according to a global expatriate survey commissioned by HSBC Bank International.

  • Insight expands multi-asset team

    28 Jul 2008

    Insight Investment has appointed Stephen Waddington as director of multi-asset investment selection for the diversified target return fund.

  • Insight Investments appoints Richard Lloyd

    24 Jul 2008

    Insight Investments has announced the appointment of Richard Lloyd as head of the group’s structured solutions.

  • Interest in five-year deals is up, says Mform

    29 Jul 2008

  • Investec explores the long and short of it

    24 Jul 2008

    Investec Asset ManagementEnhanced Natural Resources Fund

  • Investec launches inflation proofed FTSE 100 plan

    24 Jul 2008

    Investec Structured Products has introduced an inflation-proofed income product, with capital protection linked to the FTSE 100.

  • John Charcol to relocate phone advisory service

    25 Jul 2008

    John Charcol is to relocate its Brighton based salesforce for its fees free telephone advisory service, Charcol, to its head office in London.

  • Jupiter chief sees massive potential in absolute return

    24 Jul 2008

    Jupiter chief executive Edward Bonham Carter says he would like to introduce an absolute return fund although the market must develop further before this will be considered.

  • Jupiter Euro manager spots a turning point

    24 Jul 2008

    Jupiter European special situations manager Cedric de Fonclare believes an inflection point has been reached on the continent.

  • Jupiter's new orbit

    24 Jul 2008

    The last 12 months have been evolutionary for Jupiter chief executive Edward Bonham Carter, who has overseen a management buyout while running a fund in the middle of a bear market.

  • Keydata launches 100% capital protected growth plan

    24 Jul 2008

    Keydata investment services, the structured product provider has launched a 100 per cent capital protected growth plan.

  • Kilminster creditors want A2O deal probe

    24 Jul 2008

    The liquidation committee for Kilminster Financial Management is to call on the liquidator to investigate the deal which saw the majority of KFM advisers move across to A2O.

  • King lost battle for dual control to rescue banks

    24 Jul 2008

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King believes the bank should be given the power as well as the FSA to trigger measures that would try to save a failing bank in the future.

  • Late joiners have the best chance of compensation

    24 Jul 2008

    Late joiners to the Equitable Life with-profits fund are the most likely to receive compensation, says Annuity Direct managing director Stuart Bayliss.

  • Life sector could be hit by domino effect

    24 Jul 2008

    Life sales will be the "next domino to fall" in the global credit crunch, says Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

  • Lifesearch sees end of L&G protection reign

    24 Jul 2008

    Lifesearch has predicted that Legal & General's five-year dominance of the UK protection market is about to end.

  • Look to the long term

    24 Jul 2008

    There has been a great deal of comment and discussion over the past year as to whether Asian and emerging markets have the economic strength and stamina to enable them to decouple from slowing Western and developed markets.

  • Luckraft and Stick fall out of white list

    24 Jul 2008

    George Luckraft and Carl Stick are two big-name omissions from Principal's latest white list of its top 12 UK income recommended funds.

  • LV= offers equity release product on Assureweb

    25 Jul 2008

    LV= equity release product, Flexible Lifetime Mortgage, is now available online through a partnership with Assureweb.

  • Market volatility brings change of plans on pensions

    24 Jul 2008

    Two-thirds of IFAs say stockmarket volatility has caused their clients to seek different ways of planning their retirement, according to research by MetLife Europe.

  • Mena transformation time at Baring

    24 Jul 2008

    Baring Asset Management is to continue tapping into emerging nations' growth through a new Middle East and North Africa fund.

  • MGM Advantage - Retirement Advantage Plan- Enhanced Annuity

    24 Jul 2008

    MGM AdvantageRetirement Advantage Plan- Enhanced Annuity

  • Million dollar baby

    24 Jul 2008

    I don't know if it was Toronto or if it was the balmy weather. Maybe it was the speakers or the eclectic nightlife or perhaps the leadership. Or maybe it was the delegates.

  • Model behaviour

    29 Jul 2008

    How's your model holding up then, I ask, slightly nervously of advisers.

  • Money Marketing tops advisers' poll

    24 Jul 2008

    Money Marketing trounced the opposition in this year's Pims Readership Survey and stretching its lead as the IFA community's favourite paper.

  • Morgan Stanley - Asia (Ex Japan) Protected Growth Plan 5

    24 Jul 2008

    Morgan StanleyAsia (Ex Japan) Protected Growth Plan 5

  • MP urges Treasury committee to probe case again

    24 Jul 2008

    Treasury select committee member Philip Dunne, MP, has called for the committee to look again at the regulatory failings over Equitable Life and the case for compensation.

  • MPC were split over July base rate freeze

    23 Jul 2008

    Monetary Policy Committee members were divided over their interest rate decision this month even though the majority voted to freeze interest rates.

  • Munich Re down £442m on last year

    28 Jul 2008

    Reinsurer Munich Re expects a £442m drop in its quarterly earnings for Q2 2008.

  • Network Data CEO increases stake in firm

    28 Jul 2008

    Network Data chief executive Richard Griffiths has purchased 70,000 ordinary shares of 10p each at an average of 11.6p each.

  • Network Data in profit warning

    24 Jul 2008

    Network Data Holdings has issued a profit warning ahead of its half-year results, to be published in September.

  • Neville James launches home reversion plan on Exweb

    23 Jul 2008

    Neville James Equity Release has launched a new home reversion plan on 1st The Exchange’s Exweb service.

  • Newcastle BS rolls out investment intermediary brand

    23 Jul 2008

    Newcastle Building Society had officially launches its intermediary savings and lending brand, Newcastle Intermediary Service.

  • Nine in 10 mortgage brokers giving poor advice, says Which?

    23 Jul 2008

    Nine in 10 mortgage advisers are giving poor quality advice to customers, a Which? Money investigation has revealed.

  • No comment

    28 Jul 2008

    The purpose of the FSA's Annual Public Meeting, held last week, was to give the public a chance to ask its own questions of the regulator. The problem was that the FSA refused to answer most of them.

  • Noble takes on First State small-cap fund

    28 Jul 2008

    Noble has taken on the management of First State’s British smaller companies fund following the appointment of fund manager Dr. Paul Jourdan.

  • Northern Rock appoints new chief executive

    23 Jul 2008

    Northern Rock has appointed Barclays group vice-chairman and executive director Gary Hoffman as its new chief executive officer.

  • Northern Rock launches new mortgage range

    25 Jul 2008

    Northern Rock is launching a new range of mortgage products aimed solely at new customers.

  • NU director to become an adviser

    24 Jul 2008

    Norwich Union director of marketing for protection, annuities and equity release Willie Mowatt has quit to become an IFA.

  • NU re-enters guaranteed rate income protection market

    24 Jul 2008

    Norwich Union Healthcare has re-entered the guaranteed rate income protection market with income protection solutions, an individual plan designed for the IFA channel.

  • Number of 10-year fixed rates double

    28 Jul 2008

    The number of 10-year fixed rate mortgage products has almost doubled in the past twelve months, says MoneyExpert.com.

  • OBSR announces Fidelity rating changes

    25 Jul 2008

    Old Broad Street Research has announced rating changes to four Fidelity funds.

  • Octopus Investments - CF Octopus Dynamic Fund

    24 Jul 2008

    Octopus InvestmentsCF Octopus Dynamic Fund

  • Omnis launched with cost cap

    24 Jul 2008

    Octopus Investments has teamed up with adviser network Openwork to launch multi-asst fund management group Omnis Investments.

  • Orphan assets belong to the policyholders

    24 Jul 2008

    I might be naive but, after over 40 years in financial services, I fail to understand how the Prudential can do what it proposes with its orphan assets.

  • Paragon in talks on takeover deal

    24 Jul 2008

    Paragon has confirmed it has entered discussions with several parties over a potential offer for the firm. The buy-to-let specialist lender says it has entered into discussions and is providing some due diligence access.

  • Paraplanners double profitability

    24 Jul 2008

    Paraplanners double business profitability for IFAs, according to research from Owen James.

  • Parmenion adds offshore bond to platform

    29 Jul 2008

    Parmenion Capital Partners, the outsourced investment platform service provider has launched an offshore bond for its users in partnership with Isle Of Man Assurance.

  • Paving the way for innovation

    29 Jul 2008

    Royal Liver has revealed it will be following in the footsteps of Fortis by launching its own real life cover plan.

  • Personal feeling

    24 Jul 2008

    From 2012, employers will have new responsibilities. They will have to automatically enrol their workers into a pension scheme and if the worker stays in,they will have to pay a pension contribution in respect of them.

  • Personal Touch drops packager

    24 Jul 2008

    Personal Touch Financial Services has removed Personal Touch Packaging from its panel in a move which will see it lose the Personal Touch brand name.

  • Plough the yield

    24 Jul 2008

    In times of market trouble, many investors fall back on the tradition of dividends, although such funds are not looking particularly strong at the moment from a capital perspective.

  • PMS launches Halifax exclusive

    28 Jul 2008

    Premier Mortgage Service and Halifax has launched an exclusive two-year fixed rate available for remortgages, first time buyers and homemovers.

  • Police probe Northumbria fraud

    24 Jul 2008

    Police in the North-east are conducting an investigation into a suspected major mortgage swindle involving a financial adviser and his family.

  • Prestbury shareholders call for removal of Lee and Lynne Birkett as directors

    29 Jul 2008

    Shareholders of Prestbury have called for the removal of Lee Birkett and Lynne Birkett as directors of the mortgage network due to “conflicts of interest”.

  • Proc on the move

    24 Jul 2008

    Mortgage clubs and networks are reviewing their business structures amid growing concern that procuration fees will fall away over the next two years to be replaced by advice fees.

  • Provider customer service standards must improve

    24 Jul 2008

    The ABI’s own Customer Impact Panel has warned the customer service standards of some providers risk damaging the reputation of the whole industry.

  • Pru extends bancassurance partnership

    28 Jul 2008

    Prudential has unveiled plans to extend its bancassurance partnership with Standard Chartered.

  • Rathbones reports strong growth amid market turmoil

    24 Jul 2008

    Rathbones reports its highest underlying rate of net organic growth in funds under management for the first half of the year but faces the future with “guarded optimism”.

  • Rathbones to sell offshore businesses

    24 Jul 2008

    Rathbones is planning to sell its offshore trust businesses in Jersey and Singapore due to an increasingly hostile political climate for UK-owned offshore investment businesses.

  • RBS Intermediary Partners - NatWest Two-Year Fixed Buy-To-Let Remortgage

    24 Jul 2008

    RBS Intermediary PartnersNatWest Two-Year Fixed Buy-To-Let Remortgage

  • RBS sells 50% stake in Tesco Personal Finance

    28 Jul 2008

    Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it will be selling its 50 per cent stake in Tesco Personal Finance to Tesco for £950 million.

  • Rejected Moneysupermarket.com bidder is revealed

    24 Jul 2008

    Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan board has revealed that it was the bidder rejected by Moneysupermarket.com yesterday.

  • Reshuffle PMI tax treatment, says Bupa

    29 Jul 2008

    Removing the current tax treatment on workplace health benefits could encourage more companies to consider PMI, says Bupa.

  • Richard Verdin to leave Direct Life & Pensions to join a provider

    24 Jul 2008

    Direct Life and Pensions Services has announced that Richard Verdin is to leave the firm to join a provider.

  • Rocky ride on rollercoaster

    24 Jul 2008

    Market volatility is set to worsen as global inflation intensifies, warns F&C investment trust manager Jeremy Tigue.

  • Roll out the barrel

    24 Jul 2008

    It is no surprise that funds investing in energy and natural resources have caught investors' imagination.

  • S&P fund management ratings launch on Trustnet

    29 Jul 2008

    Standard & Poor’s fund management ratings are now available on Trustnet, the independent fund information and research website.

  • Santander says it is not interested in HBOS

    29 Jul 2008

    Santander chief executive Alfredo Saenz says he is not interested in buying HBOS, according to reports.

  • Search for innovation

    24 Jul 2008

    There are a number of factors currently influencing consumer and business confidence in Europe. Higher oil, food and commodity prices have pushed up euro-zone inflation to over 4 per cent. In common with other central banks across the world - the Fed excluded - the European Central Bank has kept interest rate policy tight despite slowing growth. Recently, it raised rates to 4.25 per cent to fight inflation.

  • Single wealth firm for Axa and Winterthur

    24 Jul 2008

    Axa and Winterthur Wealth Management are to set up a new financial services company providing a single point of contact for advisers for both new and old business.

  • Skandia set for trio of US funds

    24 Jul 2008

    Skandia Investment Group is setting up three US funds aimed at the UK retail market through Skandia Global Funds.

  • Skandia wants RDR split to apply across whole of the market

    24 Jul 2008

    Skandia says it supports a split between advice and sales as part of the retail distribution review but it must be applied across the whole financial services market.

  • Smaller banks faring better than the high street

    23 Jul 2008

    Smaller banks are outstripping high street banks by offering better interest rates and superior customer service, reveals an investigation by Which? Money.

  • St. James’s Place sees profits slow

    29 Jul 2008

    St.James Place says it still expects long-term growth targets for new business to stay at 15 to 20 per cent per annum despite a 5 per cent loss in group operating profits.

  • Standard Life secures Sicav agreement in Germany

    23 Jul 2008

    Standard Life Investments’ entire Luxembourg-domiciled Sicav fund range is now available to German investors through dwpbank platform.

  • Stroud & Swindon Building Society - Three-Year Fix

    24 Jul 2008

    Stroud & Swindon Building SocietyThree-Year Fix

  • Stroud & Swindon unleashes fixed rate

    24 Jul 2008

    Stroud & SwindonThree-Year Fixed

  • Stroud & Swindon's Will has prime motivation

    24 Jul 2008

    New Stroud & Swindon sales and marketing director Linda Will plans to widen the scope of the society's postponed intermediary subsidiary by offering prime mortgages as well as specialist products.

  • Tesco to enter the mortgage market

    29 Jul 2008

    Tesco is to enter the mortgage market and launch a current account as part of its plans to grow its financial services arm.

  • The fair sex

    24 Jul 2008

    As a family lawyer in divorce cases, I often get asked what is the fairest way to share a simple money-purchase pension. Should it be based on half the capital value or equalising income?

  • The Great Deleverage

    24 Jul 2008

    I have no need to tell you that stockmarkets have been extremely poor in recent weeks. The news is grim.

  • The Real thing

    24 Jul 2008

    Real Life Cover - a new name and a new product devised by the people at Lifesearch and delivered by Fortis, the latest provider to join our super-competitive, currently stagnating market.

  • The reign of Spain

    24 Jul 2008

    Evidence of Spanish dominance is all around us. As if it was not enough for the Spanish football team to win Euro 2008 and Rafael Nadal to triumph at Wimbledon, we now have their biggest bank, Santander, snatching Alliance & Leicester from under everyone's noses for a knockdown price of £1.3bn.

  • The third age

    24 Jul 2008

    It should really be good news that we are living longer. In 1950, around 16 per cent of the UK population was aged 60 or over. By 1980, that had increased to 20 per cent and by 2030 around 25 per cent of the population will be 60 or older.

  • Thinking small

    24 Jul 2008

    With most European markets 20-30 per cent off their levels since the start of the year, it is time to start dipping into some European shares.

  • Towergate seeks to buy IFA firms in £100m spree

    24 Jul 2008

    Consolidating giant Towergate Financial has raised more than $100m to buy up regional IFA firms as part of its two-year plan to grow its number of registered individuals to 370.

  • Transfer transition

    24 Jul 2008

    Transfers, whether backed up by bungs or so-called enhancements, have justifiably earned themselves a bad reputation in the past. Described by some as the "flat-screen TV effect", unsuspecting deferred members are sent an offer of what to them seems like a generous cheque as well as a measly transfer to a defined-contribution plan.

  • Treasury consults on tax changes for asset management firms

    28 Jul 2008

    The Treasury has today launched three consultation papers on making the UK more competitive as a location for asset management.

  • UK economic growth slows to 0.2%

    25 Jul 2008

    UK economic growth slowed down in the second quarter of 2008 with an increase of just 0.2 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

  • UK top choice for Indian offshore acquisitions, says research

    28 Jul 2008

    The UK is the top destination for offshore acquisitions by Indian companies, according to research from financial and business adviser Grant Thornton.

  • US Govt passes housing rescue bill

    24 Jul 2008

    The US has passed a housing rescue bill which could see struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages with cheaper loans backed by the Federal Housing Association.

  • Vasilieff brings in three more Selestia staff for Novia wrap

    24 Jul 2008

    Novia chief executive Bill Vasilieff has recruited three more staff from former employer Selestia to join his wrap team.

  • Watchdog delivers damning verdict

    24 Jul 2008

    The public bodies responsible for the 10 counts of maladministration identified in the report - the FSA, the Government Actuary's Department and the former Department for Trade and Industry - should apologise for their "serial regulatory failure".

  • Way boosts regional sales force

    23 Jul 2008

    The Way Group is expanding its regional sales force with the appointment of three new regional managers.

  • Where liability lies

    24 Jul 2008

    In the 1990s, we had to listen to adverts stating: "It's an Equitable Life, Henry." It's a pity that one man's equitable life was another's disaster.

  • Which bear is it this time?

    24 Jul 2008

    There is no argument now. We are in a bear market. Indeed, given that the FTSE 100 index failed to reach the level attained at the end of 1999, there is even an argument that we never really escaped from the new millennium bear phase, except that the recovery did take most markets into new high ground, including our own FTSE 250 index.

  • Yorkshire BS cuts rates by up to 0.50%

    24 Jul 2008

    Yorkshire Building Society is cutting the rates on many of its fixed rate mortages by up to 0.50 per cent.

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