Money Marketing
23 June 2004

  • QYX BBR + 2.69% spells Pink

    24 Jun 2004

    PINK HOME LOANSBM Solutions QYX BBR + 2.69%Type: Adverse credit base rate tracker mortgageTracker term: Two yearsTracker rate: 2.69% above Bank of England base ratePayable rate: 7.19%Minimum loan: £2,001Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £150,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000, up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, ...

  • 'Industry has final chance to woo back the public'

    24 Jun 2004

    The industry has one last chance to bring consumers back into the fold after failing to serve their needs, warns a report by business thinktank Tomorrow's Company. The report, Restoring trust - investment in the 21st Century, is the result of two years' consultation among more than 500 practitioners and investment groups representing all parts of the investment chain. The inquiry team, led by former Glaxosmithkline chairman and now rector of Imperial College Sir ...

  • 'Kerry win could stall US economy'

    24 Jun 2004

    A Democrat victory in November's US election could stall the North American economy, with wider repercussions for world markets, warns Gartmore fund manager Marcus Brookes. Brookes, deputy of Gartmore's multi-manager operation, told PIMS delegates that a victory for Democrat John Kerry would see the Republicans' programme of tax cuts put on hold, slowing down consumer demand in the US and hitting the world economy. Brookes said performance in Europe was likely ...

  • 'Rethink portfolios in closed WP funds'

    24 Jun 2004

    The risk profile of with-profits funds has changed so much that clients' overall portfolio profiles should be revisited, says Investec Fund Managers joint managing director Andy Sowerby. Sowerby told PIMS delegates last week that IFAs should be revaluing the portfolios of clients invested in closed WP funds because many have little equity exposure and may no longer match clients' investment requirements. He said much of the estimated £118bn sitting in closed ...

  • 'Uneconomical' Sandler suite gets thumbs down

    24 Jun 2004

    Three-quarters of IFAs are unlikely to sell the Sandler suite of products. IFAs say Sandler products are uneconomical for them to sell. The results of the poll were collated before the Government's announcement last week of a rise in the price cap from 1 to 1.5 per cent. The cap will revert back to 1 per cent after 10 years. Ninety-five per cent of IFAs believe tax incentives are an important factor in getting the public to save, flying in the face of one of Sandler's ...

  • 'Wrap will let IFAs shift to wholesale prices'

    24 Jun 2004

    Wrap will enable IFAs to switch their clients from retail fund prices to wholesale fund prices, according to industry expert Paul Bradshaw. Speaking at the PIMS conference last week, Bradshaw said wrap would let asset managers reduce their costs, opening up the possibility of shifting from retail prices at 100 basis points to wholesale prices at 15-30 bps. Bradshaw also believes wrap will cut life offices out of the advice process as he says there is very little ...

  • 100 days after Miles, Nationwide presses lenders to open up range

    24 Jun 2004

    Nationwide is urging lenders to embrace one of the Miles' report's key recommendations and make their full range of products available to all their customers. This week marked 100 days since the publication of Professor David Miles' report on the UK mortgage market and Nationwide claims neither the Treasury nor the industry has yet acted to implement any of his recommendations. Nationwide says the failure of Government, the FSA and the industry to respond with ...

  • ABI sets up group on HIV policy

    24 Jun 2004

    The ABI is to set up an independent working group to advise the insurance industry on policy developments affecting HIV and insurance. It has already invited the Terrence Higgins Trust and Pinkfinance.com to join. Issues likely to be discussed by the group include the evidence base for HIV risk, changing cultural attitudes encouraging responsible behaviour and fair risk assessment. The summary of responses to the statement of best practices for HIV and insurance ...

  • Asset allocation has the industry divided

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs are increasingly using asset allocation tools as they try to boost the performance of their clients' portfolios but not everyone believes they are as useful as their manufacturers claim. Asset allocation tools recommend what percentages of each asset an inv-estor should have in their portfolios, often combined with suggestions for exposure to geographical regions. This gives IFAs a systematic way of constructing portfolios for a whole spectrum of clients, whe-ther they ...

  • AXA launches new mortgage advice proposition

    25 Jun 2004

    AXA has launched a new mortgage proposition in its bid to become a major player in the mortgage advice market.The proposition will provide a route to authorisation for firms giving advice on mortgage products, compliance for appointed representatives and access to a range of mortgage lenders and packagers.Head of AXA advisor network Paul Rodgers says: "AXA is acutely aware of both the financial and compliance pressures that the regulatory changes in the mortgage marketplace ...

  • Axa says single-tie firms will not die out

    24 Jun 2004

    Single-tie operations will not die out with the onset of depolarisation, according to Axa Life head of distribution (building societies) Steve Jenkins. Jenkins predicts that open architecture products will evolve, providing an element of choice to consumers but through the economies of a tied wrapper so the tied sector will not be as vulnerable as was first thought. Speaking at the PIMS conference on board the Oriana last week, Jenkins told delegates that the tied model ...

  • B&B to shed 600 jobs

    25 Jun 2004

    Bradford & Bingley announced today in its pre close briefing that it has already shed 150 employees from its core of 3,950, and expects to remove a further 450 by the end of 2005.B&B says its core lending business has continued the strong performance of 2003, revealing its non-core businesses are expected to be ahead of 2003 performance. It says its sales process is on plan.Group chief executive Steven Crawshaw says: "Our core selective lending business has continued the ...

  • Bankhall receives minded to authorise letter

    29 Jun 2004

    Bankhall has received a minded to authorise letter from the FSA for its mortgage network, Bankhal Mortgages.Group sales director Shaun Godfrey says: "We are pleased to have received our minded to authorise letter from the FSA. A decade of experience in the regulated environment as a support services provider for IFAs has meant we are well positioned to support mortgage and general insurance brokers with compliance and a full range of ancillary services."

  • Bee warning over pension property

    24 Jun 2004

    Scottish Life head of pensions development Steve Bee says the Government has grossly underestimated the boost that residential property in pensions will give to the housing market. Bee told PIMS delegates on board the Oriana last week that he would put £120,000 in a personal pension on A-Day and use the fund to buy a £200,000 property in France. He said the Treasury's impact assessment was flawed because it had only considered the 1.3 per cent of personal ...

  • Benefit match

    24 Jun 2004

    The stakeholder world offers many challenges to IFAs and product providers, especially in the corporate advice arena where there are two main issues. The first is persistency - how can you lock in your corporate clients and keep them loyal to your business? The second is how can you effectively and efficiently cross-sell into them and still make money? Product charges are low and it is easy for corporate clients to move without financial loss so the focus has ...

  • Berkeley setting up corporate arm

    24 Jun 2004

    Berkeley Berry Birch Group network and support services subsidiary Berkeley Independent Advisers is set to launch a corporate arm. The move follows increa-sing interest from the network's advisers who want to work in the SME and corporate marketplace. BIA chief executive Richard Howells says the group is keen to work more in what he says is an important and underdeveloped market. A number of big IFAs such as Hargreaves Lansdown have made significant inroads ...

  • Bidders lining up for Charcol

    24 Jun 2004

    Industry speculation suggests that a management buyout of mortgage broker Charcol by a team of senior advisers could rival a bid by the firm's senior technical manager Ray Boulger and head of mortgage development Walter Aberilli. Other possibilities include Charcol being bought by estate agents Spicerhaart, Countrywide or leading broker Savills Private Finance, according to Purely Mortgages chief executive Mark Chilton. Chilton thinks an MBO would be unlikely to succeed ...

  • Breakaway IFA firm finds new direction

    24 Jun 2004

    Two Edinburgh-based financial advisers are breaking away from their firm to set up on their own and the new IFA may be one of the youngest in the country. Julie Clapperton and Eve Callaghan, 27 and 25 years old respectively, have just 10 years experience between them but have decided to venture out on their own, establishing the firm Financial Direction for Women. In 2001, Callaghan was the youngest woman in the UK to pass the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate. The ...

  • Bright Grey says online processing is set for final quarter as it bids to smooth out admin

    24 Jun 2004

    Protection provider Bright Grey says it will be ready to launch its online processing system by the end of the year. At a recent IFA roadshow in London, the company said that a prototype is ready and it hopes to be able to launch this by the final quarter of this year but is pushing for Q3. The online business proc- essing system follows the introduction last month of an online quotation service. It is also setting up a comprehensive online underwriting service. Bright ...

  • Brokers believe their futures depend on e-commerce according to NU

    28 Jun 2004

    Brokers who do not embrace the potential of e-commerce will fail according to technically astute intermediaries in a Norwich Union poll of 400 intermediaries."Techno savvy" brokers are now the UK broker market's dominant group, making up 31 per cent of intermediaries, according to the research. NU reveals intermediaries feel technology plays an important role, and those who do not harness its potential may encounter problems in the future.The research also identified ...

  • Carnaby shows twin EISs

    24 Jun 2004

    Carnaby has established two enterprise investment schemes - one investing in an English romantic comedy film and the other investing in its worlwide distribution arm, Carnaby International.Carnaby was established in 2001 to finance and produce British films and has used EIS tax incentives to encourage investment. The film EIS - Love FM - aims to raise up to £5m through the EIS but the offer can proceed if the minimum of £300,000 is raised, in which case the ...

  • CII launches 21st century young insurance professional of the year award

    25 Jun 2004

    The CII launches the Sheikh Abdullah Foundation for 21st century young insurance professional of the year award.The award, sponsored by the Sheikh Abdullah Foundation will be offering the £3,000 award to the winner at the UK Insurance & Financial Services conference on October 1. Entrants to the award must be 30 years old or under at September 1 2004, be a member of the CII or have studied towards or completed any of the CII's general examinations in the past three ...

  • Citigroup - Enhanced Growth Plan II

    24 Jun 2004

    Type: Capital-protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index or Dow Jones Global Titans indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-no maximum, Isa £3,000-£7,000Term: Six yearsReturn: UK Enhanced growth option - 30% growth at end of year three if FTSE 100 index rises by at least 30% or 130% growth in the index at end of term. Global enhanced option - 45% growth at end of year three ...

  • Confusion over FSA 'probe' on Clerical

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs are calling on Clerical Medical and the FSA to clear up the confusion over whether the life office is being investigated by the regulator. Reports surfaced in several national newspapers late last week that the FSA is investigating the HBOS subsidiary, ordering it to hand over documents relating to the administration of Equitable Life policies. But it is believed there is no link between any possible investigation and Equitable life policies, with industry sources ...

  • Coventry offers mortgage with an unsecured loan

    24 Jun 2004

    Coventry Building Society has set up Moregage, a combined mortgage and unsecured personal loan, allowing homebuyers to borrow up to 125 per cent of the value of their home. The loan is made up of a mortgage of up to 95 per cent loan to value and an unsecured personal loan facility of up to 30 per cent. Aimed at both first-time buyers and first-time movers, the product will give borrowers the ability to not only buy their home but also cover associated costs such as funding ...

  • Critical cover for children

    24 Jun 2004

    Childhood illness and disability is a very emotive issue. All of us would rather not think about what could happen and parents rarely want to plan for the consequences of something happening for fear of somehow making it more likely to occur. However the impact of a child being diagnosed with a critical illness would dramatically alter a family's lifestyle. The first reaction to such news is to worry for the child themselves, not the financial impact, but families ...

  • Davis expects most Sesame members to remain IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    Sesame commercial director Martin Davis says the group expects most of its members to retain their IFA status after depolarisation, dismissing speculation that only firms with a minimum turnover would be allowed to opt out of its multi-tie. In a Money Marketing interview last week, Davis said all members have the choice of remaining independent or signing up to its multi-tie offering, due to launch in January. He expects most of its members, at least in the short term, ...

  • Don't make an ass of yourself

    24 Jun 2004

    The Diary was treated to fairies, fauns and Shakespeare-style shenanigans last week at the Britannia Midsummer Night Party at London's Barbican. MM reporters found themselves concentrating intently on conversations about mortgages in a bid to escape the advances of an amorous violin-playing jester and gold-painted half-man, half-goat satyr creatures. Shakespearean actors repeatedly offered reporters a part in their play but, despite copious amounts of Pimms and Champagne, ...

  • Enhancing Exweb

    24 Jun 2004

    By the time you read this article, Money Marketing readers who are among the 9,000 directly regulated IFA users of the Exchange's Exweb service should have received a letter notifying them of when they will be given access to the new "enhanced" Exweb service. Rather than taking a big bang approach and putting all new users live simultaneously, the launch is being phased at a rate of 2,000 users a week from the end of June. This is a prudent course of action to avoid undue pressure ...

  • EOC aims to close gender gap

    24 Jun 2004

    Failure to offer mortgages and protection products to women who work part-time or are pregnant could result in prosecution under sex discrimination legislation warns the Equal Opportunities Commission. Speaking exclusively to Money Marketing, EOC chief executive Caroline Slocock said the organisation would give backing to claims if providers distribute products in a way that discriminates against women. Slocock says the EOC is aware of repeated instances where women are ...

  • Exchange aims for flying start with multi-ties

    24 Jun 2004

    The Exchange is planning to steal a march on rival portals by rolling out its multi-tie deal ahead of depolarisation. The trading platform says it is announcing its plans now so companies planning to multi-tie can have fully functioning technology as soon as regulation is finalised. The portal is in advanced discussions with six IFA groups who are looking at how they will offer a multi-tie proposition and which providers they will work with. The Exchange plans ...

  • Exclusive Connections - 1.7% Discount

    29 Jun 2004

    Type: Discounted-rate mortgage Discounted term: Three yearsDiscount: 1.7%Payable rate: 4.84%Minimum loan: £15,001Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £999,999Income multiples: Up to 3.5 times principal income plus second or 2.75 times jointArrangement fee: NoneRedemption fee: 3% of amount repaid in first three yearsIntroducer's fee:Subject ...

  • Firms facing 20-year wait for profit in 1.5% regime

    24 Jun 2004

    Product providers say they face a wait of up to 20 years before breaking even on the new stakeholder products despite the 0.5 per cent rise in the price cap. Scottish Widows says under 1 per cent it would have taken 12-15 years to make a profit, dropping to eight to nine years for 1.5 per cent. Another firm says the best-case scenario for 1.5 per cent would be profit in 10 years. These calculations are made on a basis of capital loss simply becoming capital gain. Royal ...

  • Flat cap does not fit the bill

    24 Jun 2004

    At last a few facts about the new stakeholder regime. The price is 1.5 per cent of the annual management charge for the first 10 years from April 2005. Products can be sold by lower-level advisers with decision tree and script who must be attached to a regulated business. The threat remains of ombudsman referral - a major cost. Most advisers, according to a Money Marketing Online survey, remain unlikely to sell the new pension any more than they did previously, nor will ...

  • Friends increase ethical access

    29 Jun 2004

    FRIENDS PROVIDENTSTEWARDSHIP SAFEGUARD OPTIMISER FUNDType: Unit-linked fundAim: Growth linked to the performance of the Isis Stewardship Growth Fund and the Barclays Global Investors Liquidity Plus FundMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Investment split: 70% Isis Stewardship Growth Fund, 30% Barclays Global Investors Liquidity Plus FundCharges: Annual 0.6% plus annual 1.25% for Investment Portfolio Bond Commission: ...

  • Friends Provident - Stewardship Safeguard Optimiser Fund

    25 Jun 2004

    Type: Unit-linked fundAim: Growth linked to the performance of the Isis Stewardship Growth Fund and the Barclays Global Investors Liquidity Plus FundMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Investment split: 70% Isis Stewardship Growth Fund, 30% Barclays Global Investors Liquidity Plus FundCharges: Annual 0.6% plus annual 1.25% for Investment Portfolio Bond Commission: Initial up to 5.25% orinitial 3.25, renewal 0.5%, ...

  • FSA adds savings accounts to tables

    24 Jun 2004

    The FSA has expanded its controversial product league tables to cover savings accounts. The tables will compare products from 109 companies covering around 80 per cent of the savings market. Providers which do not supply data will be highlighted as non-participants in the tables if they meet the minimum threshold for participation, which is 500 accounts opened a year. The tables include cash Isas, deposit accounts, National Savings & Investment accounts, income bonds, ...

  • FSA cancels permission for Fleet

    29 Jun 2004

    The FSA has cancelled permission for Fleet Mortgage Insurance and Financial Services to carry our regulated activities.The final notice was issued yesterday after a decision notice issued on May 20 stated that the FSA was not satisfied that Fleet was ensuring its affairs were conducted soundly and prudently.A warning notice issued on April 13 said Fleet had failed to pay fees of £1,626 owed to the FSA, despite repeated requests

  • FSA warns on provider incentives to IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    The FSA is warning financial services companies against given hidden sweeteners to IFAs to secure business relationships.FSA chief executive John Tiner told the Treasury select committee that the regulator has written to chief executives of UK product providers telling them that any payments to IFAs must be clear, open and transparent.

  • Fund firms' ad spend plummets to 20% of pre-bear market levels

    24 Jun 2004

    Fund firms have slashed their national press Isa advertising spend to less than 20 per cent of their 2000 level. Ad agency MMS says national press advertising plummeted from £37.9m in 2000 to just £6.9m last year as groups slashed budgets after the collapse of direct Isa sales. Some firms, such as Jupiter, reallocated part of their spend to brand-focused advertising but others simply cut spending. The biggest drop is from Scottish Widows which spent £6.7m ...

  • GE LIfe - Phased Drawdown Plan

    29 Jun 2004

    Type:Income drawdown planMinimum investment: Lump sum £150,000Investment choice: Choice of 41 unit-linked funds from GE Life and external managers, discretionary pension portfolio via Cazenove, Morgan Stanley Quilter, Rathbones and Tilney, simplified Sipp and Sipp optionsAllocation rate: 100%Charges: Unit linked funds -annual 0.36%-1.65% depending on fund, discretionary pension portfolio - unit-linked charges apply plus self-invested ...

  • GE Life phases in drawdown

    25 Jun 2004

    GE Life has added a phased drawdown plan to its range of pension products.The plan is designed for people who need income but not a lump sum and who want to defer annuity purchase. GE Life thinks it will have particular appeal to people who are making the transition from part-time employment to full-time retirement. It will also be of use to people who want superior death benefits compared with annuities and who are concerned with inheritance tax planning. The plan enables ...

  • Get on platform for express service

    24 Jun 2004

    Tom Baigrie recently argued against customers being able to buy protection on a non-advised, self-directed or execution-only basis and suggested that in some way the FSA needed to act (Money Marketing, June 10). He said he is keen for debate. So here goes, Tom, this is the other side of the coin. My company's position is one of providing choice and allowing the many self-directed customers a way of buying easily and conveniently from us while supporting those who want advice. ...

  • Get on platform for express service

    24 Jun 2004

    Electronic trading has flourished over the last three years and is integral to the way intermediaries now do business. An important initiative is the creation of trading hubs which allow mortgage brokers access to multiple lenders at once, thereby saving time and money. One of the biggest of these platforms is the Mortgage Trading Exchange, jointly owned by Nationwide, Alliance & Leicester, HBOS, Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland and Woolwich/ Barclays. The MTE ...

  • Hambro's McClashan predicts 50% return for new Japan fund

    24 Jun 2004

    JO Hambro fund manager Scott McGlashan believes the boutique's new Japan fund will return around 50 per cent over the next three years. McGlashan believes the fund, which launched at the end of April, can take advantage of Japan's economic rec-overy, which he says should continue over the longer term as domestic demand grows stronger. Although Japan's recovery was initially sparked by exp-orts to China, he says rising consumption now drives growth as improving ...

  • Hamptons hits out as Nationwide admits service problems

    24 Jun 2004

    Hampton International Mortgages has accused Nationwide of not being interested in intermediary business after having service problems with its remortgage team. Broker Jonathan Cornell says it is taking Nationwide's team two to three weeks to look at an application and a further two to three weeks to produce a valuation. He says phone calls and emails are often not returned. Nationwide media relations manager Jennifer Williams says this is a busy time of the year and ...

  • High street says cap rise is enough to generate profit

    24 Jun 2004

    High-street finanical firms have backed the Treasury's move to increase the charge cap and say 1.5 per cent will be enough for efficient providers to generate a profit. Nationwide executive director Stuart Bernau says: "Nationwide believes that a 1.5 per cent price cap is adequate for efficient providers to sell simple investment products profitably. We support the need for open and transparent financial products." HBOS says the 1.5 per cent annual charge is realistic ...

  • Home thoughts on abroad

    24 Jun 2004

    There is nothing new about buying abroad. You only need to pick up a Sunday newspaper to see the array of choice that is available, clearly in response to the real demand for overseas property acquisitions. I believe that the time is right for advisers to be sowing seeds with clients to be reconsidering an alternative property acquisition abroad. With yields on investment properties in the UK declining fast and with the impact of rising interest rates on the UK property market, ...

  • Huge gap is revealed in protection perception

    24 Jun 2004

    New research reveals massive gaps widening on life cover and income protection insurance. The ninth Swiss Re Insurance Report, A Gap in Perception, says consumers' belief in the amount of protection cover they have is overly optimistic. The report says that 42 per cent of people believe they have income protection but this does not correspond with industry data on protection sales. The report says the income protection gap has widened from £130bn in 2002 ...

  • IFAs say future looks grim for with-profits

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs cannot see a future for with-profits products. Sixty-one per cent of IFAs in The One Account/Money Marketing State of the IFA Nation poll say they are not optimistic about the continuing presence of with-profits pensions in the marketplace and 52 per cent say they are doubtful about the future of with-profits bonds. Of the IFAs who do not see a future in with-profits bonds, 58 per cent would advise clients to look at property funds as an investment alternative, ...

  • Independent view

    24 Jun 2004

    Did you attend this year's LIA conference in London? If not, you missed out on one of the highlights of the year. The conference was a tremendous opportunity to learn some new ideas - understand new concepts for business, gain some inspiration and motivation, and share time with some of the very best people in the industry. If you did not attend, was it because you know all the ideas that there are to know? Fully understand all the ways in which you can work with clients? ...

  • Insight builds foundation on existing portfolios

    28 Jun 2004

    Insight Investment has brought out a closed ended fund that invests in a portfolio of 64 UK commercial properties spread over the retail, industrial and office sectors.sThe Insight Foundation Property Trust has an income yield of 6.75 per cent and its initial portfolio is likely to be worth around £293m. The portfolio is made up of an existing portfolio that Insight has managed for Clerical Medical for the past three years and another portfolio for the, Lunar Partnership, ...

  • INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

    24 Jun 2004

    It was a mixed week for equity markets, with modest gains in the UK and Europe and little change in the US while the Japanese and other Far Eastern markets ended the week lower. By Friday's close, the FTSE World index had risen by 0.3 per cent, leaving it 1.9 per cent higher since the start of the year. A warning by the governor of the Bank of England that the UK housing market could be heading for a fall had a negative impact on housebuilders and was the main reason for the ...

  • Investment view

    24 Jun 2004

    It is that time of year when big stories are hard to come by and news seems dominated by a positive plethora of titbits. Some, needless to say, are of more significance than others, but with markets unsettled by higher inflation, pursuing the more interesting revelations seems as good a way of remarking on the investment scene as any. Indeed, there are plenty of contradictory views around but then, who should ever be surprised at that. Among these could be considered the recent ...

  • Isis Asset Management - Isis Property Trust 2

    23 Jun 2004

    Type: Closed-ended investment companyAim: Income and growth by investing in UK office, retail and industrial propertiesMinimum investment: Subject to negotiation with stockbrokerInvestment split: 43% retail, 34% industrial, 23% officesPlace of registration: GuernseyYield: 6.75%Charges: Annual 0.85%Commission: Subject to negotiationTel: 0845 850 1515

  • It's not child's pay for Legal& General

    24 Jun 2004

    It was most interesting to read an article entitled, Higher fees for low-cost savings plans' on the front page of the Financial Times Weekend edition of June 12/13 in respect of the planned increase in the charge cap to 1.5 per cent. One of the quotes from a product provider was: "We would have preferred an initial charge. It doesn't do enough and won't make a great deal of difference in expanding the market." Further on, in the money section of the same issue,I ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    24 Jun 2004

    One of the lesser known of the top-performing fund managers is Allchurches Investment Management, the investment arm of the Ecclesiastical Group. The team, headed by Sue Round and Robin Hepworth, have been together for many years and have produced outstanding results. In a recent survey by Morning Star, they were the joint top investment management group along with Global Asset Management, some way ahead of their competitors. This rating is as a result of risk-adjusted performance ...

  • King reins in market

    24 Jun 2004

    Are the comments of Bank of England Governor Mervyn King equal to a 25-basis-point rise in interest rates? Several commentators suggest that two rises of 0.25 per cent over a period of months have had much less psychological impact than one of 0.5 per cent. One says the property boom requires a much bigger rise to deliver a shock. It is unlikely many lenders or brokers would agree. The housing market can be talked down and if anyone can do it, it may be the Governor. Let's ...

  • King repeats warning of falling house prices

    25 Jun 2004

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King repeated his warning to first time buyers over potential house price falls.Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee, he said it would be unfortunate if people were encouraged to make decisions on a risky assumption that house prices could only ever go upwards.However, he said he did not expect to see a return to the negative equity situation of the early 1990s as lending rules imposed by banks are much tighter than in the past and employment ...

  • Kleinwort Benson - Elite Rotator

    23 Jun 2004

    Type: Capital-protected offshore fundAim: Growth by investing in an actively managed portfolio of 16 investment fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £50,000Investment split: 100% linked to the performance of a portfolio of 16 investment fundsPlace of registration: LuxemburgTerm: Five years and three monthsReturn: 100% protection - 100% growth in underlying basket of funds, 80% protection - 110% growth ...

  • L&G receives minded to authorise letter

    29 Jun 2004

    Legal & General has received its minded to authorise letter from the FSA for its mortgage network. L&G is one of the first networks to receive the letter, which means the FSA is highly likely to approve its application for authorisation.Enable, the mortgage network of Direct Life And Pensions, received its minded to authorise letter last week.

  • L&G wins outsource deal for Scottish Friendly's life fund

    24 Jun 2004

    Scottish Friendly says the majority of its £355m life fund is to be outsourced to Legal & General, with around £230m in tracker funds linked to the all-share index, the all-stocks gilts index and several foreign equity indices. The remainder of the life fund is invested in a number of specialist investment funds aimed at adding value to the core index-tracking strategy. These include existing holdings in several property funds and new investments into specialist ...

  • Legal & General - Capital Protection Plus 5

    24 Jun 2004

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £500-no maximum, Isa £7,000Term: Six yearsReturn: The greater of 23% of initial investment or 50% growth in the FTSE 100 indexGuarantee: Original capital returned in full along with 23% of initial investment regardless of performance of indexClosing date: August 20, 2004Commission: ...

  • Life firms want more clarity on RU64

    24 Jun 2004

    Life offices are calling for clarity on whether an RU64-style requirement will be imposed on Sandler suite products. Scottish Equitable warns that an RU64 element could see providers forced to offer their own personal pensions at 1.5 per cent to compete with stakeholder. The introduction of RU64 on stakeholder pensions forced advisers to justify their decision to chose a product other than stakeholder in a reasons-why letter. This saw many providers reduce their own personal ...

  • Lincoln courts IFA market

    28 Jun 2004

    LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUPLINCOLN EMERGING MARKETS TRUSTType: Unit trust Aim: Growth by investing globally in emerging markets Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £25 Investment split: 100% in global emerging markets Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.5% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5% Tel: 0845 071 0200The ...

  • Liverpool Vic cuts Mimi rates

    24 Jun 2004

    Liverpool Victoria has cut guaranteed term, guaranteed combined term and critical-illness rates within its Mimi flexible protection plan. The average fall is 1.5 per cent. The changes are aimed at male and female non-smo-king customers in the 25-45 age bracket. A non-smoking 35-year-old, male or female, with a 15year term policy with £250,000 sum assured would expect to save 75p a month on level term insurance. A male or female with the same profile on accelerated ...

  • Mark Chilton

    24 Jun 2004

    Mark Chilton has gained a reputation as one of the best start-up men in the mortgage business for his role in launching and growing Savills Private Finance and before that First Mortgage Securities. He believes his latest venture, Purely Mortgages, will drastically change the marketplace. Backed by Chase de Vere Mortgage Management and funded partly by GMAC-RFC, Purely Mortgages is a massmarket fee-free mortgage intermediary firm which aims to be a dominant player in the market. It ...

  • Massive IFA support for performance fees

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs overwhelmingly support moves to bring in performance-related fees on investment funds, according to the One Account/Money Marketing State of the IFA Nation poll. Eighty-five per cent applaud the FSA's publication in March of more flexible rules for performance-related fees. But IFAs are evenly divided on whether the mutual fund industry is charging too much for its products. Fifty per cent think that charges are too high while 48 per cent disagree while 2 per ...

  • Menu master

    24 Jun 2004

    Menu-based healthcare and insurance packages could be even more attractive if they allow income protection cover to be converted into long-term care insurance. Although a recent arrival on the UK financial services scene, the menu-based life and healthcare insurance package accounts for a major share of total protection sales. It brings advantages for advisers and clients. For the consumer, the benefits include flexibility, convenience and potential savings in premiums. The ...

  • MI's Laker warns brokers on networks' free PI deals

    24 Jun 2004

    Mortgage Intelligence managing director Sally Laker has cautioned brokers to be aware of offers of free PI insurance by networks, saying high excesses will still leave brokers out of pocket. Laker says the small print of some offers states an excess of £10,000 while most PI claims for mortgages are only for around £5,000 to £7,000, which means the offer carries no real value. She has also urged brokers to look closely at contracts, saying that some ...

  • Minor to major

    24 Jun 2004

    GMAC-RFC is offering a new non-conforming mortgage range in a bid to reaffirm its position as the number one lender in this sector. Head of marketing services Jeff Knight says: "We found that many non-conforming clients had minor adverse credit and we have designed a range that meets their needs in terms of rates and criteria while retaining the ability to help all other clients too. What we have done is simply applied mainstream features to our new range." This new range ...

  • More Than warns life insurance provision is seriously underestimated

    29 Jun 2004

    More Than launches a 'cover calculator' in response to research revealing the the average lump sum from a life policy would provide for just over four years income for a family.Research in the Swiss Re Term and Health Watch report indicates the average income left for a family would be just £93,399 which would not cover the average mortgage loan in the UK, which currently stands at approximately £105,000. The average expenditure per UK household according to National ...

  • MPs and civil servants can bust pension rules

    24 Jun 2004

    Senior civil servants, MPs and judges can watch their final-salary pensions soar in line with pay under a clause buried in a schedule to the Finance Bill. Members of civil service and Parliamentary occupational schemes have been handed a specific exclusion from rules capping pension increases at A-Day. By selecting enhanced protection - a way of protecting pension rights in excess of the lifetime limit - members of the ruling elite are exempt from rules keeping pension ...

  • MPs turn focus on IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    Financial services is in for yet another shake-up and it seems clear that IFAs are firmly in the spotlight. The shake-up will come from the Treasury select committee's investigation into restoring confidence in long-term saving. Although the select committee is renowned more for elaborate performances than making any real headway into issues, its latest inquiry seems set to have almost as much bite as it has so far had bite. The inquiry has had all the signs of a ...

  • Network healthcheck guide for ARs from PMN

    28 Jun 2004

    The Professional Mortgage Network is urging mortgage advisers thinking of becoming ARs to thoroughly check out the credentials of a network prior to becoming a member.To this end it has launched a network healthcheck guide, which lists thirty questions it thinks an AR should ask a network before signing up to its proposition.Managing director Dale Knight says: "We have analysed the questions that have been posed to PMN in recent weeks by our AR members. The 30 most commonly ...

  • Networks urge rise in IFA commission to push sales

    24 Jun 2004

    IFA networks want to see the increase in charges on stakeholder products passed on in higher commission to their members to encourage more advisers to offer the suite. Many IFAs said a 1 per cent cap made it uneconomical for them to sell stakeholder but more of those who take the multi-tie route may think the suite looks more attractive at 1.5 per cent. Burns Anderson chief executive Ian Parsons believe if the increase in charges was passed to IFAs, more of the bigger ...

  • New appointment at Homeloan Management Ltd

    28 Jun 2004

    Homeloan Management Limited has appointed Andrew Duff to be Director of Irish Operations, based at the company's new offices on the Ulster Science and Technology Park in Derry.Duff was previously with Capita Group Plc where he was responsible for business outsourcing contracts for a range of organisations such as the BBC, Abbey National and Dixons.Duff says: "There will be challenging times ahead as the new operation grows, but I am convinced that, with the motivated ...

  • New lease of lifetime

    24 Jun 2004

    As underfunded pension fund liabilities have been exacerbated by falls in equity markets over the last few years, there is a compelling demand for good equity-release products - or lifetime mortgages as they have been dubbed by the FSA. Demand for equity-release products in general and lifetime mortgages in particular has been growing dramatically over the last few years. Growth rates in 2003 approached 70 per cent, making it the fastest growing sector in the UK mortgage market. The ...

  • New sales director at Wesleyan

    28 Jun 2004

    Wesleyan Assurance Society is appointing Ian Lazenby as its new director of sales. Lazenby was formerly UK Sales Manager at Standard Life. Regarding his appointment Ian says: "I have noticed the progress being made by the Wesleyan over a number of years. I am excited to be joining such a forward thinking and financially sound organisation."Former director of sales Craig Errington is to become managing director of Wesleyan.Errington says: "I am delighted that someone ...

  • New system for IFAs from 1st Software

    25 Jun 2004

    1st Software is launching a new version of its Adviser Office system that includes integrated services with Scottish Mutual, the Sipp Centre, Morgan Stanley Quilter and Cofunds.The Adviser Office : Intelligent Workflow system includes new tools to help standardise business processes and has financial planning functions using Tillinghast-Towers Perrin stochastic modelling techniques.1st Software channel manager Nick Bowler says: "Adviser Office : Intelligent Workflow provides ...

  • No bond bubble, says M&G

    24 Jun 2004

    M&G corporate bond fund manager Richard Woolnough has hit back at claims that the impressive performance of bonds in recent years has created an unsustainable bubble. Woolnough dismissed the idea of a bond bubble, saying long-dated yields are cheap by historical comparison with 30year gilt annual yields at just under 5 per cent compared with almost 5.75 per cent in May 1998. Woolnough believes the economic background is still bond-friendly and says there are no UK inflationary ...

  • Norwich Union keeps bonus rate on hold

    29 Jun 2004

    Norwich Union says bonus rates and payouts on its with-profits policies will remain unchanged in a review of rates that follows its main bonus announcement in January. Norwich Union chief actuary, Mike Urmston, says: "Following our main bonus announcement in January this year, we have now further reviewed our bonus rates and payouts and see no need to make any changes at the current time. Unless there are any significant changes in the stock market in the second half of 2004 we ...

  • Occupational hazards

    24 Jun 2004

    Terence O'Halloran's hard-hitting letter in Money Marketing requires a robust response. I fully agree with him that the misselling of occupational final-salary schemes was worse than endowments or split-capital trusts. With the latter, investors may have been told that the products were low-risk but with employer pensions, the members were told that the schemes were no risk. Pointing a finger of blame at the FSA (which was acting on behalf of the Treasury) ...

  • Open Annuities wins £10m case

    29 Jun 2004

    Gibraltar-based annuity provider Open Annuities has seen its busiest month ever during May and attracted a £10m case - the largest in the company's history. The Open Annuities product allows wealthy individuals to pass their pension funds, less inheritance tax, to their estates on death after age 75. Open Annuities chief executive Ken Wrench says: "The reporting requirements in Gibraltar are stricter than investment managers in the UK are used to."

  • Out of context

    24 Jun 2004

    •"I have two areas of speciality, medical malpractice and fine wines, but never at the same time." - Axa's John Du Bois. •"I am standing on a terrace overlooking Lisbon and sipping a glass of wine. It is really stressful." - Premier Mortgage Services head John Malone. •"He's the man from Del Monte." - Hargreaves Lansdown's Ben Yearsley on colleague Tom McPhail wearing a stripy brown suit. •"I will be spending the weekend doing the ...

  • Pace of growth eases in June

    29 Jun 2004

    The average house price has doubled since the start of the millenium, according to the Nationwide house price index.The price of the average house rose by 0.9 per cent in June, down from 1.7 per cent during May.June's price increase took the annual rate of house price inflation to 19.1 per cent and the average house price to £151,524.Nationwide group economist Alex Bannister says a repeat of the late eighties slump in prices looks unlikely but that buyers assuming ...

  • Panel ponders LIA call to scrap commission

    24 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Consumer Panel is considering the LIA's proposal that commission should be scrapped to help consumers regain confidence in the industry. The LIA's submission to the FSA's consultation paper CP04/3 asks if it would be possible to move the entire advisory sector to a new fee-charging basis as it believes this would remove any suspicions that advisers are biased by commission. Speaking to Money Marketing, chairwoman Ann Foster says she ...

  • Pension plunge

    24 Jun 2004

    Apart from anecdotal evidence and personal experience, it is often difficult for IFAs to identify accurately what is hot and what is not in the corporate marketplace. Although most IFAs would be able to tell you what has been popular in their areas, analysis of the entire marketplace can often be hit and miss. However, this year's annual employee benefits survey from Aegon national IFA Origen gives an interesting snapshot of comp-anies' employee benefits buying ...

  • Pink Home Loans receives minded to authorise letter

    29 Jun 2004

    Pink Home Loans has received its minded to approve letter from the FSA, enabling it to now concentrate on developing its appointed representative network and its directly authorised proposition.Managing director Tony Jones says Pink has successfully passed another important milestone in the road to regulation and he expects the number of applications to join the appointed representative network to increase following receipt of the letter.He says: "This letter enables intermediaries ...

  • Product Matters

    24 Jun 2004

    The decision by Western Provident to freeze the premiums on its flexible benefits scheme which is aimed at small corporate private medical insurance customers may come as a surprise to many coming as it is at a time when average premium increases are between 7 per cent and 15 per cent. However, it is an immensely sensible decision and it is in response to two main trends. These are the Government's determination to cut waiting lists and create a cheaper and more efficient ...

  • Property prices fall as lending plunges

    24 Jun 2004

    Mortgage lending fell by £1bn and house prices slid at the start of June, prompting predictions that a slowdown in the market has started. The Council of Mortgage Lenders says gross lending fell from £24.8bn in April to £23.8bn in May. Director general Michael Coogan says the data suggests that the housing market may have started to slow down. Coogan says: "No one is suggesting that the housing market is risk-free but our central forecast and the ...

  • Providers won't pass on charge cap rise to IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs look set to be left out in the cold after the stakeholder price cap rise as leading product providers say the extra money will be spent on marketing rather than distribution. The Government's move to raise the cap from 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent in a bid to win over the industry looks set to increase marketing spending but leaves little extra cash to offer incentives to IFAs to sell Sandler-style products. The move was intended to boost marketing and distribution ...

  • Pru is first to move into the Sandler suite

    24 Jun 2004

    Prudential is the first life office to declare its intention publicly to launch a product which will adhere to the Sandler standards, including the 1.5 per cent price cap. The company, which unlike many of its rivals claims the new price cap is workable, says it will introduce a new-style with-profits offering in the third quarter of this year which will stick to the Sandler spec-ifications. It will be aimed at IFAs' clients rather than the target market for Sandler, ...

  • Public can take stakeholder complaints to the watchdog

    24 Jun 2004

    Consumer with unresolved complaints over their stakeholder products can take their cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service for compensation under the FSA's latest proposals. The FOS will consider the specific rules on suitability for simplified selling rather than those that apply for full advice. Although advisers will not have to have financial qualifications, they must take into account the consumer's attitude to risk, affordability and their debts. Providers ...

  • Rooms with a view

    24 Jun 2004

    The Diary hears of a rather unfortunate bungle at this year's LIA annual conference. A computer bug caused more than a few embarrassed chortles when members were misdirected to the wrong rooms at London's Hilton Metropole by hotel staff at the start of the conference. Guests ambled round the hotel searching for the right rooms only to find them already occupied by people in various states of undress a la Benny Hill. The Diary blushes at the thought of it.

  • Sandler to be IFS president

    24 Jun 2004

    Ron Sandler has been nominated by the Institute of Fin-ancial Services as its next president. Sandler will take on the post from October. He is well known for his Treasury-commissioned review of the UK long-term savings industry and the revival of Lloyd's of London when he was its chief executive. Sandler was also formerly chief operating officer of NatWest Group and played a key part in its merger with Royal Bank of Scotland. The IFS has also nomin-ated Marsh Ltd ...

  • Schroders retail multi move with joint Fof

    24 Jun 2004

    Schroders is aiming for the retail multi-manager market with an IFA version of the fund of funds operation it runs with Standard & Poor's. Schroders, which runs around £547m through its internal Fof arm, plans to launch a balanced managed and an alpha managed product in the fourth quarter as it seeks to diversify away from single-strategy funds. As with the existing business, the retail operation will carry the brands of both Schroders and S&P, which ...

  • ScootElectric mobilises support

    23 Jun 2004

    ScootElectric is an enterprise investment scheme that aims to raise up to £1m to invest in an electric scooter business.The business was established in January 2002 to import full-size electric scooters to the UK and market them as an environmentally-friendly alternative to cars and public transport. Initially the focus was on supply and the company has secured exclusive distributorship agreements with four Taiwanese manufacturers and an Italian e-scooter manufacturer. ...

  • ScotEq Intl offshore plan targeting pension IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    Scottish Equitable Inter-national is aiming at ret-irement specialist IFAs with its new offshore investment plan. Clients can make regular and or one-off contributions and withdrawals at any time. Minimum monthly contribution is £500 and there is no maximum. The company says the most obvious market for the product will be the growing number of high-net-worth clients who are planning to move or work abroad. According to Alliance & Leicester's latest ...

  • Selective statistics don't tell the full EU story

    24 Jun 2004

    Harry Katz's article (Money Marketing, June 17)does not persuade me that we ought to go along with giving even more power and money to Brussels, much less surrender the pound to the euro. If we had to give up the pound for any other currency, many people would much prefer the US dollar than the euro. It is all very well for Harry to rattle off a load of impressive sounding statistics to show all the ways in which poor old UK plc is behind its European neighbours but these statistics ...

  • Selestia looking to move IFA information services online

    24 Jun 2004

    Fund supermarket Selestia is looking to move much of its IFA information services online in a bid to provide faster turn-round for advisers. The firm has already begun phasing out paper-based commission statements and is looking to move valuations and illustrations wholly online by the end of this year. Selestia director Bill Vasilieff says the move is focused on providing greater accuracy and better service, partially in response to IFA requests. He says paper systems ...

  • Sesame deal for directly regulated advisers

    24 Jun 2004

    Sesame is offering directly regulated advisers a menu of flexible services for its mortgage and protection proposition. The proposition includes low fixed-fee pricing with no deductions from procuration fees or commission rates and access to the highest mortgage procuration fees available from all lenders in the open market. Procuration fees are paid directly to the adviser rather than processed by the network. There is a choice of protection solutions, with ...

  • Shift to money purchase fails to benefit IFAs

    24 Jun 2004

    Few IFAs have benefited from the trend away from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension schemes. Seventy-one per cent of respondents to the State of the IFA Nation poll say they have not seen an increase in corporate business as a result of the move towards DC. IFAs believe that while the big employee benefits consultancies have done well from pension schemes seeking help in making the transition, most companies do not naturally turn to IFAs for this sort of ...

  • SimplyBiz grows to 1,000 advisers

    24 Jun 2004

    SimplyBiz, the IFA service company founded by Ken Davy 18 months ago, has passed its 1,000 adviser milestone and now has a membership of more than 500 firms. The Huddersfield-based company provides compliance, business and marketing support to IFA firms, accompanied by a lifetime guarantee not to charge current members more than 2.5 per cent plus VAT for its core services. Marketing director Matt Timmins says the level of growth in such a short time is outstanding. He ...

  • Skandia is top supermarket

    24 Jun 2004

    Skandia tops the poll as the preferred fund supermarket for IFAs. The firm wins 47 per cent of the votes, with FundsNetwork second with 29 per cent and Cofunds third with 23 per cent. Selestia is last with 4 per cent. The preferred quotation service for IFAs is The Exch-ange with 79 per cent. Assure-web is second with 13 per cent and Webline third with 4 per cent. Skandia, soon to celebrate its 10th anniversary, is the oldest and biggest of the fund supermarkets, ...

  • Skandia takes up basket weaving

    29 Jun 2004

    Skandia's protected portfolio investment range provides capital growth linked to a portfolio of five externally managed funds, with varying degrees of capital protection and return.The underlying portfolio of the protected portfolio investment contains the Framlington equity income, Schroder UK mid-250, New Star alpha, Norwich property trust and Invesco Perpetual corporate bond funds, which are given equal weighting in the portfolio.Investors have three main options ...

  • Standard in external search for finance director

    24 Jun 2004

    Standard Life is aiming to boost the plc experience on its board by looking externally for a new finance director to replace John Hylands. Hylands will move to a new role leading the project to demutualise Standard. Two weeks ago, the appointment of Trevor Matthews as chief executive of life and pension business marked the first external appointment to the Standard board for over 30 years. The firm wants public company experience on the board in the run-up to the planned ...

  • Stirring up a storm

    24 Jun 2004

    Should there be a code of practice for buy-to-let mortgages and, if so, who should oversee it? Barrett: Let us be clear about this. Buy to let should be regulated by the FSA. It is a growing part of the mortgage market and consumers in this area deserve the same protection as those in the mainstream and equity-release sectors. More ordinary consumers, who have one or maybe two properties, have moved into this sector so the argument that this is an investment purchase ...

  • Strategy chief sees widespread move to multi-ties

    24 Jun 2004

    Up to 80 per cent of the IFA sector will adopt multi-tie status, according to Sesame Group strategy director Char-les Bryant. Speaking at an industry conference in London last week, Bryant outlined a possible future landscape using estimates which indicate that 50-80 per cent of advisers will multi-tie. His said two or three big multi-ties could dominate the entire market. Bryant predicts a wider gap between the product ran-ges and propositions offered by multi-tie ...

  • Structured plan from Kleinwort Benson

    24 Jun 2004

    Private bank Kleinwort Benson is offering a managed retail structured product which apes the multi-manager process, with links to fund baskets selected on the basis of riskadjusted returns. The Elite Rotator will be constructed using five baskets comprised of funds investing in sterling bonds and UK, US, European, Japanese and Asian equities. Each basket will contain a certain number of mutual funds, all of which have been selected using Kleinwort's investment process ...

  • Structured solution

    24 Jun 2004

    Investment managers and hedge fund managers are starting to use structured products as a gateway to hedge funds for retail investors. In the last four months, Tilney Investment Management, Close Fund Management, Matrix Money Management and Premier Fund Management have teamed up with hedge fund managers to offer products with minimum investment levels as low as £5,000. Opal Alternative Investment Funds investment director Frances Clayton, who designed Tilney's ...

  • Sub-prime numbers

    24 Jun 2004

    To say the sub-prime mortgage market is in good health sounds mercenary. What I mean is that the number of people with financial difficulties remains significant and the number of lenders in this market sector continues to rise. According to analyst Datamonitor, the UK non-standard and sub-prime mortgage markets account for 13 per cent of total gross mortgage advances - worth £31.6bn in 2003. At the end of 2003, 9.4 million people were classified as non-standard ...

  • Survey says employment law is holding back firms

    24 Jun 2004

    Independent advisers believe that employment legislation is holding back the growth and productivity of their businesses. A survey by employment law firm Peninsula shows that red tape is the biggest gripe of 84 per cent of the 553 respondents while 93 per cent say an employment tribunal payout could financially damage them to the point of not being able to continue in business. Sixty-seven per cent of IFAs have had experience with disgruntled employees and 36 per cent ...

  • Take it to the limit

    24 Jun 2004

    I understand there is to be a new lifetime limit that will replace all the old funding rules for pensions. As my £1.3m pension fund falls below the proposed limit, I assume there is nothing I need to worry about. Am I correct in thinking this? When the Finance Bill which includes the changes to pension legislation is introduced, it would be reasonable to assume that the changes are more likely to enhance the income of the Treasury rather than that of the individuals entitled ...

  • Talkback

    24 Jun 2004

    "No. They are not fully independent. There should be some other term somewhere between tied and independent." Nick Wilson,Wilson Financial Services. "No. How can they be independent? The name should only be use by IFAs." Graham Poole,Poole Financial Planning "No. I wouldn't like to think that someone who in the past has made their living from general insurance can style his or herself as an independent financial adviser." Alan Flint,Alan Flint Insurance ...

  • The bouncing 'bubble'

    24 Jun 2004

    In the last three years, the popularity of buy to let has grown far beyond expectation. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that in 2000 gross advances increased from £3.9bn to £19.3bn in 2003 - a nearly fivefold rise. Buy to let has undoubtedly been the shining star of the specialist mortgage market in recent years. With this success has come speculation that the market is overheating and the so-called buy-to-let bubble is about to burst. Earlier ...

  • THE LIA's VIEW

    24 Jun 2004

    After four years or so of stalemate, the FSA's examination review is starting to get somewhere. One of the issues which concerned the LIA very much was the need to ensure that the proposed new exams enable individuals to have a professional qualification which is portable between one firm and another. A further concern was that the exams should be seen as relevant to consumer protection. When comments were made by the FSA which seemed to suggest that primary responsibility ...

  • The miles file

    24 Jun 2004

    Maybe it is just me but there seemed to be more than a hint of naivete about the latest report to chronicle the ills of the financial services industry. The authors of Tomorrow's Company, a review billed by the group's chief Sir Richard Sykes as a "report to end all reports", came to the less than startling conclusion that trust must be restored between consumers and providers. Sure, trust is vital when you are dealing with a product that is largely intangible. A saver or ...

  • The Mortgage Works - Fixed Rate Buy-to-Let Mortgage

    25 Jun 2004

    Type: Fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgageFixed term: Until August 1, 2006, 2007 or 2009Fixed rate: 5.99%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, up to 70% of valuation up to £500,000, up to 60% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1mIncome multiples: Rental income must be at least 130% of mortgage repayments for loans up to 80% of valuation, at least 120% ...

  • The simple truth

    24 Jun 2004

    In response to the article in the June 10 issue of Money Marketing, the situation research carried out for the Which? report, The Protection Question was modelled, implemented and analysed according to our normal rigid research criteria. The purpose of the research was to establish what advice mortgage advisers based in high-street lenders and estate agents gave to first-time buyers concerning protection insur-ance and to measure this advice against established industry best ...

  • The wheel thing

    24 Jun 2004

    I would love to tell you that I have worked really hard this week, made major impressions on the world of financial services and written important stories that changed the face of the industry. But that would be a downright lie. What I have made impressions on this week is a bottle of lemonade and Garden's gin (not Gordon's, Garden's, an Egyptian take-off, along the same lines as Johnny Wacker) and significant progress on my tan. I am, after all, floating along the Nile ...

  • The yield shield

    24 Jun 2004

    In the UK there is a general tendency to knock anything that is good, be it in sport, popular music, fashion or business. This rule has also applied to the buy-to-let sector. This market has grown at a great rate of knots over the last few years but it is constantly knocked. We are always hearing there is an oversupply of rental property, falling rental yields or that house prices are going to crash. Whatever the issue, it seems some people think the bubble is going to burst. The ...

  • Threat of £5k fines in VAT crackdown

    24 Jun 2004

    Adviser groups which try to restructure their businesses to get out of paying Vat on member charges could find themselves hit with a £5,000 fine under new anti-avoidance legislation from the Government. Measures introduced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in the last Budget to crack down on extreme and aggressive forms of tax avoidance are set to come into force in July. Although not specifically targeting financial firms, the legislation is intended to catch businesses ...

  • Three-tier charges for NU and Millfield wrap

    24 Jun 2004

    Millfield and Norwich Union's Lifetime wrap platform is set for an autumn launch, offering a choice of 400 funds from across 40 fund managers. Lifetime will have a three-tier charge structure with a 0.5 to 0.9 per cent management charge plus an advice charge set by the adviser as well as the fund managers' annual management charge. NU is understood to prefer that Millfield sells its 41 per cent stake in Lifetime to make it easier to market the wrap proposition to ...

  • Two-thirds of world's fund firms will create boutiques

    24 Jun 2004

    Two-thirds of the world's investment firms plan to move towards offering boutique operations, according to research from consultancy Create. The survey of 300 fund managers across 25 countries shows that 66 per cent of firms intend to create a boutique structure within their business. Create chief executive professor Amin Rajan, a former Treasury economic adviser, told PIMS delegates that the biggest single trend among fund managers worldwide is the move to a boutique ...

  • UK leads Europe for fee-based financial advisers

    24 Jun 2004

    The UK has the highest proportion of fee-based advisers in Europe, according to Eur-ope-wide IFA lobby group the Convention of Independent Financial Advisers. Cifa told a PIMS conference that 7 per cent of advisers in the UK are fee-based compared with 2-5 per cent in France, Benelux and Germany. IFAs say these figures are ironic, given the pressure that has been put on them by the regulator to move away from commission to fees, pointing to the fact that the rest of Europe ...

  • U-turn on cap but Standard says it's still unworkable

    24 Jun 2004

    The Government has bowed to industry pressure on stakeholder pensions and raised the price cap to 1.5 per cent for the first 10 years and then reverting to 1 per cent. The Treasury claims it has struck a balance between the needs of the industry and consumers but providers say they are still reticent about whether the Sandler suite will be economically viable. The products will be introduced in April 2005 with medium-term investment and pension products capped at 1.5 ...

  • Welcome move to speed up FSA on enforcement

    24 Jun 2004

    I am writing regarding the article headlined, FSA looking to speed up two-year enforcement process. Most firms which have been involved in the enforcement process and those who advise them will be surprised at the description of the enforcement procedure as involving "at least three possible stages of appeal, with considerable time given to the firm to make responses to any action taken by the FSA". The investigative process is almost entirely within the control of the ...

  • Whitechurch Investment Services placed in liquidation

    29 Jun 2004

    IFA Whitechurch Investment Services Limited is to be placed in voluntary liquidation as of July 9.The company made the announcement today, while stating that Whitechurch Securities and The Whitechurch Network will continue to trade.BDO Stoy Hayward LLP has been appointed to advise the directors of the company.

  • Wide support for end to cherrypicked data

    24 Jun 2004

    The FSA's initiative to force firms to show discrete per-iods of five years when using past performance in advertising is widely supported by IFAs according to the State of the IFA Nation poll. Seventy-eight per cent support the new FSA rules which state that firms will no longer be able to use "cherrypicked" data about past fund performance in ads. Standardised data must instead be used showing discrete annual returns in the form of a table. With less than five years' ...

  • Widows fails to make the grade with underwriting system

    24 Jun 2004

    Protection specialist Life Policies Direct has given Scottish Widows a failing grade for its online underwriting systems, saying it is the least successful available. The broker has graded six online extranet submission and underwriting systems, concluding that Legal & General has the best online provision and Widows has the worst. The sites are graded out of 10 in 11 areas, including reliability, ease of use, phone support and online tracking. LPD completes ...

  • Will mortgage brokers be made to eat humble PI?

    24 Jun 2004

    IFAs have had a tough market for professional indemnity insurance for some time but the onset of regulation may now bring problems for mortgage brokers as well. Premiums for some IFAs have increased by more than tenfold over the last three years. The requirements of the insurance mediation directive and the market in financial instruments directive have added to the difficulties and many IFAs are finding it difficult to find cover. Mortgage brokers have enjoyed a relatively ...

  • Win a holiday to Morocco in Friends' fantasy fund competition

    24 Jun 2004

    Friends Provident and Isis Asset Management are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first retail ethical investment funds in the UK - the Stewardship funds - by joining forces with Money Marketing to offer IFAs the opportunity to win a fantastic holiday for two to Morocco and £500 for the charity of their choice. Two runners-up will receive a digital camera, a hamper of organic produce and £250 for a charity of their choice. Each month, a hamper of ...

  • With-profits AVC funds cutting equity exposure

    24 Jun 2004

    Exposure to equities within with-profits AVC funds has continued to fall over the past year, according to a survey by consultant Watson Wyatt. Its 2004 survey of additional voluntary contribution funds shows that the average allocation to UK and overseas equities of with-profits AVC funds has fallen to 40.4 per cent from 47.3 per cent in the 2003 survey and 63.6 per cent in the 2002 survey. Equity exposure of managed unit-linked AVC funds has remained fairly consistent ...

  • Woolwich Plan Managers - Woolwich Capital Growth Plan

    28 Jun 2004

    Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£500,000, Isa £7,000Term: Six yearsReturn: 30% of original investment at the end of year three if the index has risen by at least 30% or 107.5% growth in index at end of termGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexClosing date: August ...

  • Zurich chief Keogh will head SEI's wealth team

    24 Jun 2004

    Multi-manager specialist SEI Investments has recruited Zurich director Chris Keogh to head its wealth channel as part of the group's drive to enhance its offering to UK intermediaries. As managing director of wealth, Keogh will spearhead a revamp aimed at broadening SEI's offering to advisers, focusing specifically on creating all-round business solutions rather than the delivery of products. He will report to head of global business Joe Ujobai. Keogh was previously ...

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