Money Marketing
27 August 2008

  • 'Don't put PF in maths lessons'

    28 Aug 2008

    The Ifs School of Finance has called on the Government to drop any reference to personal finance from the maths curriculum. It says combining maths and financial education is a flawed approach.

  • In brief Buck Consultants bags Detert

    1 Sep 2008

    Anna Marie Detert has joined Buck Consultants as head of its human capital and communication practice in the UK. Detert joins Buck from Towers Perrin, where she was a senior consultant.

  • In brief Pickering to join BESTrustees

    1 Sep 2008

    Alan Pickering is to leave Watson Wyatt in January 2009 to succeed Charles Woodward as Chairman of BESTrustees.

  • Info Office looks at laptop data sale

    28 Aug 2008

    The Information Commissioner's Office is investigating into how a laptop with personal details of a million Royal Bank of Scotland customers was sold on eBay by a third-party archiving firm without the data being properly erased.

  • Sants warns CEOs on mispricing

    28 Aug 2008

    FSA chief executive Hector Sants has written a Dear CEO letter warning banks and investment firms against cutting back on staff in valuation control functions to prevent future mispricing of trading positions.

  • £1.28Bn cost of nationalising Rock

    28 Aug 2008

    A leaked Treasury document reveals nationalising Northern Rock will cost taxpayers up to £1.28bn. If the Government had agreed to a takeover by Virgin, taxpayers would have subsidised the deal with £2bn.

  • 18 IFAs seeking white- label deal for Sicav Sifs

    28 Aug 2008

    KMG Sicav Sif says it is holding discussions with 18 IFA firms and five accountancy firms about setting up their own white-labelled funds.

  • 63% of IFAs have negative view on with-profits, says research

    27 Aug 2008

    Three out of five (63 per cent) IFAs have a negative view on with-profits based investments, according to research from Managing Partners, the investment management company.

  • 83% Of DB schemes closed to new members

    28 Aug 2008

    Eighty-three per cent of final-salary pension schemes are now closed to new members, says Aon Consulting.

  • A final farewell?

    1 Sep 2008

    The latest bad news on final salary scheme funding could mark the final chapter for the sector says John Greenwood

  • A friend indeed

    1 Sep 2008

    After six months watching from the sidelines as Friends Provident restructured itself, Trevor Matthews is now firmly in the driving seat. In his first major interview for a pensions publication in his new role he talks to John Greenwood

  • Absolute return funds continue to buck outflow trend

    28 Aug 2008

    Absolute return funds continued to be the most popular UK domiciled retail sector in July 2008, according to figures from the Investment Management Association.

  • Academy awards

    28 Aug 2008

    Positive Solutions has, without doubt, been one of the success stories of the last decade in the IFA market.

  • Active Member Discount (AMD) or Save More Tomorrow (SMT), is that the question?

    1 Sep 2008

    By Nick Groom, Distribution and Marketing Director,Corporate Benefits, AXA Life

  • Advice on Target

    1 Sep 2008

    Many corporate intermediaries believe their consultancy offerings meet the needs of employers perfectly. Nic Paton asks HR directors where advisers are giving them what they want and where they can be off target

  • Adviser Fund Index

    28 Aug 2008

    The inflation report published recently by the Bank of England suggests that inflation is set to fall next year and within two years it is likely to fall below the target rate of 2 per cent.

  • Adviser in clash with Sesame on case decision

    28 Aug 2008

    An ex-Sesame member has hit out at the network for upholding a client complaint amid doubts that Sesame can locate the client file and a discrepancy over the reasons for its decision.

  • Advisers offered training in employee share plans

    28 Aug 2008

    Employee share plan organisation Ifs ProShare is offering an introductory course for financial advisers.

  • Aegon calls for FSA to reconsider RDR proposals

    27 Aug 2008

    Aegon is calling for the FSA to consider financial advice concepts including coaches, drop-in centres, personal shoppers and financial superstores as part of its retail distribution review.

  • Alliance Trust unveils new fund supermarket

    1 Sep 2008

    Alliance Trust Savings has revamped its fund supermarket with a new charging structure and the addition of open architecture funds.

  • AMI picks at Government plans

    2 Sep 2008

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has aired several fears regarding today’s proposals for housing reform.

  • Artemis appoints Ruth Keattch

    28 Aug 2008

  • Ascentric revamps brand look

    29 Aug 2008

    Ascentric has updated its adviser and consumer-facing brands with revamped logos and new tag lines.

  • Automatic enrolment on its own is not enough

    1 Sep 2008

    says Andy Marchant of AEGON Scottish Equitable

  • Automatic for the people

    1 Sep 2008

    By Jamie Clark, Occupational Pensions Marketing Managerat Scottish Life

  • Axa IM joins forces with Kyobo Life

    2 Sep 2008

    Axa Investment Managers has launched a joint asset management venture with Kyobo Life in South Korea.

  • Axa's 'Save More Tomorrow' aims to boost savings levels

    1 Sep 2008

    Axa has launched a Save More Tomorrow service that encourages scheme members to agree to increase pensions contributions into its group personal pensions and group stakeholder products.

  • B&B reveals 114% profit slump

    29 Aug 2008

    Troubled lender Bradford & Bingley has revealed massive pre-tax losses of more than £200 million in the last year.

  • Baer opens door to emerging bond fund

    28 Aug 2008

    Julius Baer is opening its local emerging bond fund to UK investors.

  • Bank figures show approvals may have found a floor

    28 Aug 2008

    Mortgage approval levels started to show some signs of levelling off in July after sharp falls.

  • Bank of Scotland International launches Nikkei Supertracker

    1 Sep 2008

    Bank of Scotland International has launched its new Nikkei supertracker capital guaranteed savings bond.

  • Bankhall is opening up apprentice scheme to all

    28 Aug 2008

    Bankhall is to launch its apprenticeship programme to all applicants after the successful pilot of the scheme to 16-24-year-olds.

  • Barclays Wealth expands product range

    29 Aug 2008

    Barclays Wealth is launching a new range of growth and income capital protected investments.

  • Barclays Wealth reissues emerging markets optimiser

    1 Sep 2008

    Barclays Wealth has launched the fourth issue of its emerging markets optimiser.

  • Barings appoints Katie Bowmar as head of product development

    1 Sep 2008

    Baring Asset Management has hired Katie Bowmar as head of product development.

  • Best of healthcare

    28 Aug 2008

    One of the poorest performing sectors over the past three and five years has been healthcare. Many shares in this sector are now on very low valuations.

  • Boutiques have edge in difficult markets

    28 Aug 2008

    Thames River co-head of multi-manager Robert Burdett claims that fund boutiques are best equipped to outperform in challenging conditions.

  • Broker Talkback

    28 Aug 2008

    Do you agree with Bank of England governor Mervyn King that it would be wrong to inject extra liquidity into the mortgage market?Yes 50%No 50%

  • Brokers bring in business at booming Coventry

    28 Aug 2008

    Coventry Building Society is thanking brokers for a 24 per cent rise in its net mortgage lending in the first half of this year.

  • Brokers warn stamp duty reform is not enough

    2 Sep 2008

    Mortgage brokers have criticised the Government’s stamp duty reforms for not delivering enough to the majority of the UK's struggling homeowners.

  • Built to last

    1 Sep 2008

    Each month we bring you the opinions of the managers of the funds most likely to be selected for pension portfolios through external fund links or Sipps. This month - gerry ferguson's SWIP property trust

  • Business protection – Money is not the only answer

    1 Sep 2008

    Jerry Bayman, National partnership manager for business protection, Bright Grey

  • Buy to let showing resilience

    28 Aug 2008

    Buy-to-let lending figures have dropped less sharply than the rest of the market, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Campaign to make the FOS accountable under the law

    28 Aug 2008

    In my humble opinion, the point that your contributors on the Heather Moor & Edgecombe saga and our learned friends in the legal profession seem to miss is that the Financial Ombudsman Service is above the law.

  • Canada Life adds to its eBusiness portal functionality

    1 Sep 2008

    Canada Life Group Insurance (CLGI) has launched two new modules to its internet-based eBusiness portal, CLASS, called eRenewal and eAdmin.

  • Canada Life urges advisers to discuss group IP more

    28 Aug 2008

    Canada Life is urging more advisers to discuss group income protection after research found one in five people would fall short if they were unable to work due to illness or injury.

  • Checkmate Mortgages appoints Peter Stimson as commercial director

    2 Sep 2008

    New lender Checkmate Mortgages has announced the appointment of Peter Stimson as commercial director.

  • Choosing the right tools

    1 Sep 2008

    Providers are developing modelling tools that will help corporate intermediaries target individual clients, says Ian McKenna, director of the Financial Technology Research Centre

  • Churning created vulnerable class

    28 Aug 2008

    Bankhall chief executive Peter Mann believes the culture of churning inappropriate products has created a class of vulnerable consumers.

  • CII to form qualification taskforce

    1 Sep 2008

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has established a taskforce to plan for possible RDR qualification requirements, following a 60 per cent increase in individuals enrolling in diploma exams this year.

  • Client left waiting as Omo lost in the post

    28 Aug 2008

    An adviser has slammed Just Retirement for causing delays on his client's annuity transfer by not using recorded delivery to post documents.

  • CML to tackle new-build fraud

    1 Sep 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has taken steps to stamp out the current rampant fraud problem in the UK new-build sector.

  • Commission deal for small pension pots

    28 Aug 2008

    Aegon is offering flexible remuneration on annuities to encourage clients with smaller pension funds to seek advice.

  • Compulsory or voluntary?

    1 Sep 2008

    We are moving from a compulsory pensions system to a voluntary one. Unfortunately for them, many people will be offered rational reasons for not saving says Steve Bee, head of pensions strategy at Scottish Life

  • Contract or trust?

    1 Sep 2008

    After the Pensions and Finance Acts, contract-based schemes are closer to trust-based ones but there are still significant differences between the two. James Phillipps assesses which structure is set to dominate

  • Corporate Adviser Awards 2009 opens for entries

    1 Sep 2008

    The Corporate Adviser Awards 2009 are now open for entries. Now in their second year, the Corporate Adviser Awards 2009, in association with Scottish Life, will celebrate those advisers and providers that have brought real innovations to the field of workplace financial services that have been shown to be valued by both employers and employees.

  • Crunch time for age discrimination

    1 Sep 2008

    Initial implementation of the 2006 age discrimination regulations went relatively smoothly. Two years on Edmund Tirbutt finds employers are only now starting to count the costs

  • Cyber-Ark warns 88% of IT workers would steal information if made redundant

    27 Aug 2008

    Software firm Cyber-Ark says its research suggests 88 per cent of IT administrators would steal sensitive company information if fired or made redundant.

  • Dawnay Day Quantum completes MBO

    28 Aug 2008

    Dawnay Day Quantum, the structured products provider has completed a management buyout of the company’s entire shareholding from Dawnay Day International.

  • DB going the way of the dodo

    28 Aug 2008

  • DB plans risk a rerun of debacle

    28 Aug 2008

    Government proposals to shore up defined-benefit schemes risk repeating the scandal over endowment mortgages by creating a gap between customer expectations and reality, warns Standard Life.

  • Domestic science

    28 Aug 2008

    Being an investor in UK equities is not much fun at the moment. The credit crunch is having a real impact on the domestic economy and people are becoming more cautious.

  • DWP u-turn on personal accounts exemption threatens existing schemes says Standard

    28 Aug 2008

    Hopes of preventing damage to UK workplace pensions following the introduction of the Government's latest savings initiative in 2012 have suffered a major setback after civil servants abandoned talks with the industry aimed at setting a simple benchmark for exempted schemes says Standard Life.

  • Employers have no intention of introducing risk-sharing, says DWP study

    1 Sep 2008

    Employers have no plans to introduce risk-sharing to their pension provision, a qualitative study by the Department of Work and Pensions has found.

  • Excessive regulation alarms Aon

    1 Sep 2008

    Aon Consulting is warning that unnecessary regulation around DB transfers could sound the death knell for a valuable option for scheme members.

  • Expat offering from William Russell

    1 Sep 2008

    William Russell has created an international health insurance offering for corporate clients with 50-plus expat members that allows intermediaries to design bespoke plans.

  • Expert attacks Government “tinkering”

    2 Sep 2008

    A leading housing expert has attacked the Government’s ‘housing rescue package’ for not doing enough to meet the current problems in the UK housing market.

  • F&C’s Scott cools fears over Rock repeat

    28 Aug 2008

    F&C UK growth and income manager Ted Scott has rubbished fears that others UK banks could collapse in the same fashion as Northern Rock.

  • Fat cat pension pots reach 3m in 2007

    2 Sep 2008

    Despite corporate cost cutting in the wake of the credit crunch, pension contributions for directors are on the increase according to the TUC sixth annual pension survey.

  • Fee based schemes tick all the boxes

    1 Sep 2008

    Jeremy Ward, Head of Pensions Marketing, Friends Provident, gives his views on the future shape of the corporate pensions market with regard to paying for advice

  • Female divorcees to benefit from pensions legislation change

    28 Aug 2008

    Many divorcees, especially women, are set to benefit from a change to pensions legislation enacted by the Government, says Standard Life.

  • Fidelity FundsNetwork launches cash account

    28 Aug 2008

    Fidelity FundsNetwork has launched a cash account that it says will help advisers moving to customer agreed remuneration models.

  • Firms deny with-profits push

    28 Aug 2008

    Product providers have rejected claims that a recent surge in with-profits bond sales is the result of a marketing push.

  • Fraud Bureau may probe life and protection

    28 Aug 2008

    The Insurance Fraud Bureau may in future investigate the life and protection market in a bid to clamp down on insurance fraud.

  • Fraud costs housing associations £400m

    28 Aug 2008

    State-funded housing associations are losing £400m every year due to fraud, says accountant BDO Stoy Hayward. It says vendors have inflated the price of land and houses by as much as 20 per cent.

  • From little acorns...

    1 Sep 2008

    Investing for children makes sense for parents wanting the best possible start in life for their offspring. But Sonia Speedy finds products specifically marketed for children may not be the best option

  • FSA asks brokers for help fighting fraud

    28 Aug 2008

    The FSA has called on mortgage brokers to provide greater collaboration and help in tackling mortgage fraud.

  • FSA bans three BPS directors for non-disclosure

    2 Sep 2008

    The FSA has banned three directors of BPS Insure Limited for failing to notify the FSA of a £3m deficit in its client account.

  • FSA censures first broker in thematic review

    28 Aug 2008

    The FSA has issued the first of several censures against mortgage brokers for failing to adhere to its quality of mortgage advice processes.

  • FSA consults on PSD Handbook changes

    28 Aug 2008

    The FSA has issued a consultation paper proposing a number of Handbook changes required to implement aspects of the Payment Services Directive.

  • FSA to hold TCF seminars for compliance consultants

    29 Aug 2008

    The FSA is hosting seminars for compliance consultants aimed at providing a greater practical understanding of what the regulator expects in terms of its treating customers fairly principles.

  • FSA turns on the bat signal way too late

    29 Aug 2008

    The Financial Services Authority this week called on brokers to don their capes and masks and become mortgage fraud crime fighters.

  • FSA urged to escalate fines

    28 Aug 2008

    The FSA needs to ramp up fines for companies that treat customers unfairly, says consumer champion Mick McAteer.

  • FSSC board recruits accountancy experts

    2 Sep 2008

    The Financial Services Skills Council has appointed two new board members.

  • GAM hires Mark Hawtin as investment director

    1 Sep 2008

    GAM has appointed Mark Hawtin as investment director to its London office.

  • Go for gold

    28 Aug 2008

    Watching the Olympics has been inspiring . There are 10,500 athletes and sportspeople in Beijing battling for international recognition and the highest accolade of a gold medal.

  • Government set to reject industry pleas over personal accounts

    27 Aug 2008

    The Government looks to have slammed the door on industry calls to change the qualifying test for personal accounts exemption, ignoring warnings the current plans could lead to mass levelling down, Money Marketing understands.

  • Government urges pensioners to claim their missing benefits

    27 Aug 2008

    The Government is urging pensioners to claim billions of pounds worth of pension credits and other benefits that they may be entitled to.

  • Government urges pensioners to claim their missing benefits

    27 Aug 2008

    The Government is urging pensioners to claim billions of pounds worth of pension credits and other benefits that they may be entitled to.

  • Govt overhauls Income Support for Mortgage Interest as part of rescue package

    2 Sep 2008

    The Department of Work and Pensions is to revamp its highly criticised Income Support for Mortgage Interest scheme.

  • Guinness firm opens first fund

    28 Aug 2008

    Iveagh, the company created to manage the Guinness family assets, has launched its first retail fund. The Iveagh wealth fund is a multi-asset fund targeting annualised returns of 9.5 per cent.

  • Hargreaves blames Prime Minister for “grim market”

    27 Aug 2008

    Hargreaves Lansdown chief executive Peter Hargreaves says that the finger needs to be pointed at Gordon Brown for the grim state of the UK economy.

  • Hargreaves Lansdown beats market volatility with leap in profits

    27 Aug 2008

    Hargreaves Lansdown has announced a 42 per cent increase in underlying profit for the financial year.

  • Healthy optimism

    1 Sep 2008

    There are grounds for optimism in the industry as autumn approaches

  • Helm Godfrey reveals profit drop and acquisition talks

    1 Sep 2008

  • Henderson chief executive to step down

    28 Aug 2008

    Henderson chief executive Roger Yates is stepping down after 10 years passing the role on to head of equities Andrew Formica.

  • HFM Columbus appoints Tony Gordon as non executive director

    1 Sep 2008

    HNW wealth manager HFM Columbus has appointed Tony Gordon as a non executive director.

  • HMRC urged to restrict Qrops' advice

    28 Aug 2008

    Abbey Expatriate Services has written to the Government calling for advice on transferring UK pensions overseas to be restricted to UK-regulated advisers.

  • House prices down 10.5% in a year

    28 Aug 2008

    House prices have fallen by 10.5 percent since 2007, the biggest annual fall in nearly two decades.

  • How can MVR be applied to terminal bonus?

    28 Aug 2008

    I am mostly in agreement with Peter Hargreaves' remarks regarding with-profits bonds. I have not recommended them for years and cannot imagine a set of circumstances that would convince me to do so.

  • Howling at the moon

    28 Aug 2008

    Reports indicate insurance bond sales have fallen in the first half of this year. Some life offices have seen falls of over 50 per cent and the claim is that this devastation has been caused by the changes to capital gains tax introduced in April.

  • HSBC targets SMEs with key cover

    28 Aug 2008

    HSBC Life is offering life and critical-illness cover up to 1m to small and medium-sized enterprises under its business protection plan, along with accident and sickness cover, provided the individual is a keyperson aged 65 or under.

  • IFA calls for policy to be deferred rather than auto-vested

    28 Aug 2008

    An IFA is calling for Abbey Life to amend its policies on vesting pensions so if clients fail to contact the company by their retirement date, their policy defers rather than being auto-vested.

  • ifs School of Finance to offer LTC qualification

    1 Sep 2008

    The ifs School of Finance is set to offer the Certificate in Long Term Care Insurance, with registration opening in November.

  • In the buffer zone

    28 Aug 2008

    I am worried that we are in recessionary times and I may lose my job. Am I right to be worried and what I should do to prepare financially?

  • Income revival

    28 Aug 2008

    At the time, I thought it was a great little news story. "IFA darling Invesco Perpetual sales slump" was the gist of it back in late 1999 as the technology boom embraced just about every investor alive.

  • Insurers may quit market if price war rages on

    28 Aug 2008

    Friends Provident and Bright Grey are warning that more protection providers will leave the IFA market unless the price war eases.

  • Investec expands Swiss team

    29 Aug 2008

    Investec Bank has appointed Philipp Schmahl as senior investment practitioner to its bank in Switzerland.

  • Investec unveils third series of structured products

    28 Aug 2008

    Investec Structured Products has launched a third series of structure product plans.

  • JO Hambro adds second Japan fund to range

    1 Sep 2008

    JO Hambro Capital Management has launched a second Japanese offering under the management of Scott McGlashan and Ruth Nash.

  • JOHCM fund manager Willem Vinke departs

    1 Sep 2008

    JOHambro Capital Management fund manager Willem Vinke is to leave the firm after six years.

  • Jones to run New Star's international operations

    28 Aug 2008

    New Star has appointed Greg Jones as managing director of its international fund business.

  • July mortgage lending down 71% year-on-year

    1 Sep 2008

    Lending on property fell by 71 per cent in July year-on-year to just £4.3 billion.

  • Keep up the pressure on pensions

    28 Aug 2008

    The Conservatives' back-room policy scribes have been busy this summer drafting Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's Unfair Britain dossier.

  • L&G extends immediate protection cover

    1 Sep 2008

    Legal & General has extended the cover on its immediate protection cover facility from 30 to 60 days and doubled business critical illness cover to £1m.

  • L&G says WP can help to meet longevity risk

    28 Aug 2008

    With-profits annuities will become a more attractive alternative to conventional annuities, predicts Legal & General.

  • Lack of backing means mortgage study faces axe

    28 Aug 2008

    Cicero Consulting says it will almost certainly have to shelve plans for a £100,000 study into the effect of Government inaction on the mortgage market after a lack of lender support.

  • Lending trend to go on falling

    28 Aug 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders believes that further falls in mortgage lending are on the way after gross lending figures for July showed a 27 per cent drop from last yearGross mortgage lending was £24.8bn last month compared with £34.2bn in July 2007, although there was a small rise from £23.6bn in June this year.

  • Lib Dems accuse Prime Minister of "bribing" electorate

    2 Sep 2008

    The Liberal Democrats have created their own eight-point plan to help the struggling housing market as they accuse Gordon Brown of bribing people into buying homes.

  • Lifestyle choice for Simply Biz and Compliance First

    28 Aug 2008

    F&C's lifestyle fund range has been added to SimplyBiz and Compliance First's capital reward schemes.

  • Listing pressure sees IFAs seek providers' cash

    28 Aug 2008

    Friends Provident managing director of UK sales and marketing Simon Clamp says the burden of being stockmarket-listed has been one of the drivers behind IFA firms seeking investment from providers.

  • Loan star

    28 Aug 2008

    The introduction from October 9, 2007 of the transferable nil-rate band for married couples and civil partners, coupled with remarks made by the Conservatives about increasing the nil-rate band or abolishing inheritance tax, have caused some clients to think again about the need for IHT planning.

  • Longevity seen as biggest factor in planning

    28 Aug 2008

    Advisers believe that increasing longevity is the biggest concern when recommending retirement strategies, ahead of stockmarket volatility and rising inflation.

  • LV= acquires Highway Insurance for £150m

    28 Aug 2008

    LV= has bought Highway Insurance for £150m as part of its plans to expand its proposition in the general insurance market.

  • LV= deepens ties with Intrinsic

    27 Aug 2008

    LV= is deepening its ties with Intrinsic Financial Services by setting up a new partnership to promote its flexible lifetime mortgage.

  • Matthews questions third way annuities

    1 Sep 2008

    Incoming Friends Provident group chief executive officer Trevor Matthews has questioned the sustainability of so-called third way annuities, saying the UK's sensitivity to fund charges may be a stumbling block.

  • Millions of direct applicants are rejected for mortgages

    28 Aug 2008

    Almost 500,000 direct mortgage applicants had to apply four or more times to be accepted in the last 18 months, claims GE Money Home Lending.

  • Morrell heads UK and Mena at HSBC

    28 Aug 2008

    HSBC Global Asset Management has picked Guy Morrell as the new head of its multi-manager business for the UK, Middle East and North Africa.

  • Mortgage costs to rise by £500m as fixed rates end

    28 Aug 2008

    Mortgage costs could increase by over £500m in the next six months, according to research from Impartial.co.uk.

  • 'Mortgage staff face a struggle to find cover'

    28 Aug 2008

    British Insurance claims that Bradford & Bingley employees are "no longer insurable" and warns that other workers in the mortgage market may no longer be able to get unemployment cover.

  • Moving target

    28 Aug 2008

    Analysing the multi-manager universe this month reveals some clear trends, with absolute return and target return managers receiving a lot of attention.

  • MSIM launches new Ucits III fund

    1 Sep 2008

    Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched a new diversified alpha plus fund.

  • Narrow view missed the strengths of paraplanners

    28 Aug 2008

    If Mr Reid would like to take the trouble to contact me, I will be only too pleased to discuss what strengths a qualified paraplanner can bring to an IFA business and hopefully dismantle his narrowly held views.

  • Network Data in merger talks with small network

    28 Aug 2008

    Network Data has revealed it is in exclusive talks to merge with another network.

  • New Star profits slump 44%

    29 Aug 2008

    New Star has revealed a 44 per cent drop in operating profits for the first half of 2008.

  • NHFA helps set up website on care

    28 Aug 2008

    Specialist elderly care IFA NHFA has launched a website with Help the Aged and other organisations to help educate people about elderly care.

  • Non-conforming arrears rise to hit a record 23%

    28 Aug 2008

    Arrears levels of non-conforming residential mortgage-backed securities rose to a record 23.31 per cent in the second quarter of this year, with Rooftop and GMAC-RFC seeing particu- larly big increases.

  • OBSR expands research and support teams

    28 Aug 2008

    Old Broad Street Research has made three appointments to its research and support teams.

  • Open up to FSA

    28 Aug 2008

    Informed Choice joint managing director Nick Bamford relates his experiences of having FSA staff to work on secondment in his offices in this week's issue.

  • Osborne calls on Darling to halt UK company tax exodus

    29 Aug 2008

    Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne has written to the chancellor Alistair Darling calling on him to halt the tax exodus of UK companies.

  • Park Row records £1.6m losses

    29 Aug 2008

    Park Row, the distribution arm of the Royal Liver Group, has recorded lossesof £1.6m during the first half of 2008.

  • Pawns in the game

    28 Aug 2008

    Given the gathering clouds on economic performance, shares have been remarkably resilient. As the autumn approaches and that most capricious of months, October, nears, can we be sanguine over our likely fortunes?

  • PCS survey shows deficit narrowing

    1 Sep 2008

    Pension Capital Strategies Limited (PCS) says the total buyout solvency deficit of FTSE100 schemes - the amount needed to secure members benefits in full with an insurer - has improved to an estimated £110 billion from £200 billion 12 months ago.

  • Pension Insurance Corporation wins tender for UK Can

    2 Sep 2008

    Pension Insurance Corporation has won the tender to provide the pensions to members of the UK Can pension plan.

  • Pensioners face 9% inflation, says Alexander Forbes

    1 Sep 2008

    Inflation has reached 9 per cent on average for pensioners with rises in food, energy, fuel and council tax, according to research by Alexander Forbes Annuity Bureau.

  • Pensioners lose up to £10k due to annuity transfer delays, says Virgin Money

    1 Sep 2008

    Pension savers risk losing as much as £10,000 because of delays in transferring funds into retirement income, according to a warning from Virgin Money.

  • PMI rebounds on the back corporate market says Laing & Buisson report

    1 Sep 2008

    The corporate market has been the key driver behind an increase in the extent of coverage of private medical insurance last year according to the 2008 Laing & Buisson report.

  • Polar joins Skandia's best ideas team

    28 Aug 2008

    Polar Capital has replaced Threadneedle in Skandia's UK strategic best ideas fund. The move follows the departure of Threadneedle fund manager Paul Findley in July. Polar Capital's UK equities lead manager Phil Hardy will run its share of Skandia's 102m fund.

  • Poll shows Car could drive out advisers

    28 Aug 2008

    Seventeen per cent of advisers will move to a sales model if customer-agreed remuneration becomes mandatory and 11 per cent will leave the industry, according to Standard Life research.

  • PPF chief exec Partha Dasgupta to stand down

    28 Aug 2008

    Pension Protection Fund chief executive Partha Dasgupta has announced that he will leave the role in June 2009.

  • Premier hires hedge fund specialist

    29 Aug 2008

    Premier Asset Management has appointed hedge fund specialist Chris Wright to its premier dividend fund.

  • Prestbury to look at consolidations

    28 Aug 2008

    Prestbury chief executive Lee Birkett says he is considering potential consolidations with other networks after winning an EGM vote to retain his job.

  • Public mystified by disclosure details, says Pru's life chief

    28 Aug 2008

    Disclosure documents designed to protect consumers often leave them more confused, Prudential managing director of UK life and pensions Gary Shaughnessy has claimed.

  • PwC report suggests DB pension provision collapse is increasing

    1 Sep 2008

    The exodus from defined benefits pension provision is accelerating according to a new report carried out by PwC Human Resource Services.

  • PYV links liabilities in one plan

    28 Aug 2008

    PYV has brought out a management liability portfolio plan for advisers and mortgage brokers which combines covers for claims made by the Government, regulators, employees and shareholders.

  • RDR could see advisers shun protection sales

    28 Aug 2008

    The retail distribution review could lead to advisers deserting the protection market for more profitable business, warns RGA business development manager Mick James.

  • Regulator in bunker on non-toxic sales

    28 Aug 2008

    Scaled-back regulation for non-toxic product advice is unlik- ely to be accepted by the FSA due to its "bunker mentality", warns Labour MP Andy Love.

  • Rensburg Sheppards to start apprentice scheme

    28 Aug 2008

    Rensburg Sheppards is teaming up with financial services training provider Skills Solutions to offer apprenticeships in investment administration.

  • Richard Harland joins Mourant International Finance Administration

    27 Aug 2008

    Mourant International Finance Administration has appointed Richard Harland as its new business development manager in the London office.

  • RICS sets out goals for the Government

    1 Sep 2008

    The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has set out guidelines for the Government as it calls for decisive action to save the mortgage market.

  • Rock to make 1,300 redundant

    29 Aug 2008

    Northern Rock has confirmed it is to make 1,300 staff redundant by the end of today.

  • Runners and RDRs

    28 Aug 2008

    We are approaching the final two furlongs of the RDR Grand National and the vested interests are gripping their whips ready to draw the final efforts from their tired mounts.

  • S&P to start India index

    28 Aug 2008

    Standard & Poor's plans to launch an S&P India Select index.

  • Savills profits slashed

    28 Aug 2008

    Savills has revealed a sharp decline in its underlying pre-tax profits in its half year results.

  • Scot Wids Bank posts 12% profit rise

    29 Aug 2008

    Scottish Widows Bank has revealed solid profits amidst the current financial turmoil.

  • Scottish Life re-launches salary sacrifice support material

    27 Aug 2008

    Scottish Life has re-launched a range of support material for employers and advisers to help them set up and run salary sacrifice schemes.

  • Serious Fraud Office raids pension trustee

    28 Aug 2008

    The Serious Fraud Office is investigating Money Portal's pension trustee subsidiary GP Noble after The Pensions Regulator's decision to replace it as independent trustee of 29 schemes.

  • Shared expectations

    28 Aug 2008

    The DWP consultation paper on shared-risk pension schemes explores ways of meeting the desires of both employers and employees. Are these proposed schemes good for potential members?

  • Skandia expands investment teams

    27 Aug 2008

    Skandia Investment Group has made three senior appointments to its multi manager, open and guided architecture operations.

  • Skandia to make platform compatible with CAR

    28 Aug 2008

    Skandia has revealed it is changing the charging structure of its platform to make it more compatible customer agreed remuneration.

  • Societies must merge, says KPMG

    28 Aug 2008

    KPMG predicts more building society mergers in the near future. Its Building Society Database 2008 says mergers are necessary if the 59 societies are to compete with bigger lenders.

  • Sole trader banned for transfer failings

    28 Aug 2008

    The FSA has banned sole tra- der Darrell Mark Eaden from being a senior manager after he failed to effectively monitor his pension transfer specialist, exposing customers to the risk of receiving unsuitable advice.

  • Special delivery

    28 Aug 2008

    I ask this question because there does not appear to be a day in my life when I feel that I am treated fairly as a customer. It would not take a team of researchers to tell me that we all experience underperforming services from other industries. Here are a few examples of customer service that I have experienced recently.

  • Spot the trend

    1 Sep 2008

    CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits’ Mark Coleman outlines the latest take on expatriate postings.

  • Standard targets larger corporates

    1 Sep 2008

    Standard Life Healthcare is introducing a new flexible product for the larger corporate market following its recent launch into the SME sector with its business healthcare proposition.

  • Steady 6% beats a negative 10%

    28 Aug 2008

    I refer to Peter Hargreaves' recent holier than thou rant on with-profits bond sales.

  • Stewart Ritchie

    28 Aug 2008

    Stewart Ritchie was first lauded by Money Marketing back in 1990 for saving the SSAS. At the end of 1989, it was almost curtains for most small self-administered schemes. The Tory Government's Social Security Secretary Tony Newton had decided that SSASs would not be exempted from the 5 per cent self-investment rule.

  • Tax burden for UK landlords halved by CGT reform

    29 Aug 2008

    Landlords who waited to sell their buy-to-let properties until the second quarter of this year halved their tax bill compared to those who sold before capital gains tax reform.

  • Tax gets tough

    27 Aug 2008

    Tax has never been so taxing for the Treasury and its taxpayers. This week it was announced that HM Revenue & Customs inspectors are to be granted greater powers to inspect and fine UK taxpayers.

  • Taylor takes helm at AJ Bell Pensions

    28 Aug 2008

    Richard Taylor has been appointed managing director of AJ Bell Pensions. He will be responsible for its SSAS and Sipp businesses, working alongside Charles Galbraith who is managing director of Lawshare, the firm's stockbroking arm.

  • The best kept secret in wrap

    28 Aug 2008

    It took me a while to be sold on wrap. I under-stood the benefits of fund supermarkets and had placed business with Skandia and Cofunds but what benefits did a full-blown wrap offer?

  • The bond/equity timing gamble

    1 Sep 2008

    Traditional wisdom has it that bonds are the place to be when bears stalk the markets. Paul Farrow asks whether DC scheme members should be advised to move out of equities too

  • The intern from the FSA

    28 Aug 2008

    When I told my fellow directors that the FSA was coming to visit us for three days, you will not be surprised to learn their initial reaction was not one of joy and celebration. Not that we have anything to hide from the regulator, you understand, just they felt it might be something of an intrusion on our work plans.

  • The King- size crunch

    28 Aug 2008

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King's heavy-handed rejection of proposals to help the mortgage market floated by Sir James Crosby shows there is little consensus on what needs to be done in the homeloan sector.

  • The long-distance runner

    28 Aug 2008

    First State's defensive style of running its Asia Pacific Leaders makes it a contender for being a fund for all seasonsIwould not care to estimate how many fund managers I have met over the years but the number clearly runs into hundreds. During that time, many have impressed me, many have left me ambivalent and there have been those that I considered sub-standard. I always think a true test is whether or not I have the conviction to invest my own money in a fund.

  • The numbers racket

    1 Sep 2008

    Pensions deficits are a movable feast when actuaries can choose whatever assumptions they like

  • The passing game

    28 Aug 2008

    I would like to continue my review of flexible interest in possession trusts. These were the trusts of choice for financial advisers carrying out inheritance tax planning before March 22, 2006.

  • The truth is out there

    28 Aug 2008

    Congratulations on your appointment and your first wise decision to put back the next deadline on the retail distribution review so you can have a few weeks to get to grips with a subject that your predecessors have failed to work out these past 27 regulated years. Actually, that is a bit unfair. They did once get to grips with it with a concept called polarisation but they were lobbied into scrapping that with a move called depolarisation, designed to improve bancassurer sales levels. ...

  • Thomsons Online Benefits offers real-time valuations

    1 Sep 2008

    Thomsons Online Benefits has launched a new online pension fund information service that allows employees in defined contribution schemes to obtain instant, real-time fund performance values.

  • Today's workers retiring disgracefully says Aegon report

    1 Sep 2008

    A significant shift in the way 50 to 65 year-olds are viewing retirement, with role models such as Harrison Ford and Madonna, is turning the 'baby boomers' into a generation of 'grandad-olescents', according to research from Aegon.

  • Topping up dilemma

    1 Sep 2008

    Patients topping up NHS treatment may lose their right to the NHS completely. Sam Barrett examines the rights and wrongs of the current rules

  • Tough times at estate agents

    28 Aug 2008

    Savills Estate Agents saw a 45 per cent fall in transactions in the last year. Halifax Estate Agents is axing 53 branches and 100 jobs.

  • Towergate acquires Paramount Group

    2 Sep 2008

    Towergate Financial has acquired Leeds-based financial adviser Paramount Group Limited.

  • Transact rejects third way as better for provider than client

    28 Aug 2008

    Transact has ruled out providing a variable annuity option on its platform as it believes that providers rather than consumers will be the product's biggest beneficiaries.

  • Transact to add Sipp in October

    29 Aug 2008

    Transact is adding a Sipp to the range of tax wrappers on the platform in October.

  • Treasury increases stamp duty threshold by 50K for one year

    2 Sep 2008

    The Treasury has unveiled a stamp duty holiday that will see the threshold property value lifted by £50,000 to £175,000 from tomorrow until September 2009.

  • Treating firms fairly?

    1 Sep 2008

    The FSA's treating customers fairly initiative is considered an impossibly subjective beast by many advisers and to date our principles-based regulator has refused to set down explicit rules.

  • Trigold improves insurance proposition

    27 Aug 2008

    Trigold has upgraded its insurance proposition allowing advisers to write more insurance business.

  • Trust never sleeps

    28 Aug 2008

    Ever since I began writing for Money Marketing many years ago, one word has featured in almost every serious discussion about financial services - trust.

  • UK Elderly sitting on £726bn equity

    27 Aug 2008

    Homeowners aged 65 and over still have £726.43 billion of equity in their homes.

  • US regulator a threat to capital value of corporate bonds says Aon

    1 Sep 2008

    Regulatory changes in the US are likely to reverse the fortunes of corporate bonds as a popular investment vehicle and as such could deal a blow to pension schemes according to Aon Consulting.

  • Watson Wyatt calls for more legislative freedom for new pension schemes

    28 Aug 2008

    Watson Wyatt has called for the Government to give employers more legislative freedom to design new pension schemes in its response to proposals for risk-sharing between employers and employees.

  • Winterthur bringing Sipp admin in house

    28 Aug 2008

    Winterthur is to bring Sipp administration in house as it consolidates IFA services under the new Axa & Winterthur Wealth Management banner.

  • With-profits has paid off for my clients

    28 Aug 2008

    Peter Hargreaves does not have an IFA view, he has a Hargreaves Lansdown view based on instant gratification and short-termism.

Poll

Is Mervyn King right to be concerned about Government support for the housing market?

Current Issue

Money Marketing 7 June 2012


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