Money Marketing
27 February 2002

  • 'Cut out pint of beer for a better pension'

    28 Feb 2002

    Current levels of pension savings will leave people with a retirement income of less than £4,000 a year, according to research from HSBC. The company found that 68 per cent of people with a pension plan are contributing less than £100 a month and 24 per cent are only saving £50 or more. It says this will provide a retirement income of just £3,962 a year for a 30-year-old hoping to retire at 60. The aim of the research was to find out what people hope ...

  • 50,000 stakeholder sales in January

    5 Mar 2002

    There were 53,991 stakeholder policies sold during January, with just over 5,000 new employer designations according to the latest ABI sales figures. The results increase the total stakeholder sales to 685,379 from 631,388 as they stood at the end of December. The total designations grew 5,090 to 316,811 at the end of January from 311,721 in December.

  • 64% of managed funds fail to beat FTSE All Share

    28 Feb 2002

    Almost two-thirds of actively managed investment funds failed to outperform the FTSE All Share index last year, according to a survey commissioned by Virgin Money. The report by consultancy The WM Company found that 167 out of 260 active funds - 64 per cent - were beaten by the index before initial charges in 2001. In 2000, this figure stood at 48 per cent. Virgin says the results show there is no evidence of consistent outperformance among active funds, despite claims that they ...

  • A change of course

    28 Feb 2002

    It is now generally accepted that the FSA intends to depolarise the retail financial services market in one form or another. Despite the prevailing caution among the industry, the good news is that, in a market without the constraints of polarisation and the better than best rule, incredible opportunities can open up for advisers. Those who accept the changes can look forward to increasing their revenues, growing and reshaping their businesses and earning a higher degree of prof-essional ...

  • A consumer's view

    28 Feb 2002

    Could we be seeing a change of tack from the regulators?If so, it could explain the enthusiasm for depolarisation at the FSA. As soon as the Financial Services Act 1986 came into being, it became apparent that events were not turning out entirely as planned. What the Government wanted, and expected, from regulation was a massive rationalisation of retail financial services. It hoped to end up with a few big firms - pref-erably 15 or 20 life companies and bancassurers - which were ...

  • Abbey National - Safety Plus Growth Issue 6

    1 Mar 2002

    Friday March 1, 2002Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£500,000, Isa £1,000-£7,000Term: Five yearsGuarantee: Capital returned in full along with 20 per cent growth at end of termReturn: Capital along with up to 60 per cent growthClosing date: April 27, 2002 Commission: NoneTel: 0800 302030

  • Abbey National pins safety on growth

    28 Feb 2002

    Abbey National has introduced safety plus growth issue 6, a guaranteed equity bond that is linked to the FTSE 100 index over a five-year term.

  • Abbey, HSBC and Halifax stand firm over dual pricing

    28 Feb 2002

    Abbey National, Halifax and HSBC are refusing to follow Nationwide's lead to compensate all borrowers affected by dual pricing on variable mortgages following the financial ombudsman's ruling. Nationwide is calling on the ombudsman to take complaints further by involving the FSA where it feels individual cases may have wider implications. It believes there are another three million borrowers being unfairly treated. But the banks say they will stick to their guns by only ...

  • Aegon aims to be top 10 player in IFA market

    28 Feb 2002

    Aegon Asset Management is revamping its retail fund business and product range in a bid to become a top 10 player in the IFA market in the next few years. The Dutch giant's retail fund business will this week be split into five groups, including disc-retionary sales, advisory sales, IFA sales, contact management and product strategy. They will be under the control of director of institutional business Jon Bennett, who joins Aegon's executive as part of the restructuring. Bennett's ...

  • Aegon told to rethink accounting methods

    28 Feb 2002

    Dutch insurance giant Aegon has been criticised by the Dutch government and told to reform the way it constructs its annual accounts. Aegon's unique practice smooths its profits over 30 years, in effect, acting as a giant with-profits fund in the information it gives to investors. It has been attacked for lack of transparency. Aegon is the parent company of Scottish Equitable, ScotEq International and Aegon Asset Management. In a speech last Dec-ember, Aegon executive chairman ...

  • Angry IFAs throw PI in FSA's face

    28 Feb 2002

    The spiralling costs of professional indemnity insurance are sure to provoke concern among IFAs. By most estimates, premiums have jumped by as much as 100 to 200 per cent over the last year. One of the key reasons cited by the PI underwriters is fears that the mortgage endowment review may escalate into another pension misselling crisis. PI brokers say underwriters have always viewed IFAs as a risky group to underwrite as they represent more potential hazards than they are worth. Added ...

  • Axa in bid to link up IFAs with accountants

    28 Feb 2002

    Axa Isle of Man is running a campaign to encourage UK accountants and solicitors to link up with IFAs to provide inheritance tax planning advice. The offshore arm of Axa is writing to more than 30,000 accountants and solicitors to encourage them to review their clients' IHT arrangements. Those wanting to be put in touch with an IFA will be ref-erred to IFA Promotion. Axa Isle of Man says that, with rising house prices, it is easy for individuals to have assets worth considerably ...

  • B&W splits Toisa

    27 Feb 2002

    Bristol & West has established the flexible Tessa-only Isa (Toisa) which consists of a guaranteed equity bond and a five-year fixed-rate bond.

  • Berkley frees up MPPI

    5 Mar 2002

    Berkely Alexander has introduced freesafe, a mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) product that provides six months' free cover for new borrowers.

  • Boyd on FSA board for further three years

    27 Feb 2002

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has reappointed Stewart Boyd QC to the board of the FSA for a further three years. The board is mostly made up of non-executive directors and it decides issues such as the remuneration of FSA chairman Howard Davies and the other executive directors. Brown says: "He has played an important role as head of the non-executive directors and provided a balance between the practitioner and consumer representatives on the Board." 

  • Brave the new world

    28 Feb 2002

    As the shock of the FSA proposals to scrap polarisation diminishes, now is the time for IFAs to take a step back from the furore and assess their place in the new world. Many of us share valid concerns that the new regime stands little chance of bringing about the consumer clarity that the FSA says it is looking for. Many of us also question the foundations of proposals based on consumer research which simply does not stack up. However, now is the time to put that aside and start ...

  • Brought to account

    28 Feb 2002

    The article in the February 20 edition headlined, Accounting rules pose threat to DB schemes, contained an error. FRS17 is a new accounting procedure laid down by the Accounting Standards Board, not the Inland Revenue. Stewart Tomlinson Adamson Financial Planning, Sheffield

  • BSA predicts market will remain strong

    28 Feb 2002

    Net lending by building societies rose to £569m last month from £448m in December 2001, says the Building Societies Association. The BSA says this increase is a sign that last year's strong growth in the housing market is set to continue after the Christmas break, despite gross advances falling slightly from £2.14bn to £2.11bn. In the savings market, building societies had net outflows of £348m in January, which the BSA says is partly a result of ...

  • Bungle busting or bust?

    28 Feb 2002

    As the great power struggle among providers and distributors created by CP121 continues, there is one issue which could prove deadly to many a multi-ambition. The decades-old bugbear of the IFA - poor service standards - has not gone away as this week's Money Marketing proves. At a time when everything is up for grabs, service standards will not remain a side-issue but could become fundamental to any intermediary's choice of provider in terms of what is stocked on its distributor ...

  • Capital solution to drawdown dilemma

    28 Feb 2002

    Falling interest rates and longer mortality assumptions have resulted in a gradual decline in annuity rates over the past 10 years. A widespread debate about the value of annuities in the consumer press - mostly from an extremely negative viewpoint - has raised the profile of alternative means of retirement provision, with Isas and deposit accounts frequently touted as better options. While there is no doubt that the annuity regime could benefit from considerable modernisation, it ...

  • Cazenove Investment Fund Management - UK Corporate Bond Fund

    5 Mar 2002

    Tuesday, March 5, 2002 Type: Oeic Aim: Income and growth by investing in UK corporate bonds Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000 Investment split: 100% in UK corporate bonds Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5% Tel: 0800 0159592

  • Cazenove is aiming for IFAs with new cash deal

    28 Feb 2002

    Cazenove Fund Management is to target the IFA market by introducing a new share class on its Oeics paying both initial and trail commission. The new share class has been added to each of its Oeic sub-funds paying initial commission of 3 per cent and renewal of 0.5 per cent. All funds will have an initial charge of 3.5 per cent while the annual charge will be 1.5 per cent for equity funds, and 1 per cent for fixed-interest funds. The move will open up more than a dozen funds ...

  • Clerical doubles money in pension projection blunder

    28 Feb 2002

    Clerical Medical has sent out incorrect pension valuations to over 2,500 policy- holders, telling them their funds were worth more than double the real value. The error saw Clerical write to 3 per cent of its 95,000 personal pension policyholders. One policyholder saw his pension fund plummet by 140 per cent in two months. He was told in December that his pension fund was worth £120,000 but two months later Clerical wrote again, valuing it correctly at £50,000. Franklins ...

  • Climb on the ladder

    28 Feb 2002

    Almost on a weekly basis, there seems to be a reminder of just how much the value of property has increased over a relatively short period of time. The latest Halifax house price index shows the average UK property is valued at £100,400, rising to £175,900 in Greater London. Among those already owning property, this information is very welcome and homeowners are no doubt congratulating themselves on their foresight in buying when they did. However, a growing number of ...

  • Close Brothers Investment - English Country Inns

    28 Feb 2002

    Thursday, February 28, 2002 Aim: Growth by investing in public houses south of the M4 Minimum investment: Lump sum £2,100 Opening/closing date: January 29, 2002/May 31, 2002 Charges: Initial 5.95%, annual 2.8% Commission: Initial 2.5% Tel: 020 7426 4315

  • CMIM announces marketing appointment

    4 Mar 2002

    Clerical Medical Investment Management has announced the recruitment of David Holloway as marketing campaign manager.

  • Consumers will be the losers, say 92% of advisers

    28 Feb 2002

    Ninety-two per cent of IFAs think consumers will be worse off following the FSA's proposed changes to polarisation, with only 6 per cent believing the public will benefit. The finding comes des-pite the FSA consistently maintaining that consumers will benefit most from the changes. The numbers did not vary depending on region or income, with independent advisers from all parts of the country earning varying amounts claiming that the changes will almost certainly have a detrimental ...

  • Corporate bonds outperforming equities

    28 Feb 2002

    UK corporate bonds outperformed equities by almost 20 per cent in 2001, according to the latest Barclays Capital equity-gilt study. Corporate bonds returned an average of 6 per cent for the last calendar year compared with average equity returns of -13.8 per cent, gilt returns of 0.6 per cent and cash returns of 4.8 per cent. However, property was the year's top-performing asset class with a return of 6.4 per cent. Despite persistent equity outperformance during the 1990s, ...

  • CP121 represents an example of FSA's ignorance

    28 Feb 2002

    Like many, I await clarification of the exact nature of the defined-payment structure and the role of an authorised adviser, as well as the Inland Revenue's input on whether a multi-tied adviser can be self-employed or whether they have to be employed under IR35. One thing that does seem to be lost is the issue of representation. As an IFA,I represent my client. I have no responsibility to any life office whatsoever. Does the FSA understand this defining principle? I have my doubts ...

  • Demolition day?

    28 Feb 2002

    Will the Financial Ombudsman Service's recent ruling against dual pricing by Halifax, Nationwide and Abbey National destroy competition and product innovation in the mortgage market or do you support the ruling? Cherry: As a lender that from day one has had totally transparent interest rates tied to Libor, SPML welcomes the ombudsman's ruling. Supporting the ruling does not entail a position opposing competition and product innovation. Fair treatment and clarity to all customers ...

  • Don't drag down drawdown

    28 Feb 2002

    The most disappointing aspect of the Inland Revenue's Modernising Annuities paper is the rejection of the possibility of lifting the age limit for buying an annuity. Indeed, the comments in the paper leave the impression that policymakers believe there is no way a higher age limit can work. In many respects, you are left with the impression that during the initial consultation process the Inland Revenue has been bombarded with some very prejudiced and ill-informed views on the ...

  • Dual to the death

    28 Feb 2002

    So lenders are being "greedy and unfair" again? All lenders are out to rip off the consumer and do so shamelessly? The recent ombudsman ruling on dual pricing has sparked off the usual round of pejorative stories from some sections of the press regarding their great "Satan" - the financial services industry generally and, in this particular instance, mortgage lenders. For years, the mortgage industry has competed for new business through incentives to attract new borrowers to the ...

  • DWP outlines new MFR reforms

    27 Feb 2002

    The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the next step in the reform of the minimum funding requirements. Changes include extending the time limit schemes have to make up deficits and introducing stricter conditions when a scheme is wound-up voluntarily. Annual recertification for schemes that pass the MFR test is to be scrapped and the MFR’s market value adjuster will be lowered to recognise current market conditions and dividend payouts. 

  • First National restructures business

    1 Mar 2002

    First National Bank is restructuring its business, integrating its motor and retail units that will be brought together as one intermediary-facing operation.

  • First time for Cazenove bond fund

    4 Mar 2002

    Cazenove Investment Fund Management has made its UK corporate bond fund available to the IFA market for the first time through an Isa.

  • Flexi mortgage for businesses

    28 Feb 2002

    Abbey National is offering a flexible mortgage for commercial properties. The Flexible Business Mortgage gives buyers of commercial properties such as shops, industrial units and pubs the options for lump-sum repayments, payment holidays and advances within 48 hours. Abbey says most businesses have fluctuations in their cashflow and it has designed the mortgage to help owners manage repayments through changeable periods. Business owners can take payment holidays or reduce monthly ...

  • Foot on the peddle

    28 Feb 2002

    So now we have it from the horse's mouth. After years of boasting about "qualitative" research and promotion of the "best" products, Peter Hargreaves has finally admitted his firm has never been independent but multi-tied (Money Marketing, February 14). Those of us who criticised Hargreaves Lansdown and other so-called national IFAs as product peddlers have been proved right. As CP121 relied heavily for its bias towards multi-ties on the activities of national IFAs, such as ...

  • Framlington World Cup challenge

    28 Feb 2002

    Would you like to win a Dolby wide-screen TV and Chandler Chair? Here is your last chance to get your hands on them as Framlington has teamed up with Money Marketing to keep you on the edge of your seat in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Japan & Korea. It could not be easier to enter our new competition. We have taken the eight World Cup groups and found stock indices for as many countries as we can. All you have to do is pick one country from each group, fill out the entry ...

  • Frank Field

    28 Feb 2002

    Lives: Westminster. Born: July 16, 1942. Age: 61. Education and qualifications: St Clement Danes Grammar School, Economics and politics at Hull University. Career to date: Director of the Child Poverty Action Group 1969-1979, director of Low Pay Unit 1974-1980, MP for Birkenhead since 1979, chairman of social security select committee 1990-1997, minister for welfare reform 1997-1998. Career ambition: To continue to represent Birkenhead. Life ambition: To remain ...

  • Free Standard audits to help open net to blind

    28 Feb 2002

    Standard Life is offering free audits for IFA firms seeking to upgrade their websites to create a more accessible service to the blind and partially sighted. In conjunction with the Royal National Institute for the Blind, Standard will provide a free evaluation of firms' sites and advise them on what measures they should take to make them clearer and easier to use. Standard is redesigning its sites in a bid to attract the increasing number of partially sighted people looking ...

  • FSA answers IFAs' questions on CP121

    28 Feb 2002

    Andrew Merricks, Simpsons, Brighton Q: You say that you are keen for the costs of advice to be kept separate from product costs. Particularly for fee-paying clients, is there going to be a similar separation of costs of advice and the costs to the client of compliance (money laundering, reason-why letters, etc)? A: Our proposals are that firms should be required to unbundle the cost of advice in order that consumers are aware they are buying advice as well as a product and what ...

  • FSA turning tables on fund managers

    28 Feb 2002

    Choosing an investment fund is now apparently easier than ever before. Investors need to simply log on to the FSA's comparative tables website, select one of the six available fund sectors and rank their short list in alphabetical order or in terms of charges. Past performance, risk and investment process need not play a part in the selection process because they are either irrelevant, too complicated or both. This is the world the FSA has created for investors and its simplicity ...

  • Funding for future income

    1 Mar 2002

    Low equity returns and low interest rates have contributed to a proliferation of income fund products from Gartmore, Legg Mason Investors, Investec, New Star and Jupiter.However, the income is produced in a variety of ways and ranges from high-yielding funds to those generating more moderate income and some growth. The Legg Mason Investors offering is a packaged Isa, combining two of its existing funds, the UK income unit trust and the monthly income ...

  • Gartmore shuffles Pacific and Emerging markets desk

    5 Mar 2002

    Gartmore has appointed its head of Pacific & Emerging Markets, Philip Ehrmann, as the lead manager on its Pacific Growth and Capital Strategy Asia Pacific funds.Ehrmann, who joined Gartmore in 1995, has more than 15 years experience in retail fund management.The group has also recruited Peter Dalgliesh as its Pacific & Emerging Markets Portfolio Constructor. Dalgliesh joins from Jupiter, where he was an Asian equity fund manager.

  • Gaskin takes over As BA's chief exec

    28 Feb 2002

    Former Misys IFA Services chairman and Exchange managing director Jim Gaskin is taking over as chief executive of network Burns-Anderson. Current Burns-Anderson CEO Steve Kelland is stepping down from the role but will remain as chairman. Gaskin left his job at The Exchange last November after its takeover by Marlborough Stirling. Kelland says Gaskin has been chosen for the role to take charge of the day-to-day running of the network, which has around 550 registered individuals, ...

  • GE motors on into pensions as NatMut is scrapped

    28 Feb 2002

    National Mutual is to disappear from the IFA market, having been swallowed up by new owner GE Capital, the financial subsidiary of the biggest company in the world. Only seven months after the deal was announced, National Mutual is vanishing and an enlarged GE Life takes over from April. The result is a business specialising in advicedriven pension and retirement products. For a company with a market capitalisation of £277bn and 313,000 employees in 100 companies to swallow ...

  • GE scraps National Mutual in move into over-50s market

    28 Feb 2002

    The National Mutual brand is to disappear following its takeover by GE Capital, with a new GE Life business being created for the advice-led over-50s market. The new enlarged GE Life will be launched at the beginning of April and it will be offering NatMut's income-drawdown and self-invested personal pensions' expertise alongside its annuities, guaranteed bonds and equity-release products. It aims to become a major player in the IFA channel and is also planning to introduce ...

  • Government defeated on annuity bill for second time

    28 Feb 2002

    The Government has been defeated at the Committee Stage of Conservative MP David Curry's private member annuity reform bill with the Labour chairman of the committee voting against the Government.

  • Heath quits Portfolio to expand Impartial

    28 Feb 2002

    IFA stalwart Garry Heath is quitting as managing director of Bankhall subsidiary Port-folio Member Services to become chairman of financial services consultancy and media group Impartial. Impartial was set up last summer by Heath and former IFA Portfolio managing director Mike Owen, targeting IFAs and life offices as clients. Heath will now take a hands-on role developing the business, with Owen as managing director. Heath says the firm will introduce a number of initiatives for ...

  • Heath warns of multi-ties orphaning millions

    28 Feb 2002

    Former head of the IFA Association Garry Heath is warning that millions of consumers will be "orphaned" because of an advice black hole if IFAs are forced to multi-tie with the scrapping of polarisation. Heath, speaking out for the first time since leaving IFA support group PMS and becoming Impartial financial consultancy chairman, warns that the FSA's CP121 plans may leave many IFAs with no alternative but to rebrand or repackage. He criticises the proposals for shedding no ...

  • Hunt wants more time to talk on polarisation

    28 Feb 2002

    Aifa chairman Lord Hunt of the Wirral has called for the polarisation reform consultation period to be extended, saying the FSA's timetable is unrealistic. In a letter to FSA chairman Howard Davies, Lord Hunt says the short time that the FSA has set aside for consultation and implementation of reforms shows it is underestimating the scale of change it is proposing. He has asked for the consultation to be extended until the end of May and for the FSA to rule out suggestions in ...

  • IHT and non-UK domiciled spouses

    28 Feb 2002

    It is quite a long time since I have seen any articles in the trade press regarding trans-fers of value to a non-UK domiciled spouse for inheritance tax purposes. This is an important subject where relevant as, with the cosmopolitan members of the population of the UK, there are more and more marriages between UK and non-UK domiciles. The rules where a "non-domiciled" wife automatically took the domicile of her UK-domiciled husband at the time of the marriage have long gone. As ...

  • Independent view - Tony Byrne

    28 Feb 2002

    Have you heard the one about the IFA who advised a deferred member of the Iceland final-salary pension scheme to transfer his benefits into a withprofits personal pension with Norwich Union 10 years ago, saw the case reviewed under the pension review and had to pay thousands of pounds in "compensation"? Now that Iceland has closed its final-salary pension scheme to existing as well as deferred members, do we take this to mean that the scheme has become unaffordable and unsustainable ...

  • Industry demand for 'more details please'

    28 Feb 2002

    More than six weeks after CP121 was published there is still a feeling throughout the industry of not knowing what the whole thing is really about. Much has been said, written, debated and argued about what exactly is the motivation behind what the FSA is trying to achieve and there is little approaching a consensus of opinion over many of the issues. Providers, IFAs and trade bodies are calling upon the FSA to release more details about its plans so that they may begin to make ...

  • Inside edge - Andrew Bedford

    28 Feb 2002

    Another depressing weekend for Leeds United, with a 0-0 draw with Charlton. What has caused the deterioration since the start of the year? Life goes on. It could be worse, I could support Leicester City. However, to less interesting but easier things such as CP121. There is no value in the term independent. Now, I bet that has got your attention and no doubt the attention of my network management colleagues as well. But, please, before you email me with your "angry from angryplace" ...

  • Insurance and banking - like oil and water

    28 Feb 2002

    Several years ago members of the Chartered Insurance Institute thwarted a move by the Institute of Bankers to take over the CII by the back door. For years a number of industry personalities have been pointing out that the bankers wanted our market place, our clients and the insurance companies' money. "Coalescence" is the last thing that insurance needs with bankers. They are an entirely separate breed with entirely separate principals and motivating forces. Banking and insurance ...

  • Inter-Alliance ends Lincoln legal fight

    28 Feb 2002

    Inter-Alliance has dropped its £35m law suit against Lincoln Financial Group, with both sides paying their own costs in an out of court settlement. Inter-Alliance chief executive Keith Carby, who took over last month, has moved quickly to settle the litigation over a former Lincoln property, started by his predecessor Stuart McGreevy. Carby says the case should never have been brought and settling will mean Inter-Alliance will not risk paying Lincoln's costs. The deal ...

  • Investing guide from Wesleyan

    27 Feb 2002

    Wesleyan Assurance Society is producing a guide to investing aimed at helping consumers through the range of products available.

  • Investment analysis

    28 Feb 2002

    It was a mixed week for global markets, with most falling on continuing concern about corporate debt levels and accounting practices. The representative FTSE World index finished 1.7 per cent lower, although both the Dow and Nikkei 225 gained ground. In the US, the markets were inconsistent throughout the week. On Thursday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since late October while the Dow briefly edged past the 10,000 level. Earlier in the week, accounting jitters ...

  • Investment update

    28 Feb 2002

    Britannic Asset Manage-ment is offering a 1 per cent discount on its four global sector funds until April 30. The discount will take the initial charge on the global healthcare, global technology, global resources and global financials funds to 4.25 per cent from 5.25 per cent. The funds have an annual charge of 1.5 per cent. Minimum investment limit is £500. Commission is 3 per cent with 0.5 per cent renewal. Exeter Fund Managers is offering a 1.5 per cent discount on the ...

  • Investment view

    28 Feb 2002

    It looked very much like touch and go last week. For all I know, by now we may already have gone. The FTSE 100 index was drifting back towards 5,000 as the week drew to a close. Bears were in the ascendancy and it was starting to become all too believable that any breakout would be on the downside. Wall Street came to a brief and somewhat inconclusive rescue mid-week but even the mighty US began to look tired. Would we live to fight another day? If so, for how long? Unless anything ...

  • Investors 'wasting £150m a year' on management fees

    28 Feb 2002

    Legal & General claims that investors are wasting up to £150m a year in management fees paid to active funds which come closer to tracking rather than beating their indices in terms of performance. Research from L&G says retail investors have around £60bn in UK actively managed funds with annual charges of 1 per cent or more. Many funds, in the current economic climate, are not producing better returns than the index they aim to beat. If half of this money were ...

  • Isa lolly melts away

    28 Feb 2002

    It was not supposed to be like this. For over a decade, we have thought of the Isa season, and the Pep season before it, as the time of year that put the fun into fund marketing. The rules were simple. You spent a ton of money on advertising, direct marketing and so forth, which is good fun in itself, and then you collected large numbers of cheques, which is the best fun of all. But this year's Isa season does not feel much like fun. It feels like one of those horribly difficult ...

  • Isis technology VCT axed as it falls short of target

    28 Feb 2002

    Isis technology became the third VCT to be pulled from the market in less than a month on Monday, having raised just £309,000 since it was set up four months ago. The fund, which had aimed to raise £25m, was one of only two remaining VCTs not to have reached its minimum subscription and should be the last offering to be pulled in this tax year. Teather & Greenwood's Aim VCT has so far raised £900,000 of its £1m minimum and says it is confident it will ...

  • Jersey and Guernsey fall into line

    27 Feb 2002

    Jersey and Guernsey will no longer be listed as unco-operative tax havens by the OECD after both have agreed to address their tax practices.In June 2000 both Crown Dependencies were identified as tax havens by the international body. Both Jersey and Guernsey have undertaken to improve the transparency of their tax and regulatory procedures and co-operate with the OECD by the end of 2005.

  • Julian Gibbs

    28 Feb 2002

    The problem with tracker funds is that they guarantee to underperform their respective index. This is because there are charges, albeit low. The average charges for FTSE 100 trackers are 1.7 per cent initial and 1 per cent annual. Furthermore, because nowadays there is a constant movement of shares in and out of the index, the cost of buying and selling these shares over the years adds up to a substantial figure. The biggest unit trust tracking the FTSE 100 is that run by HSBC. Over ...

  • Jupiter chief aims to calm sale fears

    28 Feb 2002

    Jupiter chief executive Edward Bonham-Carter is striving to reassure IFAs that a change in the firm's ownership will not affect its proposition or fund performance. The move, aimed at allaying IFA fears that a new owner would lead to an exodus of personnel, follows the announcement this week by Jupiter's parent Commerzbank that Gold- man Sachs is undertaking a full review of its global asset management operations. Bonham-Carter says Jupiter's fund managers are all tied ...

  • Just 15% say they will make the move to multi-ties

    28 Feb 2002

    Only 15 per cent of IFAs are considering multi-tying their businesses following the publication of CP121 in Jan-uary, research by Orc Inter-national has found. The survey also reveals that 69 per cent of respondents are not interested in any type of tie-up for their business. A quarter of advisers working from a national IFA head office say they would consider making the move to multi-ties. However, for other types of IFAs, the numbers range from 12 per cent to 19 per cent ...

  • Keydata Investment Services - Secure Growth Portfolio 3

    5 Mar 2002

    Tuesday, March 5, 2002 Type: Guaranteed growth bond Minimum-maximum investment: £3,000-no maximum Term: Five years Charges: Implicit Return: Up to 200% of average growth in HSBC UK growth & income, JPMorgan Fleming premier equity growth, New Star UK growth, Newton income, Norwich Union European equity and Threadneedle American select growth Guarantee: Choice of 80%, 90% or 100% of capital returned in full at end ...

  • Keydata strikes three times

    5 Mar 2002

    Keydata Investment Services has introduced a third issue of secure growth portfolio. It differs from previous versions by offering capital protection at the lower level of 80 per cent.

  • Launder rules cleaned up

    28 Feb 2002

    The UK offshore crown dependencies are strengthening their anti-money laundering rules in a bid to protect their financial centres from criminals, terrorists and corrupt governments. Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man want banks and other institutions to carry out "proper" due diligence on clients even if they have been referred to them by another company. Institutions will have to carry out a progressive risk programme to update the records of accounts. A number of other ...

  • Legal & General cuts bonuses

    1 Mar 2002

  • Legal teams bid to aid IFAs on depolarisation

    28 Feb 2002

    Commercial law firm TLT has set up a specialised legal team to help IFAs through the shake-up of their businesses amid the polarisation reforms. The Bristol firm plans to make the service available nationally, with four or five partners with different specialities on board. The team will offer legal guidance areas including compliance and training, dispute resolution, employment considerations and mergers and acquisitions. TLT says the FSA's polarisation reforms will be ...

  • Liverpool Victoria - Max

    1 Mar 2002

    Friday, March 1, 2002 Type: Unitised with-profits endowment Aim: Growth by investing in the Liverpool Victoria with-profits fund Minimum sum assured/premium: £4,500/£50 a month, £600 a year Minimum-maximum term: 10 years Fund links: With-profits Charges: Initial charge version - initial subject to negotiation, annual implicit. Level charge version - annual 0.32% Options: Waiver of premium Commission: ...

  • Liverpool Victoria annuity steps into with-profits

    1 Mar 2002

    LIVERPOOL VICTORIA FRIENDLY SOCIETYWITH PROFITS PENSION ANNUITYType: With-profits annuityMinimum investment: Lump sum £7,500Minimum age: 50Income frequency: Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annuallyCharges: ImplicitOptions: Can be converted from with-profits to conventional annuity on annuitant's deathCommission: Initial 1 per centTel: 0845 6020690The panel: John Bumford, Client manager, Gee & Company, ...

  • Mad decision

    28 Feb 2002

    Under the new depolarisation proposals by the FSA, how can it be that those advisers who wish to remain independent will not be free to offer their clients the choice between fees or commission while those who are tied will have the "independence" to charge either? Has the whole world gone mad or is it just me? Clive Matthews Inter-Alliance, Fareham, Hampshire

  • MBO emerging as an option for R&SAI staff

    28 Feb 2002

    Senior managers at Royal & Sun Alliance Investments are believed to be considering a management buyout if a strategic buyer cannot be found. The managers are believed to be concerned that many of the potential suitors for the company - thought to include Aegon, Aberdeen and Friends Ivory & Sime - may seek to strip the company of its assets and jettison high-ranking staff. But rather than take the risks of a MBO, they are thought to prefer a buyer who would take a strategic ...

  • Message missionary

    28 Feb 2002

    When the FSA asked IFAs for feedback on its first depolarisation consultation (CP80), just 37 firms bothered to put pen to paper. This time round more is at stake and it is no good complaining about it if you are not prepared to make your thoughts known. Sofa has written an independent guide on how to get your views across. Nobody else is going to stand up for you if you are not prepared to do it for yourself. Since January, the news and letters pages have been full of CP121. ...

  • Most homeowners have no CI cover

    27 Feb 2002

    More than two thirds of homeowners have no critical illness cover to protect their mortgage, according to research from Mori on behalf Scottish Provident. Eight out of 10 have no disability cover and 77 per cent have no unemployment benefits. Around 63 per cent of mortgage-holders do have life cover, but ScotProv says the findings show many people are missing out on essential provision. 

  • Multi-tied or independent?

    28 Feb 2002

    Edward Vaizey (Money Marketing, February 7) states that IFAs working on a commission basis are effectively already multi-tied and those paid fees are (unquestionably and logically) independent. This is nonsense. Integrity and efficiency have absolutely nothing to do with the way one is paid. One only has to see the disparate results of surgeons to see that. I used to work for a national firm of accountants which was firmly fees-only. The moment the client walked through the door ...

  • Nationwide axes dual pricing after watchdog's ruling

    28 Feb 2002

    Nationwide Building Society is refunding a total of £90m to 400,000 mortgage customers affected by the Financial Ombudsman's ruling that its dual-pricing policy was unfair. In January, the ombudsman dismissed Nationwide's appeal and upheld its ruling in the case of a borrower wanting his discount mortgage to be linked to Nationwide's lower base mortgage rate of 4.74 per cent rather than the standard variable rate of 5.24 per cent. The building society has now decided ...

  • New fears over Equitable unit-linked assets

    28 Feb 2002

    The security of Equitable Life's unit-linked assets is again under question, with consulting actuaries Watson Wyatt saying it is not convinced the funds are safe in the event of insolvency. Following Watson's concerns, its clients, including Lloyds TSB, are sending transfer applications to hundreds of their members who have unit-linked AVCs with Equitable saying the future of the assets could be in doubt and that policyholders may want to consider leaving. In January, the ...

  • New look for BFS website

    28 Feb 2002

    Investment trust specialist BFS Investments is revamping its IFA website and updating its product literature in a campaign to improve its service. The new-look website, www.bfsforifas.co.uk has been made easier to navigate and now provides greater detail of holdings for trusts managed by BFS. It offers a breakdown of shares by exposure to other splits on a monthly basis. The site also features daily data on prices. BFS is making factsheets available online for its managed strategies, ...

  • Newcastle makes its mark

    1 Mar 2002

    Newcastle Building Society has brought out a second issue of the capital safe bond, a guaranteed equity bond that is linked to the FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and Eurostoxx 50 indices.

  • Newton fund manager in car crash

    27 Feb 2002

    Newton Income fund manager Robert Shelton was seriously ill in hospital this week, following a car crash on Friday. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Newton said: "We are all hoping that Robert makes a full and speedy recovery and obviously our thoughts are with him and his family at this time." 

  • No signs of Isa revival as sales fall in January

    28 Feb 2002

    The Isa season got off to a poor start in January as net retail sales of investment funds fell by almost 3 per cent from December. The figures, compiled by the Investment Management Association, formerly Autif, showed net retail sales for January fell to £621.1m from £637.5m in December and from £1.1bn in January 2001 - a drop of over 40 per cent over the year. Net Isa sales were down even further, falling by 47 per cent on last January to £275.6m from £517m. IFAs

  • Northern exposure

    28 Feb 2002

    Yorkshire Building Society became the latest lender to launch a flexible offset mortgage account to compete head-on with the likes of Woolwich and Intelligent Finance. The move, just days before it announced record annual results on February 12, was accompanied by its claim of being the first building society to launch an offset account allowing borrowers to combine their savings and borrowings. Yorkshire, the third-biggest building society in the UK, says the offset lets borrowers ...

  • NU claws back its 1998 commission error from IFA firm's new owner

    28 Feb 2002

    Norwich Union is unilaterally clawing back commission from the new owner of an IFA business that it had mistakenly paid nearly four years ago to the previous owner. On January 16, CFS Independent managing director Andrew Harwood received a letter from NU, saying, following an internal audit, it would claw back commission of £1,214.18 that it had mistakenly paid out twice to his firm in April 1998. But Harwood responded by saying he has no idea who the client is and that the ...

  • On the warrant path

    28 Feb 2002

    I would like to conclude my discussion of the information contained in the financial pages of the quality press by turning to a personal indulgence of mine, which I believe to be widely overlooked by most other investors - warrants. In particular, I will be looking at warrants in investment trusts, as most of the actively traded warrants on the stockmarket are in this sector. I must start by stressing that I do not believe warrants should represent a mainstay - or perhaps even a part ...

  • Open market annuity option

    28 Feb 2002

    Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society has redesigned its with-profits pension annuity to allow annuity transfers under the open market option. The Omo means annuitants can shop around for an annuity rather than staying with their existing pension provider. The previous version of Liverpool Victoria's with-profits pension annuity was only able to accept transfers from personal pensions. Now it can take transfers from other types of pension including occupational schemes and free-standing ...

  • Outside edge - Garry Heath

    28 Feb 2002

    It is a basic principle of an ordered and civilised society that those who want to change the status quo are required to explain the proposals in detail so that those who are affected can judge whether they are being off-ered progress or a return to a darker age. In proposing CP121, the FSA has singularly failed to pass this test, not only to the IFA community's satisfaction but apparently to those members of its own staff tasked with promoting the concept. My old warmongering ...

  • Over half of IFAs fear depolarisation threat

    28 Feb 2002

    More than half of IFAs fear FSA changes to polarisation will be either a very significant or significant threat to their businesses, according to a survey conducted by Orc International. In an extensive survey of IFAs' reaction to the regulator's proposed changes to polarisation carried out exclusively for Money Marketing, 56 per cent say the result will damage their businesses. The group showing most concern is single-outlet IFAs, 66 per cent of whom are worried about scrapping ...

  • Park Caledonia deal to advise Scottish players

    28 Feb 2002

    The Scottish Professional Footballers Association has picked IFA Park Caledonia as its recommended provider of financial advice to past and present members. The move will provide Caledonia, which sponsors the Scottish Youth Football Association and the youth international teams, with access to all former and existing professional players in Scotland. SPFA members will also be able to get exclusive deals and financial information through www.spfa.org.uk, launched to support the ...

  • Part-time pensioners

    28 Feb 2002

    Much of the discussion about retirement is framed in a rather gloomy way. For example, one problem is that the period of retirement for many people is getting steadily longer. A longer period after work does pose challenges for the individual. All other things being equal, someone aiming at a given income for a longer period of time has a limited number of options. They can save more of their income or they can work longer - or they can do both. One important role for the financial ...

  • Pension seminars from Wintherthur

    28 Feb 2002

    Winterthur Life is running a series of investment seminars around the UK in March on pensions and their place in financial planning. The roadshow, entitled Managing Clients' Money, aims to guide IFAs through the huge variety of funds, multi-managers and investment tools available to people investing in pensions. Investment development manager Bernard Henshall will be conducting the seminars and will focus on the importance of investment choice in pensions. He will be stressing ...

  • Planning stage

    28 Feb 2002

    Simon Shaffer recently took me to task for abrogating responsibility for inheritance tax planning as “not our job”.I would like to say, with equal conviction, that he is quite right. I shall not hide behind the old cry that I was misquoted. I failed to get my point over in such a way that a closely edited piece made sense.Wentworth Rose firmly believes in IHT planning and has a specialist department. My point was that bond trusts should not be used in place of proper will ...

  • Play a part in depolarisation summit

    28 Feb 2002

    Money Marketing this week launches the first forum designed solely to help the IFA community shape its own future. The Money Marketing G80 summit on distribution aims to bring together 80 of the most influential IFAs in the country with the key product providers for a series of workshops and panel debates aimed at finding solutions to the depolarisation challenge. Inspired by the format of the Group of Eight (G8) summits on global economic strategy, the Money Marketing Group of ...

  • Policy Portfolio offers free Tep guide

    28 Feb 2002

    Policy Portfolio is offering IFAs a free guide to cashing in end-owment policies to help clients who may have recently been made redundant. The company says significant jobs cuts are raising questions about how to fund periods of unemployment. It says many IFAs will have clients who have been compelled to liquidate some of their assets, in particular, with-profits endowment policies. According to Policy Portfolio, thousands of policyholders cash in their policies for many reasons ...

  • Porteus re-elected as Sofa chairman

    27 Feb 2002

    Sofa has re-elected John Porteous as is its chairman for the next year and appointed two new vice-chairs. Phil Billingham Associates chairman Phil Billingham and Informed Choice managing director Nick Bamford will serve as vice-chairmen for the forthcoming year, taking over from Keren Milton and Richard Anderson. Billingham has been a Sofa director since 1999 and Bamford since 2000.  

  • Premier Asset Management - Premier UK Income & Growth Plan

    27 Feb 2002

    Wednesday, February 27, 2002 Type: Closed-ended investment company Aim: Income or growth by investing in Premier equity and growth Minimum investment: Lump sum £7,000 Place of registration: Dublin Investment split: 100% in Premier equity and growth Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term provided the FTSE 100 does not fall by more than 25% Yield: Choice of 0.6% a month, 7.5% a year and 42% at end of term Isa ...

  • Premier closes as Brain misses corporate target

    28 Feb 2002

    Mortgage Brain has shut down packaging arm Premier Processing after 18 months after failing to generate enough business from corporate clients. The company set up the packager to allow customers, including Royal Liver, to outsource their mortgage business and get help in establishing themselves in the market. But Mortgage Brain director Mike Green admits the client base, which also included a number of unnamed mortgage networks, failed to submit enough cases for Premier to profit. Mortgage ...

  • Premier plan links to FTSE

    28 Feb 2002

    Premier Fund Managers is launching a new fund which offers an income of 7.5 per cent a year or 42 per cent growth over five years. The Premier UK income & growth plan is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 Index over the five-year investment period. Investors receive a full return of their original investment in addition to any income or growth as long as the index does not fall 25 per cent below the starting level. This applies even if the index falls by more than 25 ...

  • Product matters

    28 Feb 2002

    Even though death is a certainty, we are all going to spend lots of money to guard against it. Sarasin has so far been known primarily for its EquiSar fund range, the pioneer of thematic funds before they became fashionable. It is now launching the global health fund under the stewardship of Dr Irene Puttner and her experienced team. Sarasin itself has a long association with the pharmaceutical industry. Nothing touches our lives quite so poignantly as health. The impact of ...

  • Profits down at A&L

    27 Feb 2002

    Alliance & Leicester pre-tax profits for last year were down to £396 million from £447m in 2000.

  • Progress sluggish for Euro single market

    28 Feb 2002

    Rapid progress is needed if the European Union is to meet its objective of a single market for financial services in 2005, according to the "half-term" review of the EU financial services action plan last week. The plan was launched in 1999. President of the Euro-pean Commission Romano Prodi stressed the importance of achieving a single market but questioned the "overall pace of delivery of the action plan's many proposals". Speaking at the review meeting in Brussels, FSA chairman ...

  • Protection from the cold

    1 Mar 2002

    ALIGN="JUSTIFY"Luxury may describe a lead crystal flute of the finest champagne, a Rolex watch or simply a long soak in a hot bath. But, where there is no job to go to, homeowners may face the prospect of having no roof over their heads, let alone a bath to relax in, if they cannot meet their monthly mortgage repayments.Accident, sickness and unemployment mortgage protection plans, now known as mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI), can help preserve homeowners' ...

  • Schroders' profits plummet

    5 Mar 2002

    Schroders saw its post-tax profits fall by 109 per cent in 2001, to a loss of £21m from a profit of £221m in 2000.The group announced it is looking to sell the administration arm of its pensions and unit trust businesses as a cost-cutting measureChairman Peter Sedgwick blamed weak equity markets, a high expense base, and the one-off cost of long-term infrastructure projects for the dramatic fall in profits.

  • ScotEq urging IFAs to target stakeholders for children

    28 Feb 2002

    Scottish Equitable is urging IFAs not to miss out on the first stakeholder season for high-net-worth clients buying policies for spouses and children. It argues that many high-net-worth individuals who already have maximum pension provision are starting to see pensions in the same way as the annual Isa allowance. The company considers that IFA clients understand that stakeholder gives them the opportunity to contribute up to £3,600 a year, £2,808 net of tax, for children ...

  • Scottish Mutual - Income and Growth Plan 2

    4 Mar 2002

    Monday, March 4, 2002Type: Capital protected IsaAim: Income or growth by investing in Quaich Investments 2Minimum-maximum investment: £7,000-£500,000Investment choice: Dublin based companyTerm: Five years two monthsGuarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term provided the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 does not fall by more than 20% Return: Choice of 8.05% gross income a year, 1.92% gross income quarterly or 42% ...

  • Scottish Widows takes middle ground

    1 Mar 2002

    Scottish Widows has introduced the strategic income Isa, which invests in investment grade UK corporate bonds and non-investment grade European bonds.

  • Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers - Strategic Income Isa

    27 Feb 2002

    Wednesday 27 February, 2002Type: Unit trust mini or maxi IsaAim: Income by investing in UK investment grade corporate bonds and European non-investment grade corporate bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Maximum investment: £7,000Catmarked: NoInvestment choice: UK investment grade corporate bonds 70%, European non-investment grade bonds 30%Yield: 6.33% gross a yearCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual ...

  • Shattered dreams

    28 Feb 2002

    Suddenly pensions are big news. Issues that the industry have been highlighting for some time are now hitting the general consciousness. The chorus of criticism coming from so many quarters is managing to do what the Government's sheepdog failed to do - make the general public realise their assumptions about retirement income need to be changed. The thrust of New Labour's pension policy has been to throw the burden of responsibility for retirement on to the individual. This ...

  • Skandia steps up supermart war with 5% commission

    28 Feb 2002

    Skandia is raising the stakes in the IFA fund supermarket war by pledging to pay advisers up to 5 per cent commission until the end of the Isa season. The deal offers advisers the chance to take 5 per cent initial commission on all online business through its Multifunds, MultiIsa and MultiPep range until the end of the tax year or up to 4.5 per cent for any paper-based business. For IFAs that also want to take 0.5 per cent trail commission, the platform features front-end commission ...

  • Skipton 4-year stepped discount (85% LTV)

    5 Mar 2002

    Type: Discount mortgage

  • Smile joins up ethical funds

    28 Feb 2002

    Internet bank Smile has joined forces with Co-operative Bank Financial advisers to offer Smile invest ethical, a portfolio management service that packages four ethical funds from Henderson, Gerrard, Friends Provident and Norwich Union.

  • Smokers missing out on annuities

    5 Mar 2002

    Fewer than 10 per cent of smokers who would qualify for a special rate annuity are actually taking them out, according to The Annuity Bureau.It says in 2001 only 3,500 to 4,000 smokers bought smokers’ enhanced annuities from a potential 40,000 individuals who would qualify. Smokers can receive uplifts of more than 16 per cent on a standard rate.

  • Stay under cover

    28 Feb 2002

    I am in the process of selling my house and plan to move into rented accommodation for up to three years before hopefully purchasing the property of my dreams. I am reluctant to continue paying premiums to my endowment for life and critical-illness insurance while without a mortgage, other debts or family and feel that any encashment value could be better invested elsewhere. Recent coverage and criticism of endowments has made me nervous of them and any future mortgage would be on a repayment ..

  • Strength of remortgaging hides slowdown in sales

    28 Feb 2002

    Gross mortgage lending by banks and building societies fell to £13bn in January from £13.6bn the previous month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. But the figures, produced with the Department of Tran-sport, Local Government and the Regions, show that despite the usual post-Christmas decline, the value of mortgage completions was higher than the £9.5bn achieved in January 2001, mainly because of the strength of remortgaging. Loans for house purchase ...

  • Strong Pru smooths over cuts

    28 Feb 2002

    Prudential is cutting with-profits bonuses by up to 11 per cent. Reversionary bonuses on personal pensions drop to 4.5 per cent from 5 per cent and on the Pru bond to 4 per cent from 4.5 per cent. In contrast, Scottish Widows slashed bonuses on some policies last month by 33 per cent. Pru is paying out £2.8bn in bonuses despite an underlying investment return of -3.5 per cent on its with-profits fund. Sales of its with-profits bonds through IFAs rocketed by a third ...

  • Sun Bank buy-to-let discount - 4.34%

    5 Mar 2002

    Type: Buy-to-let discount

  • Sun Bank fixed buy-to-let - 4.99%

    5 Mar 2002

    Type: Buy-to-let fixed rateFixed term: To 4 May 2004Fixed rate: 4.99 per centMaximum loan to value: 75 per centMinimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: £500,000Rental income: Must be at least 130 per cent of monthly mortgage payment.Arrangement fee: £395 up to five properties, 1 per cent thereafterRedemption fee: Five per cent of advance in first five years.Introducer’s fee: NoneTel: 0845 6010763

  • Sun Bank launches buy to let range

    4 Mar 2002

    Specialist lender Sun Bank has launched a buy to let range of products including two year fixed rates from 4.99 per cent and discounted rates from 4.34 per cent.

  • Talkback

    28 Feb 2002

    Should a fund manager's investment process be ignored when choosing a fund? "No, that is just about the most important thing you have got to refer to as far as how the fund is going to perform." Scott Clayson, Professional Financial Services "No. When choosing an investment, the manager's process is part of the criteria one should use to determine if it is suitable."Keith Kennedy, Fawley Independent "No. Fund managers spend time looking at every conceivable ...

  • TBO prototype multi-tie protection deals on net

    28 Feb 2002

    TBO Corporate Benefits Consultants is setting up an online multi-tie distributor for term insurance and mortgage protection as a prototype for a full multitied adviser post-polarisation. Monevate will offer comparative quotes and straight-through processing for term and mortgage protection by June. Stakeholder and Isas will follow. Full online multi-tied advice will be offered if polarisation is scrapped. Consumers will be able to compare prices from six pro-viders selected ...

  • The choice of reason

    28 Feb 2002

    As a cynic, I believe CP121 is a done deal. But I would hope that the detail required to bring the new regime to life will be sufficiently clear to enable firms and their advi-sers to move forward. The planning needed for the new regime is going to be fundamental for each and every IFA practice. The wholesale nature of change means that, for the first time, you may be faced with offers from providers in relation to your firm. The choices you make will depend on the nature of your ...

  • Thrown into relief

    28 Feb 2002

    In recent weeks, I have been looking at the deeper tax implications of commission rebates, cashbacks and discounts. As those of you who have been following this analysis will have discovered, the basic rules are not that difficult and are largely common sense. Ordinary retail customers are not usually assessable on any benefit they receive as a result of a commission rebate, cashback or discount. IFAs who are entitled to a certain level of commission but agree to receive a lower amount ...

  • Top of the reform

    28 Feb 2002

    When the Government launched its annuity consultation this month we were surprised. Surprised that the Government demonstrated it understood the many complex issues surrounding the provision of financial services to the retirement community and surprised that most of the national press comment was hostile. What does the Govern-ment say that is so offensive? It makes its objective, quite properly in my opinion, the provision of increased secure retirement income for the growing number ...

  • Topical analysis for IFAs on net

    28 Feb 2002

    Scottish Mutual is launching an analysis and comment service on its website which will discuss topical issues facing the financial services industry. Called Gray Matter, the service is written and regularly updated by Scot Mut's pensions and investments development director Leslie Gray. He examines consultation papers from Government departments and the regulators as the main source of material and aims to present material to IFAs in an easily accessible way. The service goes ...

  • Tracking the top companies

    28 Feb 2002

    iShares, an arm of Barclays Global Investors, has brought out the iShares FTSE Eurotop 100 exchange-traded fund. This brings the number of ETFs in their range up to 12. It gives investors the chance to track the FTSE Eurotop 100 index, the largest 100 companies in Europe including the UK. The index is made up of companies such as Volkswagen, Tesco, Barclays and Nestle. ETFs are tracker funds that blend the characteristics of individual shares with that of unit trusts and investment ...

  • Treasury publishes mortgage regulation consultation

    28 Feb 2002

  • UBS axes Phillips & Drew brand

    27 Feb 2002

    UBS ditched the 100-year old Phillips & Drew brand from its UK institutional fund management arm this week, in a move to unite its subsidiaries under one global brand. P&D will now be renamed UBS Global Asset Management, with its new retail arm, set for launch in June, to run under the same name. 

  • What price for advice?

    28 Feb 2002

    IFA remuneration: structure and level The basic shape of a possible structure would be initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent, varying to initial 0 per cent, renewal 0.3 per cent. Initial remuneration is based on amounts invested, renewal on funds under management. The arguments that support this structure and the financial and other practical issues which arise, are discussed below. This is only the start of the process of validating, or otherwise, this structure. Benefits ...

  • Who will win the financial 'Oscars'?

    28 Feb 2002

    Money Marketing is holding our annual awards bash - the "Oscars" of financial services - at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 6. The event is expected to attract 1,200 guests and will be hosted by TV presenter Jonathan Ross, who will oversee the presentation of awards sponsored by product providers across the industry. Launched in 1990 to reward excellence across the financial services sector, the awards now attract over 400 entries for nine categories from IFAs, networks and ...

  • Winning back the defectors

    28 Feb 2002

    All too often, companies view a lost customer as lost forever. This is as true in financial services - where frequency of purchase is comparatively low - as anywhere. To combat this money marketers have traditionally used continuous customer acquisition programmes. IFAs and providers alike can give in to disappointment, purging customers from databases or banishing them to the regulatory "archive". There is an alternative. They can take steps to ensure that the customer comes back ...

  • Women less likely than men to seek IFAs' advice

    28 Feb 2002

    Women are making poorly informed financial decisions and are less comfortable making them than men, acc-ording to research from IFA Save & Invest. Over a quarter of women, 28 per cent, say they are making financial decisions without being armed with the necessary information to make properly informed choices. Only 22 per cent of women would go to an IFA for financial advice, preferring instead to consult banks or building societies and family or friends. One in four women ...

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