Money Marketing
27 June 2001

  • 'Lack of marketing hitting stakeholder'

    28 Jun 2001

    Lack of investment in marketing is causing disappointing sales of stakeholder pensions, according to research from the Financial Services Forum. In April, the FS Forum contacted 70 of its members to gauge their attitude to the marketing of stakeholder. The survey found of those offering stakeholder no one was planning to commit more than 25 per cent of their marketing budget on promoting the products and most were spending less than 10 per cent.

  • 'Poor marketing is hitting stakeholder sales'

    28 Jun 2001

    Lack of investment in marketing is causing disappointing sales of stakeholder pensions, according to research by the Financial Services Forum. In April, the FS Forum contacted 70 of its members, who are senior marketers in the financial sector, to gauge their attitude to marketing stakeholder. The initiative brought a 33 per cent response. The survey found that of those members offering stakeholder, no one was planning to commit more than 25 per cent of ...

  • A new start now 'its' over

    28 Jun 2001

    Last week, after a consultation exercise with our members, the AITC decided to stop its consumer advertising programme but to increase subscriptions by around £3m a year to fund a high-level programme of IFA support, consumer education and PR activities. Given that I had recommended that we should continue the consumer advertising programme for the next four or five years, the reader might wonder why I am delighted with the outcome. The reason ...

  • Aberdeen considers SLFoC UK fund buy

    28 Jun 2001

    Aberdeen Asset Management is in talks to buy the UK fund management arm of Sun Life Financial of Canada. The bid, which is being negotiated by stockbroker Cazenove & Co, follows a string of recent acquisitions by the Scottish fund manager which have totalled more than £300m over the past year. Aberdeen would not disclose how much they have offered for the business, but analysts have valued SLFoC's asset management division at around £225m. ...

  • Adviser confidence soars in mortgage market

    28 Jun 2001

    Business confidence among brokers in the mortgage market has soared to its highest level for over two years, according to buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages.

  • AIG adds more funds to Active Access

    2 Jul 2001

    AIG Life is adding 24 new funds from ABN Amro, Exeter, Fidelity, Jupiter and Threadneedle, to its Active Access range of 33 externally managed funds.

  • All the wage

    28 Jun 2001

    How important is your bonus to you? Would it surprise you to know that within intermediary sales, national accounts consultants are the most dep-endent on bonuses, as 57 per cent of their total earnings of £64,190 is bonus? Regional managers are least dependent, as only 29 per cent total earnings of £85,250 is bonus. However, our Senior & Specialist Intermediary Salary Survey May 2001 shows that even this seems high compared with IFA sales managers ...

  • AMP looks to takeover iii

    2 Jul 2001

    AMP is in talks with Interactive Investor International with a view to taking over the online personal finance company. Shares in iii jumped 19.8 per cent when both parties announced they were in negotiations this morning.The announcement follows the recent launch of AMP's own web-based sales arm Ample. 

  • AMP pays £52m for iii

    3 Jul 2001

    AMP has bought personal finance website Interactive International Investor for £52m, making its second acquisition in two weeks.

  • AMP supermart offers Ample choice

    28 Jun 2001

    AMP is targeting its new fund supermarket, Ample, at inv-estors aged between 45 and 65. The supermarket offers more than 400 funds from 22 managers and claims to be the only fund supermarket offering access to the biggest players in the market. Ample says it differs from other fund supermarkets bec-ause it has a full range of targeted and tailored financial services. It includes options of either a customised service or purely transactional capabilities. The

  • AMP to stump up £2m in Oval deal

    28 Jun 2001

    AMP is teaming up with Surrey County Cricket Club in a sponsorship deal worth £2m over five years. The deal will give the Australian life office exclusive rights to name Surrey's home ground the AMP Oval, in a move claimed to be the biggest ground sponsorship deal ever signed. The Oval is the oldest and one of the most historic Test match grounds in the world and regularly hosts England matches during the summer. It is where the Ashes ...

  • An untrustee steed?

    28 Jun 2001

    If you have been following these articles over recent weeks, you will know there is no perfect solution for selecting trustees. All the options have drawbacks. The task of the IFA must be to hold an informed discussion with the client with the aim of arriving at a way forward which is most acceptable in light of that client's individual circumstances, needs and personal relationships with prospective trustees. Trustees should definitely be viewed ...

  • Another approach to renewals

    28 Jun 2001

    I read with interest the comments by Gareth Fatchett regarding renewal commission being withheld by networks. An alternative approach I have is in fact to do entirely the opposite. On joining, I ask each member to complete a form of nomination so that in the event of his premature death I know to whom I should continue to pass renewal commission. Equally, that nominated person would be asked the same question at that time so the renewal stream continues. I ...

  • B&B shifts from bank to become national IFA

    28 Jun 2001

    Bradford & Bingley is looking to phase out its retail savings and deposit business within three years as its IFA arm grows in importance. B&B technical director Rob Guy says the goal is to grow its advisory business so that it outstrips the traditional banking side in size. He says the plan is to make the former building society prim-arily a distributor of other providers' products. He does not believe there is any one national IFA brand name that ...

  • Bankhall runs workshops for Pru sales staff

    29 Jun 2001

    Bankhall is running a series of workshops in June around the UK for Prudential salespeople who are members of the Manufacturing, Scientific and Finance Union to encourage them to set-up as IFAs and join Bankhall.

  • Barclays launches European wealth management operation

    27 Jun 2001

    Barclays is launching a new wealth management operation, aimed at high net worth customers across Europe.

  • BC trusts in bricks & mortar

    29 Jun 2001

    BC Asset Management has introduced the property income and growth fund, a split capital investment trust that invests in commercial property.

  • Big Brother encourages house hunting, says B&B

    28 Jun 2001

    Recent hot weather has slowed the pace of house sales by more than two weeks, claims a report from Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents. B&B says summer activities have led to house hunters put off searching for homes. The report found that it currently takes an average of 11 weeks to sell a house, an increase from the average of nine weeks last year. But B&B also points to other factors which it believes help the housing market. It says ...

  • BSF Investments launches property investment company

    28 Jun 2001

    BSF Investments is launching BFS Managed Properties, a new closed-ended Guernsey registered investment company investing mainly in commercial property.

  • C&G extends intermediary incentive

    3 Jul 2001

    C&G is extending its intermediary incentive paying £500 for all cases of £250,000 or more. Intermediaries will receive the sum for all cases that are introduced from 2 July to 30 September.

  • Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

    27 Jun 2001

    Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has issued a profit warning and is cutting 2,700 jobs.The Anglo-French management and information technology group is blaming the cost-cutting measures on the slowdown in the US economy and a poor outlook for financial services in the US and Benelux. Job cuts will be made in the US, UK and Scandinavia.

  • Cazalet predicts stakeholder slaughter

    28 Jun 2001

    Influential analyst Ned Caz-alet has predicted that stakeholder will initiate widespread slaughter in the life industry while claiming that the IFA sector is due for a radical shake-up. In his influential Life 2001 report, Cazalet says IFAs will decrease in numbers by a third over the next five years. He criticises their "generally limited skill base", lack of financial resources and high average age. Cazalet believes there will be a split between giving ...

  • Charcol moves into wealth management

    28 Jun 2001

    Charcol is branching out from its mortgage-only brokerage to create a fee-charging wealth management service in investment, life and pensions. Advisers will be recruited for the service which will advise fully on life, pensions and investments alongside mortgages. It is seeking advisers with G60 so it can move in to specialist pension areas such as drawdown, transfers and equity release. Charcol has around 130 advisers. Merrill Lynch Investment Managers ...

  • Chelsea gives half-year discount on buy to let

    28 Jun 2001

    Chelsea Building Society is improving the terms on its buy-to-let mortgage by offering a 2 per cent discount for the first six months. The new loan will be discounted to 4.74 per cent. Following the discounted period, the rate will revert to the standard variable rate, currently 6.74 per cent, plus 0.25 per cent. Chelsea says investors who buy houses for income often run into additional expenses during the first six months, so the discounted rate helps ...

  • Clerical Medical appoints two for product development

    2 Jul 2001

    Clerical Medical is appointing Mike Stirrup as product development manager and Nick Cooper as manager for individual pensions. Stirrup was formally head of investment development at AXA Sun Life. Cooper was previously at Norwich Union where he was pensions marketing manager.

  • Collaborate or consolidate

    28 Jun 2001

    The mortgage market is on the road to e-commerce but if collaboration is lacking then it may lead to further consolidation. The life and pension industry was the first to recognise the value of agreeing and working to electronic data standards for moving information smoothly and quickly between customers, advisers and product providers via the internet. Customers can expect to receive confirmation that a policy is now in force and even get updates ...

  • Commission to visit the land of the fee

    28 Jun 2001

    Commission has traditionally been the way that salespeople are remunerated, wher-eas fees are paid to professionals such as lawyers and accountants. IFAs, in the public's eye, seem to straddle a position between being salespeople and professionals. But scrutiny on commission is likely to intensify with the son of Myners' review under Ron Sandler and the FSA's with-profits review both under way. The accusation of commission bias is one that IFAs ...

  • Consumers can put their faith in Yodlee service

    28 Jun 2001

    I write in response to the article in Money Marketing headlined, Aggregation deals on hold after a scrape with the law. Indeed, the FSA recently warned that aggregation falls outside its remit and has urged banks to check legal and security issues thoroughly before they partner with an aggregation organisation to offer such a service to their customers. As the leader in aggregation services, Yodlee has been in discussions with all the UK regulators ...

  • Coventry launches new savings account

    3 Jul 2001

    Coventry Building Society is launching a savings account paying 4.25 per cent on balances up to £2,000 and 5.25 per cent for sums over £2,000.The CallSave MoneyManager account also offers standing order and direct debit facilities and payment of bills by telephone, with interest paid monthly or annually. 

  • Depolar 'icing' as AMP buys Towry

    28 Jun 2001

    Australian financial giant AMP is buying IFA Towry Law for £75.7m, ending months of uncertainty but provoking a row over an Investors' Compensation Scheme bailout worth more than £30m. Towry Law also announced a massive £73.5m loss for the last year. The deal gives AMP 200 RIs in the UK and 100 international consultants. AMP told Money Marketing that an end to polarisation would be the "icing on the cake" for its UK strategy. AMP's ...

  • Dunbar in £30k bid for IFAs to multi-tie with £30k

    28 Jun 2001

    IFAs claim Allied Dunbar is trying to lure them by offering the chance to become hybrid multi-tied franchisees later this year with loans of up to £30,000. The package, offered in a series of presentations and meetings with senior Dunbar management, would see IFAs tying to the group until September or October, when the life office predicts that change will come. IFAs could then tie to Zurich for some products and multi-tie for others. The ...

  • Emerging market volatility highlighted

    27 Jun 2001

    Emerging markets have proved a volatile investment sector over recent years, according to a report from Standard & Poor's.

  • Endowment complaints up 300%

    28 Jun 2001

    Complaints over mortgage endowments rocketed by 300 per cent in the year to March, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The ombuds-man says it handled over 9,000 complaints last year, up from 3,000 in the year to March 2000. It expects to deal with around 13,000 disgruntled endowment policyholders this year. It blames exaggerated sales talk, limited contractual comm-itments and staff incentivised with generous bon-uses as the main reasons behind the complaints.

  • Exchange set to take on super-portal

    28 Jun 2001

    The creation of a combined Assuresoft/m-link portal following the Misys takeover of DBS means competition from other IFA trading platforms will become more important than ever. The portals were clearly a decisive factor in the deal and Misys appears to have big plans for creating a super-portal from both operations. Misys chief executive (ins-urance division) Ivan Martin says: "We do see the combination of both portals as a powerful proposition and a significant force

  • FIS appoints retail client services director

    27 Jun 2001

    Friends Ivory & Sime is appointing Cheryl Robertson as retail client services director following its acquisition of Friends Provident's retail investment business.

  • Flexible start from Britannic Money

    3 Jul 2001

    Britannic Money has designed a flexible mortgage with a current account facility.

  • Framlington NetNet fund manager quits

    3 Jul 2001

    Framlington NetNet fund manager Chris Bell has quit the group to pursue a career in client relations with Tilney Investment Management. Bell was lead manager of the unit trust until May, since which Nick Evans has headed up the fund. The news comes as Framlington head of European equities Caspar Rock moves to Antony Milford’s Framlington Health fund team. Rock’s European unit trust will now be managed by Mark Hargraves.

  • Frank Russell - Alternative Strategies Fund

    27 Jun 2001

    Wednesday, 27 June 2001.Type: Offshore Oeic.Aim: Growth by investing in hedge funds.Minimum investment: Euros 250,000.Place of registration: Dublin.Investment split: 100 per cent in hedge funds.Isa link: No.Charges: None.Commission: None.Tel: 020 7024 6100. 

  • FSA loan rules cost IFAs twice as much as lenders

    28 Jun 2001

    The FSA has admitted that its new mortgage requirements will cost IFAs more than twice as much as lenders despite the decision not to regulate advice. Speaking at last week's Council of Mortgage Lenders' conference in Birming-ham, FSA head of mortgage regulation Sarah Wil-son said the regulator's pre-sale disclosure req-uirements will cost IFAs almost £19 for every mortgage arranged. But she confirmed that the disclosure regulation ...

  • FSA warns endowment holders to take action

    2 Jul 2001

    The FSA is urging people with endowment mortgages to act now following 10.5m warning letters being sent to UK households.

  • FSA warns IFAs on pension review

    27 Jun 2001

    The FSA is warning that it will look closely at firms that fall behind in settling personal pension review cases.

  • Garden is the top priority for two-thirds of buyers

    28 Jun 2001

    Over two-thirds of homebuyers say a nice garden is the most important thing they look for when searching for a house, according to Alliance & Leicester. The bank's movingimproving index has found that a well-kept garden is likely to sway the decision of the majority of house-hunters, with many people looking to move from cities to more rural surroundings. Dispelling the myth that only the elderly are interested in weeding and pruning, A&L found ...

  • Gartmore appoints quantitative analyst

    28 Jun 2001

    Gartmore is appointing Michael Gleason as senior quantitative analyst, responsible for enhancing the use of quantitative techniques throughout the fund managers operations.

  • Gaskin hits out at FSA moves

    28 Jun 2001

    FSA proposals for mortgage regulation will compromise the independence of IFAs and intrude on the commercial decisions of lenders, claims The Exch-ange chief executive Jim Gaskin. Speaking at the Council of Mortgage Lenders conference in Birmingham, Gaskin, a former regulator, said he could not see how IFAs can maintain their independence if lenders assume ultimate responsibility for the provision of product information to borrowers. He said that ...

  • GE to set up new brand after £75m NatMut buy

    28 Jun 2001

    National Mutual has been bought by GE Capital in a deal worth £570m which will see it merged with GE Life to create a new IFA specialist pension brand. The brand will be created under the GE name which will build on NatMut's expertise in Sipps. NatMut as a brand name could disappear. GE Life already operates in the IFA market selling annuities, equity release and guaranteed investment products. It will be working to develop new annuity products, ...

  • Get down to business in the battle for balance

    28 Jun 2001

    The time has come for the industry to make the case for business. This is not some wishy-washy phrase which might be used by any of Britain's three centrist political parties but a call for an essential change in attitude at the top of the FSA and the Treasury. Currently, there are only two publicly expressed motives behind financial services policy - to help consumers and to increase competition. These are laudable aims but the problems come with implementation.

  • Go Private link-up with Pioneer Friendly Society

    29 Jun 2001

    Go Private, the wholly owned subsidiary of healthcare provider Exeter Friendly Society, has established an affiliation agreement with income protection specialist Pioneer Friendly Society to offer a health cash plan option with its policies.

  • Group may propose locking commission

    28 Jun 2001

    An Aifa and ABI working group set up to thrash out agreed contractual terms bet-ween providers and IFAs may recommend that commission cannot be altered on existing contracts without prior notice. The group, made up of IFAs and providers, is trying to create a standard set of terms of business and will aim to put its recommendations to the industry by the end of the year. Aifa director general Paul Smee says: "The group is not ready to make its recommendations ...

  • HSBC Bank International - Pan European Growth Fund

    3 Jul 2001

    Tuesday, 3 July 2001. Type: Ucits. Aim: Growth linked to the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50, FTSE 100 and the Swiss Market Index. Minimum investment: £5,000 or US$5,000. Place of registration: Dublin. Investment split: Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 33.3 per cent, FTSE 100 33.3 per cent, Swiss Market Index 33.3 per cent. Isa link: No. Charges: None. Commission: Initial 2.5-4.5 per cent. Tel: 01534 606348.  

  • HSBC Bank International - World Growth Fund

    2 Jul 2001

    Monday, 2 July 2001.Type: Ucits.Aim: Growth linked to the FTSE 100, S&P 500, Nikkei 225 and Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 indices.Minimum investment: £5,000 or $5,000.Place of registration: Dublin.Investment split: FTSE 100 25 per cent, S&P 500 25 per cent, Nikkei 225 25 per cent, Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 25 per cent.Isa link: No.Charges: None.Commission: Initial 2.5-4.5 per cent.Tel: 01534 606348. 

  • IFAP blames confusion as public shun stakeholder

    28 Jun 2001

    A mere 10 per cent of UK consumers plan to take out a stakeholder pension, according to latest research findings from IFA Promotion which claims "confusion and apathy still reign". The survey, carried out this month with more than 1,000 adults, revealed that 52 per cent of people find pensions confusing compared with 42 per cent in February. This is despite awareness of stakeholder increasing to 54 per cent from 39 per cent. IFAP says the worrying ...

  • Ilag appoints new chairman

    3 Jul 2001

    The Insurance & Life Assurance Group has appointed Bill Tonks as its chairman for 2001-2002. Tonks has spent the last 10 years working as a compliance officer for first Eagle Star and then Nationwide Building Society. He currently works for Nationwide as divisional director, risk management. Tonks will replace Phil Smallwood, who will continue to work with the trade body which represents 40 companies in the financial services industry. 

  • Independent view

    28 Jun 2001

    Spending nearly three whole days surrounded by hundreds of IFAs and product providers on board a ship floating in the middle of nowhere does not sound like too much fun. However, I steeled myself for the task, packed my best bib and tucker and arrived at Southampton docks on a sunny Sunday afternoon in time for tea on the Oriana. For those who have never been on PIMS or have never heard of PIMS, let me explain. The idea of the event is to meet as many ...

  • Inside Edge

    28 Jun 2001

    Well, what a week that was. On Tuesday morning, Misys ann-ounced an agreed bid for DBS Financial Management, bringing considerable technology savings for product providers and real hope for a truly outstanding, fully working IFA quotes and service portal within the next 12 months or so. It will be great to work closely with Ken Davy and his team to enhance the position of all 27,000 IFAs within the financial services profession in conjunction with Aifa. On ...

  • Interlink Premier Network appoints business development manager

    29 Jun 2001

    Interlink Premier Network has appointed Brian James, 44, as executive business development manager. James joins from Scottish Amicable where he was national account manager.

  • Invesco links with fast-food chain

    28 Jun 2001

    Invesco has been appointed stakeholder pension provider by McDonalds Restaurants. Consultants Watson Wyatt acted as consultant in the selection of the scheme. The new scheme will sit alongside the defined-benefit scheme provided by Schroders. DOCE:

  • Investec launches offshore growth portfolio

    2 Jul 2001

    Investec Private Bank is launching the Offshore International Balanced Portfolio through its multi-manager fund service Investec Select.

  • Investment view

    28 Jun 2001

    Is the long bull market in property running out of steam? Back at the end of the 1980s when residential property went briefly berserk in anticipation of Chancellor Lawson's move to end dual tax relief on mortgage interest, the upcoming bear market in houses was signalled by a downturn at the top end of the scale. Expensive inner London areas were the first to warn that perhaps the party was coming to an end. If you believe the figures from top London estate ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    28 Jun 2001

    Real money is made in the stockmarket by buying low and selling high. It is always worth looking at the worst-performing markets to see whether there is value. Last year, the European technology markets were hit worst of all. Aberdeen Euro technology lost 61 per cent of its value and some of the other European smaller companies trusts, such as Invesco Perpetual European smaller companies, lost up to 46 per cent. The cause of this was a combination ...

  • L&G introduces life and critical-illness plan paying monthly benefit

    28 Jun 2001

    Legal & General is strengthening its range of protection products with an income plan for individuals and families. The family and personal income plan is designed to pay out a monthly benefit over a fixed term in the event of policyholder contracting a critical illness or dying. The plan features guaranteed premium rates, index-linked benefits, terminal illness cover and lump-sum critical-illness cover for children. Premiums start at £13.75 ...

  • Lack of marketing hitting stakeholder

    27 Jun 2001

    Lack of investment in marketing is causing disappointing sales of stakeholder pensions, according to research from the Financial Services Forum.In April the FS Forum contacted 70 of its members to gauge their attitude to the marketing of stakeholder. The survey found of those offering stakeholder no-one was planning to commit more than 25 per cent of their marketing budget on promoting the product and most were spending less than 10 per cent.

  • Leeds & Holbeck - Two Year Tessa Isa

    27 Jun 2001

    Wednesday, 27 June 2001.Type: Cash Isa for Tessa maturities.Minimum investment: £1.Maximum investment: £9,000.Catmarked: No.Interest rate: 6 per cent.Charges: None.Commission: None.Tel: 0121 643 6741. 

  • Leeds & Holbeck cashes in on Tessas

    2 Jul 2001

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society has unveiled a cash individual savings account (Isa) for investors who have maturing tax exempt special savings accounts (Tessas.) The 2-year Tessa Isa is suitable for investors who are looking for somewhere to put their Tessa cash but do not want to tie it up over the long-term. As a cash Isa, it could be attractive to investors who are looking for a fixed rate of interest without depending on the performance of stocks ...

  • Lending hits all-time high

    29 Jun 2001

    Mortgage lending surged to an all-time high in May, with lending up 0.8 per cent to £4.23bn from £3.82bn in April, suggesting a renewal of confidence in the housing market.Lenders saw the number of loans approved increase to 107,000 in May, up 9 per cent on the average of 98,000 in the three months to April.

  • Loan firms' fury at panel claims of biased advice

    28 Jun 2001

    The Financial Services Consumer Panel has clashed with the mortgage industry for claiming that new FSA rules will stamp out "faulty and downright biased" loan advice. Speaking at last week's Council of Mortgage Lenders regulation conference in Birmingham, panel chairman Colin Brown said FSA proposals would help borrowers detect advice skewed by commission bias. He said the panel was pleased the FSA was heeding its advice and charging lenders with ...

  • Looking back in the review mirror

    28 Jun 2001

    Last week's announcement that Ron Sandler will conduct the review of retail financial services known as the 'son of Myners' inquiry has had a mixed response from the industry. From many, it elicits groans at the prospect of yet another in a long line of reviews, inquiries and commissions that have dogged the industry since the early 1980s. Corey Boles has compiled a list of the most significant reviews that have kept the industry on tenterhooks over the ...

  • Marsden looks at three-year fix

    27 Jun 2001

    Marsden Building Society has brought in the three-year fixed rate mortgage.

  • May dismay as fund business slumps by 17%

    28 Jun 2001

    Sluggish investor sentiment continued to dog the investment fund industry in May, with unit trust and Oeic Isa sales down by more than 17 per cent on last year. The figures, released by Autif this week, reveal gross Isa sales of £746.5m for May, compared with £903.2m in the same month last year. However, retail unit trust and Oeic sales outside Isas began to show signs of recovery up 4.1 per cent to £1.837bn from £1.765bn ...

  • May mortgage figures hit CML record high

    28 Jun 2001

    Mortgage lending in May hit its highest level since Council of Mortgage Lenders' records began in 1998. The increasingly buoyant housing market meant total gross mortgage lending went up to £12.9bn last month from £11.6bn in April and £10.1bn in May 2000. Lending for house purchase by both banks and building societies rose to £8.1bn from £7.4bn in April and £6.6bn last May. Remortgaging recovered from a slight ...

  • MCCB says code breaches are less

    29 Jun 2001

    The Mortgage Code Compliance Board says there was a reduction in the number of mortgage code breaches by intermediaries in the six months to January 2001. But the regulator is concerned that a quarter of firms visited by compliance officers failed to provide adequate explanations of the level of service they were providing and internal complaints procedures. The MCCB says it may produce a handbook of good practice notes to help eradicate such breaches. 

  • Mega-network weighs in for distribution fight

    28 Jun 2001

    The dawning of a mega-network of 7,250 registered IFAs and 3,700 firms after Misys swooped to buy rival DBS for £75m has sent shockwaves through the financial sector. Despite the takeover - from which DBS chairman Ken Davy stands to net £6.6m - DBS says it will retain its autonomy within the Misys group and keep the existing management in place at its Huddersfield headquarters. But DBS's Assureweb portal will be fully merged with Misys' ...

  • Merricks admits IFAs may not value scheme benefits

    28 Jun 2001

    The chief financial ombudsman has conceded that it may be difficult for small IFAs to see the benefit of belonging to the Financial Ombudsman Scheme because of the limited number of cases they are involved in. Writing in the scheme's annual report, chief ombudsman Walter Merricks says the service will rarely seem good value for money to small firms while membership for bigger companies is quite cost-efficient. His comments echo many in the industry ...

  • Mimi offers protection

    28 Jun 2001

    Miles says: "As this plan has to be taken out in connection with a residential mortgage, it is unsuitable for business protection purposes." Moseley says it could be very useful. Looking at Liverpool Victoria's reputation, Miles says: "Liverpool Victoria has yet to establish itself as an IFA company but Permanent, the company it has acquired and rebranded, has a reasonable reputation as protection specialists." Moseley says that they have a tacky industrial branch image. ...

  • Mimi offers protection

    28 Jun 2001

    Mitchell says: "The product is well suited for many clients who require protection in connection with a mortgage. The policy can also be used for family protection and also business purposes, although it is not marketed as such." On the subject of the marketing opportunities that the plan will provide, Miles cannot see any, Mitchell says: "IFAs will be able to promote the product to their mortgage related clients both new and existing. The flexibility of the menu structure means ...

  • Mimi offers protection

    28 Jun 2001

    Thursday, 28 June 2001.

  • Minister says firms competing under 1%

    28 Jun 2001

    New pensions minister Ian McCartney says the debate on stakeholder is no longer about 1 per cent but about how low charges can go. In an exclusive article for Money Marketing, McCartney says stakeholder is "exerting a powerful and positive influence". He says the debate is "focusing on how low providers can go, with schemes being set up with charges significantly below 1 per cent". He adds that the public needs the right advice on pensions. Influential ...

  • Misys buys US business systems firm

    28 Jun 2001

    Misys continues its programme of expansion with its £288m acquisition of US healthcare business systems provider Sunquest in a deal that places its purchase of DBS last week firmly in perspec-tive. Misys also closed down its Screentrade and fledgling TheFormula consumer retail operations, ending the company's retail ambitions, while its IFA Services arm launched an interactive online mortgage service for network members.

  • Misys makes a match

    28 Jun 2001

    If it is not a marriage made in heaven, the acquisition of DBS and its Assureweb subsidiary by Misys must be a marriage made in cyberspace. Clearly, there is a wide range of issues that need to be addressed when considering if the takeover in its entirety is a good thing, but from a pure technologyperspective it has much to commend it. Bringing together the two main competitors to the dominant position of Exchange FS as the main provider of online services ...

  • Misys sets up interactive loan site

    28 Jun 2001

    Misys IFA Services is setting up an interactive website as part of its Mortgage Connections loan service for its member networks. The site, accessible to members of Countrywide, Financial Options, Kestrel and IFA Network, will provide full contact details for over 25 leading lenders and a direct link to Misys' top 10 "premier lenders," which includes Abbey Nat-ional, Halifax, Nationwide and Woolwich. The website offers a product search facility which ...

  • Momentum targeting Job hunters

    28 Jun 2001

    National IFA Momentum has signed a deal with online careers and human resources site www.stepstone.co.UK to provide exclusive financial information to job hunters. The service allows visitors to the site to access information compiled by Momentum on aspects of tax, investments and pensions. The information is tailored to be relevant to job hunters by covering issues such as what people should do about their pension when they are between jobs and how tax should ...

  • NDF announces 3rd bonus plan

    27 Jun 2001

    NDF Administration has brought in the extra bonus plan 3, a guaranteed growth bond. The bond has been designed for investors who are looking for short term growth over a 13-month period, and who want to shelter any returns from capital gains tax.

  • New analyst for Teather & Greenwood

    28 Jun 2001

    Teather & Greenwood has recruited Stephen Waterman as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology analyst, teaming with existing analyst Howard Miller. Waterman joins after three years with pharmaceutical database provider Evaluate Pharma, where he was senior pharmaceuticals and biotechnology analyst.

  • New Star is born

    2 Jul 2001

    New Star is today launching two new funds, with a discount of 1 per cent off the 5.25 per cent initial charge for all investments received before July 20.

  • Norwich & Peterborough - Five Year Fixed Rate Tessa Only Isa

    3 Jul 2001

    Tuesday, 3 July 2001.Type: Mini cash Isa for Tessa maturities.Minimum investment: £1000.Maximum investment: £9,000.Catmarked: No.Interest rate: 5.75 per cent gross a year.Charges: None.Withdrawal penalty: 120 days' interest on amount withdrawn in fixed rate period.Commission: None.Tel: 0845 3002511. 

  • Norwich & Peterborough - Five Year Fixed Rate Mini Cash Isa

    2 Jul 2001

    Monday, 2 July 2001. Type: Mini cash Isa. Minimum investment: £3,000. Maximum investment: £3,000. Catmarked: No. Interest rate: 5.75 per cent gross for five year term. Charges: None. Withdrawal penalty: 120 days' interest on amount withdrawn in fixed rate period. Commission: None. Tel: 0845 3002511.  

  • Norwich & Peterborough - One Year Fixed Rate Bond

    2 Jul 2001

    Monday, 2 July 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-no maximum.Interest rates: 5.35 per cent gross a year, 5.22 per cent gross a month.Term: One year.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: If no notice given, 50 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawn unless at least £1,000 remains in bond.Tel: 0845 3002511. 

  • Norwich & Peterborough - Six Month Fixed Rate Bond

    28 Jun 2001

    Thursday, 28 June 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-no maximum.Interest rates: 5.1 per cent gross a year, 4.98 per cent gross a month.Term: Six months.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: If no notice given, 30 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawn unless at least £1,000 remains in bond.Tel: 0845 3002511. 

  • Norwich & Peterborough - Two Year Fixed Rate Bond

    3 Jul 2001

    Tuesday, 3 July 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-no maximum.Interest rates: 5.7 per cent gross a year, 5.56 per cent gross a month.Term: Two years.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: 120 days' loss of interest on amount withdrawn unless at least £1,000 remains in bond.Tel: 0845 3002511. 

  • Norwich Union extends SRI fund choice

    27 Jun 2001

    Norwich Union is extending the range of socially responsible investment funds available on its Portfolio Bond, Bond 2000 and FlexiBond with six new funds.

  • Outside Edge David Ferguson

    28 Jun 2001

    The FSA launched the public and industry consultation phase of its with-profits review last week at an open meeting aimed at addressing the key issues. Speakers were well weighted between advocates and critics representing the main strands of interest from product providers to IFAs and the Consumers' Association. That so few life companies are prepared to publicise the return on their with-profits fund is a disgrace. For far too long, life companies ...

  • Over a million review requests

    28 Jun 2001

    Phase two of the pension review as at March 2001 showed that of the 1,220,984 requests for review, 1,066,552 were against product providers compared with 97,977 against networks and big IFAs and 56,435 against small IFAs. Claims found to have reviewable cases were split 782,651 against product providers compared with 782,651 against networks and big IFAs and 41,176 against small IFAs. But although product providers have processed 50.5 per cent of cases, networks ...

  • Pacific quartet appeal to Baillie Gifford

    28 Jun 2001

    Baillie Gifford is branching out in the Pacific with the introduction of the developed Asia Pacific fund.

  • Pegasus to be grounded after takeover

    28 Jun 2001

    Pegasus, the protection arm of Scottish Mutual, will disappear on August 1 once parent company Abbey National's purchase of Scottish Provident is complete. The announcement has surprised IFAs and rivals who say Pegasus has a strong name in the protection market. Following a successful vote at an extraordinary general meeting this month, only a second vote of ScotProv policyholders and court approval stand in the way of the acquisition. ScotProv ...

  • PIA expels IFA firm

    29 Jun 2001

    The PIA has expelled the IFA John Robert Wood Esq of 13 Ingram Drive, Chapel Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne because it is no longer able to meet the regulator's financial resources requirements. The firm has been declared in default by the Investor's Compensation Scheme and is no longer authorised to conduct investment business.

  • Police Mutual picks chief exec

    28 Jun 2001

    Police Mutual Assurance Society, one of the UK's biggest friendly societies with assets of over £1bn, has appointed Graham Berville as chief executive to succeed Peter Sharpe. Berville joins Police Mutual from CGNU, where he was a director in the UK life operation. He was previously with the Automobile Association in a variety of roles in its insurance, retail and financial services operations.

  • Policy Portfolio offering guide to aid Tep sales

    28 Jun 2001

    Traded endowment policy market-maker Policy Portfolio is offering a free guide to help IFAs explain the benefits of Teps to their clients. Policy Portfolio says Teps let IFAs provide clients with two distinct opportunities to make money. First, it says clients wanting to surrender with-profits endowment policies may be able to get substantially more than the life office surrender by offering their policies to a market-maker. Second, Policy Portfolio ...

  • Portman revamps loan range as rate rises are forecast

    28 Jun 2001

    Portman Building Society is raising the rates on its range of fixed mortgages as it believes interest rates will rise over the coming months. Its fixed-rate loans start with a product fixed at 3.99 per cent until August 2003, up from 3.49 per cent, with a facility to repay up to 5 per cent of the capital borrowed every 12 months until 2006. There is also a two-year loan fixed at 5.49 per cent, up from 5.19 per cent, which allows up to 10 per cent of ...

  • Principality enters fifth element

    29 Jun 2001

    Principality has introduced a five-year discount mortgage called discount option 5.

  • Principality steps down for new mortgage

    30 Jun 2001

    Principality Mortgages has introduced the three-year stepped rate discount mortgage.

  • Private Label offering free overpayments

    28 Jun 2001

    Packager Private Label is offering to fund automatic overpayments for the first five years on its new flex-ible tracker mortgage. Following research sho-wing that the majority of borrowers with flexible mortgages do not make overpayments each month, Private Label has designed its mortgage to perform this function for them free of charge. Funded by the Halifax's specialist lending arm, Birmingham Midshires, every month 0.25 per cent of the loan will ...

  • Projection racket

    28 Jun 2001

    Tony Bridgland made some very good points in his recent article in Money Marketing but you do not have to wait 20 years to see that the projection system is failing and needlessly worrying people. I have on file two projections four months apart for the same plan, a 25-year low-cost with-profits endowment for a £19,500 mortgage with a monthly premium of £25.34. In the first, dated 29/09/2000, the 4 per cent projection shows a shortfall ...

  • Review reports to be quarterly as small firms flag

    28 Jun 2001

    IFA firms will have to make quarterly progress reports in the pension review bec-ause small advisers are having difficulty sticking to the timetable. The announcement was made in the FSA's annual report addressing concerns raised by the Financial Services Consumer Panel about IFAs' progress on phase two. Small IFA firms represent only 5 per cent or 4,500 of the 900,000 outstanding cases but the FSA still wants quarterly public reports instead of ...

  • Robert Reid

    28 Jun 2001

    Oh no, not another worthy eulogising the benefits of a move to the supposed higher moral ground, I hear you say. But don't worry, I am determined to look at the positive aspects of running your business on any method of remuneration and, more important, running it at a profit. Over the years I have attended many Round Tables where a fellow tabler delights in taking me to task over commission as means of payment for my services. His profession ...

  • Roderic rennison

    28 Jun 2001

    Only three weeks into his new job and Charcol's wealth development director Roderic Rennison has already sussed out the best coffee shop near his office. Even his PR looked on with some surprise as Rennison strode confidently straight round the corner to the smart cappuccino haunt. Spending just a short amount of time with Rennison - the former Merrill Lynch Investment Managers retail markets and products director - it becomes clear he takes a bullish ...

  • Royal & SunAlliance International

    29 Jun 2001

    ROYAL & SUNALLIANCE INTERNATIONALProtection PlusType: Cafeteria-style protection product including whole life and critical illness cover for overseas residents excluding the US.WHOLE LIFEMinimum sum assured/premium: £50,000/£67 a month, £670 a year.Minimum-maximum ages: 18-75.Allocation rates: 90-103 per cent.Fund links: 80 funds from Baring, Collins Stewart, Fidelity, Gartmore, Investec, Merrill Lynch, Perpetual, ...

  • Sandler adds fuel to review worries

    28 Jun 2001

    Ron Sandler, the head of the Treasury investigation into the retail investments, has stoked IFA fears about his review by claiming distribution has an inbuilt ambiguity. In an interview in the Sun-day Times, Sandler said there is prima facie evidence that unit trust charges are high and acknowledged the high level of concern about with-profits. His comments suggest that fund managers may join life offices and actuaries could also be hit by the review. The ...

  • Saturday market opens up

    28 Jun 2001

    The healthcare cash plan market has reached a critical point in its long development, fuelled by increasing intervention by the FSA and moves by big insurance companies into this sector for the first time. The healthcare cash plan is an insurance hybrid with 19th Century roots. The whole cash plan movement came about as a result of the dire need during the 1870s to improve the way that the then voluntary hospitals were funded. There were many diverse local ...

  • Scot Prov landslide for Abbey takeover

    29 Jun 2001

    Scottish Provident policyholders have agreed to merge with bank Abbey National by a massive 97 per cent.The vote follows recent overwhelming acceptances by Scottish Life members to a takeover by Royal London and acceptance of demutualisation proposals by Friends Provident’s management.

  • Scottish Widows Investment Partnerships appoints HR head

    3 Jul 2001

    Scottish Widows Investment Partnership is appointing Lynne Wood as head of human resources. Wood joins from Murray Johnstone Limited where she was also head of human resources.

  • Search is on for £150k chief exec

    28 Jun 2001

    Dublin-based financial services company International Finance Group is believed to be searching for a new chief executive for its UK IFA arm, IFG Life and Pensions. Industry experts believe a recruitment ad for an unnamed personal financial services group looking for a chief executive for its UK IFA subsidiary relates to IFG. The ad states the IFA business has annual fee and commission income of £25m and operating profits of £8m. It offers ...

  • Seeing the light

    28 Jun 2001

    In the latest Money Marketing June With-Profits Focus survey of mortgage endowment shortfalls, several life offices refused to disclose what percentage of their reprojection letters were red, green or amber. Should they be forced to make these figures public? Batchelor: As this type of mortgage repayment vehicle has taken a back seat in recent times, with most consumers electing to take either repayment or interest-only loans, it is unlikely that market-wide ...

  • Self Trade launches funds supermarket

    27 Jun 2001

    Online sharedealer Self Trade is today launching a fund supermarket offering 270 funds.

  • Skandia ends ethical pre-screening

    28 Jun 2001

    Skandia is restructuring its ethical portfolio following changes to its ethical investment approach. The move means that funds included in the portfolio, which is available to life and pension clients, will no longer be selected from a pre-screened list. Stocks will now be selected by the fund manager from a broad universe and will only be evaluated for their ethical criteria at a later date. Shares that do not meet these cri-teria will be dropped ...

  • Skandia takes stake in EMX

    29 Jun 2001

    Skandia is understood to be taking a stake in Autif’s fund transaction and valuation hub EMX.The other shareholders are Fidelity, Invesco, M&G, Scottish Widows, Standard Life and Threadneedle who invested in the project, when it failed to raise a minimum of £6m in a rights issue earlier this year.

  • Skipton launches mortgage discount scheme

    29 Jun 2001

    Skipton is launching a mortgage discount scheme which reduces the interest rate of borrowers’ loans the longer they have been with the society. The scheme will automatically apply a 0.3 per cent discount off Skipton’s variable rate of 6.9 per cent after a mortgage has been held for two years and a 0.5 per cent discount after four years. Borrowers on special deals and within redemption penalty periods will also benefit from the discounts. 

  • SME investment service goes live

    2 Jul 2001

    Online investment service DPO goes live today when it issues prospectuses to IFAs for its first offering, Harrogate-based media business Media Generation.

  • Smithson Mason opens York office

    3 Jul 2001

    Smithson Mason Group is expanding its operations in the North of England with the opening of a new division of Smithson Mason Financial Services in York.

  • Stake in the future

    28 Jun 2001

    I want to save money for my grandchildren but I am concerned at the relatively poor returns from bank and building society accounts. What alternatives do I have? Investing some money is an extremely good way of giving a child a head start in life. This investment can be in the form of a one-off lump sum or regular savings. The most important factors in your decision will be the level of risk you wish to take with the money, the tax-efficiency ...

  • Stakeholder hits pension managers' pay

    28 Jun 2001

    Pension sales managers are the lowest-paid intermediary sales managers, earning £12,000 a year less than their investment counterparts thanks to stakeholder pensions. Recruitment specialist Paul Harper Search & Select findings interviewed 136 intermediary salespeople in 22 companies for its Senior & Specialist Intermediary Salary Survey May 2001. It showed stakeholder has eroded margins on pension products and cut the number of posts available. The ...

  • Standard Bank Offshore widens choice

    2 Jul 2001

    Standard Bank Offshore has introduced a fund of funds for offshore investors who have a cautious attitude towards risk.

  • Standard deviation

    28 Jun 2001

    Anyone who has seen the film Being John Malkovich will know of the strange goings-on that take place on the seventh-and-a-half floor, from where people can enter a parallel universe. Well, anyone who ever wondered what goes on behind the steel doors of the inpenetrable and mysterious Standard Life will not be surprised to learn it has a fourth-and-a-half floor. Standard Life Investments is housed in the life office's old headquarters in Edinburgh's ...

  • Stroud & Swindon launches new savings account

    2 Jul 2001

    Stroud & Swindon is launching a new savers account through it's direct arm. Savers can receive a rate of 5.25% by investing in the new account. The current rates include a 0.25% introductory bonus.

  • Take a bonus or stick with GAR?

    28 Jun 2001

    Apart from whether or not Howard Davies should be exhorting Equitable Life policyholders to accept a one-off bonus in exchange for their GARs, the bigger questions this raises are just why he should be making such pronounce-ments and on what basis. At least as long as two years ago, the DTI were well aware of the parlous state of Equitable's solvency. The DTI cannot have failed to share such crucial information with the PIA, who evidently chose to do nothing ...

  • The Daley Update

    28 Jun 2001

    Equity & bond inc-ome manager Patrick Harrington is moving to Henderson after 12 years at M&G. He will head the UK equity income desk, working alongside head of retail Richard Prew, who was recruited from Norwich Union at the end of last year. M&G's Richard Placket will take over the extra income portfolio while Richard Hughes will be responsible for Charifund. Neville James has introduced a new commission structure offering up to 4 per cent initial ...

  • The Mortgage Operation - Life Cover Plan

    27 Jun 2001

    Wednesday, 27 June 2001.Type: Level term assurance.Minimum sum assured/premium: £1,000/£8 a month.Minimum-maximum term: Five years - 45 years.Charges: None.Commission: Initial 135 per cent of first years premium.Tel: 020 7571 2170. 

  • The Mortgage Operation - Total Cover Plan

    28 Jun 2001

    Thursday, 28 June 2001. Type: Mortgage protection product including decreasing term assurance, accident, sickness and unemployment cover and critical illness cover. TERM ASSURANCE Type: Decreasing term assurance. Minimum sum assured/premium: £1,000/£8 a month. Minimum-maximum term: Five years - 45 years. Charges: None. ASU MORTGAGE PROTECTION PLANS Maximum benefit: 8 per cent of mortgage. Benefit payment ...

  • TMO cures protection problem

    2 Jul 2001

    The Mortgage Operation is exploiting the cafeteria style concept with a protection plan that has critical illness, accident, sickness and unemployment cover, and decreasing term assurance.

  • UCB aids advisers with free guide to buy to let

    28 Jun 2001

    Nationwide specialist lending arm UCB Home Loans is offering a free guide to buy-to-let borrowing. The guide has been designed to help intermediaries explain to clients the benefits and pitfalls of becoming a landlord and covers issues including tax, tenancy agreements and financing. UCB is offering the guide after independent research by the University of York showed private landlords got gross returns of 8.3 per cent in the third quarter of last ...

  • UK fund managers earn the top pay in the world

    28 Jun 2001

    UK fund managers earn more than their counterparts elsewhere in the world, according to research by the Association for Investment Management and Research and Russell Reynolds Associates. The median salary package for fund managers in this country is £141,000. topping the US average of £134,000. The UK average salary is almost double the average for fund managers in Singapore with £79,400 and Canada with £76,500 while Hong Kong ...

  • US Fed Reserve cuts rate

    28 Jun 2001

    The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 0.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent in a widely anticipated reduction.The size of the cut, smaller than earlier cuts of 0.5 per cent, is thought to indicate the Federal Reserve's confidence in the prospects for the US economy, although some economists believe a 0.5 per cent cut was needed. 

  • VERITY's VIEW

    28 Jun 2001

    Aah - the smells of summer. The scent of flowers in bloom, steaks burning on the barbecue, the smell of rotting compost and, for the second year running, the stench as the corpse of a once respected insurance company rapidly decomposes in the summer heat. Last year, Equitable Life. This year, Independent Insurance. One a mutual life insurer catering mostly for individuals. The other a listed general insurer catering mostly for companies. Of course, the Serious ...

  • War on Want promotes SRI to pension managers

    29 Jun 2001

    Charity War on Want is launching a Just Pensions toolkit which is a new information pack for pension fund trustees and fund managers providing advice on how to improve the impact of pension fund investment on social needs. The moves comes ahead of the first anniversary of the new amendment to the Pensions Act, requiring all occupational pension funds to report on the extent of their Socially Responsible Investment policies.  

  • Warning of Govt threat to occupational pensions

    28 Jun 2001

    Occupational pensions are under threat from proposals outlined in the Chancellor's enterprise shake-up announ-ced last week, says employee benefits consultancy Buck Consultants. It warns that Government measures to encourage small business start-ups will result in an investment culture taking inappropriate risks. Buck says that by interfering with the investment process of bigger company pension schemes and increasing the number of smaller businesses that ...

  • Wentworth teams with iii

    28 Jun 2001

    Surrey-based IFA Wentworth Rose is linking up with personal finance website Interactive Investor International to provide retirement information. Customers can access information online or by calling a freefone number for a consultation with a Wentworth Rose annuity adviser. The site is aimed primarily at savers aged 50 and over who are approaching retirement and may be unsure of their best course of action. Interactive Investor chief marketing officer ...

  • Why ScotEq with-profits bond failed to shine

    28 Jun 2001

    Before IFAs are seduced by Scottish Equitable's £500,000 ad campaign "to give IFAs the best support in the country" (Money Marketing, May 24), they should learn from our bitter experience. In January 1999, we promoted their marketing literature which proudly proclaimed: "With-profits performance bond - a shining example." The words ring hollow now when the product enhancements, to obtain and retain volume business, are conveniently removed by ...

  • Winterthur ditches pension fee

    28 Jun 2001

    Winterthur Life is removing the 1 per cent contribution charge on regular-premium pensions next month due to stakeholder pressure and to make investment returns more competitive. It says personal and executive pensions in its regular-premium range offer an alternative to stakeholder for clients who want a cost-effective premium contract. It says people with a 1 per cent stakeholder contract face a reduction in yield of 1.07 per cent on their investment ...

  • Zero tolerance for marketing gloss

    28 Jun 2001

    Gartmore has become the third major fund manager this year to launch a zero-dividend preference share fund but IFAs remain reluctant to join in the zero worshipping. IFAs appear unconvinced of the value of zero funds and cynical about the motivations for the recent launches. Last week, Money Marketing revealed that Gartmore has drafted in star fund manager Richard Prvulovich to run its fund of zeros following launches by Jupiter and Framlington. Prvulovich ...

  • Zurich in U-turn on gay cover

    28 Jun 2001

    Zurich Life is to offer life insurance to gay men for the first time in a policy U-turn that follows media criticism of its procedures. It changed its policy after it told an online survey by gay website queercompany.com that it would not insure gay men. The survey led the ABI to call for life companies to reassess the issue of insuring gay men and related concerns about HIV and Aids. This week, Zurich reportedly told the website it did not quote on homosexuals ...

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