Money Marketing
28 March 2007

  • Borrowers' details stolen from Halifax

    29 Mar 2007

    Halifax has written to 13,000 mortgage customers to tell them some of their personal details were stolen last week. The incident was promptly reported to the FSA. Nationwide was fined 1m by the FSA this year after a laptop computer containing members' account details was stolen.

  • Bupa online system for group cover

    29 Mar 2007

    Bupa Group Risk has set up an online system that enables intermediaries to generate a quote and buy cover within 30 minutes. The platform offers a range of group protection products suitable for smaller schemes.

  • 650,000 To be hit by 100% NPSS tax

    29 Mar 2007

    The Government has made the startling admission that 650,000 people will not be a penny better off by saving into pension personal accounts.

  • A&L launches offshore bond

    3 Apr 2007

    Alliance & Leicester International Limited has launched a limited edition one year fixed rate bond with a fixed interest rate of per cent.

  • Abbey - Special Release Structured Deposit 2

    29 Mar 2007

    AbbeySpecial Release Structured Deposit 2

  • 'A-Day has helped only the rich'

    29 Mar 2007

    A-Day has made no difference to the retirement plans of the general public, says Edward Jones. The company says only the very wealthy have taken advantage of the changes.

  • Advisers get same Zurich email thousands of times

    29 Mar 2007

    Advisers were left in a muddle last week after a botched message from Zurich Financial Services was sent to their emails thousands of times.

  • Amvescap sues to stop fixed-income poaching

    29 Mar 2007

    Amvescap, the US parent of Invesco Perpetual, is suing Deutsche Bank to try to stop it poaching its fixed-income team, including up to four senior fund managers and 12 analysts.

  • Barely credible

    29 Mar 2007

    HMRC does not appear to have considered the implications of potential IHT changes to trusts for children.

  • BNP PAribas Asset Management - Parvest Euro Long Term Bond

    29 Mar 2007

    BNP PAribas Asset ManagementParvest Euro Long Term Bond

  • Borrowers fail to get ongoing service

    29 Mar 2007

    Mortgage brokers are failing to provide ongoing service to borrowers whose deals come to an end, says Accord Mortgages.

  • Borrower's 'gag' claim over I-Group repo error

    29 Mar 2007

    A borrower has revealed that mortgage lender I-Group tried to gag him after wrongly repossessing his home.

  • Braemar Group appoint Sean Fisher

    3 Apr 2007

    Braemar Group plc has appointed Sean Fisher as senior account manager

  • Broker Talkback

    29 Mar 2007

    Was the Budget good for your clients?

  • Brown ignored warnings on £5bn a year pensions raid

    2 Apr 2007

    Chancellor Gordon Brown’s £5bn a year pensions raid has finally come back to haunt him with the revelation that he ignored repeated warnings from his own officials about the long term damage it would have on savings.

  • Brown's big shock for small firms

    29 Mar 2007

    Gordon Brown's Budget was slated for making big headline tax cuts which will all too often be made up for elsewhere in people's tax bills.

  • 'Budget will not hit Rowanmoor family trust'

    29 Mar 2007

    SSAS provider Rowanmoor has attacked the Budget as a "ridiculous, illogical piece of legislation" but denies that its family trust proposition will be adversely affected.

  • Build a bridge over bankruptcy

    29 Mar 2007

    Paul Rumbold, marketing and sales director of Affirmative, says bridging finance can be the answer for individuals and businesses with insolvency problems facing bankruptcy or applying for IVAs.

  • Burgess refutes claims of MPPI sales slump

    29 Mar 2007

    British Insurance managing director Simon Burgess rejects suggestions that the mortgage payment protection insurance market is crumbling.

  • Cameron & Cameron Asset Management - Eastern European Property Fund

    29 Mar 2007

    Cameron & Cameron Asset ManagementEastern European Property Fund

  • Cameron & Cameron draws in diversity

    29 Mar 2007

    Investment boutique Cameron & Cameron Asset Management is planning to attract multi-managers to its European property and global media funds.

  • Chiefs to depart as Close merges fund businesses

    29 Mar 2007

    Close Fund Management heads Marc Gordon and Richard Bolchover are leaving the business following a restructure that will see CFM move into Close Investments.

  • Clients are worse off under regime

    29 Mar 2007

    An open letter to Aifa director general Chris Cummings

  • Commission rise stirs the industry

    30 Mar 2007

    Moneyfacts caused a bit of a stir this week after research it conducted showed a dramatic rise in the amount of commission paid to brokers over the past ten years.

  • Correspondent's Week

    29 Mar 2007

    This week by Simoney Girard, managing editor for financial client magazines at Wardour Publishing and Design.

  • Cycle paths

    29 Mar 2007

    In the end, last week's Budget was somewhat overshadowed by the newsflow from central banks.

  • Dampier questions IFA attitudes to Isas

    29 Mar 2007

    Hargreaves Lansdown head of research Mark Dampier has questioned adviser sentiment towards Isas after a Sesame campaign saw sales of 12.5m in two months, which he says HL can bring in in a day.

  • Deal or no deal?

    29 Mar 2007

    What factors have sparked the growing acquisitive interest in advisory firms and how can IFAs strengthen their business models to secure a handshake? By IMAS Corporate Advisors principals Olly Laughton-Scott and Benoit Guerin.

  • Defining moment

    29 Mar 2007

    One of the key elements of the successful application for a chartered title was the existence of a robust disciplinary process which had teeth.

  • Don't ignore TCF deadline this week

    29 Mar 2007

    Sesame chief executive Patrick Gale is warning advisers not to bury their heads in the sand over treating customers fairly with the March 31 deadline this week.

  • Dynamic fund pioneer quits JP Morgan for hedge launch

    29 Mar 2007

    JP Morgan European highalpha head Ajay Gambhir is leaving after a decade at the company to run a hedge fund at MPC Investors.

  • Education Crisis

    28 Mar 2007

    Helen Pow reports on the need to set out clearly the advantages of income protection insurance which is widely misunderstood.

  • Euro opps hedge fund for Serero

    29 Mar 2007

    New Star is launching a European opportunities hedge fund for Thierry Serero, the former C60 Capital and Fidelity fund manager, who is joining New Star.

  • Euro row builds over Equitable verdict

    29 Mar 2007

    The European Parliament committee investigating the Equitable Life debacle is set to accuse the Government of massive regulatory failings.

  • European Equitable report attacks the Government

    2 Apr 2007

    A European Parliament committee has released its damning draft report into the collapse of Equitable Life accusing the UK Government of a light touch approach to regulation and “piecemeal” implementation of European legislation.As revealed in last week’s Money Marketing, the committee found the Government guilty of severe regulatory failings which contributed to the collapse of the provider.It calls on the Government to “devise and implement” a scheme to compensate policyholders ...

  • February Isa sales slump to £88m

    29 Mar 2007

    Net Isa sales were 40 per cent down in February compared with last year at £88m, says the IMA.

  • For make benefit glorious press office of HBOS

    29 Mar 2007

    Those Norwich Union press officers know how to have a laugh. After David Gwyer's recent departure from the team, NU thought it would show its appreciation for his hard work over the years by sending a luminous green Borat "mankini" to him at his new role at HBOS.The Diary is sure Gwyer and the HBOS press office will have appreciated the gesture.

  • Fos warns on Isa admin errors

    30 Mar 2007

    Firms making technical errors resulting it clients missing out on Isa deadlines should in some cases pay compensation, even if there is no quantifiable loss, says the Financial Ombudsman Service.In this month’s Ombudsman News, the FOS says it sees a number of disputes arise from errors of administration and sets out case study examples of settled, upheld and rejected complaints in this area. It says the dispute normally surrounds whether the business is responsible for the error ...

  • Foster Denovo selects IntelliFlo

    29 Mar 2007

    Foster Denovo has chosen IntelliFlo's Intelligent Office to provide front and back office technology for its team of over 130 partners.

  • Friendly deal for Lighthouse

    29 Mar 2007

    LV= closes IFA arm and advisers offered self-employed move to Lighthouse.

  • Friends' profit is hit by F&C fund outflows

    29 Mar 2007

    Friends Provident's share price dipped by 7 per cent last week after it revealed that group profits fell to 509m last year from 524m in 2005.

  • FSA at first meeting of wrap coalition

    29 Mar 2007

    Pima is working with a coal-ition of wrap providers, content providers and distributors to set up a wrap forum similar to the platform committee set up by the Investment Management Association last September.

  • FSA creates more flexible rules for unit-linked investments

    28 Mar 2007

    The FSA has set out proposed changes to widen the “permitted links” rules governing which assets the unit-linked insurance sector can invest in.The regulator says the current rules have been in place for 13 years and have not kept up to date with market changes.It will replace them with a more principle-based set of rules allowing investment in a wider range of assets with a set of high level rules for unit-linked insurance funds underpinned by some detailed rules on specific assets.FSA ...

  • FSA says AVMs need backing by independent valuations

    29 Mar 2007

    The FSA has warned lenders which use automated valuation models to ensure that properties are still valued independently.

  • FSA warning over Sipp financial promotions

    28 Mar 2007

    The FSA has warned it has concerns over a ‘significant number’ of Sipp financial promotions in the run-up to regulation.The regulator undertook a review of Sipp financial promotions in the lead-up to regulation on 6 April and says firms need to take steps to ensure such promotions comply with its requirements.It also warns it will carry out thematic work on Sipp advice if it sees problems in this area after regulation begins.The FSA is already monitoring advice on Sipps and ...

  • FSA warns of trading dangers

    29 Mar 2007

    The FSA has warned that investment banks and fund managers are in danger of relying on inexperienced staff to build up commodity trading.

  • FSA warns on retailisation risk of hedge techniques

    29 Mar 2007

    The FSA has warned of the risks of "retailisation" of hedge fund techniques ahead of consultation on creating an onshore fund of hedge funds regime.

  • Funds of hedge funds set for FSA green light

    29 Mar 2007

    Onshore retail funds of hedge funds look set to be given the green light by the FSA after it proposed bringing them under its regulatory regime.

  • Getting the message on re-registration

    29 Mar 2007

    Re-registration of assets has been the engine of much of the growth of fund supermarkets and wrap accounts for several years.

  • Gloom service

    29 Mar 2007

    Excessive negative reporting is damaging public confidence in the industry.

  • GMAC-RFC sells £923m portfolio to Oakwood Homeloans

    3 Apr 2007

    GMAC-RFC has sold three of its portfolios to Credit Suisse owned Oakwood Homeloans in a deal worth £923m.

  • Godiva lays bare six pledges to brokers

    29 Mar 2007

    Godiva Mortgages has made six key pledges to brokers following its launch last week.

  • Government must urgently clarify personal accounts advice costs, say MPs

    29 Mar 2007

    The Government must urgently clarify the costs of any national system of generic advice that would underpin personal accounts, says the work and pensions committee.In its report on personal accounts, released today, the committee said the Government had to set out its own estimates for the costs of the service, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of funds held in personal accounts.It said if either the costs or quality targets cannot be achieved it “will seriously undermine ...

  • 'GP report should guarantee payout'

    29 Mar 2007

    Lifesearch is calling for protection providers to pledge to pay out on all policy claims if a GP report is provided at acceptance stage.

  • Growth brings more confusion

    29 Mar 2007

    Growth in the number and types of multi-manager funds has brought about the same confusion that the concept was designed to dispel, according to Defaqto.

  • Gull quits Morley for new pension insurer

    29 Mar 2007

    Norwich Union monthly income plus fund manager Mark Gull is leaving Morley after eight years to join Pension Insurance Corporation, a newly launched company that buys and then insures companies' pension liabilities. Roger Webb will take over the management of the fund.

  • Half of IFA firm owners have no succession plans

    29 Mar 2007

    Fifty-one per cent of IFA businesses are failing to take any steps toward succession planning, according to James Hay.

  • Hargreaves Lansdown backing for generic advice

    29 Mar 2007

    Hargreaves Lansdown has backed generic advice for per-sonal accounts, saying that it will be sufficient to determine suitability of membership for people close to retirement.

  • Hay adds more funds for wrap

    29 Mar 2007

    James Hay has added 13 new funds from Aegon, Fidelity, M&G and Morley to its wrap platform. The total number of funds available is 1,137.

  • High demand brings Cheshire backlog

    29 Mar 2007

    Prudential says it will support advisers in the changing market environment by maintaining an initial commission option and introducing a factory gate pricing model on its unit-linked bond in the third quarter.

  • HSBC and NS&I first to join PFS initiative

    3 Apr 2007

    HSBC Investments and NS&I are the first two firms to sign up to the Personal Finance Society’s Partners in Professionalism initiative.The scheme is aimed at organisations keen to demonstrate their commitment to professional standards and is designed to provide access to a large, defined group of advisers.PFS chief executive Tim Eadon says: “This is an excellent opportunity for firms to demonstrate their commitment to professionalism and high standards. We are thrilled that NS&I ...

  • HSBC Investments appoints Rudd to head of external distribution

    2 Apr 2007

    HSBC Investments (UK) has appointed Dan Rudd as head of external distribution.

  • Ideas in motion

    29 Mar 2007

    It is almost eight months since Skandia launched its global best ideas fund while the UK version is five months old. This is obviously a very short period but I think it is worth looking at how they have performed.

  • IFA firm signs up with Paradigm

    29 Mar 2007

    Midlands IFA Perspective Financial Management has become one of the first firms to sign to Paul Hogarth's new venture, Paradigm. Perspective managing director Tony Smith says the partnership ethic is what the industry needs.

  • Illot quits Bates and looks for fund move

    29 Mar 2007

    Bates Investment Services head of communications Paul Illot is leaving the company after five and a half years.

  • IMA denies means-testing threatens personal accounts

    29 Mar 2007

    The IMA has hit out at claims that means-testing will deter people from saving into personal accounts.

  • Initial switch

    29 Mar 2007

    The Money Portal says it has secured backing from providers to wean its advisers off up-front commission.

  • Is Brown pulling a FAS one?

    28 Mar 2007

    Paul McMillan says the Chancellor's pledge to boost the Financial Assistance Scheme has had a distinctly lukewarm reception.

  • Jockeying for position

    29 Mar 2007

    Last week saw SimplyBiz members putting their racing tips into practice in a virtual Gold Cup challenge developed by Zurich.

  • Journey into the unknown on principle costs

    29 Mar 2007

    Is it me or do others share my confusion? My conundrum is as follows. If the FSA is able to quantify where and why staff bonuses are to be paid, why are they unable to carry out a cost-benefit exercise on principle-based regulation?

  • Journey to the centre

    29 Mar 2007

    I was going to write about the Budget this week but suddenly I had one of those dreadful feelings of ennui: "You've written about Gordon for the best part of 10 years, covering upwards of 20 Budget and pre-Budget speeches. All he has achieved, yet again, is to give with one hand and grab with the other. Why bother?"

  • Jupiter to transfer preference fund

    29 Mar 2007

    Jupiter is to transfer its preference fund to Premier Portfolio Managers Ltd(Premier) from 27 April 2007.

  • Kearney heads for CSAM

    28 Mar 2007

    Credit Suisse has continued its multi-manager recruitment drive with the appointment of Aidan Kearney to the fund of funds team.

  • Kensington chief Maltby quits firm amid profit warning

    29 Mar 2007

    Kensington was rocked last week after group chief executive John Maltby quit as it issued a profit warning.

  • L&G calls for employers to be given auto choice

    29 Mar 2007

    Legal & General is calling for employers opting out of personal accounts to be given a choice over auto-enrolment in a bid to prevent levelling down of existing occupational schemes.

  • Land of opportunity

    29 Mar 2007

    John Wood, manager of the JO Hambro UK opportunities fund launched around 18 months ago, has already achieved an AA rating from Forsyth OBSR...

  • Lifesearch sees big rise in family benefit and CI business

    29 Mar 2007

    Lifesearch says new business volumes in January were up by 39 per cent on the same month last year on a rolling three-month average and it expects to sell upwards of 30,000 policies this year.

  • Loan advisers see proc fees rocket

    29 Mar 2007

    Mortgage advisers have seen their commission on prime mortgage cases rocket by hundreds of pounds per case in the last 10 years, according to research from Moneyfacts.

  • Manx mirror links for Friends International

    29 Mar 2007

    Friends Provident International has added 19 new mirror fund links to its Isle of Man fund range, including direct property and fixed-interest portfolios.

  • Matters of relevance

    29 Mar 2007

    Comparing and contrasting the treatment of the two types of non-excepted group life scheme.

  • Moss moves for buy-to-let push

    29 Mar 2007

    Mortgage Express product development manager Andrew Moss has quit to join Mortgages PLC to relaunch the Merrill Lynch-owned lender into the buy-to-let market.

  • Nationwide sets 25-year fix at 5.49%

    29 Mar 2007

    Doubts over borrowers wanting to be locked in for so long

  • New laws will raise costs for attorney move

    29 Mar 2007

    Financial advisers could use the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2007 coming into force this year to help to establish professional connections, says Standard Life.

  • New Star trust to focus on private equity funds

    29 Mar 2007

    New Star has set up an investment trust that will target private equity funds.

  • New Star's Duffield will net 70m

    29 Mar 2007

    New Star founder John Duffield is expected to net 70m this week as the firm is set to announce 350m in windfalls for shareholders.

  • No more hiding place for Brown

    2 Apr 2007

    After two years of ducking and diving Gordon Brown was finally forced to publish evidence he was presented with before his 1997 Budget on the devastating effect his infamous raid on pensions would have on the industry.

  • Notional trust

    29 Mar 2007

    Do you put your clients at the heart of your business or does your organisation have other priorities? A simple question, and yet it lies at the heart of treating customers fairly.

  • NU denies pulling back from Sipps

    29 Mar 2007

    Norwich Union has moved to quell rumours that it is pulling back from the Sipp market after increasing the minimum for initial single premiums and transfers into its Sipp from £10,000 to £100,000.

  • NU says don't burden taxpayers with £1.5bn subsidy

    29 Mar 2007

    Personal accounts should compete on an equal footing with other pension products and should not be subsidised by taxpayers, says Norwich Union.

  • Nursing an inheritance

    29 Mar 2007

    In the latter part of October 1995, I was introduced to a 64-year-old lady who was seeking advice on how she might invest a modest inheritance. She had worked part-time as a nurse, having brought up three children on her own and, other than a state pension, had no other income.

  • OMAM appoints head of equity alpha

    28 Mar 2007

    Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) has appointed John Mattimore as head of equity alpha from 15 March 2007.

  • One year left to revise trust plans, warns Standard

    30 Mar 2007

    Standard Life is highlighting that certain types of trust will have just one year left for trustees to consider making changes to them.

  • Origo setting up site to compare e-services

    29 Mar 2007

    Origo is setting up an online e-services comparison tool for financial advisers next month.

  • Out of Context

    28 Mar 2007

    "I've got the least environmentally friendly car ever but I love it."

  • Pack pain

    28 Mar 2007

    Home information packs Annie Shaw says concerns are growing that Hips could put off prospective sellers.

  • Panic stations? Not now

    29 Mar 2007

    At difficult times in the market, it is helpful to re-examine individual stocks.

  • Philip Williamson

    29 Mar 2007

    Nationwide's outgoing chief executive recalls how he took a £45,000 pay cut in his enthusiasm to join the society in 1991. Since then, he has helped to double its mortgage book and gain a reputation for fairness with customers and staff. When he departs this week, he will leave the UK's most prominent mutual poised to become the country's second-biggest lender. Interview by Guy Anker.

  • Pink Home Loans adds Victoria

    2 Apr 2007

    Pink Home Loans is set to add Victoria Mortgage Funding to its range of packagers.

  • PPI refunds good for consumers, says FSA

    29 Mar 2007

    Consumers who bought payment protection insurance policies with a single premium will benefit from refunds, according to the FSA.

  • Private function

    29 Mar 2007

    Chris Salih asks if advisers should fear private equity after Jupiter's MBO.

  • Property prices going Down Under

    29 Mar 2007

    The Australian housing market is suffering from falling house prices and rising repossessions, raising fears it could follow the crisis-hit US market.

  • Protection values

    29 Mar 2007

    Gordon Brown's disingenuous Budget has attracted such criticism that there is almost no need to add to it. Far more commendable last week were the trading results of the UK's omnipotent estate agency business Countrywide.

  • Providers backing Portal pay switch

    29 Mar 2007

    'Any commission junkies that cannot see the value will be shown the door'

  • Pru sets up multi-asset hybrids

    29 Mar 2007

    Prudential has launched two hybrid multi-asset funds of funds that will build on its track record in running with-profits funds.

  • Prudential pledges to keep options open for advisers

    28 Mar 2007

    Prudential says it will support advisers in the changing market environment by maintaining an initial commission option and introducing a factory gate pricing model on its unit-linked bond in the third quarter.

  • Resolution acquisition talks terminated

    30 Mar 2007

    Talks which could have led to the acquisition of Resolution have been terminated, according to a statement to the London Stock Exchange from the provider.In November last year, Resolution announced it was in preliminary discussions with various parties about a possible merger or acquisition of the firm, or the potential for the firm to acquire other businesses itself.The provider says the particular discussions that may have led to a possible offer for the company have now been ...

  • Rising Exchange rates

    29 Mar 2007

    ETFs have been overlooked but they can can provide valuable diversification.

  • Rock offers 36 choices on flexible fixed range

    29 Mar 2007

    Northern Rock has set up a range of products which includes 36 choices on its two-year flexible fixed range.

  • Rover pensions are transferred to PPF

    29 Mar 2007

    The troubled MG Rover pension scheme has been transferred to the Pension Protection Fund to provide much needed financial security to the 6,000 affected employees.

  • Schemmann to run global equity income for Schroders

    29 Mar 2007

    Schroders is setting up a global equity income fund to be managed by Sonja Schemmann.

  • SEI bolster banking team with sales director

    30 Mar 2007

    SEI has strengthened its global private banking team with the appointment of Stephen Barbalaco as sales director for the EMEA region.

  • Sifa warns solicitor’s regulator over St James’s Place referral tactics

    30 Mar 2007

    Sifa has written to the Solicitors Regulation Authority warning that St James’s Place may be persuading solicitors to break Law Society rules and refer business to its multi-tied agents.

  • Singletons putting pressure on housing market

    3 Apr 2007

    The growing trend for living alone is putting pressure on the housing market, says online mortgage company mform.co.uk.

  • Sipp reaching a wider market as business booms

    29 Mar 2007

    FundsNetwork says Sipps are increasingly becoming a product for the mass affluent rather than a niche vehicle for high-net-worth clients.

  • SLI launches DC investment platform

    2 Apr 2007

    Standard Life Investments has launched its new investment

  • Smith to run M&G Asian fund

    29 Mar 2007

    Aled Smith is taking over as manager of the 197m M&G Asian fund. Smith also runs M&G's global leaders and American funds.

  • Special delivery

    29 Mar 2007

    Back in 2003, I spent a significant period on the road launching the iimia investment trust, a fund of investment trusts. This was a thankless task at the time as the closedended sector was desperately out of favour.

  • Stamped out of the market

    28 Mar 2007

    The Budget Gregor Watt says Gordon Brown is taking a tough line on stamp duty despite pleas for a big rise in thresholds which have been engulfed by price increases.

  • Standard could distribute 1.3bn WP fund surplus to policyholders

    29 Mar 2007

    Standard Life is looking at distributing the 1.3bn surplus in its with-profits fund to policyholders in a move that could increase policy values by 4 per cent.

  • Storm over Amvescap losses

    28 Mar 2007

    Not for the first time in recent years, news from across the pond has left many of us who claim to be rational thinking human beings scratching our heads.

  • Sub way to go

    28 Mar 2007

    Our panel consider the fate of employed self-cert, the fallout from the US sub-prime crisis and brokers' proc fee structure.

  • Taylor back with Bankhall link for GI support start-up

    29 Mar 2007

    Former Bankhall joint chief executive Simon Taylor is returning to the industry in a move that sees him strike a deal with his former firm.

  • Taylor quits Standard Life

    29 Mar 2007

    John Taylor is leaving Standard Life after 12 years to join Scottish Widows as market director, corporate pensions.

  • Taylor Young launches two new funds

    2 Apr 2007

    Taylor Young Investment Management has grown its service and product range with the launch of two new funds.

  • Teamspirit hires new client services director

    30 Mar 2007

    Financial services marketing agency Teamspirit has appointed former Liquorice director Mark Hollander as a client services director.

  • Tenet turn-round sees 1.6m profit

    29 Mar 2007

    Money Marketing would like to clarify the Tenet Group results as reported inthe March 15 issue. Tenet's turnover was up from 110.6m in the 17 months to September 30, 2005 to 114.7m for the year ended September 30, 2006. Pre-taxoperating profits grew from a loss of 4.38m to a profit of 1.67m for the same respective periods, while P&L on ordinary activity increased from 4.38m loss to 1.67m profit. Cash in the bank, net of debt for the year ended September 30, 2006 was 21.7m, up from 16.4m ...

  • The bare truth

    29 Mar 2007

    Coventry Building Society is so excited by the launch of its specialist mortgage arm Godiva Mortgages, it sent journalists a factfile on Lady Godiva last week.

  • The end is nigh

    29 Mar 2007

    Use it or lose it is the warning for pension clients who should be discussing with their advisers the possibility of maximising contributions and tax relief before the opportunity is gone, says Skandia senior retirement planning manager Adrian Walker.

  • The muddled maths

    29 Mar 2007

    The Chancellor failed to offer justice in his Budget to pension victims.

  • Threshold on hold

    29 Mar 2007

    Guy Anker reports on a Budget that let down the mortgage industry.

  • Tiner sees case for naming and shaming

    29 Mar 2007

    FSA chief executive John Tiner says there is a case for naming and shaming companies which perform poorly in the regulator's mystery-shopping investigations.

  • TMP thanks advisers with 6m bonuses

    29 Mar 2007

    The Money Portal is paying out 6m in bonuses this week to IFAs who "stuck with them" while it repaired the damaged model inherited from Millfield last summer.

  • Toe-curling moment

    29 Mar 2007

    The Diary loves an obvious joke. Not quite so much, however, as Jupiter regional sales manager Alison Treharne, who was introducing fund manager Tony Nutt at a recent IFA presentation.She went the extra mile, describing him as "the only fund manager with three body parts in his name - toe, knee, nuts".Nice one Alison. The Diary is sure Tony loved you for that one.

  • Tories brand Chancellor an "incompetent Stalinist"

    3 Apr 2007

    The Tories have branded the Chancellor an "incompetent Stalinist" for pressing ahead with his infamous £5bn a year raid on pensions despite warnings from his colleagues of the damage this would cause to schemes.

  • Track to the future

    29 Mar 2007

    This year, brokers have seen quite an increase in demand for fixed rates. It seems that every bank rate increase tends to frighten clients into believing that rates will continue to rise. However, not all clients want a short-term fix and recently we have noticed a growing interest for long-term tracker deals.

  • Transcript ruling alarms lawyers

    29 Mar 2007

    A recent Court of Appeal ruling allowing evidence from FSA inquiries to be used in civil lawsuits could prejudice advisers being sued, say leading financial services lawyers.

  • 'Ultra-prime web deals pose threat to brokers'

    29 Mar 2007

    Compliance firm predicts self-service online deals in two years for borrowers with low LTVs

  • Under the influence

    29 Mar 2007

    All those involved in pension provision will be finding their decisions being driven by personal accounts.

  • Variety show

    29 Mar 2007

    Evaluating Sipps purely in terms of cost is to ignore their versatility.

  • While on the subject...

    29 Mar 2007

    While on the subject of Godiva Mortgages, the Diary wonders if some modern-day Godiva were to ride naked round, say, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association dinner in protest at outrageous arrangement fees or stamp duty - would the males of the mortgage industry manage to look away and keep her dignity? The Diary, believing very much in human nature, thinks they would.

  • Williamson says hidden charges hammer public

    29 Mar 2007

    Nationwide chief executive retiring this week hits out at lenders' tactics to lure borrowers.

  • Winterthur unveils new management structure

    29 Mar 2007

    Winterthur has unveiled a new management team for its UK IFA business following David Thompson’s recent appointment as managing director with all roles recruited internally.In a newly formed department, Nick Lee will be head of marketing and Winterthur’s Professional Edge adviser support service.Bernard Henshall will be head of investment distribution, Frank Parsons will be director of sales, Rhidian Williams will be head of IFA operations, Rebekah Duckett will be head of product ...

  • Woolwich arsenal

    28 Mar 2007

    Lender profile Woolwich hopes its innovative product suite will give it ammunition to be a top gun in the market. By Guy Anker.

  • Yousefi quits A&L and is expected to join Merrill

    29 Mar 2007

    Alliance & Leicester head of intermediary mortgages Mehrdad Yousefi has quit after 18 years at the lender and is expected to join Merrill Lynch.

  • Zurich produces range of trust guides

    30 Mar 2007

    Zurich UK Life has produced a series of new guides for advisers in a bid to improve understanding of changes last year to trust taxation in the context of inheritance tax planning and the advice they give to clients.

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