Money Marketing
30 January 2002

  • Standard Life Investments makes senior level appointments

    4 Feb 2002

  • 'Multi-ties will mean a return to bad old days'

    31 Jan 2002

    Data information provider The Research Department has condemned FSA proposals for multi-ties, claiming they mean massive commission bias on sales of financial products. TRD, which provides information for the FSA's league tables and was inv-olved in Cap Gemini Ernst & Young research on the use of panels for consultation paper 121, says multi-ties will not address the problems in the industry. The company, which has been involved in selecting networks ...

  • 3 per cent fall in profits at Skipton

    30 Jan 2002

    Skipton Building Society's has announced a 3 per cent fall in profits to £39.3m for 2001 from £40.9m the previous year.

  • 37% of high-net-worth clients are unhappy with investment advice

    31 Jan 2002

    More than one in three high-net-worth clients are unhappy with their financial adviser, according to a new survey from global consultancy Andersen. The survey, which polled 270 high-net-worth individuals worldwide, including the UK, revealed 37 per cent of respondents are unhappy with their investment advisory firm while 34 per cent said they intended to place business with secondary advisers in 2002. The poll also revealed that 31 per cent of HNWIs prefer ...

  • A consumer's view

    31 Jan 2002

    The outcry following the FSA's proposal to scrap polarisation is not going to go away and quite right, too. It is hard to see how such a move could benefit consumers in the long term. The proposed changes to allow multi-ties and compel IFAs who want to retain true independence to charge fees owe less to any concern for consumers than to bancassurers' fears at the increasing proportion of business that IFAs are rounding up. The figures speak for themselves. ...

  • A knotty problem

    31 Jan 2002

    With the publication of the FSA consultation paper 121, multi-ties now appear to be inevitable. Having associated themselves so publicly with the concept, it is doubtful that the FSA will dramatically change its proposals now. Questions remain in many IFAs' minds about what exactly is meant by the multi-tied concept, given the noticeable lack of details in CP121. Prior to the publication of the consultation paper - released two and a half weeks ago - ...

  • ABN fears bulk annuity burden at Pru and L&G

    31 Jan 2002

    Investment analysts ABN Amro have expressed serious concerns over Prudential's and Legal & General's bulk annuity business, claiming that the liabilities taken on may be too great. Bulk annuities are created when defined-benefit schemes close and trustees sell off future liabilities to insurance companies. ABN has recommended reducing shareholdings in Prudential after looking at its bulk annuity business. A report from the firm, which covered all ...

  • Adverse credit major cause of stress

    5 Feb 2002

    One in five women see a poor credit history as the greatest cause of stress according to a survey from lender Kensington Mortgage Company. Across the whole population 17 per cent are most stressed about adverse credit than anything else.

  • AITC says the Chinese horse is worth backing

    31 Jan 2002

    The AITC is urging investors to take a look at the Chinese stockmarket as an alternative growth investment for 2002. With China having finally gained entry into the World Trade Organisation last year, as well as having won the bid to host the Olympics in 2008, the economy is in a positive state. As a result, several of the industry's leading fund managers believe China's year of the horse - which begins on February 12 - is worth backing. Specialist ...

  • Back to the future for Man

    4 Feb 2002

    Man Investment Products has introduced a fund of managed futures and hedge funds constructed as a Bermuda-based capital guaranteed bond.

  • Baring Asset Management - US Plus Bond Fund

    1 Feb 2002

    Friday February 1, 2002Type: Unit trust.Aim: Income by investing in high quality US-denominated, US high yield, emerging debt and non-US bonds.Place of registration: Dublin.Minimum investment: $5,000.Investment split: High quality US-denominated bonds 70 per cent, US high yield, emerging debt and non-US bonds 30 per cent.Yield: 5.4 per cent.Isa link: Yes.Pep trtansfers: Yes.Charges: Initial 5 per cent, annual ...

  • Best UK all companies funds

    1 Feb 2002

    ANDREW COWAN, director, Aitchison & ColegraveSometimes the performance of a fund is so consistently good, we have to conclude that the fund manager must be a rare talent. Fidelity special situations is such a fund and Anthony Bolton is such a fund manager. Leaving aside for a moment the Financial Services Authority's doubts about past performance being a reliable indicator of a fund's worth, let's just ...

  • Big Labour majority on annuity committee will kill bill

    31 Jan 2002

    The cross-party committee of MPs has been named to consider Conservative MP David Curry's private member annuity reform bill next week. MPs will debate the bill line by line and raise amendments but the Government is expected to use its majority on the committee to kill the bill by dragging out the debate. Labour has 10 members. the Tories four and the LibDems one. The bill has got this far after the Tories used guerrilla tactics to defeat the Government ...

  • Black & White links up with BM Exchange

    31 Jan 2002

    National broker the Black & White Mortgage Company is aiming to boost its expansion plans by joining the BM Exchange as a source for mortgage-related products. B&W, established 19 months ago specialising in remortgage business, plans to expand to 400 self-employed advisers by the end of the year from 180 and raise turnover to £5m from £3.5m. It intends to place shares on Ofex in the next few months before floating on the Alternative ...

  • Bonus of contention

    31 Jan 2002

    Millions of homeowners who are rel-ying on with-profits endowment policies to repay their mortgage face an uncertain future. One of the UK's major life companies, Norwich Union, was the first to confirm that bonuses have been cut this year. The average maturity value of a 25-year endowment maturing this year is expected to be 15 per cent lower than last year. This is a problem that is not going to go away. We are in an economic environment of low interest ...

  • Breaking barriers

    31 Jan 2002

    Tackling financial exclusion has been an important aspect of the Government drive to combat social exclusion. People are financially excluded when they do not have access to basic financial services. The Government's own social exclusion unit has estimated that about 10 per cent of the adult population (around four million people) are without a bank or building society account. Around one in four people do not have home contents insurance and over a third ...

  • British is best

    31 Jan 2002

    Framlington has designed the best of British Isa, which invests in the Framlington UK growth trust and UK smaller companies fund. Investors can choose their investment split but the standard is 80 per cent UK growth trust and 20 per cent UK smaller companies. The UK growth trust aims to produce growth by investing in large and medium capitalisation companies in the UK. It is made up of around 55 to 65 stocks which will be selected if they show above average ...

  • Canada Life revises two bonds

    4 Feb 2002

    Canada Life has revised two of its bond products, the Estate Preservation Bond and the Income Protection Bond by changing the remuneration options IFAs have on them.

  • Cat gets the bird for mortgages and Isas not as popular as Peps

    31 Jan 2002

    Cat-standard mortgages have been voted a complete flop by IFAs in the State of the IFA Nation poll of Money Marketing readers. Ninety-two per cent of advisers said Cat-standard mortgages had not succeeded. Isas have also been given the thumbs down, with 72 per cent of res-pondents saying Isas have not been as successful as Peps. IFAs are predicting a fall in the number of mortgage products on the market as lenders offer the same deal to new and existing customers. The ...

  • Charging fees will not help lower-paid get advice

    31 Jan 2002

    To: David Severn Head of department, conduct of business Financial Services Authority I have been an IFA for nearly 15 years and was previously a branch manager of Lloyds Bank. I have had my own business for nine years. There are a number of questions which I think have been shown up from the review but one of them seems to be that genuine independent advice has not been available to low-paid people. I cannot see how presenting such a person with a fee ...

  • Clarity begins at home

    31 Jan 2002

    The much discussed and potentially fundamentally important FSA consultative paper CP121 is certainly exercising the minds of many in the financial services industry and will continue to do so for some time to come. The scenario planning that was undoubtedly being undertaken by product providers and financial advisers ahead of the issue of the paper - leading some to take pretty serious action - will now, no doubt, be carried out with a little more clarity ...

  • Consumer protection to the fore

    31 Jan 2002

    Something quite extraordinary happened to the mortgage market in late December which cast a shadow over the New Year for many mortgage advisers. The Treasury's surprise announcement that mortgage intermediaries and advice are to be statutorily regulated under the FSA has sent many into a spin. I do not believe that the decision to regulate mortgage advisers is at all a negative or unwelcome phenomenon. But I reckon that most mortgage intermediaries ...

  • Count the cost of turning back the clock

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA has failed to identify properly what is wrong with the industry and what needs to be achieved by changes. What is needed is better-quality financial advice available on an ongoing basis to the widest possible audience. It needs to be available at a cost which the public is happy to pay and chargeable in a manner which the public finds acceptable. Advice needs to come from people who are qualified to provide that advice. It needs to come from people ...

  • Date set for Autif and FMA link-up

    30 Jan 2002

    Autif and the Fund Manager's Association will officially come together under the name of the Investment Managers Association on February 1. Autif director general Richard Saunders will be the chief executive of the new trade body, with Autif chairman Alan Burton becoming Ima's first chairman, and FMA chairman Lindsay Tomlinson becoming Ima's deputy chairman.  

  • DBS axes fees campaigner who planned to set up rival network

    31 Jan 2002

    Mellon Global Investors is offering a European ethical tracker fund targeted at the Catholic community. The fund tracks the ECapital European ethical index, which excludes a range of industries selected by the Vatican University such as contraceptives, nuclear power and pornography. IFA Evan Owen has been kicked out of DBS for considering starting a rival. Wales-based sole trader Owen, who has been running a campaign against the network's fee increases, ...

  • Deadline looms for Widows' loan notes

    31 Jan 2002

    Scottish Widows is issuing a reminder to around 45,000 customers who hold loan notes from its demutualisation that the latest deadline for their redemption is at the end of March. The notes, which allowed former members to defer payment of capital gains tax, were issued following demutualisation after Widows' takeover by Lloyds TSB in 1999. The new deadline is the third since the demutualisation and must be met to enable holders to redeem their loan ...

  • Drawbacks to annuity reform

    31 Jan 2002

    I read with interest the letter from Shadow Paymaster General Howard Flight entitled, Put an end to the unfair pension annuity regime (Money Marketing, January 17). Howard Flight argues for a minimum level of income to be annuitised, above income support levels, while the balance of the fund is made available to the consumer at their discretion. I assume the minimum income level increases with RPI. I would recommend that both he and MP David Curry, who ...

  • DWP benefit statements will show pension shock

    31 Jan 2002

    Pension experts are predicting a shock for money-purchase policyholders who will discover from the Government's planned combined benefit statements that their retirement benefits are up to 60 per cent lower than originally projected. The Department for Work and Pensions' statements are designed to provide individuals with an annual all-in-one projection of the benefits they will receive on retirement. But the DWP actuarial working party, currently ...

  • Edinburgh's Isa factsheets promote investment trusts

    31 Jan 2002

    Edinburgh Fund Managers is issuing a series of Isa fact guides aimed at demystifying the world of investment trusts. The guides are designed for IFAs to use with their clients to provide reassurance through current uncertain stockmarket conditions. The series, written by Edinburgh investment trust manager Robert Waugh, begins by answering simple investment questions such as why invest in UK stocks and shares, why invest in an Isa and why choose an investment ...

  • Equitable drives policyholder to distraction

    5 Feb 2002

    An Equitable policyholder has pleaded guilty to blackmail after being driven to distraction by the behaviour of the life office.

  • Equitable wins vote but the legal battle goes on

    31 Jan 2002

    Beleaguered Equitable Life has got a much-needed boost after policyholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of its compromise deal aimed at stabilising the society. Exceeding most expectations, the deal got the backing of 97.3 per cent of guaranteed annuity policyholders, with 98.6 and 99 per cent of the two non-GAR policyholder categories. The High Court has to approve its implementation. But despite chairman Vanni Treves describing the news as "an important ...

  • Europe steps up tempo

    31 Jan 2002

    One of the consequences of the raucous debate on the euro is that other equally ambitious developments coming out of the European Union are being overshadowed. For instance, as a step on the path to European integration, the EU has set itself the bold and ambitious target of having a single market for financial services by 2005. The previous guiding principle for EU financial services legislation was for "passports" to products regulated in the country of origin, ...

  • Feeling is mutual for Franklin Templeton

    30 Jan 2002

    Franklin Templeton investments has introduced Mutual shares II, a Dublin-based Ucits that invests mainly in the US.

  • Friends in protected global fund deal

    31 Jan 2002

    Friends Provident has set up a protected global growth fund for investors in its investment portfolio bond. The fund is aimed at cautious investors and those looking to diversify their portfolios by providing access to growth in world stockmarkets while offering some protection against a downturn. To provide the protection element, the majority of the fund will be invested in fixed-interest securities from institutions with a Standard & Poor's credit ...

  • FSA blocks M&E cash injection

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs could be left in funding limbo after the FSA blocked a consortium of providers from buying stakes in Tenet-owned M&E network by invoking its better than best rules. The consortium, which inc-luded Norwich Union, Scottish Widows and Friends Provident, applied for a waiver for exemption from the better than best rules but were turned down days before the FSA pledged to scrap them last month. The providers believed they could be granted special permission ...

  • FSA lose credit for omitting key details in trees

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA is facing criticism from the industry for continuing to avoid providing guidance in stakeholder decision trees on the issue of whether pension credits make it pay to save. The regulator is proposing that decision trees should be updated and maintained through an annual cycle of review to keep them in line with Government policy. But the proposals are aimed only at updating the factual content of decision trees and do not look at offering guidance ...

  • FSA rejects Autif claims over past performance

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA has dismissed Autif's latest research on past performance data, claiming it brings nothing new to the debate. In a letter to the trade body last week, FSA director of the risk assessment division Dan Waters said he was "unconvinced" by Autif's criticisms of previous FSA research and felt its report included no "new information about the relevance of past performance". The Autif report, published by Charles River Associates last week, attacked ...

  • FSA warning that industry faces unwelcome EU rules

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA is warning that unwelcome European Union financial regulation will be foisted upon the UK unless the industry does more to influence the debate on financial services at EU commission level. Speaking to Money Mark-eting, FSA international affairs and EU policy associate Nigel Phipps says there are real risks in the present negotiations with Europe and admits its regulatory structure will have to change and adapt to EU legislation. Such risks include ...

  • Fury at ScotLife blocking bonus

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs have slammed Scottish Life for reneging on its pledge to issue with-profits policyholders with an additional reversionary bonus following its demutualisation last year. ScotLife sent out a policy circular last April stating its intention to pay a bonus to policyholders at the end of 2001 as part of a compensation package for loss of voting rights after the takeover by Royal London. But chief executive Brian Duffin has admitted that ScotLife has decided ...

  • Gartmore going for the right blend

    31 Jan 2002

    Gartmore has unveiled the Gartmore monthly income fund, a unit trust that aims to produce income of 7.5 per cent a year. The fund will initially invest 70 per cent in high-yield bonds and 30 per cent in investment-grade bonds, the aim being to balance high income and the preservation of capital. The proportion of bonds within the portfolio can be varied in line with changing economic conditions, but it is expected that the fund will favour BB-rated bonds, ...

  • Genesis Home Loans discount mortgage

    2 Feb 2002

    Discounted term: until 06/2003 Discount: 1.6% Payable rate: 6.775% Minimum loan: £25,001 Maximum loan: £200,000 Income multiples: 3.5 times principal income plus 3 times joint Arrangement fee: £395 Redemption fee: 6% in 1st and 2nd year, 5% in 3rd year, then 1 month notice or 1% amount redeemed Conditions: remortgage only, self-cert, CCJ's max £3000 per ...

  • Get in the local loop

    31 Jan 2002

    I suggested in Money Marketing last October that IFAs were ideally placed to take advantage of customer confusion and apathy in the UK financial services market. Since raising the issue, MM's editor has thrown down the gauntlet for me of explaining how. This is a brash attempt to do just that and one that ignores all the usual consultant caveats - "need specifics of each individual case" and so on. If you do not want to be assaulted with generalisations ...

  • GPPs leading the way for Scot Life

    31 Jan 2002

    Scottish Life's business shot up by almost a quarter in 2001, driven by an increase of more than 70 per cent in group personal pension sales. Overall business rose to £170m from £137.2m in 2000 on an equivalent premium income basis, with group personal pension sales up by 71 per cent to £37.5m from £21.9m. Sales of group pensions jumped by 44 per cent to £49.5m from £34.4m, while individual pension sales rose by 15 ...

  • Helpful distortion

    31 Jan 2002

    It appears that among the reasons given by the FSA to abandon polarisation is that it is a major market distortion. This does not constitute a reason for change. In a free market, the powerful and well informed exploit the weakness and ignorance of those with whom they deal. Before 1986, financial consumers, who largely exhibit the latter qualities, had no protection against providers and intermediaries. The whole point in financial regulation was to tilt ...

  • Home is where the CGT is

    31 Jan 2002

    Harvey lives in the Middle East and is planning to retire in the UK fairly shortly. He is over 65. He has a property in London which has a substantial capital gain on it,along with a portfolio of offshore funds that has also substantial accrued gains. He is anxious to consider what might be done before returning to the UK. What do you advise? As far as the property is concerned, there are a couple of alternatives. The first is to crystallise the gain ...

  • Host closes branches and cuts admin after Aim flop

    31 Jan 2002

    IFA Host Partnership is closing down its branch network and scaling back its admin support, blaming a poor response to its proposed Aim flotation. The move, which Host describes as a change to its charging structure, will see the closure of 13 regional offices and around 100 RIs looking for new premises by the end of February. Host parent HST Financial is stressing that so far there have been no job losses. It says Host Part-nership's members are all ...

  • IFA sector fastest-growing of all brokers

    31 Jan 2002

    The IFA sector was the fastest-growing of all insurance brokers in both 1999 and 2000, according to a report by professional services firm Imas Consultants. The Medium Size UK Broker and Intermediary Report, exclusive to Money Marketing, also found that despite common perception of IFAs being small operations servicing local businesses, increasingly, they are professionals with wealthy and corporate clients. IFA firms saw their average turnover increase ...

  • IFAs 'failing to reach young, single people'

    31 Jan 2002

    Young and single people lack awareness of the benefits of independent financial advice, according to national IFA RJ Temple. Its research found that people under 25 and those without partners are more lik-ely to seek advice from a bank, friends or colleagues than from an IFA when making important financial decisions. Temple says the research suggests the FSA's proposal to scrap polarisation will make it even harder for IFAs to make independent advice ...

  • Independent view

    31 Jan 2002

    We are in a business which is heavily dependent on good relationships with our clients. These relationships tend to be long term. That is fairly obvious, I suppose, because the products and services we provide tend to be long term. There are few things better than to sit down with a customer you have known for many years to review plans that have been in place for many years. I am certain that some IFA firms will be able to claim relationships that go ...

  • Influence the outcome

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA's proposals to end polarisation are in a consultation paper and we all have a chance to influence the FSA's thinking. Misys is taking this consultation period very seriously and we are undertaking research among our five networks across a broad section of 7,500 IFAs. Nothing in the consultation paper undermines the existing IFA business models. The issue becomes one of description and the two main options for most IFAs are: Drop the independent ...

  • Inside edge

    31 Jan 2002

    The world is changing, like it or not. But there are some things that will not change. Independent advice will always be the best way for most people to arrange solutions to their financial planning and investment needs. The big question is how are independents going to persuade clients to use their services rather than the "free" service of a multi-tied or tied agent? Having argued that polarisation should be retained on the basis that the only form ...

  • Investlife plays in premier league

    5 Feb 2002

    INVESTLIFEPREMIER INCOME & GROWTH IIType: Capital guaranteed bond. Aim: Income and growth linked to the performance of eight Dow Jones Europe Stoxx sectors. Minimum investment: Lump sum £10,000. Place of registration: Luxemburg. Investment split: 100 per cent linked to eight Dow Jones Europe Stoxx sectors. Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of five year term providing the level of the worst performing sector is the ...

  • Investment analysis

    31 Jan 2002

    Following two weeks of declines, equity markets returned to winning ways last week, albeit just. In the UK, the market was given an initial boost following the news that the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted unanimously to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting earlier in the month. However, there was bad news from the corporate sector with shares in Energis falling by two-thirds after its profit warning. In spite of this, the ...

  • Investment update

    31 Jan 2002

    ABN Amro is offering a blanket 1 per cent discount on all Isa and Pep transfers and new Isa business until the end of April. The discount, which is exclusive to IFAs, will reduce the initial charge on the seven funds from 5 per cent to 4 per cent. Annual management charges are between 1.25 and 1.5 per cent. Minimum investment is £1,000 lump sum or £50 a month. Investec Asset Management is offering a 1 per cent discount on its cautious ...

  • Investment view

    31 Jan 2002

    T. Rowe Price, a noted growth investor, once remarked that change is an investor's only certainty. This most certainly applies at present. In this industry of ours we are having to come to terms with the ending of polarisation and a new, more demanding regulatory regime - to say nothing of the fact that markets presently deliver few favours. With interest rates and inflation both low as well, it is hard to come up with a strategy for clients that does not ...

  • Irish Permanent ups maximum loans for self-certs

    5 Feb 2002

    Irish Permanent has increased its maximum loan threshold for self-certification home loans to £500,000 from £350,000 to give the self-employed the chance to buy a more expensive property. It has also increased its procuration fee for introducers to 0.85 per cent from 0.5 per cent. It will lend up to 90 per cent loan to value to second time buyers and 85 per cent to first-time purchasers. There is a cap of £200,000 for first-time buyers. 

  • iShares spins Eurotop ETF

    1 Feb 2002

    iShares, an arm of Barclays Global Investors, has brought out the iShares FTSE Eurotop 100 exchange traded fund (ETF). This brings the number of EFTs in their range up to 12.

  • Julian Gibbs

    31 Jan 2002

    Despite volatile world stockmarkets, stockmarket-linked high-income products have proved very popular with both the public and IFAs. Future Value Consultants, an independent analyst rating these products, asked IFAs to vote on the products they like best. The winner was the NDF Abbey National extra income and growth series, which gave investors an income of 10 per cent or more with a low downside risk over periods of around three years. The runner-up was ...

  • Jupiter - Jupiter Distribution Fund

    4 Feb 2002

    Monday, February 4, 2002. Type: Unit trust. Aim: Income and growth by investing in corporate bonds, fixed-interest securities and UK stocks and shares. Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100. Isa lump sum £1,000, monthly £50. Investment split: Corporate bonds and fixed-interest securities 65 per cent, UK stocks and shares 35 per cent. Yield: 5 per cent. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: ...

  • Jupiter goes for distribution

    31 Jan 2002

    Jupiter has introduced the distribution fund, a unit trust that aims to produce income of 5 per cent a year with the potential for capital growth.This unit trust invests 65 per cent in corporate bonds and other fixed-interest securities, with the remaining 35 per cent going into high-yielding UK stocks and shares.The corporate bond element of the portfolio will be run by John Hamilton, who is already running the Jupiter corporate bond fund. He will look mainly for investment-grade ...

  • Keydata offers second helping

    31 Jan 2002

    Keydata Investment Services has followed up its secure growth portfolio with a second issue of the product.This guaranteed growth bond is linked to a portfolio of six externally managed Oeics over a five-year term. These are Norwich Union UK growth, Norwich Union European equity, JP Morgan Fleming premier equity growth, Newton income, Threadneedle European select growth and Threadneedle American select growth.The Norwich Union UK growth fund carries the highest weighting ...

  • Legal & General takes 7.8 per cent of the mortgage market

    1 Feb 2002

    Legal & General says intermediaries placed £12.7 billion of mortgages through the company last year, giving it a 7.8 per cent of the UK mortgage market.It says its results show this figure is over 50 per cent higher than the £8.1 billion achieved in 2000.It says its mortgage club network of over 6,000 intermediaries, its online links with lenders and its estate agency network have helped it become more dominant in the UK.

  • Lend me your arrears

    31 Jan 2002

    With sources such as the CBI reporting the biggest growth in Christmas consumer spending since 1987, this month will find many people realising that their overspending has turned into the grim reality of higher debt levels. It is all too easy to delay paying the major monthly bills but the consequences of mortgage default are by far the most serious. Once a payment is missed, it is very hard to catch up again and persistent default leads only one way, ...

  • Links boost L&G sales

    31 Jan 2002

    Legal & General's new business leapt by 27 per cent in 2001 following strong UK fourth-quarter sales through its tie-ups with Alliance & Leicester and Barclays. New business reached £801m on an equivalent prem-ium income basis from £630m in 2000, with UK business rising by 32 per cent to £710m from £536m after ales in the three months to December shot up to £194m from £137m. Individual life and pension sales ...

  • Liv Vic launches new annuity

    4 Feb 2002

    Liverpool Victoria is launching a new more flexible with-profits annuity available now from open market options as well as pension transfers.The annuity offers guaranteed income for the first two years, irrespective of bonus declarations or anticipated bonus rates. It also has a guaranteed minimum income. The annuity is available on single or joint life last survivor basis. IFA commission is 1 per cent plus uplift.

  • Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society - With Profits Pension Annuity

    4 Feb 2002

    Monday 4 February, 2002Type: With-profits annuity.Minimum investment: Lump sum £7,500.Minimum age: 50.Income frequency: Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annually.Charges: Implicit.Options: Can be converted from with-profits to conventional annuity on annuitant's death.Commission: Initial 1 per cent.Tel: 0845 6020690.

  • Liverpool Victoria revises annuity

    5 Feb 2002

    Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society has redesigned its with-profits pension annuity to allow annuity transfers under the open market option. The open market option refers to annuitants being able to shop around for an annuity rather than staying with their existing pension provider. The previous version of Liverpool Victoria's with profits pension annuity did not support this and was only able to accept transfers from personal pensions. Now it can also take transfers from other ...

  • Lofthouse new chief at Brain

    31 Jan 2002

    Trading platform Mortgage Brain has named former managing director of the Assuresoft portal Mark Lofthouse as its chief executive. Lofthouse, 41, one of five directors to leave DBS's portal following its acquisition by Misys last July, says the equ-ity backing given to Mortgage Brain by six major lenders makes it an attractive proposition for intermediaries. He says he plans to ann-ounce the appointment of a chief technical officer shortly and will then ...

  • Market Harborough Building Society 2 year discount

    2 Feb 2002

    Discounted term: 2 years Discount: 2.25% Payable rate: 3.49% Minimum loan: £35,000 Maximum loan: £400,000 Income multiples: Over 75% if valuation three times principal incomce plus 2.5 times joint, under 75% of valuation three times principal income plus 3.5 times joint Arrangement fee: £295 Redemption fee: 6 months penalty interest in first 5 years, one months notice or one months redemption interest ...

  • Matrix's Unicorn VCT way ahead of the field

    31 Jan 2002

    Matrix's Unicorn venture capital trust is running away with the 2002 VCT market, accounting for almost a third of all sales so far this tax year. The generalist trust, managed by star small-cap manager Peter Webb, has taken more than £12.5m in sales since its launch in October compared with total VCT sales of around £35m. Many of the other trusts have taken little money this season, with sales estimated to be down by as much as 70 per cent ...

  • McGreevy out as Carby takes over at Inter-Alliance

    31 Jan 2002

    National IFA Inter-Alliance group chief executive Stuart McGreevy has left the company and been replaced by J Rothschild Assurance co-founder Keith Carby. The departure comes as investment bank Evolution Group has paid £1.6m for a 12.6 per cent stake in Inter-Alliance from McGreevy and group managing director David Garofalo, who has also resigned. Both men keep a 2.4 per cent stake. The deal could see Evolution lend the Aim-listed company a further ...

  • Mellon - Ethical Tracker Fund

    5 Feb 2002

    Tuesday, February 5, 2002. Type: Ucits. Aim: Growth by tracking the E.capital ethical index Euro. Minimum investment: Euros 5,000. Place of registration: Dublin. Investment split: 100 per cent tracking the E.capital ethical index Euro. Isa link: No. Charges: Initial up to 4 per cent, annual A shares 1 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal subject to negotiation. Tel: 0845 6001383.

  • Misys likely to take distributor status

    31 Jan 2002

    Misys IFA Services has accepted most of its members will probably be unable to remain independent in a depolarised regime because a move to fees would cripple their businesses and deny clients' choice. The giant network looks set to opt for distributor status for most of its members while researching the whole market. The move comes as the FSA appears to be promoting the option of IFAs dropping the independent tag but continuing to operate on a commission ...

  • Mortgage Express fixed buy-to-let mortgage

    2 Feb 2002

    Fixed term: until 03/03/05 Fixed rate: 6.49% Minimum loan: £40,000 Maximum loan: £1m Income multiples: none apply, but minimum incomes £20,000 sole applicant, £30,000 joint applicants, and gross income must be 130% of monthly interest payment

  • Multi-tied in knots

    31 Jan 2002

    The publication of CP121 by the FSA has certainly opened the proverbial Pandora's box. The debate has shifted up a gear with spin doctors on each side decrying the other. Before anything is accepted, the whole process of consultation is going to take place. If, as many allege, the multi-layered authorisation structures will happen in any event there are going to be many questions asked before the industry gets to grips with the new regime. The ...

  • Myners heading for the Big Apple

    31 Jan 2002

    Former Gartmore chairman Paul Myners has been elected to the boards of the Bank of New York Company and its subsidiary the Bank of New York with effect from March. Myners left Gartmore in November after 16 years with the firm, in which time he oversaw the firm's sale by parent NatWest to US life insurer Nationwide. However, Myners is probably best known for his wide-ranging review into the institutional investment market carried out for the Treasury. The ...

  • New UK fund research service

    4 Feb 2002

    World Investor Link has launched a new service in the UK through the Financial Times which allows fund managers to target investors who are looking for UK investment opportunities.

  • Norwich Union allows investors to prosper

    5 Feb 2002

    Norwich Union has entered the guaranteed bond market with prosper, a guaranteed equity bond that has a four-year term.

  • NU takes 20% stakeholder share

    31 Jan 2002

    Norwich Union claims it is now the leading provider of stakeholder pensions after taking a 20 per cent market share and sales of £119.1m in the eight months since the launch of the product. The company, which saw its new life and pension business shoot up by 30 per cent last year to £1.3bn in equivalent premium income from £976m, says it has become the market-leader in stakeholder through the strength of its brand and a successful advertising ...

  • Our poll finds IFA nation wants single united body

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs want Aifa, Sofa and the LIA to merge into one general trade body for advisers, according to exclusive research by Money Marketing and Virgin One on the State of the IFA Nation. The first figures from the extensive survey of IFA opinion shows 82 per cent of IFAs would like to see the separate bodies come together to act on behalf of all advisers. IFAs were asked for their views on aspects of the whole industry from business models to the Sandler review. ...

  • Outside edge

    31 Jan 2002

    Behind the headlines of the recent CP121 from the FSA, there is much to consider. Although most of the initial debate centred on the depth of life office pockets and the likely rush to buy/secure distribution (delete according to your view), there is a whole raft of other issues that require consideration. I am particularly interested in the impact of the proposals on the fund management sector - especially on those middle-ranking companies which are unlikely ...

  • Owain Wright

    31 Jan 2002

    Lives: Pluckley, Kent. Born: December 17, 1968 Education: South Manchester High School Career: Began as a broker sales consultant at Eagle Star from 1998 to 1992, the same position with Allied Dunbar 1992-1993, responsible for marketing, education and sales at PPP Lifetime Care 1993-1998, longterm care adviser for IFA Campbell Fisk & Partners 1998-2001, head of Care Funding Bureau 2001 to present. Career ambition: Having an impact on the care issues ...

  • Package tours

    31 Jan 2002

    Do mortgage packagers have a future or will lenders and brokers fulfil the role of packagers themselves using improved technology? Snowdon: Packaging mortgages properly is not just about increased technology. It is also also about understanding lenders' criteria and submitting the correct documentation so that they can consider the application quickly and efficiently without having to refer back for more information. Those brokers who are equipped to ...

  • Passport to profits

    31 Jan 2002

    Changes in EU legislation, with the advent of the various life and non-life EU directives, have introduced the longawaited single-passport rules allowing insurers authorised by their home authority to supply services to another European country as well as providing the right of establishment throughout Europe. The single-passport rules have made breaking into a European market more attractive for insurers, especially with the current economic realities ...

  • Pensions for the self-employed

    31 Jan 2002

    Pensions for the self-employed have always been a conundrum, particularly state pensions. At one end of the sector are the high-earning professionals such as accountants and solicitors working as sole-proprietors or partners. And at the other end are the low to modest-earning home-workers, subcontractors or small business owners. All are entitled to the basic state pension on retirement but not the earnings-related part of the state scheme (Serps). Only employed ...

  • PHL discount on adverse loans

    31 Jan 2002

    Specialist lender Platform Home Loans is offering a 1.5 per cent discount across its range of new non-conforming mortgages. The discount applies until June 1, 2003 and applies to its standard, self-certification, light-adverse, fast track and right-tobuy loans. The initial rate for lightadverse mortgages, which are aimed at borrowers with minor credit difficulties such as one county court judgment, is 5.375 per cent. After the discount period, the rate returns ...

  • Pink Home Loans discounted mortgage

    2 Feb 2002

    Pink Home Loans, discounted mortgageDiscounted term: 2 yearsDiscount: 1.8% Payable rate: 3.95%Minimum loan: £25,000Maximum loan: £800,000 Income multiples: 3.25 +1, 2.5 x joint over 90% LTVArrangement fee: noneRedemption fee: 6 months interest at SVR for 2 yearsConditions: max LTV 85% Introducer's fee: 0.25%, min £150Tel: 08707 590170 

  • PMI quotation service from DBS and MediQuote

    1 Feb 2002

    DBS is linking up with MediQuote to provide a comparative individual and group private medical insurance quotation service.

  • Postal order stamps on the scene

    31 Jan 2002

    There have been two significant pieces of news in the past week that could potentially be black clouds on the horizon of an otherwise buoyant mortgage market. First, two leading life companies are slashing bonuses, which could lead to potential endowment shortfalls. Second, two major lenders are restricting the loan to value offered in certain "blacklisted" areas in the South-east and London. NatWest and Alliance & Leicester are the two lenders which ...

  • Preferred range for non-conformers

    30 Jan 2002

    Preferred Mortgages has launched a new range of mortgages for non-conforming borrowers, including the self-employed.

  • Principality Building Society 3 year fixed

    2 Feb 2002

    Fixed term: until 31/03/05 Fixed rate: 5.39% Minimum loan: £5,000 Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation for loans of up to £175,000, up to 90% of valuation for loans of up to £200,000 Income multiples: 3.5 times principal income plus 2.5 times joint Redemption fee: 2% of balance until 31/03/05 Arrangement fee: none Conditions: up to 95% LTV, daily interest, free valuation Introducer fee: standard 0.34%, ...

  • Principality Building Society fixed mortgage

    2 Feb 2002

    Fixed term: until 31/03/05 Fixed rate: 4.99% Minimum loan: £5,000 Maximum loan: up to 75% of valuation Income multiples: 3.5 times principall income and 2.5 times joint Redemption fee: 2% of advance for three years Arrangement fee: £299 Conditions: daily interest Introducer fee: standard 0.34%, negotiable Tel: 0800 328 1717

  • Product matters

    31 Jan 2002

    The launch of a new American fund is probably cause for a big yawn from most of you. It has been a difficult region to sell to investors. But, as the biggest economy in the world, it should have a significant weighting in any portfolio. Most American fund managers last year took value away through stock selection, according to our own analysis.Therefore, the launch of Legg Mason's American value fund in March/April should be of interest. It is based ...

  • Protection on Merrill funds

    31 Jan 2002

    Merrill Lynch HSBC has set up two investment products providing 100 per cent capital protection over three or four years. The Euro Stoxx protected investment product tracks the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index for three years and is comprised of stocks from the 11 eurozone countries. It offers a basic growth return of 6 per cent if held to maturity. Investors can qualify for an additional bonus depending on the growth of the index. The FTSE 100/S&P ...

  • Pru bids to be leader For intermediaries

    31 Jan 2002

    Prudential believes it can become the number one intermediary life office as rivals face a day of reckoning because they are not writing profitable business. Director UK intermediaries Tony Kempster, speaking at the company's sales conference this month, said he believed the strategies adopted by some of Pru's plc and mutual rivals were not sustainable in the long term. He believes rivals have taken a hit on their margins and are seeking to generate ...

  • Public believe the price is right for valuable life cover

    31 Jan 2002

    Is this what the argument is all about - £189m a year in excessive commission (ABI statement) or 25p a week for the 10 million new policyholders? Is that what Sandler is all about? Is that why we need to reverse polarisation? It is about time the control freaks got real. If my father had life insurance on my mother when I was four years of age, he would not have had to work round the clock. He was a master tailor, he died broke but it did not make ...

  • Quarter of independents back the Sandler review

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs are divided over what good the Sandler review will do for the industry, with more than a quarter supporting the controversial review, according to the State of the IFA Nation poll. When asked about what the review will do for the industry, 30 per cent of respondents were unsure whether the outcome would be beneficial for the market. But 27 per cent were positive the review would be good for financial services and 42 per cent thought it would damage ...

  • Raising the roof on martgages

    1 Feb 2002

    Mortgage loan to values are on the way up, with some lenders offering advances of 100 per cent or more of the property value. Some companies are targeting specific markets, such as first-time buyers, while others are offering them across the whole spectrum. Pink Home Loans is currently offering an exclusive fixed rate in conjunction with Mortgage Express. It features a maximum loan to value of 105 per cent, with 102 per cent for first-time buyers. ...

  • Ready for action

    31 Jan 2002

    Abbey National's decision to take a stake in mortgage platform IFonline sets it apart from competitors Halifax and Nationwide which have sided with rival platform Mortgage Brain. The move also surprised some industry sources who say Abbey had vowed to concentrate on developing its own broker site rather than invest in external technology. But Abbey head of e-commerce Neville Sharman denies that its own internet service for intermediaries will be neglected. ...

  • Retail investment fund sales in 2001 down by £8.5bn

    31 Jan 2002

    Sales of retail investment funds plummeted by almost half in 2001, down by £8.5bn on the previous year. Net retail sales fell to £9.26bn from £17.74bn in 2000, the first year-on-year drop in sales since 1995. December sales showed some signs of recovery, however, rising by 11 per cent on the previous month to £629m from 568m. Nevertheless, this figure was still 36 per cent down on last December's total of £987m. Net Isa ...

  • Scarborough Building Society - Bonus 75 Day Bond Issue Three

    31 Jan 2002

    Thursday, January 31, 2002. Type: High interest account. Minimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£250,000. Interest rates: 4.45 per cent a month. Term: 15 months. Offer period: Until April 30, 2002. Withdrawal penalties: 60 days' interest on amount withdrawn. Tel: 0845 4584458.

  • Scarborough Building Society capped mortgage

    2 Feb 2002

    Capped term: 5 years Capped rate: 5.45% Minimum loan: £25,001 Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to maximum of £250,000, negotiable beyond Income multiples: 3 times principal income plus 2.5 times joint Arrangement fee: £295 Redemption fee: 5% of advance for 5 years Conditions: £250 moneyback Introducer's fee: Loans of £25,000 to £74,999 - £150, loans of £75,000 ...

  • Scheme charges overhauled

    1 Feb 2002

    Occupational pension providers are feeling the impact of stakeholder as they move to scrap the complicated old charging structures and put in place a single annual management charge.Standard Life is the latest to move to a single charge on all its occupational pensions. However, it has gone a step further and limited its annual management charges to 1 per cent, the only provider so far to do so.On January 14, 2002, Standard ...

  • ScotEq criticises IFAs over trust plans

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs could be neglecting their clients' needs by failing to write more investment bonds in trust, claims Scottish Equitable. Head of sales for personal investment Peter Bradshaw says many IFAs do not take into account rapidly changing domestic situations and inheritance tax pitfalls when writing investment business. As a result, he claims IFAs are not only doing their clients a disservice but also missing out on the opportunity to boost their professional ...

  • Securehealth - Options

    5 Feb 2002

    Tuesday, February 5, 2002. Type: Private medical insurance. Minimum-maximum ages: 18-74. Maximum benefit: No maximum. Cover provided: Option 1 full inpatient cover, option 2 full inpatient cover plus outpatient cover up to £1,000, option 3 full inpatient and outpatient cover. Procedures covered -surgeon and anaesthetist fees, physician fees, theatre charges, consultants fees, physiotherapy, diagnostic procedures, MRI/CT scans, radio ...

  • SecureHealth keeps options open

    1 Feb 2002

    SecureHealth has teamed up with Legal & General to offer options, a private medical insurance (PMI) plan that can be tailored to the needs of different age groups.

  • Seven up for brand push as CCHM wraps up deal

    31 Jan 2002

    Service brand agency CCHM has been picked to develop the brand identity and communications for Killik & Co subsidiary Seven Investment Management. Led by chairman Lucian Camp, CCHM is to create the brand and marketing literature for Seven, which specialises in providing investment services for private investors. Launched this month, Seven was founded by chief executive Tom Sheridan and financial commentator and marketing director Justin Urquhart ...

  • Severn up for Smee's TV quiz

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs will get a chance to grill the man in charge of the FSA's polarisation review at a live web broadcast being filmed at the Channel Four Studios in London. Global Business Television is broadcasting the second in a series of webcasts discussing topical industry issues such as polarisation and the Isa season in a format which allows IFAs to take part in a lively debate. The highlight of the programme is FSA head of conduct of business David Severn ...

  • SFO loses final Morgan Grenfell round in court

    31 Jan 2002

    The Serious Fraud Office's last chance of securing a conviction in the 1996 Morgan Grenfell scandal finally slipped away last week as Norwegian stockbroker Erik Langaker was acquitted. Langaker was found not guilty at Kingston crown court on charges of conspiracy to defraud. Charges against his colleague Jan Helge Johnsen were stayed in May 2000 after it was revealed that he had term-inal cancer. Morgan Grenfell fund manager Stewart Armer appeared with ...

  • Skipton crosses Atlantic

    30 Jan 2002

    Skipton Building Society is offering a second issue of the stateside mortgage, which tracks the three-month US dollar London Inter Bank Offered Rate (Libor).

  • SLI selects bond

    4 Feb 2002

    Scottish Life International has introduced the select income and growth bonus bond, a stockmarket-linked offshore bond that can be tailored towards individual's attitude to risk.

  • Soap plays equity card

    31 Jan 2002

    As if the scrapping of polarisation was not enough, one of the nation's favour-ite TV soaps has decided to stick the boot into IFAs. Coronation Street's 13.5 million viewers have been watching the IFA from hell Richard Hillman dominate story lines. Commentators in the national press have not been slow to draw connections - one wag asked if FSA chairman Howard Davies has been watching too much Coronation Street. Senior industry figures, however, have ...

  • Sofa spotlight on LTC

    31 Jan 2002

    Sofa is holding a day-long conference covering all the major issues relating to long-term care. Speakers will look at issues surrounding who needs LTC insurance, current legal issues for the IFA, new arrangements for funding LTC and co-operating with other professionals when providing care. The agenda includes formal presentations and interactive case studies, with industry speakers including Department of Health head of health and social care Anne McDonald, ...

  • Stakeholder's personal connections

    31 Jan 2002

    Ten months after stakeholder opened for business, there is still a lot of confusion around. The source of this confusion appears to be a perception that fundamental differences exist between stakeholder pensions and personal pensions. The truth is that both stakeholder and personal pensions (including the self-invested variety) are subject to the same Inland Revenue rules. They are effectively the same thing. So what is causing the confusion? We need to ...

  • Standard & Poor's Top 10s

    31 Jan 2002

    Merrill Lynch Investment Manager's gold & general fund is back on top of the unit trust table with a return of 46.68 per cent for the past 12 months. But despite rising returns at the top of the table, the average unit trust return has fallen to -17.53 per cent from around 14 per cent at the start of the year. Korean funds continue to dominate the the top five, with JPMF Korea, Baring's Korea trust and Schroder Seoul in second, third and fifth positions ...

  • Standard Life - 3 Year Buy-To-Let Fixed

    5 Feb 2002

    Fixed term: 3 years

  • Standard Life - 5 Year Buy-To-Let Fixed

    5 Feb 2002

    Fixed term: 5 years

  • Standard Life - Executive Pension Plan

    30 Jan 2002

    Wednesday January 30, 2002Type: Executive Pension Plan.Minimum premium: Monthly £300 for first member, then £208.33 average for additional members. Minimum-maximum ages: 16-75.Fund links: Standard Life funds - sterling one, fixed interest one, property one, protection one, structured one, index-linked one, managed one, ethical one, international one, stock exchange one, Far East one, European one, Japanese one, North American ...

  • Standard Life - Small Self-Administered Scheme

    31 Jan 2002

    Thursday January 31, 2002Type: Small Self-Administered Scheme.Minimum investment: £416.67 a month first member, £208.33 a month average for additional members.Investment choice: Standard Life funds - sterling one, fixed interest one, property one, protection one, structured one, index-linked one, managed one, ethical one, international one, stock exchange one, Far East one, European one, Japanese one, North American one, Pacific Basin ...

  • Supermarkets start to deliver the goods

    31 Jan 2002

    The introduction of new chief executive Clive Boothman at Cofunds earlier this month was a positive and progressive move for the platform. After 18 months under the tenure of former CEO Sam Jensen, Cofunds is now finally firing on all cylinders, competing with its competitors at the cutting edge of functionality rather than playing catch up and struggling to meet its deadlines. While in its early stages Cofunds was often over-deadline and over-budget, ...

  • Take time to size up the new options

    31 Jan 2002

    Since the bombshell of the FSA's consultation paper on the abolition of polarisation, the IFA's dictionary is having to be rewritten. Long-used terminology will no longer apply in the proposed depolarised world and IFAs are struggling to disentangle the web of jargon spun into CP121. With many product providers dangling a variety of lucrative offers in front of IFAs, they are quickly having to assess what alternative business models would be up for ...

  • Talkback

    31 Jan 2002

    Are Alliance & Leicester and NatWest right to cut their loan-to-value criteria for areas of the South-east due to fears of a downturn in the housing market? "No. Why should they? Lenders have been offering 95 per cent for as long as I can remember and I have been in business since 1985."Joseph Gillespie, Gillespie Financial Services "Yes. I think far too much money is being loaned in all directions."William Paterson, Mr WS Paterson "Yes, ...

  • Teather & Greenwood Investment Management - UK smaller Companies Fund

    5 Feb 2002

    Tuesday 5 February, 2002Type: Oeic.Aim: Growth by investing in Aim-listed companies.Minimum investment: £500.Investment split: 100 per cent invested in Aim-listed companies.Isa link: Yes.Pep transfer: Yes.Charges: Initial 5 per cent, annual 1.4 per cent.Commission: Initial 3 per cent.Tel: 020 7426 9003.

  • The Exchange launches long term care service

    5 Feb 2002

    The Exchange is launching a long term care quotation and information service that gives IFAs instant access to detailed company information and product details. The LTC centre includes a comprehensive library of provider literature comprising sales aids, application forms, technical brochures and customer focused material. IFAs can request an LTC quotation by either linking directly to a provider’s website or by e-mailing a request direct to the provider’s ...

  • The generation game

    31 Jan 2002

    While the FSA's proposals may not seem immediately attractive to IFAs, this particular cloud may yet have a silver lining. FSA chairman Howard Davies said: "Our aim is to secure long-term improvements for consumers through greater choice in the financial products available to them." The current interpretation of "choice" is that it refers primarily to the sales channel and through that the brands and products available. However, there is another interpretation ...

  • The key to company value

    31 Jan 2002

    In my last article I started to look at formulae and comparisons from the share price pages which can be used to assess various aspects of the financial situation of quoted stockmarket companies. Before continuing with our look at these formulae it is worth stressing the fact that none of them, in isolation, is particularly helpful or instructive. Indeed, no combination of these formulae is suggested as being a definitive guide to the current or likely future ...

  • The lesson of Equitable's fall

    31 Jan 2002

    At some stage, a line will be drawn under the retail financial services industry's most sorry episode - Equitable Life -but not yet. A deal has been struck to take account of the Law Lords' decision that was the immediate cause of the closure to new business and a major obstacle to a final resolution has been removed. It is probably the best deal anyone, bar a small minority of guaranteed annuitants nearing retirement, was going to get. But one group ...

  • The Plotz thickens for investors in UK films

    31 Jan 2002

    Curzon Capital is to sponsor Movision Management's first series of film partnerships intended to offer tax relief for investments in British film and TV productions. The partnerships have been structured to benefit from capital allowances for film and television finance. These allow investors to finance the investment from existing tax liabilities or tax already paid. Investors also receive a small tax rebate. The partnerships will be advised by UK-based ...

  • The state of the IFA nation is healthy

    31 Jan 2002

    IFAs are optimistic about their business prospects and see only other IFAs as serious rivals to their market dominance, according to exclusive research for Money Marketing and Virgin One. The State of the IFA Nation survey of Money Marketing readers, conducted in association with Virgin One, shows 84 per cent of IFAs are optimistic about their future business. Banks are seen as IFAs' biggest competitors for business after rival IFA firms, with 30 per ...

  • TMO discount

    2 Feb 2002

    The Mortgage Operation, discounted mortgage

  • Tougher rules on using future profits in reports

    31 Jan 2002

    The FSA is cracking down on the financial reporting of life offices by making it harder for them to use future profits when valuing their long-term liabilities. The regulator sets out its plans as part of consultation paper 123, which aims to force providers to use accounting techniques which ensure their assets and liabilities are valued realistically and that capital requirements reflect the real risk they face. The move is being seen as an attempt to ...

  • Towry Law warning letter on leaks is leaked

    31 Jan 2002

    Towry Law is warning its staff that any further leaks to the media will "not be tolerated" and will be treated as gross misconduct following a spate of bad press in recent months. In a letter to all employees from group managing director John Simmonds, staff were reminded of his "increasing concern and anger about negative coverage of Towry Law in the trade press", a view first expressed at a series of recent sales conferences. The letter says: "I want ...

  • U-turn in the right direction?

    31 Jan 2002

    Industry welcomes Treasury decision." "Common sense prevails." "The right decision at last." These are all views we have read since the infamous Treasury U-turn on the regulation of mortgage advice last month. But what else could the industry have said? From CP70 through to CP98, lenders have argued that the proposals for statutory mortgage regulation are unworkable unless mortgage advice is included - and have lobbied hard to get there. Finally, our ...

  • Wesleyan website is revamped to boost ease of use

    31 Jan 2002

    Wesleyan Assurance Society is relaunching its website after an overhaul which it claims will make it easier for customers to manage their finances through a variety of online tools. The website has been revamped to include several online calculators, enabling customers to estimate their potential mortgage repayments, inheritance tax liability and the impact of infla-tion on their savings. The introduction of unit prices on the website allows customers to ...

  • World Cup for the industry

    31 Jan 2002

    Financial services companies have their own opportunity to grab the foot- balling spotlight with the first Corporate World Cup. The five-a-side football tournament, organised by event specialist Top Corner, offers the chance to be the best corporate team in Britain, competing against other industries in a national contest on September 7. Finance Fives take place on June 30 and is open to all financial services companies. The winner becomes the National ...

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