Money Marketing
30 July 2003

  • 'NKR to be separate entity from the FSA'

    31 Jul 2003

    Opra says the New Kind of Regulator that will replace it will be a separate entity from the FSA. Government ministers see the NKR's role of regulating the conduct of trus-tees as closer in style to the work of the Charity Commission than the FSA, according to Opra. The NKR was first mooted in Alan Pickering's report, A Simpler Way to Better Pensions, and is covered in the Department for Work and Pensions' Green Paper. It is likely to have its headquarters in Brighton, ...

  • 'Property managers fail clients'

    31 Jul 2003

    Property fund managers who keep their portfolios heavily invested in cash lack expertise and are neglecting their duty to investors, says Thesis Asset Management. Managing director Anthony Wands believes that some property fund managers cannot cope with transactional complexities, resulting in cash weightings approaching 40 per cent. He says this is a dereliction of duty to investors. Wands fears the property sector has become cluttered with funds launched by companies lacking ...

  • A consumer's view

    31 Jul 2003

    A remark by outgoing FSA chairman Sir Howard Davies will resonate with all those who have to deal with consumer complaints. Referring to the increasing number of complaints about missold endowments, he warned that the endowment review is overwhelmed by spurious claims due to the UK's growing compensation culture. Complaints have been made by consumers even where they were fully aware of the terms of the products. You only have to read the Financial Ombudsman Service's reports ...

  • A new release of life?

    31 Jul 2003

    The FSA's announcement earlier this month that it plans to introduce exams for advisers on equity-release mortgages has been welcomed by many in the industry as a step in the right direction. Although it is a product that IFAs rarely touch, it seems the industry agrees that its complexity and potential for misselling need to be reined in under new regulation before it becomes the next big scandal. Widows Bank deputy managing director Graeme Hartop says IFAs distributing equity-release ...

  • A select gathering

    31 Jul 2003

    The role of Parliamentary select committees has been brought into sharp focus in the past few days for the most appalling and tragic reasons. The death of Dr David Kelly still poses more questions than it answers but, for me, as someone who has followed the development of select committee practice in recent times, the political impact of recent events paints an important picture. If the death of Dr Kelly gives pause for thought, to my mind, this will be one of his most important ...

  • ABI updates PMI guide

    31 Jul 2003

    The ABI is updating its guide to private medical insurance aimed at consumers taking their first steps into buying cover. Approved by the Plain English Campaign and the General Insurance Standards Council, the free guide is an update on the original written in 1999. The guide outlines the range of cover available, how premiums are calculated, why the cost of cover may go up and the steps consumers must take to make a claim. PMI providers will automatically supply a copy to ...

  • Actuaries offer free endowment redress calculator to small IFAs

    31 Jul 2003

    Actuarial consultant OAC is offering free software for small and regional IFAs needing to work out redress for mortgage endowment complaints. OAC says the independent calculator, which is verified by actuaries, is Windows-based and in use by some high-street banks and life insurance companies. It says the Financial Ombudsman Service is happy to check calculations made with this software when complaints are referred to it. Help with any problems operating the software is provided free. Business .

  • Archaelogy today

    31 Jul 2003

    This week's No S!*t Sherlock Award goes to InvestorComplaints - first with the news. The company's latest press release left The Diary wondering whether it was Groundhog Day as it revealed the exciting news that: "A new financial scandal is in the making over a range of so-called guaranteed investment bonds, warns two experts". InvestorComplaints head honcho Alistair MacDougall gives us the inside track of what's going on at Canary Wharf. "We understand the FSA is very ...

  • Arrears still falling - CML

    30 Jul 2003

    Arrears and possessions are still falling according to the latest Council of Mortgage Lenders figures. The number of properties taken into possession has fallen from 6,850 in the first six months of 2002 to 4,270 for the first half of 2003.

  • Axa extra income fund evolves offshore

    4 Aug 2003

    Axa Isle of Man has added the evolution extra income fund to its unit-linked fund range for the evolution and estate planning bonds. The fund fits in at the lower end of evolution's risk spectrum and consequently it is likely to produce modest returns. It aims to provide income and preserve capital by investing entirely in the Axa extra income Oeic which in turn invests in sterling fixed-interest securities, with some exposure to high-yielding UK and European equities. The ...

  • B&W fixes at 3.79% for three years in deal with Scot Prov's mortgage alliance

    31 Jul 2003

    Bristol & West is offering a three-year fixed-rate loan exclusively through Scottish Provident's Mortgage Alliance. The fixed rate of 3.79 per cent runs until the end of August 2006 then reverts to the bank's standard variable rate, which is currently 5.54 per cent. There is no extended tie-in on the loan. The mortgage is available at up to 95 per cent loan to value for both purchases, including firsttime buyers and remortgages. Additionally, it includes free valuation, ...

  • Bagger says he will be back as Standard rejects his resolution

    31 Jul 2003

    Standard Life carpetbagger David Stonebanks has vowed to press on with his demutualisation campaign and intends to be visiting the insurer again before the year is out. His vow to persist with the campaign follows Standard's rejection of his first request for a special meeting to vote on demutualisation, with the insurer stating that his resolutions were invalid and could not be put to members. Stonebanks, a retired lecturer from Herfordshire, needed 1,000 correctly completed ...

  • Baillie Gifford appoints manager to American fund

    5 Aug 2003

    Baillie Gifford has announced the appointment of Malcolm MacColl as joint-manager of its American fund, succeeding Andrew Holliman.

  • Bank of Scotland wraps up triple fund deal

    31 Jul 2003

    Bank of Scotland Investment Service is setting up a wrap account which offers HBOS customers access to funds from Schroders, Newton and UBS Asset Management. The service will be introduced on August 18 and will feature three funds from each of the firms, offering investors access to a range of growth, income and international funds. The bank says the product is aimed at higher-net-worth investors and says it is part of its no-load proposition which has only one charge - an annual ...

  • Berkeley Berry Birch takes over MacRobins

    31 Jul 2003

    IFA group Berkeley Berry Birch has bought London-based IFA MacRobins for £673,077. The deal for the employee benefits and general insurance specialist will be split between £350,000 cash and £323,077 of BBB shares. MacRobins has just two advisers but produces around £1m turnover through corporate pensions and commercial insurance for SMEs. It will be integrated into BBB's financial advisory division. BBB raised £20m from institutional investors ...

  • Big shake-up at Barclays sees sales directors axed

    31 Jul 2003

    Barclays has begun plans to re-engineer its IFA businesses with a high-level rationalisation of sales management at director level. The shake-up will bring the Woolwich IFA Services, Sedgwick and Barclays Independent Financial Planning sales- forces together into one business unit with a single management structure under the BIFP banner. Each firm will keep its name at present. The number of sales directors is being cut from five to two and 13 regional sales managers have to apply ...

  • Brokers criticise A&L loan stance on London and SE

    31 Jul 2003

    Alliance & Leicester's announcement last week that it is to take a cautious approach to lending in London and the South-east has had a mixed response from brokers. A&L says it has ruled out lending over 90 per cent on properties between £150,000 and £350,000 or more than 75 per cent on a house worth over £350,000 in London and the South-east because of concerns over falling house prices. The move has been criticised by many brokers who claim they will ...

  • BTL investors are in for long term

    31 Jul 2003

    Three-quarters of buy-to-let investors are investing for the long term, according to research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents. Two-thirds of those surveyed plan to retain their properties for more than a decade while 19 per cent are looking at over 20 years, says Arla. The figures come from a survey conducted through its website. Arla hopes the results will help to dispel the myth that the buy-to-let market has overheated. A quarter of buy-to-let landlords ...

  • Building blocks

    31 Jul 2003

    Do you think the recent mergers of Portman and Staffordshire building societies and the smaller Clay Cross and Derbyshire will spark off a flurry of consolidation for building societies? Webster: I think the news of these transactions means that some societies will need to answer questions that they will already have been asking of themselves. Specifically, this is to decide whether they are best able to cope with everything that the mortgage market is about to throw at them alone ...

  • Buy to let viable alternative to pensions says UCB

    4 Aug 2003

    Rising numbers of people are viewing investment in property as a viable long-term alternative to pensions and other investments, according to specialist lender UCB Home Loans.

  • Cavanagh in takeover talks with E&Y

    31 Jul 2003

    Aim-listed IFA the Cavanagh Group is in advanced talks to buy Ernst & Young Financial Management in a reverse takeover. The deal would see legal and accountancy specialist Cavanagh more than double in size to 101 RIs from its current 42 if E&Y's 59 advisers come on board. Cavanagh's shares were suspended on Tuesday morning following the stockmarket's announcement of the talks. It is thought that Ernst & Young has been wanting to offload its Edinburghbased ...

  • Chattering classes

    31 Jul 2003

    The Diary is pleased to see that IFAs are making good use of their hands-free telephones. A survey by BT has revealed that financial advisers top the list when it comes to calling sex and chatlines from work. If your finance director is walking around staring at the phone bill it could be the effect of all those calls at Tahitian mobile rates. Up there with IFAs in seedy phone use are car dealers and hotel workers, so if you're on those chatlines, these are the people you're ...

  • Circus Capital walks with-profits tightrope

    31 Jul 2003

    Circus Capital has established two offshore funds that invest in a portfolio of with-profits funds. The company says there used to be little difference between with-profits providers, but poor equity performance over the last few years has altered this. With providers making a series of cuts to bonus rates, factors such as the financial strength of providers have become important when separating the best providers from the worst. The ...

  • Close Property lays on quartet for Sipps

    30 Jul 2003

    Close Property Investment has created quartet, an exempt unit trust providing access to an actively managed portfolio of 13 UK commercial properties.The fund will borrow around 70 per cent of property purchase costs from HBOS and the bank will contribute almost half the remaining costs. This leaves £10.5m to be raised from Sipp investors, charities and clients investing via the limited partnership route.The management of the portfolio will be outsourced to property ...

  • Correspondent's week

    31 Jul 2003

    Monday morning, 6am, and I struggle out of bed. On the way downstairs, I look in on my baby twins, peacefully asleep in the next room and completely unaware of the effect their nocturnal activity has had on their father's ability to face the new week. After a huge mug of coffee, I feel marginally better and set off to do battle with Britain's wonderful motorway network. It is not a good start. A lorry fire means that the M4 is not moving and it is still over 200 miles to Leeds. Two ...

  • Court says Equitable can sue for £2.6bn

    31 Jul 2003

    Equitable Life has been given the green light to sue former auditors Ernst & Young for up to £2.6bn after the Court of Appeal threw out an earlier ruling disallowing most of its claim. The case is expected to start in October next year, with Equitable claiming that E&Y breached its duty by not telling the company that its accounts were deficient and that the auditors did not include provisions relating to guaranteed annuity options. Equitable says if it had known ...

  • Davies' doubts echo through Sandler suite

    31 Jul 2003

    Two weeks ago, Sir Howard Davies decided to use his last AGM as head of the FSA as a platform for voicing his personal doubts over the Treasury's suite of lighter-touch-regulation stakeholder products. In what has been interpreted by some industry insiders as a parting blast at the Treasury's handling of the Sandler consultation, Davies said: "I have personal doubts about whether product regulation and price controls are the right way to go. I recognise the concerns of consumer ...

  • Dawn of a new era

    31 Jul 2003

    This month, Mortgage Exp-ress, the specialist lending arm of Bradford & Bingley, becomes the first lender to sponsor IFA Promotion. It is symbolic of the changing market and the new age of professionalism that is fast approaching as the regulation of mortgage and general financial advice converges. The company believes strongly in the provision of best advice and recognises that IFAs are becoming increasingly important as a mortgage distribution channel. The message for ...

  • Doubting Thomas

    31 Jul 2003

    I am sure the FSA would be happy if readers did not follow Dr Thomas's advice to report David Stonebanks for giving financial advice without authorisation. It is not a breach of the act to give financial advice while unauthorised so long as this activity is not "carried on by way of business" (section 22(1)). Mr Stonebanks may have been running his campaign for demutualisation for personal gain but it is not something he was carrying on by way of business so he was not doing anything ...

  • Easy cover online with ScotEq's e-strategy

    31 Jul 2003

    Scottish Equitable Protect has joined a growing trend among protection providers with the launch of an online application facility, an extension from its online quotation system which was rolled out last year. The new facility, which goes live this week, will allow IFAs to complete new business applications online. The company says this will make it easier for IFAs to write business, allowing them to "take a long lunch and knock off early". The advent of internet-based protection ...

  • Euro directive to double cover requirement for PI

    31 Jul 2003

    Nearly half of IFA firms face a virtual doubling of their professional insurance indemnity cover in two years' time under proposals from the FSA forced upon the regulator by a European directive. Forty-six per cent of IFA firms have less than £166,000 in assets and they will face a 90 per cent increase in PI cover, which means that small IFAs will have to raise the level of their PI cover from £500,000 to £949,000. The move puts these IFAs on the same PI requirement ...

  • F&C Investment Trust sees 7.6 per cent growth

    4 Aug 2003

    Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust interim results show net assets have increased by 7.6 per cent from £1,826m to £1,697m and NAV per share has also increased by 7.6 per cent to 192.38p.

  • Female IFAs to stay independent

    31 Jul 2003

    Ninety-three per cent of female-led IFA firms say they are committed to remaining independent after depolarisation, with only 6 per cent planning to multi-tie, according to new research from the Women's IFA Group. The survey reveals that 36 per cent of the firms surveyed have already started changing their business strategies in advance of the implementation of the Sandler review. Of those, 82 per cent are planning to specialise in either wealth management or long-term care ...

  • First-time buyer numbers continue to fall - Halifax

    5 Aug 2003

    Halifax's house price index shows that the number of first time buyers coming onto the market is at its lowest level since records began in 1974. The figure fell to 174,000 in the first six months of this year compared to 253,000 in the corresponding period last year. House prices increased by 1.3 per cent in July and annual house price inflation now stands at 19.2 per cent.

  • Five year fix at 3.75 per cent from Leeds & Holbeck

    30 Jul 2003

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society is launching a limited offer five year fixed rate mortgage with a rate of 3.75 for taking the lender's Homecover insurance. Those not taking the insurance package pay 4 per cent.

  • FSA freedom pledge on PI

    31 Jul 2003

    The FSA is promising a back to basics approach to PI insurance despite the impending EU directive, scrapping its definition of compliant cover and giving more freedom to a firm's senior managers to decide what cover is appropriate. In its latest series of reforms in CP193 trying to resolve the PI crisis, the regulator says it will immediately allow firms greater flexibility to combine their financial resources and PI to meet any claims made against them. Under the plans, PI ...

  • Fund sales finally see upturn

    31 Jul 2003

    Investment fund sales leapt by 45 per cent in June from the same period last year, the first year-on-year increase since October 2002, according to the Investment Management Association. IMA figures reveal that net retail sales hit £918m in June compared with £742m in May, an increase of £285m from sales of £633m at the same point last year. However, net sales of Isas fell by 14 per cent to £294m from £341m in May and from £300m in June last ...

  • Get on the right track

    31 Jul 2003

    I have considerable exposure to the FTSE 100 index through structured investments and tracker funds. I have more capital to invest and would like to retain a UK focus. I have been considering an Oeic tracking the UK All Companies index or one that concentrates on the FTSE 350 rather than just the FTSE 100. However, I am concerned that this might give me a significant degree of overlap, with too much exposure to the top 100 UK shares. Can you tell me how the All Share and other indices ...

  • Holliman joins Threadneedle global equity team

    5 Aug 2003

    Threadneedle Investments has appointed Andrew Holliman to its Global Equity Team

  • Hometrack says house prices are stabilising

    31 Jul 2003

    The housing market is stabilising, with property prices remaining flat in July, according to research from Hometrack. The firm's latest figures show that house prices remained the same nationally for the second month in a row following average falls of 0.1 per cent across the country in April and May. The average house price for the country as a whole is £135,200. Falls in house prices have persisted in the South-east but the rest of the country has seen stable or modest ...

  • Horlick steps down to take adviser role

    31 Jul 2003

    Nicola Horlick, the high-profile chief executive of SG Asset Management, is to step down from her role to become a special adviser to Philippe Collas, president of SGAM Group. Horlick, who co-founded SGAM in 1997, is relinquishing all her UK responsibilities in the coming weeks, including the management of the UK income fund and institutional mandates totalling £1bn. Adrian Gosden, her co-manager on the income fund, which is down by 6.48 per cent against a sector average of -1.3 ...

  • Housing supply critical to stability - CML

    5 Aug 2003

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has told the Government's review of housing supply that inadequate housing supply remains the most critical unresolved issue in UK housing policy.

  • Income-seeking funds favourite with investors

    31 Jul 2003

    Eighteen of the top 20 biggest-selling funds on Cofunds in the last six months were income-seeking funds, a big rise over the same period last year. Retaining first place on the list was the Credit Suisse income fund, which recently lost star manager Bill Mott, while Liontrust's first income fund was in second place - the same position as in the first six months of last year. Third was Invesco Perpetual's corporate bond fund, which did not make the top 20 in the first half ...

  • Independent view

    31 Jul 2003

    There is a famous Chinese saying "Let us live in interesting times". Certainly these are interesting times in financial services - though for many of us very challenging too. I will not list all the challenges as you are no doubt familiar with them by now and, whilst it will be tempting for some advisers to quit at this stage, this would be the worst possible time to do so. Ross Perot, the US businessman, said that most people quit when they are very close to a breakthrough. That ...

  • India is taken to tusk over jumbo pensions

    31 Jul 2003

    State-employed elephants in India are to get retirement pensions from age 65 under new rules which will mean they are housed and fed for life. The south Indian state of Kerala has ordered that all government elephants must retire at 65 and get an inflation-proof food, healthcare and accommodation allowance. There are clear-cut rules set out for elephants' meals, healthcare and housing after an increase in instances of cruelty to elderly elephants led to handlers being violently ...

  • Inside edge

    31 Jul 2003

    Mr and Mrs Shaw had never invested in equities before the spring of 2000. After a number of neighbourhood dinner parties, they were both feeling very unadventurous in their choice of a big high-street building society as a home for their lifelong savings. Mr and Mrs Shaw are in their early 40s and at that time they were the only people in their social group who had not opened a day trading account so that Mr Shaw could trade technology and media stocks on his own account. Their ...

  • Investment houses collaborate on social and environmental issues

    5 Aug 2003

    Eight institutional investors are forming a group to research and identify best practice for communicating with companies on social and environmental issues. Co-operative Insurance Society, Henderson Global Investors, Insight Investment, ISIS Asset Management, Jupiter Asset Management, Morley Fund Management, Schroder Investment Management and Universities Superannuation Scheme will support the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and the Pharmaceutical Shareowners Group.

  • Investment view

    31 Jul 2003

    The end of July is a particularly busy period for company results. The first half of 2003 is properly tucked up and company chairmen are in a position to opine on how the full year might pan out. By and large, figures have not been too bad although the variation between the performance of individual companies certainly serves to remind investors that the stockmarket is, indeed, a market of stocks. It is the average we look to - and the average still refuses to break out on the upside. True, ...

  • Ironing out the laundering rules

    31 Jul 2003

    Beset as we are by the requirement to identify every client every time, which is a time-consuming irritation, it occurred to me that perhaps something positive could come out of it. We all used to admit age on policies by sending copies of birth certificates, didn't we, but now the spectre of Crown copyright has reared its head with the threat of fines, etc. In most cases, we would obtain a passport or photo driving licence for name identity. These documents cannot be obtained for ...

  • Jackman wants Govt cash to set up adviser degrees

    31 Jul 2003

    The Government should provide university funding to establish financial planning degrees aimed at attracting new blood into the industry and increasing professionalism, according to the Financial Services Skills Council. FSSC chief executive and former FSA head of exams and training David Jackman says one of the new body's prime roles is to lobby the Government to come up with cash to motivate universities to set up degree programmes. There are currently no university degree programmes ...

  • Jo Dawson

    31 Jul 2003

    As depolarisation approaches and the IFA market begins to reshape itself, many are questioning the role high-street banks will play in a new environment where, arguably, multi-tied agents might become the norm. The woman behind adviser strategy at the Halifax has been watching this carefully over the past few years and believes her organisation has got the right mix of advice, product and reputation to make ground in the depolarised world. Jo Dawson started her career in banking ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    31 Jul 2003

    The US economy is expected to grow by between 3.5 and 4 per cent next year and the world economy as a whole should recover. Growth forecasts for most emerging markets are 4 to 8 per cent. In an environment of relatively lower investment returns from developed markets in the coming years, I believe that prospects for economic and earnings growth for emerging markets look very attractive. In fact, emerging markets are already beginning to outperform. I expect this trend to continue at ...

  • Life cover is highestyielding FTSE sector

    31 Jul 2003

    Life insurance was the highestyielding sector in the FTSE AllShare index last year despite not having made the top three since 1994, according to HSBC Asset Management. This is despite a turbulent year for life offices which has seen their solvency threatened by volatile markets. HSBC's list of sector yields from 1985 reveals that life insurance supplanted autos as the highest-yielding sector in 2002, with forestry/paper and household/textiles in second and third place respectively. It ...

  • Liverpool Vic cuts With-profits payouts

    4 Aug 2003

    Liverpool Victoria is reducing its conventional with profits maturity payments by between 3 and 5 per cent. Regular bonuses on conventional policies are unaffected and the friendly society says that its unconditional mortgage endowment guarantee remains unchanged.

  • Mallet man

    31 Jul 2003

    England star Danny Mills is off to play South Africa in Birmingham this week - leaving behind his colleagues at Hargreaves Lansdown. No, not the chrome-domed knuckle-dragging Leeds full-back but HL's pension specialist who is part of the England croquet team. The Diary is assured that mallet-swinging Mills is a youthful twentysomething and not the geriatric you might expect. It's a very exciting sport - honest.

  • Misys members get in early for Friends online Protection deal

    31 Jul 2003

    Misys' members will be given early access to Friends Provident's new online underwriting system which the life office claims will drastically reduce the time it takes to process protection applications from weeks to minutes. The network's advisers will be able to use Friends' underwriting process which aims to give 60 per cent of all cases immediate decisions on life, critical-illness and waiver of premium applications. Its 6,600 advisers will have a time advantage ...

  • Morgan Stanley - FTSE Protected Growth Plan 2

    30 Jul 2003

    Type:Capital-protected bond Aim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index Minimum-maximum investment: £500-£1m, Isa £3,000-£7,000 Term: Six years Guarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance in index Return: 25% growth at end of three years if index grows by 25% or more, up to 100% growth at end of term Closing date: September 12, 2003 Commission: Initial 3% Tel: ...

  • Music to advisers' ears

    31 Jul 2003

    Mellon Financial Corporation, supporters of the Mellon Pittsburgh Symphony European Tour 2003, is offering Money Marketing readers the opportunity to join the company at one of the orchestra's performances as part of the BBC Proms series on August 30 at the Royal Albert Hall. Mellon has donated four pairs of their highly coveted tickets for you to win in our competition. Not only will you get to see this world renowned orchestra conducted by the legendary Mariss Jansons, your ...

  • National Counties Building Society - Guaranteed Growth Bond

    31 Jul 2003

    NATIONAL COUNTIES BUILDING SOCIETY Guaranteed Growth Bond Type: Guaranteed equity bond Aim: Growth linked to a basket of 20 global blue-chip stocks Minimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£500,000 Tem: Five years six months Guarantee: Original capital returned in full along with 10% growth at end of term Return: Between 10% and 75% growth at end of term Closing date: August 28, 2003 Commission: None Tel: ...

  • Network Data adds Scot Prov to panel

    30 Jul 2003

  • Newcastle Building Society - Portfolio Balanced Bond

    1 Aug 2003

    Type: Unit-linked bond and high interest account UNIT-LINKED BOND Aim: Growth and income by investing in choice of 70 funds Minimum investment: £2,000 Fund links: Choice of 70 funds from Threadneedle, Fidelity, Schroder, Invesco Perpetual, JPMorgan Fleming, HSBC, Framlington, Newton and Merrill Lynch Allocation rate: 100% Charges: Establishment fee 0.5% a year for first five years, annual 1.375% Switches: Four free a year, ...

  • Next in line

    31 Jul 2003

    Mortgage Next managing director Martin Maynard is laying down a challenge to other companies. He says: "Over the last few months, a number of companies have said they will take principal status under mortgage regulation next year. I am interested to see which of these will actually have the infrastructure in place come M-Day to support an appointed representative network." Maynard predicts that in October 2004 there will be no more than half a dozen principals with over 500 members, ...

  • Number's up for prize draw

    31 Jul 2003

    A widescreen TV and DVD package, digital camcorder, camera and golf bag with balls are some of the prizes still waiting to be collected by IFAs as part of Abbey National for Intermediaries' It's a Numbers Game promotion. A personal identification number was mailed to 30,000 IFAs which could be entered into the competition website at www.numbersgame.info to see if a prize had been won. Forty prizes out of 75 are still uncollected and IFAs only have until August 4 to enter ...

  • Out of context

    31 Jul 2003

    •"You can't print that, it's the truth." - Sofa managing director Brian Lawless about a nudist beach experience. •"We all sit around telling each other what to do and never getting anything done." - Lawless again on life in the Sofa offices. •"I am glad you have been able to experience a little part of the world that is Brian Lawless." - Sofa's Sarah Neighbour. •"I was at the FSA for 18 months - just about the same time that Jeffrey Archer did." ...

  • Outside edge

    31 Jul 2003

    As the compensation culture bandwagon rolls on, it has been suggested that fund managers should be more proactive in providing redress to investors if there has been a clear case of mismanagement. While a laudable concept, I feel this would open up a massive can of worms. Certainly, if mismanagement involved a fund management group not adhering to the trust objectives, then there is a case for redress but if the argument is simply one of poor fund management, it is going to be very ...

  • Over 1,000 advisers sit CII test on investment

    31 Jul 2003

    The CII says it has had an overwhelming response to its latest exam, with over 1,000 advisers sitting its first Savings & Investment module exam on July 15. It had hoped to attract 1,000 advisers throughout the first year and is pleased by the overwhelming interest shown, which it attributes to IFAs recognising that they need to improve their investment knowledge. The module, started in June, comes in direct response to comments by the Sandler rev-iew team and the FSA in its ...

  • People resent compulsion to buy an annuity

    31 Jul 2003

    I see Edward Garnier's failed Annuity Bill comes in for criticism by Britannic Retirement Solutions. But it would as BRS are simply there to flog annuities. Where Mr Garnier possibly went wrong was that his bill proposed that retirees would still be under an obligation to buy an annuity so as to secure sufficient guaranteed income as to keep them off state benefits. This currently cannot be provided as annuities only increase by RPI and not as per earnings. In any event, if they ...

  • Portman assets top £11bn

    30 Jul 2003

  • Premier Mortgage launches website

    4 Aug 2003

    Mortgage broker Premier Mortgage Management has announced the launch of a new website in an effort to help intermediaries prepare for the onset of regulation next October.

  • Pru Intl review shuts LTC bond

    31 Jul 2003

    Prudential International is dropping its long-term care bond in an "ongoing commercial and strategic review of products". The plan closes to new business on August 1, remaining open only for investment top-ups. Raising the level of cover will no longer be possible. The bond was launched under the Scottish Amicable European brand and came under fire in 2000 after Pru told investors it had set growth rates too high and they would have to top up their premiums to maintain cover. Pru ...

  • Pru offers bonus payout protection on WP plans

    31 Jul 2003

    Prudential is offering an incentive to wary with-profits investors by saying it will protect bonus payouts on new business from being dragged down by the poor investment conditions of previous years. The company says all accumulating with-profits products bought since the spring of 2002 will have their total bonuses based solely on the fund's performance since that time. The move is aimed at combating investor concern that any new business will be dragged down by the previous ...

  • Rothschild to set up Mom arm

    31 Jul 2003

    Rothschild Private Management is setting up a manager of managers operation under Neil Jenkins, the former head of Axa Investment Managers' multi-manager service. Jenkins, who left AIM in June after two years, is joining Rothschild in September to build an operation servicing the bank's 800 wealthy private clients. The service, which Rothschild hopes will be running by next February, will sit alongside its existing discretionary portfolio management service. Rothschild head ...

  • S&P fund sector split divides the industry

    31 Jul 2003

    As one of the UK's foremost financial trade bodies, the Investment Management Association rarely becomes emb-roiled in public disputes with commercial organisations but Standard & Poor's decision to ditch the IMA's sector classifications on some products in favour of its own has prompted the association to cast aside its usual reticence. S&P, which is already under fire for the way in which it awards its fund stars, is introducing its own global investment fund sectors ...

  • Self-cert leads the way as specialist business grows

    31 Jul 2003

    The specialist lending market is proving popular with intermediaries, according to BM Solutions regular tracking index. The quarterly specialist mortgage adviser regular tracking index reveals specialist mortgages, especially self-certification, is a rapidly growing area. Fifty-three per cent of loans are now in the specialist sector, with 28 per cent self-cert, 13 per cent buy to let and 12 per cent sub-prime. Forty-five per cent of loans arranged through brokers are mainstream, ...

  • Shake-up should start with a blank piece of paper

    31 Jul 2003

    Open letter of congratulation to John Tiner Dear Mr Tiner, Congratulations on your successful appointment as chief executive of our Financial Services Authority. If the headline that proclaimed your accession to this highly important position correctly reported your avowed intention to "shake up" the FSA, I am sure you will have maximum support from all of us who are governed by its rules. My only plea is that, in taking a "fresh" look at this highly intricate sector, ...

  • Skandia - Series Six Executive Pension - Single Price

    4 Aug 2003

    Type: Executive personal pension Minimum premium: Lump sum £5,000, £200 a month, £2,000 a year Minimum-maximum ages: 18-73 Fund links: Choice of 317 funds from Aberdeen, Artemis, Alliance Berstein, Allianz Dresdner, Baring, BlackRock, Britannic, Credit Suisse, DWS, FirstState, Fidelity, Foreign & Colonial, Framlington, Gartmore, Goldman Sachs, Henderson, HSBC, Invesco Perpetual, Investec, Isis, Jupiter, JPMF, Lazard, Liontrust, M&G, Martin Currie, ...

  • Skandia - Series Six Pension Trustee Bond - Single Price

    5 Aug 2003

    Type: Unit-linked bondAim: Growth by investing in unit trusts, Oeics and investment trustsMinimum investment: £3,000Fund links: Choice of 317 funds from Aberdeen, Artemis, Alliance Berstein, Allianz Dresdner, Baring, BlackRock, Britannic, Credit Suisse, DWS, FirstState, Fidelity, Foreign & Colonial, Framlington, Gartmore, Goldman Sachs, Henderson, HSBC, Invesco Perpetual, Investec, Isis, Jupiter, JPMF, Lazard, Liontrust, M&G, Martin Currie, Merrill Lynch, ...

  • Skandia - Series Six Personal Pension - Single Price

    4 Aug 2003

    Type: Individual personal pension Minimum premium: Lump sum £2,500, £100 a month, £1,000 a year Minimum-maximum ages: From birth-72 Fund links: Choice of 317 funds from Aberdeen, Artemis, Alliance Berstein, Allianz Dresdner, Baring, BlackRock, Britannic, Credit Suisse, DWS, FirstState, Fidelity, Foreign & Colonial, Framlington, Gartmore, Goldman Sachs, Henderson, HSBC, Invesco Perpetual, Investec, Isis, Jupiter, JPMF, Lazard, Liontrust, M&G, ...

  • Skandia - Series Six Personal Pension Income Plan - Single Price

    5 Aug 2003

    Type: Income drawdown plan Minimum premium: Full drawdown £100,000, phased drawdown 5% of personal pension funds of at least £250,000 Minimum-maximum ages: 50-71 Fund links: Choice of 317 funds from Aberdeen, Artemis, Alliance Berstein, Allianz Dresdner, Baring, BlackRock, Britannic, Credit Suisse, DWS, FirstState, Fidelity, Foreign & Colonial, Framlington, Gartmore, Goldman Sachs, Henderson, HSBC, Invesco Perpetual, Investec, Isis, Jupiter, JPMF, ...

  • Skandia adds value

    5 Aug 2003

    Skandia has included an executive personal pension plan in its new range of single-priced pensions. The single charge pension range is Skandia's answer to stakeholder and its influence on the charging structures of other pension contracts. IFAs have found it difficult to provide advice within the 1 per cent framework, but Skandia's single charge pension range allows the annual management charge to exceed 1 per cent to pay for advice. Skandia believes changes within ...

  • Skandia creates single-charge pension range

    1 Aug 2003

    Skandia has unveiled a new pension range designed to cater for the payment of IFAs through commission, fees or a combination of both.The Series six single price pension range will run alongside the existing pension range that has an initial charge. The new range has no initial charge and enables IFAs to separate the costs of the pension wrapper, the investment funds and advice to the client where commission is preferred.One of the products in the range is the Series Six ...

  • Standard Life cuts bonuses

    4 Aug 2003

    Standard Life has again cut its bonuses, reducing payouts by an average of 6 per cent.

  • Suite nothing is the verdict of IFA bodies

    31 Jul 2003

    IFA trade bodies have joined forces to lambast the Treasury's Sandler suite of products, saying they will accomplish nothing towards closing the savings gap. In a discussion paper produced by Sofa, the LIA and the Institute of Financial Planning, the bodies argue that the greatest problem in targeting financially unsophisticated consumers is getting them to save regularly rather than saving initially. The paper says there is no room in the price cap to revisit consumers, even ...

  • Talkback

    31 Jul 2003

    Should Howard Davies use his remaining term in office as head of the FSA to fight for the price cap and filtered questions to be dropped from the Sandler suite of stakeholder products? "Yes because I think there is a general recognition that advice is an important part of the process and that advice has to be paid for." Malcolm Wood, MDW Associates "Maybe. It depends on how committed he is to the principle." Bernard Hunte, Millfield Partnership "Yes, on the basis that ...

  • Tax threat on annuity avoidance

    31 Jul 2003

    People who fail to buy an annuity by 75 could face Inland Revenue penalties if the delay takes them into the new legislative framework after April 2005. The Revenue could drop its softly softly approach in the run-up to A-Day if people whose 75th birthday is before April 5, 2005 attempt to get the benefit of the new regime by delaying their annuity purchase. At present, individuals who fail to buy an annuity by 75 have to get Revenue approval before life companies will allow them ...

  • Technology the way to cut admin time - survey

    4 Aug 2003

    Eighty per cent of IFAs spend less than 35 per cent of their time actually advising clients, according to research from 1st Software. The survey shows 55 per cent of advisers see improved use of technology as the most effective way for advisers to be able to spend more time with clients, with 36 per cent saying reductions in legislation and regulation. 

  • The moral of the Standard story

    31 Jul 2003

    Most IFAs are probably relieved that Standard Life is not to be embroiled in a costly, distracting demutualisation battle. The retired lecturer David Stonebanks, who delivered his request for a demutualisation vote in a shopping trolley, has not filed a valid resolution, according to Standard's lawyers. This is, of course, the fellow who threatened to report IFAs to the FSA if they did not recommend demutualisation to their clients, a move that proved his skills of persuasion ...

  • Tilney makes tracks

    4 Aug 2003

    TILNEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TILNEY UK EQUITY FUND Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in UK companies Minimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100 Investment split: 100% in UK companies Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 4%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5 Tel: 0808 100 8878 The Panel: David Cowell, Partner, Andrews Gwynne & Associates, ...

  • Trigger-happy CETV

    31 Jul 2003

    The use of pension sharing on divorce, introduced by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 as a further method of assisting to reach a matrimonial financial settlement, appears to have taken off with more of a squeak than a bang. This is despite the Government estimating that there would be 50,000 such settlements a year. Nevertheless, I am often asked questions in relation to pension and divorce matters. In many cases, a fundamental issue that is completely missed or ignored ...

  • Turning over new relief

    31 Jul 2003

    Last week, I looked at the very basics of tax planning for married couples. This week, as promised, I will move on to the rules for married couples in respect of especially tax-efficient investments, starting with the enterprise investment scheme. An EIS is a scheme under which investment can be made in an unquoted trading company which satisfies certain conditions. Each spouse has an investment limit of £150,000 for tax-relief purposes for 2003/04. In addition, an individual ...

  • Umbrella struggles to raise £1m to go public

    31 Jul 2003

    Project Umbrella, the proposed captive IFA professional indemnity insurer launched in a blaze of glory in March, has yet to raise the £1m capital it needs to go public. The scheme, which is aiming to offer PI cover to up to 500 small IFA firms, says it needs to raise £1m to cover capital-adequacy requirements from IFAs looking for cover. Law firm ProAct Legal, which is the project manager, says it has funding to provide up to £10m to offer cover to firms but is ...

  • Vicki Smith from Halifax

    31 Jul 2003

    Vicki Smith from Halifax independent Financial Advisers in Aylesbury is off to Mauritius (pictured above) for a week after having her name pulled out of the hat in Britannic Retirement Solutions' Talk More competition. Also off to sunnier climes is Momentum Financial Services' Philip Hunt, who exchanges his native Farnborough for a week in Morocco. UCB Homeloans managing director Charles Reed (pictured right) is one of the scurvy dogs crewing the UKSA Whirlwind on its 615-mile ...

  • Walking the tightrope

    31 Jul 2003

    When the Department for Work and Pensions published its Green Paper in December, the response from practitioners was muted if not critical. Many issues in the Green Paper had already been covered previously in depth in the Pickering report so we expected more action, instead of which we got more consultation. Perhaps the criticism was unfounded, with unfair comparisons being made with the Inland Revenue/Treasury consultation on pension tax. The radical tax proposals grabbed the headlines. Howeve

  • Warning on trustee wind-up powers

    31 Jul 2003

    New trustee powers to call in pension liabilities could result in companies going bust, warns Standard Life. The warning follows the Department for Work and Pensions' unveiling plans last month to allow trustees to wind up schemes if they think the employer is not committed to funding. Standard believes the DWP's move, coupled with new obligations for solvent companies winding up schemes to buy out benefits in full, could lead to firms going to the wall. Standard and ...

  • What value is an illustration?

    31 Jul 2003

    In 1978, a friend effected a 25-year low-cost Standard Life with-profits endowment policy at a monthly premium of £16.52. This month, the policy matures at £18,123, an investment yield of 9 per cent free of tax, ignoring the premium tax relief. In February 2003, Standard gave written confirmation of "illustrative maturity values" as: @ 4% pa return £14,500 @ 8% return £14,900 The £18,123 amount is 22 per cent higher than even the 8 per ...

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