Money Marketing
30 June 2004

  • 'Provider stakes in IFAs cast doubt on independence'

    1 Jul 2004

    Product provider investment in IFAs calls into question the independence of the advisory firm, according to Standard Life group chief executive Sandy Crombie, who says Standard would never consider such a move. Speaking to Money Marketing this week, Crombie said that product provider investment - common in recent years as manufacturers and distributors have tried to second-guess the outcome of the polarisation review - colours the relationship between the two parties. He ...

  • 'Structured losses will be bigger than splits'

    1 Jul 2004

    Structured products will prove to be a far greater problem to consumers and the industry than split-capital products, according to Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb. Lamb was part of a Treasury select committee meeting last week which questioned FSA chairman Callum McCarthy and FSA chief executive John Tiner as part of its inquiry into restoring confidence in long-term savings. MPs revealed their concerns about structured products, with Lamb asking the FSA what action it ...

  • 'Wraps could change the face of financial services'

    1 Jul 2004

    Wrap accounts could alter the UK's financial services landscape dramatically, according to independent market analyst Datamonitor. Its report says the UK is Europe's fastest-developing market for wrap accounts and speculation that large pools of assets will be suitable for inclusion in wrap accounts has been fuelled by the entry of several new players with wrap-like offerings, regulatory change and the success of wraps in the US and Australia. Datamonitor forecasts ...

  • 1st Software takes stake in iTrak

    1 Jul 2004

    1st Software has bought a 51 per cent stake in wealth management IFA software firm iTrak which is used by 25 IFA firms, including members of Inter-Alliance and Whitechurch. ITrak's software allows IFAs to separate the cost of the advice process from products, enabling firms to identify and charge up-front and recurring fees for services. 1st Software says integrating the systems will cut out input time. 1st Software is also launching a new version of its Adviser Office ...

  • 92 jobs to go in Royal London restructure

    2 Jul 2004

    Royal London is making 92 staff redundant at its Wilmslow, Edinburgh and London offices as part of the restructure that sees its direct sale force close.Roughly two thirds of the job losses will be in Wilmslow with around a third in Edinburgh and a handful in London says the mutual.Royal London group chief executive Mike Yardley says: "The closure of our retail division was always going to have a knock-on effect on support functions such as finance, HR and compliance."

  • 96 per cent of intermediaries have made a decision

    2 Jul 2004

    96 per cent of all mortgage intermediaries have made a decision on mortgage regulation, according to Birmingham Midshires Smart research index.Only 4 per cent were still unsure what they would be doing in relation to the introduction of mortgage regulation, compared with 16.4 per cent in December 2003 and 10.5 per cent in March 2004, with 6 per cent believing they are unaffected. Just over nine out of ten (91 per cent) now submit at least some of their business online. ...

  • A consumer's view

    1 Jul 2004

    The proposals for Sandler stakeholder products - that providers should be able to charge 1.5 per cent management fee for the first 10 years, 1 per cent thereafter - are a typical Government compromise which will solve nothing. Part of the problem is that there is a fundamental conflict in what the Government is trying to do. It wants the man in the street to be able to buy risk-controlled long-term savings products and pension plans with confidence with minimal advice and low ...

  • Abbey offers ideas for A-Day plans

    1 Jul 2004

    Abbey for Intermediaries has put together a pension simplification pack for IFAs for use in the run up to A-Day. The pack highlights how some of the new rules could hit clients and points to pension planning opportunities for IFAs that will come from the new rules. It contains a guide to maximising business opportunities, including sample approach letters to use with existing and new clients. It also provides IFAs with a guide to the proposed simplification of ...

  • AMI reveals board election results

    6 Jul 2004

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has announced six newly elected members to its board.Members voted in include Conti Financial Services partner Simon Conn, Cambria Mortgage Services principal Paul Fielding, Mortgageforce managing director Robert Clifford and Complete Mortgage and Loan Service compliance director Bill Warren.Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger and Freedom Finance group compliance director Stephen Atkins have both been re-elected.As ...

  • Anglo Irish combines income and growth

    1 Jul 2004

    Anglo Irish Bank has established the Capital Protected Bond V, a product which splits investors capital equally between a guaranteed equity bond and offshore high-interest account.The high interest account is used to provide income of 7.25 per cent gross a year during the six-year term of the product. The other half is used to provide growth by investing in a guaranteed equity bond linked to a basket of indices - the FTSE 100, S&P 500, Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 and Nikkei 225 indices. ...

  • Axa aims for principal role with panel of 40

    1 Jul 2004

    Axa is to become a mortgage principal for its tied advisers and others searching for a principal after FSA regulation starts on October 31. The company last year set up Axa Mortgage Solutions, which allowed its tied salespeople to conduct mortgage business. Axa is following rival insurers Legal & General and Friends Provident in setting out their stalls as a principal in the mortgage market. Its panel features 40 lenders broken into mainstream, sub-prime, buy to let ...

  • Axing jobs will further damage admin standards

    1 Jul 2004

    I, for one, am not remotely convinced by Norwich Union's bland and tired old claim that cutting another 950 jobs will help them "to ensure the company continues its drive for efficiency". We have seen and heard it all before, not least in the wake of the closure of Norwich Union's Cheadle Hulme office. Like most IFA firms, we detest huge, faceless admin factories staffed by anonymous people who avoid all efforts to get them to take responsibility for seeing a job ...

  • B&B axes 600 jobs to slash costs by £40m

    1 Jul 2004

    Bradford & Bingley is cutting 600 jobs. It has already removed 150 roles from its core of 3,950 and expects to axe a further 450 posts by the end of 2005. The job losses are part of a programme to cut costs and save the company £40m by the end of 2006. Other savings will be made when the business is simplified following the sales of businesses. The company says it has no plans to reduce its number of branches. B&B says its core lending business ...

  • Bankhall says only two networks have scale for multi-ties

    1 Jul 2004

    Bankhall has laid down a challenge to rival networks, claiming that only itself and Sesame have the scale to build a workable multi-tie proposition. Business development director Peter Mann believes there are very few players apart from Bankhall and Sesame able to build an operable multi-tie, underlining the difference between a true multi-tie, which has support struc- tures and an IT platform, and a distribution aggregator, which is largely based on commission and easier to set ...

  • Base line serves up mixed views

    1 Jul 2004

    Brokers are split over the effect of base rate increase and the Bank of England Governor's comments on house prices and buyer activity. Chadney Bulgin partner David Thomas believes Mervyn King's comments have had as much effect on the housing market as the recent 0.25 per cent base rate rise. He says levels of transactions have dropped since interest rate rises in May and June and clients are citing King's speech as the reason that they are acting with caution. But ...

  • BBB makes £4.9m loss

    30 Jun 2004

    Berkeley Berry Birch made an operating loss of £4.9m in the year to March 31 after turning a profit in February and March this year.BBB's preliminary results show that the group's turnover increased from £53.7m to £66.5m, with its financial advisory, insurance and network divisions all increasing their turnovers. Productivity per adviser also went up - from £78,000 to £84,000 - leaving the company with a £4.9m loss before exceptional ...

  • BBN sets up service run by women for women

    1 Jul 2004

    Berry Birch & Noble Financial Planning is setting up Financial Females to meet demands for a financial advisory practice run by women for women. The company says the move is in recognition of the closing salary gap between the sexes, women choosing to have children later in life and their greater financial independence. BBN says the wide range of financial products and services available mean that it is more important than ever for women to seek financial advice. Working ...

  • Berkeley Morgan chief backs Treasury over price cap rise

    1 Jul 2004

    Product providers and IFAs should stop whingeing about Sandler products and stop worrying about lining their pockets, says Berkeley Morgan chief executive Jon Pardoe. Writing in Money Marketing this week, Pardoe has applauded the Treasury for listening to IFAs' grievances by raising the price cap by 50 per cent to 1.5 per cent and encouraging transparency in the industry. He says the products are time-efficient and simple but is aghast at IFAs' lack of enthusiasm ...

  • Birth of a notion

    1 Jul 2004

    This week I am returning to the subject of funding for the ever increasing costs of higher education. With one of my boys having completed a four-year university course, another having completed a three-year course (with the prospect of more "expenditure time" for me as he moves on to art school) and the third about to go to university, I feel a bit like Fred McMurray of My Three Sons fame (well, I always have, actually) but without the money and nice house. Help is at hand (but ...

  • Blair leaps into our list as Brown clings on to power

    1 Jul 2004

    Chancellor Gordon Brown keeps top spot in this year's Money Marketing Power & Influence list, with the consumer shooting up from 13th to second place. Incoming FSA and Bank of England chiefs John Tiner and Mervyn King replace Howard Davies and Eddie George in the top five while Ron Sandler falls out of the list altogether because his work is now done and his influence no more, say the panel. Prime Minister Tony Blair's increased interest in the lifetime pension ...

  • Borrowed time

    1 Jul 2004

    The ability of pension schemes to borrow is set to become more restricted as a result of this year's Finance Bill and, with only 22 months left until the new rules take effect, action needs to be taken soon. Current rules for self-invested personal pensions allow borrowing of up to 75 per cent of the purchase price to invest in commercial property. In practice, banks tend to be more circumspect and limit loans to nearer 70 per cent of any bricks and mortar offered as security. The ...

  • Bright Grey £9.3m new business in six months

    6 Jul 2004

    Bright Grey, the Edinburgh based protection provider has announced it has written £9.3m in new business according to its half-year new business results, more than double the new business written in 2003. Its underwriting has expanded from 4 underwriters to 32 since the company's inception in March 2003 and employee numbers have more than doubled to around 300 people. Bright Grey's chief executive David Robinson says he is happy with the achievement but still ...

  • Campaign fights for forces' pensions

    1 Jul 2004

    A Lincoln IFA is co-ordinating a campaign for compensation for members of the armed forces who served for over 20 years but have been refused any pension. Michael Kennedy, a sole trader from Sleaford, is a spokesman for the Combined Armed Forces Federation, a pressure group for servicemen denied pension rights. Anyone in the forces who left before 1975 without finishing their full service contract -16 years for officers and 22 years for the ranks - was refused any army ...

  • Can Standard live by brand alone?

    1 Jul 2004

    My role as Readers' Editor includes taking an alternative view on current issues through the eyes of an IFA. Recently, the opportunity arose to allow me to interview Standard Life chief executive Sandy Crombie. I focused on the concerns of clients and Standard's view of the market now and after depolarisation. When I worked for one of Standard's competitors in the early 1980s, I found the attitude of Standard's salesforce irritating but in many ways motivational. ...

  • Capita says it can slash break-even time for Sandler products

    1 Jul 2004

    Capita has hit out at claims by product providers that they could take 20 years to break even on the new stakeholder products, saying it could be as little as six years. Managing director Steve Parkinson points to the model that Capita is working on for child trust funds, where six or seven providers use the same infrastructure and share costs. He believes this model could be translated across to the Sandler suite of products if providers are willing to give up having admin as ...

  • Charcol offers two-year tracker

    30 Jun 2004

    Charcol is offering a two-year base rate tracker at 0.51 per cent below the Bank of England base rate.With a current pay rate of 3.99 per cent, the product is available up to 90 per cent loan to value and reverts to the base rate plus 1.25 per cent for the remaining term, with no tie-ins after two years.Charcol senior technical director Ray Boulger says: "This deal is by far the cheapest discount or tracker mortgage currently available. Even those borrowers reluctant to ...

  • Charles Schwab UK gives away 12 online equity trades

    5 Jul 2004

    Charles Schwab UK is giving away 12 online equity trades to customers opening new accounts as part of a business growth strategy.Charles Schwab customers can now, if eligible, also benefit from two new products, Schwab Equity Ratings and Street Smart Pro. They allow individuals to take further control of their investments by providing them with independent research and analysis to make informed investment decisions.Charles Schwab UK chief executive officer Gertjan Scholts ...

  • Consumers are well aware of right to complain says ABI

    30 Jun 2004

    The Ombudsman's annual report shows customers are well aware of their right to complain according to the ABI, with complaints to the FOS for the period April 2003 to March 2004 at a record high.ABI head of life and pensions Chris Kenny says the report indicates industry initiatives to make consumers aware of their right to complain are working. The FOS annual report shows the majority of complaints were on endowment policies. The number of these complaints doubled in ...

  • Correction. Money Marketing Top 100

    1 Jul 2004

    Correction. In the Money Marketing Top 100 Power and Influence list Lloyds TSB chief executive is Eric Daniels and not Peter Ellwood as printed. Money Marketing would like to apologise to both Mr Daniels and Mr Ellwood for this error.

  • Correspondent's Week

    1 Jul 2004

    I work a Tuesday to Saturday week so Monday is spent pottering and plotting for the week ahead. My token work call is to Liz Dolan, our delightfully eccentric personal finance editor, to decide on a feature to write this week. We plump for a look at the way in which banks, insurers and credit card companies advertise their wares on TV and in the press. I then head out to watch the England game over at Canary Wharf. We find a bar with beer, seats and a sufficient number of yobbish ...

  • Coventry Building Society- Buy-to-Let Fixed Rate

    30 Jun 2004

    Type: Fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgageFixed term: Until December 31, 2009Fixed rate: 6.25%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £300,000Income multiples: Rental income must be at least 130% of mortgage repaymentsConditions: Capital repayments of up to 5% a year allowed without penalty, free valuation, discounted legal fees for remortgagesArrangement fee: £399Redemption fee: 3.5% of mortgage ...

  • DWP calls for advice in workplace where there is no pension

    30 Jun 2004

    All employees should be given access to advice on pensions if no pension contribution is offered says secretary of state for works and pensions Andrew Smith. Launching a new pensions information pack for employers, Smith said the DWP had launched a pilot with six IFAs offering advice to employees who are not offered a contribution to a pension.

  • DWP pilots IFA pensions advice in workplace

    30 Jun 2004

    All employees should be given access to advice on pensions if no pension contribution is offered says secretary of state for works and pensions Andrew Smith. Launching a new pensions information pack for employers, Smith said the DWP had launched a pilot where six IFA firms are offering advice to employees who are not offered a contribution to a pension.Smith said: "We have new powers in the Pensions Bill to require firms not offering pensions to offer their employees advice ...

  • F&C merger to boost Friends asset management income

    2 Jul 2004

    The merger of Isis Asset Management and F&C, formally Foreign & Colonial, will increase Isis parent Friends Provident's profit from asset management to 24 per cent from 10 per cent. Friends Provident group chief executive Keith Satchell says: "We have consistently pursued our strategy of building the importance of asset management within the Friends Provident group. This merger achieves that goal and delivers a significant diversification of our earnings into a business which ...

  • Fears that time-bar rules could hit cover

    1 Jul 2004

    Professional indemnity insurance for IFAs could be hit by new mortgage endowment time barring rules, says Aifa. The FSA and ABI toughened up on endowments in May, with the regulator forcing firms imposing time limits on endowment complaints to make clear to policyholders that they have three years from their first red letter to complain. The ABI requires standard reprojection letters to draw attention more clearly to the need to act to deal with any shortfall. Aifa is ...

  • Five parts of a fair deal

    1 Jul 2004

    TCF gives the whole industry the opportunity to look at its products, its service and its interactions with customers and to work to ensure that the wider public are left in no doubt about the quality of customer care provided. Customers do not always differentiate between the vast majority of the good and the small minority of the bad. To them, we are all part of the same team. Nor, for that matter, do they always distinguish between providers and IFAs. We all need to work together ...

  • FOS to consult on test cases

    2 Jul 2004

    The FSA and FOS set out for consultation today proposals they hope will achieve greater clarity in the handling of complaints.The Ombudsman is to consult on the use of test cases as an alternative to making decisions on cases that turn on a legal issue. It says a similar mechanism was available in the former PIA and Banking Ombudsman Schemes.The FOS is also proposing building on its existing industry liaison group arrangements which it hopes will provide a more formal mechanism ...

  • Friends places shares worth 10 per cent to fund takeover

    2 Jul 2004

    Friends Provident has placed ordinary shares worth 10 per cent of its existing share capital to fund its takeover of fund manager F&C, formerly Foreign & Colonial.In a stock exchange announcement this morning, the life office has placed 172,405,671 shares. It follows its announcement also today that Isis, the fund manager it owns 67 per cent of has purchased a 51 per cent stake in F&C.

  • FS firms boost staff numbers at fastest rate for 15 years

    6 Jul 2004

    Financial services firms boosted staff numbers at the fastest rate for 15 years between March and June, according to CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers.Their latest quarterly survey reveals 5 per cent of companies reducedemployment over the last three months but 41 per cent took staff on. The balance - 36 per cent - is the fastest rate of growth recorded since the surveybegan in December 1989. It compares with a balance of only plus five per cent inthe previous survey.

  • FSA in pledge to keep its ear to the ground

    1 Jul 2004

    The FSA has admitted that it will not improve its record on identifying risk unless it forges closer contacts with the industry and users of the fund management sector. Speaking at the FSA's unit trusts and Oeics conference this week, asset management sector leader Dan Waters said he is "very clear" that the regulator needs to do more to spot potential issues before they become problems. He said "having ears to the ground" on new business models, investment strategies, ...

  • FSA in pre-emptive strike over inducements for panel places

    1 Jul 2004

    The FSA has sent out a warning to product providers and intermediaries over up-front payments for panel membership. It says it has been told that some intermediaries are demanding up-front payments - in some cases, over £1m - as a condition for a provider's products being placed on or even considered for their panel or recommended list. A letter to the chief executives of banks, building societies, life companies and networks sent out by the FSA last week warns ...

  • FSA launches hotline for reporting misleading financial advertisements

    6 Jul 2004

    The FSA has set up a hotline for the public and firms to report in strict confidence misleading advertisements for financial products.The initiative, launched today, is part of an FSA drive to regulate financial advertising. The new department which is leading the effort monitors advertising on television, the internet and in newspapers. The rules require adverts to be clear about the risks as well as the benefits of the investment. Charges must not be hidden and no unrealistic ...

  • FSA publishes annual report

    30 Jun 2004

    The FSA has published its annual report, which reveals that fees for IFAs will decrease by around one per cent this year. The actual fees charged relate to the type of business carried out by a firm, so the FSA says that within this average figure there will be considerable differences across industry blocks.The annual funding requirement for the FSA in 2004/05 is projected to be £213.3m, marginally lower on a like-for-like basis than the £214m for 2003/04.

  • FSA says simple sales regime could cover whole range

    1 Jul 2004

    The simple Sandler sales regime could be introduced across the range of financial services, says the FSA. Speaking at the select committee last week, FSA chairman Callum McCar-thy told MPs that if the current testing of the simple sales regime on Sandler-style products proves successful, the FSA will look at whether it should be introduced across the range of financial services products. MP Nigel Beard asked if it would be possible to separate advice from the sales process ...

  • FSA says stakeholder could be dropped from suite

    1 Jul 2004

    The FSA says stakeholder pensions could be dropped from the Sandler suite because its research shows that only 54 per cent of consumers would get the right recommendation. In its consultation on the Sandler light-touch sales reg-ime, the FSA raises concerns that 46 per cent of sales process outcomes are falling outside the "good" category. The FSA's cost-benefit ana-lysis shows that 27 per cent of outcomes are inconclusive - meaning it was not possible to tell whether ...

  • FSA sending out the first MTA letters

    1 Jul 2004

    The first minded to authorise letters have been sent by the FSA to IFA and mortgage networks, allowing them to carry out mortgage business following regulation. A number of IFA firms which are already regulated by the FSA and want to conduct mortgage business have been sent variation of permission letters. Legal & General, Burns Anderson, Personal Touch Insurance, Enable, Sage Financial, Trinion, Bankhall, Members Mortgages, Prem-ier Mortgage Management and Pink Home Loans ...

  • FSA to attach more publicity to enforcement cases

    30 Jun 2004

    The FSA is to attach more publicity to enforcement action and to the fines it levies against firms in the future, as it believes fines are likely to be small in comparison with the turnover of companies and publicity is more damaging as it diminishes a firm's reputation, brand and future business.Speaking yesterday chairman Callum McCarthy said: "We will review whether we can act more quickly; and whether we need to act via larger financial penalties. We will act, where justified, ...

  • Fund firms change gear to move off direct route

    1 Jul 2004

    Fund firms have radically changed the way they advertise in response to lower investor confidence and tough new rules restricting the use of past performance in financial promotions. Many groups have rejigged their budgets, often reallocating the bulk of their resources to brand-building ads, while others have drastically slashed their spending. This means that direct business is going to come under increasing pressure as groups cut their losses with certain types of ...

  • Fund sales plummet 84 per cent

    30 Jun 2004

    Net fund sales plummeted by 84 per cent from April to May, leaving retail investment languishing at its lowest level since September 2002, according to the IMA. Its monthly figures reveal that overall retail sales slumped from £801m in April to £126m in May while Isa sales dropped more than 65 per cent from £587m to £167m. The IMA blames the falls on significantly increased repurchases.

  • GAD role to be probed in wake of Penrose report

    1 Jul 2004

    The role of the Government Actuary's Department will be examined in the review of the actuarial profession commissioned in the wake of the Penrose report into the collapse of Equitable Life. The review, headed by Sir Derek Morris, has been asked to consider what professional and/or regulatory framework would best promote high standards and openness in the actuarial profession. The review was commissioned by the Treasury in March in response to Lord Penrose's criticism ...

  • Gap years

    1 Jul 2004

    There have been dire warnings in recent years of an increasing gap in protection cover in the UK and the latest Swiss Re report confirms that the gap between what consumers need and what they have is ever widening. The report sees a yawning gap on life insurance protection and concludes that the amount of cover needed to protect family and dependants in terms of sum assured is £2.2 trillion in 2003, up from £2 trillion in 2002. The income protection gap is calculated ...

  • GE Life claims drawdown plan offers potential IHT savings

    1 Jul 2004

    GE Life is introducing a phased drawdown plan it claims can minimise potential inheritance tax liabilities. The product is aimed at clients who require income but not a one-off cash lump sum and would suit someone wanting to manage the transition from part-time employment to full retirement, says GE Life. The company says it will also help pensioners who want to maximise the lump sum available on death and minimise IHT liabilities. There are four investment options ...

  • GMAC-RFC completes largest securitisation deal

    6 Jul 2004

    GMAC-RFC and the Kensington Group have both announced mortgage-backed securitisation deals.GMAC-RFC's 15th and largest-to-date transaction is valued at £1.5bn and is the lender's second mixed collateral deal to involve prime, near-prime and non-conforming collateral.GMAC-RFC capital markets director Stephen Hynes says the deal gives investors an opportunity to see the lender's prime and near-prime collateral together with non-conforming loans, which have ...

  • GMAC-RFC completes largest securitisation deal

    6 Jul 2004

    GMAC-RFC has announced the completion of its largest ever securitisation deal.The lender's 15th transaction is valued at £1.5bn and is the lender's second mixed collateral deal to involve prime, near-prime and non-conforming collateral.Capital markets director Stephen Hynes says the deal gives investors an opportunity to see GMAC-RFCs' prime and near-prime collateral together with non-conforming loans, which have been securitised in the programme previously.

  • Government Actuary's scathing attack on Tories' 'legislation for pension misselling'

    1 Jul 2004

    Government Actuary Chris Daykin has made a blistering attack on regulation and says the previous Conservative Government deliberately passed pension legislation knowing it would lead to misselling. In an article for the journal of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Daykin accuses regulators of being "rigid and narrow-minded" in their criticisms of the selling of low-cost endowment policies. Pointing to what he calls a bloated regulatory framework, Daykin accuses regulators ...

  • HBOS sees mortgage share fall below 20%

    1 Jul 2004

    HBOS saw its mortgage market share slip below 20 per cent in the first six months of this year after it tightened lending criteria to adjust to higher interest rates. The group says that, as intended, its policy of tightening lending criteria as interest rates rise is resulting in slower asset growth. In mortgages, this is expected to result in a share of net lending below 20 per cent for the first half and the full year. HBOS had 25 per cent of the market last year compared ...

  • House of Finance chooses Trigold

    5 Jul 2004

    House of Finance launched on July 1 as a national network of mortgage consultants and has chosen Trigold technology to provide a wholly customised mortgage sourcing service to brokers.Licensed mortgage consultants will use a white-labeled version of Prospector and Compliance Shield to source from two available panels, a packaged panel with enhanced procuration fees and a direct to lender club panel.Trigold joint managing director Bill Safran says: "We have worked closely ...

  • How providers can develop IFA links and stay within law

    1 Jul 2004

    There are ways that product providers and intermediaries can develop their relationship and stay within the rules. Providers can help intermediaries with finance for developing software or computer facilities, provided that it results in equivalent cost savings for the provider or for consumers. Some providers have exp-ressed concerns over the clarity of these rules, saying they need to be tightened up. Providers can take a stake in an intermediary, provided ...

  • IFA threat of legal action on BBB deal

    1 Jul 2004

    An IFA who sold his business to Berkeley Berry Birch is threatening to take legal action for the recovery of a final payment of £80,000 that he claims is owed by BBB. Huddersfield IFA Alan Mills says he sold FLP Independent Financial Advisers to Professional Financial Solutions which was then bought by BBB in January 2003 in a related deal on the same day. Mills claims the deal offered an initial payment of £80,000 and the promise of a further £80,000 from ...

  • IFAs say incentives compromise status

    1 Jul 2004

    IFAs have hit out at product providers and intermediaries involved in discussions about inducement payments, saying they do not want to compromise their independence. The Arden Court Group managing director Nat Parmar says IFAs should not use inducements as a way to get business as this would be against the ethos of an IFA and compromise independence. Parmar says: "Advisers should not use inducements as a way to get business but I am sure this is going on otherwise the ...

  • IFAs say merger makes sense

    2 Jul 2004

    IFAs have welcomed the merger between Isis and F&C, saying it will create a strong group better able to leverage increased resources.Hargreaves Lansdown says the move makes sense for Isis in particular, as he believes F&C has a much stronger brand. Chelsea Financial Services agrees but says it is a "shame" that Isis has spent so much money building its name only to see it scrapped within two years.Bestinvest also believes the merger makes sense, saying it is two similarly-sized ...

  • IFAs take double hit on disorganisation

    1 Jul 2004

    A survey by consultancy Vignette into the efficiency of the financial supply chain has found that most IFAs believe the inefficiency of product providers and disorganisation of clients are at fault in slowing down admin processes. IFAs say 58 per cent of product providers are disorganised and 17 per cent regularly lose customer documentation. On average, advisers leave at least 16 days for a provider to administer paperwork and 7 per cent say some providers can take eight weeks ...

  • Independent view

    1 Jul 2004

    The Labour Government in its second term in office is truly showing its colours now with its attacks on tax avoidance. A whole series of measures have been introduced to crack down on tax avoidance, inc-luding very short time limits for scheme creators or advi-sers notifying the Revenue - five days, and swingeing penalties for late notification or non-notification. The Government is trying to reclassify tax avoidance as tax evasion. I always understood that tax avoidance ...

  • INSIDE EDGE: Peter Hales

    1 Jul 2004

    At last, the Treasury has ann-ounced the outcome of the price cap for the Sandler suite of stakeholder products and the FSA has issued a consultation on a basic advice regime. There has been a wide range of responses from prov-iders as companies look at how the decisions will affect their business models. From a Norwich Union perspective, we see the move on the price cap as an important step forward. It is not everything that we hoped for but it is a substantial imp-rovement on ...

  • Insight Investment - Insightt Foundation Property Trust

    1 Jul 2004

    Type: Closed-ended fundAim: Income and growth by investing in UK commercial propertyMinimum investment: Lump sum £2,000Investment split: 37% retail, 33% industrial, 30% officesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesPlace of registration: GuernseyCharges: Initial up to 2.5%, annual up to 1.3%Commission: Initial up to 3%Tel: 0845 850 6050

  • Invesco Perpetual - Aim VCT

    6 Jul 2004

    Type: Venture capital trustAim: Growth by investing in companies listed on the Alternative investment marketMinimum investment: Lump sum £2,000Closing date: September 30, 2004Charges: Initial 5% annual 2%Commission: Initial 3% or initial 2.25% plus 0.375% renewalTel: 0800 028 2121

  • Investec recruits M&G chief to head bond funds

    1 Jul 2004

    Former senior M&G fund manager Anna Lees-Jones is to head Investec Asset Management's flagship sterling bond fund and its offshore equivalent from this week. Lees-Jones, who ran M&G's £1.3bn corporate bond fund until earlier this year, takes over from Mich-ael Markham, who becomes the alternative manager on both the £140m sterling bond fund and the £100m offshore GSF fund. He will concentrate on running the group's monthly high-inc-ome fund and institutional ...

  • Investment analysis

    1 Jul 2004

    RAJ HALLEN Investment director,Premier Fund Managers Although there were good gains in the Far East, it was a generally quiet week for equity markets last week as investors awaited the outcome of this week's decision on US interest rates as well as the handover of power in Iraq. The FTSE World index rose by 0.4 per cent in sterling terms, having gained 2.2 per cent since the start of the year. The news that the Bank of England's monetary policy committee had voted unanimously ...

  • Investment products dominate marketing material received by IFAs

    5 Jul 2004

    The average IFA now receives more than 28,000 pages of marketing information from product providers every year, with nearly 80 per cent promoting investment products, according to a survey by MarketWatch.However, there are some signs of improvement in the quality of marketing material. According to MarketWatch, IFAs want short documents that are focussed on one message. Over the past year the average number of pages per document has fallen from 10 to seven and there is an increasing ...

  • Investment view

    1 Jul 2004

    Pension. Such an innocuous little word. Look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary, however, and the positive pleth-ora of meanings will give an indication of how unwise it would be to underestimate seven letters which are adding up to a whole raft of problems for a wide variety of constituents and not the least of these is the Government. You could be forgiven for not recognising the concern that our political leaders must have over the pension issue. What appeared to be the ...

  • Ipswich Building Society - Fee-Free Remortgage: Three Year Fixed Rate

    6 Jul 2004

    Fixed term: Until October 31, 2007Fixed rate: 5.85%Minimum loan: £25,000Maximum loan: Up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000Income multiples: Loans up to 80% of valuation - 3.25 times principal income plus second or 2.5 times joint, loans up to 75% of valuation - 3.5 times principal income plus second or 2.75 times jointConditions: Free legal fees or £250 cashback, capital repayments ...

  • Irish link aims to unlock pensions

    1 Jul 2004

    The Inland Revenue will be unable to close down a scheme that unlocks pensions by transferring funds to Ireland for at least a year because it would require primary legislation.The scheme relies on Revenue form PS122, which def-ines a tax treaty between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Similar tax treaties exist bet-ween the UK and the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.Staffordshire firm Smith Cooper Financial Services says the plan has a shelf life of between 12 and ...

  • ISIS and F&C to merge

    2 Jul 2004

    ISIS Asset Management and F&C are to merge. As part of the deal the ISIS brand will drop in favour of F&C.Howard Carter will head the newly formed firm as chief executive with Robert Jenkins staying on as a non-executive chairman.Isis Asset Management head of communications and strategy Jason Hollands says both sides are extremely excited about what they believe is a totally transforming manoeuvre.He says: "Our strategy was to be a top five player by 2007 and this ...

  • Isis in vogue

    5 Jul 2004

    ISIS ASSET MANAGEMENTISIS PROPERTY TRIST 2Type: Closed-ended investment company Aim: Income and growth by investing in UK office, retail and industrial properties Minimum investment: Subject to negotiation with stockbroker Investment split: 43% retail, 34% industrial, 23% offices Place of registration: Guernsey Yield: 6.75% Charges: Annual 0.85% Commission: Subject to negotiation Tel: ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    1 Jul 2004

    If you could buy a portfolio of shares at a 40 per cent discount, you should be very pleased indeed. This is exactly what higher-rate taxpayers can achieve by investing in venture capital trusts, nearly all of which would have beaten the FTSE 100 - down by 19.3 per cent - over a five-year period, taking into account 40 per cent tax relief. Many have actually made money without taking into account tax relief over five years, with Close Brothers, Baronsmead, Northern Ventures and ...

  • Kelly tells product providers that cap cash is meant to pay for advice

    1 Jul 2004

    The Treasury has pledged to review the 1.5 per cent price cap after three years to ensure that product providers are using the rise to pay for advice. Speaking at a Treasury select committee meeting on Monday, Treasury financial secretary Ruth Kelly told MPs that providers should be using the 0.5 per cent increase in the price cap to provide advice. Kelly said the reason the price cap was raised was because providers did not take advantage of the possibility of charging ...

  • Kevin Duffy on MORTGAGES

    1 Jul 2004

    Here is the charge sheet. First, the rampant house price inflation afflicting the UK. Sections of the press are intent on talking the market into a crash. Yes, in places, prices are up by 20 per cent on last year but what too few reporters outline is that the pace of month-on-month inflation has slowed considerably and is even in reverse across some regions. But why spoil a good story with a balanced commentary? Second, there is the spectre of rampaging interest rates. ...

  • Kleinwort Benson rotates towards IFAs

    6 Jul 2004

    KLEINWORT BENSON PRIVATE BANKELITE ROTATORType: Capital-protected offshore fund Aim: Growth by investing in an actively managed portfolio of 16 investment fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £50,000 Investment split: 100% linked to the performance of a portfolio of 16 investment funds Place of registration: Luxemburg Term: Five years and three months Return: 100% protection - 100% growth in ...

  • L&G goes more conservative on annuity rates

    2 Jul 2004

    Legal & General is to move to a more conservative mortality basis for reserving and reporting on its annuity business but says this will not lead to poorer annuity rates.In an announcement ahead of its interim results on July 29, L&G says it has seen a marked increase in UK new business growth.L&G group chief executive David Prosser says: "The board has decided to move to a more conservative mortality basis for reporting on annuity business which will result in a net increase ...

  • Launch of Financial One offers compliance services to IFAs

    6 Jul 2004

    Financial One has been launched today to provide compliance support services to directly authorised advisers. The service, created by the directors of Network Financial Ltd will have a limited membership with only 25 IFAs per compliance officer. The service costs £50 per week per registered adviser. It will operate from Cheltenham and is organised by Keith Wrightson.Financial One also helps advisers organise direct debit banking facilities to help collect annual fees. ...

  • Lawyer backs time limit

    1 Jul 2004

    Law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain says time bars on endowment misselling claims are necessary to balance the rights of companies and consumers. The Consumers' Association recently launched an attack on financial firms and the FSA for allowing claims for compensation to be time-barred 15 years after the alleged misselling. But speaking at RPC's annual financial services seminar in London last week, solicitor Mark Sutton said firms should be entitled to protection ...

  • M&G to close funds in reshuffle

    1 Jul 2004

    M&G is closing three sector funds, merging two more into funds with wider remits and renaming and repositioning another in response to a downturn in demand for sector-specific offerings. The £13.7m global financials, £2.3m global healthcare and £13.6m global media & communications funds are closing, with the offer of a free switch into another M&G fund. M&G is renaming its £236.6m European blue chip fund as the M&G pan-European ...

  • Management buyout at Key Retirement Solutions

    1 Jul 2004

    Specialist equity release IFA Key Retirement Solutions has announced a management buyout from Chesnara, formerly part of Countrywide Assured.The board of directors comprises four members of the existing management team who have invested private equity in the company, managing director Colin Taylor, business development director Dean Mirfin, operations director Paul Wilson, and sales director Richard Overson.Taylor says: "This announcement is the culmination of several years' ...

  • Manchester Building Society receives MTA

    6 Jul 2004

    Manchester Building Society Mortgage Brokering Services has received its minded to approve letter from the FSA.General manager Neil Armitage says he is "delighted" it has received the letter relatively quickly and that he thinks it is one of the first smaller networks to do so.He says: "It will help with our recruitment of appointed representatives. A key marketing tool we have used it to say we are a building society and already talk to the FSA and will get approved. This ...

  • Manor Park - Guaranteed UK Selected Growth September 2004

    1 Jul 2004

    Type: Guaranteed growth bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Investment split: 100% linked to the FTSE 100 indexPlace of registration: GuernseyTerm: Three yearsReturn: Choice of 210%, 160%, 110% or 60% growth in index at end of termGuarantee: Choice of 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% of original capital returned at end of term regardless of performance ...

  • Manor Park - Guaranteed UK Selected Growth September 2004

    1 Jul 2004

    Type:Guaranteed growth bondAim:Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum investment:Lump sum £5,000Investment split:100% linked to the FTSE 100 indexPlace of registration:GuernseyTerm:Three yearsReturn:Choice of 210%, 160%, 110% or 60% growth in index at end of termGuarantee:Choice of 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% of original capital returned ...

  • Many IFAs may be in breach of rules on performance data use

    5 Jul 2004

    IFAs are breaching rules on performance data despite new FSA rules coming into force this month, according to O&M Systems.O&M, the financial services systems provider says the majority of IFAs quoting performance data to their clients are likely to be in breach of FSA rules due to ignorance to the changes in force. The new rules are designed to enforce fair and clear data. Risks of misleading can be minimised by using the FSA approved table format. Selective time periods, ...

  • Match maker

    1 Jul 2004

    It will not come as any great shock to you but I believe the new pension legislation will fail to stimulate the long-term savings market. The question remains where are the new initiatives that will create the climate for an upturn in private pension savings? Is it to be the new Sandler product suite? Much of what Sandler proposes bears similarities to the stakeholder pension model. Sales of stakeholder pensions passed one million pol-icies in June 2002 but have steadily ...

  • McFall names 21 splits' firms

    1 Jul 2004

    Treasury Select Committee chairman John McFall has named 21 firms he believes are involved in the splits' debacle. Speaking at a committee meeting last week, McFall said he believes it is important any information about the inquiry is put in the public domain and he gave a list of 21 firms he believes are involved. The committee said if there was no quick resolution to the situation from the FSA, it would start thinking about trying to resolve things itself. McFall ...

  • Moret moves from PPML to Suffolk Life

    5 Jul 2004

    Former PPML executive chairman John Moret is joining pension administration specialist Suffolk Life as Sales and Marketing Director.Moret leaves PPML as its parent Winterthur Life confirms that its sale to The Capita Group has received FSA approval.Moret says: "Suffolk Life are perfectly positioned to exploit the major opportunities that exist in the fast growing SIPP and related markets. There is a great deal of energy in their office and I am joining at a very exciting ...

  • Mortgage brokers fear failed business relationships post regulation

    5 Jul 2004

    Mortgage brokers are seriously concerned about the stability of future business relationships post regulation, according to research conducted by the organisers of the Mortgage Business Expo in Manchester.Researchers discovered that brokers are concerned by the lack of networks to have been passed by the FSA and by the prospect of a failed relationship. If a network collapses once they have joined it they could be faced with the prospect of two years frozen commission and being ...

  • Mortgage Express to make online offers

    1 Jul 2004

    Mortgage Express is enabling intermediaries to access offers electronically. The intermediary is told by email when the offer is ready. The legally binding offer letters are in PDF format for control purposes. The process has been piloted with brokers and packagers and will be made available in the coming weeks. The lender says the service means intermediaries will not have to wait for paper-based offers to arrive in the post. Mortgage Express launched its online ...

  • Mortgage works with fixed rate menu

    1 Jul 2004

    THE MORTGAGE WORKSFIXED RATE BUY-TO-LET MORTGAGEType: Fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgageFixed term: Until August 1, 2006, 2007 or 2009Fixed rate: 5.99%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, up to 70% of valuation up to £500,000, up to 60% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1mIncome multiples: Rental income must be at least 130% of mortgage ...

  • Multi-choice on multi-ties

    1 Jul 2004

    So Bankhall believes that only it and its major rival Sesame can credibly offer multi-ties. It has already spent £9m and expects this to reach £15m. It believes half of its advisers will seek to set up a multi-tie business but it will also rent out its service to others, whether other IFA organisations or banks and building societies. The suggestion that other smaller IFA groups cannot hope to create a successful model may lead several rival executives to choke ...

  • New angles on pension tax

    1 Jul 2004

    There are so many advice angles to the new pensions tax regime that it is difficult to pin them all down. You could construct lists under headings for preand post-April 2006, employer, employees, self-employed, investment, retirement opt-ions, funding, life cover, high earner, protected rights, taxfree cash and many permutations of such headings. For example, there are particular issues under the combined heading "investment and retirement options" for people who want ...

  • Out of context

    1 Jul 2004

    •"I feel like I am walking into the lion's den wearing a meat suit." - Portfolio Insurance Consultancy principal Brian Lentz before an appointment with the FSA. •"The point of D-Day was nobody was meant to know about it because it was meant to be a surprise. With A-Day, everyone should know about it but they won't until it is too late." - Scottish Life pension guru Steve Bee on the blind march to pension simplification. •"If you put a frog in a pan ...

  • OUTSIDE EDGE: RAY MILNE

    1 Jul 2004

    At last we have the details of the charge cap and simplified sales process for Sandler products. Now the hard work begins. The proposed process requires careful consideration by potential Sandler distributors. As it is an advice process, the distributor will be liable for the advice given and the process therefore has to carry the financial risk of that advice. It is important that the process is robust and customers receive appropriate product recommendations. An intriguing ...

  • Oxford VCT techs up university challenge

    5 Jul 2004

    Seed Capital is raising up to £14m to invest in Oxford technology 4 VCT, a venture capital trust focusing on early stage and start-up technology companies in and around Oxford.This VCT will operate a similar investment strategy to the previous Oxford VCTs that were established in 1997, 2000 and 2002. These are fully invested and the directors are keen to embark on another round of fundraising to capitalise on the investment opportunities which come their way. The directors ...

  • Oxygen breezes into specialist loan sector

    1 Jul 2004

    A new lender is moving into the UK mortgage market in partnership with specialist lender Mortgages plc. Oxygen Home Loans is a new trading division of Leicester-based Oxygen Mortgage Group, formerly known as Custom Made Mortgages. It will focus on specialist product areas such as sub-prime and self-certification and says it will cut its own fee income in order to offer better rates to borrowers. Oxygen Mortgage Group managing partner David Matthews-Hillyard says: ...

  • Patrick Gale

    1 Jul 2004

    Sesame group chief executive Patrick Gale started in the IT industry in 1986 and saw the IT boom and bust from start to finish. It was an experience he believes put him in good stead to run the country's biggest IFA network in a way he believes networks have never been run before. He believes the key is in the different outlooks of the respective industries. Like many people who worked in IT, Gale says he has the ability to look at any other industry as a marketing opportunity ...

  • PI finally starts to fall with 38% cut for King

    1 Jul 2004

    Life Policies Direct has seen a significant reduction in its professional indemnity insurance with Sesame, following a huge and unexpected rise in premiums last year. The firm, which is based in Telford, saw its PI premium reduced from £65,000 with a £25,000 excess in 2003 to £41,500 with £15,000 excess when it renewed it policy. LPD managing director Jason King spoke to Money Mark-eting in June 2003 of his disappointment in Misys - now Sesame - after ...

  • Pink launches exclusive self-cert tracker

    6 Jul 2004

    Pink Home Loans is currently offering an exclusive flexible self-cert tracker as part of its branded lending range funded by Platform. The product tracks the Bank of England base rate plus 0.99 per cent for the full term of the mortgage, offering an initial pay rate of 5.49 per cent. The flexible tracker offers flexible features such as underpayments, draw downs, payment holidays and overpayments.

  • Pink links with Platform to offer self-cert loan

    1 Jul 2004

    Pink Home Loans is offering an exclusive self-certification mortgage in conjunction with its branded lending partner Platform. The product tracks the Bank of England base rate plus 1.14 per cent for two years, giving an initial rate of 5.64 per cent plus £500 cashback. It is available to Pink Premier and Mortgage club customers. Commission is 0.6 per cent. Maximum loan to value is 85 per cent up to £300,000, with an early repayment charge of 5 per cent in the ...

  • Premier Mortgage Management receives MTA letter

    5 Jul 2004

    Premier Mortgage Management has received its minded to approve letter from the FSA.PMM provides an introducer service for mortgage leads to other advisors. An option which managing director Mark Mountney says is a viable alternative to direct regulation or the appointed representative route.He says: "Both of the latter come at a cost. There is a zero cost in referring your clients to a reputable third party who is doing all the work and paying you, the adviser, for the ...

  • Product Matters

    1 Jul 2004

    The Close Brothers property wealth management product is pitched at the wealthy end of the market by converting the asset (house) into liquid funds, through one product vehicle which encompasses reversion, life cover and investment products. It allows you either to gift money now, access some of the money after 12 months, retain access to some of the funds, or all three. The property is sold outright to a reversion company and an investment bond is bought along with ...

  • Recipe for disaster was on the menu 10 years ago

    1 Jul 2004

    It is a matter for amazement, bewilderment and anger that the FSA is caught unawares over and over again by the foreseeable outcomes of its own policies - outcomes which were predicted by many IFAs years ago. An excellent example is Brian Cochrane's Independent View article which was published in Money Marketing 10 years ago, which I unearthed recently from my files. In the article, Brian Cochrane writes presciently and humourously on the unintended consequences of ...

  • Reid snub for PMI in NHS five-year plan

    1 Jul 2004

    Health Secretary John Reid's five-year plan for the NHS encourages consumer choice but there are still few incentives to contribute to PMI, according to industry experts. Reid hopes that over £90bn will go to the NHS by 2008. His plan for the private sector is for the NHS to continue to bulk-buy routine operations. Reid thinks 10 to 15 per cent of NHS operations could take place in private hospitals by 2014. But incentives to continue to contribute to healthcare ...

  • Right on cue

    1 Jul 2004

    Congratulations to the Lighthouse Group for raising £3,763 for Shelter at its annual conference and gala dinner. The money was raised by raffling and auctioning sporting delights such as tickets to Premiership football matches and golfing days. The lucky IFA who acquired Ronnie O'Sullivan's signed snooker cue can indulge in the fantasy of being a rock-like snooker god. Congratulations also to the IFA who bagged Phil Taylor's signed dart board. That ...

  • Ritchie wants IFAs to take responsibility for advice on busting pension limit

    1 Jul 2004

    IFAs rather than product providers should be responsible for advice where people take income to avoid the £1.5m lifetime fund limit says Scottish Equitable pensions development director Stewart Ritchie. He believes that advisers should retain responsibility for the choice of annuity where a pension provider buys in a scheme pension. People with funds over £1.5m after A-Day will be able to avoid paying the 25 per cent recovery charge on income up to £75,000 ...

  • Schwab clients given the tools for US trading

    1 Jul 2004

    Stockbroker Charles Schwab UK is offering what it describes as two revolutionary products providing investors with research and analysis to enable them to make informed investment decisions. The products are designed for UK investors who want exposure to the US in their portfolios but need additional information about the market. Schwab Equity Ratings rates stocks on predetermined measures including risk level, valuation and momentum of the company. The service does not ...

  • Scottish Equitable International guides investors through retirement jungle

    30 Jun 2004

    Scottish Equitable International has established the flexible investment plan, a unit-linked offshore investment plan that provides access to 44 funds.Unlike the majority of unit-linked products that are structured as single-premium bonds, this product accepts regular contributions of at least £500 a month as well as single premiums of at least £5,000. Investors can start and stop premiums when they like but at least £10,00 must remain invested. The product ...

  • Sesame claims the small won't survive

    1 Jul 2004

    Sesame group chief executive Patrick Gale says only his network, Tenet and Bankhall will survive, writing off smaller networks as "minnows" which will disappear. He says unless an appointed representative network has at least 500 members, he does not believe it will be around once the current consolidation has been completed. He said the lure used by smaller networks of lower membership fees and a more personal service will not work any more, given the sheer weight of ...

  • Setting standards for model portfolios

    1 Jul 2004

    There is a line of thinking that a single core asset allocation portfolio (or perhaps a small number of standard portfolios) may be appropriate to the vast majority of investors. This view is based on a concept of diversification between assets whose performance is very lowly correlated with each other, that is, their investment performance follows different trends. To the extent that this approach might have some merit, the majority of investors would therefore be advised ...

  • SG Asset Managemeht - SG Index Linked Bond Fund

    5 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in index-linked government bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in index-linked government bondsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 0.75%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.25%Tel: 0808 1007426

  • SG Asset Management - SG Index Linked Bond Fund

    5 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in index-linked government bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in index-linked government bondsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 0.75%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.25%Tel: 0808 1007426

  • SG Asset Management - SG International Bond Fund

    5 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing globally in fixed-interest securitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in global fixed -interest securitiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0808 1007426

  • SG Asset Management - SG Long-dated Corporate Bond Fund

    2 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in sterling-denominated corporate bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in sterling-denominated corporate bondsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0808 1007426

  • SG Asset Management - SG Sterling Bond Fund

    2 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in UK government bonds and other sterling-denominated fixed-interest securitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in government bonds and other sterling-denominated fixed-interest securitiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 0.75%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.25%Tel: 0808 ...

  • SG Asset Management -SG Long-dated Corporate Bond Fund

    2 Jul 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in sterling-denominated corporate bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% in sterling-denominated corporate bondsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0808 1007426

  • SG gets fixed on interest

    6 Jul 2004

    SG Asset Management has added four fixed-interest funds to its Oeic range following the conversion of its unit trusts to Oeics.The SG Sterling bond fund aims to provide income by investing mainly in UK government bonds. The SG Long-dated corporate bond fund aims for income by investing in investment-grade sterling denominated bonds with a maturity date of over 10 years. The SG index-linked fund aims to deliver income by investing in UK government index-linked bonds and other government-related

  • Sims gets joint chief exec role at Zurich

    1 Jul 2004

    Zurich says David Sims is to be chief executive for both its manufacturing and distribution businesses despite pledging to separate the two within five years. Sims, who was revealed as chief executive of the UK life insurance business in June, is to take the same job with the as yet unnamed distribution business when it launches in January 2005. Current Zurich Advice Network sales director and managing director of tied distribution Andy Ferns becomes sales director while ...

  • So near yet so far for Channel Islanders

    1 Jul 2004

    There was a long trudge home for some delegates at this year's PIMS conference on board the Oriana. Guernsey-based IFAs and product providers may have been able to see their homes - a mere two miles away - through the portholes of the ship but there was no quick boat ride home for them. Instead, the delegates had to wave farewell to their island home and spend 24 hours nursing hangovers while sailing to Southampton, from where they flew back to Guernsey. Next ...

  • Sofa's view

    1 Jul 2004

    sofa's view Training and competence are buzz word that have occupied us for several years now. We are about to go into another area of change when the skills council is fully effective. The big question is whether all this effort is worth it. Are we better off as a result of all of the hours spent in the classroom and could we be more effective in our competence efforts? I suspect no one would argue that we should return to the old days of little training for new entrants. The ...

  • Special sits star Hargreave to run Aim VCT for Keydata

    1 Jul 2004

    Keydata Investment Services is offering a venture capital trust later this year under the stewardship of Giles Hargreave, star manager of the Marlborough special situations fund. The VCT will launch in September with a provisional maximum subscription of £30m. The product is Key-data's first VCT and will invest in Aim-listed companies. Manager Hargreave has a strong record in this area, having steered the Marlborough fund to a return of 261 per cent over the past five ...

  • Standard backing up PMI with online health service

    1 Jul 2004

    Standard Life Healthcare is setting up an online health and well-being service as part of its PMI plans. The move is in response to a survey of the company's customers which revealed a demand for access to information on healthcare options. The service, which was initially tested with Standard Life staff, is accessed via the internet and offers personalised health assessments, email alerts on topical health issues and tips on nutrition, fitness, sleep patterns and ...

  • Standard cuts commission for pensions

    1 Jul 2004

    Standard Life is scaling back commission on its group and executive personal pensions, stakeholder and small self-administered schemes. It is removing guaranteed commission on group personal pension flex and stakeholder for schemes of fewer than 20 lives averaging less than £100 a month member average premiums. The company says GPP schemes of fewer than 20 lives will now only be payable dependent on the quality of the scheme. Standard previously had no set minimum ...

  • Standard Life interim results - life & pensions business down

    1 Jul 2004

    Standard Life has released its interim results for the six months up to May 15 with reports of a 13 per cent decrease in life and pensions sales on the same period last year. UK investment is up 193 per cent, general insurance is up by 22 per cent but overall, the group has seen a 4 per cent decrease in annual premiums versus the first half of 2003.

  • Stop the moaning about stakeholder

    1 Jul 2004

    I am frankly fed up listening to the same old motley crew of negative, whinging product providers and IFAs knocking Sandler and the simplification of stakeholder products. They are like fat cats guarding their own pots of extra double cream. Unless they have something positive to contribute, they should keep quiet. No one - least of all the Treasury - likes negative people. For years, IFAs have complained about the overly bur-eaucratic process for writing business ...

  • Summer start to a slowdown

    1 Jul 2004

    Rightmove says the property market slowdown has begun with the first fall in house prices this year in the first week of June. Although overall asking prices increased by 2.6 per cent in May from the April figures, this includes a fall of 0.4 per cent in the first week in June. The number of properties up for sale rose by 10 per cent, easing the supply shortages which have contributed to sharply rising prices. Rightmove commercial director Miles Shipside says ...

  • Take your pick of protection

    1 Jul 2004

    I am a single woman and have just arranged a mortgage through my bank. The financial adviser has recommended that I buy a critical-illness policy so that my mortgage will be paid off if I cannot work through sickness. It is quite an expensive policy and I am not sure if I can really afford it. My employer will pay me for the first 12 weeks of absence through illness but nothing after that. I also have life insurance of three times my salary through work. When you arrange ...

  • Talkback

    1 Jul 2004

    "Yes. Because it should be an attractive, lucrative profession. We should pay them a lot of money." Peter Watson,Watson Financial Management "They are going to argue that the service they provide wants rewarding but what about the ordinary folk? Why should they be different to anyone else? It is one set of rules for the privileged and one for the underprivileged." Wayne Eagan,WBA "It is definitely not fair. Quite simply, there are rules for some and rules for ...

  • Tenet in long-term pledge to keep IFA networks separate

    1 Jul 2004

    Tenet has given a long-term commitment that its IFA networks will not be merged into a single uniform body. As part of an overhaul of its corporate branding Tenet is reaffirming its commitment to its M&E and Interdependence networks and says members of both bodies need not fear being forced into a different organisation with new business procedures. Tenet says its members do not want it to follow the industrywide trend of grouping companies under a single umbrella ...

  • The great migration

    1 Jul 2004

    More and more UK residents are seriously considering emigrating. Recent research from Alliance & Leicester Inter-national suggests that six million Britons will be working or retired abroad by 2020. In less than 10 years, one in eight Britons will retire abroad and by 2020 this figure will be one in five. There are a number of potential catalysts for this trend. Property prices are one. House prices in nearby countries look cheap compared with the UK. Another is logistics.It ...

  • The King's speech

    1 Jul 2004

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King is looking to reshape the housing market with words. Two weeks ago in Glasgow, King told a CBI Scotland dinner: "The chances of falls in house prices are greater than they were." The speech was translated into bursting bubbles throughout the national newspapers the next day. He followed that up last week with another warning when he was questioned on his opinion on property prices, telling a Treasury sub-committee: "We think it is ...

  • The Mortgage Business suspends all new lending

    5 Jul 2004

    The specialist lending subsidiary of HBOS, The Mortgage Business, is suspending all new lending, including products offered via packagers such as Pink Home Loans and The Mortgage Operation.TMB is blaming backlogs of work and concern over service levels for the decision, saying that new products will be launched at the end of August.

  • Two new managing directors for PIFC

    6 Jul 2004

    Employee benefits and HR constancy PIFC is appointing David Tildesley as managing director of its corporate consulting division and Peter Taylor as managing director of its corporate benefits division.Tildesley joins from Prudential where he was business to business director, successfully growing market share within the Prudential's pension practice against difficult market conditions. Taylor returned to PIFC 18 months ago to create its HR consulting services. PIFC Group ...

  • Two out of three investors want IFAs to discuss ethical funds

    2 Jul 2004

    Two investors in three would like to see their money invested in a socially responsible manner according to a MORI poll for Stewardship Growth, an ethical investment fund for private investors.The poll has found 65 per cent of investors want IFAs to start taking the initiative and ask their clients if they wish to invest ethically, rather than wait for it to be requested.However, 25 per cent of investors polled expect ethical funds to underperform compared with other funds, ...

  • UCB Home Loans - Self-Certification 2 Year Flexible Fixed

    30 Jun 2004

    Type: Flexible self-cert fixed-rate mortgageFixed term: Two yearsFixed rate: 5.99%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000, up to 65% of valuation subject to a maximum of £750,000Income multiples: Up to 3.25 times principal income plus second or 2.75 times jointFlexible features: ...

  • United bid to create a citizen's pension

    1 Jul 2004

    A working group of pension bodies is meeting to create a UK citizen's pension which would remove the need for means-testing. The high-level working group, chaired by former National Association of Pen-sion Funds chairman Tom Ross, will work on practical solutions to implement a citizen's test based on a simple residency test. The new pension would replace the current basic state pension, second state pension and means-tested pension credit, a system widely seen ...

  • Warning that high earners with Uurbs face IHT charge

    1 Jul 2004

    The estates of high earners with unfunded company pension arrangements could be hit by an inheritance tax charge on their arrangements, says Watson Wyatt. The company says that, as it is written, the Finance Bill will remove the inheritance tax advantages of unfunded unapproved retirement benefit schemes, leaving the estates of some senior executives who benefit from such schemes facing an IHT liability even though the pension benefit dies with the earner. Watson Wyatt ...

  • Watchdog urges providers and advisers to make critical reviewable rates clear

    1 Jul 2004

    The Financial Ombudsman Service has asked advisers and providers to be certain that consumers understand the implications of reviewable premiums as these sales have dominated the critical-illness market over guaranteed premiums. The FOS is concerned that some contracts may not be clearly explained at the outset and customers do not realise that annually reviewable rates, due to their very nature, may have a profound effect on fin-ances over a policy spanning 25 years. The ...

  • Webline quits Unipass over Origo charges

    1 Jul 2004

    Fast-growing portal Webline is pulling out of Origo's Unipass digital certificate system because it says it is too expensive. Webline says it is not prepared to pay the five-figure fee that Origo is demanding, saying it is not worthwhile because the service has only been taken up by 0.1 per cent of its users. Assureweb is also in negotiations but says it will not pay the current asking price. Origo, which is a non-profit-making business owned by a group of ...

  • Website picks out the 'best buys' of the day

    1 Jul 2004

    Emoneyfacts, the IFA web portal part of Moneyfacts Group, the provider of personal finance data, has launched a new daily selection feature to its service. Daily selections provides a short list of best products available on a daily basis across areas such as mortgages, savings, credit cards and loans. The service is aimed at IFAs and claims to offer free online premium quotation and an e-submission service covering life insurance, critical-illness cover, family income ...

  • Whitechurch Investment Services in liquidation after FSA orders review

    1 Jul 2004

    Direct-mailing firm Whitechurch Investment Services has been placed into voluntary liquidation after the FSA insisted it offer reviews to clients who bought structured products promoted by the firm. WIS, part of the Whitechurch group, says it could neither afford to take the steps demanded by the FSA nor challenge its decision without the financial assistance of stablemate Whitechurch Securities. But Whitechurch Sec- urities believes it would breach company law by pumping money ...

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