Money Marketing
4 June 2003

  • 'Legal actions go ahead but Govt case unlikely'

    5 Jun 2003

    Equitable Life says it will continue legal actions against former directors and auditors Ernst & Young but says it is unlikely that the society has a case against the Government. Chairman Vanni Treves, speaking at last week's AGM at Wembley Conference Centre in London, said he understood that many policyholders felt strongly that action should be taken against the regulatory authorities to try and recoup money. He said if the Penrose inquiry is critical of the Government ...

  • 'Outsourcing human resources can bring big savings in cash and time'

    5 Jun 2003

    Employment law consultancy Peninsula claims IFAs could save more than £180,000 over three years by outsourcing some of their human resources requirements. Peninsula's research shows that IFAs could be saving themselves around £60,000 a year. The costs are based on a company with 400 staff and a £500,000 turnover. Its results are based on an in-house operation paying at least £35,000 for one HR professional. In addition to legal support which costs on ...

  • 'Radical overhaul needed for critically flawed Insurance'

    5 Jun 2003

    Critical-illness insurance is a fundamentally flawed product which must be radically overhauled if it is to continue to have a place in the market, according to reinsurer Munich Re. Writing in the first annual Protection Review, Munich Re general manager of new business Martin Werth says insurers must consider reviewable policy conditions. Referring to guaranteed CI, he says it is an unsustainable product that has been found wanting in the face of medical advances and increased ...

  • 1st Software's Adviser Office 2 aims to cut IFA costs

    5 Jun 2003

    Technology provider 1st Software has set up a new version of its Adviser Office 2 software aimed at reducing cost and time for IFAs. The new version is available from early June, with existing users being upgraded for free. Adviser Office 2 includes new wealth management functions for cashflow planning, asset allocation, risk profiling, portfolio modelling and estate planning. 1st Software also has new partnership contracts with 7IM, Morningstar and The Silent Partner. This ...

  • 45 IFAs at MX lose out in Chase de Vere merger

    5 Jun 2003

    MX Financial Solutions is to bear the brunt of job losses, with 45 of its 60 IFAs being made redundant, following its merger with sister firm Chase de Vere Investments. The 160 advisers from both firms were grouped together and only 95 will continue with the newly combined firm and 80 IFAs are from Chase. The merger was announced in March by the firms' parent Bank of Ireland. Money Marketing revealed in March that there would be up to 350 redundancies and BoI now confirms there ...

  • A consumer's view

    5 Jun 2003

    Pension consultants can get ready for yet another spate of pension reviews by corporate clients. News that the Government is to set up a "pension lifeboat" to compensate employees of companies whose pension schemes go bust will prove to be the final nail in the coffin for final-salary pension schemes. If the Government had wanted to kill them off, it could not have thought of a better way of doing it. The announcement of a "discontinuance fund" along the lines of the American Pensions ...

  • Abbey Nat tests out offset loan market

    5 Jun 2003

    Abbey National is making a tentative foray into offset mortgages with the launch of a flexible loan that has a savings offset feature. The lender says if the deal is received positively by the market, then it will look at extending its mortgage range to encompass offset mortgages. The flexible plus mortgage has a rate of 4.5 per cent and is available at up to 90 per cent loan to value. The borrower's savings balance can be offset against the mortgage balance, with interest only ...

  • Abbey Nat to take annuities offshore if Revenue plan penalises drawdown

    5 Jun 2003

    Abbey National will set up an offshore operation offering an open annuity similar to the London & Colonial product if the Government does not amend its income-drawdown proposals. The provider says it will be forced to set up a Gibraltar-based open annuity if the Inland Revenue does not change proposals in its pension simplification paper. The new proposals allow drawdown to continue beyond 75 but will limit death benefits. The unique open annuity is underwritten in Gibraltar ...

  • Aberdeen Euro fund Manager moves to Invesco

    5 Jun 2003

    Aberdeen Asset Management's senior pan-European equities fund manager Stephanie Gerrard is leaving the company to join Invesco Perpetual as European equity fund manager. Invesco Perpetual spokeswoman Jane Drew says Gerrard will join the company on July 1 but declined to comment further, saying the company is still discussing her responsibilities. Aberdeen says Gerrard has been offered a great opportunity that reflects the quality of fund managers Aberdeen employs. It says Gerrard's ...

  • Advisers must bill clients for admin problems

    5 Jun 2003

    You were good enough to publicise my problem over administration with Scottish Widows and I have had other IFAs contact me who have suffered similar problems. I did contact the FSA but it said it could not intervene, which is odd, given that it has provided advice to providers as to the level of ex gratia payments. I have also contacted Aifa and it has asked for a copy of the judgment in order to consider its implications. The essence of the decision regarding contractual relationship ...

  • Aegon in top 10 IFAs with final buy

    5 Jun 2003

    Aegon UK has made the final purchase in its acquisition programme which it says pushes it into the top 10 IFA distributors in the country. It has bought Surrey-based IFA Elliott Bayley with 11 RIs. This brings the group up to 700 RIs. It is the 10th buy it has made since beginning its move into the IFA distribution market a year ago when it took a 2.5 per cent stake in Millfield. It owns IFAs Advisory & Brokerage and Momentum outright, has a majority stake in Positive Solutions ...

  • Aegon targets staff of big firms with advice through intranet sites

    5 Jun 2003

    Aegon UK is planning to target employees of some of the UK's biggest companies by providing online financial services on their company intranet sites. The worksite scheme will initially be piloted through Aegon UK subsidiary IFA Wentworth Rose, with a batch of eight FTSE 100 companies offering services to 500,000 employees and retirees. Worksites are web pages which allow employers to have self-service electronic access to all their benefits information through their company ...

  • Amex close to finalising deal to buy Threadneedle

    5 Jun 2003

    American Express is in the final stages of negotiations to buy Zurich-owned Threadneedle, according to industry sources. Money Marketing understands that all due diligence has been completed and the deal will be sealed "imminently". The acquisition is rumoured to be worth around £300m. Sources say the move is reportedly being made to enhance Amex's US fund proposition and give it greater access to Europe. American Express has been looking to build its position ...

  • Anger over Bankhall mailing of Exchange client list

    5 Jun 2003

    Bankhall has come under fire from rivals for pushing its new compliance service to their members by using The Exchange's client list. Bankhall says it is aiming Support, its latest compliance offering, at The Exchange's 4,500 directly regulated users but other users from rival networks and national firms were also caught up in the mailshot. The Exchange has about 18,000 IFA users, including big numbers of BurnsAnderson, Inter-Alliance, Inter-Link Premier, Park Row, Positive ...

  • B&W combines 7-year fixed rate and GEB

    6 Jun 2003

    Bristol & West has brought out a sixth issue of the global income and growth GEB which combines a seven-year guaranteed equity bond with a seven-year fixed-term high-interest account. Investors can place up to half of their investment in the high-interest account element which pays interest at 5.25 per cent gross a month. There are no penalties for investors who want to make withdrawals during the term. The guaranteed equity bond element of the product is linked to four ...

  • Base rates on hold

    6 Jun 2003

    The MPC has decided to freeze the base rate for another month, leaving it at 3.75 per cent.

  • Boost for equity release

    5 Jun 2003

    Norwich Union says equity-release plans are back in from the cold, with eight out of 10 IFAs willing to apply for a loan themselves. Its research shows that IFAs' belief in equity release is growing, which NU says reflects a broader acceptance of the product by the public. It found that 82 per cent of IFAs already selling equity release believe they will sell more this year, with eight out of 10 saying they would consider taking out an equity release loan for themselves, a friend ...

  • Bristol & West fixes at 3.39%

    5 Jun 2003

    Bristol & West Mortgages is introducing a range that includes a 3.39 per cent two-year fixed-rate loan. The lender claims the current competitive cost of funds on the money markets means it can offer some of the lowest fixed rates ever. The 3.39 per cent fixed rate is available at 95 per cent loan to value. The arrangement fee is £299 and there is no extended tie-in. The redemption charge is 5 per cent until July 31, 2005. The range also features a five-year fix at ...

  • Britannic cuts buy-to-let rates

    9 Jun 2003

    Britannic Money has reduced the underlying tracker rate on all of its buy-to-let products to 5.12 per cent.

  • Broker Exchange warns of need To revamp A&M

    5 Jun 2003

    IFA listing service Broker Exchange is warning that increasing industry consolidation will hit shareholder value unless action is taken to imp-rove the acquisitions and merger process. It warns that each year, although millions are spent on accounting and due diligence, it is rare that significant effort is put into managing different cultural and communication styles within IFA firms which is often the main reason why potential mergers fail. The firm also highlights how a recent ...

  • Bupa rejigs CI rates in bid to make them more competitive

    5 Jun 2003

    Bupa has conducted a rev-iew of its critical-illness rates which has seen it cut premiums for some areas of business but increase it in other areas. Premiums for policies with bigger sums assured for longer terms taken out by consumers between the ages of 30-40 will decrease by between 3 per cent and 9 per cent. Policies taken out by older people for shorter periods and with smaller sums assured will increase by between 5 per cent and 12 per cent. Bupa says it wants to focus ...

  • C&G says housing affordability set to remain stable

    5 Jun 2003

    Lender Cheltenham & Gloucester says housing affordability is likely to remain stable over the next 12-18 months as the housing market continues to slow down and interest rates remain steady. Its housing affordability index shows that the average UK mortgage cost for every £100 of take-home pay was £33.40 for the final quarter of 2002 compared with £33.10 for the previous quarter. The index also shows that homeowners in the South-east spend the biggest proportion ...

  • Caveat regulator

    5 Jun 2003

    Did you see FSA consumer director Anna Bradley's article in the Financial Times on May 10 entitled, How to stop misselling? In case you missed it, among other things she said that consumers should take responsibility for their own financial planning and purchasing decisions. Also that caveat emptor applies as much to financial services as it does to other products. Even more amazing was the admission that while firms can missell, consumers can also misbuy. Having read it, I picked ...

  • Cellar's market

    5 Jun 2003

    With stockmarkets treading water and equities withering on the stockmarket vine, investors are turning to drink. The drink is wine but how legitimate is wine as an investment choice? Broker Dunbar Fine Wine proprietor Soorat Singh says: "People's expectations when it comes to investments have diminished. People are now looking for stability in their investments. At least when it comes to wine, whatever they put in, they are likely to get their money back." Investing in wine ...

  • Chelsea offering 1.45% fix with long overhang

    5 Jun 2003

    Chelsea Building Society is offering a mortgage fixed at 1.45 per cent until July 1, 2005 but with a four-year overhanging redemption penalty. The mortgage is available up to 95 per cent loan to value for direct business only. A redemption penalty of 6 per cent of the amount repaid is charged until July 1, 2009. The loan is part of Chelsea's new range, which features a choice of fixed and discount mortgages. An alternative two-year fix at 3.79 per cent is available up to ...

  • Chez Nous

    5 Jun 2003

    Now there's a coincidence. Self-build specialist intermediary Buildstore recently put a competition in consumer self-build mag Build It for two tickets to see Robbie Williams in concert in Edinburgh. Who should be pulled out of the hat, you may ask? None other than a Mr Robert Williams. The Diary expects to see intermediary prizewinners such as Plan Invest's Mike Owen winning tickets to Anfield and Baronworth Investment Services' Colin Jackson scooping tickets to the Olympics.

  • Clerical Medical International - Growth Lock-in Fund 2

    4 Jun 2003

    Wednesday, 4 June 2003 Type: Capital protected bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of sterling, dollar and euros versionsMinimum investment: Lump sum £15,000, $22,000, euros 22,000Place of registration: Isle of ManInvestment split: Sterling version - FTSE 100 index 50%, JPMorgan UK government bond index 50%, dollar version - S&P 500 index 60%, JPMorgan US government bond index 40%, euros version - Eurostoxx 50 index 50%, JPMorgan ...

  • CML says not surprised by Brown's Euro decision

    10 Jun 2003

    The CML says it is not surprised by the Chancellor’s ‘not yet’ decision, citing the housing market as a reason to delay Euro entry. The trade body believes the UK mortgage market remains sufficiently sophisticated and flexible enough to thrive inside or outside the Eurozone. 

  • Compliance deal for IFAs

    5 Jun 2003

    The Exchange is teaming up with Bankhall to offer a new compliance service through its IFA portal Exweb. The service, which uses Bankhall's compliance expertise, will be called Support 2 and has been designed specifically to help directly regulated individuals cope with depolarisation and regulatory change. It will offer users access to a professional indemnity plan to help them get insurance, a suitability letter generator, an Aequos product research tool, compliance and training ...

  • Correspondent's week

    5 Jun 2003

    Doing the PR for Alan Steel Asset Management, Scottish Life International and Isis has seen me flitting between Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Belfast and spending 30 per cent of my life at airports. The week starts with meeting people from the BBC's MoneyBox at Julies in Notting Hill. I am there with Alan Steel who is explaining how American institutions have become net buyers (have been now for six weeks) and how it is high time that investors should think about getting back to ...

  • Costa living

    5 Jun 2003

    I am approaching 60. I have taken early retirement from the civil service and live in Spain with my partner most of the year but travel back home to Leeds for long visits with my family. I have a portfolio of over £100,000 and receive a widow's pension and a Civil Service early retirement pension. I am also due to start receiving a regular income from an Equitable Life AVC on my 60th birthday. How does the Revenue work out whether I am subject to UK tax and how does this ...

  • Craven leads friendly campaign

    5 Jun 2003

    Homeowners Friendly Society has enlisted John Craven to head its new TV advertising campaign, promoting its over-50s whole-of-life insurance product. The campaign is running for three weeks across a range of channels, including Channel 4, ITV2, Discovery Channel, Granada Plus, Hallmark, UK Horizons, UK Style and UK Gold. Homeowners says it is using Craven because it believes the values that audiences associate with his television work complement its own mission to help people protect ...

  • Credit Suisse hits the road

    6 Jun 2003

    Credit Suisse Asset Management is back on tour, hitting the road with another series of IFA breakfast seminars to promote the value of multi-manager funds.

  • Dirty laundry

    5 Jun 2003

    Julian Stevens asks what is the point of money-laundering forms. Very simple. The Inland Revenue has a different definition of criminal and, while the Great British Public were sold the idea of preventing big-time criminals from being able to use the system to legitimise their ill-gotten gains, your friendly taxman was really thinking much more of the self-employed cash traders who had been able to salt away money in different names to avoid the Revenue knowing how much they were really ...

  • DWP and EOC set to clash on gender pricing

    5 Jun 2003

    The Department for Work and Pensions is on a collision course with the European Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission over plans to ban gender-based pricing of insurance products. The DWP has given a clear signal that it will not accept European social affairs commissioner Anna Diamantopolou's draft directive which plans to outlaw sex-based risk assessment. The proposal, which could lead to unisex pricing of annuities and private medical, life and motor insurance, ...

  • EFM portfolio service offers alternative route to Fofs

    5 Jun 2003

    Edinburgh Fund Managers is offering its portfolio service to IFAs as an alternative entry to funds of funds. The EFM classic portfolio acts as a vehicle into Fofs which includes an additional benefit of free investment protection on death to investors under 75. The firm believes that continued difficult market conditions and the changing regulatory environment will push more IFAs towards Fofs. It says Fofs are becoming more popular because they allow advisers to outsource the ...

  • Euro vision

    5 Jun 2003

    Fritz Bolkestein is one of my top people. The EU Commissioner for the Internal Market is doing his best to push the EU market forward and not waiting for anyone to catch up with him, not even the national regulators such as the FSA. In our recent deliberations to create the Money Marketing Top 100 people in financial services- it was good to see my fellow judges were keen to push Europe further up the agenda. So Fritz is now in the top 10 at number eight. Europe seems to have been ...

  • Express takes first of three loanbooks

    5 Jun 2003

    Mortgage Express has completed the purchase of a mortgage portfolio from GMAC-RFC for £260m. This is the first tranche of three portfolios that Mortgage Express, the specialist lending arm of Bradford & Bing-ley, has agreed to buy from GMAC-RFC during 2003 for a total of up to £1.05bn. The acquisition was funded by internal resources and will increase Mortgage Express's managed assets by 3 per cent to £8.1bn from the previous total of £7.9bn. Forty-eight ...

  • Fewer than 10 apply for L&H's 25-year fixed loan

    5 Jun 2003

    Fewer than 10 people have applied for Leeds & Holbeck's 25-year fixed-rate mortgage which was launched three weeks ago. The L&H deal, fixed at 5.39 per cent, was introduced in the wake of Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget announcement of a review by Imperial College London professor of financial economics David Miles into why there is a low take-up of long-term fixed rates in the UK and whether the industry was stifling the market. But the product's lack of success ...

  • Final-salary scheme closures gather pace

    5 Jun 2003

    The closure of 17 per cent of final-salary schemes in the last six months reveals a "disturbing acceleration" in the flight from defined benefit says the chairman of the Association of Consulting Actuaries. New figures from the ACA show 72 per cent of final-salary schemes are now closed to new entrants or future accruals, an increase of 17 per cent in the last six months. Most employers believe the Government's pension simplification proposals will affect their senior staff, ...

  • Final-salary schemes raise retirement age

    5 Jun 2003

    Final salary occupational pension schemes see raising their normal retirement age as the main way to tackle deficits in funding according to latest research by Norwich Union. It found that 1 per cent of schemes have already raised their retirement age, 2 per cent are planning a rise and 62 per cent are considering raising the age. The survey was conducted for Norwich Union by McCallum Layton and shows that 60 per cent of the 300 firms questioned do not think the Government's ...

  • Financial Services Euro Test has been met - Brown

    9 Jun 2003

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced that the financial services test, one of the five Euro tests set down by the Treasury, has been met, removing one of the key hurdles to Britain joining the Euro.

  • First State's Adams resigns

    4 Jun 2003

    First State Investments UK chief executive Rob Adams has resigned and will return to Australia in June. Parent Commonwealth Bank of Australia group chief executive, investment & insurance services Stuart Grimshaw will take over the post on a temporary basis until a permanent appointment is made. 

  • First-time buyers plummet

    5 Jun 2003

    UK property prices increased by 1.3 per cent in May, according to Nationwide Building Society's latest monthly house price index. The increase was up on April's zero growth but down from 2 per cent growth in May. The society predicts smaller monthly increases averaging 0.5-0.7 per cent for the rest of the year. The survey also reveals that house price inflation fell to 21.3 per cent in May from 22.2 per cent in April and Nationwide predicts a further decline over the next ...

  • FSA says guide to handbook will reach IFAs in July

    5 Jun 2003

    The FSA has pledged to complete the guide for IFAs to its handbook by the end of June and send it out to all IFAs by the end of July. As revealed in Money Marketing in April, the FSA embarked on the exercise following comments from the practitioners' panel in January criticising the length and complexity of the handbook. Aifa is also producing a guide which will offer a summary of the relevant rules for IFAs and include explanatory commentary. It will be available for sale by ...

  • Halifax rewrites the money laundering rules

    5 Jun 2003

    Like Julian Stevens (Money Marketing, May 8), I have strong thoughts on money laundering. Of course, the requirements can be onerous but I am pleased that the industry appears to have got its act together and come up with money-laundering regulations which are clearly set out and everyone knows what they are. Except for the Halifax. When presenting a mortgage application and providing it with proof of residency, it will not accept a credit card bill or a bank statement from the ...

  • Hopeless state of L&G call centre

    5 Jun 2003

    Reading Stewart Tomlinson's letter recounting his experiences with Sun Life, I have to say that my recent experiences with Legal & General top even those with Sun Life. Having received from our research department a bulletin on L&G's protected index plan, I decided to call the number given for a small supply of literature. I was eventually put through to someone who seemed only vaguely to know what I might be talking about but eventually decided that his was not the ...

  • Housing market a barrier to Euro entry says Brown

    9 Jun 2003

  • IF ad push highlights the benefits of remortgaging

    5 Jun 2003

    The benefits of remortgaging will be highlighted this summer in a marketing campaign run by Intelligent Finance in the trade and consumer press. As part of the campaign, IF is offering a remortgage toolkit for advisers which contains information to help make a sale, along with case studies, details of procuration fees, information on the product range and charges, and client facing sales aids. Tips are also included on placing business with IF. The toolkit is initially being sent out ...

  • If the capital allowance fits...

    5 Jun 2003

    This week, I propose continuing down the path that leads to enlightenment (maybe that is a bit strong) on the subject of capital allowances, starting with industrial buildings. Property is perhaps the most obvious area where there is a divergence of accounting fiction and commercial reality. Accounting fiction assumes the value of the property diminishes - yet one of the investment success stories at a time of relative difficulty for equities has been that of property. As with ...

  • IFA sets up loan auction

    5 Jun 2003

    Wolverhampton IFA BP Financial Services is taking a novel approach to securing the best deals for its clients by holding a "mortgage auction" with providers. The auction, aimed at adverse-credit customers, has been advertised in the local press and the company says it has proved popular. The company's underwriters look at the deals available and then phone lenders so they compete for the client. For example, the underwriter might tell the lender that a competitor is only ...

  • IN aims to double RIs for flotation

    5 Jun 2003

    IFA group the IN Partnership is planning to double its total of RIs to 800 within two years before making a move towards flotation. The 400-RI group based in Horsham, West Sussex, intends to remain totally independent and is planning to grow at the rate of around 200 RIs a year. IN Partnership was formed just two and a half years ago by former Kestrel and Financial Options networks employees but already ranks amongst the country's largest IFA groups. The network attributes ...

  • Independent view

    5 Jun 2003

    Whoever said the UK was a soft touch? Don't believe a word of it. I prefer the description loony. Here we are living in a country with a successful economy, the legacy of a Tory Government, and what is New Labour doing to us? What with Tony Martin, sentenced to five years imprisonment for defending his own home, being sued by the burglar he shot who has a long criminal record, the Afghani hijackers being let off and possibly entitled to compensation, the asylum seekers on state ...

  • Inside edge

    5 Jun 2003

    When the CML reported that the proportion of first-time buyer mortgages had fallen below 30 per cent for the first time ever in February, many took a swipe at Government and lenders for not doing enough to resolve the widely reported affordability issues. Nationwide chief executive Philip Williamson said that the Chancellor had "missed an opportunity to give first-time buyers a better chance of getting on the property ladder". He pointed out that, a decade ago, first-time buyers benefited ...

  • Investment analysis

    5 Jun 2003

    Supportive economic data and generally positive corporate results helped the major global markets post healthy gains - the FTSE World index, which is now 8.1 per cent higher since the start of the year, advanced by 2.5 per cent last week. US markets rallied on Tuesday after the Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index had risen again in May following April's strong showing. On the same day, positive home sales figures prompted buying in the housebuilders and ...

  • Investment view

    5 Jun 2003

    All in all, 2003 is beginning to have a rather better feel to it. My view of the River Thames has been given back to me, the weather has been good and the market has managed to give a crumb of comfort to those who still consider equities to be the asset class of choice. The burning question is, can we hold on to these positive developments for the year or will they evaporate as 2003 matures? There are encouraging signs that lead me to believe we may have seen the end of the bear market. ...

  • Is Magian the real thing?

    5 Jun 2003

    It would be so nice to proclaim victory in the PI battles through which we have all been struggling of late but we must make do with progress, not triumphs, and the work to find longterm stability goes on. Still, we must welcome Magian and wish it good luck. If the company can make a (profitable) go out of underwriting IFAs, then why should others not follow suit? As I have consistently argued, what IFAs need is an underwriter prepared to assess the real risk against which a particular ...

  • Joining Euro would benefit UK says Brown

    9 Jun 2003

  • JPMF takes the credit

    5 Jun 2003

    JP Morgan Fleming has established the Europe credit fund, a Luxemburg-domiciled Sicav that invests in European corporate bonds. The fund will contain between 90 and 140 holdings, but invests only in investment-grade bonds, which means it sits between the company's two existing European fixed-income funds. The JPMF Europe Aggregate bond fund consists mainly of Government bonds while the JPMF Europe high yield fund invests mainly in high-yield bonds. Both funds hold 25 per cent ...

  • JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management - JPMF Europe Short Duration Fund

    6 Jun 2003

    Friday, 6 June 2003Type: SicavAim: Growth by investing in European government bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum Euros 10,000Place of registration: LuxemburgInvestment split: 100% in European government bondsCharges: Initial 3%, annual 0.7%Commission: Initial 1.8%Tel: 0800 727 770

  • JPMorgan Fleming Asset management - JPMF Global Short Duration Fund

    6 Jun 2003

    Friday, 6 June 2003Type: SicavAim: Growth by investing in global government bondsMinimum investment: Lump sum $10,000Place of registration: LuxemburgInvestment split: 100% in global government bondsCharges: Initial 3%, annual 0.7%Commission: Initial 1.8%Tel: 0800 727 770

  • Julian Gibbs

    5 Jun 2003

    Most stockmarkets have recovered since the Iraqi war but Japan is an exception. This is mainly due to a process called Daiko Henjo, where pension funds selling equities for cash have created selling pressure and caused this stockmarket to miss out on the rally. However, nothing fundamental in the outlook for Japanese companies has changed. In particular, there are opportunities in the Japanese smaller companies sector, where the trust I like best is the Baillie Gifford Japanese smaller ...

  • L&G equalises premiums for gay men and lesbians

    10 Jun 2003

  • Lamensdorf RIs get Misys' lifeline

    4 Jun 2003

  • Lloyds TSB pays £30k to Widows plan investor

    5 Jun 2003

    Lloyds TSB is paying £30,000 compensation to an investor missold a Scottish Widows extra income & growth plan I, one of the worst-performing structured products. This is the first time that an investor has publicly admitted they have been compensated but Lloyds TSB says the investor is not the first to get redress. According to reports, the investor is a pensioner who in December 2000 was advised to place his life savings of £87,000 into the plan by a Lloyds salesman. The ...

  • Martin Currie Investment Management - Martin Currie Absolute Return Fund

    9 Jun 2003

    Monday, 9 June 2003Type: Hedge fundAim: Growth by investing in European and UK long and short equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum $100,000Place of registration: DublinInvestment split: 100% in European and UK long and short equitiesCharges: Initial 1.5%Commission: NoneContact: www.martincurrie.com

  • MD Derry leaves Clinicare

    6 Jun 2003

    Private medical insurance provider Clinicare has announced the departure of Derry Andrews as managing director by mutual agreement.

  • Misys to shun NDF critical cover

    5 Jun 2003

    Misys is warning its members to avoid the critical-illness component of a new mortgage protection product from NDF, saying the market is not ready for its heavy reliance on reviewable rates and definitions. Misys head of research Dale Tranter says advisers are free to use NDF's home protect plan with its other protection elements such as life or private medical insurance but they should not recommend the CI cover to clients. The product has annually reviewable premiums and definitions ...

  • Naked truth

    5 Jun 2003

    IFAs will be delighted to discover they are part of an exclusive group of individuals who will run the world during the 21st Century. Malcolm Kilminster's new self-help book promises exponential increase in results for your business. Top tips include "In a world of virtual reality, people will want real relationships", the somewhat mystifying "Winners have belief without evidence, the mediocre need evidence before they believe" and the classic "Take a paper bag, cut two eyeholes, ...

  • New intermediary role for Thorman at Anfis

    5 Jun 2003

    Abbey National has appointed Hugo Thorman to the new position of director of intermediary propositions. Thorman was previously Abbey National for Intermediaries' marketing director for wealth management and banking and has also been marketing director for Abbey National Life and chairman of James Hay. He will have responsibility for all marketing and development of products and services within Anfis which was launched at the end of last year incorporating Abbey's IFA-focused ...

  • New Leeds & Holbeck mortgage for first time buyers backed by family

    9 Jun 2003

    Leeds & Holbeck is offering a new mortgage for first time buyers backed by their parents allowing them to borrow up to £250,000. The deal will be available at a stepped rate of 4.49 per cent until August 05 and then 5.49 per cent until August 08.

  • New start is needed for retail pensions

    5 Jun 2003

    The great pension meltdown continues.The latest figures from the occupational sector present more grim reading. The Association of Consulting Actuaries this week noted that some 17 per cent of final-salary schemes closed to new members or future accruals in the last six months. The number of employees bearing the investment risk of their pension or seeing contributions fall must be rocketing while in the worst cases people are left with nothing. Is it possible to shore up the ...

  • No cartel so no role for OFT in PI crisis

    5 Jun 2003

    The Office of Fair Trading says it has no role to play in resolving the professional indemnity insurance crisis, leaving it up to the industry and the FSA. In its report published this week into employers' liability insurance, which includes a look at PI and other forms of insurance, the OFT recognises that there is a problem but does not propose to take any action. The report concludes that, apart from asbestos-related risk, the IFA PI market poses the most serious problem ...

  • Norwich Union - Prosper Bond 7

    4 Jun 2003

    Wednesday, 4 June 2003 Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £3,500-no maximumTerm: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance in indexReturn: Up to 55% growth at end of termClosing date: July 11, 2003 Commission: Initial 3.5%Tel: 0845 9444800

  • NU shake-up to boost international business

    5 Jun 2003

    Norwich Union's parent Aviva is carrying out a management shake-up which it says will support the further development of its international life and pension business. From July 1, Philip Scott will swap his role as NU chairman to become NU Life International group chief executive running the group's European and international life business. The boardroom reshuffle will see Aviva group chief executive Richard Harvey take up the role of NU non-executive chairman. Patrick ...

  • Ombudsman clears IFAs in splits' case

    5 Jun 2003

    The Financial Ombudsman Service has decided that IFAs did not missell one of the products in the split-cap debacle, according to City lawyers Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. The law firm says the ombudsman has also decided not to take forward split-cap complaints where there is a potential legal case. RPC solicitor Harriet Quiney says if legal action is taken against firms, the FOS would be likely to wait to decide on any complaints until legal matters were resolved. RPC says ...

  • Out of context

    5 Jun 2003

    •"I'm surrounded by PR girls and I'm feeling hammered." - Selestia marketing actuary Richard Leeman. •"This is not your fantasy Richard, this is reality." - Selestia PR Pippa Russell in response. •"I must read up more on travel insurance so I can get more comment in the national press." - Hargreaves Lansdown investment guru Mark Dampier looks to widen his horizons. •"The camels out here have fewer humps than the Financial Services Authority." - Outgoing ...

  • Outside edge

    5 Jun 2003

    Maybe it's the Baghdad bounce but the spectre of a property crash lessens by the day. Nationwide's optimism last week was matched by other commentators and, with the exception of some hotspots in London and the South-east, we look set to return to sustainable house-price inflation running slightly ahead of inflation. This should come as no surprise to those who recognise that lack of supply fuelled by record low housing starts is the real driver in the market. However, every ...

  • Pensions and redundancy payments

    5 Jun 2003

    Redundancy is never likely to be a pleasant experience but the pill is usually sweetened with a financial settlement. A redundancy payment is defined as "a severance payment made on genuine redundancy or loss of office". The first £30,000 is tax-free, with the balance taxed at the recipient's marginal rate of income tax. Neither the employer nor the employee are liable for National Insurance contributions on redundancy payments. By using pensions, the efficiency of the excess ...

  • Policyholders at AGM protest at big pay rises

    5 Jun 2003

    Equitable policyholders took the chance to vent their frustration at what they see as unfair pay increases to the board. Policyholders would not pass the remuneration report in a show of hands which forced Equitable to hold a poll and the pay package was approved once postal votes had been taken into account. Remuneration committee chairman Sir Philip Otton's report sparked protest. He said chief executive Charles Thomson's basic salary for 2002/03 increased to £371,250 ...

  • Pricked by 'needle

    5 Jun 2003

    While we whole-heartedly support the need for strict money-laundering procedures, I do think that occasionally these are applied too prescriptively. In November 2001, we invested £15,000 in the Threadneedle strategic bond fund for an 88-year-old client of 23 years' standing. In May 2002, we transferred £7,000 under the Threadneedle Isa umbrella on a nil-commission basis. This May, we repeated the Isa transfer exercise but there was a residual amount remaining ...

  • RBS targets range at intermediaries

    5 Jun 2003

    Royal Bank of Scotland is offering two new fixed-rate mortgages exclusively to the intermediary market. The first mortgage is fixed until February 28, 2005 at 3.65 per cent up to 95 per cent loan to value and 4.25 per cent for 100 per cent loans. First-time buyers, movers and remortgagers are all eligible for the deal. The second mortgage is fixed at 3.89 per cent until February 1, 2005 and is available up to 90 per cent LTV. It offers free fees to remortgagers. RBS says ...

  • Remortgaging hits new highs

    5 Jun 2003

    Remortgaging hit record levels in April, according to the British Bankers' Association. Its latest figures show that approved loans for remortgaging rose to £8bn from £7.4bn in March and £5bn in April 2002. This compares with loans for house purchase, which accounted for £7.2bn of the £16.9bn loans approved, up from £6.3bn in March but down from £8.2bn in March 2002. Remortgages now account for 47.5 per cent of approved loans, with ...

  • Return of the native fund

    5 Jun 2003

    In my last article, I started to consider appropriate rates for projected returns from different asset classes using easily accessible sources of information - primarily the Financial Times - and applying logical formulae. Having already discussed cash funds and fixed-interest funds, I will now consider similarly appropriate projections for commercial property funds and equity funds. Over the last couple of years, in particular, property funds have been much more widely recommended ...

  • Revenue sums up pension equation

    5 Jun 2003

    The pension industry is hoping the Inland Revenue is not going to rush through its simplification review. The Revenue's technical paper, which is expected to be published before Parliament rises on July 17 for the summer, cannot duck the issue of when A-Day will take place without seriously upsetting life companies. Product providers are on standby for big IT system changes if the Revenue brings out complete draft rules for a nine-month rush to implementation but they are now ...

  • Rock adds stepped flex

    5 Jun 2003

    Northern Rock is extending its mortgage range with a stepped flexible product. The bank is also revising rates on some of its existing range and adding a Together two-year fixed-rate product. The stepped flexible loan is a two-year deal. For mortgages up to 85 per cent loan to value, it is fixed at 2.89 per cent for the first year and at 4.89 per cent in year two. Loans up to 95 per cent LTV have a fixed rate of 3.29 per cent in year one and 5.29 per cent in year two. The bank ...

  • Sandler suite must carry guarantee, says Sainsbury's

    5 Jun 2003

    The Government should guarantee capital invested in Sandler suite products against a fall in value, says Sainsbury's Bank. The bank says the guarantee is needed to restore confidence among savers. It has published research that suggests the UK savings gap stands at £31bn and not the £27bn assessed by Oliver Wyman & Co for the ABI. A survey of 2,018 adults conducted for the bank in April shows the UK's 12.3 million full-time workers are on average saving ...

  • Sandy Johnstone

    5 Jun 2003

    Norwich Union retirement protection strategy manager Sandy Johnstone is retiring soon and he is adamant that his photograph for this profile should be taken on London Bridge. "I don't want to be remembered sitting in my office in Croydon." Despite growing up in Scotland, Johnstone's love of London is apparent and he says walking across London Bridge is still a thrill. "Even now, I sometimes pinch myself in disbelief at where I have got to." Moving to London in 1979 at the ...

  • Schroders appoints new head of UK retail marketing

    9 Jun 2003

    Schroders has announced the appointment of James Cardew as its new head UK retail marketing.

  • Scottish Life goes for the personal touch

    4 Jun 2003

    SCOTTISH LIFE INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL PENSION PLAN Type: Individual personal pension plan Minimum premium: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50, annual £600 Minimum-maximum ages: From birth-75 Fund links: UK equity, UK ethical, global managed, European, managed, with-profits, property, fixed interest, index linked, defensive managed, corporate bond, security 98, security 100, deposit, Japan, Far East, global equity, Pacific, worldwide, ...

  • Scottish Life picks Reilly to get the Beehive buzzing

    5 Jun 2003

    Scottish Life has appointed Lynn Reilly as marketing manager to promote pension guru Steve Bee's BeeHive website. The BeeHive website features the views of ScotLife head of pensions strategy Steve Bee on the state of the UK pension market as well as links to ScotLife technical websites. Reilly will also be responsible for devising and managing promotional campaigns for e-commerce and corporate marketing activity. She will report to head of product promotions Samantha Toon. Reilly ...

  • Second time around for Zurich

    4 Jun 2003

    Zurich has issued a second Zurich guaranteed account, a capital-protected bond that could mature earlier than its five years six month term. The bond is linked to the FTSE 100 index and the original capital will be returned to investors whatever happens to the index during the term. It will mature in year three, providing 30 per cent growth plus the original capital, if the index has risen by at least 30 per cent. Otherwise, it will run for the full five years six months and investors ...

  • Seven pillars of EPP wisdom

    5 Jun 2003

    Pension transfers are big business but there is another potentially massive market where ongoing advice is essential to ensure clients are in the best possible plan and regime that meets their needs - a market worth £4.6bn in single premiums. Executive pensions will eventually fall under the same tax regime as personal pensions. But A-Day could be up to three years away, in which time there could be many changes in client circumstances or the market. As an ongoing service, now ...

  • Shared equity deal offers 100% loan with 30% free of interest

    5 Jun 2003

    Bradford & Bingley subsidiaries Mortgage Express and the MarketPlace are teaming up to launch an innovative mortgage aimed at helping people on to the property ladder. The Step Ladder Shared Equity Appreciation Mortgage offers a 100 per cent loan but only charges interest on 70 per cent. In return for loaning 30 per cent interest-free, Mortgage Express takes a share of the increase in the property's value either when the property is sold, when it is remortgaged or on the ...

  • Short-sighted view of PI implications

    5 Jun 2003

    I was surprised to read that Robert Wylie of Scottish Widows suggests there is no case for product providers to subsidise professional indemnity insurance costs, saying it would not make commercial sense, even if the economy was doing well (Money Marketing, May 22). With IFAs typically having an excess of £20,000 and limited total PI cover, they are committing commercial suicide by continuing to trade and sell Scottish Widows' policies, among others. At the same time, ...

  • Skandia - Protected MultiManager Plan 2

    5 Jun 2003

    Thursday, 5 June 2003 Type: Capital protected mini or maxi IsaAim: Growth by investing in UK equities, UK bonds and commercial propertyMinimum-maximum investment: £3,000-£7,000 for 2003/2004 tax yearInvestment choice: Schroder UK mid 250, Fidelity Special situations, Invesco Perpetual corporate bond, Norwich property fundsTerm: Six years three monthsGuarantee: Option 1 - Original capital returned in full regardless of fund ...

  • Skandia protects fund portfolio tax-free

    10 Jun 2003

    Skandia has unveiled its second protected multi-manager plan, a capital-protected Isa that is linked to a portfolio of four UK funds from different fund management groups. The Isa is linked to the Schroder UK mid 250, Fidelity special situations, Norwich property trust and Invesco corporate bond funds for a term of six years and three months. There is a choice of two capital protection options for different risk profiles. The first returns all the original capital regardless of ...

  • Skandia set to continue critical prostate cover

    5 Jun 2003

    Skandia Protect has plans to continue offering critical-illness benefit for prostate cancer despite changes to the ABI's code of practice which compel members to offer a product excluding the disease. The move means that Skandia will be the only CI provider to offer policyholders benefit for low-level prostate cancer. It is also offering cover to women with non-invasive breast cancer who have a mastectomy. Policyholders with either condition will get a lump sum payout of ...

  • Small Hope

    5 Jun 2003

    I find the comments from L&G recommending an indexed annuity for "maintaining a standard of living" misleading. If I use its own figures of a level income of £2,152,reducing by over 25 per cent to £1,562 for an indexed annuity, plus its assumed rate of inflation of 2.5 per cent, it takes until age 85 before you have received more in total from the indexed annuity. Even if we assume 5 per cent inflation, it is age 73 before you lose by having a level annuity. If ...

  • Smoke clears around Severn

    5 Jun 2003

    The Diary would like to apologise to FSA head of retail projects David "Clean Lungs" Severn for his biography in the Money Marketing Power & Influence Top 100 that cited him as one of the regulator's few smokers. No longer to be found behind the bike sheds at Canary Wharf, David wants it pointed out that he eschewed the evil tobacco leaf in February. The Diary would like to apologise for this oversight. Severn came ninth in the list - maybe if he had not given up smoking, ...

  • Speculation over Equitable property

    4 Jun 2003

  • Standard Life launches investment tool for IFAs

    9 Jun 2003

    Standard Life has launched a new investment planning tool for IFAs called the Portfolio Planner to help advisers recommend the best asset mix for retirement planning, income drawdown and investment scenarios.

  • Standard Life offers non-standard bond

    9 Jun 2003

    Standard Life has established a three-year version of its guaranteed bond that is linked to the FTSE 100 index. The bond guarantees the return of investor's original capital whatever happens to the index. Investors also get 40 per cent of any growth in the index. To calculate the returns, the closing value of the index is taken on the first day of the term and compared with an average taken over the last six months of the term. Three-year guaranteed equity bonds are ...

  • Standard warns of contribution chaos

    5 Jun 2003

    Proposed changes by the Inland Revenue to the way it assesses controlling directors' pension contributions are a recipe for chaos for IFAs, warns Standard Life. It says the plans to remove pension contribution limits would see all contributions for controlling directors and their families subject to a new "reasonableness" test. The abolition of the contribution limits of 17.5 per cent to 40 per cent of earnings for personal pensions would mean that contributions required individual ...

  • Star manager Mott to step down from CSAM income funds

    9 Jun 2003

    Star fund manager Bill Mott is relinquishing the day-to-day management of Credit Suisse Asset Management's flagship income funds to become the firm's thematic and strategic adviser.

  • Style more important than manager talent says SEI

    10 Jun 2003

  • Take up the LIA challenge

    5 Jun 2003

    The aim of the LIA President's Challenge is for teams to raise money to fund a new hospital unit for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The challenge is to put together a team of eight and raise sponsorship of at least £500 each. You will then spend 48 hours competing in a number of events at Barton Hall, a specialist activity centre in Torquay, Devon. Activities include: Abseiling, Archery, Climbing, Survivor, Skiing, Zip Wire There are a number of ...

  • Talkback

    5 Jun 2003

    "Yes, I think regulation is good for the mortgage industry as there are so many cowboys out there." Timothy Marshall,T Marshall Asset Management "Applying what has always been common practice in the regulated market to the non-regulated market makes sense. Through the application of these principles, we can ensure we will provide a valuable and compliant service to clients. "Derek Frost, The Melia Partnership "Those who describe themselves as independent certainly need ...

  • The mortgage mix

    5 Jun 2003

    There is plenty of action in the mortgage market at the moment as IFAs and lenders come to terms with the impending new regulatory regime. Regulation is a pressing matter for intermediaries and decisions need to be made about whether to go for direct authorisation or to act as an authorised representative. However, the single issue that intermediaries need to have in mind when making this decision is service. Borrowers' expectations have changed. They are no longer prepared ...

  • Tied turns for Massow as he links with Zurich

    5 Jun 2003

    In an extraordinary U-turn that mirrors his defection from the Conservatives to Labour, one of the country's best-known IFAs has become a tied agent. Ivan Massow has joined the firm he once slammed for discriminating against homosexuals - Zurich Advice Network, formerly Allied Dunbar. Half of his business Ivan Massow IFA will be tied to ZAN and half will remain independent and become fee-based. The firm has a total of 10 RIs. Massow famously took on Zurich in the 1990s, ...

  • Top state schools boost house prices

    5 Jun 2003

    Property in catchment areas for popular schools commands premium prices, according to research from Barclays Private Clients. The wealth management arm of the bank has found that property in the catchment areas of the country's top 50 community primary schools is on average 33 per cent higher than in surrounding areas. The average property price in the catchment area of the best schools was £194,507 in 2002 compared with an average of £146,676 in the surrounding ...

  • Treasury announces consultation on home reversion regulation

    6 Jun 2003

    The Treasury has announced it will launch a consultation in the autumn looking at extending its plans for regulation to home reversion schemes.

  • Treves says Equitable would have gone bust by staying in equities

    5 Jun 2003

    Equitable Life would have gone bust if it had not moved out of equities when it did, according to chairman Vanni Treves. Treves told the AGM that the company sold the bulk of its equities last year when the FTSE 100 index was above 4,800. This meant that the with-profits fund achieved a return of 4.8 per cent, which he said was an excellent outcome compared with other with-profits life office rivals. About 25 per cent of the company's £13bn with-profits fund was in ...

  • Virtual reality

    5 Jun 2003

    I recently left DBS and joined another network. Recent comments regarding how good everything is do not reflect the network I was a member of for six years. A network to which I had to give three months' notice, three months' costs and which is now retaining commission. A network that increased charges excessively in the last couple of years. I recently joined Virtual Net (Europe) and, while not everything is perfect, it strikes me that I am with a company that listens to ...

  • West Browmwich Building Society - Capital Extra Bond

    10 Jun 2003

    Tuesday, 10 June 2003 Type: Guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: Lump sum £1,000-£500,000Term: Five yearsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full regardless of performance of indexReturn: Up to 50% growth at end of termClosing date: June 26, 2003Commission: NoneTel: 0845 3300622

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