Money Marketing
4 November 2010

  • US law may hit UK funds with 30% tax

    4 Nov 2010

    US tax rules could hit funds with a 30 per cent penalty if they fail to comply with disclosure rules, IMA warns.

  • £400M surplus for PPF after £1bn deficit

    4 November 2010

    The Pension Protection Fund has reported a £400m surplus for 2009/10 compared with a £1.2bn deficit for the previous year.

  • 57% Of wealth managers fail full market test

    4 November 2010

    One-third of wealth managers expect to be placed under the restricted banner after the RDR, according to research from JP Morgan Asset Management.

  • A question of service

    4 November 2010

    How does any financial adviser establish what elements of their service a client does or does not want? Why not take the revolutionary step of simply asking the client to make the choice?

  • ABI in threshold warning

    4 November 2010

    The ABI warns that raising the auto-enrolment lower earnings’ threshold to only £7,475 risks leaving some people worse off from saving.

  • Absolute choices

    4 November 2010

    In these uncertain times, choosing which funds to invest in is tricky. The explosion of absolute return funds and the attraction of these “safer, lower-volatility” investment vehicles is clear to many investors. However, with vast differences between the funds on offer and the IMA deciding not to review the sector for at least another year, what guidance do investors have that they are indeed the safe, low-risk investment option that they are touted to be?

  • Advice for all

    4 Nov 2010

    Towry is right in identifying clients for whom its charging structure is not cost-effective, although some might ask why it has taken the firm so long to reach its conclusion.

  • Adviser Fund Index

    4 November 2010

    The Aggressive index offers Adviser Fund Index panellists the greatest opportunity to express their sentiment towards global markets.

  • Aegon proposes pay freeze for UK staff

    5 Nov 2010

    Union to ballot members on £2.5m cost saving measure.

  • Age rise to 68 will push 75% on to disability benefits

    4 November 2010

    Three-quarters of people will be unable to work or will be restricted in what they can do by their health if the state pension age rises to 68, according to a leading public health academic.

  • Aifa says grandfathering would cause confusion

    4 November 2010

    Aifa has argued against the FSA allowing grandfathering as part of the RDR, saying it would leave clients confused about the standards of advice.

  • Aifa: We have remained consistent over RDR

    5 Nov 2010

    Aifa sets out its stall following the recent RDR coverage in Parliament.

  • Alastair Conway

    4 November 2010

    Cofunds’ sales and marketing director is proud to be part of the platform revolution which he feels is enabling advisers to focus on their core business. Interview by Gregor Watt

  • All aboard the QE2

    15 Nov 2010

    After hitting a low of around 4,800 in July, the FTSE 100, along with most other markets, has been moving up strongly, climbing the wall of worry.

  • Are the kids' Isas all right?

    8 Nov 2010

    Chris Salih reports that investment industry opinion is divided over the introduction of junior Isas

  • Armstrong aims to hedge against inflation with precious metals and commodities

    4 November 2010

    Armstrong Investment Management is looking at precious metals and commodities as a way to hedge the risk of rising inflation.

  • Bank's Bean says data could not predict crash

    4 November 2010

    The Bank of England has admitted that it could not have predicted the depth of the recession because of shortcomings in the data it uses and the unpredictability of banking crisis.

  • 'Bernanke trapped in liquidity black hole'

    4 November 2010

    US treasuries are the most brazen Ponzi scheme of all time, according to Bill Gross, the managing director of Pimco, the world’s biggest private bond investor.

  • Brokers back Santander flotation plan

    4 Nov 2010

  • Brokers confused over Aldermore lending criteria

    5 Nov 2010

    Mortgage brokers say there is a lack of clarity over what cases new lender Aldermore will accept.

  • Carry-forward facility for annual allowance will be lost by non-members

    4 November 2010

    Employees who fail to join a pension scheme during this tax year will be unable to take advantage of the carry-forward mechanism introduced by the Treasury as part of its tax relief reforms.

  • Change by degrees

    4 Nov 2010

    John Lawson says the £140 state pension would take time to implement.

  • Check exits for platforms

    5 Nov 2010

    Skandia is warning advisers to consider platform providers’ exit strategies as part of their due diligence process ahead of likely consolidation in the market.

  • Child benefits

    4 November 2010

    The key aspect for parents and grandparents when investing for children is to keep plans simple and accessible

  • CII to help skills council shape insurance policy

    4 November 2010

    The Chartered Insurance Institute and the Financial Services Skills Council have signed a memorandum of understanding which enables life and pension providers to contribute to the FSSC’s position on insurance.

  • Contract countdown

    4 November 2010

    IFA companies looking to sell up before the RDR need to take action now as buyers want a two-year earn-out period

  • Correlation streak

    5 Nov 2010

    Professional investors are a binary breed. They may talk a good game about portfolio diversification but their existence is apparently and curiously devoid of grey. Active or passive, developed world or emerging markets, growth or income, big comp-anies or small, value or growth, stocks or bonds - for them, third ways and middle grounds are best left to politicians.

  • De Blonay takes over Jupiter financial opps

    4 November 2010

    Philip Gibbs is passing his £1bn Jupiter financial opportunities fund over to Guy de Blonay from January 2011.

  • Dear Rob&Roderic...

    4 November 2010

    Our resident agony uncles and The Ideas Lab directors Rob Reid and Roderic Rennison answer adviser questions

  • Don’t just react – plan

    4 November 2010

    MGP Chartered Financial Planners managing director Kevin Cannon outlines how advisers can avoid the confusion which some industryanalysts say will reign in the post-2012 world

  • Duckworth to lead Openwork fund development

    4 November 2010

    Openwork has appointed Mark Duckworth to the newly created position of commercial development director.

  • Duncan Smith says levelling down would discredit pensions

    4 November 2010

    Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith says employers choosing to level down contributions to the auto-enrolment minimum of 3 per cent would be “discrediting the brand” of pensions.

  • ETFs could cause high correlation

    4 November 2010

    Fund managers have highlighted the growth in exchange traded funds as the possible cause of a high correlation between stocks that make it difficult for long/short equity strategies to perform.

  • Even smallest firms need to be in Nest

    4 November 2010

    All employers will eventually have to provide a workplace pension following an independent review of automatic enrolment.

  • Fidelity looks at dealing with China clamour

    4 November 2010

    Fidelity is considering ways to satisfy the demand for Anthony Bolton’s China special situations investment trust, which is trading at close to 13 per cent premium to its net asset value.

  • Financial Express and Style Research offer fund monitor

    4 November 2010

    Financial Express has launched a joint initiative with independent investment research software firm Style Research to offer a wider range of quantitative tools for its Analytics users.

  • First workshop will help public to plan

    4 November 2010

    Life planning venture Project Eve is hosting its inaugural consumer workshop this month to help consumers understand and improve their financial situation.

  • Flat-rate pension benefits outweigh the problems

    4 Nov 2010

    Not many more details but a great deal of speculation has emerged since the Government announced plans last week for a £140 a week flat-rate state pension.

  • Flush out toxic RIs

    4 November 2010

    At the Second Business Transition round table organised by Adviser Evolution, in conjunction with the Money Marketing Academy, we quizzed our committee of advisers on dealing with RIs who are dragging their heels on transition and becoming a liability

  • FSA can't pay regulatory divi

    5 Nov 2010

    It is impossible for the FSA to implement regulatory dividends for IFA firms under its current fee system, says Lansons’ Richard Hobbs.

  • 'FSA taking a risk with charging experiment'

    4 November 2010

    Tenet has branded adviser-charging a risky experiment which could do great damage to the IFA sector.

  • Goddard warns advisers are clutching at straws on RDR

    5 Nov 2010

    Personal Finance Society chief says IFAs are clutching at straws if they think the recent political RDR interest will lead to it being watered down.

  • Government establishes Equitable Life commission

    3 Nov 2010

    Independent commission to decide how payments will be divided between 1.1 million non-with profit annuitants

  • HMRC sticks with pension input periods

    4 Nov 2010

    HMRC rejects concerns that members could face an unexpected tax hit.

  • Homeloan porting hit by interest-only clampdown

    5 Nov 2010

    Brokers have warned that the clampdown on interest-only deals is hitting borrowers’ ability to port their mortgage and risks stifling the market.

  • House prices fall 0.7% as rate of decline quickens

    4 November 2010

    House prices fell by 0.7 per cent in October and the quarterly rate of decline has accelerated to 1.5 per cent, according to Nationwide.

  • IFA pension row with Phoenix

    4 Nov 2010

    IFA claims delays in switching a client’s pension pot resulted in a loss.

  • IFAs advise caution over pension with loan deal

    4 Nov 2010

    Specialist pension IFAs have warned advisers to be cautious about a new scheme which uses a pension fund to back secured lending.

  • IMA alert on fund scams

    4 Nov 2010

    The Investment Management Association is preparing guidance for the industry on investment scams after it emerged that another product provider’s name is being used by fraudsters.

  • In harmony with slower China

    4 November 2010

    Despite a fall in the blistering pace of growth and other problems, the reality is that China is still an attractive prospect

  • Inflation hazard

    8 Nov 2010

    Inflation is a genie notoriously difficult to rebottle, so when governments encourage inflation they are playing with forces beyond their power to control easily.

  • Labour says coalition has hit housing confidence

    4 November 2010

    Confidence in the housing sector has been severely damaged by the coalition Government’s economic policies, Labour MPs have claimed.

  • Law firm warns of Employment law problems over RDR

    4 Nov 2010

    Advisers may fall foul of employment law if they are not clear about what will happen to employees who fail to achieve QCF level 4.

  • Leader: Cherry Reynard

    4 November 2010

    Cherry Reynard, Consulting Editor, Adviser Evolution

  • Lowes' Bell voices concerns at Skandia risk-rating stance

    5 Nov 2010

    Lowes Financial Management says Skandia’s stance on risk-rating funds could lead to “significant capital losses” by exposing clients to unsustainable yield levels.

  • Making the grade

    4 Nov 2010

    I cannot remember who first suggested we all have a book in us but I would argue that this kind of encouragement can lead to some fairly turgid reads. The same kind of problem presents itself when people take on roles for which they are ill suited.

  • Matter of principals

    4 November 2010

    If you are in the process of acquiring another practice, then there are important issues to consider. The author of The Business of Advice outlines the pitfalls you may have to confront and explains how to avoid them

  • Mellon fund builds on LatAm infrastructure

    4 November 2010

    BNY Mellon Asset Management is offering a new long-only Latin America infrastructure fund.

  • MetLife looking to be a world power

    4 November 2010

    MetLife is scrapping the Alico brand and launching a number of new products as it focuses on international growth following its acquisition of Alico.

  • Mind games

    4 November 2010

    I am sitting writing this article when in fact I should be revising - my re-sit for my AF4 investment planning exam is now tomorrow afternoon!Since my last article, I have refocused to pass this exam in October and have put in a lot of additional study. It is a challenging subject and exam and I attended a CII face-to-face revision day to spend time with other delegates and a CII-accredited trainer to go over exam techniques and core syllabus material, which was a good use of ...

  • Nest admin firm is embroiled in US court disputes

    4 Nov 2010

    State Street Corporation was appointed a day before it revealed a subsidiary had settled out of court in a dispute over US public pensions.

  • Nest could fall millions short of target

    4 Nov 2010

    Standard Life says its calculations suggest membership of Nest could fall as low as one million.

  • New banking entrants face "significant" barriers

    4 Nov 2010

    OFT review outlines problems attracting customers and increasing market share.

  • New drawdown rules may be delayed until 2012

    4 Nov 2010

    Providers and advisers may be unable to meet the April 2011 deadline.

  • Newton chief defends using derivatives to boost income

    5 Nov 2010

    Newton higher-income manager Tineke Frikkee rejects Hargreaves concerns about the use of income-generating derivatives in her £2.7bn fund.

  • Odey fund off to Dublin

    4 November 2010

    Insynergy Investment Management is changing the structure and domicile of its Odey fund to a Dublin-based Ucits.

  • Origen links with Staffcare to offer benefits portal

    4 November 2010

    Origen Financial Services is setting up a benefits portal after signing a partnership agreement with employee benefits software company Staffcare.

  • Over 700 funds holding less than £30m

    4 November 2010

    Three out of 10 funds in IMA sectors hold less than £30m in assets, the level that most managers regard as the minimum for the average economical fund.

  • Pension pressure brings surge for equity release

    4 November 2010

    Equity-release specialists bel-ieve the recent increase in business is due to the economic strain on pensioners rather than positive engagement with the product.Safe Homes Income Plans, the equity-release trade body, last week published figures showing the value of the market saw its biggest quarter-on-quarter increase since mid 2008. Between the second and third quarters of this year, the market rose by 4 per cent from £196.7m to £205m.

  • Positive aspects of the FSA break-up

    4 November 2010

    Coming back to work after being away for 13 months on maternity leave, I naturally wondered what would have changed. The simple answer is everything and nothing.

  • Pre-nups and downs

    4 November 2010

    fter Radmacher v Granatino what protection do pre-nuptial agreements have for family wealth?

  • Prepare for pension posers

    4 November 2010

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has valuable advice on how to pass the J04 pension funding options unit

  • Pritchard aims to gain an edge with new firm

    4 November 2010

    Ex-Edeus director of packaging Terry Pritchard is preparing to set up a new national financial advice business later this month.

  • Protection quotes for loans

    4 Nov 2010

    Back-office system provider MortgageKeeper is offering an add-on facility that generates protection quotes based on data from live mortgage applicants.

  • PTFS hints that rejected bidder was Countrywide

    4 November 2010

    Personal Touch Financial Services has confirmed that its board rejected a takeover bid for the network and hinted that the rejected bidder was Countrywide.

  • Research on dynamics could send a message of hope

    4 November 2010

    The Government is being urged to follow up the review of automatic enrolment with research into the dynamics of the labour market.

  • Rising Tamp

    4 November 2010

    Turnkey asset management programmes are huge business in the US and are set to play a pivotal role in the UK distribution market

  • Royal London closes in on Royal Liver merger

    3 Nov 2010

    Life and pensions firm “weeks away” from completing due diligence.

  • Royal London sales boost despite protection drop

    3 Nov 2010

    Strong life and pensions performance but protection business slumps.

  • RPI-CPI switch knocks £2.9bn from BT scheme liabilities

    4 Nov 2010

    Communications firm reveals initial impact of Government reform.

  • Schemes are on the slide

    4 November 2010

    Active membership of occupational pension schemes slumped by 300,000 last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

  • Shopping channel

    4 Nov 2010

    Nic Cicutti says Aifa’s comments about free distribution are a misconception of the proper relationship between manufacturer and retail distributor.

  • Skills academy wants firms to use apprentice cash

    4 November 2010

    The National Skills Academy for Financial Services has urged financial services firms to take advantage of additional £250m apprenticeship funding from the Government.

  • Special issue

    8 Nov 2010

    Chris Gilchrist says he is depressed by the big revival in CAR products.

  • Standard Life sees big growth in Sipp and wrap business

    3 Nov 2010

    Individual Sipps grow by 21 per cent as UK business increases 10 per cent.

  • Standard relents on £750 Sipp transfer charge

    4 November 2010

    Standard Life has made a U-turn over plans to charge customers £750 if they transfer out of the firm’s Sipp within 12 months of the set-up date.

  • Supply line

    5 Nov 2010

    We need stable house prices while we sort out the supply problem

  • Thames River delays launch of GEM absolute return fund

    4 Nov 2010

    Boutique delays launch of fund until next year.

  • The business of Monkey

    4 November 2010

  • The growing season

    8 Nov 2010

    James Smith assesses the strategies of some of the top performers in the UK all companies sector

  • The local outlook

    8 Nov 2010

    Cherry Reynard talks to four UK all companies fund managers about their preferred investments

  • The platform journey

    4 November 2010

    We have worked with a number of businesses in Australia and have learned some lessons from the long transition they have had.

  • The RDR and Custer’s last stand

    4 November 2010

    For those of you who have taken the time to read through Kevin’s piece, I think what comes out of this clearly is the picture of a firm which not only decided that action is needed but has started to put it in place. I am not particularly keen on the Christmas approach to project timing, that is that RDR is only 28 months away but, nonetheless, Kevin’s point does provide a form of wake-up call to those individuals who believe the RDR is something in the dim and distant future. Irrespective ...

  • The switching hour

    5 Nov 2010

    Is it the right time to remortgage? Paul Thomas assesses opinion

  • The truth about absolute return

    8 Nov 2010

    The IMA was right not to divide up the absolute return sector, says Pascal Dowling, a director at Financial Express, but investors need to better understand this market which does not have a magic formula for positive returns

  • The write stuff

    4 November 2010

    I was privileged enough to be asked to speak at a conference last week where the audience was 150 financial advisers. Over two days, there were excellent presentations on such diverse topics as segmentation, your customer value offering and how you cost your RDR proposition.

  • There's life in the IFA species yet

    5 Nov 2010

    LibDem Treasury spokesman Lord Newby has amended his controversial position on the future of IFAs following outcry.

  • Time management

    4 November 2010

    The ifs School of Finance looks at some general study tips. As a part-time student, time is a precious resource so planning your studies, managing your time effect-ively and keeping motivated are vital to success

  • Tough task for TPR to police micro businesses

    4 November 2010

    Government plans for auto-enrolment and Nest have been well received although concerns remain regarding the strain on small business and how the rules will be policed.

  • Towry ditches clients with less than £5k

    4 November 2010

    Towry is closing the accounts of its 6,000 smallest customers, saying the service it is offering them is not cost-effective.

  • Tribunal slams FSA on approval process

    4 Nov 2010

    Upper tribunal says CF1 application form is poorly designed and overturns FSA decision to refuse IFA application for director approval.

  • TSC member says RDR should create clear advice sales split

    4 Nov 2010

    LibDem MP John Thurso says RDR should be focused on ensuring a clear divide between independent advice and sales.

  • Turn the tables

    5 Nov 2010

    The decision in my house as to which Saturday evening reality show to watch is easy. One programme features self-absorbed judges with limited credentials of their own assessing vulnerable young wannabes, the other contains judges well qualified to make constructive remarks on the performances of contestants who are more relevant than their actual assessors.

  • Webb's wonder

    4 Nov 2010

    Paul Farrow says the new pensions minister has wasted no time in taking action

  • Webinar service launches to help IFAs get ready for RDR

    4 Nov 2010

    A new website is offering online seminars to help IFAs adapt to the changes required by the retail distribution review.

  • Who will be first with Skype service?

    4 November 2010

    Advisers need to develop models which allow clients to transact face-to-face in an online environment, says Aifa.

  • Work ethic

    4 November 2010

    Advisers need to adjust how they frame their advice for individuals who aim to continue working beyond retirement

  • Worldly wise

    8 Nov 2010

    In contrast to the reams of stockpickers out there, Walker Crips’ Jan Luthman and Steve Bailey take a macro-thematic approach to investing.

  • WPA offers high-excess corporate policy to cut IPT

    4 Nov 2010

    Private medical insurer WPA has devised a high-excess PMI policy for companies that reduces the cost of insurance premium tax.

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