Money Marketing
5 March 2008

  • Red light for Amber new lending

    6 Mar 2008

    Skipton Building Society’s specialist lender Amber Homeloans is to close to new business as a result of the liquidity crunch. It says it will now concentrate on managing the company’s existing portfolio of loans and will be honouring all its pipeline business.

  • 43 Firms sign up for True Potential

    6 Mar 2008

    True Potential has signed up 43 new firms, bringing the total number of advisers licensed to use the software platform to 1,840.

  • A long way to go

    6 Mar 2008

    My article a fortnight ago about the variable annuities being offered by Hartford Life,MetLife and Lincoln Financial, and the link I made witha string of cases in the US deferred annuity market, has sparked some debate.

  • A shaw thing

    6 Mar 2008

    Sam Shaw is a reporter on Money MarketingIt has been a busy old week again on the Shaw-tastic social front but I take satisfaction in knowing I have merely been preparing for the black-tie do of the year - the Money Marketing Awards. Note to self - dust off frock in time for Wednesday and make sure heels are not broken. This week, Paul McMillan and I went to a sparkling cabaret show hosted by the truly Alan Partridge-esque Lenny Beige at London's Pigalle Club.

  • A&L launches new mortgage range

    5 Mar 2008

    Alliance & Leicester says it is committing itself to the mortgage market with the launch of a new range of residential and buy to let products.

  • Abbey For Intermediaries - Five Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

    7 Mar 2008

    Abbey For IntermediariesFive Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

  • Abbey pre-tax profits up £436m

    5 Mar 2008

    Abbey says its profits on continuing operations increased to £864m in 2007 - up from £428m on the previous year.

  • ABI presses for CGT concession

    6 Mar 2008

    The Association of British Insurers has appealed to the Chancellor ahead of next week's Budget to revise his capital gains tax proposals or risk damaging the industry.

  • Aegon makes protection toolkit available to all advisers

    10 Mar 2008

    Aegon Scottish Equitable's business protection toolkit is now available to all advisers online.

  • Aegon sales rise by 12 per cent

    6 Mar 2008

    Aegon's new business increased by 12 per cent last year with individual pensions up 10 per cent to £381m.

  • Affordability issues put mortage advisers at risk, warns Sesame

    10 Mar 2008

    Sesame is urging mortgage intermediaries to protect themselves against the knock-on effects of irresponsible borrowing.

  • Agriculture fund seen as inflation play

    6 Mar 2008

    Cazenove head of multi-manager Marcus Brookes says the addition of Schroders agriculture fund is a play on inflation in the sector, having lagged behind other commodities in the last three years.

  • Aifa forms European Advisory Committee

    11 Mar 2008

    The Association of Independent Financial Advisers is establishing a new European Advisory Committee to ensure advisers' voices are heard by European policy makers.

  • Aifa launches personal finance guide

    7 Mar 2008

    The Association of Independent Financial Advisers has launched a guide to personal finance for MPs and regional assembly members to pass on to their constituents.

  • Aifa says FOS case fees may be abolished

    7 Mar 2008

    The Hunt Review into the Financial Ombudsman Service may recommend that case fees are abolished, according to the Association of Independent Financial Advisers.

  • Annuities need a makeover

    6 Mar 2008

    Annuities have been badly marketed and companies must work to change the product's negative image with consumers.

  • Applications down to 10 a day for GMAC-RFC

    6 Mar 2008

    GMAC-RFC has not ruled out making further job cuts after admitting that mortgage app-lications have sometimes dropped to as low as 10 a day.

  • Arc Capital & income - Stepped Kick-Out Plan 3

    7 Mar 2008

    Arc Capital & incomeStepped Kick-Out Plan 3

  • Are house prices going back to the futures?

    6 Mar 2008

    The industry is awash with housing market predictions, with disagreements about how far prices will fall.

  • Auction winner's desperate bid to get mortgage

    6 Mar 2008

    Cheltenham & Gloucester has responded to pressure from Money Marketing to speed up a mortgage application that could have cost an adviser's client their £18,000 deposit due to slow turn-round.

  • Aviva global rebrand sees Morley scrapped

    6 Mar 2008

    Aviva is to unite its asset management businesses under a single global brand, Aviva Investors, with the Morley name disappearing.

  • Axa & Winterthur offshore moves into Europe

    11 Mar 2008

    Axa & Winterthur Wealth Management has appointed a new offshore chief executive and managing director to head up a planned expansion into Europe.

  • Axa launches new protection website

    10 Mar 2008

    Axa has launched a protection-specific website in a bid to help advisers with queries.

  • Axa moves in on SBJ Group

    6 Mar 2008

    Axa has tabled a bid for SBJ Group Advisory Holdings, which includes an employee benefits consultancy and online pension solution.

  • Back to the bad old days?

    7 Mar 2008

    IFA groups launching their own fund ranges in white-label ventures are under the spotlight this week following a speech by FSA director of retail policy Dan Waters last Friday.

  • Bank of England holds interest rate at 5.25%

    6 Mar 2008

    The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has decided to hold interest rates at 5.25 per cent.

  • Bank worker jailed for customer cash swindle

    6 Mar 2008

    A crooked bank worker fleeced elderly customers of over £70,000.

  • Bankers call for delay on non-dom tax

    6 Mar 2008

    The British Bankers' Association and the Confederation of British Industry are calling on the Government to defer tax changes for non-doms until a full impact assessment is made.

  • Bargain hunt

    6 Mar 2008

    Stockmarkets have fallen sharply since last summer's peak due to worries about the potential effect on economies from a reduction in credit.

  • Barings ponders European income fund

    6 Mar 2008

    Barings Asset Management marketing director Ian Pascal says the company is almost certain to launch a European income fund later this year.

  • BDS and Pink guarantee proc fees

    11 Mar 2008

    BDS Group and Pink Home Loans have both reassured intermediaries that it will guarantee to pay all procuration fees.

  • Blue Oar to launch investment arm

    11 Mar 2008

    Aim listed investment bank Blue Oar has announced its intention to launch a new asset management in 2008.

  • Blue Sky Asset Management - Asset Allocation Accelerated Growth Plan

    7 Mar 2008

    Blue Sky Asset ManagementAsset Allocation Accelerated Growth Plan

  • Blue Sky in second tranche of protected 10% income plan

    6 Mar 2008

    Blue Sky Asset Management is offering a second chance to invest in its 10 per cent protected income plan.

  • Bolton joins BlackRock

    6 Mar 2008

    Former Scottish Widows Investment Partnership head of European equities Nigel Bolton has joined BlackRock as head of its European equity style diversified team. He will run the European and European focus funds.

  • 'Bond funds fail to live up to their name'

    6 Mar 2008

    Some bond funds do not live up to their names. claims Cazenove head of multi-manager Marcus Brookes.

  • Boxed in

    6 Mar 2008

    The last three weeks have seena lot of bad news for first-time buyers. In one week in February, all the 125 per cent mortgage deals disappeared fromthe market as one by one the lenders decided to withdraw from thissection of the market.

  • Bright Grey announces new underwriting system

    11 Mar 2008

    Bright Grey is set to launch its own expert underwriting system.

  • Brits start planning for retirement at 28

    5 Mar 2008

    Britons start planning for their retirement at 28 which is five years earlier than the international average age according to Axa.

  • Broker Talkback

    6 Mar 2008

    Is the FSA right to be worried about advisers white-labelling their own funds?

  • BUDGET WISH LIST: HL's Tom McPhail says £3,600 limit must increase

    11 Mar 2008

    Hargreaves Lansdown head of pensions research Tom McPhail says an increase to the £3,600 universal pension allowance and a review of public sector pensions are both long overdue.

  • BUDGET WISH LIST: IMA calls time on compulsory annuitisation

    11 Mar 2008

    The Investment Management Association is calling for more choice on retirement income in tomorrow’s Budget announcement, calling time on compulsory annuitisation.

  • BUDGET WISH LIST: John Charcol's Ray Boulger says it must tackle liquidity funding

    11 Mar 2008

    John Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger says he fears more stealth taxes and is calling on a Budget that is “clear, fair, and not misleading”.

  • BUDGET WISH LIST: Skandia's Colin Jelley poised for curve ball

    11 Mar 2008

    Skandia head of tax and financial planning Colin Jelley says Chancellor Alistair Darling has a hard balancing act to perform with the current state of Government finances.

  • BUDGET WISH LIST: Syndaxi's Robert Reid wants IHT left alone

    11 Mar 2008

    Syndaxi Financial Planning managing director Robert Reid is hoping inheritance tax rules will be left alone, with Chancellor Alistair Darling allowing the regime to settle down.

  • Buy-to-let leases rise 21 per cent, says YourMove

    10 Mar 2008

    The number of leases starting in January and February 2008 rose 21 per cent compared to 12 months ago, says YourMove.

  • Campaigning lobbyists and the regulator fret on

    10 Mar 2008

    It is the week after Aegon UK chief executive Otto Thoresen conceived the embryonic Money Guidance, and the week the much-anticipated Budget hits the desks of worrisome providers, accusatorial politicians and curious reporters.

  • CAR could drive up performance fees

    6 Mar 2008

    Customer-agreed remuneration could trigger an increase in fund performance fees, says Morgan Stanley executive director, equity research division, Jonathan Hocking.

  • Carry on paying FOS case fee despite court verdict, says Aifa

    6 Mar 2008

    The Association of Indep-endent Financial Advisers is urging its members to continue paying Financial Ombudsman Service case feesfor complaints that are not upheld, despite last month's Trowbridge county court ruling against the watchdog.

  • Case for concern

    6 Mar 2008

    Forgive me if this column looks at three separate issues this week. One of them concerns some emails from readers of this column in response to my recent comments about Aifa's Manifesto for Advice.

  • Cazenove plays diversity card

    6 Mar 2008

    Cazenove head of multi-manager Marcus Brookes believes the group's diversity fund can be a bedrock of investors' portfolios, given it offers an added level of asset exposure other cautious managed funds do not have.

  • Challenge in workplace

    6 Mar 2008

    Leading pension advisers have criticised the standard of workplace retirement advice.

  • Cicutti's comments make my blood boil

    6 Mar 2008

    He said last week that he was reluctant to continue paying the premiums for a protection policy for his boiler as he has never had to claim. In the last paragraph of his article, he says: "I would rather pay to fix my boiler every10 years than hand over £10-£15 a month for a non-existent service."

  • Civil liberties

    6 Mar 2008

    On more than one occasion, I have harped on in this column about the need for better communication skills.

  • Cofunds and FundsNetwork joint Isa collection points

    5 Mar 2008

    Cofunds and Fidelity FundsNetwork are once again teaming up to offer joint end of tax year collections into Isas.

  • Cofunds CEO Charlie Eppinger becomes chairman

    7 Mar 2008

    Cofunds chief executive Charlie Eppinger is changing his role to become the firm's chairman.

  • Collins Stewart has a yen for Japan

    6 Mar 2008

    Multi-managers at Collins Stewart are taking a contrarian approach to Japan with a modest overweight position.

  • Commission conundrum

    6 Mar 2008

    Commission raised its head last week at the Cicero Platform 2008 conference which I helped to chair. I found myself asking several questions of Malcolm Kerr - a consultant with Ernst & Young - about commission and its ills. It was Kerr's belief that as many as 10,000 advisers might make it to being the new model variety but that general advisers would wither away by around 2014, trapped between this new elite and the primary category.

  • Courage of convictions

    6 Mar 2008

    As Skandia looks to increase its best ideas fund range, panellists' views on the concept and approach are divided.

  • Coventry sees big leap in lending

    6 Mar 2008

    Coventry Building Society saw mortgages and other loans grow by 18 per cent to £11.8bn in 2007. Gross mortgage advances rose by 44 per cent to £4.22bn while net mortgage lending increased by 97 per cent to £1.73bn.

  • Cowman on move back to mainstream

    6 Mar 2008

    Just Retirement head of equity release and protection Paul Cowman has left the firm and is looking for opportunities to get back into the mainstream protection market.

  • Cutting out the mortgage middle man

    7 Mar 2008

    I remember one hearty flood victim from Tewksbury interviewed on the evening news last summer. He had retired from the army as an NCO six months before and spent that time doing up his house. “You must be devastated” said the presenter. “Worse things could happen”, he said. "We’ve still got our health”.

  • Daniel Lee joins Cazenove as sales head

    7 Mar 2008

    Cazenove Capital Management has announced the appointment of Daniel Lee as head of investment sales.

  • Darling must delay CGT changes or break EU law

    6 Mar 2008

    The Chancellor will have to delay the introduction of his controversial capital gains tax proposals to avoid breaking European law according to Assetz.

  • Defaqto predicts more mergers

    6 Mar 2008

    Defaqto says it would not be surprised to see mergers between smaller multi-manager groups following the deal between Miton Asset Management and Midas Capital.

  • Diverse reaction

    6 Mar 2008

    When it appears that all the world's markets are either in a slump or about to fall, the importance of holding diverse assets becomes even more vital. As well as traditional portfolio balancing methods, advisers may want to consider some relatively new investment approaches that should provide uncorrelated returns.

  • Do not reject equity Isas, says FundsNetwork

    10 Mar 2008

    Ådvisers should still recommend equity Isas despite market turbulence and not just stick to cash, says Fidelity FundsNetwork.

  • E&Y criticises failure to innovate

    6 Mar 2008

    Ernst & Young is calling for greater product innovation in the adviser arena, including collective investments with guaranteed returns.

  • Eaglet eyes directors' deals

    6 Mar 2008

    Knox D'Arcy has outlined plans to convert the Eaglet investment trust into a directors' dealings' fund.

  • 'End is nigh for mid-tier advice'

    6 Mar 2008

    Ernst & Young predicts that the adviser landscape will be split evenly between professional financial planners and primary advisers by 2014.

  • ETF Securities - ETFS Short Cocoa

    7 Mar 2008

    ETF SecuritiesETFS Short Cocoa

  • ETF Securities - ETFS Short Gold

    7 Mar 2008

    ETF SecuritiesETFS Short Gold

  • ETF Securities - ETFS Short Live Cattle

    7 Mar 2008

    ETF SecuritiesETFS Short Live Cattle

  • Ex-FOS adjudicator helps firms cope with complaints

    6 Mar 2008

    Former Financial Ombudsman Service adjudicator Jane Saunders has launched a complaint handling service to assist firms when dealing with the FOS.

  • Fidelity takes big leap forward in DC arena

    6 Mar 2008

    Fidelity's defined-contribution pension business more than quadrupled in 2007.

  • Finance ministers tackle tax havens

    6 Mar 2008

    European finance ministers met this week to discuss how to claw back an estimated £77bn in revenue lost to tax evasion. Officials in Brussels are looking to weaken tax havens in Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and Switzerland.

  • Firms told to pay £1,500 to calculate redress cash to calculate redress

    6 Mar 2008

    The Financial Ombudsman Service is forcing companies to access the Apcims indices, at a cost of £1,500 for a year's licence, to calculate how much they must pay in certain misselling cases.

  • First schemes backed by solvent employers allowed into FAS

    11 Mar 2008

    The Financial Assistance Scheme will be allowing the first pension schemes backed by solvent employers to be admitted into it.

  • Five FSA Northern Rock officials quit

    10 Mar 2008

    Five FSA officials who worked in the seven-strong team tasked with directly supervising Northern Rock have quit, it has been revealed.

  • Friends loses CFO but life and pensions business rises 15%

    11 Mar 2008

    Friends Provident announced today that chief financial officer Jim Smart is to leave the company in the summer as it released its 2007 business results.

  • FSA aims ads at borrowers

    6 Mar 2008

    The FSA is running a £2m advertising campaign to help the 1.4 million mortgage borrowers whose fixed rates are coming to an end this year.

  • FSA appoints two new directors

    10 Mar 2008

    The FSA has appointed Colin Lawrence as director of its new division on prudential risk.

  • FSA bans mortgage introducer for first time

    10 Mar 2008

    The FSA has banned mortgage introducer Andrew Talai Kiplimo from carrying out any financial services activity requiring authorisation by the FSA.

  • FSA focuses on with-profits

    6 Mar 2008

    The governance structures overseeing with-profits funds will continue to be the focus of FSA work this year.

  • FSA warning on return to broker funds

    6 Mar 2008

    The FSA says it is concerned about advisers launching their own fund ranges, warning there must be no return to the "bad old days" of broker funds.

  • Gem of a Gisa from Osborne

    6 Mar 2008

    The financial services industry has welcomed Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's proposals for a green Isa that would give a tax incentive to invest in environmentally-friendly companies.

  • Get with the CAR programme

    6 Mar 2008

    I disagree fundamentally with the opinions of certain parties that CAR will not remove product bias or that it is merely a dressed-up form of commission.

  • Godiva strips out ERC in equity release debut

    6 Mar 2008

    Godiva Mortgages managing director Colin Franklin believes the equity-release market is at a pivotal point and will soon start to see double-digit growth.

  • Gold Standard Government

    7 Mar 2008

    The Government has further plans up its sleeve for the mortgage industry after it emerged it wants to create a new ‘gold standard’ for covered bonds and mortgage backed securities.

  • Govt to introduce "gold standard" kitemark for mortgage securities

    6 Mar 2008

    The Government is to announce a gold standard kitemark for mortgage-backed securities which are deemed to meet higher standards of quality.

  • Half of IFAs plan to build on assets

    6 Mar 2008

    Half of the IFA community will build on their clients' multi-manager assets at some point in 2008, according to research from Resolution Asset Management.

  • Halifax Intermediaries appoints new head of sales

    10 Mar 2008

    Halifax has appointed Ian Wilson to Halifax Intermediaries head of sales.

  • HBOS delays FTB range

    6 Mar 2008

    HBOS has postponed plans for a new range of innovative first-time buyer products until at least the end of the year.

  • HBOS recovers from strategy blunder

    6 Mar 2008

    HBOS has regained its top position in the UK mortgage market after its dismal performance in the first half of 2007.

  • House prices fell by 0.3 per cent in February, says Halifax

    6 Mar 2008

    House prices fell by 0.3 per cent in February, according to Halifax’s house price index.

  • House purchase loans drop 19% in January

    11 Mar 2008

    House purchase loans dropped 19 per cent in January, totalling 50,300, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • HSBC drives Open Global fund returns

    6 Mar 2008

    HSBC Investments says the multi-asset approach of its open global return fund has outperformed during recent volatility in equity markets.

  • Ideas need a long run

    6 Mar 2008

    Skandia's global and UK best ideas funds have been on a rollercoaster ride since their launches in June and October 2006.

  • iimia MitonOptimal adopts Midas brand following AGM

    7 Mar 2008

    iimia MitonOptimal has officially moved under the Midas Capital Partners brand name after the group passed all resolution at its annual general meeting earlier today.

  • Inherited disorders

    6 Mar 2008

    As Norwich Union and Prudential look at how to unlock the £12bn-£14bn inherited estates in their with-profits funds, it would be useful if the FSA learned the lessons from its failure to protect consumers when Axa divided its inherited estate unfairly between policy-holders and shareholders.

  • Insurers say ABI is not up to scratch

    11 Mar 2008

    So the spat between Lifesearch and the Association of British Insurers continues. The protection specialist advice firm surveyed 23 insurers and five reinsurers to find only 6 per cent believe the ABI does a good job representing its members. The ABI is unimpressed.

  • Intrinsic setting up Fof range with New Star

    6 Mar 2008

    Intrinsic Financial Services is launching a fund of funds range in partnership with New Star Asset Management.

  • Just 6% of life offices say ABI is doing a good job

    6 Mar 2008

    Only 6 per cent of life offices and reinsurers believe the Association of British Insurers does a good job representing its members, according to a Lifesearch survey.

  • Kafkaesque TCF putting IFAs on trial

    6 Mar 2008

    About this time two years ago, TCF was a topic that was exercising many of us and I was spouting off (as usual). Of course no less today with the deadline upon us.

  • Kevin Duffy to leave Robert Sterling

    10 Mar 2008

    Robert Sterling managing director Kevin Duffy has been made redundant from the broker, Money Marketing understands.

  • L&G pays out £110m in CI claims

    5 Mar 2008

    Legal & General says it paid out £110m in critical illness insurance payments in 2007 - up from £92.1m on the previous year.

  • Laing takes pan-Euro role at AAM

    6 Mar 2008

    Aberdeen Asset Management has appointed James Laing as new head of pan-European equities after the departure of Chou Chong, who is returning to Singapore to work on the Aberdeen Asia Pacific regional equities team.

  • Licence to skill

    6 Mar 2008

    There seems to be a common theme to the responses to the retail distribution review published by the recognised bodies. Most are calling for the creation of a new professional body to represent financial advisers. It is an idea that Tenet shares.

  • Lighthouse Group profits up 171%

    11 Mar 2008

    Lighthouse Group has reported a 171 per cent increase in pre-tax profits from £0.7m in 2006 to £1.9m this year, to year end December 31, 2007.

  • Lincoln launches tele-interviewing

    7 Mar 2008

    Lincoln Financial Group is launching tele-interviewing for its menu-based protection proposition following a successful pilot.

  • Mark Hoban

    6 Mar 2008

    Conservative Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban is a Tory through and through - joining the Young Conservatives aged just 16.

  • Matrix man moves to Neptune

    6 Mar 2008

    Neptune Investment Management has appointed former Matrix Property Fund Management head of sales Paul Boughton as head of Continental European sales.

  • Meteor Asset Management - Galaxy Protected Commodities Plan 5

    7 Mar 2008

    Meteor Asset ManagementGalaxy Protected Commodities Plan 5

  • MGM Assurance appoints Laurie Edmans as deputy chairman

    6 Mar 2008

    MGM Assurance has appointed former Aegon corporate development director Laurie Edmans as deputy chairman.

  • Miton is out for the discount

    6 Mar 2008

    Miton Asset Management believes that many investment trusts will outperform relative to their benchmarks this year.

  • MONEY MARKETING MARKETS: US recession fears loom ever larger

    7 Mar 2008

    Fears that the US is moving into recession helped round off another torrid week in the markets.

  • Moody's downgrades Fortis Group rating

    5 Mar 2008

    Moody's has downgraded Fortis Group's credit rating from stable to negative.

  • Mortgage fraud cost £700m in 2007, says police report

    5 Mar 2008

    Mortgage fraud cost the industry around £700m in 2007, a report by the Association of Chief Police Officers has revealed.

  • Mortgage squeeze moves further into mainstream

    6 Mar 2008

    Lenders will continue to raise tracker rates and shun high LTVs in current market conditions, says John Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger.

  • Mortgages Plc to increase rates by 0.25 per cent

    5 Mar 2008

    Merrill Lynch subsidiary Mortgages plc is increasing all initial mortgage rates and revert rates by 0.25 per cent.

  • MPs attack 'reckless' banks for overly complex products

    6 Mar 2008

    The Treasury select committee says regulations must be seriously examined if investment banks cannot address the complexity of their products.

  • Neptune's Geffen banks on caution

    6 Mar 2008

    Neptune income manager Robin Geffen says he is still relatively cautious on the banking sector "as we have not yet seen the effect of market pressure".

  • New head of EAFE at Threadneedle

    11 Mar 2008

    Esther Perkins has joined Threadneedle as head of Europe, Australasia and Far East to grow the fund manager's commitment to these regions.

  • New trust for Standard Life

    6 Mar 2008

    Standard Life is offering a new discretionary trust available with the firm's loan plan, discounted gift scheme and gift plan. It will accompany Standard's absolute trust and flexible trust and is available onshore or through an international bond.

  • Northern Rock ends sub-prime deal with SPML

    10 Mar 2008

    Northern Rock has confirmed it will be withdrawing its near-prime and sub-prime mortgages on behalf of SPML from close of play today.

  • Northern Rock loan could be paid by 2009, says Ward

    11 Mar 2008

    New Star economist Simon Ward says that Northern Rock could be in a position to repay most of its loan from the Bank of England by early next year.

  • Only nine lenders offer 100% mortgages

    11 Mar 2008

    There are only nine lenders still offering 100 per cent mortgages, down from 22 lenders six months ago.

  • Osborne calls on Darling to cut income tax in Budget

    10 Mar 2008

    Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has called on Alistair Darling to cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28p to 25p.

  • Osney conference looks at wraps

    6 Mar 2008

    Osney Media is hosting a conference on wraps and platforms entitled UK Retail Fund Distribution. It will take place on March 11 to 12 at the Hilton London Metropole.

  • Owner goal

    6 Mar 2008

    Open-ended retail funds are a great shop windowfor investment firms, far more so than investment trusts or an institutional mandate, providing of course that they perform well.

  • Paragon to cut 93 jobs

    10 Mar 2008

    Paragon has confirmed it will be cutting 93 jobs out of its 650 staff as it restructures its Paragon and Mortgage Trust lending divisions.

  • Paul Myners admits some will lose out in personal accounts

    10 Mar 2008

    Personal Accounts Delivery Authority chairman Paul Myners has admitted that some people with savings in personal accounts will be worse off when they retire due to the negative impact of means-testing. At the NAPF annual conference in Edinburgh, Myners said that there will always be people for whom auto-enrolment will not be the right option.

  • Pension buyouts to escalate amid rule changes

    6 Mar 2008

    The introduction of new accounting standards and revised life expectancy assump-tions mean that more companies could sell their pension schemes to buyout firms.

  • Pink appoints new director of finance

    5 Mar 2008

    Pink Home Loans has promoted associate director Lisa Hurley to director of finance.

  • Playing the yield

    6 Mar 2008

    When stockmarkets are low, it is time to invest in income products with a small downside risk.

  • Property prices fall for the fourth consecutive month

    6 Mar 2008

    House prices fell again in February, the fourth consecutive monthly decrease, according to figures from Nationwide.

  • Prudential fund delivers consistent results during market uncertainty

    6 Mar 2008

    In this climate of economic uncertainty, investors are looking for bumper returns on their investments but without taking on the associated risks.

  • Quality time

    6 Mar 2008

    Every now and then,the debate over pricing and the commoditisation of our products comes around and it helps to illustrate how polarised the views held within the industry are.

  • Ram Capital Partners - Electra Kingsway VCT 2 C shares

    7 Mar 2008

    Ram Capital PartnersElectra Kingsway VCT 2 C shares

  • Ram Capital Partners - Trident EIS Pub Fund

    7 Mar 2008

    Ram Capital PartnersTrident EIS Pub Fund

  • Recurring income move pays off as multiples soar

    6 Mar 2008

    Advisers who have moved to recurring income models have seen income multiples paid when they put their business up for sale soar while those relying on initial income have seen multiples slashed, acc-ording to IFDS.

  • Resolution hits new delay

    6 Mar 2008

    Pearl Group's acquisition of Resolution has suffered another delay as it must resubmit its application for change of control to the FSA.

  • Richard Black joins L&G UK equities team

    7 Mar 2008

    Legal & General Investment Management has appointed Richard Black as an analyst on its UK equities team. He joins from Old Mutual Asset Management where he has been since 2002, most recently as a member of the UK esquiy income team. He will be responsible for analysing a number of sectors of the UK stockmarket and will be working alongside Tim Mann in managing LGIM’s equity income mandates. Black is expected to join LGIM in early April.

  • Rock debacle will not stop shift to principles

    6 Mar 2008

    The Northern Rock debacle will not deflect the FSA from its move towards more principle-based regulation.

  • Ross Leckie joins Artemis

    6 Mar 2008

    Artemis has announced the appointment of Ross Leckie as director of investment communications.Leckie joins from Martin Currie and will report to managing director Dick Turpin. He will be based in both London and Edinburgh.Turpin says: “I am delighted to welcome Ross to the team at Artemis. He has a wealth of experience in the industry and we are very much looking forward to his contribution as we continue to grow our business.”

  • Rothesay buys Rank scheme

    6 Mar 2008

    Goldman Sachs subsidiary Rothesay Life has announced its first buyout deal with the purchase of the Rank Group Pension Scheme, which has assets of around £700m.

  • Rules of engagement

    6 Mar 2008

    We are seeing more and more financial services businesses having problems over the way in which staff are engaged and how the working relationship is managed.

  • Salt withdraws from the sub-prime market

    10 Mar 2008

    Derbyshire Building Society intermediary arm Salt has withdrawn from the sub-prime market.

  • Scarborough BS closes specialist lending arm

    10 Mar 2008

    Scarborough Building Society has closed its specialist lending arm Scarborough Specialist Mortgages.

  • Scottish Re Dublin not for sale

    6 Mar 2008

    Scottish Re Dublin, a subsidiary of Scottish Re Group, is to remain with the group and will not be sold off with the firm's UK life reinsurance operation.

  • Scottish Widows Bank closes phone lines till next Monday

    11 Mar 2008

    Scottish Widows Bank is to close its phone lines for its mortgage processing unit until Monday 17 March due to high volumes of mortgage applications.

  • Security system

    6 Mar 2008

    The credit crunch means that many people, including those with relatively clean credit records, are being turned down for unsecured personal loans.

  • Single charge gets the public's vote

    6 Mar 2008

    Consumers would prefer a single charging structure for personal accounts, according to research published by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.

  • Single versus double - which leads to more trouble?

    6 Mar 2008

    Consumers would prefer a single charging structure for personal accounts, according to research published by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority this week.

  • Sipp protected rights could finish off personal pensions

    6 Mar 2008

    Hargreaves Lansdown says allowing protected rights cash to be transferred to Sipps could be the death of personal pensions as there would no longer be a need for the product.

  • Sixth sense

    6 Mar 2008

    The looming abolition of business assets taper relief is causing many business owners to contact their financial advisers to check if there is anything they should be doing ahead of April 6 to ensure that they do not "look back in anger" in the new tax year.

  • Skandia is still top for tech

    6 Mar 2008

    Skandia has retained its top rating for online systems and support in the Sesame provider service index despite a fall in its score.

  • Skandia rethinks ideas as Whiteoak quits

    6 Mar 2008

    Skandia is making the first enforced review of its £743m best ideas range after Roger Whiteoak resigned from Axa Framlington last week.

  • Smokers who quit could save over £12,500 on protection products

    7 Mar 2008

    Prudential says that smokers who quit could save over £12,500 on life and serious illness insurance premiums.

  • Standard Life welcomes new IHT reporting rules

    10 Mar 2008

    Standard Life welcomes the increase in the minimum reporting limit for lifetime gifts in relation to inheritance tax.

  • Star fund players in battle to avoid the drop

    6 Mar 2008

    A host of big fund firms, including Liontrust, Jupiter and New Star, have found themselves in a relegation dogfight, according to Chelsea Financial Services' latest relegation zone statistics.

  • Stellar returns for F&C investment trust

    10 Mar 2008

    Foreign and Colonial investment trust has announced a rise of 13.6 per cent in net asset value as part of its 2007 results

  • Street to lead Kensington

    6 Mar 2008

    Kensington has appointed director of sales Keith Street as its new head, replacing chief executive Alison Hutchinson. Charles Morley continues as head of sales.

  • Strong base for buy to let

    6 Mar 2008

    There seems to be a different prognosis of the health of the housing market on an almost daily basis. This is perhaps not surprising, seeing as there is so much information to hand and so many column inches for the media to fill. However, there comes a point when analysing everylittle piece of data independently, and at the expense of its position in the bigger picture, begins to create a distorted view of the market.

  • Success story of the M&G Optimal Income Fund

    6 Mar 2008

    The M&G Optimal Income Fund is one of the most unconstrained bond funds available on the market. Launched in December 2006, fund manager Richard Woolnough has the freedom to invest across the entire fixed-income universe.

  • Sugar and spice

    6 Mar 2008

    Commodities occupy a special place in the construction of investment portfolios but many investors have not had adequate exposure to this important asset class. One of Britain's biggest pension consultants, Watson Wyatt, argued that big pension funds should hold only 20 per cent of their portfolios in equities and invest heavily in alternative assets, such as commodities. It could be argued that this theory also makes sense for retail investors.

  • Sumus and Lighthouse to merge

    11 Mar 2008

    Sumus, owner of Falcon Group, and Lighthouse Group are to merge creating the largest autonomous IFA firm in the market.

  • Taking it on the Chindia

    6 Mar 2008

    China was the world's worst-performing market in January, losing 21 per cent, while India slumped by 14.5 per cent. China has since rallied, although year to date the MSCI China index is still down by 16.24 per cent while India has fallen by 16.54 per cent.

  • Tax shake-up set for mutual funds

    6 Mar 2008

    The Government is considering a radical overhaul of the taxation regime for mutual funds which could see all investors given responsibility for declaring income from their funds.

  • Tenet's accreditation plan bids to raise TCF standards

    6 Mar 2008

    Tenet is running an accreditation programme on treating customers fairly to improve standards ahead of the FSA's March deadline for TCF.

  • Tenet's protection initiative for 'new blood'

    7 Mar 2008

    Tenet protection support arm, Premier Partnerships, is helping a key client on a training initiative to bring in new blood to the industry.

  • The age of inflation

    6 Mar 2008

    Will falling property prices affect the popularity of equity-release schemes?

  • The best inheritance

    6 Mar 2008

    How much money should I pass to my children?

  • The generic bill

    6 Mar 2008

    The Thoresen review contains few surprises and a reasonable dose of common sense. It suggestsa national impartial money guidance or indeed generic advice by another name.

  • The Mortgage Works - Three-Year Self-Cert Fixed Rate

    7 Mar 2008

    The Mortgage WorksThree-Year Self-Cert Fixed Rate

  • The Mortgage Works - Two-Year Fixed Buy-To-Let

    7 Mar 2008

    The Mortgage WorksTwo-Year Fixed Buy-To-Let

  • The retreat from lending

    6 Mar 2008

    It feels as if lenders are conducting a gradual retreat from their borrowers with LTVs moving down across the product ranges.

  • Thinc says Axa wrap must compete for its business

    6 Mar 2008

    Axa's ownership of Thinc Group will have no bearing on the adviser firm's choice of wrap provider, insists head of investments Ian Shipway.

  • Thinking out of the box

    6 Mar 2008

    Chancellor Alistair Darling's first Budget is looming and the industry is nervously anticipating what he will pull out of his red box.

  • Thoresen's advice service will add 4% to FSA fees

    6 Mar 2008

    The FSA has been given the role of testing out Otto Thoresen's national advice service which would be delivered througha series of partners and cost around £50m a year.

  • Three-quarters of web users say Unipass improves productivity

    7 Mar 2008

    Nine in ten financial services internet users find websites easier to use with Unipass, according to research by e-commerce standards body Origo.

  • Tiers for fears

    6 Mar 2008

    The fastest-growing fund, in terms of popularity and assets, these days is BlackRock's quasi-retail hedge fund, absolute alpha.

  • Tories call for Darling to scrap FTB stamp duty

    11 Mar 2008

    The Conservatives are calling for Alistair Darling to scrap stamp duty for first time buyers after new Council of Mortgage Lenders' figures show affordability is worsening.

  • Train and retain

    6 Mar 2008

    As an industry,we have a problem, potentially a very serious one thatwill probably be around for a long while unless we smarten up and seek to address it quickly. We are suffering from a shortage of skills.

  • Transact says mutual fund reform would be a “godsend”

    11 Mar 2008

    Transact head of marketing Malcolm Murray says anticipated Budget reforms to mutual funds could give wrap platforms such as Transact, which produce tax reports for their clients, a competitive advantage.

  • Treasury still delaying on FAS payments to pensions victims

    11 Mar 2008

    Pensions consultant Dr Ros Altmann has accused the Treasury of putting obstacles in the way of agreeing a fair settlement for the 125,000 people whose company pension schemes collapsed. Altmann is particularly concerned because she says the Treasury is insisting that members' payments are fully taxed.

  • Triodos Bank - The Real Food Pub Company

    7 Mar 2008

    Triodos BankThe Real Food Pub Company

  • TSC blasts efficiency of Chancellor's departments

    7 Mar 2008

    The Treasury Select Committee has hit out at the Government claiming the Chancellor's departments are not setting a good example by using their budgets efficiently.

  • UCB Home Loans - Buy-To-Let Rental Cover Two-Year Fixed

    7 Mar 2008

    UCB Home LoansBuy-To-Let Rental Cover Two-Year Fixed

  • UCB Home Loans - Self-Cert Prime Five-Year Fixed

    7 Mar 2008

    UCB Home LoansSelf-Cert Prime Five-Year Fixed

  • UK Retail Fund Distribution conference hits London next week

    7 Mar 2008

    Osney Media is hosting next week’s UK Retail Fund Distribution conference at the Hilton Metropole in London.

  • Under the influences

    6 Mar 2008

    China is suffering rising inflation and where once it exported deflation to the West, it is now contributing to a worldwide rise in the cost of living.

  • Unum includes employers' benefit in group income plan

    6 Mar 2008

    Unum has brought out a dual-benefit group income protection product that claims to be the first plan to pay benefits both to the employee and employer.

  • Use the net to reach retiring masses

    6 Mar 2008

    Advisers must use the internet more effectively by setting up virtual advice services to reach thousands of people who are approaching retirement.

  • Vertex extends contract with Livingstone

    7 Mar 2008

    Vetex Financial Services' mortgage business unit is extending its contract with Livingstone Mortgages.

  • Virtuous circle

    6 Mar 2008

    F or a number of years, we used a multitude of providers for unit trust provision, with varied levels of service and support. The mid-1990s saw the launch of wrap accounts, changing the way we arranged and serviced our clients' investments.

  • Walking the walk

    5 Mar 2008

    Last week saw the end of Roger Whiteoaks eight-year relationship with Axa Framlington as the much respected UK small-cap guru left the firm under the “to pursue opportunities elsewhere” banner.

  • Watchdog paid adviser £5k over pension blunder

    6 Mar 2008

    The Financial Ombudsman Service paid compensation to adv- iser firm Financial Management Group for a wrong decision in 2002 but refused to make the case public, according to FMG partner Chris Mellor.

  • Widows adds drawdown to retirement account

    6 Mar 2008

    Scottish Widows has introduced a drawdown facility on its retirement account.

  • Windsor still tied up on pension transfers

    6 Mar 2008

    Windsor Life has again come under fire from advisers after a client who had been waiting three months for a pension transfer died before his annuity payments started.

  • Woolwich lowers BTL maximum lending

    6 Mar 2008

    Woolwich has restricted buy-to-let lending to 75 per cent loan to value in its latest bid to improve service levels.

  • Zurich backs independent platforms

    6 Mar 2008

    Zurich is pledging to sup- port independent wraps rather than launch a platform of its own.

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