Money Marketing
5 September 2001

  • 'Higher tax may lead to Scots exodus'

    6 Sep 2001

    Scottish financial services companies could move south of the border if a tartan tax is introduced to pay for improved public services, a study warns. The research, carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, predicts that more comprehensive provision of long-term care, student funding and teachers' pay in Scotland will precipitate a review of the Barnett formula, under which Scotland receives £5bn a year from Westminster. The warning comes ...

  • 'Zero funds may spark the next misselling scandal'

    6 Sep 2001

    Zero-dividend funds are in danger of becoming the next misselling scandal, independent advisers are warning. IFAs claim that many zero funds carry a higher investment risk than companies currently portray in their literature. Some IFAs believe that as more investment houses launch zero funds and as IFAs search for low-risk alternatives to with-profits, clients may accept that the products are lower risk than they may prove. Advisers fear the current universe ...

  • A new solution for pensions?

    6 Sep 2001

    It is the simple ideas that can often prove the best, so for this reason alone AITC director general Daniel Godfrey's masterplan for solving the pension crisis should not be overlooked. Godfrey suggests the Government should meet the challenge of meeting the retirement income needs of the swelling ranks of third-agers by taking out a massive loan. This would be used to make modest contributions to every worker's choice of stakeholder, which would prevent them depending ...

  • A plan for all reasons

    6 Sep 2001

    Increased regulatory interest in the way IFAs justify product provider selection was heralded by an FSA survey earlier this year among networks and bigger IFAs. The ability to conduct a full review of products and providers to offer tailor-made financial solutions to clients is a key market advantage for IFAs. To build on this unique market position, we need to be in front of the regulator's expectations in this area. With this in mind, I would like to examine and ...

  • Abbey Nat warning for Royal London recruiters

    6 Sep 2001

    Abbey National has warned rival Royal London not to poach Scottish Provident staff for its new Edinburgh-based protection business. ScotProv has also sent employees a memo outlining how joining the competitor could have legal implications and telling them if they are approached they must inform the head of personnel immediately. ScotProv has been haemorrhaging staff since Abbey National took control in August, losing a number of high-profile names, including marketing ...

  • Abbey National MD set to head CML

    5 Sep 2001

    Abbey National managing director (retail banking) Andrew Pople will become the new chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders when the position rotates at the start of next year.Pople will step up from deputy chairman to replace Cheltenham & Gloucester managing director Roger Burden.Britannic Money chef executive Tony Ward is set to become the new deputy chairman, taking over from Halifax chief operating officer Mike Ellis.

  • Almeida Capital appoints new chairman

    11 Sep 2001

    Financial research and information provider Almeida Capital is appointing Mitch Cybulski as chairman. Cybulski was previously chairman of SmithKline Beecham International.Almeida Capital chief executive Richard Sachar says: "We are absolutely delighted that someone of Mitch's calibre and experience has joined our firm."

  • American pie in the sky?

    6 Sep 2001

    Investor sentiment has hit rock bottom in the last few weeks. Figures released by Autif show that net retail sales of £1,234.4m in July were the lowest since October 1998. Of the new money going into the market, almost a third has been accounted for by the UK all companies sector, while another third has been invested in other UK equity and fixed-income funds. Once again, volatile markets have driven investors home to UK markets at the expense of European, US, Japanese ...

  • AMP appoints Moore as M&A head

    10 Sep 2001

    AMP has appointed current director of finance Philip Moore as head of mergers and acquisitions to research global opportunities for expanding the business.

  • Automated valuation advance from Fairs

    5 Sep 2001

    Software specialists Fairs is launching an new development which brings product providers data directly to an IFA’s database.

  • Baronworth stoxx up growth

    7 Sep 2001

    Baronworth Investment Services has joined forces with Investlife Luxembourg to produce the high income & growth bond. The product is a guaranteed equity bond and is aimed at the medium-risk investor looking for a product that gives either income or growth over a five-year period. Investors can choose to take either 2.44 per cent income every quarter, 10.45 per cent income every year or roll the growth up to 61.2 per cent over the term of the investment. The

  • Black's insult to advisers Equitable inquiry needs to be open and prompt

    6 Sep 2001

    The good news is there is finally going to be an independent inquiry into the Equitable Life debacle conducted by a non-Equitable policyholder. The bad news is we are unlikely to find out the result for at least a year. That is if we get the results at all. Worryingly, announcing the inquiry, to be chaired by Scottish commercial judge Lord Penrose, the Treasury's careful wording in its press release warns: "The inquiry will cover information that is private and confidential….As ...

  • Brand on the run

    6 Sep 2001

    Coca-cola culture has not entirely escaped financial services, with highly visible and recognisable brands such as Fidelity and Jupiter jumping off hoardings wherever you look. Alongside them are the high-street banks which, until recent branch closures, dominated the country's high streets. Then there are the venerable life offices with histories stretching back centuries, with figures such as the man from the Pru having entered folklore. Against this backdrop, some ...

  • Britannic forging new links

    5 Sep 2001

    Britannic has announced plans to extend its distribution network through new links with Irish Life & Permanent and the Isle of Man-based Hansard Group. The news comes as the Britannic Group posted an £84.4m loss for the first six months of this year. The figure compares with its loss of £55.3m in the same period last year. 

  • Britons unaware of true cost of mortgage

    10 Sep 2001

    More than three out of four Britons are unaware of the true cost of buying a home, according to a new survey from Virgin One.

  • Cancer tests may lead to dual-pricing

    5 Sep 2001

    Critical-illness policyholders will have to choose whether to pay higher premiums or have less coverage if the ABI implements the results of a consultation exercise. A Government screening policy for prostate cancer means more cases are expected to be caught, resulting in increased claims.

  • Charles Ansdell

    6 Sep 2001

    A recent article by KPMG corporate finance partner Richard Clarke contends intermediaries closest to achieving a truly national brand will be "best placed to take advantage of the forecast earnings growth for IFAs". IFAs must now put branding top of the list to survive in an evolving financial services marketplace. Branding has long been a second priority for intermediaries. Where providers and investment houses have spent millions on creating identifiable global brands, the IFA ...

  • Chartwell and AIG bond for life

    11 Sep 2001

    Independent Financial Adviser Chartwell Direct has teamed up with AIG Life to create the extra income bond.

  • Chelsea Building Society - Call-Direct 30 Account

    6 Sep 2001

    Thursday, 6 September 2001.Type: High interest account.Minimum-maximum investment: £2,500-£250,000.Interest rate: 5.75 per cent gross a year.Term: None.Offer period: Until further notice.Withdrawal penalties: 30 days' notice or 30 days' loss of interest.Tel: 0800 344504. 

  • Clerical Medical applies MVA

    11 Sep 2001

    Clerical Medical is applying a market value adjuster of 7.5 per cent to encashments of more than £50,000 from its with-profits fund. It is blaming continuing stockmarket falls, saying the trigger point for an MVA review was breached some time ago. The MVA will apply to the excess over £50,000 on its with-profits bonds and some pension products. Clerical has not applied an MVA before and will keep its application under review. 

  • Clerical Medical hands out calculator

    7 Sep 2001

    Clerical Medical is releasing a carry back, carry forward calculator in CD-Rom format to help IFAs highlight this last chance tax opportunity for their clients.

  • Close Property's Ace in the hole

    6 Sep 2001

    Close Property Investment is offering a commercial prop erty fund aimed at producing a target income level of 6 per cent a year. The active commercial estates fund allows investors to either take the income annually or to roll it up to achieve capital appreciation through investing in accumulation units. Ace proposes to acquire property which can be enhanced by active management which Close says contrasts with many property funds which hold long-term portfolios of properties. Cl

  • Credit Suisse Asset Management - Multi-Manager Balanced Strategic Portfolio

    10 Sep 2001

    Monday, 10 September 2001. Type: Unit trust. Aim: Income and growth by investing in fund of funds. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £100. Investment split: 100 per cent fund of funds. Yield: 3.9 per cent. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial 4 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent. Tel: 020 7426 2626.    

  • Credit Suisse Asset Management - Multi-Manager Constellation Portfolio

    10 Sep 2001

    Monday, 10 September 2001. Type: Unit trust. Aim: Growth by investing in fund of funds. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £100. Investment split: 100 per cent fund of funds. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial 4 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent. Tel: 020 7426 2626.  

  • Credit Suisse Asset Management - Multi-Manager UK Strategic Portfolio

    10 Sep 2001

    Monday, 10 September 2001. Type: Unit trust. Aim: Growth by investing in fund of funds. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £100. Investment split: 100 per cent fund of funds. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial 4 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent. Tel: 020 7426 2626.    

  • CSAM launches Pep transfer and Isa offering

    10 Sep 2001

    Credit Suisse Asset Management launches a new multi-manager Pep transfer and Isa offering today.

  • DBS sets up affinity division

    6 Sep 2001

    IFA network DBS has set up a new affinity sales division to help members generate business with companies, trade unions, professional institutions and other big organisations. The service is headed by newly appointed affinity sales manager Paul Reed, who was previously a marketing res-earch consultant and gained experience of the IFA market while working at Nationwide Building Society. Part of his role will be to talk to UK organisations about the advantages of independent ...

  • Depolarisation bad for consumers, say IFAs

    11 Sep 2001

    Six out of ten IFAs believe depolarisation would have a negative impact on consumers, according to the latest findings from market researchers ORC International.In its quarterly broker survey 58 per cent of the 225 firms who responded believe any further changes to polarisation would lead to consumer confusion and less choice for clients.Only 9 per cent of those surveyed believed polarisation would be maintained in its current format.

  • Dilemma of what to do with fund as deadline looms

    6 Sep 2001

    The following details are those of an actual scenario might even merit the attention of MM columnist Tony Wickenden. Many of MM's readers may be involved in similar situations now or in the future. Clifford and Mary (actual names) spent all their working lives in Nigeria and brought up their two daughters there. Cliff was originally a permanent civil servant but with the advent of Nigerian independence received compensation for loss of career and entitlement to a small ...

  • Don't be caught offside in stakeholder game

    6 Sep 2001

    "Some people say football is a matter of life or death. That is ridiculous. It is much more important than that." Famously spoken in 1969 by Bill Shankly, the legendary Liverpool football manager, the same phrase might be equally appropriate in the context of stakeholder pensions. Few commentators (apologies for the early footballing pun but it sets the tone for this article) doubt that stakeholder will have a far-reaching effect on the pension sector and, ultimately, on the whole ...

  • Dunbar brand to fade away

    6 Sep 2001

    The Allied Dunbar brand is set to all but disappear by next year following Zurich's decision to ditch the name from its pension range. The move follows the renaming of the Dunbar franchise network as Zurich Advice Network this week. Dunbar will only exist as a protection brand where Zurich believes it has a strong reputation. The Eagle Star and Threadneedle brands look set to be retained at present. Zurich intends to expand its external fund links to become a multi-manager ...

  • DWP to switch on pension TV

    6 Sep 2001

    Pension advice on digital television is in view after the Department of Work and Pensions approached companies to produce interactive programmes. Interactive digital TV screens could allow viewers to get advice about pensions in a similar fashion to decision trees. The project is a joint venture between the DWP and the Inland Revenue. Pensions will be the first area to be covered. The DWP is inviting tenders and a decision is expected within weeks. The Department of Health ...

  • Eagle Star flies with-profits flag

    7 Sep 2001

    EAGLE STARWITH-PROFITS BONDType: With-profits bond.Aim: Income and growth by investing in unitised with-profits and up to 12 unit-linked funds.Minimum investment: £5,000.Bonus rate: 5.25 per cent.Allocation rates: Option one - £5,000-£19,999 - 95 per cent, £20,000-£29,999 95.25 per cent, £30,000-£49,999 - 95.5 per cent, £50,000 and above 96 per cent. Option two - £5,000-£19,999 ...

  • Early bird will catch the worm

    6 Sep 2001

    While consumers may be inconvenienced by a computer virus, employees and owners of small businesses can be decimated by something as simple as an email virus worm, such as last year's I_LOVE_YOU virus, which caused around £7.1bn in damage and downtime to business users worldwide. The number of recent computer viruses and hacker attacks has focused the global spotlight on some of the online dangers facing consumers and business owners but computer users in small/home offices ...

  • Equitable ads misleading

    6 Sep 2001

    I am impelled to write to express my concern that commentary on "Inequitable Life" has missed an important fact - Equitable's advertising was highly dubious. 1: Equitable heavily promoted the fact that they paid no commission to middlemen. This was misleading as Equitable have a salesforce and their high salary levels were dependant upon bonuses. The 'no commission" statement was a myth. What is the difference between commission and bonus? Surely it is just different terminology. 2

  • Equitable appoints actuary

    6 Sep 2001

    Equitable Life is appointing Hymans Robertson senior partner Michael Arnold as actuary to oversee the compromise deal with garanteed annuity policyholders being drawn up to cap the troubled life office's liabilities.Arnold was the actuary who last year approved the Axa orphan asset deal, that saw policyholders receive just £575m from £1.45bn of assets. He was also involved in the recent flotation of Friends Provident. 

  • Euro directives help and hinder move to multi-ties

    6 Sep 2001

    Two contradictory directives are being discussed by the European Union, with one aiming to bring the UK financial services sector into line with Europe and another hindering any proposed changes. The information and consultation directive being debated this week in Strasbourg is expected to be agreed by all member states, including the UK, by the end of the year. It will force employers to discuss any changes to their organisation with employee representatives before ...

  • Express concerns

    6 Sep 2001

    There can be little doubt that for the vast majority of industries the pressure to e-enable every possible part of their business has diminished in recent months. Life may never be the same again for booksellers or record shops but many other industries will be breathing a sigh of relief as the pace of e-commerce declines to a crawl. Although there may be less pressure to adapt to full-blown e-commerce in most markets, the drivers in financial services are very different. ...

  • Ex-PWC woman to probe complaints against FSA

    6 Sep 2001

    The FSA is appointing Rosemary Radcliffe as independent complaints commissioner res-ponsible for examining cases made against the regulator. Radcliffe, a former Pricewaterhousecoopers chief economist, will operate independently of the FSA and will investigate complaints by, among others, authorised firms and consumers. Her remit, which comes into effect this week, includes the power to investigate allegations of mistakes and lack of care, unreasonable delay, unprofessional behaviour, ...

  • F&C US Small Cap trust shows rise

    11 Sep 2001

    Foreign & Colonial US Smaller Companies investment trust saw its net asset value per share increase by 9.8 per cent in the year to June 2001, compared to a rise of 6.7 per cent for the Russell index, its benchmark.

  • Firms link to offer loan centre on net

    6 Sep 2001

    Online personal financial services website Interactive Inv-estor is setting up a mortgage centre in partnership with independent mortgage IFA Charcol. The centre at www.iii.co.UK/mortgages/ will provide Interactive Investor's 1.2 million registered account users with a quote service, extensive decision support, the facility to buy mortgages online and educational material. The service is targeting anyone wanting a mortgage or who is considering remortgaging. Customers ...

  • Firms should take Skandia approach

    6 Sep 2001

    A national newspaper had an article on August 20 saying that the Financial Services Authority had said that at least Equitable Life had good investment portfolio. That's all right, then. Let us hope that the good investments did not include such blue-chips as Marks & Spencer and ICI which have gone down against the All Share in the last few years. With-profits funds have have been managed extremely badly, not only by Equitable Life. Actuaries seem to have no idea of ...

  • Friends crosses IFA after pledge on 'poaching'

    6 Sep 2001

    Friends Provident is under fire again for trying to poach IFA clients after it had given an adviser written reassurance that it would not cross-sell. Swansea IFA Keith Lewis of Hartley Great-batch & Co says he had received a letter earlier this year from a Friends head of sales stating that mailing lists were cross-referred to ensure IFA clients are not contacted directly. But six months later, an established Hartley Great-batch client was contacted by Friends to invite ...

  • FSA renews high-income warning

    6 Sep 2001

    The FSA has issued a new warning that consumers should be aware of the level of risk in high-income products. It says investors must understand that if the associated stockmarket index falls significantly, they can lose some or all of their capital. Providers currently offering such products include GE Life, EuroLife, Inora Life, NDF Administration and Scottish Life International. The latest FSA warning follows a similar alert issued on these types of products ...

  • FundsNetwork increases partnerships

    5 Sep 2001

    Fidelity's FundsNetwork has signed white-labelling deals with online bank Smile and IFAs Allenbridge and Rosan Helmsley. The move brings the fund supermarket's white-labelling partners to 11.Fidelity is also adding two new fund groups to the platform. Gerrard Investment Funds and First State Investments take the total number of providers to 36, offering more than 525 funds.

  • Gartmore launches UK equity hedge fund

    7 Sep 2001

    Gartmore has launched a new UK equity hedge fund to be managed by Ashley Willing and Simon King.

  • Global Asset Managment - GAM Star American Focus

    5 Sep 2001

    Wednesday, 5 September 2001.Type: Ucits.Aim: Growth by investing in large and mid-cap US equities.Minimum investment: US$5,000, Euro 5,500, £3,500.Place of registration: Dublin.Investment split: 100 per cent large and mid-cap US equities.Isa link: No.Charges: Initial 5 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent.Commission: None.Tel: 0800 919927. 

  • Godfrey offers part of the solution to funding pensions

    6 Sep 2001

    Daniel Godfrey's report on pension provision for the lower-paid warrants great scrutiny. He is suggesting that the Government increases borrowings now to fund the future pension for today's workers. As interest rates are currently low, making it cheaper to fund the national debt, thanks largely to a red-uction in the net Government borrowing requirement assisted by increased compulsory purchase of annuities which enforce increased investment in gilts, his suggestions have ...

  • Halifax facing big bill after watchdog backs borrower

    6 Sep 2001

    Halifax could face a compensation bill running into millions of pounds after the Financial Ombudsman Service ruled it mistreated borrowers by only allowing new customers access to its lowest interest rate. In a ruling which could open the floodgates to similar claims from more than 500,000 customers, an FOS adjudicator awarded compensation to an existing Halifax borrower banned from switching to the lower variable rate introduced in March. The move could pave the way ...

  • Haven can wait

    6 Sep 2001

    A few years ago, unitised with-profits accounted for around half of all money invested into pensions. A standard mix would be 50 per cent managed fund and 50 per cent UWP, with little or no chance of switching in the future. Now, we all talk of external fund links. This has focused product developers on the internal costs of allowing every investor to access any fund. You might safely assume that a very small percentage of investors will enter the Mongolian Guacamole ...

  • ICS demanded £1m pledges from Towry Law's directors

    6 Sep 2001

    The Investors' Compensation Scheme says it demanded £1m personal guarantees from Towry Law executive directors to cover any potential further pension misselling liabilities. The guarantees were made a condition of the £30m Advizas' deal. They will apply only if it emerges the seven executive directors were aware of but failed to fully disclose additional liabilities,. The ICS says that if it comes to light that information given at the time of the deal ...

  • IFA Promotions issues recession survival guide

    6 Sep 2001

    IFA Promotions is producing a guide for consumers, giving advice on how to protect against a recession.The guide, available at www.unbiased.co.uk, looks at strategies for choosing financial products that reduce exposure to recession.IFA Promotions chief executive David Elms says: "Whilst we are unlikely to experience the problems of 10 years ago, it is worthwhile making an effort to protect yourself should the worst happen."  

  • Improvements to buy to let range from UCB Home Loans

    7 Sep 2001

    Nationwide specialist lender UCB Home Loans is increasing maximum loan amounts and reducing loan to value limits for its buy to let products to meet demand for larger buy to let loans.

  • Independent view

    6 Sep 2001

    I can think of about a dozen reasons why I should not be outspoken and forget what else is happening around me and just adjust my business appropriately when inappropriate regulation and stupid regimes are introduced.I wouldn't upset as many people. I wouldn't incur the wrath of the investment gro-ups, the life companies and even the regulator. Sadly, that is the way 99.9 per cent of the brokers in this country act. It is a philosophy that is completely wrong. Just ...

  • Inora Life gets dynamic again

    5 Sep 2001

    Inora Life is introducing the second version of its dynamic income fund.

  • Inside edge

    6 Sep 2001

    Stakeholder pensions. What a crazy world. At present, the Government has every right to be confused about the latest noises emerging from the industry. On one hand, there is talk of low take-up rates while on the other, companies are withdrawing from the market bec-ause of too much business. Renewed calls for compulsion from some quarters for stakeholder to succeed are set against more employer-sponsored pension planning than we have ever known. In practical terms, the ...

  • insureyourmortgage targets worried homeowners

    7 Sep 2001

    Worried homeowners are being targeted by online service insureyourmortgage.co.uk.

  • Interest rate left unchanged

    6 Sep 2001

    The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 5 per cent, despite calls from the manufacturing sector, already in recession.The decision had been widely expected in the light of the strength of the housing market and high street spending, but the FTSE responded by falling to a three year low below 5200 at midday.

  • Invesco Perpetual fund manager quits

    5 Sep 2001

    Invesco Perpetual global dynamic theme fund manager Andrew Callender, 37, is t quit the firm and retire from fund management. Callender has run the £120m fund since he returned to the UK from the £120m fund since he returned to the UK from his role as Invesco's Japan chief investment officer at the start of last year.Invesco deputy chief investment officer Bill Barton will assume control of the fund ahead f several new appointments to the global equities desk.

  • Investment view

    6 Sep 2001

    Oh woe, woe and thrice woe. Last week was one that I would really rather forget in stockmarket terms. Gateway laid off a quarter of its workforce. Spirent announced better than expected first-half profits but said it hasn't a clue as to what would happen in the second half. Sun Microsystems added to the dismay generated in the technology sector. And as if that was not enough, the Japanese stockmarket hit a 17-year low. They say it is always darkest before dawn but I have never felt ...

  • iShares gets resourceful

    6 Sep 2001

    iShares - iBloomberg European ResourcesType: Exchange traded fund.Aim: Growth by tracking the Bloomberg European investible resources index.Minimum investment: Subject to negotiation with stockbroker.Maximum investment: None.Investment split: 100 per cent tracking the Bloomberg European investible resources index.Place of registration: Dublin.Isa link: Yes.Pep transfers: Yes.Charges: Annual 0.5 per cent.Commission: ...

  • Isis launches UK fund

    7 Sep 2001

    Isis, the retail investment brand of Friends Ivory & Sime has launched the UK Dynamic Fund, which aims to invest in a concentrated portfolio of around 40 UK equities.

  • Jacobs Insurance Brokers suspended

    6 Sep 2001

    IFA Jacobs Insurance Brokers of Cavendish House, Cavendish Road, Highams Park, London has been ordered to cease conducting and soliciting investment business by the PIA because it cannot meet the regulator's financial resources requirement. This is the eighth firm the PIA has suspended this year because they can no longer meet the financial resources requirements and 53rd firm it has taken some form of disciplinary action against.

  • Job losses as Misys merges portals

    6 Sep 2001

    Up to 35 jobs could be axed following the integration of Misys' m-link and DBS's Assuresoft portals announced last week. The move follows Misys' purchase of DBS in July. Thirty-three jobs are set to go with the closure of Misys' m-link development team in London. The futures of Assuresoft managing director Mark Lofthouse and marketing director Nicola Mitchell are also under discussion after it was announced they will not be part of the new board. Development ...

  • Journalists pick top IFA

    6 Sep 2001

    IFA Colin Jackson of Baronworth Investment Services in Essex has been named IFA Promotion press services journalist of the year. Jackson was voted the most popular IFA in a poll of trade and national press journalists carried out last month. IFAP says it wanted to find out what journalists really thought about IFAs so it sent out questionnaires to find out who were their preferred IFA firms out of over 100 listed in its press services directory. IFAP has been ...

  • Larger employers on course for stakeholder

    11 Sep 2001

    Seventy five per cent of British businesses with a turnover of more than £1m have now either set up a stakeholder pension scheme or believe their existing arrangements are sufficient ahead of the 8th October deadline.

  • Lastminute.com goes into stakeholder

    10 Sep 2001

    Lastminute.com is to sell stakeholder pension schemes online, in a deal with internet IFA stakeholderpensions.com. The move, which will allow employers to designate a scheme for their employees online in minutes, is hoping to capitalise on a rush for schemes as October's deadline looms. 

  • Liverpool Vic expanding with group life and critical cover

    6 Sep 2001

    Liverpool Victoria is expanding its presence in the group protection market with the launch of group life and critical-illness cover products in November. The move is the first major protection expansion that the friendly society has made since its acquisition of Permanent Insurance was finalised in February. It says this is an opportune time to get into both markets as employers are reviewing benefit packages due to stakeholder. The products will be targeted at IFAs ...

  • Lombard International targets more IFAs

    6 Sep 2001

    Luxembourg-based Lombard International Assurance is to extend its UK IFA distribution channel, targeting high-net-worth individuals.

  • Lord Levene urges financial services companies for Queen's award

    10 Sep 2001

    The DTI has embarked on a drive to encourage financial services companies to enter the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

  • M&G offers roll-over options for Income Investment Trust

    11 Sep 2001

    M&G is offering its Income Investment Company and Corporate Bond funds as roll-over options for its Income Investment Trust, which winds up on October 11.Shareholders in the £440m trust will also have the option to cash in their investment, or can opt for a mixture of the three options.The fund is one of the UK’s largest investment trusts, and has delivered a return of around 11 per cent a year since its launch in October 1991.

  • Make an impact with your insight

    6 Sep 2001

    There is no doubt the review could have far-reaching consequences for IFAs. This is guaranteed by an agenda which includes commission, the capab- ility of IFAs to select the right investment product, how consumers influence the market and the future of with-profits. The best way for the Sandler team to really understand what is going on in the market is for them to meet and talk to IFAs. Aifa has already ensured this is happening. Any contact - written or personal - should not ...

  • Medical matters

    6 Sep 2001

    The last 12 months have seen a number of new and important players entering the protection market. At the same time, issues such as genetic testing and prostate cancer screening have topped the news agenda. I would like to draw your attention to these emerging issues and their potential impact on the protection market. Genetic testing is probably the issue which has attracted most attention. The important thing to be clear about here is that no insurance company has ever asked ...

  • Merrill Lynch grows PIPs

    7 Sep 2001

    Merrill Lynch HSBC, the online financial services company, has designed a capital protected bond linked to the FTSE 100 index over a five-year term.

  • Minister credits industry

    6 Sep 2001

    The Department of Work and Pensions is likely to make significant changes to the proposed pension credits in response to industry consultation. The pension credits, announced in November last year, are planned to ensure it always pays to save into a pension even for low-earners who could expect to benefit from the minimum income guarantee. But initial details of the planned benefit were criticised by pension experts as they effectively meant low-earners were paying a ...

  • Monte Carlo conference fully subscribed

    7 Sep 2001

    The 2002 Sway Senate Investment Conference which is being held in Monte Carlo in June is sold out and its sister event in Malta in November 2002 is almost fully subscribed.New sponsors for 2002 include Gartmore, Govetts, LeggMason and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. 

  • Moore's Code

    6 Sep 2001

    Compared with the average life and pension IFA, mortgage brokers are in clover. The regulatory demands placed on mortgage brokers are nothing against the demands placed on the average life and pension IFA. As for the margin pressure, it is just not there. Roll up, roll up, let us bag those proc fees. Yet a mortgage is a commitment that is just as important, if not more important, than a pension. It can certainly get the average punter into far more grief. ...

  • Name change for Dunbar network

    6 Sep 2001

    The Allied Dunbar franchise network has been relaunched as the Zurich Advice network in a bid to reinvent itself as a professional salesforce. The network has been fraught with troubles over the past six months following compliance failings that led to the salesforce being pulled off the road to undergo intensive retraining. Zurich has now introduced a rigorous "zero tolerance" regime on training, saying that anyone not meeting its standards must leave the network. It ...

  • Nationwide renews challenge to rivals

    7 Sep 2001

    Nationwide has renewed its challenge to rival lenders to stop ripping off existing borrowers to subsidise cheap deals for new customers. The society, dismissing claims it has U-turned on the pricing policy it introduced in March, claims its competitors are still relying on the inertia of existing borrowers to finance "uneconomic" deals for newcomers.

  • New Equitable inquiry may block FSA report

    6 Sep 2001

    The FSA report into its handling of the Equitable Life debacle may never be published following the Treasury's announcement of an independent inquiry into the troubled life office. The inquiry, which has no end date, may open the door to Government compensation. It will be headed by Scottish commercial judge Lord Penrose who has a background in financial services and, unlike many of his judicial colleagues, is not an Equitable policyholder. Penrose does not ...

  • No evidence of research

    6 Sep 2001

    Why is it that advisers such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Chase de Vere and Torquil Clark, all of whom have "teams of analysts and res-earch tools to monitor and track fund performance" (MM, August 9), consistently push funds which have nothing to recommend them other than the respective firms' endorsement? I have read literature from all the companies in question and can find no evidence of research of any kind. There is sufficient infor-mation from investment publications, ...

  • Northern Rock gets the seven-year flexi itch

    6 Sep 2001

    Northern Rock has filled a new niche in the mortgage market.

  • NVM venture trust targets small firms

    6 Sep 2001

    Fund manager Northern Venture Managers is marking the start of this year's venture capital trust season with its Northern 3 VCT on September 25. The trust will be a UK generalist VCT and and is looking to raise £25m. The portfolio will consist primarily of stakes in small unlisted UK companies, including those recently floated on the AIM. It will spread itself across sectors and financing stages and co-invest with other VCTs run by Northern in deals ...

  • Old Bailey case to find facts on Young

    6 Sep 2001

    The Serious Fraud Office began a two-week "trial of the facts" on the case of former Morgan Grenfell fund manager Peter Young this week. The case, which is taking place at the Old Bailey in London, will look to ascertain whether Young is culpable for a £220m fraud at the firm in 1996. No verdict will be passed on the charge of conspiracy to defraud and five charges of breaching the Financial Services Act, after Young was found unfit to stand trial at a Southwark ...

  • On a whinge and a prayer

    6 Sep 2001

    They say the collective term for IFAs is a whinge. Well, good. Right now, it is a talent the industry needs. A quick review of the MM letters page shows IFAs are not averse to complaining. But when it comes to regulation, constructive opinion and direction are often lacking. Early this year, for the first stage of the polarisation review, Supply Media contributed to a free guide full of help for any IFA wanting to put their views across. We received over 300 enquiries. But ...

  • One and only from Northern Rock

    5 Sep 2001

    Northern Rock's 1 year flexi fixed mortgage is a fully flexible mortgage with a fixed rate of 5.99 per cent until November 1, 2002.

  • Online marketing services for IFAs

    6 Sep 2001

    The Insurance Marketing Department, which provides consultancy services to IFAs and product providers, has set up an internet service to help clients improve their marketing activity. The online service is designed to give members an easy route to its professional marketing service for a monthly fee of £41.13. Clients and potential clients can log on for direct access to the full range of services at www.marketingdepartment.co.UK. Members are offered a ...

  • Out side edge

    6 Sep 2001

    Can encouraging the open market option achieve the FSA's objective? Yes but not as expected. The recent decision by the FSA and the ABI to encourage the Omo in the annuity market is a welcome move. Much of the recent debate surrounding annuities has focused on the options for investment choice relevant for those with big pensions pots but of little importance to the majority with smaller pension funds. It is clear that the difference between the rates offered to those ...

  • Pension fund reform driving demand for corporate bonds

    10 Sep 2001

    Pension fund reform in the UK is driving demand for corporate bonds, according to SG Asset Management. It says that the scrapping of the minimum funding requirement for pension schemes under the Myners report has led to asset allocation switch away from gilts towards higher yielding corporate bonds.  

  • PIA heaps on review woes for IFAs

    6 Sep 2001

    The PIA's recently issued CP35 on the pension review is one of those documents that you glance at once and then immediately file away in the "too difficult" drawer. Could the regulator possibly have found a more complicated way of setting out what amounts to who has to pay what to whom and by when? CP35 is the second consultative document issued on the matter of what the PIA so succinctly describes as Recalculating Loss and Redress for Phase Two Transfers - Serps ...

  • Pink gives 100 per cent effort

    6 Sep 2001

    Pink Home Loans has introduced a 100 per cent mortgage that has a 1.5 per cent discount for the first year.

  • Pink Home Loans - Exclusive 1.5 Per Cent Discount

    7 Sep 2001

    Friday, 7 September 2001.

  • Pink Home Loans - Exclusive Self Cert 2 Per Cent Discount

    11 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 11 September 2001.

  • Pink provides self-cert step up

    7 Sep 2001

    Pink Home Loans has introduced a self-certification mortgage that has a 2 per cent discount in the first year.

  • PMI costs rising

    11 Sep 2001

    The cost of private medical insurance is increasing as more individuals are claiming on their policies, with individual premiums increasing by 5 per cent a year, a survey shows.

  • Portal in a storm

    6 Sep 2001

    Portals have come a long way very quickly and there is a lot more innovation to come. While new technology does not always work as smoothly as IFAs would hope, the notion of working with the tools available 10 years ago is almost inconceivable. The scramble for distribution in the retail financial services sector is nowhere more apparent than in the field of the IFA portal and rapidly changing technology will revolutionise the way IFAs do business. With IFAs constituting ...

  • Product matters

    6 Sep 2001

    America remains the key market. If America falls further, everywhere else is bound to follow. Many investors are still light in American shares, despite the market holding up remarkably well compared with most other world markets. GAM is in the process of launching a Star American Focus fund under the stewardship of James Abate, formerly of Credit Suisse Transatlantic. I am sure many of you will be familiar with his record at Credit Suisse and, while ...

  • Profits down at Rathbone Brothers

    6 Sep 2001

    Discretionary investment management and private client services group Rathbone Brothers saw its pre-tax profits fall 21 per cent to £11.2m in the six months to June 2001, from £14.2m for the same period last year.

  • Put yourself in Sandler's shoes

    6 Sep 2001

    The consultation document issued in July is a complex and lengthy document containing over 70 questions. The full text can be found on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.UK. Obviously, bodies such as the LIA and Aifa will be sending in responses and expecting feedback from members. But considerable weight will be added if IFAs also send in comments. It is important in addressing an inquiry of this kind to have in mind a few guidelines. First, it is important ...

  • Quality counts

    6 Sep 2001

    The new MCCB registration rules present greater demands and requirements - and not before time. Comparing the May 2000 document with this year's new requirements, six pages of rules have become 12 pages and seven "definitions" have been expanded to 14. Has the MCCB deliberately doubled the content, with some masochistic mathematical consistency? No. It is doing absolutely what it needs to. When I wrote in such articles last year that it was time to raise the drawbridge ...

  • Real customers sing IF praises in TV ads

    6 Sep 2001

    Internet and telephone bank Intelligence Finance is launching a £2m TV ad campaign this month featuring real customers talking about its products and services.The ads will appear on the all major commercial channels and some satellite stations throughout September.The TV campaign will be supported by trade and national press advertising, internet-based promotion and branded London taxi cabs.Intelligent Finance claims this is the first campaign by ...

  • Rothschild kicks off retail push with high-yield fund

    6 Sep 2001

    Rothschild Asset Management is introducing a high-yield bond fund next month as the first step of its relaunch into the retail market. The Five Arrows monthly-income fund will be part of Rothschild's new retail Oeic, which will encompass its seven other offerings to the retail market. It opens on October 1. The fund will aim to have a gross yield of between 8.7 and 9 per cent but will hold more than half its portfolio in investment-grade bonds. The fund will ...

  • Royal Skandia is set

    6 Sep 2001

    Royal Skandia is set to put down permanent roots in the Middle East by opening an office in Dubai. Located in the city's Airport Free Zone, the office will open next week under the stewardship of sales manager Andrew Tennant, who has spent the last seven years in Dubai servicing brokers in the region. Skandia says the move is designed to build on its presence among expats in the Middle East - it has distributors in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi ...

  • RSA Investments - RSA European Prime Fund

    11 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 11 September 2001. Type: Oeic. Aim: Growth by investing in 30 pan European equities. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50. Investment split: 100 per cent pan European equities. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial 5 per cent, annual 1.5 per cent. Commission: Initial 3 per cent, renewal 0.5 per cent. Tel: 0845 7413673.  

  • Schroders' chief exec quits as profits dive

    6 Sep 2001

    Schroders chief executive David Salisbury has quit the firm after the fund manager recorded a 68 per cent fall in profits during the first half of the year. Profits fell to £31.3m for the six months to June 30 from £96.7m in the same period last year and £77.1m in the second half last year. Salisbury had been at Schr-oders for more than 27 years but had only been group chief executive for 15 months. He was previously head of the firm's asset ...

  • Scot Life moves into protection market

    6 Sep 2001

    Scottish Life today confirmed it is setting up a stand alone protection business with former Scottish Provident head of marketing and business development David Robinson in charge.

  • ScotAm scraps appointed reps in IFA-only switch

    6 Sep 2001

    Scottish Amicable is axing its entire appointed representative division of 192 firms and about 400 advisers to focus on the IFA sector. From October 31, appoin-ted rep partnership agreements will terminate, leaving ScotAm selling its products solely through IFAs. It says the move follows a review of its intermediary operations and the decision to focus on specific profitable products rather than be a mass-market provider. It claims the appointed rep channel is ...

  • ScotEq adds corporate bond option

    6 Sep 2001

    Scottish Equitable is introducing a corporate bond option as part of its Performance bond investment fund range. The option is aimed at cautious investors looking for better returns than available from deposit accounts. The extra-income corporate bond fund will sit alongside ScotEq's existing fixed-interest funds which invest in a range of foreign government securities and UK gilts. The fund invests in the higher-quality end of the corporate bond market, only ...

  • ScotEq setting up group risk team

    6 Sep 2001

    Scottish Equitable Employee Benefits is creating a specialist group risk underwriting team. The aim of the team is to enable the company to provide IFAs with better servicing and allow it to offer more competitive pricing. The team will create bespoke solutions to match IFA clients' group risk requirements. It will be headed by Rod McCarthy, who has been promoted to group risk actuary with responsibility for a team of three specialist group risk actuaries. McCarthy ...

  • Scottish BS stays local

    10 Sep 2001

    Scottish Building Society has designed a flexible buy-to let mortgage for borrowers to buy properties only in Scotland.

  • Scottish Equitable - Extra Income Fund

    7 Sep 2001

    Friday, 7 September 2001.

  • Scottish Equitable offers a safe haven in corporate bonds

    10 Sep 2001

    Scottish Equitable’s investment range is expanding with the introduction of the extra income fund.

  • Send seismic wave to Sandler

    6 Sep 2001

    In July, the Treasury-sponsored review of the retail financial services industry published its consultation paper and invited interested parties to respond. The Sandler review - as it is popularly known after its head Ron Sandler - has come under fire from across the financial services market for seemingly drawing conclusions about the market before the consultation has begun. IFAs have until the end of September to respond to the consultation paper and then Sandler is ...

  • Settling on a plan

    6 Sep 2001

    I am 26 and have just started my first full-time job. I qualified from university three years ago and, after some world travel and a series of part-time positions, feel it is time to settle down. What should my financial priorities be? You should certainly continue to enjoy yourself. Most people in their mid-20s will have plans to go on holiday, purchase a car - or a better one if they have one already - and to eat out and entertain friends. But it may well be that you ...

  • SG Life & Pensions - SG Life International Bond

    11 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 11 September 2001. Type: Traditional offshore bond. Aim: Growth by investing in a choice of three risk graded portfolios, cautious, balanced, aggressive or a self-select option with a choice of 94 unit trusts, oeics, managed bond funds and investment trusts. Minimum investment: £50,000. Place of registration: Guernsey. Investment split: Choice of three risk graded portfolios, cautious, balanced, aggressive or a ...

  • SG Life & Pensions - SG Life International Portfolio Bond

    11 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 11 September 2001. Type: Traditional offshore bond. Aim: Growth by investing in unit trusts, oeics, managed bond funds, investment trusts and cash through a discretionary fund manager. Minimum investment: £250,000. Place of registration: Guernsey. Investment split: Choice of unit trusts, oeics, managed bond funds investment trusts and cash. Isa link: No. Charges: Initial up to 0.5 per cent a quarter for ...

  • SG Life & Pensions - Sogelife Global Strategy Bond

    11 Sep 2001

    Tuesday, 11 September 2001. Type: Traditional offshore bond. Aim: Growth by investing in unit trusts, Oeics, managed bond funds and investment trusts. Minimum investment: £10,000. Place of registration: Luxemburg. Investment split: Choice of unit trusts, Oeics, bonds and investment trusts. Isa link: No. Charges: Initial 5 per cent, annual 0.75 per cent. Commission: Initial up to 4 per cent or initial 3.25 per ...

  • Show why the public need you

    6 Sep 2001

    The Sandler review presents IFAs with challenges which, frankly, have been ducked for years. Widening access towards financial advice and whether customers understand what they are buying are the key elements IFAs need to address in Sandler. How do they do that? An effective campaign needs to be orchestrated towards not just Sandler but also the FSA, the Inland Revenue and their Treasury masters. What should it include? It needs to address the issue at the heart ...

  • Skipton Building Society - 5 Year Capped Rate Mortgage

    7 Sep 2001

    Friday, 7 September 2001.

  • Skipton increases rate on fixed rate bond

    6 Sep 2001

    Skipton Building Society is increasing the interest rate by 0.25 per cent on its new fixed rate bond issue, fixed at 5.75 per cent until September 2002. Minimum investment is £3,000, with a maximum of £10,000.

  • SMA protector falls in line

    5 Sep 2001

    Scottish Mutual Assurance has widened investment choice for clients who have its individual pensions with the introduction of the protector fund.

  • Smelling a rat

    6 Sep 2001

    The Diary has noticed that the FSA is sniffing around exterminator Rentokil, asking questions about it buying back 15 million shares shortly before an upbeat trading announcement. It may be a wee bit harsh to say it takes one to know one but, really, who better to look into suspicious dealings at a pest controller than the FSA itself? Perhaps once the inquiries into Rentokil's stockmarket dealings have been completed, the company could offer its services to the regulator? Sur

  • Survey finds huge public support for compulsion

    6 Sep 2001

    A huge majority of young adults want the Government to introduce some form of pension compulsion, according to research from Virgin Direct. The company says this suggests compulsion is not necessarily a vote-loser and that ministers should stop shirking the issue. Virgin commissioned a survey of 600 working adults, revealing that 77 per cent were in favour of introducing some form of compulsion. Of the 16to 24-year-olds questioned, 83 per cent said they would ...

  • Take the initiative

    6 Sep 2001

    Money Marketing gives you the chance to see the stakeholder pension guide that will be sent out to 100,000 UK firms next week as part of our major initiative to help IFAs with stakeholder in the run-up to the October deadline. The guide is enclosed with every IFA edition of this week's Money Marketing. It will be sent next week to every UK firm employing more than 10 people. So you need to act fast if you want to take up our opportunity for you to be involved at a local level ...

  • Tech firm offers Staff Care

    6 Sep 2001

    Technology solutions provider Screen Pages is setting up a product which allows IFAs to target members of group schemes in a direct and cost-effective way. Staff Care helps IFAs to sell directly to employees of corporate clients by maximising the latest internet technology. The plan allows scheme members to clearly see the current and projected value of their benefits packages and includes a link to pension providers for the tracking of contributions and fund values. Screen ...

  • Terrorism paralyses Wall Street

    11 Sep 2001

    Trading was suspended in the City and Wall Street after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in the heart of New York's financial district, the Pentagon and other Washington targets.

  • The Daley Update

    6 Sep 2001

    Aberdeen Asset Management is to launch a new venture capital trust on September 21, to be run by Bill Nixon. The growth opportunities VCT will aim to reach £30m and will focus on UK companies in the later stages of the venture capital process. Global Asset Management is offering a 2 per cent discount on its new Star American focus fund until September 14. The discount will cut the initial charge from 5 per cent to 3 per cent. Annual fee is 1.5 per cent. Minimum investment ...

  • The principle of default funds

    6 Sep 2001

    In response to Chris Beller's letter (Money Marketing, August 2), the principle behind the legislation with regard to stakeholder default funds is that members should not be forced to make their own decision about investment options. The legislation does not require that each listed fund at scheme level is linked to a specific defined situation in which it would apply - as stated above, the legislation only requires that members are not forced to make their own investment decisions. T

  • Tiers for fears

    6 Sep 2001

    Commission levels for regulated business are greater than can be supported by the product. This is clearly unsustainable over the longer term. Increasing product commoditisation and cost transparency continue to place pressure on commission levels, potentially reducing them by more than two-thirds over the next couple of years. So far, little has been done to address the situation. Advisers have been prepared to offer financial advice to their customers regardless of affordability. For ...

  • Tips on how to respond to Sandler

    6 Sep 2001

    IFAs returning to their desks after the summer holidays have just three and a half weeks to respond to the Treasury-commissioned Sandler review which could fundamentally change their business. Ron Sandler has set the deadline for the consultation phase for the end of September, just two months after it was announced. For many IFAs, making a response may be a baffling exercise. To help IFAs in making sense of the paper, MM this week publishes the tips of four experienced ...

  • Tony Kempster

    6 Sep 2001

    Only a couple of weeks into a new job, it is not usually ideal to hit the headlines with news you are withdrawing the revenue stream from your major distribution channel through cutting initial commission on regular-premium pensions. And when your last job was running one of the biggest IFA networks, DBS, the first action from Tony Kempster as Prudential Intermediary Division distribution director seems to jar a little more than usual. Regular readers of Money Marketing's ...

  • UCB Home Loans - Buy2Let 2 Year Fixed

    6 Sep 2001

    Thursday, 6 September 2001.

  • UCB Home Loans - Buy2Let 5 Year Fixed

    6 Sep 2001

    Thursday, 6 September 2001.

  • US blast rocks markets

    9 Sep 2001

    Analysts were preparing for the possibility of a global recession on Tuesday, after a barrage of terrorist attacks in the US sent the world’ stockmarkets into freefall.Wall Street was suspended after two passenger jets crashed into the World Trade Centre shortly before 9am East Coast time. However, European markets continued to trade, with the FTSE 100 plummeting almost 6 per cent, the French CAC falling more than 7 per cent, and the German Dax down by more than 10 per cent at ...

  • Villa in deal with HSBC

    6 Sep 2001

    HSBC has signed up a deal with Premiership football side Aston Villa to supply its staff with stakeholder pensions. The high-street bank will be offering its plan, which it claims was the first stakeholder launched by a bank, to Villa's 250 employees. The agreement follows last week's announcement by Legal & General that it is supplying stakeholder pensions to Villa's premiership rivals Newcastle. The move has sparked speculation that providers will ...

  • We are not valued and not wanted

    6 Sep 2001

    The letters page of the August 9 issue of Money Marketing had various references to "logic". Logic and this industry parted company donkeys' years ago. It would be logical to assume that life companies have staff who can turn a proposal form into a policy document without being trained each time one is submitted. It would be logical for low-cost products to be automatically non-redressable so we can actually see a way forward for marketing them. It would be ...

  • Wise IFAs build their house upon the Sandler report

    6 Sep 2001

    From my conversations with people in the IFA industry, it worries me intensely that we are not taking the Sandler review as seriously as we ought. I believe advisers who take on board the principles of the Myners and Sandler reviews will immediately prosper, as will their clients. The issues discussed in my articles over the next few weeks are extremely important. This week, I want to set the scene for what is certain to become a key issue for all advisers. The Myners ...

Poll

Will Greece leave the euro?

Current Issue

Advanced search