Money Marketing
8 January 2003

  • 'Biggest surge since 1980s'

    9 Jan 2003

    Nationwide says 2002 saw the biggest surge in house sales and prices since the late 1980s' boom but the society warns of a deterioration this year. It says the belief that low interest rates are here to stay is encouraging people to borrow and remortgage. Despite predicting a downturn in London due to affordability, Nationwide says overall prices will rise by 10 per cent over the year compared with 25 per cent last year. But the society says its predictions depend ...

  • 'Employers using pension switch to cut contributions'

    9 Jan 2003

    Employers are using the switch from final-salary to money-purchase schemes as an excuse to cut contributions, leaving employees with on average at least a third less income in retirement, a new survey shows. The survey of 272 employer schemes was carried out by consultants Union Pension Services for the GMB union and found that employers often use a switch as a way to cut funding, meaning benefits from money-purchase schemes are significantly lower than those in ...

  • 'Equities can still produce millionaires'

    9 Jan 2003

    Standard Life Investments warns that stockmarket volatility is here to stay but says equities can still catapult people into becoming millionaires. The company's research shows that people investing £25,000 a year can expect to become millionaires in 14-27 years. It says the quickest accumulations happen when investments are started during a bear market such as the times following the two world wars or in the middle of the 1970s. Standard says the present ...

  • 'Lifetime limit may discriminate against women'

    9 Jan 2003

    Replacing the annual pension contribution limit with a single lifetime limit could discriminate against women as they would get lower annuity income than men because of their longer life expectancy, experts claim. Pension experts are warning that a sex discrimination challenge is just one problem facing the £1.4m lifetime contribution limit proposed in the Inland Revenue's pension taxation review announced alongside the Department for Work and Pensions ...

  • 'Prudent' Britannic suspends bonus payments

    9 Jan 2003

    Britannic is to suspend with-profits bonuses and shareholder dividends in an emergency action brought on by a third year of falling equity markets. The news comes as the CBI warns that financial services companies reliant on stockmarket performance might have to shed ten of thousands of jobs. Britannic Group managing director Bryan Portman says its with-profits fund has not breached solvency requirements and could still sell equities, reinsure or use derivatives ...

  • 91% of members are satisfied with IFAP's service

    9 Jan 2003

    Ninety-one per cent of IFA Promotion members are satisfied with its efforts to promote independent financial advice, according to research by agency Consensus. Its survey of more than 2,000 IFAP members also reveals that 68 per cent believe they are getting excellent value for money. The survey, conducted in November, also found that 86 per cent of consumer leads generated through IFAP's hotlines and websites in the last year resulted in business for IFAs. Seventy-one ...

  • A hard day's knight

    9 Jan 2003

    The new year is a time for looking forward as well as looking back and for making resolutions that are well meant but often forgotten. What follows are my suggestions for a few resolutions, all of which require the consent of a third party if they are not to fail. My first resolution concerns consultation papers. Last year, we were given the benefit of CP119 to CP163, not forgetting occasional papers and discussion papers, plus leaflets and decision trees for the ...

  • ABI rethink on income protection

    9 Jan 2003

    The ABI is updating its guidelines for income protection insurance in a move which the trade body has conceded will do little to address the unpopularity of the product when compared with other types of protection contracts. The minor amendments to the statement of best practice do not change the rules of IP but aim to clarify them for consumers. They reword the definition of incapacity and the situation where an individual makes repeated claims on a similar ...

  • Advice Store will use pedal power to aid hospital

    9 Jan 2003

    Three senior managers at IFA Advice Store are cycling from Nice in France to their head office in Cambridge to raise money for the East Anglia Children's Hospital. Chief executive Chris Batten has already cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats with the directors of Quay Software to raise money for the Wrexham Park Hospital. Marketing director Mark Harvey and senior account manager Mark Robinson will join Chris on the trip while other members of staff will ...

  • Aegon adds protection specialist to IFA stable

    9 Jan 2003

    Aegon UK has continued its IFA acquisition drive by taking a 9.99 per cent stake in Personal Touch Insurance for around £2m. The Solihull-based protection specialist has 24 RIs and more than 10,500 agents distributing financial services, mortgages and general insurance products to support the core business. Personal Touch has grown rapidly since it started trading seven years ago. Over the past four years, it has doubled its turnover every year to the current ...

  • Aggressive strategy for DWS fund

    9 Jan 2003

    DWS Investments is seeking to boost its Isa season by rolling out a focused equity income fund which aims to beat the FTSE All-Share by 30 per cent. Due to launch on February 24, subject to FSA approval, the UK equity income plus fund will be a best-ideas fund with a portfolio of around 40 holdings, each weighted at around 2.5 per cent. It will be run by Graham Ashby, manager of DWS's core equity income fund, who will invest in any stocks worldwide as long as ...

  • Axa and CIS cut WP bonuses with other firms set to follow

    9 Jan 2003

    Axa and CIS kicked off the new year by imposing a new round of bonus rate cuts for with-profits policyholders and IFAs predict that more companies will follow. For Axa, the 5 per cent cut on payouts on with-profits bonds is the fourth unscheduled bonus cut since its annual declaration last March when it introduced a cut of between 4-5 per cent. This was followed by cuts of 4-5 per cent in June, 3-6 per cent in July and 2-8 per cent in October. Overall, Axa estimates ...

  • Bafta night for Forum

    9 Jan 2003

    The Financial Services Forum is holding its third annual members' conference on February 26 at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Piccadilly in London. Contributors to the conference include Abbey National marketing director Janet Connor, First Direct head of brand Nick Bowyer and AMP head of third-party distribution Damon Watkins. All members of the Financial Services Forum are entitled to attend the one-day event free of charge while a limited ...

  • Barking up the wrong tree

    9 Jan 2003

    The new year has begun very much like the old one finished, with a raft of consultation, discussion and feedback papers from the FSA. Among the six publications put out by Canary Wharf between Christmas and the first week of January is the FSA's discussion paper on its proposals for the regulation of the sales process for Sandler's suite of stakeholder products. Its Options for Regulating the Sale of Simplified Investment Products proposes three differing ...

  • Between Iraq and a hard place

    9 Jan 2003

    The impending threat of war in Iraq has left IFAs and fund managers in a strange position. Although keen to avoid a conflict, both groups believe the ending of months of uncertainty could be good for the markets. There is little doubt that the prospect of a US-led assault has prompted investors to shy away from stockmarkets to the relative safety of bonds, property and even bank and building society accounts. For that trend to discontinue, uncertainty - the scourge ...

  • Bristol & West launches new fixed rate mortgages

    13 Jan 2003

    Bristol & West is launching three fixed rate mortgages, one is a five year fixed product and the other two run for two years. The five year fix has a rate of 4.49 per cent, a loan to value of 95 per cent and an arrangement fee of £299. One two year fix with a LTV of 95 per cent has a rate of 3.95 per cent and a £299 arrangement fee. The other two year fix has no arrangement fee, a LTV of 95 per cent and a rate of 4.29 per cent.

  • Britannia FTSE bond guarantees cash even if market tumbles

    9 Jan 2003

    Britannia Building Society is offering a five-year equity bond which guarantees the full return of the original investment regardlessof stockmarket performance. If the FTSE 100 index rises or remains at the same level over the term, investors will receive a return of 35 per cent gross, which equates to an annual rate of 6.16 per cent. The minimum investment is £500 and maximum £500,000. Investments must be made before March 6 and will be put into ...

  • British Gas targets equity release

    9 Jan 2003

    British Gas is to launch equity-release products, mortgages and secured loans as part of its move into financial services this year. The utilities company, a subsidiary of the Centrica Group which also owns the AA and Goldfish Bank, says it is currently at the development stage and is confident it will produce a suite of financial products to appeal to its 22 million customer database. It admits there will be some overlap with AA Financial Services and Gold-fish ...

  • Burns-Anderson to help advisers exploit loan opportunities

    9 Jan 2003

    Burns-Anderson is introducing two new services, B-A Mortgage Services and B-A Protect, aimed at its IFA and mortgage adviser members. B-A Mortgage Services is a mortgage club with a panel of 16 providers and a range of ancillary support services for brokers. B-A Protect is a GISCregulated service consisting of a panel of providers of products associated with mortgages such as life policies, permanent health insurance and critical-illness cover. The services ...

  • Cadbury to step down from Henderson trust

    13 Jan 2003

    Henderson smaller companies trust chairman Peter Cadbury is to retire on March 21, 2003 after heading the trust since 1989. At the board meeting on that date he will be succeeded by Dudley Fishburn, who has been on the board since 1996. He is chairman of HFC Bank and on the board of Philip Morris, and has in the past been editor of The Economist and an MP for Kensington and Chelsea.

  • Cara is the interactive aid to First Direct loans

    9 Jan 2003

    First Direct claims to be the first UK bank to launch an interactive online mortgage adviser called Cara to answer questions on its products from IFAs and consumers. For a four-month trial period, Cara, a three dimensional interactive animation who moves, talks and gestures as she responds to queries, will give advice on the internet and phone bank's Smartmortgage offset product. If the pilot is successful, First Direct intends to make Cara available to offer ...

  • CBE for Myners and knighthood for HBOS's Burt

    9 Jan 2003

    Former Gartmore chairman Paul Myners, who led the Treasury-commissioned review into institutional investment, was made a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours list for services to the financial sector. In addition to a number of recommendations aimed at cleaning up institutional investment, Myners recommended the creation of a similar review for the retail sector, which spawned the Sandler review. HBOS executive deputy chairman Peter Burt ...

  • Changes to L&G executive pension

    9 Jan 2003

    The article (Money Marketing, December 19) is worth expanding given our future position in the executive pension plan market postJanuary 27, 2003. Legal & General is to revamp its executive pension plan to provide better value for customers and bring it up to date. The changes, effective from January 27, will result in: Improved terms for new regular premium customers with more of the contributions being invested. The withdrawal of the current product option ...

  • Class conscious

    9 Jan 2003

    Gartmore is making its cautious managed fund the focal point of this year's Isa campaign. This fund is an Oeic that invests a maximum of 60% in UK equities, with the remainder going into investment-grade corporate bonds. It will initially have 60 equity and 25 bond holdings and aims to provide income of between 4.5 and 5%, with the prospect of capital growth. Chris Burvill will manage the fund. He joined Gartmore last month after 10 years at Investec, where he ...

  • Code comfort for clients

    9 Jan 2003

    The launch of a code of practice for long-term care insurance sales by the ABI will be seen as good news for consumers but is it good news for IFAs? In fact, given the low levels of LTC sales over the past decade, is this development of any interest at all to most IFAs? At IFACare, we believe the answer to both questions should be a resounding yes. Since IFACare was launched in 1996 as the voluntary association for IFAs giving advice on long-term care, we have advocated ...

  • CSAM offers 1 per cent Isa discount

    13 Jan 2003

    Credit Suisse Asset Management is offering a 1 per cent discount on all lump sum Isa investments into its range of Oeics.The offer, which is open to the end of the tax year, applies to funds including CSAM's income, monthly income and extra income funds, as well as its corporate bond monthly income and smaller companies funds. 

  • Davies says FSA could have done better over markets

    9 Jan 2003

    FSA chairman Howard Davies has admitted the regulator "could have done better" in dealing with falling stockmarkets. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's The Today Program last week, Davies conceded that the FSA should have done more to anticipate the direction of the markets and acted accordingly. While not mentioning any specific action that the FSA could have taken, Davies said the regulator had come under significant pressure to take action as the markets ...

  • Doubts grow over future of NPI brand

    9 Jan 2003

    NPI is set to become the latest brand to bite the dust following the radical restructuring of AMP's UK business. The latest speculation on the future of the NPI brand follows comments made by AMP group chief executive Andrew Mohl to the press that NPI as well as Pearl would cease product manufacture. AMP paid £1.5bn for NPI following its demutualisation in 1999. AMP says it will still offer retirement and pension products but has not yet decided how ...

  • DriveTec EIS revolutionises gearbox transmission

    8 Jan 2003

    Kreis Consulting is promoting DriveTec, an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) that aims to raise between £750,000 and £1m to fund an innovative gearbox transmission system. A gearbox transmission system enables a car engine to drive the wheels. In a normal car, the gearbox needs less power at certain points while driving, but the engine may go too fast or too slow. The means the engine works hard, uses up a lot of fuel and emits exhaust fumes. DriveTec's ...

  • Equitable appoints new finance director

    14 Jan 2003

    Equitable Life has appointed Nigel Brinn as its new finance and investments director. He was chief executive of Homeowner Friendly Society and managing director of RAC Financial Services.His appointment follows the resignation of Charles Bellringer in November, who left with a substantial payout.

  • Europe volatile but growth to be had says Govett

    14 Jan 2003

    The European market will continue to be volatile in 2003 but there will be room for real improvement according to Govett Investments.

  • Fidelity goes for neutral style

    10 Jan 2003

    Fidelity Investments has added a specialist global equity fund to its Fidelity Funds Sicav range.

  • Fidelity sets up series of workshops

    8 Jan 2003

    Fidelity is hosting its 2003 series of IFA workshops across the UK from January 21 to January 28.Beginning in Norwich, the workshops will take in Northampton, Gatwick, Birmingham, Swindon, Bristol, Manchester, Bolton and Leeds before ending in Belfast. They will cover areas including the sectors which Fidelity believes will be dominant in 2003, the likelihood of the sales downturn ending and whether there is likely to be an Isa season this year.

  • FlexAbility for Mortgage Express

    10 Jan 2003

    Mortgage Express, the specialist lending arm of Bradford & Bingley, has announced its Horizon mortgage will now be called FlexAbility.Product development manager Andrew Moss says the new name was chosen as it more accurately represents what the product offers. It has no tie-ins or redemption penalties, a variety of flexible payment options, tax efficient savings option and no MIGs.

  • FSA favours filters for stake suite

    9 Jan 2003

    The FSA favours a regulated sales process led by filter questions for the new Sandler suite of stakeholder products. In its discussion paper Options for Regulating the Sale of Simplified Investment Products, published last week, the regulator outlined three possible options for the new regime but indicated that it favoured the second option, led by filtered questions. The first option would involve a "self-help" approach involving warnings about the products ...

  • FSA forced to retreat on past performance

    9 Jan 2003

    The FSA has been forced to reverse its opposition to the use of past performance in promotional literature by a European Union directive compelling fund managers to include historical performance of their funds in prospectuses from next February. Despite its long-running opposition to the importance of past performance, the regulator will have to include the changes to unit trust and Oeic managers' literature as a result of two amendments to the European Ucits directive.

  • FSA will soon be losing its powers to Europe

    9 Jan 2003

    Although much discussion continues about the activities of the FSA, it appears that some people are still slow to understand how financial services will be regulated in the near future. When the UK signed the Maastricht agreement which codified many details of the single European market, it also passed many powers of government to the EU authorities. Importantly, it allowed for subsequent incremental legislation to follow in the future. Thus, we now see ...

  • Fund managers will need over £80,000 in reserves

    9 Jan 2003

    Capital reserve requirements for fund managers will be significantly enhanced under the latest amendments to the European Union's Ucits directive. Although the FSA is consulting on the implementation of the directive, the new levels will take effect from February 2007. The directive requires all UK Oeic and unit trust managers to hold £81,237 or e125,000 initially and then an additional 0.02 per cent of the value of the manager's portfolio. This ...

  • Govt plans to bring in net retirement planner

    9 Jan 2003

    The Government is aiming to introduce an online retirement planner that will tell people about their current provision and what they should do to provide for their old age. The Department for Work and Pensions is consulting with providers on the pension portal project unveiled in the Green Paper last month and will look to build on the online pension calculator launched by the ABI and FSA in November. The DWP wants the system to show total projected pension ...

  • Guide to saving for children

    9 Jan 2003

    JP Morgan Fleming is publishing a guide to saving for children. The guide comes as the firm's leading fund managers are warning parents not to wait for the Government to implement its promised child trust funds before they start investing for their children's future. The child trust funds, which were introduced in the 2001 Labour Party manifesto, will provide each child with an endowment at birth to be invested until they reach the age of 18, with the amount ...

  • Hard lessons on pensions

    9 Jan 2003

    Our wake-up call about the importance of Europe for UK pensions can be precisely dated - it was May 17, 1990. That was the day the European Court of Justice handed down its judgment in the case of Barber •GRE. On that day, we learned that pensions count as pay in the context of Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome, which says that employers must not discriminate on a sexual basis for the purposes of pay. Since then, there have been other cases to clarify the precise ...

  • Healey out as Merrill Lynch joins up teams

    9 Jan 2003

    Bill Healey, Merrill Lynch's head of European high-yield bonds, has been made redundant following the merger of the fund manager's fixed-income desks. In a move which has prompted a number of IFAs to put the £150m high-income bond fund Healey co-managed on hold, Merrill has consolidated its European high-yield team into its investment-grade division in a bid to cut costs. The company is retaining the services of its six other high-yield managers. Andrew ...

  • Heart and cancer cover only from Bupa

    10 Jan 2003

    BUPAHeartbeat Heart and CancerType: Individual private medical insurance Minimum-maximum ages: From birth-100 Maximum benefits: No maximum Cover provided: Diagnosis, consultations for and treatment of heart conditions and cancer Excess: £100 - £2,000 Discount: None Options: Annual health check at additional cost Commission: Initial 25%, renewal 5% Tel: 0800 332000 PANELGuy Jones, ...

  • Hollingworth top of pundits league

    9 Jan 2003

    David Hollingworth of London & Country Mortgages beat off a strong challenge from the Hargreaves Lansdown team to top November's PressWatch pundits table. With 27 mentions, Hollingworth nudged ahead of Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown in second place with 24 mentions while his colleague Mark Dampier and Charcol's Ray Boulger came in joint third with 21 mentions. The Hargreaves Lansdown team achieved the most company mentions of 60. London & Country ...

  • Hostile Manulife bid for Canada Life

    8 Jan 2003

    Manulife has launched a hostile bid for rival Canada Life which could result in windfalls of around £4,000 for the UK investors who accepted shares when Canada Life demutualised in 1999. If successful and approved by regulators, it would result in the fourth biggest insurance company in North America and the tenth largest in the world. 

  • IFA firm opens new office in Glasgow

    9 Jan 2003

    Telford-based IFA Start Independent is opening a branch in Glasgow, with 18 RIs set to join its sixth regional office when it opens on February 1. Start Independent is part the Lifeboat Group, which also includes IFA network A La Carte. Start Independent, which has 70 RIs, aims to recruit 600 more advisers before parent Lifeboat's proposed flotation in 2005. The group hopes to sell two 9.9 per cent stakes to product providers in the second quarter of the ...

  • IFAs and investors disagree on markets

    8 Jan 2003

    Almost three-quarters of IFAs believe the stockmarket will be higher in six months' time, according to JPMorgan Fleming. The fund manager's confidence survey, conducted last month, found that 72 per cent of IFAs believe the stockmarket will be higher in June. But in a separate survey, JPMorgan found that just 23 per cent of investors agree, with the majority believing it will have fallen further. 

  • IFAs beat direct sales on cheaper distribution

    9 Jan 2003

    IFAs are a cheaper distribution channel than their direct-selling rivals when it comes to nearly two-thirds of unit-linked and with-profits products, according to the latest FSA disclosure survey. The survey, from December 2001, looks at 24 products comparing the total remuneration advisers received over five years. It shows that in 15 out of 24 products, IFAs accepted a total remuneration of up to 62 per cent lower than company representatives. The FSA refuses ...

  • IFAs' compensation levy looks set to be £800,000

    9 Jan 2003

    The IFA sector can expect to pay a levy of about £800,000 towards Financial Services Compensation Scheme costs in the 2003/2004 financial year, equating to roughly the same amount paid last year. The FSCS will have a budget of £12.4m to cover its fixed costs and if compensation costs are similar to this year - £43.5m - excluding pension misselling redress, to pay out to consumers. The bulk of the costs will be met by providers. In addition ...

  • Improved mortality puts new pressure on annuities

    9 Jan 2003

    Annuity rates and life office solvency are set to face fresh pressures following research from the Continuous Mortality Investigation Bureau showing that mortality has improved significantly faster than anticipated. The Bureau, set up by the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, has issued a working paper sharing with the industry its new figures and employing novel mathematical techniques known as cohort effects. As a result, life offices could be forced to assign ...

  • Independent view

    9 Jan 2003

    From where I am sat, looking at the new proposals for depolarisation, it does not look too different from what we have already. I suspect that many IFAs and life companies will be laughing up their sleeves that their lobbying has stopped the previously proposed three-tier system. But it is a short-term victory. The crux of the matter is that investors still do not get advice, they get products. What does every IFA want to know from the life company's broker consultant (and ...

  • Industry turns on FSA for backing filtered questions

    9 Jan 2003

    The FSA has been resoundingly criticised by IFAs and providers for suggesting that the way forward for regulating sales of the Sandler suite of products is an extension of a decision tree or filter question approach. They claim the regulator has failed to learn any lessons from using the same techniques for stakeholder pensions, which have been branded a failure. Decision trees have rarely been employed for stakeholder pensions and IFAs and providers doubt that ...

  • Inside Edge

    9 Jan 2003

    With recognition from Treasury minister Ruth Kelly, the Raising Standards quality mark scheme is gaining momentum and credibility in its second year. As one of the first companies to be accredited for the Raising Standards scheme with the Scottish Equitable brand and also one of the first to renew our accreditation for a second year, I am delighted to see the scheme is gathering momentum and, more importantly, credibility as it enters its second year. Let's ...

  • Insight Investment Management - UK Dynamic Fund

    13 Jan 2003

    Monday, 13 January 2003Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in UK companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £2,000, monthly £100Investment split: 100% in UK companiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0845 850 6050

  • Inter-Alliance MD joins board

    8 Jan 2003

    Inter-Alliance has promoted its marketing director Carey Shakespeare to the board. Shakespeare joined Inter-Alliance in August 2002 from St James's Place where he was executive director of marketing. His remit will be to lead the group's marketing division as it helps advisers attract more business. 

  • Inter-Alliance shares fall 24 per cent

    14 Jan 2003

    Shares in Inter-Alliance fell 24 per cent in the last to 110p from 83.5p after celebrated short-seller Simon Cawkwell, who is known in the City as Evil Knievel, said the Aim-listed national IFA was overvalued.

  • Investment analysis

    9 Jan 2003

    In spite of the optimistic forecasts of most investors at the start of the year, 2002 turned out to be an annus horribilis for equities, with most of the world's major stockmarkets suffering their third consecutive year on year decline while at the same time turning in their worst performance since 1974. In the UK, the FTSE 100 index fell from 5217.4 at the start of the year to 3940.4, a fall of 22.2 per cent, with the market hampered by a deteriorating corporate ...

  • Investment view

    9 Jan 2003

    It is a murky crystal ball into which we, who seek to divine the likely direction of markets, gaze as 2003 sets out on its uncertain path. A year ago, buoyed no doubt by the bounce in markets during the last quarter of 2001, many of us predicted a positive outturn for 2002. How wrong we all were. While the weight of opinion still rests with those who consider a fourth year of falling share prices unlikely, there are some doom merchants around, while the extent ...

  • Investors allowed to keep mini and maxi Isas open

    9 Jan 2003

    Isa investors who have taken out both mini and maxi Isas in the same tax year will be permitted to keepboth open under changes to the Isa regulations made by the Inland Revenue. Other changes include allowing investors who have opened an Isa, closed it and subsequently opened another of the same type in one year to maintain the second. The rules will also permit transfers of Tessas to Isas made by individuals rather than providers to continue. However, the new ...

  • Ipswich sees big rise in lending

    8 Jan 2003

    Ipswich Building Society says its gross mortgage lending jumped to £82.3 million last year from £49.6m in 2001.Its results to end-November 2002 reveal net lending showed a similar rise to £36.9m from £17.6m. Of total lending 65 per cent was through mortgage intermediaries. It says savings were also buoyant with net investment receipts up to £10.35m from £7.4m. 

  • Irish Life International unveils new bond

    13 Jan 2003

    Irish Life International has introduced the 10th issue of the secured growth bond, a guaranteed equity bond that is linked to the performance of the FTSE Eurotop index over a five-year term.

  • Jason Butler

    9 Jan 2003

    The new Sofa director is not short of a few words, which could be explained by a spell as a market trader in South London when he was younger. But rather than turn him into a wheeler-dealer type, Jason Butler insists that working on a stall helped him learn how to "read" people. Although Butler has two entrepreneurial brothers in the motor trade, he says the Del Boy influence goes no further. But he does have a battered Volvo which could probably outdo the Trotter ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    9 Jan 2003

    About 18 months ago, I wrote about the only individual hedge fund that I have ever recommended. It is run by Elysian Fund Management of Grosvenor Place, London. It has a fine record, having shown profits every year since it was launched in December 1998 and, as a result, is now being marketed more actively through IFAs. The secret of its success is fund manager Paul Hopkins, who has over 25 years' experience in this field. He was previously a chief investment officer ...

  • Kylie sought after

    9 Jan 2003

    2003 sees the inauguration of The Diary's Hold the Front Page Award for the most informative and interesting press release. Insurer Select & Protect takes the trophy with news that its painstaking survey of 2,400 agents reveals that Kylie is the person most mortgage advisers would like to sell a mortgage to. Second place has to go to Scottish Friendly Assurance, which bothered over 1,000 UK adults for their opinions on who is seen as the friendliest Scot. Billy ...

  • L&G rolls out equity release product to all IFAs

    10 Jan 2003

    Legal & General is now marketing its equity release mortgage to all IFAs, as the lender sees the product as a growth market for 2003.

  • Leggmason Investments - US Equity Fund

    13 Jan 2003

    Monday, 13 January 2003Type: Unit trustAim: Growth by investing in US equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £3,000, monthly £100Investment split: 100% in US equitiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4.25%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 020 7070 7444

  • Lighthouse's Hamson buys founding firms as he steps down

    9 Jan 2003

    Lighthouse joint managing director Nick Hamson has stepped down from the board and bought out the group's two only wholly-owned IFAs and founding firms. Hamson, with fellow board member Matthew Goldsmith, owned the City and Kent firms when Lighthouse was first established and Hamson has continued to run the firms while performing his duties as joint MD of the group. However, under the deal, worth £400,000 to be paid over six years, he will dedicate ...

  • Lucky 13 from Northern Rock Guernsey

    14 Jan 2003

    Northern Rock has introduced the 16th issue of fifty:fifty, a combination of a high interest account and a guaranteed equity bond.

  • M&G offers discount on Fof range

    8 Jan 2003

    M&G will offer a 1 per cent discount to investors in its Cazenove-managed fund of funds range when it launches next week. The initial charge on M&G's growth, balanced and UK growth portfolios will be discounted to 3 per cent from 4 per cent until April 5, although its annual charge will remain at 1.5 per cent. Commission is 3 per cent with 0.5 per cent trail.  

  • Mortgage Next in alliance with Axa

    8 Jan 2003

    Mortgage distribution network Mortgage Next has signed a strategic alliance with life office Axa to set-up the Axa Adviser Network.

  • Munich Re's critical view

    9 Jan 2003

    I am writing to clarify Munich Re's position in the critical-illness market following the recent article on Norwich Union's 40 per cent premium increase. In this article, reference was made to "the decisions by Swiss Re and Munich Re this year to stop reinsuring long-term guaranteed critical-illness cover". Munich Re would like to make it clear that we, in fact, withdrew from the guaranteed critical-illness market in 1997 and that our exposure to this market ...

  • Nationwide calls for fairer financial services

    8 Jan 2003

    Nationwide Building Society is calling on the Government and FSA to take action to make UK financial services fairer and more transparent.

  • NatWest launches range of self-cert mortgages

    14 Jan 2003

    NatWest Bank is launching a range of five self-certification mortgages to be sold through intermediaries saying it is one of the first of the major high street banks to cater for this market. Rates start at 4.65 per cent and are available on a loan to value up to 85 per cent and there are both fixed and discountrd products available. NatWest is targeting self-employed people and employed borrowers with irregular incomes, multiple jobs and contract workers.

  • NatWest launches range of self-cert mortgages

    14 Jan 2003

    NatWest Bank is launching a range of five self-certification mortgages to be sold through intermediaries saying it is one of the first of the major high street banks to cater for this market. Rates start at 4.65 per cent and are available on a loan to value up to 85 per cent and there are both fixed and discountrd products available. NatWest is targeting self-employed people and employed borrowers with irregular incomes, multiple jobs and contract workers.

  • NDF bond goes for simplicity

    14 Jan 2003

    NDF Administration has established the protected income & growth plan 1, a guaranteed equity bond that enables investors to invest for income or growth.The bond provides annual income of 6 per cent or monthly income of 0.46 per cent for five years. There is also a growth option of 35 per cent after the full term of five years and two months. Investors will get a full capital return unless the FTSE 100 falls by more than 50 per cent during the term without recovering to its initial ...

  • Neptune Investment Management - Neptune US Opportunities Fund

    14 Jan 2003

    Tuesday, 14 January 2003Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in US equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: 100% in US equitiesIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1.6%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal subject to negotiationTel: 020 8323 8023

  • New Star Investment Funds - Managed Distribution Fund

    14 Jan 2003

    Tuesday, 14 January 2003Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in bonds and equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £100Investment split: Bonds 65%, equities 35%Isa link: YesPep transfers: YesYield: 5% net a yearCharges: Initial 5%, annual 1.25%Special offer: Initial charge reduced from 5% to 4% Offer period: Until February 28, 2003Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: ...

  • Newcastle brings out third property bond

    13 Jan 2003

    Newcastle Building Society has brought out the third issue of its guaranteed property bond.The bond works in a similar way to guaranteed equity bonds that are linked to stockmarket indices, but it is linked to the performance of the Halifax House Price Index for five years.To calculate the final returns, the level of the House Price Index is recorded at the start of the term and again at the end. The bond offers up to 100 per cent of any rise in the index and guarantees ...

  • No map to close the gap

    9 Jan 2003

    It came as no surprise when the Pensions Green Paper failed to deal with the interface between state and private provision. With the pension credit preparing to take its first steps, an overhaul of means-testing was never going to be on the cards. But although moving away from means-testing was never likely to happen, IFAs and providers have been disappointed that there is nothing in the Green Paper to bring new savers into what Alan Pickering described as the pension ...

  • Open the Green portal

    9 Jan 2003

    It was possible to read the long awaited Pensions Green Paper and skate over an important announcement on page 43 to an Online Retirement Planner and an aim to launch such a service in 2004. This is a massive opportunity for the adviser community to demonstrate how it can help people in pension planning and the Government in addressing the demographic timebomb. The aim of the service is to enable individuals to access a collective view of the value of all their ...

  • Out of context

    9 Jan 2003

    •"You just shut your eyes and bite the burger." - Fidelity executive director Paul Kafka in McDonalds •"I wish I had the gestation period of a hamster - it's only six weeks long." - Lansons PR Laura Cronin on the fifth month of her pregnancy •"It is always difficult to play twister with the big one." - Prudential head of media relations James Murray recounts a hard day at the office with colleague Paul Keeble •All the men looked like models. ...

  • Outside edge

    9 Jan 2003

    When the ABI announced the introduction of the Raising Standards initiative, my concerns were threefold. First, as I understand it, Raising Standards is solely a life office project that purports to represent the long-term savings industry. This is wholly inappropriate as many long-term savings products are offered by asset management groups and other types of business, including banks. This life office focus is typical of the arrogance of a sector that seems to ...

  • Papering over cracks

    9 Jan 2003

    "The Government is announcing a radical overhaul of pension policy. Ministers acknowledge that the current system is too complex for people to understand and has lost legitimacy. Individuals no longer trust financial providers, feel let down by employers and have lost faith in the state. "Pensioner poverty has not declined under this Government. We recognise that it is time to reconsider our strategy. We intend a dramatic simplification of the state pension system ...

  • Pegrum heads high-risk fund as Insight bids to be major player

    9 Jan 2003

    Insight Investment is bolstering its bid to become a major player in the UK retail market with an aggressive, high-risk fund for star manager Neil Pegrum. The UK dynamic fund, which opens next week, will be a multi-cap fund holding a highly concentrated portfolio of between 25-40 undervalued stocks. It will be benchmarked to the FTSE All-Share index and seek long-term capital growth through investing in stocks in any UK sector. The fund differs considerably ...

  • Personal pension choice from AIG Life

    14 Jan 2003

    AIG Life - Personal PensionType: Individual personal pension Minimum premium: Lump sum £3,500 Minimum-maximum ages: From birth - 74 Fund links: Choice of 15 funds from AIG Life, Aberdeen Asset Management, ABN Amro, Artemis, Barings, Cazenove, Credit Suisse, DWS, Exeter Fund Managers, First State, Fidelity, Framlington, Gartmore, Global Asset Management, Henderson, Invesco, Investec, JPMorgan Asset Management, Jupiter, Legg Mason, Liontrust, Merrill ...

  • Product matters

    9 Jan 2003

    With the end of the tax year fast approaching, this is the time when investment houses pull out all the stops to bring exciting new funds to the table. This season will be no exception but what we will see is a bias towards the more cautious end of the market. The balance between equities and bonds is essential in providing a more robust investment strategy that includes diversification across different asset classes. New Star's distribution fund offers a ...

  • Public divided over future of house prices

    9 Jan 2003

    The public are split on prospects for the property market, with 53 per cent saying they expect prices to increase significantly this year but 47 per cent saying prices will stabilise or fall, according to the Woolwich. The company's survey of 1,000 people in December found that warnings from analysts of a slowdown in prices has not adversely affected the majority of consumers' attitudes about the outlook for the market this year. But the Woolwich says there ...

  • Put your views on pension plans

    9 Jan 2003

    The Pensions Green Paper proposes the most radical shake-up to tax and other rules governing pensions for many years and will affect the advice you should be giving immediately. On February 6, Taxbriefs is holding a Sofa-sponsored conference in London on the ramifications of the review. Speakers will include Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith and the leader of the Inland Revenue's Pension simplification review team Peter Hopkins. Money ...

  • Radical Revenue clears the way

    9 Jan 2003

    So we have finally got sight of the long-awaited Pensions Green Paper and, crucially, the results of the review undertaken by the Inland Revenue. The Green Paper contained few surprises, with most of it having been trailed in advance, but the Revenue review is very helpful and should lead to simplification if implemented. We should remember that these are only proposals and are subject to change through the consultation process. The problem I have with this stuff ...

  • Rates on hold at 4 per cent again

    9 Jan 2003

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep interest rates at 4 per cent for the 14th month in a row.The move comes despite increasing pressure from employer groups and unions on the Bank to cut rates to stimulate the UK economy.

  • Raymond James targets IFAs

    9 Jan 2003

    Online stockbroker Raymond James Investment Services has created a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) which enables advisers to establish and manage their clients portfolios online.

  • Remortgages keep the market buoyant

    9 Jan 2003

    The housing market stayed buoyant in November last year, with gross lending leaping to £20.5bn from £15.3bn at the same time in 2001, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. But the figures show a fall from £21bn in October and the CML says the strong market was maintained by high levels of remortgaging. Remortgaging in November reached £8.5bn, accounting for more than two-fifths of all lending, almost double the ...

  • Revenue in move to plug tax loophole

    9 Jan 2003

    The ABI is to meet the Inland Revenue after it announced the closure of a tax loophole which enabled some life companies to trigger losses for tax purposes. Experts say that traditional with-profits life offices and those which have recently demutualised will be hit hardest by the proposals. The Revenue says its proposed package will deal with anomalies which are allowing a small number of companies to pay much less tax than others by offsetting investment losses ...

  • Revenue review sparks fears over trustees

    9 Jan 2003

    The threat to Sipps and SSASs in the Inland Revenue pension taxation review could spell the end for much of the work carried out by pensioner trustees, pension experts are warning. Advisers' concerns have been raised by a paragraph in the review that says SSASs and Sipps will have to adopt the same prudential investment approaches as all other pension schemes. It goes on to single out SSASs as being used for tax-efficiency purposes rather than securing retirement ...

  • Ringing endorsement

    9 Jan 2003

    Most healthy growing businesses operate with a relatively high degree of proactivity. By this, I mean they are not depending on requests for goods or services from existing customers but generating business from existing customers and developing new customer relationships. Doing more business with existing customers is properly regarded by most businesses - and financial services is no exception - as the most effective source of new revenues. After all, once you ...

  • ScotEqu Intl cutting Luxemburg staff

    8 Jan 2003

    Scottish Equitable International is set to reduce its headcount at its Luxemburg offices by half by the end of year. It currently employs around 100 people, and says it won't renew short term contracts and will look to make voluntary redundancies.  

  • Scottish Mutual closes WP door

    9 Jan 2003

    Scottish Mutual has finally closed the door on all with-profits. The news follows the company's decision to offer a modern Sandler-style smooth managed fund, as revealed by Money Marketing in October. Parent company Abbey National pumped £575m into its life subsidiary last year. However, ScotMut will still accept increments for existing life and pension with-profits policyholders and new section 32 contracts will be accepted until the end of March. The ...

  • Simply Biz recruits over 50 firms in first month

    9 Jan 2003

    Simply Biz, the service provider established by DBS founder Ken Davy, has recruited more than 50 firms comprising over 130 RIs in its first month of business. The new recruits range from IFA firms which are directly regulated to advisers who were formerly tied agents as well as IFAs who have left their existing networks to join Simply Biz. The Huddersfield firm is holding a series of introductory seminars throughout the country. Davy says he is confident that ...

  • Slight fall in number of credit-impaired says Datamonitor

    10 Jan 2003

    The number of credit impaired individuals fell to 7.8m in 2002 from 7.9m in 2001 according to research from market analyst Datamonitor.

  • SVM Asset Management joins Cofunds

    13 Jan 2003

    Fund manager SVM Asset Management has joined fund supermarket Cofunds as part of its continued strategy at enhancing its IFA distribution.

  • Talkback

    9 Jan 2003

    "Yes. If you keep communicating to your clients and let them know there are opportunities out there, there is business to be done." David Stewart, Brynford Investments "It is debatable. I think pension business will not but investments will. Mortgages and insurance will stay the same." John Abson, Norwood Lake Independent Financial Services "No. I think we are in for a very tough year because of apathy, perceived poor performance of the stockmarkets, ...

  • The £100,000 question

    9 Jan 2003

    A married couple aged 61 and 65, who are basic-rate taxpayers with a cautious to moderate approach to risk, are looking to generate a reasonable level of income from their life's savings of £100,000. How should they go about this? Against a backdrop of tumbling stockmarkets, most income investors prefer to sit on their hands and do nothing. But with interest rates at a 40-year low, anyone getting more than 3 per cent net from their savings account ...

  • The Diary's mother...

    9 Jan 2003

    The Diary's mother always said "never trust a man with a beard" and now we know why. No this is not a picture of Whitechurch Securities chief executive Kean Seager in a mid-1980s beardie moment, rather the proto-type of the new breed of lighter-touch salesmen. The Diary understands the plan is for all second-tier advisers to sport a Sandler beard if they are selling Sandler products.

  • They've got our number on laundering

    9 Jan 2003

    Since having to obtain identification for most clients since 1994 and for everyone since September 1, I do wonder how much money laundering and associated crime our efforts (that is all advisers)has prevented over the last eight to nine years. I have not seen any statistics, either PIA/FSA or Governmental since, but we are nevertheless expected to act as unpaid civil servants in this respect. If we do not now "whistleblow" on any suspected cases or clients, ...

  • Two new products for L&G mortgage club

    13 Jan 2003

    Legal & General is offering new discount and fixed rate mortgage products through its Mortgage Club.

  • Verity's view

    9 Jan 2003

    When Ludwig Wittgenstein completed his first major work, his new publisher wanted to know what to tell the reviewers and was desperately keen to find out what it was all about. To his utter dismay, the 20th Century's greatest philosopher replied that what was really interesting about his ground-breaking study of the nature of meaning was - "what it doesn't say". It was a bit like that with the Pensions Green Paper. The two issues which are now blindingly obvious ...

  • Warnings of backlash on multi-manager fees

    9 Jan 2003

    Fund-of-funds providers could face resistance from investors if they continue to hit them with costly and obscure charges in falling stockmarket conditions, IFAs claim. Research conducted for Money Marketing reveals that third-party fund manager fees and attributable expenses continue to raise total expense ratios for many multi-managers to between 2.5 and 3 per cent a year. The worst offender is Artemis, which charges investors in its portfolio balanced fund ...

  • Wentworth Rose opens new office

    8 Jan 2003

    Wentworth Rose is to open a new office in Chester to offer advice to the clients of HS Adminstration Services, a fellow Aegon company. HS administers final salary and money purchase scheme for blue-chip companies, and clients will now have access to the expertise of Wentworth Rose. 

  • Woolwich and Nationwide increase proc fees through Mortgage 2000

    10 Jan 2003

    Mortgage 2000 mortgage club is offering higher procuration fees to brokers placing mortgages with Nationwide Building Society and Woolwich bank.From Nationwide, advisers will receive 0.3 per cent of the mortgage advance, with a minimum payment of £150 on all cases.They will receive 0.3 per cent of the mortgage advance on standard, Open Plan and buy to let products from Woolwich and 0.5 per cent on their offset products.

  • Worst year for pension funds since 1974

    14 Jan 2003

    The value of company pension funds fell by 14 per cent in 2002, the worst single year's fall since 1974, according to a survey of two thirds of occupational schemes by WM Company, a division of Deutsche Bank. The value of pension scheme funds has now fallen by 24.6 per cent over the last three years, the first time values have fallen for three years in a row since 1974.

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