Money Marketing
9 June 2004

  • Royal London to close face-to-face operation

    9 Jun 2004

    Royal London has announced its intention to withdraw from face-to-face selling. This would mean approximately 50 redundancies at the Wilmslow office and 330 around the rest of the country if it is decided to proceed with closure after consultation with employees.Royal London says the announcement will not affect Scottish Life, Bright Grey and Royal London Asset Management.Group chief executive Mike Yardley says: "For Royal London, the economics of face-to-face advice through ...

  • 'New loan networks facing a cash crisis'

    10 Jun 2004

    Mortgage networks looking to grow quickly and sell on their businesses to IFAs after depolarisation could face serious financial problems, warn leading industry experts. Mortgage Intelligence managing director Sally Laker fears that new mortgage networks pulling in members with low membership fees are not looking carefully enough at their long-term costs. She says she is concerned that a number of new mortgage propositions hoping to sell up quickly following the onset ...

  • 'Simplistic' CA report is slammed by Lifesearch

    10 Jun 2004

    Protection specialist Lifesearch has attacked the Consumers' Association's report on protection advice, saying it oversimplifies the product area which could lead to consumer detriment. Last week, the CA magazine Which? published a damning report about the quality of protection advice available on the high street, concluding that only one out of 39 advisers gave appropriate advice when mystery-shopped. But Lifesearch warns of the dangers of offering simplistic solutions ...

  • 'Switch to DC is set to rebound on employers'

    10 Jun 2004

    Employers will suffer a fallout from the switch to defined-contribution pension schemes when today's workers find out they have not saved enough to retire, says Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow. Research by the employee benefits consultancy shows only 3 per cent of employers think DC members have a good understanding of the funding levels needed to build sufficient retirement savings. The survey of over 250 organisations and nearly 500 schemes shows the average contribution ...

  • A ding-dong for Europe

    10 Jun 2004

    For students of the European Union and its impact on financial services, there is much to keep them amused. One particular issue that we have been tracking is the EU savings directive. This is due to take effect from January 1, 2005 and will apply to all EU member states, certain dependent and associated territories of member states, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and adhering third countries such as Switzerland. As a reminder, the broad objective ...

  • AAM private equity team to go it alone

    9 Jun 2004

    Aberdeen Asset Management's private equity team is poised to leave the group, taking £150-200m of fund contracts with them, according to sources. The team - which joined AAM after it acquired Murray Johnstone - is planning to set up its own business, which is likely to include the management contracts it runs for Murray venture capital trusts and some institutional investors. AAM is understood to be considering taking a stake in the new company.

  • Abbey introduces fast-track service

    14 Jun 2004

    Abbey for Intermediaries has introduced a fast track process for low risk customers borrowing less than 60 per cent LTV and less than £500,000.The deal applies to both employed and self-employed borrowers and is part of a new flexible lending policy based on affordability.Abbey says the changes have been made in line with the new FSA mortgage guidelines and in anticipation of future trends.Employed borrowers with clean credit records have to submit no documentation ...

  • Abbey introduces home buyer solution

    15 Jun 2004

    Abbey is introducing a Home Buyer Solution, a package of benefits to help buyers with the cost of moving.It allows first time buyers and home movers to take advantage of free valuation and legal fees. A similar benefits packages is available to remortgage customers.Abbey has also introduced a low-rate variable tracker mortgage offering a discount of 0.31 per cent off the Bank of England base rate.The new tracker rates and benefits packages are part of a number of ...

  • ABI agreement over GP payments

    9 Jun 2004

    The ABI has reached an agreement with the BMA on the level of payments to GPs who complete medical reports for insurance purposes. From July 1, the fee for completion of a report will rise to £65 from £60. The fee for a supplementary report will rise to £16.50 from £15.75 and a medical examination carried out by a patient's GP will cost £71, up by £5.

  • AIG manages the multi way

    10 Jun 2004

    AIG LIFEMANAGED INCOME MULTI_MANAGER FUND OF FUNDSType: Unit-linked fund of fundsAim: Income and growth by investing in bond funds, property funds and equity income fundsMinimum investment: Lump sum £500Investment split: 39.2% UK corporate bond funds, 18% UK equity income funds, 11.8% UK high yield bond funds, 12% property funds, 13% global bond funds, 6% UK gilt fundsCharges: Annual 0.15%, performance fee up ...

  • Alliance & Leicester International - Capital Guaranteed Growth Bond

    15 Jun 2004

    Type: Offshore guaranteed equity bondAim: Growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £5,000-£1mPlace of registration: Isle of ManTerm: Five years and six monthsGuarantee: Original capital returned in full plus 25% growth regardless of performance of indexReturn: The higher of 25% of initial investment or 70% growth in FTSE 100 indexClosing date: July ...

  • Atlantic pools film and tv projects

    14 Jun 2004

    Kreis Consulting is promoting the Atlantic Media Production EIS, an enterprise investment scheme that invests in the production and distribution of films and television programmes.The company intends to raise up to £5m and will take a portfolio approach to investments. It will typically invest in 15 per cent of the overall budget of each production in return for a share of profits, copyright, producer fees and exploitation rights. Productions will only be considered if they ...

  • Bank fined after credit limits were breached

    10 Jun 2004

    Private bank Leopold Joseph & Sons has been fined £85,000 by the FSA for serious failings in monitoring credit limits. The bank, based in London and Guernsey, failed to undertake improvements to its credit limit monitoring systems after an FSA visit in 1999, which led to a client's credit limit for foreign exchange transactions being exceeded by more than five times. This breach of credit limits, which was dealt with by senior management over a three-year ...

  • Bank of England raises base rate by 0.25 per cent

    10 Jun 2004

    The Bank of England monetary policy committee today voted to raise the base rate by 0.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent.The MPC says that inflationary pressures are likely to continue building and that a rise of 0.25 per cent was necessary to keep inflation on track to meet the 2 per cent target in the medium term.The previous change in interest rates was an increase of 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 per cent on May 6.The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am ...

  • Bank of England warns of property crash

    15 Jun 2004

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned Britons buying a home to be wary of a possible housing market crash.Speaking to the Scottish CBI King said the rise in house prices over the past five years had taken the ratio of house prices to earnings to new record levels, unsustainable in the long-term.King said: "After the hectic pace of price rises over the past year, it is clear the chances of falls in house prices are greater than they were. So anyone entering or ...

  • Batten looks to entrepreneur award final

    10 Jun 2004

    IFA business Group 300 chief executive Chris Batten is through to the reg-ional finals of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award. Batten has passed the first three stages of the nomination process and is waiting to see whether he will be selected for the national final in London. He has provided award judges with a full report of his achievements to date along with a full analysis of Group 300. The judging criteria included growth in turn-over, ...

  • Be logical

    10 Jun 2004

    What differentiates an investor from someone who chooses to spend all his disposable income? Available wealth aside, a willingness to plan for the future and an ability to take a long-term view are key factors. Investing requires a cool head and careful consideration of the choices on offer. Periodically, investors need to review their financial plans and consider whether existing plans and investment choices continue to be appropriate. Personal circumstances change, ...

  • Boomers' moves may cause havoc for FTBs

    10 Jun 2004

    Baby boomers who hope to use their homes to form part of their pension by downsizing could unleash housing havoc on the market, according to Prudential. Its report, entitled, Equity Release in the UK, suggests that four million homeowners are relying on property to boost their retirement income which is predicted to suffer a shortfall of £70,000 per person. The baby boom generation, aged between 50 and 60, currently holds almost £570bn in home equity. The report ...

  • Browser warning for IFAs over complaint returns

    10 Jun 2004

    IFAs trying to complete their complaints returns online have been told by the FSA not to use one of the UK's most popular internet browsers because it is not compatible with its system. Under the regulator's new reporting requirements, IFAs have to report the number of complaints they get from customers every six months. Logging on to the FSA website to do this will be mandatory in 2005. Some advisers using the AOL internet browser trying to log complaints online ...

  • BSA says dormant account assets are only about £22m

    10 Jun 2004

    The Building Societies' Association says the money left in dormant society accounts bears little relation to the billions that the Government is looking to retrieve. Budget proposals to force societies and banks to hand over cash in dormant accounts to charity has provoked a row between the Treasury and the BSA. In an effort to justify its opposition to the proposals, the BSA is "working backwards" to illustrate its status with relevant facts and figures. It is calling ...

  • Cazenove Fund Management - Cazenove European Equity (Ex UK) Fund

    15 Jun 2004

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in European equities excluding the UKMinimum investment: Euros 5,000Investment split:100% in European equities excluding the UKPlace of registration: DublinCharges: Initial 3.5%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0800 0159592

  • Clerical scraps pension charge

    10 Jun 2004

    Clerical Medical is axing the 1 per cent charge on stakeholder and personal pensions. In a move to increase interest in the products, Clerical will give 100 per cent allocation on single premiums of £3,000 or more invested into a stakeholder or personal pension that has at least five years to go before maturity. The offer will be available for new investors for three months from June 1. Clerical Medical concedes there has not been a fast take-up of the products ...

  • Clydesdale's link with Charcol pays off

    10 Jun 2004

    Charcol is piloting Clydesdale Bank's re-entry into the intermediary market and is hailing the partnership as a success. Two fixed-rate remortgage deals were offered in April at 4.49 per cent and 4.69 per cent and these have now been replaced with rates of 4.89 per cent and 4.99 per cent. Charcol technical director Ray Boulger says the lender opted for a quiet launch rather than being faced with a demand it could not cope with. Clydesdale spokesman Gareth ...

  • Commission conundrum

    10 Jun 2004

    Is commission drinking in the last chance saloon? That is the view of Aifa's director general Paul Smee. He has warned advisers that a failure to embrace the new payment menu could see politicians putting pressure on the FSA for a clampdown. It is clear that the Treasury select committee has wreaked a lot of reputational damage on the advice industry and this is long before any published report on restoring confidence in long-term savings. On what might be called another ...

  • Conservative Party reshuffle

    15 Jun 2004

    Conservative Party Leader has moved to reorganise his frontbench ahead of Labour and the next general election. As part of the reshuffle David Willetts's portfolio is being split into two. He previously combined the job of Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with the role of Head of Policy Co-ordination. Willetts remains in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. David Cameron is the new Head of Policy Co-ordination, reporting ...

  • Consumer panel adds two new members

    15 Jun 2004

    The FSA has appointed two new members to the Financial Services Consumer Panel. Citizens Advice generalist adviser Carol Stewart joined the panel June 1 and Mail on Sunday journalist Tony Hetherington joins January 1 2005. FSA chairman Callum McCarthy welcomed the two new members and said the panel will continue to act as a strong, independent consumer voice.

  • Correspondent's Week

    10 Jun 2004

    Monday is spent lying in the sun, drinking large jugs of Pimms with friends and generally putting the world to rights. Not my usual Monday activity, unfortunately, but it is a bank holiday after all. The following day, it is back to reality. I start by writing up an interview I did the previous week with the Metro Investment Club for my regular investment club slot in The Daily Telegraph. The club actually go and visit all the companies they invest in, so I arrange a photo of ...

  • Diva dances among hedge funds

    15 Jun 2004

    Premier Fund Managers has established a capital-protected product linked to a fund of hedge funds during a five-year term.The Premier Diva Growth Plan provides 70 per cent of any growth in the Barclays Global Investors Diversified Alpha Fund 1 during the term. Investors will also get their original capital back regardless of the performance of the underlying investments.The underlying fund is an institutional fund which aims to deliver returns of between 4 per cent and ...

  • Divorce Bureau offers franchise deal to IFAs

    10 Jun 2004

    Wolverhampton firm Alexander James is developing a business that generates relationships with solicitors for IFAs. The firm is looking to franchise its Divorce Bureau operation to IFAs wanting to build up relationships with solicitors. The Divorce Bureau enables IFAs to establish professional relationships with solicitors by referring advisers' clients who are going through divorce to law firms. Alexander James says giving solicitors new business leads establishes ...

  • Eire scheme aims to sidestep annuity purchase

    10 Jun 2004

    An Irish firm is marketing a plan that allows big pension funds to be unlocked where an individual becomes a member of an occupational scheme in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin firm Business & Financial Planning is charging £35,000 for arranging transfers of UK pension funds to Irish schemes under an agreement between the two countries, which can be unravelled without buying an annuity. After transfer from the UK, the entire fund can be accessed from the Irish ...

  • EU probes member states on viability of Sandler-style plans

    10 Jun 2004

    The European Commission has launched a survey looking at the viability of introducing lighter-touch regul-ation along the lines of the Sandler suite of products to other member states. The Sandler review concluded in 2002 that there is a need to define a series of safer and easier to understand financial products which would be subject to a streamlined system of sales regulation. The EU's survey aims to determine whether the other 14 member states have also identified ...

  • Fat chance

    10 Jun 2004

    For those of you out there who thought IFAs were a healthy bunch of individuals - think again. The Diary has evidence to the contrary. At a recent health conference, Framlington kindly offered IFAs the chance to take a cholesterol test and came up with the worrying statistic that 28 per cent have cholesterol issues. But, never fear, Framlington reliably informs the Diary that patients will soon be able to buy cholesterol-reducing drugs in pharmacies. IFAs take ...

  • Fidelity tops choice on fund firms

    10 Jun 2004

    Fidelity leads the fund firms for multi-ties, with 58 per cent of IFAs including the company among their top four choices. In a bid to consolidate its position among IFAs, Fid-elity is offering cash incentive for advisers re-registering existing holdings on its platform FundsNetwork. Jupiter is placed second in the poll with 42 per cent and Invesco is third on 36 per cent, with New Star fourth on 26 per cent. Skandia again performs well, taking fifth with 21 per cent. ...

  • First Active steps in with mortgages for intermediary sector

    10 Jun 2004

    Royal Bank of Scotland's Irish subsidiary First Active is moving into the UK intermediary market with two mortgages. It is offering a two-year discount and a five-year stepped loan. The discount features a rate of 4.04 per cent until 2006, reverting to Bank of England base rate plus 0.69 per cent. The five-year stepped mortgage starts at 3.14 per cent for the first year, moving to 4.44 per cent in the second year, 5.24 per cent in the third, 5.74 per cent in the fourth ...

  • First outsider for 30 years joins Standard Life board

    10 Jun 2004

    Standard Life has appointed Trevor Matthews as chief executive of its life and pension business - the first external appointment to the board for more than 30 years. Keith Skeoch becomes chief executive of Standard Life Investments, a post he has been looking after since Sandy Crombie was appointed Standard Life group chief executive in January. Matthews joins the company on July 1 from Manulife in Japan where he is president and chief executive. Matthews, 52, has worked ...

  • Foot faulted

    10 Jun 2004

    The Diary was saddened to hear that Henry Digby, director of fund management group iimia, was confined to quarters recently because of an outbreak of foot and mouth. He is not the sufferer, apparently…but what about foot in mouth? The Diary hadn't the heart to ask.

  • Friends adds four fund links for its portfolio bond

    10 Jun 2004

    Friends Provident is adding four fund links to its investment portfolio bond to offer intermediaries more choice. The links are three new Isis multi-manager funds, which are risk-graded as balanced, distribution and cautious and are managed by Richard Philbin, and the Investec managed distribution fund, a new Oeic run by Alastair Mundy's team. Friends already offers 50 funds managed by Isis Asset Management and seven other fund management groups through its multi manager ...

  • FSA appoints investigator into BBB subsidiary wind-up

    11 Jun 2004

    The FSA has appointed an internal investigator to look into Berkeley Berry Birch's winding-up of its Berry Birch & Noble Financial Services subsidiary.In April BBB announced that the FSA was to review the winding-up of BBNFS, which has left potential future liabilities to be met by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.A statement from BBB says: "The FSA has appointed investigators. They have informed us that the appointment of investigators does not mean they have ...

  • FSA could scrap projections

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA may be backing away from setting recommended projection rates, with a discussion paper due in July to pose the question whether this is the regulator's role. A review of projection rates was announced last June after a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers drew attention to the uncertainties inherent in any projections of investment growth, suggesting that a more sophisticated approach to setting rates could be helpful. Now Money Marketing understands from sources ...

  • FSA fines Scotts Private Client Services for serious failings

    14 Jun 2004

    Scotts Private Client Services has been fined £25,000 by the FSA for serious failings. Scotts introduced £6.7m of investors' funds into an unauthorised and apparently unlawful investment scheme operated by Nottingham accountants Dobb White & Co which has subsequently been subject to separate insolvency action by the FSA.The FSA says it would have imposed a much more substantial financial penalty were it not for Scotts' very limited financial resources and the ...

  • FSA looking to speed up two-year enforcement process

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA is considering how it can speed up its enforcement procedure against firms. The procedure takes 18 months to two years and the FSA wants to speed this up to around a year. The enforcement process involves at least three possible stages of appeal, with considerable time given to the firm to make responses to any action taken by the FSA. For example, if the FSA's regulatory decisions committee decides there is a case against a firm, it issues a warning ...

  • FSA need to take more responsibility for the treatment of consumers

    11 Jun 2004

    The FSA should take more responsibility for the way consumers are treated according to the Financial Services Consumer Panel's annual report.The Consumer Panel argues that if consumer confidence in the industry is to improve, more simple information should be available in order for them to compare products and services, resist pressurised selling and misleading advertising and demand quality.Although the FSA has improved its systems to monitor and identify consumer risks ...

  • FSA sends out 2,300 MTA letters

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA has had 3,891 applications for authorisation from mortgage firms, 4,160 from the primary insurance market and 2,464 from the secondary insurance market. By May 31, 2,314 minded to authorise letters had been sent out by the FSA, 1,530 to mortgage firms, 691 to primary insurance and 93 to secondary insurance companies. A total of 1,320 variation of permission letters have been sent to FSA-supervised firms which applied to conduct mortgage or general insurance business ...

  • FSA should make financial services firms more responsible - FSCP

    14 Jun 2004

    The FSA should push financial services companies to take more responsibility for the way they treat consumers says the Financial Services Consumer Panel.In its Annual Report the FSCP calls on the industry and FSA to take more responsibility for the way that consumers are treated, if consumer confidence in the industry is to be improved.The FSCP wants the FSA to change the the role of commission, penalties for mis-selling, fining individual staff or consultants who misbehave, ...

  • Gartmore strengthens Fof range

    10 Jun 2004

    Gartmore plans to bolster its sparse fund of funds range later this year with up to five new core and high-alpha portfolios as it bids to break the hegemony of the major multi-managers. Despite recruiting Bambos Hambi and team last year, Gartmore still only offers one Fof, its £360m portfolio balanced strategy fund, which manager Marcus Brookes says is "not all things to all people". The new portfolios, due to be rolled out in the coming months, will plug gaps in ...

  • Genesis Home Loans - Minerals: Dolomite

    11 Jun 2004

    Type: Discounted-rate adverse credit mortgageDiscounted term: Until November 30, 2005Discount: 2%Payable rate: Full statues 5.5%,self-cert 6%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m full status, £500,000 self-certIncome multiples: Up to 3.5 times principal income plus second or three times jointConditions: Maximum £5,000 in ...

  • Govt rethink on money-purchase annuity

    9 Jun 2004

    The Government is expected to announce the removal of the obligation to buy a limited price index annuity for money purchase pensions as the Pensions Bill passes through the House of Lords. The amendment would simplify current rules which require some money purchase scheme members to buy up to three different annuities dependent on the way funds were accrued.

  • Green gauges

    10 Jun 2004

    Skandia Investment Management has become the fastest-growing investment group in the UK, with net retail sales of £228m in the first quarter of this year. This eclipsed every other company - Fidelity, Jupiter and Invesco included - except Halifax, with its huge distribution capability. What do you think has driven SIM's success? Does this signal a boom in multi-manager? Yearsley: I think there has been a move towards multi-manager and fund of fund investments in the last ...

  • Group 300 looks to sale or merger as it aims to raise up to £5m

    10 Jun 2004

    Group 300 has opened the door to a sale or mer-ger as it looks for around £3m-£5m in external funding. Chief executive Chris Batten says the company is keen to develop to the next level and that there are two ways to do this - either with a simple equ-ity investment or through a merger with "an exceptional business". Batten says Group 300 has been approached by Grant Thornton acting on behalf of a financial services institution interested in buying the company ...

  • Guidance on regulation of lifetime mortgages

    10 Jun 2004

    A guide to the regulation of lifetime mortgages is being published by compliance and marketing company Simply Lifetime. The guide, aimed at IFAs and distribution networks, anticipates the regulation of lifetime mortgages from October 31 and explains how the sales process will differ under the new FSA rules. It focuses on how suitable advice must be given. The brochure pinpoints several questions that Simply Lifetime says are essential to ensure suitable advice is given: •Wh

  • Halifax denies service claims Survey urges caution over WP balance sheets

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA's push towards realistic balance sheets for with-profits life offices is welcome but a degree of caution as to how the figures will be interpreted must be shown, according to The Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies. In a preliminary analysis of the top 20 with-profits life ins-urers' returns to the FSA, Cris, which is part of the Nottingham University Business School, says the realistic balance sheets "contain a more robust calculation of options and guarantees" ...

  • Halifax is lender choice despite admin problems

    10 Jun 2004

    Halifax wins the vote for lender multi-ties with 40 per cent while Nationwide is second with 36 per cent. IFAs were asked to list the four lenders they would be most likely to tie to. Abbey National is third on 31 per cent, Cheltenham & Gloucester fourth with 25 per cent, Northern Rock fifth on 15 per cent, Alliance & Leicester sixth on 9 per cent and Intelligent Finance seventh on fractionally less than 9 per cent. Woolwich is eighth on 9 per cent and The One Account ...

  • Hargreaves fined for failing to warn investors on zero

    10 Jun 2004

    Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management has been fined by the FSA for selling its Hargreaves Lansdown Secure Growth Portfolio for a period in 2001. The Secure Growth Portfolio was a specialist portfolio of zero dividend preference shares which HL closed over two years ago. A statement from the group said the FSA believes that HL was too slow to realise the correlation between falling stock markets with a corresponding impact on the risk profile of certain holdings in the portfolio ...

  • Headdon escapes lifetime ban

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA has stepped back from its threat to ban former Equitable Life chief executive and appointed actuary Chris Headdon for life and has banned him for six years. Headdon is now excluded from holding senior roles in financial services companies until May 2010. The move has been condemned by Equitable Members' Action Group chairman Paul Braithwaite who says Headdon should have been banned for life. Braithwaite says: "One million policyholders' retirement ...

  • History man picked as ZFS life chief executive

    10 Jun 2004

    Zurich Financial Services Group has appointed David Sims as chief executive of the UK life insurance business following Lawrence Churchill stepping down last month. Churchill had been in charge of ZFS UK, Ireland and international business for just 18 months after joining from Unum Provident in 2002. Since the management restructuring in May, chief executive of the global life insurance business Paul van de Geijn has been looking after the UK business. Sims has ...

  • IFAs determined to continue after loan regulation

    10 Jun 2004

    Regulation will not put off IFAs from doing mortgage business, according to the latest survey from George Street Research. It interviewed 211 IFAs in May in partnership with Money Marketing. The res-ults show that only 1 per cent of the 144 mortgage advisers interviewed are not planning to continue doing mortgage business after regulation. The FSA has sent out 1,082 variation of permission letters for mortgages or mixed business. In January, it estimated that 20,000 mortgage ...

  • IFP bids to win better PI deal for members

    10 Jun 2004

    The Institute of Financial Planning is trying to get a better deal for its members on professional indemnity insurance. Chief executive Nick Cann believes his members, who are all certified financial planners, are lower-risk than other IFA businesses as they have good audit trails, are mainly fee-based, which is broadly perceived as being a more transparent way to operate, and, as members of the IFP, are subject to an annual renewal of their CFP licence. He is meeting ...

  • Independent view - Nicholas Conyers

    10 Jun 2004

    The surge in tickets for the Lotto due for a triple rollover shows that with an attractive prospect in view there is no shortage of available funds. This can be compared with investor psychology where human nature is always looking for the maximum return for the minimum outlay and, of course, there should be no risk attached to any decision. Back in the real world, no investor can escape the reality of establishing the correct asset allocation for their portfolio and ...

  • Ingledew back to develop Barclays advice schemes

    10 Jun 2004

    Former Berkeley Berry Birch chief executive Steve Ingledew has resurfaced at Barclays Financial Planning following his departure from the listed IFA earlier this year. Ingledew will be commercial director of the financial planning division responsible for developing its advisory proposition on the independent and tied sides. He will report to Jim Reeves who, as Money Marketing reported in February, followed his former Zurich boss Ray Greenshields to the bank, becoming ...

  • Initial scepticism over plan to ban up-front payment

    10 Jun 2004

    With the spectre of misselling still dogging the industry - last year alone saw Allied Dunbar, Berkeley Jacobs, Deloitte & Touche, Chase de Vere, St James's Place, Lloyds TSB, Lincoln Assurance and Scottish Amicable hit with fines from the FSA - it is not surprising that IFAs are looking at ways to reduce the dangers they face. Firms are strengthening their compliance regimes and many are avoiding areas of advice considered to be high-risk but few have gone to the lengths ...

  • Inside Edge - David Copland

    10 Jun 2004

    In 1999, when we changed our name from Advance Mortgage Funding to Pink Home Loans, some in the mortgage industry referred to an expression used by my favourite tennis player John McEnroe: "You cannot be serious." But we have always been serious at Pink. Having started life as a packager in 1990 and not being a company to rest on its laurels, we realised there was a bigger game to play in mortgage distribution, so we launched the Pink Mortgage Club. At the end of 2003, ...

  • Insurers turn their backs on equities - ONS

    11 Jun 2004

    Ownership of British shares by life insurance companies has dipped to its lowest level since 1975 according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics. The ONS figures show that in 2003 life insurers reduced their holdings in shares to 17.3 per cent of the £1,368bn market.

  • Inter-Alliance and Millfield merger is on again

    10 Jun 2004

    Inter-Alliance and Millfield Group are likely to become a single entity within weeks after admitting they have reinitiated merger talks following the collapse of Inter-Alliance's proposed merger deal with Berkeley Berry Birch. Inter-Alliance and Millfield told the Stock Exchange this week that discussions were making good progress, with both camps believed to be keen to rubberstamp a deal which is likely to boost their fortunes significantly. Although talks between ...

  • Interdependence fined £125k for drawdown advice

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA has fined Tenet-owned network Interdep-endence £125,000 for what it calls "serious failings in the supervision of appointed representatives". The fine relates to income drawdown advice that Interdependence RIs were giving customers, recommending that they withdraw cash early from their pensions. The FSA heavily criticised the "ineffectiveness of the firm's systems and controls" for advice given between January 1996 and March 2002. Tenet bought ...

  • Investment trusts are banned from stakeholder CTF

    10 Jun 2004

    Parents opening a stakeholder child trust fund will not be able to use investment trusts but will be allowed to invest in unit trusts. The decision to exclude investment trusts has angered IFAs who believe investors should be able to choose the investments they believe will generate the best returns. Product providers in the CTF market will have to offer the 1.5 per cent capped stakeholder scheme which invests predominantly in equities. Firms can choose to offer ...

  • Investment view

    10 Jun 2004

    It takes a takeover battle to enliven an otherwise lacklustre market, particularly when the target sits squarely in the FTSE 100. Heaven knows, we need a bit of excitement. As we approach the end of the first half of 2004, little progress has been made in the markets. From my position on the sidelines, it looked as though this was unlikely to change swiftly but then with characters able to mount a multi-billion-pound bid at the drop of a hat, you should never take anything for granted. All ...

  • JOCHM Japan goes below surface

    14 Jun 2004

    JO HAMBRO CAPITAL MANAGEMENTJOHCM JAPAN FUNDType: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in Japanese equities Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000 Investment split: At least 25% in Japanese small caps, at least 50% in mid caps, remainder in large caps Place of registration: Dublin Charges:Initial up to 5%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5% Tel: 020 7747 5678The ...

  • Kenmir in challenge on charges

    10 Jun 2004

    It is not FSA policy to tell IFA firms how much they can charge in fees, according to FSA managing director David Kenmir, who says it is up to the market to determine what advisers can charge. In response to reports that an FSA supervisory visit had resulted in an IFA being told that £150 an hour was excessive, Kenmir invited the adviser to come forward so he could apologise to him on behalf of the regulator. If the adviser fails to, Kenmir says it could prove to be a case ...

  • L&G looks At opening up offshore operation

    10 Jun 2004

    Legal & General is rumoured to be planning the launch of an offshore life office offering an investment bond. L&G has had no offshore presence other than its structured products which are Dublin-based unit trusts. It is believed to be looking at an open-ended life wrapper although no details of where such a product would be domiciled are available. The company has not ruled out the launch of a new product later in the year although it says that a summer ...

  • Lacomp - British Enterprise EIS Fund 3

    10 Jun 2004

    Type: Enterprise investment scheme fundAim: Growth by investing in unquoted small and early stage companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £3,000Closing date: July 31, 2004Charges: Initial 2.5%, annual 1.5%Commission:Initial up to 4%, renewal 0.5% for first three yearsTel: 01726 475123

  • Lacomp eyes up companies for third EIS fund

    10 Jun 2004

    The Lacomp British Enterprise Fund 3 is an enterprise investment scheme fund that will invest in unquoted companies at an early stage of their development.Lacomp was founded in 1985 by Peter Buxtorf to provide discretionary portfolio services for an international client base. It has created a third EIS fund because investing in a single EIS carries greater risks. A portfolio of EISs may still be high risk but the presence of more than one company can dilute this. As the previous ...

  • Legal & General - Managed Bond Fund

    14 Jun 2004

    Type: Unit-linked fundAim: Income by investing in Legal & General's Fixed Interest Trust and High Income TrustMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000 via Legal & General's Investment BondInvestment split: 70% Fixed Interest Trust, 30% High Income FundCharges:Investment Bond establishment fee 0.5% a year for first five years, initial charge 1.25%-2.5% for investors age 75 and over, annual 1%Commission: Subject to ...

  • Lenders unsure of electronic reporting requirements

    14 Jun 2004

    Lenders are unsure of what they will be asked to do to comply with electronic reporting requirements according to Focus Solutions. Focus' s latest survey shows that 88 per cent of lenders feel their organisations are ready for mortgage regulation but when it came to mandatory electronic reporting 58 per cent of the respondents thought the biggest obstacle for being ready for MER would be not having the correct computer systems in place.

  • Lighthouse targets company pensions

    9 Jun 2004

    Aim-listed IFA Lighthouse Group is targeting the company pensions and benefits market with a new division called Lighthouse Corporate Benefits. 50 of the firms best qualified pensions advisers will work in the operation.

  • Lincolm Fund emerges through Delaware

    11 Jun 2004

    Lincoln Financial Group has created an emerging markets unit trust to be managed by Delaware International Advisers which manages Lincoln's Far East trust and emerging markets life and pension funds.The unit trust will be run along the same lines as the life and pension funds and will invest in a range of industrial sectors in countries such as South Africa, Brazil, China and India.Although Delaware employs a team approach to fund management, Bob Akester will take ultimate ...

  • Lincoln Financial Group - Lincoln Emerging Markets Trust

    14 Jun 2004

    Type: Unit trustAim: Growth by investing globally in emerging marketsMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £25Investment split: 100% in global emerging marketsIsa link: YesPep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 5.25%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0845 071 0200

  • Loan spirit in the Big Brother house

    10 Jun 2004

    The Diary has been watching Big Brother 5 with even less interest than usual after discovering that housemate Michelle Bass is a mortgage adviser. The 23-year-old Geordie apparently dismissed careers as a Tesco cashier and make-up artist before settling for a life in financial services. The MM team have used Michelle's presence in the house as an excuse to tune in and are waiting with bated breath for any insights into mortgage advising that she might divulge, as ...

  • Make the connection

    10 Jun 2004

    Lots of people have qualifications but what is it that makes a client leave the office thinking that he or she has been dealt with by a true professional? Last week, my wife and I attended a parents' evening at our son's school. His teacher started by apologising that we had only two minutes together. She then talked at us about how things had been going for him - a friendly boy who contributes to classroom discussions, good at maths and English, doing very well, thank you. ...

  • Make the people who misinformed pay for pensions

    10 Jun 2004

    Andrew Verity asked: "should Andrew Smith be praised or attacked for the dramatic last-minute amendment to the Pensions Bill?" (Money Marketing, May 27). He then goes on to say that he is politically neutral. It is a pity that people can't be neutral on pensions. In the same issue of Money Marketing, pension consultant Ros Altmann says the FSA should be held responsible and that they should pay compensation. That means that the insurance industry is once again going to have ...

  • Mark Lofthouse

    10 Jun 2004

    Mortgage Brain chief executive Mark Lofthouse is losing no time over the arrival of M-Day. The highly motivated 43-year-old is driving the mortgage-sourcing system to an FSA regulation end-date of "now" rather than the official October 31 date and he is confident that his company is meeting most of the challenges posed by the onset of regulation. He says the current challenges are distribution of the compliance-ready solution in the third quarter and training and educating customers ...

  • Massow makes IFA return with Falcon network

    10 Jun 2004

    One of the UK's best-known financial advisers Ivan Massow is returning to business as an IFA with the relaunch of his firm as Felix Financial. The six-RI firm is operating from London offices as part of Bristol-based IFA network the Falcon Group. Massow's previous IFA business, Ivan Massow IFA, was part of South Wales network Interlink which collapsed in March. Massow is retraining as an IFA after five years away from advising. He is taking exams and hopes ...

  • MCCB says smooth registration renewals pave way for M-Day

    10 Jun 2004

    The number of firms that have renewed their MCCB registration for the final period before M-Day suggests a seamless transition to FSA regulation, according to the MCCB. A total of 9,961 intermediary firms, responsible for 36,924 sales staff, have renewed their registrations for the last period of non-statutory regulation. In addition, 549 new firms have applied to join the register, making a total of 10,510 firms registered as of May 31. The figures are down on 11,300 ...

  • MGM in free membership deal on loans

    9 Jun 2004

    MGM Assurance is offering free network membership to brokers who can complete seven mortgages per month. If an agent sells fewer than seven mortgages in a month then a nominal fee of £50 is charged and trainee advisors are charged a fee of £100 per month.

  • Millfield launches online service

    9 Jun 2004

    Millfield Partnership is launching a web-based service that will allow users to apply online for advice The site will give users access to Millfield's products and services. Users applying online will produce leads for MPL advisers, boosting their income. The site will also offer a range of non-financial products which will include deals on mobiles and a range of communications services. Other products and services will be added in the coming weeks.Chief Executive ...

  • Mind the IFA gap

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA and the ABI are preparing for a new surge in mortgage endowment complaints, toughening up their rules for complaint handling and seeking to make successful complainants put any redress they get back into their shortfall. But many believe their actions will provide the momentum for the wave. The regulator and the ABI recently imposed time limits on endowment complaints, limiting policyholders to three years from their first red letter to complain in a bid to limit ...

  • Mortgage Edge - Sally Laker

    10 Jun 2004

    There has been much debate in the trade press over recent months about what intermediaries should be looking for in their ideal network during the build up to FSA regulation. Some of this is out-andout one-sided propaganda by network representatives with their own agenda while some is actually quite useful. I will try to avoid falling into the former camp by sharing some of my thoughts on the ideal network traits and then highlight how Mortgage Intelligence demonstrates these ...

  • Mortgage Intelligence offers free network membership

    14 Jun 2004

    Mortgage Intelligence has announced it is offering mortgage intermediaries free membership to its network.The offer applies until October 31 and applies to both its Spirit solution for appointed representatives and Vantage for directly authorised intermediaries. It will also include a free, face-to-face compliance health check for all new Vantage members.MI will also continue to offer Spirit and Vantage members Mortgage Brain or Trigold's sourcing system free of charge.MI ...

  • Mortgage network is working for us

    10 Jun 2004

    I would just like to add a few thoughts to the ongoing debate over whether mortgage intermediaries should become a network appointed representative or be directly regulated by the FSA. The chief arguments against network membership are that you will face a restricted choice of products, be forced into an inflexible compliance regime, and that you will lose control of your business and your client base. It is undoubtedly true that there are instances where this has proved ...

  • Multi mix

    10 Jun 2004

    Like it or not, depolarisation looks certain to become a reality in 2005. This begs a number of questions. What sort of technology proposition is likely to succeed in the multi-tie environment? How will depolarisation affect the take up of e-commerce? What requirements are providers likely to make of multi-tied advisers? This was a subject explored in some detail at a recent Adviser Forum meeting during a discussion on 2005 business and technology priorities. From these ...

  • Multi-ties could deliver a vital new business model

    10 Jun 2004

    It was of no surprise to read that 81 per cent of IFAs will not consider multi-tying after depolarisation, preferring to keep their independence (Money Marketing, May 20). Nonetheless, I would encourage IFAs to think more broadly about the possibilities that depolarisation brings,as it will undoubtedly benefit the vast majority without any significant changes to their current businesses or the breadth and depth of advice that they are able to provide their customers. The ...

  • Myra Kinghorn is first Pension Protection Fund chief executive

    15 Jun 2004

    Myra Kinghorn, currently a non-executive director of the Serious Fraud Office and a member of the OPRA Board, has been appointed chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund.Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith says: "The breadth of experience and expertise in the financial and pensions world that Myra brings to the PPF will be key to its success in improving security for pension scheme members."Kinghorn says: "I am delighted to accept this unique and ...

  • Nationwide bond pays fixed rate of 6%

    10 Jun 2004

    Nationwide is offering a two-year fixed-rate bond that pays 6 per cent on lump sum deposits up to a maximum of £5,000. Customers can take a monthly income option on Nationwide's member's summer bond that pays 5.8 per cent gross monthly. The product is only available to Nationwide members who have held a personal membership savings account, FlexAccount or Nationwide mortgage for three years or more. Only one account per member is allowed and the offer is not ...

  • Nationwide warns of price stagnation

    10 Jun 2004

    Nationwide is warning that there is growing potential for a drawn-out period of low activity and low price growth in the housing market. Its monthly house price index shows that prices rose by 1.9 per cent in May. The annual rise is 19.5 per cent. However, its forecast for the 12 months to December 2004 remains at 15 per cent, implying an average monthly rise of just 0.7 per cent for the remainder of the year. Group economist Alex Bannister expects a combination ...

  • Nature trail

    10 Jun 2004

    The interpretation of macro-economic, political and social issues or the analysis of company specific data - is one a more valuable approach to investment analysis than the other? This is like arguing over whether eating or drinking is a more effective means of survival - both are a necessary part of the process. What matters more is that the nature of the information most important to investment strategy has changed. Recent years have seen three significant developments: 1: ...

  • Networks urged to show united front over VAT

    10 Jun 2004

    Networks will have to work together to put their case to Customs and Excise on VAT or face being targeted individually, warns a leading tax expert. Financial Services Planning Consultancy consultant Graham Miller believes it will be crucial for the IFA industry to show a united front to Customs through trade bodies so a definitive approach can be adopted for businesses and retrospective action avoided. A move to force individual IFA networks to pay VAT on member charges ...

  • Nine firms declared in default by FSSC

    10 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared nine firms in default. The firms are Alexander Miller, formerly trading as Alex Miller Life & Pensions of Stamford; Terence Willison and Norris Kilby, formerly trading as Maywill Financial Services, of Birmingham; RE Hutt Independent Financial Advisers of Coventry, which is in liquidation; Carrington Financial Management, near Warrington; Kilbarrons of Cheshire; Nicholson Eastwood & Clark of Manchester; John Paul ...

  • NU and Standard take lead for life multi-ties

    10 Jun 2004

    Norwich Union and Standard Life would be the top two choices for IFAs multi-tying for life and pensions, according to The One Account/Money Marketing IFA State of the Nation poll. The survey shows that 81 per cent of IFAs would not consider multi-tying but participants were asked to list their top four life and pension firms if they were faced with a choice for multi-ties. Norwich Union tops the poll by featuring in 65 per cent of the lists. Standard Life, despite recent ...

  • NU takes top slot and Bright Grey wins place

    10 Jun 2004

    IFAs choose Norwich Union and Legal & General for their top protection multi-ties while Bright Grey has gained adviser recognition despite only being one year old. NU is placed on 59 per cent of respondents' top four lists, followed by Legal & General with 57 per cent. Friends Provident is third on 41 per cent, with Scottish Provident fourth on 30 per cent. Scottish Equitable is fifth with 21 per cent, Skandia sixth on 19 per cent, Standard Life seventh with 15 per ...

  • Number of housebuyers down

    15 Jun 2004

    The number of housebuyers on the books of estate agents fell by 13.6 per cent last month, according to figures released today by the National Association of Estate Agents.The NAEA's monthly survey of almost 10,000 agents also revealed that new applicant enquiries fell 24.1 per cent over the past three months, as homebuyers demonstrate an unwillingness to enter a housing market with an uncertain future.However, sales rose by 1.5 per cent on the previous month and 10.7 ...

  • Only 27,000 Irish stakeholder sales in first year

    10 Jun 2004

    Only 27,000 of Ireland's stakeholder-style pensions have been sold in the product's first year even though it allows a 5 per cent bid/offer spread plus a 1 per cent annual charge. Irish consumers are spurning the state-sponsored Personal Retirement Savings Account even though its charging structure is what many life offices see as the solution to tumbling pension sales in the UK. Premiums placed into Irish PRSAs in the year to March 2004 total just £41m. Next ...

  • Out of context

    10 Jun 2004

    •"I come from generations of tax inspectors. This is like a pilgrimage to the holy grail." - Ian Jefferies, head of investment marketing at Friends Provident, at a drinks reception at Somerset House, the Inland Revenue headquarters. •"It is casual dress tomorrow night so get your thongs on." - Lanson's PR Georgina Mills inviting an MM journalist to a preview of the new Harry Potter film. •"I am the only woman I know who reads this magazine." - Park Row ...

  • Performing zeal

    10 Jun 2004

    In February, the FSA issued a paper entitled Reforming polarisation: a menu for being open with consumers. The intention was to increase cost transparency in the retail investment market. Under the terms of the proposals, advisers will have to disclose commission or fees and provide a written guide to the cost of their services before entering any agreement with a retail investor. The guide must include disclosure of the services provided by the firm, the fee structure, commission ...

  • Pink Home Loans - BM Solutions QYX BBR + 2.69%

    10 Jun 2004

    Type: Adverse credit base rate tracker mortgageTracker term: Two yearsTracker rate: 2.69% above Bank of England base ratePayable rate: 6.94%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £150,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000, up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £350,000, up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum ...

  • Product Matters

    10 Jun 2004

    The C&G Offset Mortgage launched at the end of May has some attractive features. Daily interest is augmented by a facility for borrowing up to 95 per cent with no indemnity guarantee, no early redemption penalty and no valuation fee. If you are a new mortgage customer to C&G or Lloyds TSB, there is a £299 admin but this is waived for remortgage business. The product is launched as a lifetime tracker at 0.9 per cent above base rate, giving a current rate ...

  • Pru plans protection lifestyle quiz

    10 Jun 2004

    Prudential is believed to be placing a lifestyle questionnaire at the heart of its re-entry into the protection market after nearly a year's absence. Despite historically being a major protection player, its move last April to hike rates and remove guarantees on new and pipeline critical illness has left the Pru writing virtually no protection business. Its new proposition, which is in the final design stages and is set for launch in the third quarter of this year, ...

  • Reid all about it

    10 Jun 2004

    As depolarisation approaches, the clarity of offerings will emerge from the mist. It is this mist which has had the effect of softening some hard decisions and making some firms think that the menu will have a minor effect, almost tinkering or, if you like, a touch of the Ranieri. Recent articles on fee levels may have failed to emphasise the reason for the FSA's remarks but, nonetheless, this is one issue that we need to resolve ASAP. In recent weeks, many more individuals ...

  • Research pointing to strong growth for life sector

    10 Jun 2004

    The UK life market will grow by over £1.8bn in the next four years to around £5bn, according to research by Datamonitor. In the UK Life Assurance 2004 report, author Liz Hartley says growth will be fuelled by recovery in the stockmarkets and continued popularity of protection products. However, she warns that life companies will have to work hard to regain consumers' trust. Hartley's report indicates a revival of the with-profits market in 2006 ...

  • RSM Robson Rhodes launches study of economic crime

    11 Jun 2004

    RSM Robson Rhodes is teaming with the Fraud Advisory Panel and the police to launch a comprehensive study into the impact of economic crime on financial services.Financial institutions are being asked to participate in the study supported by the Home Office, on ways to curb economic crime which is estimated to cost financial services £10bn and the wider UK economy £14bn per year.The research hopes to provide insights into the impact of economic crime, its cost ...

  • Ruegg & Co - NCI Vehicle Rescue

    11 Jun 2004

    Type: Enterprise investment schemeAim: Growth by investing in a company providing vehicle breakdown and roadside assistance servicesMinimum investment: Lump sum:£1,200Closing date: July 9, 2004Charges: NoneCommission: Initial up to 5%Tel: 020 7584 3663

  • Savills goes up Junxion for BTL

    10 Jun 2004

    FPD Savills is offering a buy-to-let opportunity on student accommodation in Lincoln. The Junxion comprises 99 fully furnished city centre apartments with four to six en suite study bedrooms, communal living area and kitchen. The development will be sold on 199-year leases and can accommodate a total of 569 students. Prices range from £160,000 to £275,000 with projected gross rental returns of around 8 per cent and budgeted net returns of 6 per cent ...

  • Sayers to head FSSC

    10 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Skills Council has promoted Teresa Sayers to the post of chief executive. Sayers steps up from managing director, a role she has held since November after spells as the FSSC's director of research and development and acting chief executive. As MD, she was instrumental in developing the FSSC's bid for a licence from Education Secretary Charles Clarke, which allows it to work in partnership with employers and trade unions to provide leadership ...

  • Scottish Widows appoints IT director

    14 Jun 2004

    Scottish Widows has appointed Chris Torkington as its IT director, to start this summer. He will be responsible for directing and controlling Widows' IT division. He joins Widows from Rural Regeneration Cumbria, where he was the chief executive. Torkington set up the company, which now covers a programme of work worth £275m, in 2003. Prior to this, Chris was at Barclays as the group risks information systems director.

  • Scotts fined by FSA

    11 Jun 2004

    The FSA has fined Scotts Private Client Services Ltd £25,000 for serious failings which led to the firm introducing US $9.7m (£6.7m) of investors' funds into an authorised and apparently unlawful investment scheme.Between December 2001 and October 2002 Scotts failed to carry out adequate due diligence and introduced 34 investors to an investment scheme operated by Nottingham accountants Dobb White & Co, which has subsequently been subject to separate insolvency action ...

  • Skandia among multi-tie front runners

    10 Jun 2004

    Skandia figures strongly in the annual Money Marketing State of the Nation IFA Poll 2004 with the One Account, in which IFAs were asked which prov-iders they would consider for a multi-tie. Skandia is placed highly in the life & pension, investment and protection markets. Among life & pension pro-viders, Norwich Union tops the life and pension tables with 65 per cent of IFA votes. Standard Life is second with 55 per cent, Legal & General third with ...

  • Skandia grows with The flow

    10 Jun 2004

    A confidential industry report has revealed how fund groups are living or dying by their distribution strategies in the present sales environment. The report, which gives sales figures for the first quarter of this year, shows that the groups which are most committed to supporting IFAs are generally leapfrogging rivals with less clout in the sector. The biggest exponent of this is Skandia Investment Management, which has become the fastest-growing fund group in the UK with sales ...

  • Skills council backed over separate exams

    10 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Skills Council published its long-awaited exam review this week to unexpected approval from former critics of its proposals. Its move to provide a separate savings and investment paper has been applauded by the industry, which is also welcoming the introduction of exams for long-term care and lifetime mortgages. The skills council has also moved to close a loophole which could potentially have allowed big companies such as Legal & General and ...

  • Smee warning that payment menu is the last chance for commission

    10 Jun 2004

    Aifa director general Paul Smee is warning the industry that failure to embrace the spirit of the menu could see commission-based advice slipping away. Smee says if the industry does not use the opportunity of the menu to make commission more transparent then he believes the regulator will come back with more ideas beyond the control of the industry. He points out that the regulator has always been suspicious of commission and says the menu offers a means of giving commission ...

  • SMEs fail to appreciate financial advice

    14 Jun 2004

    Small and medium enterprises are not recognising the value of IFA advice, according to a report from Standard Life.Of 2,000 SMEs questioned only 39 per cent said an IFA's recommendation was critical when choosing a finance provider.Good customer service from the finance provider, an understanding of the business needs and the opportunity for face-to-face contact with the provider were all seen as more important to SMEs than IFA recommendation.Standard Life bank ...

  • Standard Life Investments boosts board

    14 Jun 2004

    Standard Life Investments has strengthened its board with the appointment of three executive directors.David Cumming, Jonny Maxwell and Rod Paris have been appointed to the board. The move follows the appointment of Keith Skeoch as chief executive of Standard Life Investments on June 3. Head of UK equities David Cumming joined Standard in 1998 having previously managed funds at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management. Jonny Maxwell became Standard Life Investments chief executive ...

  • Start protests against Europe

    10 Jun 2004

    Hundreds of financial advisers are threatened with closure by European regulations on professional indemnity insurance. However, a further European directive on PI cover is due in April 2006 and this promises a report on the appropriateness of the 2005 requirements. Paul Smee, of the Association of IFAs, is reported as saying: "Given this review, we will be pushing the FSA very strongly not to take precipitous action in advance of the review being completed." But a spokesman ...

  • Steady stream of industry staff joining the FSA

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA is employing more people from the industry now than it did at its inception in 2001. The recent appointment of Deloitte & Touche partner Kari Hale as director (finance strategy & risk division) and Hector Sants as managing director (wholesale and institutional markets) from Credit Suisse First Boston in March illustrates the FSA's general willingness and enthusiasm to bring in people from the industry. Spokesman Rob McIvor says people from the industry ...

  • Survey urges caution over WP balance sheets

    10 Jun 2004

    The FSA's push towards realistic balance sheets for with-profits life offices is welcome but a degree of caution as to how the figures will be interpreted must be shown, according to The Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies.In a preliminary analysis of the top 20 with-profits life ins-urers' returns to the FSA, Cris, which is part of the Nottingham University Business School, says the realistic balance sheets "contain a more robust calculation of options and guarantees" ...

  • Take the wind out of misseller's sales

    10 Jun 2004

    Public confidence in the financial services industry has reached an all-time low and yet the need for professional advice has never been greater. As more final-salary pension schemes close to new members and state retirement benefits continue to decline in real value, it is clear that people now have to take on much more responsibility for securing their future lifestyle. The past 20 years have seen an enormous change in the way that financial services are controlled. ...

  • Talkback

    10 Jun 2004

    "Absolutely. It would be great to have someone around to help us understand key issues, so we would know what is expected of us, know about deadlines and compliance - in plain English." Eileen Hogg,Hogg Financial Services "Yes. It will give us more of an insight into how the regulator works." Douglas Wilson,Douglas Wilson Financial Consultant "Yes definitely, I would encourage this." Carl Lamb,Almary Green Investments "Yes, this is a step in the right ...

  • Tenet boosts non-reg business with protection deal

    10 Jun 2004

    Tenet Group has bought non-regulated business Premier Connections for a mix of cash and shares. Southampton-based Premier Connections does health and protection business. Its network arm Premier Protection and its 2,500 non-regulated advisers are being bro- ught into Tenet but will continue to trade independently within the group. Tenet group chief executive Simon Hudson says the acquisition will significantly boost the non-reg arm of the business and go some way towards ...

  • Tenet tells members it is ready for flotation

    10 Jun 2004

    After two years of preparation, IFA group Tenet is telling its members that the company is in a strong position to go for a market listing. Chief executive Simon Hudson has contacted members of the 2,500-strong IFA group to tell them that the company has met its targets for listing and it expects to report a trading profit at the end of the year. In 2002, Tenet said it wanted the business to be capable of flotation by April 2004. There are currently eight listed ...

  • The pension paint pot

    10 Jun 2004

    I want to refurbish my offices completely.I assume the fact that my pension scheme owns the building does not cause any problem? The fact that your pension scheme owns the building does not cause a problem. What will, however, are the terms of your lease. As your business is a connected party to your pension scheme, you will have in place a formal lease which will govern the terms and conditions relating to any work undertaken at the property. I need to know ...

  • Tom Baigrie on protection

    10 Jun 2004

    I have recently been explaining to the industry why I believe regulation will eventually stop families protecting themselves and that execution-only protection sales are a problem the FSA should seek to address in the knowledge that it is the one part of our market it does not feel responsible for yet. As we speak to more than 2,000 consumers a week, we know that only a tiny percentage of them have ever heard of family income benefit and that only a minority understand the current ...

  • Try, try, Triton again

    10 Jun 2004

    The Diary hears that naming Abbey's racing yacht proved to be far from plain sailing for Park Row PR Jo Smith. As she uttered the immortal words:"I name this ship…", she hoped it would bring her one step closer to a royal title. All that was missing was the turquoise hat and handbag. But the Diary hears she may still have some way to go before she is invited to crack another bottle of champers over the bow of a sailing vessel. Jo named the yacht Trident ...

  • Value-added tracks

    10 Jun 2004

    Over the last year, a new trend has emerged, with some of the UK's major pension funds increasing the number of investment managers managing their funds. They are taking this action to reduce risk by diversifying management of their assets. The reason behind this shift is that investing with a single manager involves a lot of risk or uncertainty about added value, no matter how good we think that manager is. There is a way to reduce this risk and more and more pension ...

  • Verity's view

    10 Jun 2004

    When the FSA first got its powers, it was all too easy to view the new, statutory watchdog as having fewer teeth and a more docile nature than its self-regulating predecessor the Securities and Investments Board. After all, SIB had launched the biggest and most expensive compensation exercise ever attempted - the £15bn-plus review of personal pension misselling (even if it never intended it to be so big). The FSA, by contrast, was resisting any sort of systemic review ...

  • Wagstaff to leave M&G

    9 Jun 2004

    M&G UK retail managing director Phil Wagstaff is leaving the group at the end of June following a restructuring of its sales and marketing departments.He had been with the group for seven years.He says: "The business is in great shape to grow from strength to strength in the future. As M&G moves forward to the next stage of its development, this is now the right time for me to look for new opportunities and challenges."

  • Warning to IFAs on endowment complaint dates

    10 Jun 2004

    IFAs face substantial risks from the new FSA rule requiring endowment holders to be given a specific date before which they have to make a complaint, according to consultancy Financial Interest. The specialist complaints-handling firm for IFAs says the FSA rules have been written to protect investors but will end up penalising IFAs. The rule states that the three-year period to complain, which starts once a red reprojection letter has been issued, cannot expire unless ...

  • Watchdog tries to calm MPs' fears on time bar

    10 Jun 2004

    Chief Financial Ombudsman Walter Merricks has played down Treasury select committee fears that thousands of consumers with endowments have missed their opportunity to make a complaint. MPs questioned the watchdog on Tuesday as part of the committee's inquiry into restoring confidence in long-term savings. Chairman John McFall highlighted the Treasury's latest figures, which show that 700,000 mortgage endowment policyholders could already be time-barred if they want ...

  • West Brom shortfall deal on BTL

    9 Jun 2004

    West Brom has added a feature to its buy-to-let products which allows surplus disposable income to be used where there are rental shortfalls. Typically the lender will only approve buy-to-let mortgages where the rental is 130 per cent of the mortgage repayment. Now landlords are being offered a mortgage which covers 100 per cent of the interest payment if they have enough equity in the property where they live or disposable income to make up the shortfall.

  • West Bromwich Building Society - Buy-to-Let 0.76% Discount

    9 Jun 2004

    Type: Discounted-rate buy-to-let mortgageDiscounted term: Three yearsDiscount: 0.76%Payable rate: 5.54%Minimum loan: £30,000Maximum loan: Up to 80% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000Income multiples: Rental income must be at least 130% of monthly mortgage repaymentsConditions: Free valuation up to £350, £300 cashback for house purchase, free legal fees for remortgagesArran

  • Western Provident holds PMI rates for small firms

    10 Jun 2004

    Western Provident Association is freezing the premiums on its enterprise flexible benefits scheme aimed at small, corporate, PMI customers. The scheme caters to employers with between three to 100 staff. Customers who were underwritten when they joined WPA have had their premiums frozen. This discount has now been extended to six years at 30 per cent from five years at 25 per cent. WPA insures around 10,000 small firms. It is also including free access to employee assistance ...

  • Winterthur Life - Winterthur Elite Bond Fund

    9 Jun 2004

    Type: Unit-linked multi-manager fundAim: Growth by investing globally in bond fundsMinimum investment: Subject to the minimum for Winterthur's bond and pension productsInvestment split: 35% Winterthur Fixed Interest, 15% Allianz Dresdner High Income Bond, 15% Henderson Preference & Bond, 15% Newton International Bond, 10% Invesco Perpetual Corporate Bond, 10% M&G Corporate BondCharges: Initial £135, annual £85 or ...

  • WP bonds plunge from 60% share to 10% in two years

    10 Jun 2004

    With-profits bonds now account for less than 10 per cent of the single-premium life market as their popularity with IFAs and their clients continues to plummet, according to ABI figures. The figures, available only to ABI members but seen by Money Marketing, reveal that with-profits' market share slumped to 9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, down from 25 per cent at the same point in 2003. Less than two years ago, with-profits accounted for 60 per cent of the total ...

  • Wyles joins BAM from Aegon Asset Management

    15 Jun 2004

    Britannic Asset Management is appointing Dennis Wyles as its UK equities manager, covering pharmaceuticals, building & construction and general retailers sector.Wyles joins BAM from Aegon Asset Management where he was head of global cyclical research. He was previously deputy head of UK equities at SWIP and has also worked at both Morgan Grenfell Asset Management and Prudential Portfolio Mangers as a UK equity analyst.At Britannic he will run the nine-strong UK team which ...

  • You can win tickets for the final of Euro 2004

    10 Jun 2004

    National Retirement Week was launched last year to raise awareness of the many important issues that face each of us at retirement. Pru research has found that many people do not plan for retirement and simply drift into it without much if any thought. From pensions and taxes to wills and health issues, there is much to think about. As a direct result of a lack of planning, many retired people are living in serious financial difficulties - but this is probably not news ...

Poll

Will Greece leave the euro?

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