Money Marketing
9 September 2009
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£2.4M fine for Barclays
10 Sep 2009
The FSA has fined Barclays Capital Securities and Barclays Bank £2.45m for transaction reports failures and for serious weaknesses in systems and controls.
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£6M cash boost for Perspective
10 Sep 2009
IFA consolidator Perspective Financial Group has had a £6.5m cash injection from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets. Lloyds invested £6m when it launched in March 2008 but has doubled its investment to enable Perspective to continue on its acquisition trail after buying eight firms.
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1.99% Loan offer splits advisers
10 Sep 2009
The launch of HSBC's all-time low 1.99 per cent mortgage has met with mixed reaction from advisers.
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2Plan in talks to take on Park Row advisers
9 Sep 2009
2Plan Wealth Management is in talks with Royal Liver to take on Park Row’s 240 advisers in a bulk transfer deal.
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2Plan in talks with Park Row
10 Sep 2009
2Plan Wealth Management is in talks with Royal Liver to take on Park Row's 240 advisers in a bulk transfer deal.
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97% of arrears cases do not result in repossession, says BSA
14 Sep 2009
Ninety-seven per cent of borrowers in mortgage arrears over the last two years have not faced repossession, research by the Building Societies Association has found.
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A fitting solution from Aegon
11 Sep 2009
Aegon has established a UK equity income fund to provide an income option in the low interest rate environment.
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A rich portal vein
10 Sep 2009
The news that Lloyds TSB's venture capital arm has invested £42m, to become the biggest shareholder in 1st-The Exchange provides an opportunity to review the state of the IFA software market.
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Aberdeen to merge Suisse trio
10 Sep 2009
Aberdeen has plans to merge three former Credit Suisse funds following its takeover of the firm.
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ABI sets out insurance competition proposals
15 Sep 2009
Eighty per cent of UK insurers predict a drop in the number of insurance firms if Government fails to improve competitiveness, Association of British Insurers research reveals.
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Absolute returns with a difference from Cazenove
11 Sep 2009
Cazenove Capital ManagementAbsolute UK Dynamic Fund
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Adviser Fund Index
10 Sep 2009
The recovery is arriving quicker than expected, most notably in China. At least that is what the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded in its latest interim assessment published last week.
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Advisers differ on FSA Dif view
10 Sep 2009
Adviser Oeic lobby group the Investment Funds Association has rejected the FSA's proposal that distributor-influenced funds should be considered a "contract of last resort" by advisers.
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Advisers set up Keydata forum
10 Sep 2009
A group of advisers and a structured product provider have established an IFA forum to liaise directly with administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers on issues over Keydata.
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Aegon launches new retirement tool
10 Sep 2009
Aegon has launched a free online retirement planning tool to help advisers organise options for clients nearing retirement.
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Aegon Scottish Equitable International -Secure Lifetime Income
11 Sep 2009
Aegon Scottish Equitable InternationalSecure Lifetime Income
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Aegon's Adrian Grace joins Pos Sol board
9 Sep 2009
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Aifa wants alternative assessment options
10 Sep 2009
Association of Independent Financial Advisers director of policy Andrew Strange says that the core units are an important step in developing the QCF level four exam but attention must be paid to alternative assessment options.
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Aldermore appoints new risk director
14 Sep 2009
Specialist lender Aldermore has appointed Steve Barry as its new risk director.
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Alternatives to the exam route
10 Sep 2009
As consultation begins on the draft core units for the QCF level 4 qualification, more pressure must be put on the FSA to allow genuine work-based assessments as an alternative to examinations.
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Architects of your own downfall
10 Sep 2009
Aviva writes policies in trust - I could hardly believe my own eyes when I read this in Money Marketing.
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Aviva looking at fixed-term annuity sector
10 Sep 2009
Aviva is considering launching a fixed-term annuity.
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Aviva property funds move to offer basis
14 Sep 2009
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Aviva sales and marketing director Kitson to step down
14 Sep 2009
Aviva UK General Insurance sales and marketing director John Kitson is to step down in March 2010 after 14 years at the insurer.
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Axa looks at setting up a corporate wrap
10 Sep 2009
Axa is considering launching a corporate wrap to be positioned alongside its Elevate platform.
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Bank may ‘close the vault’ on QE money, says Threadneedle
9 Sep 2009
The Bank of England needs to stop allowing financial institutions to hoard money gleaned from the £175bn quantitative easing stimulus, says Threadneedle.
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Banker bonus anger ‘understandable’, says Goldman Sachs chief
10 Sep 2009
Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein says public anger against bankers’ pay is "understandable and appropriate".
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Banking zeroes to heroes
10 Sep 2009
What a difference a year can make has never been more true than recently. Just look at the fortunes of the banking sector. Almost a year ago this week, the rumblings of what would soon turn into a global catastrophe in the banking system began.
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Baring wary of absolute return complications
10 Sep 2009
Baring Asset Management says absolute return funds can complicate multi-manager multi-asset portfolios because the underlying managers do some of the asset allocation work that would normally be done by the multi-manager.
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Bluefin signs deal with SSP
15 Sep 2009
Bluefin has announced a strategic partnership with technology firm SSP to provide a managed service broking solution.
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Braking the banks
10 Sep 2009
Completely and utterly useless and a total waste of time and money. These are the eloquent words of wisdom one of my colleagues used to describe her recent, and at times, very stressful experience of home information packs. Ask anyone (apart from Hip providers) involved in the process of buying and selling a house and you will get the same answer - solicitors, estate agents and the public at large, and they all say pretty much the same sort of thing.
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Britain may have to bail out offshore tax havens
14 Sep 2009
The Government may have to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to bail out its failed offshore tax jurisdictions due to huge deficits caused by the financial crisis, according to reports.
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Brooks Macdonald buys Lawrence House
10 Sep 2009
Wealth manager Brooks Macdonald Group has bought Canterbury-based Lawrence House Fund Managers.
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Brooks Macdonald hires trio of fund managers
10 Sep 2009
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Bubble, what bubble??
10 Sep 2009
The direction of markets is a tough call to make at any time, let alone during the worst recession for decades and an unprecedented banking crisis.
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Budget with Pioneer's bills & things
11 Sep 2009
Bills & things is a budget individual insurance plan designed to cover the payment of regular bills such as mortgage, rent and utility bills if the policyholder cannot work due to illness or an accident.
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Cable launches fiscal reform pamphlet
15 Sep 2009
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable has launched a pamphlet outlining his plans to tackle the financial crisis.
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Cater Allen - Capital Guaranteed Defined Returns Plan 3
11 Sep 2009
Cater AllenCapital Guaranteed Defined Returns Plan 3
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Cazenove opens long and short strategy to retail market
11 Sep 2009
Cazenove has introduced the absolute UK dynamic fund, which will apply a long and short investment strategy to small and medium-sized UK companies.
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Charge of the light brigade
10 Sep 2009
A few weeks back, I enjoyed a splendid lunch with the individual who was the first CEO of an asset management group to pay trail commission to IFAs.
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Cheyne Capital Management launches convertibles Ucits fund
11 Sep 2009
Cheyne Capital Management has launched the Cheyne select Ucits fund, a Ucits III compliant umbrella fund.
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Chief exec Kyprianou retiring from Axa Framlington
10 Sep 2009
Axa Framlington chief executive Robert Kyprianou is retiring by the end of the year after 10 years with the firm.
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Chinese production up, but exports fall
11 Sep 2009
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City police arrest four men in £9m mortgage fraud operation
15 Sep 2009
The City of London Police has arrested four men in connection with a £9m mortgage fraud against a major insurance company.
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Clamour grows on pension forecasts
10 Sep 2009
Hargreaves Lansdown has slammed the Government and the Board of Actuarial Standards for misleading savers by providing conflicting pension forecasts.
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Complaints climb 92% on mortgages
10 Sep 2009
Complaints against mortgage firms leapt by 92 per cent between 2006 and 2008 from 14,790 to 28,492, according to FSA data.
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Confidence back on the board
10 Sep 2009
Is it getting better? A question I am regularly asked and my response is the same - it is too early to say but it is certainly not getting worse. The holiday season is now behind us and the next couple of months will tell us an awful lot about the speed of any recovery.
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Co-op Financial Services opens bank branches in shops
11 Sep 2009
Co-op Financial Services has opened bank branches in Co-op shops on a trial basis.
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Cornish financial planning service launches
15 Sep 2009
Atkins Ferrie Chartered Accountants has teamed up with IFA firm Knight O’Byrne to launch a financial planning advice service.
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CPI drops to lowest level since February 2005
15 Sep 2009
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Crunch switches focus to boost protection business
10 Sep 2009
Zurich International Life has reported a huge increase in offshore protection sales with advisers suggesting that current economic conditions have led to an increase in focus on this sector.
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Cummings defends Gummer's £700-an-hour Aifa earnings
10 Sep 2009
Aifa director general Chris Cummings has defended Aifa chairman John Gummer's remuneration after it was revealed that he earns nearly £700 an hour.
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Date set for new Richard Pease fund
10 Sep 2009
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DC pensions not plugging final salary gap, says TUC
10 Sep 2009
Two-thirds of private sector workers are now without a pension as defined contribution schemes fail to plug the gap left by the closure of final salary pensions, according to the Trade Union Congress.
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Death of David Seaton
10 Sep 2009
Rowanmoor Pensions joint managing director Ian Hammond and Aifa director general Chris Cummings have led tributes to David Seaton after a coroner confirmed that his body was found on a beach in Cornwall.
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Dennehy slams Cofunds in open letter to CEO
15 Sep 2009
Dennehy Weller managing director Brian Dennehy has slammed Cofunds after suggesting its price hike is a means of increasing its value ahead of a potential stock market flotation.
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Dominic White to leave Aviva Investors
11 Sep 2009
Aviva Investors fund manager Dominic White is to leave the firm after eight years.
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Downing poaches Acuity’s Judith MacKenzie
9 Sep 2009
Acuity Capital partner Judith MacKenzie has left the firm to join Downing Corporate Finance as an investment director.
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Duncan Crocker
10 Sep 2009
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Dynamic direction
10 Sep 2009
I will be discussing a fund which is essentially a retail hedge fund (using Ucits III powers). I do not like getting into the politics of hedge funds, which get an extraordinarily bad press, but I did get a letter from one client recently who described hedge funds as "an abomination". He suggested they were the root cause of all the problems in the financial sector.
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Eight years for fraud
10 Sep 2009
A Nottingham accountant has been jailed for eight years for his part in a £2.5m buy-to-let tax fraud. John Warman manipulated the tax returns of a £31m buy-to-let empire to help the property owner evade paying tax.
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Enhanced annuity quotes in packs
10 Sep 2009
Aviva is including enhanced annuity quotes in the wake-up packs it sends to eligible maturing policyholders eight weeks before retirement.
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European fund flows hit two-year high
10 Sep 2009
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Ex-Money Portal directors lose millions through administration
14 Sep 2009
Former Money Portal directors have collectively lost millions of pounds through the company's administration, the creditors report has revealed.
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Expats challenge state pension freeze
10 Sep 2009
A group of British expatriates are challenging the Government in a European court over its policy to freeze state pensions against inflation increases for expats living in some countries.
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Felton set to make return to M&G
10 Sep 2009
M&G fund manager Mike Felton is to return to the company this week after taking a year off due to ill health.
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Fidelity’s David Dalton-Brown joins Tisa board
10 Sep 2009
The Tax Incentivised Savings Association has appointed Fidelity FundsNetwork and UK platforms executive director and head David Dalton-Brown to the board as a non-executive director.
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Fitch fears effect of cash rules on annuity firms
10 Sep 2009
Fitch has echoed the Association of British Insurers' concerns about the impact that Solvency II will have on annuity providers.
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Friends chief wants level six minimum
10 Sep 2009
Friends Provident chief executive Trevor Matthews has called for the minimum qualification standard for advisers to be raised to QCF level six in the future.
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Friends paid £370,000 for Trevor Matthews to move home
15 Sep 2009
Friends Provident paid £370,000 for Trevor Matthews to move home.
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Friends removes MVRs for some pension and life contracts
11 Sep 2009
Friends Provident has removed market value reductions on all pension contracts taken out after 2001 and on all life contracts.
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FSA and ABI launch online pension calculator
10 Sep 2009
The FSA and the Association of British Insurers have launched an online pension calculator designed to help people gauge how much they will have to live on in retirement.
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FSA bans broker for inadequate systems and controls
15 Sep 2009
The FSA has banned mortgage broker Arthur Kirk for failing to establish proper systems and controls at his business, Grosvenor Mortgage Advice Centre, based in Manchester.
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FSA cancels mortgage broker's permission after failure to pay fees
10 Sep 2009
The FSA has issued a final notice to a mortgage broker cancelling its permission to carry on regulated activities after he failed to pay fees and levies of £1,104 owed to the regulator.
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FSA fines adviser for offshore bond advice
9 Sep 2009
The FSA has fined Kent-based advisory firm Henry Neil Ltd £14,000 for failing to demonstrate that its advice on offshore investment bonds was suitable.
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FSA strikes back on Lehman structured products
14 Sep 2009
A year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers the FSA has announced it will be taking action against firms involved with the structured products backed by the bankrupt bank.
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FSA to take action on Lehman structured product review
11 Sep 2009
The FSA says it has uncovered serious issues in its review into Lehman-backed structured products and it will be taking action against firms.
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Fssc draft core units
10 Sep 2009
INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES AND RISK The characteristics, inherent risks, behaviour and correlation of asset classes
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FSSC sets out three core
10 Sep 2009
The Financial Services Skills Council is consulting on the three draft core units for the retail distribution review QCF level four qualification.
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FTSE rally strengthens
10 Sep 2009
The FTSE opened up at 5,018 on yesterday’s close as financial stocks helped keep the index above the 5,000 mark.
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Full marks for Invest & Give
11 Sep 2009
Invest & Give FundInvest & Give Fund
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Fund groups look to challenge Cofunds price hike
11 Sep 2009
Fund groups are looking at possible ways to challenge the rate hike recently proposed by Cofunds.
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Fund tracker bond
10 Sep 2009
L&G is offering a new fund tracker capital guaranteed bond with 100 per cent participation or a set minimum return linked to its money builder fund. The L&G money builder (Investec) fund is a combination of the Investec cautious managed fund and the Investec target return fund.
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Garçon what’s on the menu?
15 Sep 2009
Last week Money Marketing revealed that Legal & General and Aviva are introducing menu-based protection products for intermediaries to appeal to a broader range of advisers and clients.
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GI broker Brightside to become largest life broker in UK, says CEO
9 Sep 2009
General insurance broker Brightside is setting its sights on becoming the largest life assurance broker in UK, with a target of transacting 300,000 polices by 2012.
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Goddard hails standards as a step-change
10 Sep 2009
Personal Finance Society chief executive Fay Goddard says the proposed core units delve far deeper into investment, tax and ethics than existing entry-level qualifications.
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Good heir day
10 Sep 2009
I have just seen a presentation at the Women's Institute about inheritance tax, can you please explain to me what I need to know and tell me how I can avoid paying this tax?
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Healthy transatlantic debate
10 Sep 2009
It is not often that a debate about healthcare provision in individual countries goes global, so it was fascinating to follow the rally of comments flying between the US and the UK as the NHS was suddenly lassooed into the new US president's struggle for healthcare reform.
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Henderson New Star set to launch Euro special sits fund for Pease
10 Sep 2009
Henderson New Star has confirmed the launch of a European special situations fund for Richard Pease next month.
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Home & Capital board survive bid to oust them
10 Sep 2009
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Home & Capital to manage 1000 IRS loans
11 Sep 2009
Home & Capital has revealed it is to increase its home reversion book by a third by taking on 1,000 In Retirement Services loans.
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Honister paid £100,000 each for Sage and Burns A
14 Sep 2009
Honister Capital paid £5.35m for the Money Portal's businesses, with the vast majority spent on execution-only arm Willis Owen and just £100,000 each for Sage and Burns Anderson.
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Houses prices up second month in a row
10 Sep 2009
House prices continue to rise for the second month running, according to the latest Halifax house price index.
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Ian Austin MP to address NLA conference
14 Sep 2009
The National Landlords Association has revealed that Ian Austin MP will address delegates at its national conference in Birmingham in November.
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IFA furious over RBS ad campaign
9 Sep 2009
National IFA LEBC Group chief executive Jack McVitie has hit out at Royal Bank of Scotland after his photograph was used in an advertising campaign urging consumers to visit an RBS branch.
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IFAlliance opens up to market
10 Sep 2009
IFA coalition IFAlliance is planning to open up its white-labelled products and services to the wider IFA market within the next three months.
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IFP conference to focus on RDR transition
10 Sep 2009
The Institute of Financial Planning will host its annual conference on October 5-7, which will this year focus on helping firms transition their businesses to an RDR-compliant model.
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IFP says the plans reflect changes
10 Sep 2009
Institute of Financial Planning education director Lucy Courtenay says the Financial Services Skills Council still needs to determine the method by which it will test the required knowledge in its draft core units.
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Ignis appoints Nick Pogmore as head of strategic alliances
14 Sep 2009
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Industry reacts to base rate freeze
10 Sep 2009
Industry commentators are unsurprised by the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5 per cent and continue with its quantitative easing programme.
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Investec replaces combi plan with bonus plan
11 Sep 2009
Investec Structured Products has introduced the FTSE 100 bonus income plan to replace its FTSE 100 and RPI combination plan.
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Investec Structured Products - 1 Year Range Deposit - Bear Issue 13
11 Sep 2009
Investec Structured Products1 Year Range Deposit - Bear Issue 13
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Investec Structured Products - 1 Year Range Deposit - Bull Issue 13
11 Sep 2009
Investec Structured Products1 Year Range Deposit - Bull Issue 13
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Investment manager Merchant Securities buys Cavendish Young
10 Sep 2009
Investment management firm Merchant Securities has bought London IFA and wealth management company Cavendish Young from founder and managing director Mark Estcourt.
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Japan set on a new course
10 Sep 2009
The decisive victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in August's lower house general election has added confusion to a market that has traditionally perplexed IFAs and fund managers.
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Join drive to shut MPs' DB scheme
10 Sep 2009
I am appealing for your readers' help to join the campaign for the immediate closure of the MPs' defined-benefit final-salary pensions scheme to new members.
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JPM brings multi-asset to income fund
11 Sep 2009
JP Morgan Asset Management has created the multi-asset income fund, which will resemble its e offshore global income fund and the JPM income builder fund, which is open to US investors.
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Julius Baer launches Japan stock fund
15 Sep 2009
Julius Baer is launching its Japan stock fund in the UK combining two investment approaches to target excess returns from Japan’s equities.
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Jupiter to set up two funds for Gibbs
10 Sep 2009
Jupiter is planning to launch an international financials fund and a global absolute return fund for Philip Gibbs next year.
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King made the recession worse, says Blanchflower
10 Sep 2009
David Blanchflower has blamed Mervyn King’s inaction in 2008 for the depth of the current recession.
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L&G and Aviva put protection on menu
10 Sep 2009
Legal & General and Aviva are introducing menu-based protection products for intermediaries to appeal to a broader range of advisers and clients.
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L&G axes more agencies over high lapse rate
10 Sep 2009
Legal & General is axing an increasing number of IFA agencies because of the high policy lapse rate on business written by some firms.
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L&G launches new fund tracker capital guaranteed bond
10 Sep 2009
Legal & General has launched a new fund tracker capital guaranteed bond linked to the L&G money builder fund.
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L&G launches new guaranteed bond
11 Sep 2009
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Lansdown looks to leap into FTSE 100
10 Sep 2009
Hargreaves Lansdown chairman Stephen Lansdown says the firm can become a FTSE 100 company by following its present business model.
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Large increase in IFA complaints over lenders
14 Sep 2009
Sesame has reported a 64 per cent increase in the number of advisers complaining about the service and practices by lenders during the first six months of 2009.
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Lenders could be hiding fraud losses
10 Sep 2009
Experts warn that some lenders could be hiding mortgage fraud on their balance sheets.
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LibDems propose slashing highest public sector salaries by 25 per cent
15 Sep 2009
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable has today set out proposals to cut the salaries of those earning over £100,000 in the public sector by 25 per cent.
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Lloyds tops FOS complaints list
15 Sep 2009
Lloyds Banking Group has topped the list of financial firms against which the Financial Ombudsman Service received the highest level of complaints, with 15,233 across its brands between January and June this year.
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Losses loom in fraud fallout
10 Sep 2009
Mortgage lenders could be in line for huge losses as the industry prepares for a glut of mortgage fraud cases to be uncovered.
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LV= life and pensions APE up 14%
9 Sep 2009
LV= has announced its life and pensions total APE was up 14 per cent to £45.2m for the six months to June 30, compared to £39.7m in the first half of 2008.
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M&G's Felton set to return
9 Sep 2009
M&G fund manager Mike Felton is to return to the company this week after taking a year off due to ill health.
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Majority of mortgage advisers charging fees
9 Sep 2009
Three out of five mortgage brokers are charging their clients fees for the advice they offer.
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Manager focus: James Donald
11 Sep 2009
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Meteor Asset Management - Protected Oil Growth Plan
11 Sep 2009
Meteor Asset ManagementProtected Oil Growth Plan
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Midas Capital backs ex-staffer's New City funds
10 Sep 2009
Midas Capital is investing in funds from New City Investments, a firm founded in 2004 by former Midas employee Richard Lockwood.
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Moret calls for living wills for Sipp firms
10 Sep 2009
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Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack hands over stewardship
11 Sep 2009
Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack is stepping down from his role at the firm but will continue serving as chairman.
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Mortgage broker fined in FSA criminal prosecution
10 Sep 2009
A mortgage broker has been ordered to pay a £6,000 fine by the Westminster Magistrates Court in the FSA’s first criminal prosecution for failing to notify the regulator of a change in control.
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Mortgage lending rises for first time since early 2007
14 Sep 2009
Mortgage lending showed its first material annual growth in July for the first time since early 2007, according to the latest Council of Mortgage Lenders' survey.
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Mortgage rescue plan failed this family in need
10 Sep 2009
When the mortgage rescue scheme was rolled out in January this year, I immediately thought of an elderly couple - let's call them Mr and Mrs J - who I have been helping with their housing dilemmas for around six years.
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MP wants public sector pension cap
10 Sep 2009
Work and pensions select committee chairman Terry Rooney says pension income of high-earning public sector workers should be capped at £50,000 a year.
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MPC holds 0.5% rate and QE plan
10 Sep 2009
The Monetary Policy Committee has held the base rate at 0.5 per cent and has decided to continue with the £175bn quantitative easing programme.
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MPL to increase exposure to commercial property
9 Sep 2009
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NACFB warns brokers against commercial fraudsters
9 Sep 2009
Residential mortgage brokers are being warned to take great care when introducing clients to third party brokers for commercial finance.
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Network gets direct pay deal for ARs
10 Sep 2009
Mortgage Times has agreed a deal with Bright Grey and Paymentshield for the providers to pay commission directly to its appointed representatives.
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New lending exceeds remortgage business for first time since 2007
15 Sep 2009
The proportion of new lending for home purchases exceeded remortgage business for the first time since quarter three of 2007, according to the FSA's latest mortgage lending data.
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Newton's Frikkee warns of yield plunge for UK equity income funds
10 Sep 2009
Newton higher income fund manager Tinekke Frikkee has warned investors that yields offered by UK equity income funds could plummet by the end of 2009.
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Nucleus launches CGT calculator
9 Sep 2009
Nucleus has launched a free online capital gains tax calculator on its platform.
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Octopus puts faith in ETFs
10 Sep 2009
Octopus Investments is relying solely on exchange traded funds to gain exposure to European equities, UK gilts and Japanese equities within its risk-graded Omnis and Prism multi-manager portfolios.
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Only 100% tax could cap remuneration, says Turner
11 Sep 2009
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Origen makes £1.15m loss due to redundancy costs
9 Sep 2009
Origen Limited has made a pre-tax loss of £1.15m for 2008 after incurring redundancy costs on both its financial and investment services arms.
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Osborne says scrapping FSA could take several years
10 Sep 2009
Shadow chancellor George Osborne has reassured FSA chiefs that there will be a transition period of up to several years before the regulator is scrapped if the Conservative party comes to power, according to the Financial Times.
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Overseas outlook
10 Sep 2009
At one stage last week, I thought the long-awaited bout of profit-taking had set in. It did not appear to go very far, although by the time you read this, anything could have happened. There have not been any consistent signals to guide investors recently. Both corporate and economic news has come in with great variety. We are paying down debt, but the manufacturing industry continues to suffer. Perhaps marking time is the best to hope for at present but I would not dismiss some sort of setback.
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Performance fees set to spread
14 Sep 2009
Almost two thirds of fund managers expect a greater use of performance fees in the next 12 months, according to research from Skandia Investment Group.
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Poll toll
10 Sep 2009
With opinion polls giving the Conservatives a double-digit lead, it is natural the industry will start asking how they might regulate financial services. Some assume the Conservatives, the traditional party of business, will loosen the regulatory grip and the party that deregulated financial markets in the 1980s will offer lighter-touch regulation.
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Positive points
10 Sep 2009
The recent rally suggests investors have been willing to focus on the positive aspects of recent economic and market news. The question remains, can this increased appetite continue, or will it lead to a further bout of indigestion?
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Process and proceed
10 Sep 2009
I have never been a massive fan of Joni Mitchell but her more recent albums are exceptional and her seminal piece Big Yellow Taxi is an unforgettable part of my musical youth. Her line: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone" is so in keeping with all that has gone wrong in regulation and Government fiscal policy.
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Professional bodies clash on exam units
9 Sep 2009
The Financial Services Skills Council is meeting with awarding bodies today to discuss if the RDR-required QCF level 4 qualification should be restricted to existing professional bodies.
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Project a full picture
10 Sep 2009
Seeing a fall in pension fund values in their yearly statement will set many a pension saver's heart racing and their fingers reaching for their adviser's phone number. The rollercoaster ride of the stockmarket over the last year may have its part to play in reducing pension forecasts but many falls will be due to a change in the rules for yearly pension illustrations, known as statutory money-purchase illustrations.
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Property Price Party Poopers
11 Sep 2009
Property advisers Jones Lang LaSalle has warned that the recent reports of UK house price increases is merely a rally that will lead to further falls.
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Protection policy fears as price pressure is revealed
10 Sep 2009
Research from consultancy firm NMG shows the UK & Ireland reinsurance market is the most price-competitive, leading Legal & General to question whether protection premiums may rise in the future.
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PSigma Investment Management bolsters team
14 Sep 2009
PSigma Investment Management has bolstered its investment team with the appointment of Geoff Cooper.
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Regulation issues sees Zurich Intl pull out of Australia and Thailand
10 Sep 2009
Zurich International Life is cutting distribution in Asia and Australasia.
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Relegation zone for Luckraft
10 Sep 2009
Axa Framlington monthly income was one of 45 new entrants into Chelsea Financial Services' latest relegation zone list.
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Rensburg best ideas fund outperforms Skandia
10 Sep 2009
Rensburg's UK best ideas fund has outperformed Skandia's version since their respective launches in autumn 2006.
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Resolution to target life or asset management next
14 Sep 2009
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Ridings high with 25th deal in Bright handover
10 Sep 2009
Ilkley IFA firm Ridings has agreed a deal with Bright Financial Services to take over the firm when its partners retire.
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Rob Page to leave Liontrust
11 Sep 2009
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Rowanmoor pays tribute to David Seaton
9 Sep 2009
Rowanmoor Pensions has paid tribute to its joint managing director David Seaton whose body was fond on a Cornwall beach earlier this month.
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Russell Investments appoints new MD
10 Sep 2009
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Sector strikes gold
11 Sep 2009
Sector Investment Managers has established an Oeic that aims for growth by investing globally in a portfolio consisting mainly of small and medium-sized mining companies.
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SEI appoints Jason Collins as head of UK and European equities
9 Sep 2009
SEI has appointed former Maia fund manager Jason Collins as head of UK and European equities.
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Sesame FOS uphold rate far lower than the banks and SJP
15 Sep 2009
The Financial Ombudsman Service upheld 32 per cent of complaints against Sesame compared to 59 per cent of complaints upheld against St James’s Place.
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Sesame says work-based assessments will limit fall-out
14 Sep 2009
Sesame has warned that failure to develop a work-based assessment for advisers under the RDR could have “dramatic consequences” for the industry in terms of IFA fall-out.
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Sesame to offer factoring if FSA bans up-front payments
14 Sep 2009
Sesame says it will offer its advisers a form of factoring if the FSA refuses to allow up-front payments from providers, particularly on regular premium business.
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Simon Ellis to join L&G as unit trust MD
11 Sep 2009
Financial Services Skills Council managing director Simon Ellis is leaving to join Legal & General as managing director of the unit trust business in October.
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Skandia Investment Group CEO Jamie Macleod steps down
10 Sep 2009
Skandia Investment Group’s Jamie Macleod has stepped down from his role as chief executive and has left the business.
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Skills Council consults on re-licencing proposals
10 Sep 2009
The Financial Services Skills Council says it has entered the final consultation phase of its strategic review and will submit re-licencing proposals for approval on September 30.
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Skills Council looking for interim CEO
11 Sep 2009
The Financial Services Skills Council is in the process of appointing an interim chief executive after managing director Simon Ellis announced he is moving to L&G.
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Slow growth after dodging Armageddon
10 Sep 2009
PSigma income manager Bill Mott believes the UK has avoided "financial Armageddon" and is set for a period of anaemic growth over the next five years.
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Small Sipp firms are failing TCF test
10 Sep 2009
The FSA says some small Sipp providers are failing to treat their customers fairly.
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Small Sipp probe to hit large providers, says Mattioli Woods
10 Sep 2009
Larger Sipp providers are likely to be hit by the FSA's recent thematic review into small Sipp providers as well as non-relationship managed firms, according to pensions consultant Mattioli Woods.
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Status conscious
10 Sep 2009
How does someone who spends a lot of time abroad decide their tax basis?
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Steep rise in bank complaints
10 Sep 2009
Overall complaints to IFAs, financial advisers and non-advised arrangers more than halved from 78,517 in 2006 to just 37,964 in 2008.
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Succession appoints Alan Wardrop as finance director
9 Sep 2009
Succession Advisory Services the wealth management and financial services consolidation business, has appointed Alan Wardrop as finance director.
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Succession signs tenth transition firm
15 Sep 2009
Succession Advisory Services has signed up Tax and Wealth Solutions Limited to its transition programme.
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SWIP - Sicav Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund
11 Sep 2009
SWIPSicav Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund
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SWIP - Sicav Emerging Markets Smaller Companies Fund
11 Sep 2009
SWIPSicav Emerging Markets Smaller Companies Fund
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SWIP - Sicav Latin American Fund
11 Sep 2009
SWIPSicav Latin American Fund
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Thames turns to covered call funds
10 Sep 2009
Thames River's multi-manager team has doubled its exposure to covered call funds within its £53.8m distribution portfolio in 2009.
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The real meaning of professionalism
10 Sep 2009
I was interested to read Fay Goddard's view of the critics of the RDR in her article headed, Folly of Resistance (Money Marketing August 20).
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The real risk about risk
10 Sep 2009
How lovely to be back. Never, ahem, doubted it for a second. Did you miss me? I certainly missed you, though the twin concerns of the Ashes and writing my emerging markets book kept me suitably occupied - though possibly not in the proportions they should have done.
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The source of the Thames
10 Sep 2009
Thames River Capital's boutique nature has allowed it to stay active during the downturn while many competitors were forced to trim propositions.
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The start of the peer show
10 Sep 2009
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Thomson Reuters launches global indices
15 Sep 2009
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Threefold increase for income protection cases
10 Sep 2009
Income protection complaints have almost trebled between 2006 and 2008.
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Three-quarters of savers not confident of meeting financial goals, says poll
11 Sep 2009
Seventy-four per cent of people do not believe their savings plan will achieve their financial goals, a survey by the Institute of Financial Planning and Morningstar has revealed.
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Tories may delay state pension planned raise
15 Sep 2009
The Conservatives could delay plans to raise the basic state pension in a bid to cut public spending if they win the next election.
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Tories mull sale of nationalised bank shares to public
14 Sep 2009
The Conservatives are considering selling stakes in the nationalised banks back to ordinary investors if they get into power.
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Tories will hold emergency Budget if they win election
15 Sep 2009
Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne says there will be an emergency Budget in June or July if the Tories win the election.
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Transfer window
10 Sep 2009
In my last article which was published some issues ago, I looked at four simple tax planning strategies for minimising exposure to 50 per cent and (effective) 60 per cent income tax. This week, I would like to remind you of how to achieve the savings through asset transfers - usually between spouses or couples.
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TUC: Scrap pensions tax relief for rich
14 Sep 2009
Trade Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber has called for tax relief on pension savings to be scrapped for higher earners.
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UK rallying call can continue
10 Sep 2009
I believe that UK equities remain attractively valued even after the recent strong rally.
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UK retains AAA credit rating
9 Sep 2009
A "resilient" UK economy has retained its AAA status from Moody's as it begins to show some signs of recovery.
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Unity is vital in fight for future
10 Sep 2009
I am writing this column on my way back from Brussels, having just been to give evidence as part of the European Commission's review of credit markets.
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Walker Crips Structured Investments - Five Year Stepped Growth Plan
11 Sep 2009
Walker Crips Structured InvestmentsFive Year Stepped Growth Plan
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Website Comments: On concerns that pension charge caps could be introduced
10 Sep 2009
A cap on scheme charges has never actually been on the table to date and I really do not think it makes sense to introduce this at this stage.
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Website Comments: On the FSA looking at changing its fee structure
10 Sep 2009
If FSA fees are based on turnover how can this possibly reflect well on those firms that are efficient, have good systems and controls, appropriate processes and serve their clients well? It assumes the greater your turnover the greater your risk to consumers. This has to be flawed.Leslie Sharpe
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WH Ireland appoints new wealth management team and head
10 Sep 2009
WH Ireland has poached Allied Irish Bank’s Lindsey Hamilton to head up its wealth management division.
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Widows in relegation battle
10 Sep 2009
Scottish Widows is the worst offender in Chelsea Financial Services' latest relegation zone list.
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Wild West has been named and tamed
10 Sep 2009
Before the Bank Holiday, I met an old industry mucker for "a quick beer" I have known this chap for almost 18 years. In fact, he was one of the first people I met when I started at Money Marketing a long while ago.
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Will Sipp probe prompt consolidation?
10 Sep 2009
The FSA has told smaller Sipp providers to clean up their act after its thematic review into the non-relationship managed sector found many were failing to meet their regulatory obligations, particularly on the treating customers fairly front.
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Will the QCF level four be open to all?
9 Sep 2009
Should awarding bodies from outside the financial services sector be blocked from developing a QCF level four qualification?
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Your life is in the balance
10 Sep 2009
Work-life balance is something that everyone wants to achieve but it does not need to be as elusive as many would expect.
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Zurich Financial Services - Protected Capital Account 2
11 Sep 2009
Zurich Financial ServicesProtected Capital Account 2
