Money Marketing
12 December 2007

  • S&P awards AA rating to Insight fund

    14 Dec 2007

    Insight’s monthly income fund has been rewarded with a ‘AA’ rating from Standard & Poor’s following strong performance in the past 12 months.

  • "Advice" and "sales" only two tiers needed, says Aifa

    18 Dec 2007

    The Association of Independent Financial Advisers has called for the FSA to separate sales from financial advice, rather than “artificially segmenting” the market with different tiers of advisers.

  • £40m FSCS levy refund for GI firms

    17 Dec 2007

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has announced a £40m levy refund for general insurance companies.

  • 40% of insurers are not preparing for Solvency II

    18 Dec 2007

    Forty per cent of UK life insurers are not actively preparing for Solvency II according to Watson Wyatt.

  • 93 per cent of baby boomers will work beyond retirement age

    12 Dec 2007

    Three quarters of the 17m baby boomers living in the UK say their pensions will not allow them to maintain their current standard of living in retirement.

  • A shaw thing

    13 Dec 2007

    Sam Shaw is a reporter on Money MarketingWith memories of Lifesearch's karaoke night and the ridiculous amount of bruising I picked up during that night courtesy of my raucous but immensely X-Factorlike colleagues just about fading, I reckoned it was about time to get back on it. Last week was topped and tailed by Fidelity, with PR Sam Slator and I discovering that we share a rather unhealthy lust for Jason Orange and Howard Donald. Jo Macklin was caught slumming it with the ...

  • A week of strong opinions

    14 Dec 2007

    Adviser firms seem to be raising their profile somewhat, if the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 survey is anything to go by.

  • Abbey to cut rates by up to 0.1 per cent

    18 Dec 2007

    Abbey is to cut interest rates by up to 0.1 per cent on a number of its fixed rate deals from December 20.

  • ABI wants to delay levy reforms for Rock result

    13 Dec 2007

    The Association of British Insurers is lobbying fiercely for a delay in implementation of changes to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme that will save advisers millions of pounds.

  • Activists swoop to catch the golden Eaglet

    12 Dec 2007

    After months of arguments over the Eaglet Investment Trust it seems that the activists have finally won the war after seizing control of the specialist fledgling companies investor.

  • Ad infinitum

    13 Dec 2007

    The value of your investments may go down as well as up. Past performance is no guide to future returns. Such expressions have become a cliche in financial services and their appearance in advertisements and other promotional material is not even noticed. Not for much longer, however. In fact, the industry might have to find a new phrase or two to use.

  • Altmann calls on Prime Minister for clarity over pensioners' compensation

    12 Dec 2007

    Pensions consultant Ros Altmann is calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown for more clarity after he said he hoped to guarantee further compensation payments to the 125,000 workers who lost their pensions.

  • Analysts predicting rates at 5% in 2008

    13 Dec 2007

    Analysts say interest rates could fall back to 5 per cent next year after the Bank of England monetary policy committee made its first rate cut in two years.

  • Andrea Rozario

    13 Dec 2007

    The new director-general of Safe Home Income Plans, the trade association for equity-release providers, has no easy ride ahead of her. Andrea Rozario, who began her new job last week, must sell the message to a sceptical public and ambivalent adviser community that equity release is a sophisticated, safe and attractive product.

  • Anger as PM blocks pension redress

    13 Dec 2007

    Pension consultant Ros Altmann has accused the Treasury of stalling on compensating 125,000 workers who lost their occupational pensions.

  • Annuity arithmetic

    13 Dec 2007

    Two clients have asked me about the use of alternatively secured pensions. They are a married couple who are well into retirement. What are their options?

  • Applegarth to leave Northern Rock with immediate effect

    13 Dec 2007

    Northern Rock chief executive Adam Applegarth is to stand down with immediate effect with former board director Andy Kuiper to takeover his role.

  • Aviva clarifies policyholder eligibility for reattribution process

    13 Dec 2007

    Aviva has confirmed the eligibility criteria for the proposed reattribution of the £4bn inherited estate from its with-profits funds.

  • Axa revises protection rates

    18 Dec 2007

    Axa has revised its rates for level and decreasing life cover, guaranteed level life or earlier critical illness cover and guaranteed decreasing life or earlier critical Illness cover.

  • Balance points

    13 Dec 2007

    Recent economic data has pointed to the likelihood of weaker growth levels into next year. The main risk remains credit markets which are experiencing declines in supply and demand amid a general deterioration of loan quality. Credit contraction problems have the potential to tip the economy into recession.

  • Banks blasted for debt crisis

    13 Dec 2007

    Sesame chief executive Ivan Martin has made a scathing attack on banks and warned if they are allowed to offer primary advice it will result in consumer detriment.

  • Bitter row in Cabinet over pensioners’ compensation

    13 Dec 2007

    Pensions consultant Ros Altmann has accused the Prime Minister and the Treasury of stalling on compensating 125,000 workers who lost their occupational pensions.

  • Bolton expects market conditions to worsen

    12 Dec 2007

    Outgoing Fidelity UK special situations manager Anthony Bolton believes that stock market conditions are likely to worsen before new investment opportunities arise next year.

  • Bonds have more fun

    13 Dec 2007

    One sector that has seen considerable outflows over the last few months has been corporate bonds. We have experienced a period of rising interest rates, so naturally their performance over the past few years is uninspiring, especially compared with the bull market in equities.

  • Boutique bonus

    13 Dec 2007

    Credit Suisse is looking to follow some of its boutique peers by offering performance bonuses in a bid to motivate its fund managers to outperform.

  • Bright sparks

    13 Dec 2007

    As we approach the end of the response period for the retail distribution review, it is appropriate to look back on the suggested outcomes and assess how the FSA may be reacting.

  • Brokers supporting Cameron loan plea

    13 Dec 2007

    Brokers have backed Tory leader David Cameron's calls for lenders to help borrowers struggling to meet higher mortgage repayments after coming off fixed-rate deals.

  • Buckles takes over Jennings

    13 Dec 2007

    Buckles has acquired Jennings Insurance and Investment Services in a move it says will strengthen its presence in North Wales and the North-west and increase its active clients to over 18,000.

  • Buy-to-let investors confident sector will remain strong says B&B

    12 Dec 2007

    Property investors remain confident about the prospects for the buy-to-let market in 2008 despite reports of a possible slowdown according to Bradford & Bingley.

  • C&G sends service warning

    13 Dec 2007

    Cheltenham & Gloucester has warned brokers that it is having service problems as a result of its move to a centralised support centre.

  • C&G to withdraw further products today

    17 Dec 2007

    C&G is set to pull additional products from its intermediary mortgage range today with only a few hours notice to brokers.

  • Central banks move to ease illiquidity

    12 Dec 2007

    The European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and central banks from the UK, Canada and Switzerland have committed themselves to helping banks deal with liquidity problems.

  • Citizens Advice report is too simplistic, says CML

    12 Dec 2007

    The Citizens Advice report ‘Set Up to Fail’ is too simplistic in its criticisms of the lending industry, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Concurrency changes have increased Sipp business, says Fidelity FundsNetwork

    14 Dec 2007

    A poll conducted by Fidelity FundsNetwork has revealed that changes concerning concurrency since A-Day have led to an increase in Sipp business.

  • Conspiracy theory

    13 Dec 2007

    Perhaps I have been watching too many Oliver Stone movies. The more I read about what people are saying in favour of the retail distribution review, the more I think there is a conspiracy afoot.

  • Consumer Panel says PMI should sit with protection products in new Icob

    18 Dec 2007

    The Consumer Panel has critisised the FSA for grouping private medical insurance with general insurance in its new Icob sourcebook claiming the lighter tough regulation the product will be subject to will put consumers at risk.

  • Craig concern over hidden subsidies

    13 Dec 2007

    The Association of British Insurers has raised concerns that some costs associated with personal accounts will be covered by hidden Government subsidies.

  • Darling delays CGT announcement until the New Year

    13 Dec 2007

    The Chancellor has announced the Government’s final proposals for changes to Capital Gains Tax will now not be published until the New Year.

  • Davy's minority view of the CII/PFS's RDR response

    18 Dec 2007

    Simply Biz chairman Ken Davy has challenged the CII/PFS response to the retail distribution review on the issue of transition.

  • Debt deals

    13 Dec 2007

    Consumer debt is at record levels and advisers are regularly seeing clients seeking counsel on debt.

  • Default decumulation may be retirement route

    13 Dec 2007

    The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority considers that a default decumulation process could be one way of dealing with members' personal accounts when they reach retirement age.

  • Desperate need for new thinking and innovation

    13 Dec 2007

    Market conditions will force lenders to innovate in new areas, says Wave director of distribution and sales Mehrdad Yousefi.

  • Duo set up structured boutique

    13 Dec 2007

    Former HSBC pair Chris Taylor and Mark Dickson are setting up structured product boutique Blue Sky Asset Management.

  • European Commission publishes white paper on EU mortgage markets

    18 Dec 2007

    The European Commission has published its white paper on the integration of EU mortgage markets.

  • Family firms hit by tax changes

    13 Dec 2007

    New rules proposed by HM Revenue & Customs last week could overturn a famous defeat for the Government in the House of Lords that allowed a husband and wife-owned business to take an income in dividends to minimise tax.

  • Federal reserve cuts rates to 4.75 per cent

    12 Dec 2007

    The Federal Reserve cut interest rates from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent yesterday.

  • FSA bans former Insure & Go chief executive for attempting to mislead the regulator

    14 Dec 2007

    The FSA has banned former Insure & Go Insurance Services chief executive James Richardson for attempting to mislead the regulator and not being candid in dealings with the firm’s former auditors.

  • FSA bans four individuals for dishonest behaviour in reinsurance market

    14 Dec 2007

    The FSA has banned four individuals for "engaging in dishonest business practices" in the reinsurance market which funnelled very significant losses into Sphere Drake Insurance Limited.

  • FSA bans pet insurance broker

    17 Dec 2007

    The FSA has banned Flett Sinclair Insurance Brokers Limited sole director David Holland and Petsure Limited for misusing customers' assets.

  • FSA could rethink limitation

    13 Dec 2007

    FSA director, small firms division and retail intermediaries sector leader Stephen Bland has apologised for the suggestion that "independent" did not necessarily mean whole of market.

  • FSA fines Norwich Union £1.26m for exposing customers to fraud risk

    17 Dec 2007

    The FSA has fined Norwich Union Life £1.26m for failing to protect customers' data which resulted in a number of actual and attempted frauds.

  • FSA needs to further develop CAR rules, says Royal London

    14 Dec 2007

    Royal London says the FSA needs to develop its thinking further in relation to the rules around CAR, requiring product providers to compete on the basis of product quality and innovation.

  • FSA orders investigation into Resolution takeover

    17 Dec 2007

    The FSA has ordered internal investigations within the four companies involved in the takeover of Resolution amidst concerns over market abuse, according to reports.

  • FSA resists handing over responsibility for banks

    13 Dec 2007

    The FSA has rejected handing the role of policing the banking sector to the Bank of England following the Northern Rock fiasco.

  • FSA shelves Icob changes

    13 Dec 2007

    The FSA board has postponed the release of the new Icob sourcebook, saying some issues require further work.

  • FSA, BoE and Treasury knew in 2006 they could not deal with failing bank

    18 Dec 2007

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King has admitted that the Tripartite Authorities were aware at the end of 2006 that they did not have the tools to deal with a UK bank failing.

  • FSA's projection rates to remain the same

    18 Dec 2007

    The FSA has confirmed that its projection rates on future investment returns will not change, following independent research by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

  • Get your tax straight on buy to let

    13 Dec 2007

    I am seeing a lot of new clients who have moved out of their main residence and remortgaged that residence as a buy to let.

  • 'Go to Brussels to sort out auto issues'

    13 Dec 2007

    Opposition parties have blamed a lack of Government leadership and negotiating skills in Europe for causing problems over introducing auto-enrolment into good GPP schemes.

  • Government announces private rented sector review

    12 Dec 2007

    The Government has announced there will be an independent review of the private rented sector.

  • Govt set to disregard PPI means-test move

    13 Dec 2007

    The Government has hinted strongly that it is unlikely to allow a limited amount of private pension income to be disregarded to solve the personal accounts means-testing dil-emma as it believes the option is too expensive.

  • Great Scott

    13 Dec 2007

    I do not often recommend funds which have had below-average performance over the medium term but I think an exception can be made for Scott McGlashan's JO Hambro Capital Management Japan fund.

  • HBOS announces £180m sub-prime hit

    13 Dec 2007

    HBOS has announced it will make a £180m write-down of assets due to the credit crunch.

  • HBOS seeks single ties for simple life cover

    13 Dec 2007

    HBOS is seeking mortgage brokers to distribute a new simplified life product through a single-tie arrangement, Money Marketing understands.

  • Heed the warnings

    13 Dec 2007

    I am writing this before the FSA publishes its final Icob rules. I believe the rules will require stronger safeguards so that those who buy over the phone are clear on whether or not they are getting advice. They are also likely to require all those who sell without advice to make clear that the customer is responsible for the product being suitable, not the seller.

  • Hips are a waste of energy

    13 Dec 2007

    When home information packs are extended to one-bedroom and two-bedroom properties on December 14, they will be mandatory for all residential properties marketed except newbuild and those sold without vacant possession.

  • HM Treasury extends guarantee to Northern Rock wholesale

    18 Dec 2007

    HM Treasury has extended the wholesale guarantee agreements for Northern Rock, confirmed this morning.

  • HMRC in U-turn after protection warnings

    13 Dec 2007

    HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed that pre-Budget report proposals to remove tax relief on reinsurance will be reworked to ensure they do not push up protection premiums.

  • Icob groups life cover with protection products

    18 Dec 2007

    So, after a stalled release, the new Icob sourcebook is in the public domain and, at a quick glance, it does not look like the FSA has veered far from its original proposals set out in June’s consultation paper.

  • Investors took cautious approach in 2007, says Cofunds

    17 Dec 2007

    Cofunds has seen advisers moving portfolios to a more cautious stance throughout 2007.

  • Is CGT delay Darling’s final shame?

    17 Dec 2007

    It seems we must not only wait until 2008 to kick-start our detox plans, but will also have to keep holding our breath for the Government’s final proposals for changes to capital gains tax until next year.

  • Keynes and able

    13 Dec 2007

    The credit crisis has produced a classic Keynesian liquidity crunch. Central banks are leading the banks to liquidity but cannot make them lend. A solution is to reflate the banking system by reducing short-term interest rates and causing the yield curve to steepen to profitable levels for the banking system. In the US, the first stage of this process has been achieved as the US treasury yield curve from two to 30 years has steepened from a low of -6 basis points on January 22 to 150 basis ...

  • L&G to recruit adviser support team

    17 Dec 2007

    Legal & General is to recruit a team of protection sales development and relationship managers to support advisers.

  • Lawson accuses Pada on state aid

    13 Dec 2007

    Standard Life's John Lawson has accused the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority of taking state aid from the Government without declaring it to the European Union authorities.

  • Lehman Brothers net income falls 12 per cent

    14 Dec 2007

    Lehman Brothers has reported a smaller than expected 12 per cent fall in net income in the fourth quarter to $886m (£435m).Net revenues dropped 3 per cent to $4.4bn. This was affected by $830m of bond writedowns.Chairman and chief executive Richard S Fuld said: "Despite what continues to be a difficult operating environment, the firm's results for the quarter highlight our ability to perform across market cycles and deliver value to our shareholders."

  • Libor stays high despite rate cut

    13 Dec 2007

    The Bank of England's quarter-point rate cut has failed to have a major impact on Libor, with the cost of borrowing between banks falling by just four basis points.

  • Life insurance to be regulated alongside protection products in new Icob

    18 Dec 2007

    Life insurance will continue to be regulated alongside protection products according to the new Insurance Conduct of Business sourcebook published today.

  • Listen and learn

    13 Dec 2007

    Aifa has hailed last week's retail distribution review speech by FSA director Stephen Bland as showing significant movement by the regulator and evidence that it has listened to IFA arguments against the proposals.

  • Mark Peters quits Sesame for Zurich

    17 Dec 2007

    Sesame head of research Mark Peters has quit the firm after six years to join Zurich Financial Services.

  • Martin makes pledge over Sesame's status

    13 Dec 2007

    Sesame's new chief executive Ivan Martin says he is a Sesame man, not a Friends Provident man, and assures the firm's members that Friends will allow the adviser group to maintain its independence.

  • McAteer calls for generic advice service

    13 Dec 2007

    Consumer advocate Mick McAteer says advisers should focus on affluent clients as it is not their job to subsidise the bottom end of the market that cannot afford advice.

  • Mortgage and insurance markets should be included in RDR, says FSCP

    14 Dec 2007

    The mortgage and insurance markets should be incorporated into the retail distribution review, according to the Financial Services Consumer Panel.

  • Mortgage Centre IFA acquires 50 per cent stake in Purely Financial Group

    17 Dec 2007

    Mortgage Centre IFA has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Purely Financial Group.

  • Mortgages Plc appoints new head of sales

    12 Dec 2007

    Mortgages Plc has appointed Nigel Robbins as its new head of sales and Harry Mcgeough as head of partnerships as part of its restructured sales team.

  • New Star cuts property fund value by 8.2%

    13 Dec 2007

    New Star has reduced the value of its £2.1bn UK property unit trust by 8.2 per cent, meaning it has fallen by 17.8 per cent since the end of July.

  • Nil rate band not only area hit by PBR IHT changes, says Standard

    17 Dec 2007

    Standard Life has identified five key areas where inheritance tax might have been affected following changes to the nil rate band rule in the pre-Budget report.

  • Norgrove to stay as Pensions Regulator chair for three years

    13 Dec 2007

    David Norgrove has been reappointed chair of the Pensions Regulator for a further three years.

  • NU Healthcare adds gym membership incentives

    13 Dec 2007

    Norwich Union Healthcare has followed in PruHealth's footsteps and launched exclusive gym membership deals across a nationwide network of health clubs.

  • Old Mutual poaches M&G star to run UK fund

    12 Dec 2007

    Old Mutual Asset Managers has recruited Simon Murphy to run its UK select equity fund.

  • Olivant gets backing in Rock bid

    13 Dec 2007

    Olivant boss Luqman Arnold has secured the backing of Northern Rock's small shareholders group after revealing his group's bid plans last week. Private equity firm JC Flowers has pulled out of the bidding.

  • Olivant given equal footing with Virgin for Northern Rock bid

    14 Dec 2007

    Olivant Group has been given equal footing to Virgin Group bid for Northern Rock after it threatened to walk away from the bid process.

  • Openwork launches exclusive deals with five high street lenders

    14 Dec 2007

    Openwork has launched new exclusive mortgage deals with five high-street lenders.

  • OPM selects reverse gear

    13 Dec 2007

    OPM believes the strategy behind its fixed-interest fund is now starting to pay off after the fund fell into the fourth quartile in October.

  • Pada warned on complexity as it looks at overseas plans

    13 Dec 2007

    The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority is looking at 20 different overseas government pension arrangements to learn how it can run a successful personal accounts scheme.

  • Paternoster adds 150m DB scheme

    13 Dec 2007

    Paternoster has taken on 150m of the defined-benefit pension plan assets and liabilities of Eni Lasmo.

  • Pearl to incorporate Resolution life companies and RAM

    13 Dec 2007

    Pearl Group has announced it will to incorporate Resolution life companies and Resolution Asset Management, with total assets under management in excess of £85bn, once the planned purchase is completed.

  • Pension funds look to Asia for equity gains

    13 Dec 2007

    Emerging Asia is considered to be the region with the biggest potential for equity gains over the next ten years for pension funds.

  • Personal column

    13 Dec 2007

    The old injury sustained by Money Marketing in the stakeholder pension wars is giving us gip again as far as personal accounts are concerned.

  • Polls apart

    13 Dec 2007

    I have always had a soft spot for surveys and opinion polls. How could I not? After all, my partner's mother makes a living out them, quizzing bored shoppers outside shopping centres all over the south coast of England.

  • Progress wins all-round vote but L&G is top cover seller

    13 Dec 2007

    Progress from Royal Liver has scored the highest satisfactIon level with protection advisers in Defaqto's Protection Service Study.

  • Property fund shown the door

    13 Dec 2007

    The dangers of commercial property investment have become apparent in recent weeks. Some UK funds investing in bricks and mortar, as opposed to listed property companies, have suffered devaluations and introduced extended redemption periods as demand has disappeared.

  • Property problems

    13 Dec 2007

    Financial markets have fluctuated wildly in recent weeks. The FTSE 100 has been bouncing between 6,000 and 6,500, with the occasional threat to break out from these boundaries.

  • Providers disappointed by protected rights' disparity

    13 Dec 2007

    Pension providers have criticised the Government for not bringing protected rights completely in line with non-protected rights, leading to calls for a rethink.

  • Putting the RDR to work

    13 Dec 2007

    The most popular post-retail distribution review business model favoured by advisers in the group pension space is a blend of fees and customer-agreed remuneration but a lot of work needs to be done to create a system that will allow corporate IFAs to continue to thrive.

  • Quarter master

    13 Dec 2007

    Interest rates were the main feature last week. In the hours ahead of the Bank of England's announcement, speculation was rife that the cut could be as much as 75 basis points. The minutes of this meeting will make interesting reading.

  • Realise your potential

    13 Dec 2007

    The pre-Budget report continues to occupy the minds of those at Technical Connection and also those of our clients. One of the certainties to emerge from the report is that the value of informed advice does not look like diminishing. Much has been written about the relative merits of investment bonds and collectives as tax-effective wrappers for investment portfolios. We have hopefully contributed positively to that debate.

  • Red tape may force firms to shut down their schemes

    13 Dec 2007

    Many employers are likely to be forced to close their existing pension schemes and opt for personal accounts because the exemption criteria are almost impossible to comply with, says Standard Life.

  • Report reveals strain between FOS and FSA

    13 Dec 2007

    An academic report has revealed a highly strained relationship between senior Financial Ombudsman Service staff and the FSA, with FOS employees not trusting the FSA to act on information they provide.

  • Rock and risk

    13 Dec 2007

    My name is Jonathan and I am a Northern Rock borrower.

  • Scepticism over FSA's primary verdict

    13 Dec 2007

    Aifa and CWC Research have questioned the FSA's interpretation of research which the regulator suggests shows that 44 per cent of IFAs are likely to offer primary advice alongside their core services.

  • Securitisation revival will see quick return of liquidity

    13 Dec 2007

    Experts says that when the securitisation market recovers, liquidity will return quickly although securitisation margins will stay higher.

  • Self-regulation as effective as FSA for fraction of cost

    13 Dec 2007

    A self-regulatory regime in the mortgage market could have achieved the same outcome as the FSA for a fraction of the cost, say experts.

  • Shared scheme off to slow start

    13 Dec 2007

    The Government looks unlikely to hit its target of 20,000 Homebuy completions in the first five years of the scheme after first-year figures of 2,364.

  • Simply Biz stars in the fast show

    13 Dec 2007

    Simply Biz was ranked the fastest-growing financial services company in this month's Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 survey.

  • Stop grandfather clock

    13 Dec 2007

    I have just realised that we may have a level playing field but we are on another planet when it comes to compensation systems.

  • Sub-prime borrowers set up to fail, says Citizens Advice report

    12 Dec 2007

    Citizens Advice has released a report that claims dubious advice from brokers, irresponsible lending decisions and aggressive arrears management by sub-prime lenders are driving an increase in mortgage arrears, court action and repossessions.

  • SVM keeping low profile in US

    13 Dec 2007

    SVM Asset Management attributes the strong performance of SVM global opportunities, which recently earned an AA rating from S&P, to holdings in emerging markets and low US exposure.

  • Synchronicity? It's more like sink or swim in economic waters

    13 Dec 2007

    I am not quite sure that I understand what Dr Mark Faber is driving at when he claims in one breath that the world's biggest economy is in recession but then in the next breath observes that we are at a high point in the first synchronised global boom in 200 years, which may give rise to a synchronised global bust.

  • Taxpayers could end up making profit from Rock

    13 Dec 2007

    Mortgage entrepreneur Stephen Knight says the Government should not nationalise Northern Rock under any circumstances,

  • Templeton emerging markets fund added to Cofunds

    12 Dec 2007

    Franklin Templeton Investments is pleased to announce Cofunds had added its new Templeton emerging markets smaller companies fund to its range of Luxembourg-domiciled fund offerings. 

  • The big sleep at the FSA

    13 Dec 2007

    I am really sorry but I am becoming Mr Angry. This is to do with the FSA and its regulation. It is meant to be coming down hard on smaller companies and has been quite critical recently.

  • The end for stakeholder

    13 Dec 2007

    The Pensions Bill will remove the requirement for employers to designate a stake-holder pension scheme, marking the final nail in the coffin for stakeholder schemes.

  • The nil-rate band plays on

    13 Dec 2007

    There have been a number of reports in the press stating that will planning using the nil-rate band of the first of a married couple to die will no longer be necessary following the Chancellor's pre-Budget report announcement that there will be a transferable nil-rate band between spouses and civil partners.

  • These are a few of my favourite themes

    13 Dec 2007

    It has been a busy year and the pre-Christmas lull does not seem to have happened yet. In my column this time last year, I said the dominant themes for 2007 would include pensions and personal accounts, financial capability and generic advice, distribution and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. It is true that all these issues have taken up much of our time but they still appear to be far from complete and are set to dominate 2008 as well. What have we achieved on each of these?

  • Third delay for Equitable report

    13 Dec 2007

    The publication of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham's report into the role the Government and the FSA played in the Equitable Life debacle is being delayed for the third time. The report, originally due in April is now unlikely to be published until next summer.

  • Tories slam 'too timid' deregulation

    13 Dec 2007

    The Conservatives have bran-ded the Government's attempts at deregulation in the Pens-ions Bill "too timid" to ensure the survival of existing def-ined-benefit schemes and the growth of new schemes.

  • Towry Law buys adviser Analysis

    13 Dec 2007

    Towry Law has bought Analysis, a financial advisory firm based in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Analysis will trade under the Towry Law banner and has over 2,500 clients and its owner, Tom Leonard becomes a senior client partner at Towry.

  • Trusted adviser

    13 Dec 2007

    An astonishing amount of money could be spent on inheritance tax unnecessarily this year because many taxpayers are failing to write insurance policies in trust. This is a key area where simple steps could protect clients from future financial woes.

  • Victory for pensioners as Hain announces £12.5bn compensation package

    17 Dec 2007

    Victims of pension scheme collapses claimed victory in the long battle with the Government today as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain announced a £12.5bn compensation package for the pensioners.

  • WdB picks Neptune and Cartesian

    13 Dec 2007

    Williams de Broe has added boutique managers Neptune and Cartesian to three of its assetmaster funds because it believes they will outperform in volatile conditions.

  • What a year it has been

    14 Dec 2007

    Looking back at 2007 most people will say the demise of Northern Rock was the biggest news story of the year, let alone the biggest mortgage story.

  • Will in the frame as Malone's successor

    13 Dec 2007

    Premier Mortgage Service starts a new search for a successor to managing director John Malone next week, with Linda Will widely tipped for the role.

  • Woolwich and Abbey cut SVRs

    12 Dec 2007

    Woolwich and Abbey have become the next lenders to cut their Standard Variable Rates by 0.25 per cent following the base rate cut last week.

  • Woolwich extending retention fees to BTL

    13 Dec 2007

    Woolwich will introduce retention fees across its buy-to-let range in the first quarter of 2008 in a bid to increase its presence in the market.

  • Wrap winners need to make huge outlay

    13 Dec 2007

    Product providers with the deepest pockets will win the wrap game, says Norwich Union intermediary and partnerships director David Barral.

  • Zemek quits New Star for Axa IM

    18 Dec 2007

    Theo Zemek, manager of the New Star fixed interest and managed distribution funds, is leaving the firm to join Axa Investment Managers.

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