Money Marketing
17 December 2003

  • 2003:The year that went PI-shaped

    18 Dec 2003

    It has been a difficult year for IFAs, with professional indemnity cover going through the roof and the run-up to mortgage regulation adding to workloads. Informed Choice managing director Nick Bamford says he is paying 12 times as much as he did two years ago for PI insurance, with an excess three times higher. He says: "The average claim in the financial services world is half of our excess level. Apart from giving us catastrophe insurance, we are effectively paying ...

  • A consumer's view

    18 Dec 2003

    The Government is finishing the year with a bang. The pre-Budget statement, although generally dull and depressing, with the Chancellor admitting that he needs to borrow £37bn this year to balance the books, did have one or two bright spots. Anyone saving for retirement will be delighted with the news that residential property is to become an eligible investment for a Sipp. What has prompted this change of heart is difficult to imagine. Until now, the ...

  • AJ Bell says residential property in pensions is 'madness'

    17 Dec 2003

    The Inland Revenue's proposal to allow residential property to be held within pensions is madness says consulting actuaries and Sipp provider AJ Bell.AJ Bell managing director Andy Bell says people putting their own home within a pension wrapper would cause administrative chaos and goes against the fundamental principles of a pension scheme as people would use pensions as an inheritance tax planning vehicle to pass their property to their children.Bell says: "We urge ...

  • Assureweb call for tech shake-up

    18 Dec 2003

    Assureweb has attacked rival technology providers for making their systems and websites too difficult for advisers to use. Chief executive officer Charles Bryant wants provid-ers to review their offerings and recognise that "the levels of IT literacy vary massively among users". Adviser Forum research estimates that IFAs could save £71m a year by getting existing policy information online and Bryant wants providers to update their systems to make this saving ...

  • BBB chief Butcher quits firm for new challenge

    18 Dec 2003

    Berkeley Berry Birch group finance director Craig Butcher is leaving the firm to pursue other business interests. Butcher, who has been with the Coventry firm for threeanda-half years, will leave at the end of March 2004. BBB is looking for a replacement. Butcher replaced John Owen as Berry Birch and Noble group finance director in March 2001 before taking the same role at Berkeley Berry Birch group which was formed after its £47.7m purchase of Berkeley Independent ...

  • Britannic star Roberts quits to run Aegon income funds

    18 Dec 2003

    Aegon Asset Management has poached Britannic Asset Management star manager David Roberts to replace Old Mutual-bound Stephen Snowden as head of retail fixed income and manager of its extra-income fund. Roberts, who is believed to have been a target for Old Mutual after Richard Woolnough's departure to M&G, manages BAM's flagship corporate bond and high-income bond funds. Over the 12 months to December 12, the corporate bond fund is 15th out of 90 funds in its sector ...

  • Brokers confused over FSA whole-of-market loan rules

    18 Dec 2003

    The FSA's description of what will constitute a whole-of-market offering under mortgage regulation is still unclear, according to leading mortgage brokers. In order to describe themselves as independent under statutory regulation from October next year, firms will have to be representative of the whole of the market, which can be possible even if they have a relatively small panel of lenders. Some brokers believe that the description of what will constitute whole ...

  • Brown to close IHT loophole on homes

    18 Dec 2003

    The Government plans to close a loophole retrospectively which has helped homeowners to avoid inheritance tax. Homeloan schemes have allowed homeowners who would have been subject to inheritance tax to sell their homes to a trust in return for an IOU. The IOU would then be passed on to their children through another trust and the parents would be able to continue living in the home. But Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to force homeowners either to dismantle the scheme or ...

  • BSA sees high multiples for long loans

    18 Dec 2003

    An increase in long-term fixed mortgages will see lenders offering loans at higher income multiples, according to the Building Societies' Association. As the Treasury looks to encourage more consumers to look to the long-term fixed market ahead of expected int-erest rate rises, the BSA bel-ieves that lenders will start to offer more loans at higher income multiples. The trade body says lenders will be keener to provide loans at higher multiples because long-term ...

  • Buy to let is difference as C&G loan share sags while

    18 Dec 2003

    Cheltenham & Gloucester has lost market share while lending at Bradford & Bingley continues to grow strongly as a result of the lenders' differing attitudes to buy-to-let business. Lloyds TSB's trading update reveals that C&G's market share of net new lending in the third quarter of this year has softened due to continued avoidance of the buy-to-let, sub-prime and self-certification mortgage markets. But B&B's pre-close briefing reveals ...

  • C&G appoints mortgage director

    17 Dec 2003

    Cheltenham & Gloucester has appointed Mike Mitchell to its executive team as mortgage director. He takes over from retiring mortgage director Roger Malvern.

  • Cazalet claims Moms beat Fofs

    18 Dec 2003

    Manager of managers should provide superior risk-managed portfolios, strategies and returns compared with fund of funds, according to a report by Cazalet Consulting. The report, commissioned by Scottish Widows to assess its tie-up with leading multi-manager Russell Investment Group, argues that Fofs are limited because they can only invest in retail funds available in the UK. It says Moms can focus managers on strategies and parts of the market where they have a competitive ...

  • Chase de Vere fined over precipice bonds

    19 Dec 2003

    Chase de Vere is the first IFA to be fined over precipice and high income bond promotional material with the FSA imposing a £165,000 penalty.The FSA says a Chase de Vere marketing campaign promoted funds that were unclear, unfair and misleading. The case relates to a direct offer promotion for high income and precipice bonds circulated with more than 2 million copies of national newspapers and directly mailed to 236,000 prospective customers.FSA director of enforcement ...

  • Chase de Vere response to fine from FSA

    19 Dec 2003

    Chase de Vere, today fined £165,000 by the FSA over precipice and high income bond promotional material, says it did not intentionally seek to mislead customers with the promotion.It says it acted promptly to mitigate any actual or potential impact as a result of the promotion, and underlines that all 259 customers who had responded were given the opportunity to cancel their investment without loss. Fourteen customers did so.Chase says the FSA acknowledges this action ...

  • Commentary - John Ellis

    18 Dec 2003

    There continues to be a huge gap between the type of advice that the consumer effectively receives from our industry and, while some prefer the service of a direct offering, there are many that require and value advice, in all instances what is available comes in many variables, but generally fall into the following options, the good, the bad and the extremely ugly. Misselling scandals and regulatory changes aside, many of the issues come from the ongoing servicing and value that ...

  • Consolidation nation

    18 Dec 2003

    Consolidation was a major theme of the investment industry in 2003. At the forefront was New Star, which continued its bid for world domination with the acquisition of Edinburgh Fund Managers, Exeter Fund Managers and - deep breath - the bulk of Aberdeen Asset Manage-ment's retail funds. Inter-esting deals by John Duffield and at good prices, too. New Star was not the only acquisitive group on the hunt. Amex's purchase of Thread-needle in June was big news and ...

  • Correspondent's View

    18 Dec 2003

    With Christmas just around the corner and more things going on than you can shake a stick at, it is typical that half the office has gone down with flu while the rest are using up the holiday allowance they are not allowed to carry over into next year. The office is eerily quiet apart from the sound of a colleague coughing up phlegm into a makeshift spittoon. If I have not succumbed to a cold by the end of the week, it will be a miracle. The problem with so many people ...

  • Countrywide to proceed with demerger of life operation

    22 Dec 2003

    Countrywide Assured has announced that it will proceed with the demerger of its life assurance operations.Countrywide announced on December 5th that it was proposing to sell or demerge its life assurance operations. It has now made the decision to demerge them and will discontinue discussions in relation to the sales process immediately.

  • Currying favour

    18 Dec 2003

    Possibly the most boring game in the world is brought to you by your regulator, courtesy of your regulatory fees. The FSA is throwing a bit of finance into the Bombay mix with the introduction of a red-hot new feature on the consumer corner of its website - the Curry Calculator. This is not a joke. Our regulator, feared and revered in equal measure, is asking consumers to tikka look and try to rise to the challenge of calculating the service charge in an Indian restaurant. ...

  • Destini buys top-end Bloomsbury

    18 Dec 2003

    Destini has made its fourteenth purchase this year with a deal to buy Bloomsbury Financial Planning. London IFA Bloomsbury is run by Sofa director Jason Butler and Campbell Edgar and has six RIs, with four being qualified financial planners. The fee-based company specialises in advising clients with assets of more than £1m. Bloomsbury managing director Butler says part of the benefit of the deal will be the referral system that operates within the Destini group. Destini ...

  • Ellis on the move to Axa as Choudhury becomes MD

    18 Dec 2003

    Henderson Global Investors head of UK retail Simon Ellis is joining Axa Investment Managers, taking over from Julia Choudhury, who has been promoted to managing director. Ellis, who has been with Henderson for 13 years, six years in his current position, will become Axa IM's head of retail, responsible for its multi-manager business and retail funds. He will take a seat on Axa IM's UK senior management committee when he joins in the first quarter of next year ...

  • Family Assurance appoints New Star to manage £1.5bn

    22 Dec 2003

    Family Assurance has appointed New Star to run £1.5bn of its funds under management. The move is part of FA's strategy to become the leading provider of the Child Trust Fund, due to be launched in 2005.FA chief executive John Reeve says: "We see the move as another important pieced of the jigsaw as we move closer to the CTF launch, giving all out members access to greater resources in the vital area of investment management."

  • Fear of regulator panic as it probes structured products

    18 Dec 2003

    The FSA has revealed the extent of its concerns about structured products in a questionnaire asking IFA firms to detail their ability to meet potential misselling claims. The 15-point questionnaire was sent out last week and firms were asked to return it within 24 hours. It asks for an assessment of their overall financial position, including solvency and potential ability to meet claims from investors. It also requests information on other liabilities, including split-capital ...

  • Friends fined £675,000 for mis-handling mortgage endowment complaints

    17 Dec 2003

    Friends Provident has been fined £675,000 for mis-handling of mortgage endowment complaints. The Financial Services Authority said Friends was guilty of failures in its procedures between October 2001 and February 2003 which led to the mis-handling of mortgage endowment complaints.Friends Provident received 21,788 mortgage endowment complaints between March 2000, when its dedicated complaints handling team was established, and February 2003, when its defective procedures ...

  • Friends Provident - UK Safeguard Optimiser Fund

    22 Dec 2003

    Type: Unit-linked fundAim: Growth by investing in the ISIS FTSE All-Share Index Tracker fund and the Barclays Global investors Liquidity Plus FundMinimum investment: Lump sum £5,000Investment split: Up to 70% ISIS FTSE All-Share Index Tracker fund, remainder in Barclays Global investors Liquidity Plus FundCharges: Annual 0.6%Commission: Initial up to 5% through Investment Portfolio Bond, extra 0.5% for online applicationsTel: ...

  • FSA bans insurance to pay fines

    22 Dec 2003

    FSA regulated firms and individuals will no longer be able to use insurance to pay fines under new rules announced this week. From January 1, any companies fined by the FSA will be forced to pay them out of their own pocket - ensuring the financial burden of regulation is borne directly by the firm or RI in question.FSA counsel general Andrew Whittaker says: "Insurance to pay FSA fines undermines their impact as an incentive to good conduct. This move will improve the effectiveness ...

  • Geoff Hurst

    18 Dec 2003

    Winning the World Cup in 1966 while taking home a salary of £45 a week meant that hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst's financial planning issues were a world away from those of today's stars. The fantastic wealth thrown at the modern game means that footballers are now looking at 10 years of playing followed by 50 years enjoying the proceeds. In Hurst's day, the expectation was that you would rejoin the mainstream workforce as soon as your playing career was over. Knighted ...

  • Half of Aaron's advisers switch to join Bates

    18 Dec 2003

    Almost half of David Aaron Partnership's advisers have left the company to spearhead the launch of Bates Investment Services' first regional office in Milton Keynes next year. Six of DAP's 13 advisers have decided to join Bates after approaching Bates' parent firm The Money Portal soon after the TMP deal to acquire DAP collapsed in November. The RIs, all high-net-worth specialists, will comprise the advisory staff of the Milton Keynes office, which is due to open in ...

  • Hat-trick hero Hurst teams up with IFA sports firm

    18 Dec 2003

    England football legend Sir Geoff Hurst is joining fast-growing sports and entertainment IFA Jonathan Power Associates as a non-executive director. Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 World Cup Final, is being brought on to the board of the firm to raise its profile and will act as an introducer and speak about the importance of financial planning in presentations to groups of prospective clients. Hurst is understood to be offered non-executive directorships every ...

  • Healthcare firm Jelf buys PMI specialist

    18 Dec 2003

    Healthcare intermediary the Jelf Group is buying Cardiff-based specialist private medical insurance firm Pontin & Stein for an undisclosed sum. Pontin & Stein's eight advisers will continue to operate from its Cardiff Business Park premises, with the operation being expanded to offer financial services and commercial and credit insurance. The deal means that Jelf, which offers consultancy, healthcare and ins-urance services, now has annual business of more ...

  • Hope and cheer for the new year

    18 Dec 2003

    It was a nasty old year for IFAs in 2003. The main culprits were PI and continuing negative investor sentiment. Some advisers struggled and hundreds quit while few matched the scale of profitability of three or four years ago. There were some big losses, although a huge number of intermediary businesses remain profitable. But was it all bad? The regulator continued to get in everyone's hair but it is trying to change. There will be fewer consultations, said new chief executive ...

  • IFA group plans Euro challenge on the FSMA

    18 Dec 2003

    A group of IFAs co-ordinated by Sway chief executive Jon Maguire is seeking £1m to challenge the legality of the Financial Services and Markets Act. It is setting up Justice for IFAs, a lobbying firm, to argue that the Act breaches European human rights legislation. Their efforts will be based on three main points. The first is that where any inquiry may lead to criminal charges, which it says is the case with all FSA probes, it is the right of anyone under investigation ...

  • IFA says providers are affecting his business

    18 Dec 2003

    A South-west IFA has slammed product pro-viders for making his clients even more cynical about the financial services industry. Anstey Financial Planning director Gerard O'Boyle believes his clients are losing out and his business is suffering because providers are not dealing with them fairly. He has made complaints to Clerical Medical, Pearl, Jupiter and Legal & General but does not believe he has received a satisfactory response from any of the companies ...

  • IFA survey puts Pru and NU as worst for service

    18 Dec 2003

    Prudential has topped a White-church Network survey of its members revealing which providers have the worst service and attitude to IFAs, with Norwich Union close behind. Prudential scored an average 2.09 out of five for service, making it the worst, with Norwich Union in second place with 2.24 and Scottish Life third on 2.53. Legal & General and Scottish Equitable are joint fourth with 2.56 and Scottish Widows is fifth on 2.57. Standard Life was rated best ...

  • Independent view

    18 Dec 2003

    I have never forgotten Gary Player's famous quote "The harder I practise the luckier I get." You can translate this into "The more meetings I have the more business I write." It is not quite as easy as that. Simply practising harder will not improve your golf unless your practice is focused and of a high quality. Likewise,it is important to have plenty of meetings with good quality clients or prospects on a basis that is highly likely to be profitable. In the last ...

  • Investment Analysis

    18 Dec 2003

    DAVID HAMBIDGE Investment director,Premier Fund Managers Most of the world's major stockmarkets continued to hover around their highs for the year last week without moving significantly in either direction. By the end of the week the FTSE World index was trading 0.8 per cent higher, a gain of 26 per cent since the start of the year. In the UK, investors sold shares that have led the market higher over the last few months and, while oil and utility stocks were generally ...

  • Investment view

    18 Dec 2003

    With Christmas accelerating towards us and just a few trading days left before we embark upon the adventure that will be 2004, it is looking fairly certain that this year will post a positive return, perhaps even into double figures. Last week also saw the Dow Jones close above 10,000 for the first time since May 2002. There is a better tone to markets, yet you do not have to look very far to find traces of bears whoare still roaming around. Has the market got it wrong or is it the bears ...

  • Isa on the cake for L&G

    17 Dec 2003

    LEGAL & GENERALDistribution TrustType: Unit trustAim: Income and growth by investing in corporate bonds and equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £25Investment split: Investment-grade corporate bonds 54%, high-yield bonds 15%, UK equities 30%, cash 1%Isa link: YesPep transfers: YesYield: 4.9%Commission: Initial 5%Charges: Initial 5%, annual 1.25%Special offer: Initial charge ...

  • Journos get the hump as Polhill parties on

    18 Dec 2003

    Well, it was a close-run thing, the traditional Diary best party of the year, after the Money Marketing boat party, of course. First, no, Gordon, Artemis is not getting an entry for the waitresses posing as the hunting Greek deity with one breast showing. In ascending order, in third place, the AITC summer party Coq D'Argent in the City - always a strong showing from Annabel and Gemma and Jemma. Maybe next year. In second and just pipped to the post, Chelsea ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    18 Dec 2003

    It makes sense to have an independent financial adviser at home and abroad who understands the host country's rules and regulations and the investments available to you. Until now, there has been no independent analysis of commercial property partnerships and funds. However, a new publication called Property Fund Review has been launched, with research provided by Brett Robinson and Stephen Palmer of Seven Dials Consulting, a leading provider of research into property investment ...

  • L&G predicting FTSE to end 2004 at 4,700

    19 Dec 2003

    Legal & General is expecting the FTSE to end the year at 4,700, an increase of around 8 per cent on its current level, but says an outlook of modest increases in interest rates means it will be a difficult year for investment grade corporate bonds and gilts.L&G Investment Management financial economist Andrew Clare says: "The US economy ha picked up strongly this year and after a couple of years in the doldrums even Europe and Japan are showing signs of recovery. Equity markets ...

  • Lehman buys sub-prime firm

    18 Dec 2003

    US investment bank Lehman Brothers has acquired specialist sub-prime lender Preferred Mortgages in its second foray into the UK retail market. Preferred will continue as a stand-alone mortgage business but says, with Lehman Brothers behind it, it will be able to build its business. Lehman, which had global assets of over $48bn in 2002, bought sub-prime lender Southern Pacific Mortgages last year. Preferred and SPML will continue as separate brands. Preferred ...

  • Leitch retires from Zurich

    18 Dec 2003

    Sandy Letich is retiring as cheif executive officer of the Zurich Financial Services UKISA/ Asia Business division after 33 years with the group.

  • Loose change

    18 Dec 2003

    When asked if a person can change, any self-respecting psychiatrist will tell you that for any progress to be made, the person will want to change. This year will be remembered as a year when change was very much on the agenda but not everyone was prepared to change at the required pace. Depolarisation was brought to a standstill when the menu became the cornerstone of the revised marketplace and when this was added to the proposed style of status disclosure, the appeal of the ...

  • Marshall Williams in Park Row merger

    18 Dec 2003

    IFA Marshall Williams, which was put out of business by the FSA earlier this year for failing to find professional indemnity cover, has survived through a merger with Park Row. Marshall Williams was ref-used cover by Magian Underwriting Agency a year ago despite having had no claims in five years with the insurer. It was forced to stop trading by the FSA in May, provoking outrage from IFAs who felt the FSA was piling unnecessary pressure on small IFAs. Director ...

  • Midshires links up with L&G for cover deal

    18 Dec 2003

    Birmingham Midshires is to refer its mortgage custo-mers exclusively to Legal & General for insurance pro-ducts from spring next year. The two companies have entered into a new partnership which will mean that Midshires' customers will be referred to an L&G insurance consultant who will explain the range of cover available. Products will include life insurance, household insurance and accident, sickness and unemployment cover. L&G's technology solution, ...

  • Miles from the truth

    18 Dec 2003

    I am responding to the amazing revelations of Professor Miles. Perhaps the lack of take-up on long-term fixed-rate mort-gages has more to do with the fact that, of the 5,723 mortgage schemes available from lenders in the market (source: Mort-gage 2000), only 37 of them on offer are fixed rates for 10 years plus. These schemes are available from just 13 lenders, several of which are obscure names that the general public would not recognise. It is all very well to say ...

  • Misys announces 'continued losses' in IFA business

    17 Dec 2003

    Revenues in the Financial Services Division are expected to be 16 per cent below last year due to the continued weakness in the IFA network business. As anticipated in July, the group has continued to see a reduction in the overall number of RIs dropping to 6050 from 6600 in May.

  • MP presses for equity-release regulation to avert misselling

    18 Dec 2003

    A Labour MP is calling for the Government to take action to regulate all areas of equity release, including home reversion, to head off a "huge" misselling scandal. Barry Gardiner will raise his concerns over the "exponential growth" in selling in this area of the mortgage market with Treasury financial secretary Ruth Kelly at an adjournment debate this week. Rapid growth in sales of home-reversion plans has pushed the Treasury to consult on whether the sector should ...

  • N&P building society launches new capped loans

    17 Dec 2003

    Norwich and Peterborough Building Society has launched two new three year capped rate mortgages at 5.14 per cent and 5.29 per cent.Both are capped until January 5th 2007 and have a maximum loan to value of 95 per cent. They have early redemption charges of 3 per cent until January 5th 2007. Minimum loan is £1,000 and maximum is £2m.Group product manager Gary Lacey says: "The advantage of this type of mortgage is that the customer has all the benefits of a fixed ...

  • Newcastle Building Society - 3 Year Discount Mortgage

    23 Dec 2003

    Type: Discounted-rate mortgageDiscounted term: Until March 30, 2009Discount: 2.31%Payable rate: 3.49%Minimum loan: £15,000Maximum loan: Up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000Income multiples: Up to 90% of valuation 3.35 times principal income plus second or 2.5 times joint, up to 75% of valuation 3.5 times principal income plus second or 2.75 times joint, up to 50% of valuation four times principal ...

  • Northern Rock - Together 1 Year Discount Tracker

    17 Dec 2003

    Type: Flexible tracker mortgageTracker term: Five yearsTracker rate: Bank of England base rate plus 0.24% until January 1, 2005, Bank of England base rate plus 1.85% until January 1, 2009Payable rate: 3.99%Minimum loan: £1Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250,000, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1m, up to 85% of valuation subject to no maximumIncome multiples: Up to ...

  • NU exits pre-fund LTC to focus on immediate needs

    18 Dec 2003

    Norwich Union has withdrawn from the pre-funded long-term care market and will instead focus on immediate needs. The company says its review of the pre-funded LTC sector shows that the market has been in decline because consu-mers have other financial priorities. However, it says there has been strong growth in the immediate needs LTC market in recent years, with ABI figures showing an average increase of 30 per cent each year from 1999 to 2002. Applications ...

  • NU pays up after critical cover row

    18 Dec 2003

    Norwich Union has agreed to compensate an IFA and his client over a criticalillness policy. Andrew Oliver & Co principal Andrew Oliver told Money Marketing that NU advised the client to cash in an existing guaranteed premium CI policy and replace it with a reviewable policy for a bigger sum assured following a remortgage. The client only wanted to top up cover for the difference between the old and new mortgage and Oliver has been fighting NU to get the initial terms ...

  • NU to host investment roadshows

    19 Dec 2003

    Norwich Union is hosting a series of investment roadshows to help IFAs prepare for the ISA season. The sessions will examine the role of equities, with-profits, fixed income and property in building a balanced portfolio.

  • Out of context of 2003

    18 Dec 2003

    •"This is PR, don't you know darling." Ex-Money Marketing journalist turned Aegon PR Adrian Cammidge shows how much life has changed in a few short months, prompting the newsdesk's favourite cartoon •"There is an old Scottish saying - never trust a Slovakian girl armed with a bottle of port and a packet of oatcakes." - Aegon PR Scott White on the launch of the company's new operation in Central Europe. •"I like the word lambasted. Isn't that what ...

  • Pat on back for Portman

    19 Dec 2003

    PORTMAN BUILDING SOCIETYTWO YEAR FIXED RATEType: Two-year fixed-rate mortgageFixed term: Fixed until December 1, 2005Fixed rate: 4.25%Minimum loan: £15,500Maximum loan: Up to 95% of valuation subject to a maximum of £250, up to 90% of valuation subject to a maximum of £400,000, up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of £500,000, up to 75% of valuation subject to a maximum of £1mIncome ...

  • Pensions reforms good for drawdown - Annuity Bureau

    17 Dec 2003

    Pensions simplifications will prove to be a boost for the income drawdown market according to IFA the Annuity Bureau.Head of marketing David Marlow says the new proposals, published alongside last week's pre-Budget Report, will allow investors to withdraw as little as £1 a year from their scheme from April, 2005.And those with larger pension pots will be able to drawdown up to 120 per cent of what may be currently purchased on the open market with an annuity says ...

  • PI is still half-baked

    18 Dec 2003

    It was with interest that I read Keith Lewis's letter (Money Marketing, November 6) and the responses from Glyn Morris of Magian and Fergus Chappel of Collegiate (Money Marketing, November 20). My case is very similar to Keith's. Even though I say it myself, I am totally "clean" and have been in financial services for 44 years, with 25 of those as a sole trader IFA. After three years with Magian, through Collegiate, they decided in March this year that they ...

  • Pru chief hits back at Miles over SVR claims

    18 Dec 2003

    Prudential national mortgage club manager John Malone has defended mortgage lenders against an attack from Professor David Miles in his interim report published last week. Miles was asked by Chancellor Gordon Brown in April to look into reasons for the lack of take-up of long-term fixed-rate mortgages in the UK. The interim report said that lenders are cross-subsidising cheap discounted mortgages with funds from existing customers on their more expensive standard variable ...

  • Quester tops up

    17 Dec 2003

    Quester Capital Management is raising another £2m for the Quester 5 venture capital trust (VCT).Quester 5 was established in December 2001 and started investing in unquoted companies in May 2002. has raised £18.6m to date. It currently invests in seven teen unquoted companies at different stages of development. Most of these companies are involved in technology and related areas such as telecommunications.The objective of Quester 5 is to ...

  • Regulator's laundry list just will not wash

    18 Dec 2003

    In line with Money Marketing's campaign to try and make life a little more tolerable for IFAs, perhaps you could revisit the vexed question of money laundering. It seems that the regulations have been framed with high-street institutions and large organisations in mind. There seems to be no acknowledgement of the way in which financial advisers operate. On the one hand, we are obliged to know our clients. If that is the case, then why is our own cognisance not good ...

  • Relaxed FSA stance on PI averts November crisis

    18 Dec 2003

    The November professional indemnity insurance renewal season was not the crisis it could have been compared with last year or even April's renewal period, according to PI brokers and underwriters. November, normally the busiest month in the PI calendar, has not been as busy as many thought and the industry says this is due to the FSA's more relaxed attitude. PI insurer Magian Mutual says the firm is busier this month than in November because the FSA is not leaning ...

  • Return to spender

    18 Dec 2003

    I have recently been presenting a number of seminars on one of my favourite financial services topics - asset allocation. I will be looking here at projected returns from each of the major asset classes and sectors. Importantly, I will not resign myself to simply commenting on the appropriateness of the FSA's standard illustrations for investment returns (4, 6 and 8 per cent for non-pension investments, with slightly higher assumptions for more tax-efficient vehicles) but will ...

  • Revenue concession clears fears over lifetime limit tax

    18 Dec 2003

    The Inland Revenue's softening of the £1.4m lifetime pension limit means people who exceed the limit will not be penalised, say providers and advisers. The reduction of the recovery charge to 25 per cent from 33.3 per cent gives an overall tax rate on excess funds of 55 per cent, which experts say is broadly equivalent to saving outside a pension. Taking into account combined National Insurance contributions of 13 per cent, employer contributions and tax-free ...

  • Sipps and buy to let set for a boost from pension freedom

    18 Dec 2003

    Self-invested pensions are set for a major boost after the pre-Budget report cleared the way for Sipps to invest in residential property. The buy-to-let sector will also be buoyed by new Inland Revenue rules that will allow pension schemes to invest in all types of investments, including residential property. Under current rules, borrowing of 75 per cent of purchase price is allowed for commercial property. The new rules, which are planned to come into effect in April ...

  • SSASs and Sipps set to escape Europe threat

    18 Dec 2003

    Small self-administered schemes and self-invested personal pensions are understood to have won a reprieve from a European Union threat to their borrowing powers, with the Department for Work and Pensions favouring an opt-out. The EU occupational pensions directive had threatened Ssass and Sipps with a prohibition against borrowing to invest in property but the DWP is believed to favour exempting schemes which have fewer than 100 lives from the new rules. Sipps, by virtue ...

  • Standard cuts critical cover term to 25 years

    18 Dec 2003

    Standard Life is reducing the maximum term on its critical-illness policies from 35 years to 25 years and removing angioplasty from its list of covered conditions. The firm says it would rather maintain the guarantee over a shorter term than introduce reviewable rates although rates on stand-alone plans will be reviewed every five years. Standard says it is removing angioplasty because it is increasingly being diagnosed at a younger age and should be considered to be ...

  • Talkback

    18 Dec 2003

    "Yes, due to the way we have aligned our business." Alan Bowers, Laurel Court Associates "Possibly. I am not convinced but hopefully it will be." Kenneth Jones, Kenneth Jones & Co. "Hopefully, yes. We have had so many restrictions placed on us this year - I think that all advisers have - so we have joined a network and I think that things will improve next year." Gillian Purves, R Purves & Co "Yes. It has to be or else I will starve to death.I think ...

  • Templeton reorganises sales team

    17 Dec 2003

    Franklin Templeton has reorganised its sales team as part of its push into the UK retail market.It has appointed Matt Lepine as business development manager, responsible for expanding relationships with nationals, networks and life companies. He was previously at Artemis, where he performed a similar role in the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.Templeton has also appointed Gavin Freeman as sales development executive, focusing on UK IFAs. He was previously ...

  • Thames River Capital - Garret Fund

    18 Dec 2003

    Type: Hedge fundAim: Growth by investing long and short in investment-grade global government bonds and government-related bondsMinimum investment: $100,000. Euros 100,000, £70.000Investment split: 100% investment-grade government bonds and government-related bondsPlace of registration: Cayman IslandsCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 020 7360 1270

  • The deal thing

    18 Dec 2003

    The prospect of depolarisation saw a distribution carve-up in 2003 with companies fighting it out for IFAs although prices have fallen over the past few years. Advisers joined and left networks in droves and the networks and support services providers themselves changed shape. Aegon UK kicked off the new year by taking a 9 per cent stake in Aurora Financial Group, formed from a merger between Jackson Batten and Advisory and Financial Planning Services. This followed a series of ...

  • The Share Centre - Personal Retirement Account

    19 Dec 2003

    Type: Full SippMinimum investment: Lump sum £780, £117 a monthInvestment choice: All Inland Revenue permitted investments except commercial propertyOptions: NoneCharges: Set up fee £120, annual £80-£160 depending on fund valueCommission: Subject to negotiationTel: 01296 414541

  • Throwing light on the costs of state pensions

    18 Dec 2003

    We have seen a large number of papers and proposals that will affect pensions over the coming years. These include a new priority order on winding up defined-benefit schemes to provide extra protection for long-serving members. There are proposals to simplify contracted-out schemes and bring annual savings to employers of up to £16m by allowing them to convert guaranteed minimum pensions to "normal" scheme benefits, provided they are equivalent in actuarial terms. The ...

  • Tilney Investment Management - Tilney American Growth Fund

    18 Dec 2003

    Type: Oeic Aim: Growth by investing in US equitiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100 Investment split: 100% US equities Isa link: Yes Pep transfers: Yes Charges: Initial 4%, annual 1.25% Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 0808 100 8878

  • Tony Wickenden

    18 Dec 2003

    It's that time of year for many companies - the accounting year-end. With no advance corporation tax due on dividends, the timing of dividend payments has no corporation tax implications. However, timing is very important when it comes to considering the alternatives for extracting funds from the company for the benefit of the owner-manager. The two most obvious of these are pensions and salary/bonus. For pension payments to be deductible against corporate profits, ...

  • Trail blazers

    18 Dec 2003

    Last week's pre-Budget report and publication of the initial findings of the Miles review demonstrates yet again the central concern that this Government has over the housing market and mortgages. Yet some of the easily envisaged results of the Government stance are contrary to its stated and real concerns. One of the greatest issues facing us is that sustained house price inflation is crippling the first-time buyer market, on which the long-term health of our industry ...

  • Trivial pursuit could be profitable move

    18 Dec 2003

    New rules to free up small pension pots will open the door for more investors to take small pension funds in cash and get a bonus from the Inland Revenue, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. The Revenue is proposing to increase the trivial commutation level - where a pension fund can be returned rather than converted into an annuity - to £14,000, or 1 per cent of the lifetime limit, from its previous proposal of a limit of £10,000. Under current rules, a pension ...

  • When the going gets tough ... get advising

    18 Dec 2003

    What lessons can we learn from the events of the last 12 months? Most executives of IFA firms say it has been a very difficult year although business picked up in the second half. The reasons behind this are clear. War in Iraq contributed to a sense of uncertainty by investors. As reform of our industry continued at a snail's pace, with FSA papers on depolarisation and the Sandler suite and the follow-up to the Pensions Green Paper, it is little wonder that our clients sat ...

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