Money Marketing
19 December 2001

  • 'Frosty' Snowman

    20 Dec 2001

    Lives: Iceland, Lapland and Kensington. Born: Every December. Age: Won't say. Education and qualifications: BA in meteorology, University of Lapland, Sweden. Career: No Business like Snow Business Refrigeration - account manager; Bob Sleigh Mortgage Advisers - consultant; Polar Capital Advisers - chief executive. Career ambition: To kick Santa and Jesus into touch and become the prime image of Yuletide marketing. Life ambition: To crack the melting problem. Catchphrase: ...

  • £1.7m buys NU stake in Inter-Alliance

    20 Dec 2001

    Norwich Union has continued its spree of buying stakes in IFA firms by taking a 4.7 per cent share in Inter-Alliance for £1.7m.The life company confirms it is in discussions with other IFAs and says it only takes stakes in listed companies.Norwich Union has spent £12m so far buying up shares in IFAs and has 5 per cent in Berkeley Berry Birch, 4.7 per cent in Lynx, parent company of Bank-hall, 3 per cent in Cavanagh and 2 per cent in Millfield. All Inter-Alliance’ major shareholders ...

  • 20% will invest in stakeholder for their child

    20 Dec 2001

    More than a fifth of parents are likely to take out a stakeholder pension for their children, according to a new survey from Legal & General. The findings indicate that parents favour stakeholder because it allows them to make provision for their children's future rather than making funds readily available to them. Fifty-seven per cent of the parents surveyed by BMRB on behalf of L&G say they are already saving at least £20 a month for their children. L&G ...

  • A consumer's view

    20 Dec 2001

    Nobody loves the regulator. Having them all in one place, now that the FSA has taken over as all-encompassing watchdog for the financial services industry, at least gives disgruntled practitioners a focus for their irritation. It cannot be much fun being a regulator but there is one oft-complained of area in which they could make their job easier. It is a question of attitude. The most common complaint from the regulated is that FSA investigators move in and make you feel like criminals, ...

  • After the downturn...will fund firms fall on their feet in 2002?

    20 Dec 2001

    The fund management community will no doubt welcome the end of 2001. With markets having headed southwards for 11 of the past 12 months, assets have plummeted in value, sales have been weak and customers have generally been unhappy with their depressed fund valuations. The year will be remembered principally for the terrible events of September 11 and their devastating effect on the world economy. Fidelity says its Isa sales fell steadily over the year and, in August, were 76 per ...

  • Aim is to get best deal for public

    20 Dec 2001

    2001 has been a busy year for financial services. Most not-ably, the FSA became the single regulator of financial services at the end of November. But another important development was DeAnne Julius' independent review group's report on the banking and mortgage codes. This identified ways to give the consumer a better idea of the service his or her bank is offering and to make it easier to use that information. I am pleased to say the industry has res-ponded constructively, accepting ...

  • Annuity fears fail to quell optimism over retirement

    20 Dec 2001

    Many people feel positive about retirement despite constant publicity about falling annuity rates and lack of pension provision, according to research carried out for RJ Temple. Its survey shows that many people see retirement as a new stage in their life where they can pursue their personal interests although many are also concerned about the financial burden this may bring. Single women are less positive about the future and have more concerns, with only 15 per cent seeing retirement ...

  • Appeal process

    20 Dec 2001

    I wonder just how many in the financial services industry realise that they may now appeal to an independent tribunal should they feel that the FSA has acted unfairly towards them? The process, I am told, is amazingly simple. It consists of a two-page form to be completed and submitted to the Financial Services & Markets Tribunal situated in the Bloomsbury area of London. Their plea will be heard by the tribunal under its president, Stephen Oliver, QC, who promises to hold ...

  • B&B's IFA strategy is branded too costly

    20 Dec 2001

    City analysts have given a cool response to Bradford & Bingley's restructuring programme, predicting that investors will lose patience, hitting the company's value. The warning follows an end-of-year announcement in which B&B predicts it will increase distribution in 2002, based on a growing salesforce and increased impact of The MarketPlace and Charcol brands. But analysts argue that the distribution strategy of placing IFAs in high-street branches is too costly ...

  • Britannic's medicine goes down well with the judges

    20 Dec 2001

    Britannic Retirement Solutions has scooped top prize in the Direct Marketing Association Awards. Its campaign, which beat competition from 849 other entrants in the financial services category, used a distinctive chemist's bag containing a medicine box. Inside was a leaflet explaining its enhanced annuity product, which is aimed at people suffering from a number of disabilities and conditions. The leaflet played on the theme of ailment and treatment. The bags were mailed ...

  • Burns-Anderson fined £85k for list of compliance errors

    20 Dec 2001

    The PIA has hit IFA network Burns-Anderson with an £85,000 fine and ordered it to pay costs of £35,000 for a series of compliance failings dating back to 1999 and 2000. The action comes even though Burns-Anderson clients did not suffer significant losses as a result of the shortcomings but the regulator says the network's inability to prevent the breaches increased the seriousness of the situation. Compliance visits in 1999 and 2000 found a number of failings, including ...

  • Call for co-operation as lenders welcome Treasury's decision

    20 Dec 2001

    Mortgage lenders have applauded the Treasury's decision for the FSA to regulate mortgage advice from 2004 and remove the overlap between voluntary and statutory regulators. Britannic Money is issuing a rally call to the industry to co-operate fully with the FSA to ensure regulation is implemented as soon as possible. Chief executive Tony Ward says: "Some areas within the responsibility of the lender should be moved along to the original timetable." Nationwide chief executive ...

  • Cazalet says dash for distribution will intensify

    19 Dec 2001

    Industry analyst Ned Cazelet says he expects competition for the remaining IFA channels to intensify over the coming months as a result of Skandia's deal for Bankhall.

  • Chilton quits Savills 'to seek fresh challenge'

    20 Dec 2001

    Leading IFA mortgage commentator and FPD Savills managing director Mark Chilton has quit the firm by mutual agreement. He had been with Savills since the firm's inception in February 1997. Savills says Chilton left on December 14 by mutual agreement to seek a fresh challenge and is not being replaced. It says he is taking a break over Christmas to decide on his future career. The three remaining directors, Mike Boles, Mark Harris and Stuart Robinson, will take responsibility ...

  • Clerical fears Skandia deal is part of wider trend

    19 Dec 2001

    Clerical Medical fears Skandia's bid for Bankhall is part of a wider trend which could see a handful of providers controlling most of the IFA distribution.

  • Davies gets public rebuke from Brown

    20 Dec 2001

    The Chancellor has publicly warned FSA chairman How-ard Davies to keep the Trea-sury informed about any problems which may lead to the Government facing criticism, a move some commentators say is a dressing down. Opposition politicians bel-ieve that the warning, in the form of a letter to Davies, is the result of Treasury embarrassment over the Equitable Life debacle. The letter makes clear the FSA is expected to inform the Government about any potential crises that may arise, ...

  • Dazed and confused

    20 Dec 2001

    Since the Chancellor's pre-Budget statement, domestic political attention has been focused on the NHS. Almost unnoticed in his report was a new commitment to massively increase means-tested welfare spending on pensioners - by £2bn in 2004/05 and successively larger amounts in the future. This, however, increases the complexity in an already opaque system, which has implications for individuals and advisers. Labour has adopted a strategy of targeting assistance for pensioners ...

  • Discounters set to feel bite from falling business

    20 Dec 2001

    Plummeting trail commission and a dive in new business volumes are set to throw many of the newest discount brokers into financial crisis this winter. Poor market conditions over most of the last two years have started to eat heavily into trail revenues, while a fall in advertising by fund managers combined with low investor confidence have created a drought of new business in recent weeks. The problems may be exacerbated by the fact that fund managers calculate trail in several ...

  • Divorcees' pension warning

    20 Dec 2001

    Couples contemplating a divorce should consider the full value of any pension scheme benefits, according to consultant actuary The Resolve Partnership. It says the true value of a pension is often overlooked and that spouses should be receiving up to double the current amount of their partner's occupational pension through divorce settlements. Resolve believes the pension sharing provisions of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act of 1999 often result in the divorced spouse failing ...

  • Foreign prospects

    20 Dec 2001

    Foreign & Colonial has introduced the with-prospects fund, an Oeic that works in a similar way to a with-profits bond. The fund invests in a portfolio of stocks from the UK and overseas plus fixed-interest investments. It is designed to produce long-term growth and to provide investors with the benefits of a with-profits bond while attempting to remedy the problems associated with them through the Oeic structure. Like a with-profits bond, investors are protected from sharp movements ...

  • FSA adding fund data to comparative tables

    20 Dec 2001

    The FSA is to expand its comparative tables to include unit trusts and Oeics in February but has ruled out the inclusion of investment trusts before October 2002. The upgraded website is also set to include a new ethical fund filter, which will allow investors to filter out non-ethical funds in the UK all companies sector. But the FSA says it is wary of the varying definitions of ethical funds and will include a disclaimer to highlight that "different people have different principles ...

  • FSA to probe claims over missold splits

    20 Dec 2001

    The FSA is to investigate allegations of IFA misselling and provider collusion in the split-capital investment trust arena, according to a discussion paper published this week. The regulator undertook an analysis of the sector at the end of September after several trusts ran into trouble in the falling markets, exacerbated by the US terrorist attacks on September 11. Since then, a handful have been forced to suspend dividends and have come close to breaching their bank coven-ants. ...

  • Group to seek ruling on DBS fee hike

    20 Dec 2001

    Angry DBS members are forming an action group to challenge the network's charge increases on the grounds that they are unfair. The DBS Action Group currently has the support of 60 member firms. It is looking to seek a court declaration that the price hike is unfair as it fundamentally changes the existing contract between DBS and its members. The group is hoping that the court will impose an injunction on DBS. This could delay the implementation of the new terms and cause embarrassment ...

  • Heavy petting

    20 Dec 2001

    Last week, in the wake of the silence on inheritance tax in the Chancellor's pre-Budget speech, I considered the prospects for future change to the now relatively well known IHT regime. I considered, in particular, the possibility of an increase in the nil-rate band as a fairly simple but effective proposal. Current best practice on IHT planning for married couples often incorporates consideration being given to a will trust to use the nil-rate band on the death of the ...

  • Hollingworth is top IFA pundit

    20 Dec 2001

    London & Country's David Hollingworth was the most frequently quoted IFA in the national press last month, commenting on base rate cuts and the wide variety of mortgage offers available from lenders. Hollingworth's top spot in the Presswatch survey was reflected by mortgages taking the biggest share of total coverage of financial services, at 19 per cent, compared with unit and investment trusts on 16 per cent and savings on 15 per cent. Hargreaves Lansdown's Mark ...

  • IFAs back FSA regulating loans

    20 Dec 2001

    IFAs have given their overwhelming backing to the Treasury's decision that the FSA will regulate mortgage advice and general insurance from 2004. In a poll of over 100 IFAs across the UK conducted by Money Marketing this week, 86 per cent, or 91 respondents, said yes to FSA regulation of mortgage advice and 73 per cent, or 77 respondents, supported the inclusion of general insurance. Only 14 respondents out of the 106 questioned, or 13 per cent, do not believe mortgage advice ...

  • IFAs find flaws in Tory MP's Bill bidding to reform annuity law

    20 Dec 2001

    Conservative MP David Curry this week published details of his Private Member's Bill calling for Government annuity reform which he will present to the House of Commons in January. However, IFAs have questioned the timing of the Bill, claiming it is pointless to fight a campaign for change from the backbenches, especially after the Government has already announced it is releasing a consultation paper on annuities, which is expected in January. The Pensions Annuities (Amendment) ...

  • Independent view

    20 Dec 2001

    When I started my practice six years ago, I had a tough decision to make. I could sit on my backside waiting for hoards of eager clients to knock on my door seeking advice or go out and sell myself. If I had chosen the former, my career as an IFA would have been short-lived. There is a shift of opinion in financial services to move from a sales-based approach to an advisory-based stance. We are told we must be professional advisers, not insurance salesmen. What is wrong with ...

  • Industry facing fresh talks as FSA gets remit for mortgage advice

    20 Dec 2001

    Mortgage lenders, intermediaries and trade bodies have welcomed the Treasury's decision to make the FSA responsible for regulating mortgage advice from 2004. The announcement means that N3 - the date when the FSA was set to regulate mortgage lending and administration but not advice - has been cancelled. N3 had originally been planned for August 2002. The regulator will now be reconsulting using some of its existing consultation work. It says the Council for Mortgage Lenders ...

  • Industry's anger over FSA bonuses warning

    20 Dec 2001

    The FSA is warning life offices to use prudence when determining annual bonus returns in what is seen by the industry as a bid to prevent another Equitable Life debacle. In a statement released this week, FSA managing director John Tiner said: "Companies should set bonus rates at levels that do not jeopardise payments to policyholders in future years." He said the regulator exp-ects life offices to justify declarations they make and to demonstrate to what extent they balance smoothing ...

  • Investment analysis

    20 Dec 2001

    After a strong 11-week rally, global equity markets lost ground last week as investors took profits and continued to worry about the prospects for the world economy. The FTSE World index shed gains made in the previous week and more, losing 3.3 per cent over five days. Following disappointing US employment data, a quarter-point cut in the Fed rate came as no great surprise to equity markets, which failed to be inspired. Instead, the focus was on more gloomy news from the corporate ...

  • Investment view

    20 Dec 2001

    It seems appropriate to spend a little time considering the attitude of consumers in the run up to Christmas. It seems that we in this country have lost none of our propensity to spend while US consumers find themselves very much in the grip of the recession. There should be no surprises in the extent of this divide. Jobless figures in the US have been shooting skywards so, aside from the disruption to confidence that the terrorist attacks on September 11 have had, there is that unsettling ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    20 Dec 2001

    When Dr Tim Mortimer of Future Value Consultants gives a plan a rating of nine out of 10, I always have a very careful look at it. He gives this rating to the NDF/Abbey National Treasury recovery growth plan for both higher- and basic-rate taxpayers. I certainly agree that this plan gives a high potential return with hardly any risk at all. It offers 100 per cent of the growth in the FTSE 100 over five years with 100 per cent capital security unless, during that time, the ...

  • Lamensdorf buys up Flexible Mortgages

    20 Dec 2001

    IFA group Lamensdorf is buying mortgage brokerage Flexible Mortgages Limited for an undisclosed sum ahead of its proposed flotation next spring. Middlesex-based FML will bring 25 mortgage advisers, including two RIs, into Lam-ensdorf Group, under the new name of Lamensdorf Mortgages. The deal will see FML chairman Geoff Iveson take a seat on the board of Lamens-dorf as sales and marketing director as the next stage of the boardroom reshuffle that last week saw Howard Will-iams ...

  • Legal & General - Protected Portfolio II

    19 Dec 2001

    Wednesday, December 19, 2001. Type: Guaranteed equity bond. Aim: Growth by investing in 30 stocks from companies in the FTSE 200. Minimum-maximum investment: £1,000-no maximum, Isa £7,000. Term: Five and a half years. Guarantee: Capital returned in full at end of term regardless of performance of underlying investments. Return: Capital returned in full along with up to 100 per cent of the average growth of ...

  • MBO for Lynx software arm under Skandia deal

    19 Dec 2001

    Lynx's software operation will be bought out by its management for £60m, as Skandia takes control of the Banhall operation.

  • Members concerned rival insurers may pull out

    19 Dec 2001

    Bankhall members fear other insurers may pull out of dealing with Bankhall now that Skandia has bought out the group.

  • Members not fearful for independence under Skandia Bankhall deal

    19 Dec 2001

    Bankhall members say their independence will not be compromised by Skandia’s takeover of their network.

  • MFS International UK - The MFS Continental European Equity Fund

    20 Dec 2001

    Thursday, December 20, 2001. Type: Oeic. Aim: Growth by investing in Continental European equities and equity-related securities. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50. Investment split: 100 per cent in Continental European equities and equity-related securities. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial A shares 5 per cent, annual A shares 1.5 per cent, B shares 2 per cent. Special ...

  • MFS International UK - The MFS UK Equity Fund

    19 Dec 2001

    Wednesday, December 19, 2001. Type: Oeic. Aim: Growth by investing in UK equities and equity-related securities. Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50. Investment split: 100 per cent in UK equities and equity-related securities. Isa link: Yes. Pep transfers: Yes. Charges: Initial A shares 5 per cent, annual A shares 1.5 per cent, B shares 2 per cent. Special offer: Initial charge reduced ...

  • Mind the savings gap

    20 Dec 2001

    Earlier this autumn, Oliver Wyman & Co published a report, The future regulation of UK savings and investment. This was the outcome of a study sponsored by the ABI and it included interesting conclusions on the importance of advice and the ways of delivering it to different consumer groups. The report also included a wide range of statistics on savings in the UK and the UK market that are worthy of close examination. According to the report, total household assets in the UK ...

  • Move means end for GISC

    20 Dec 2001

    Last week's announcement by the Treasury that all insurance advice will become statutorily regulated sounds the death knell for the General Insurance Standards Council. Both the Government and GISC have confirmed that the self-regulatory body will be phased out once the FSA takes over responsibility for regulating insurance advice in 2004. The Treasury came to its decision after the European insurance intermediaries directive stated all insurance advice will have to be statutorily ...

  • Network fee hikes: N2 only an excuse?

    20 Dec 2001

    There are tough times ahead for network members if the recent hikes in fees by DBS and Berkeley Independent Associates are the start of an industry trend. Both networks are blaming the cost of being compliant with N2, which came into force on November 30. The fear among IFAs is that other networks will be forced to follow suit. DBS managing director Alan Taylor says: "The N2 changes are the biggest regulatory shake-up since the 1986 Financial Services Act. IFAs are facing higher ...

  • Networks will look to evolve

    20 Dec 2001

    DBS and Bankhall say their non-regulated networks will remain despite mortgage and general insurance advice becoming FSA-regulated but will evolve to suit the regulation. Bankhall says its Point One mortgage network, launched in September, will carry on and ensure members have the right business processes in place to cope with the regulation when it is implemented in 2004. DBS is proceeding with the planned launch of a network in the new year, intended to make the process easier ...

  • New LTC regime unaffected

    20 Dec 2001

    The Treasury has confirmed that regulation of long-term care insurance will not be affected by the announcement regarding other types of protection insurance made last week. A spokeswoman has confirmed there are no plans to delay the anticipated 2003 start date for LTC regulation. The plans for LTC involve regulation of both the sales process and product design while the latest announcement concerns only advice. Providers say LTC is a very different product from other types ...

  • New Star turning its sights on Govett

    20 Dec 2001

    New Star Asset Management is believed to be eyeing Govett Investments for its next acquisition, according to industry sources. Govett, which is owned by the Allied Irish Bank, manages around £9bn of assets and is thought to be well within New Star chairman John Duffield's budget for acquisitions, which is understood to be in excess of £200m. Last week, Duffield ann-ounced he is to hold a £25m share issue to increase the firm's acquisition coffers. Govett ...

  • Packagers plan trade body to increase regulatory clout

    20 Dec 2001

    Mortgage packagers are in talks about setting up a trade body which would aim to increase the sector's influence in the new regulatory regime. Talks on the creation of the UK Association of Mortgage Packagers are being facilitated by Julian Jennings, who is stepping down as chief executive designate of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Advisers. A meeting between packagers had been planned for last week but this has now been rescheduled until January, when they ...

  • Pavilion enters Oeic market with SRI fund

    19 Dec 2001

    Institutional fund manager Pavilion Asset Management has designed a socially responsible investment (SRI) fund for retail investors.

  • Picturing 2001

    20 Dec 2001

    In July, Bank of England economist DeAnne Julius' published her long-awaited report into UK banking codes. The report criticised the Treasury for failing to regulate mortgage advice and called for the mortgage code to be strengthened. To the industry's surprise, the Treasury has since handed the FSA responsibility for the regulation of mortgage advice and general insurance broking. IFAs were left confused about the timing of the publication of the FSA's report into its handling ...

  • Pressure valves

    20 Dec 2001

    I am in my mid-40s and am self-employed. I am married and my children are in private education. At present, I have a range of savings and pension funds but I am looking for advice on how to plan for my business over the next 12 months and also over the medium term. How would you suggest I go about this? At this time of year, many of us are reviewing our affairs and considering what changes, if any, could be made. First, we need to consider what has been achieved ...

  • Protection providers sound note of caution

    20 Dec 2001

    Providers have given a cautious welcome to the announcement of the Government's intention to regulate advice given on protection products. Swiss Life technical manager Bob Cheesewright says his primary concern is that the regime delivers an appropriate level of protection to consumers but does not result in costs that create social exclusion. Norwich Union Healthcare spokeswoman Louise Zucchi welcomes the prospect of uniform regulation across the industry. NUHC says it has always ...

  • Punitive increase in charges

    20 Dec 2001

    An open letter to DBS Financial Management Having looked at the new cost increases for the services that DBS provides members, I am appalled for two reasons. First, you would think that a new regulator would strive to reduce our costs (given that they expect us to work within 1 per cent) but from the evidence this is patently not going to be the case. Second, it is not difficult to consider the distinct possibility that DBS/Mysis have used this opportunity to impose much ...

  • R&SA closes to new with-profits business

    21 Dec 2001

    Royal & Sun Alliance is closing its £12 billion with-profits fund to new business. It has denied that the move is because of financial strength concerns,

  • Skandia business with Bankhall

    19 Dec 2001

    Skandia says its purchase of an 86 per cent stake in Bankhall will not hit its business with Bankhall members.

  • Skandia committed to independent advice, says Wilson

    19 Dec 2001

    Skandia says its decision to bid for Bankhall fits with its belief in independent financial advice, and says it believes the deal works equally well in a polarised or depolarised sales environment.

  • Skandia puts in £210m bid for Bankhall parent Lynx

    19 Dec 2001

    Skandia has put in an offer for Lynx Group, Bankhall's parent company, saying it wants to "expand the depth and range of support services to IFAs in the UK.

  • Standard & Poor's Micropal Top 10s

    20 Dec 2001

    A gradual recovery in the world's equity markets is finally beginning to manifest itself in unit trust returns. The average unit trust return for the past 12 months has now recovered to -15.22 per cent, up by around 5 per cent from a month ago. Korean funds continue to dominate the top performers, accounting for three of the top five. Merrill Lynch gold & general and Govett US bear funds, which have sat consistently at the top of the tables for the past six months, make up the ...

  • Talkback

    20 Dec 2001

    Is DBS justified in raising its fees to cover the cost of N2? "Yes, with the extra regulatory costs, the money has to come from somewhere. As a firm, we have to sit down and make a decision about what is the best move for us." Rick Patmore, Ford Loft Financial Services "No. Not by the level it has just done. A 30 per cent hike is quite an extreme measure." Steven White, Harrison White Financial Services "No. But the fact that DBS is now owned by Misys means it was inevitable. ...

  • The Daley Update

    20 Dec 2001

    Rathbone Unit Trust Management is offering a 2 per cent discount on its entire range of unit trust Isas until the end of the tax year. The discount will reduce the initial charge to 3.5 per cent from 5.5 per cent. All funds have a minimum investment of £1,000, an annual management charge of between 1 and 1.5 per cent and pay commission of 3 per cent initial but no trail. Morley Fund Management has appointed David Tremblay as its global chief operating officer and Shirley ...

  • The long good buy

    20 Dec 2001

    "You are Ron Sandler, private eye?" asked the man with the accent from Scotland, which they tell me is near England. As it said that in nine-inch gold lettering on the office door, I didn't deny it. "The man who cleaned up Lloyd's of London?" I guess he got that out of Who's Who. "I've a job for you - fifty a day plus expenses. Lift the lid on the retail financial services sector. Find the dirt and dish it." It sounded like the job I'd dreamed of - enough ...

  • Tilney to diversify via Monaco office

    20 Dec 2001

    Private-client investment manager Tilney Investment Management has opened an office in Monaco to access the European market with its funds that are geared towards high-net-worth clients. It is launching a new fund, the Opal alternative growth fund, to assist its expansion in Europe. The fund is a fund of hedge funds offering investors exposure to alternative funds with risk-adjusted returns and low correlation with equities and bonds. It is the first of several new products Tilney ...

  • Time to reflect on stakeholder

    20 Dec 2001

    Like most pension consultants, I do not have much time to write letters in the 1 per cent world, where profit has been cut and only volume can compensate. Perhaps that is why I have remained one of the silent majority looking on at the policies implemented by successive governments. This Government's introduction of stakeholder has achieved one predictable goal for which it should be pleased. It has persuaded thousands of employers (with a little help from us, of course) ...

  • Top of the class

    20 Dec 2001

    Threadneedle Investments is making its UK corporate bond fund available to the IFA market by adding a retail share class to the existing institutional share class. The fund aims to deliver income and capital growth by investing in investment-grade corporate bonds across a range of sectors. This makes it lower risk than some bond funds that use high-yielding junk bonds. However, the lower risks are matched by lower returns with a current yield of around 5.8 per cent. Falling interest ...

  • Treasury brings Christmas cheer

    20 Dec 2001

    Christmas has come a little early with Treasury plans to regulate all mortgage and insurance advice. In keeping with the season, we must say well done, Treasury. CP98 for mortgages will be abandonned and the General Insurance Standards Council will wind down. Few will mourn the passing of CP98's recipe for driving IFAs out of the mortgage market. As for the GISC, it really was just another aggravation for the regulated sector. There are still concerns that for the sake of neatness ...

  • Unification could allow more leeway for product innovation

    20 Dec 2001

    Greater innovation in product design could follow the decision to bring general insurance and mortgage advice under the umbrella of the FSA. While a unified regulator will remove the hurdle of multiple regulation, commentators say it will also result in restricted distribution as many brokers exit the market. They also predict an increased cost to consumers from the move. FSA regulation of mortgage, investment and general insurance advice will remove anomalies such as earlier ...

  • Web plans open door to Europe

    20 Dec 2001

    IFAs will be able to conduct business over the web anywhere in the EU using their FSA authorisation if Treasury proposals released this week are implemented. The Treasury has released a paper, Implementation of the E-Commerce Directive in Financial Services, which discusses ways to put into practice the EU directive aimed at facilitating a Europe-wide market for internet business. It states that any financial services provider operating in another nation will be able to do so according ...

  • Where do signs point?

    20 Dec 2001

    In my last article, I started to look at how financial advisers can use information and statistics from the financial pages of the quality press to help in portfolio planning for clients. This week, I turn my attention to the information on interest rates published in the inside pages of the Financial Times. Financial advisers can use this information to derive an understanding of the likely long-term level of future interest rates and inflation. First of all, we can confirm the ...

  • Zurich and Man United in advice centre deal

    20 Dec 2001

    Manchester United is laun-ching a face-to-face financial advice centre at its Old Trafford stadium this month in partnership with Zurich Financial Services. The MU Finance centre will see Zurich employees give advice on a range of the insurer's products, including pensions and mortgages, to United supporters. The centre will offer fans a no-obligation financial healthcheck and a £10 discount off the future purchase of MU Finance motor or home insurance products, due to ...

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