Money Marketing
26 November 2003

  • 'Brown stands to gain £7.2bn from £1.4m lifetime limit'

    27 Nov 2003

    Chancellor Gordon Brown could receive a £7.2bn boost in tax revenue a year by leaving the proposed lifetime pension limit at £1.4m, says a leading accountancy firm. Figures from Numerica show that if the limit stays at the level proposed by the Government rather than the £2m demanded by the industry, the Treasury would reap a £7.2bn benefit. The Treasury says the limit will only affect 5,000 people but argues that raising it to£2m would not ...

  • 'Off-the-shelf supermart term cover creating IHT bills'

    27 Nov 2003

    Selling life cover through supermarkets may help bridge the protection gap but consumers may be building up inheritance tax bills, warn industry experts. Bright Grey products director Roger Edwards says even the cheapest life cover needs advice. For every £100,000 of cover taken out, £40,000 could end up being paid in inheritance tax, which could have been avoided by putting the term policy under trust. Abbey for Intermediaries head of protection, ...

  • 'Specialist lenders have edge in buy-to-let market'

    27 Nov 2003

    Specialist buy-to-let lenders will win out over the big non-specialists, according to National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers chief executive Keith Heron. Heron warns of the dangers of non-specialist lenders offering buy-to-let products as he says they tend to treat them in the same way as the rest of their mortgage range, which he believes is the wrong business model. The NACFB was set up last December to plug a regulatory gap as buy to let does not come under ...

  • 'State pension falling behind rest of world'

    27 Nov 2003

    The UK state pension system is one of the least generous in the developed world, says pension tsar Adair Turner. The head of the Pension Commission told last week's National Association of Pensions Funds autumn conference that while this was not a problem five years ago because of the UK's strong occupational pension coverage, over 60 per cent of defined-benefit schemes have now closed to new members. Turner said the UK can no longer congratulate itself that it ...

  • 'Too many tax breaks deter savers'

    27 Nov 2003

    A consumer body claims that introducing more tax breaks on savings products would add another level of complexity and act as a disincentive to savers. Financial Services Consumer Panel chairman Ann Foster told the Pima conference that tax breaks complicate products that are already difficult for consumers to understand. Echoing an earlier statement by Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin, she said tax breaks are targeting middle-income groups and higher earners rather than ...

  • Abbey at centre of closure rumours

    27 Nov 2003

    Abbey says it will not comment until next year on speculation that it may close the Edinburgh office of Scottish Provident, with the loss of up to 500 jobs. Following reports that trade unions expect 500 out of 750 jobs at the Edinburgh office to be lost as Abbey continues to review its sites, Abbey says it is hoping to be in a position to update staff in January.

  • Abbey at centre of closure rumours

    26 Nov 2003

    Speculation that Abbey may close its Edinburgh Scottish Provident office with as many as 500 jobs being lost will not be confirmed until next year, the Group has said. Following reports that trade unions expect 500 of 750 jobs at its Edinburgh office to be lost as Abbey continues its current review of its sites, Abbey now says it is hoping to be in a position to update staff in January.

  • Abbey extends Choice Income Bond availability

    1 Dec 2003

    Abbey for Intermediaries has extended the availability of its Choice Income Bond, which will now remain open until December 15. Initially intended only to be available until December 9, the Scottish Mutual bond offers a choice of fixed annual or monthly income or growth at the end of the five-year term.The minimum investment is £10,000, with a maximum of £250,000 and commission of 3 per cent is paid, with a give-up option of a maximum 3 per cent.

  • ABI appoints new head of life and pensions

    2 Dec 2003

    The ABI has appointed a new head of life and pensions following Alan Woods' return to the DWP after his period of secondment. Woods will be replaced by Chris Kenny who is currently the director of compliance at Oftel. Before this he worked for the Department of Health and HM Treasury. Kenny will start his new role in January, picking up responsibility for leading the ABI's work on the savings gap, pension reform, health insurance and life industry regulation. ABI director ...

  • Alan Burton

    27 Nov 2003

    Towards the start of his 40-plus years in financial services, a newly married Alan Burton applied to join a company he hadn't heard of because it paid a £100 a year more than the market rate. The company he joined as a trainee inspector was Standard Life. "When I first started selling 37 years ago and I said I'm from Standard Life, they said 'who?' Some of them might not like us but there won't be an IFA in the country who doesn't know who we are now," ...

  • Banks drop employed self-cert

    27 Nov 2003

    Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest are pulling out of self-certification mortgages for the employed after controversy over the product. A BBC TV programme claimed recently that some mortgage brokers encourage consumers to inflate their incomes when applying for self-cert mortgages. The RBS move follows West Bromwich Building Society and Sun Bank making changes to their self-cert offerings. West Brom will no longer offer self-cert loans over £250,000. Portman Building ...

  • Baronsmead looks for tip-top companies

    27 Nov 2003

    Isis Equity Partners is planning a series of share offers for the Baronsmead 4 VCT to increase its size to £30m over the next nine months. The first of these offers aims to raise up to £2m for the 2003/04 tax year and will offer investors extra shares of 0.5 per cent of the amount they invest to encourage early investment.Baronsmead 4 was established in December 2001 and has raised £21m to date. During that time it has made 17 qualifying ...

  • BBN starts group risk division

    26 Nov 2003

    Berkeley Berry Birch subsidiary Berry Birch & Noble Employee Benefits is launching a specialist group risk division. The team will offer group medical insurance, group income protection, group life policies and all related benefits. The service will be rolled out to all BBB advisers over the next12 months.

  • BBN starts group risk division

    27 Nov 2003

    Berkeley Berry Birch subsidiary Berry Birch & Noble Employee Benefits is setting up a specialist group risk division to offer group medical insurance, income protection, life insurance and related benefits. The service will be rolled out to BBB advisers over the next12 months.

  • Beating about the Bush

    27 Nov 2003

    The Diary can just about take being refused entry to the capital's more exclusive nightspots but it gives the ego a fair bruising to be told: "Your name's not on the list, you can't come in" when trying to get into the NAPF autumn conference. To be fair to the NAPF, the thick blue line around the QE2 conference centre in Westminster last week was not protecting Terry Faulkner and co but George Dubya, who was laying a wreath at the cenotaph. Sharpshooters on the ...

  • Bills of fare

    27 Nov 2003

    Our industry can look forward to some key announcements emanating from Westminster in the coming weeks. The Queen's Speech, followed closely by the pre-Budget report, will reveal the Government's intentions and, for the first time in a generation, financial services look set to take centre stage. The Government is rolling out a number of initiatives to improve lifetime savings. Most notably, the child trust fund is to be born formally in the legislative process, having been ...

  • Bob the property portfolio builder

    27 Nov 2003

    Bob is a UK resident with a foreign domicile. He is a high earner in the UK and has been concerned that he has not been able to take advantage of the perceived tax advantages of his domicile. He has decided to buy a second home in the UK. Is there any merit in his buying the property through the offshore trust that he already has in place? On the face of it, there should be advantages but how strong they are is debatable. Much depends on what happens in respect of the domicile ...

  • Breast cancer claims soar as screening improves

    27 Nov 2003

    Scottish Provident has received record numbers of breast cancer claims, paying out more than £7m in the first six months of this year, according to its latest critical-illness figures. The £7m paid out to 80 claimants up to the end of June was equal to a quarter of the total of £28m paid out on breast cancer claims since 1991. ScotProv says the increase is due to better screening and awareness of early symptoms and treatment. Cancer accounted ...

  • Bupa pledges to stay in pre-funded LTC as NU quits sector

    27 Nov 2003

    Norwich Union is joining the list of companies looking to get out of the pre-funded long-term care market but Bupa has stressed it is committed to the pre-funded market but is getting out of immediate needs. NU is closing its flexible protection bond to new business from November 24, leaving it with only an insurance product in the pre-funded market. Its move follows Axa's long-term-care arm Lifetime Care's planned withdrawal from the pre-funded market at the end of the ...

  • Care and share with Exeter

    26 Nov 2003

    EXETER FRIENDLY SOCIETYShared Care PlanType: Budget individual private medical insuranceMinimum-maximum ages: 18 to 80Minimum premiums: Core package £17.46 a month, option A £13.17 a month, option B £3.21Maximum benefits: Core package £100,000, Option A £5,000, Option B £1,500Cover provided: Core package- inpatient and day patient hospital charges, inpatient and day patient specialist services, ...

  • Close Finsbury Asset Management - Close Finsbury UK Gilt Fund

    28 Nov 2003

    Type: Offshore OeicAim: Growth and income by investing in UK giltsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: 100% UK giltsPlace of registration: DublinCharges: Initial 4.5%, annual 1%Commission: Initial up to 3%, renewal 0.5%Tel: 020 7426 4372

  • Cofunds considers charging investors

    27 Nov 2003

    Fund supermarket Cofunds is understood to be investigating the possibility of charging clients a fee for every Isa, Pep or fund falling below a fixed-size ceiling. The supermarket, which earlier this month posted losses of £23.8m for 2002, is reckoned to be considering charging investors £40 for each product below the ceiling, thought to be around £6,000. The charge, if imposed, would come into effect next June, shortly after the end of the Isa season. Cofunds ...

  • Compensation scheme disagrees on Temple default

    27 Nov 2003

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme would like to express its concern at the reporting of the collapse of RJ Temple in last week's issue of Money Marketing - RJ Temple is set to become biggest call on the FSCS. The default of Independent Insurance is not comparable with the collapse of RJ Temple. Approximately 200,000 policyholders were directly affected by the collapse of Independent Insurance and the Policyholders' Protection Board/Financial Services Compensation ...

  • Corporate focus for cash bond

    27 Nov 2003

    Prudential International Assurance is offering an offshore cash portfolio bond. The Prudence portfolio bond capital-redemption option, which has no entry or exit fees, is a single-premium unit-linked contract with no life assured and a fixed term of 99 years. Investment relationship manager Richard Leeson says it is aimed at low-risk high-net-worth clients aged 50-plus, trustees and companies looking for capital preservation. He says IFAs often overlook the corporate ...

  • Correspondent's week

    27 Nov 2003

    Winter is here, leaving me once again questioning the wisdom of cycling to work. It may only be five miles into the office but when I started using the bike it was summertime. Now that seems an age ago. We crack on with features on the forthcoming base rate rise and insuring against the cold weather. It could be a tough winter. Tuesday is crunch time. In early to finish off features and work on news before editorial conference at 11am, explaining to the Express editor ...

  • DB schemes not dead - Mellon survey

    2 Dec 2003

    Defined benefit pension schemes are not dead but their survival depends on cost, according to research by Mellon's human resources and investor solutions group.The figures indicate that employer support for DB schemes has not evaporated and 60 per cent of employers would consider raising pension contributions if further tax incentives were offered.The research also shows although 81 per cent of companies are against compulsory provision based solely on employer contributions, ...

  • Digest

    27 Nov 2003

    One fund manager trying to get journalists off its back last week at the Chelsea Financial Services 20th birthday bash was New Star. Halfway through the party, one trade hack leapt - Cato-style - on to New Star marketing director Rob Page. Fund managers beware - you could be next.

  • Direct Life & Pensions ponders a passage to India

    27 Nov 2003

    Direct Life & Pensions says it would "strongly consider" following the trend set by providers in outsourcing to India to enter new markets, believing India holds great opportunities for IFAs. The comments follow sales and marketing manager Richard Verdin's recent visit to provider outsourcing centres in India, where he says savings of 40 to 50 per cent are being made on call-centre operations. He was impressed by the skill level and English competence of the people ...

  • Direct-offer transfer service from ScotEq

    27 Nov 2003

    Scottish Equitable has set up a direct-offer transfer process aimed at minimising the time and effort that advisers put in to completing a pension transfer and helping them to access a potential £1bn market. ScotEq says the adviser and employer become facilitators for the process, with the company shouldering the workload. It is providing a comprehensive compliant transfer pack with the information that a client needs to decide whether to go ahead with the transfer, meaning ...

  • Disappointment at lack of info on housing bill

    27 Nov 2003

    The National Association of Estate Agents has expressed its disappointment at the scant number of mentions the housing bill received in the Queen's speech. It is particularly concerned that home information packs did not receive more coverage.The NAEA says: "There were few pointers from the Queen's Speech as to what the government will be putting before parliament with regards to the Housing Bill. From this scant mention it is difficult to ascertain the government's intentions ...

  • Dressed for the weather

    27 Nov 2003

    No outfit is too outrageous for one Wolverhampton-based IFA. The firm's managing director, who shall remain nameless, was due to set aside his trademark purple velveteen suit and don his sou'wester and sturdiest shoes to help present the local weather forecast from the firm's office as part of the BBC's Children in Need campaign. The wannabe weatherman was set to assist the bona fide Met Office forecaster by holding up the weather chart. Earlier rumours ...

  • Electronic avenue

    27 Nov 2003

    Today's market is being pushed and pulled in all directions. Meeting corporate governance and compliance demands, and delivering innovative products as well as meeting customer expectations are all exerting immeasurable pressure on product providers. More and more are finding themselves caught up in the tide of charges for missold policies and the compensation claims it provoked, adding to the pain. The knock on effect for the industry is a deluge of legislation. Now more than ...

  • Ex-AITC director Harris joins Cicero Consulting

    27 Nov 2003

    Former director of the Association of Investment Trust Companies David Harris is joining Cicero Consulting as a senior consultant specialising in the retail investment funds sector, with a focus on product development. Harris is a director of three investment trusts and has worked with JP Morgan Fleming, Isis, Collins Stewart, Edinburgh Fund Managers, Exeter Fund Managers and the Society of Financial Advisers. Cicero Consulting director and chief corporate counsel Iain ...

  • Exchange adds equity release

    27 Nov 2003

    The Exchange is launching the first equity-release trading platform for the IFA market through its ExWeb portal. The service will give access to a full range of equity-release products to the portal's 18,500 users. The Exchange is consulting with a number of providers which will participate in the platform. The move follows research showing that most IFAs are considering selling equity-release products although the majority have not done so in the last 12 ...

  • Exeter adds to self-pay market

    26 Nov 2003

    Exeter Friendly Society has established the shared care plan, a menu-based private medical insurance plan that aims to reduce premiums by allowing for part payment of costs by the policyholder.The plan offers a core package of inpatient and day-patient benefit, which includes hospital charges, specialist services, oncology, and overseas cover. Policyholders can then add option A and option B. Option A provides enhanced outpatient benefits such as specialist ...

  • Exeter Friendly Society - Shared Care

    26 Nov 2003

    Type: Budget individual private medical insuranceMinimum-maximum ages: 18 to 80Minimum premiums: Core package £17.46 a month, option A £13.17 a month, option B £3.21Maximum benefits: Core package £100,000, Option A £5,000, Option B £1,500Cover provided: Core package- inpatient and day patient hospital charges, inpatient and day patient specialist services, oncology, cover abroad, hospice donation, GP ...

  • Faith, hope and clarity

    27 Nov 2003

    The FSA's investigation into marketing literature is loking at one of the fundamental elements of any business process - trust. The FSA will ask how much faith IFAs have in marketing material, amid concerns over the role of marketing departments following the split-capital investment trust and structured product debacles. Essentially, the regulator is examining whether IFAs believe what providers say about their products. David Aaron Partnership investment ...

  • Fidelity net retail sales plummet to just £7m

    27 Nov 2003

    Fidelity's net retail sales reached just £7m in the third quarter, placing it outside the top 10 biggest retail sellers for the first time in almost five years, according to a confidential report. The giant fund firm achieved retail sales of £363m but redemptions hit £356m, leaving it trailing behind rivals such as Threadneedle and Schroders, which had net sales of £123m and £121m respectively. Even boutique Liontrust, currently enjoying strong ...

  • Firms told collaboration would improve admin

    27 Nov 2003

    Cofunds chairman Charles Eppinger is calling for a committee to be set up to monitor administration and operations processes in financial services firms. Eppinger, who is also chief executive of International Financial Data Services, believes there are many unnecessary costs embedded in the way most companies operate that could be eliminated if there was more collaboration between companies. He wants to see more companies linking to credit-rating agency Experian to speed ...

  • First Ailo full-time chief exec

    27 Nov 2003

    Ailo has appointed its first full-time chief executive in a bid to breathe new life into the organisation and boost its lobbying power. Stuart Fairclough is taking on the new role with a brief to increase the offshore life industry's profile in the IFA market as well as with industry bodies and regulators. He will be responsible for improving the service that member companies get from Ailo, with benefits for IFAs such as plans to produce better statistical and market ...

  • FirstAssist announces management restructure

    2 Dec 2003

    Health and wellbeing provider FirstAssist has announced two new appointments as part of its management restructure. Ted Waite will take on the role of partnerships manager, with Julie Goodwin joining the corporate sales team as new business development manager. The restructure is aimed at focusing on sales solutions for the financial services, SME and corporate sectors in a move away from a product-led approach.Waite comes from Norwich Union Healthcare where he held senior ...

  • FirstAssist sets out new range

    27 Nov 2003

    New healthcare and assistance business FirstAssist is to launch its own critical-illness, income-protection and long-term disability products next year. FirstAssist offers an employee absence management service that includes functions such as medically qualified staff taking calls from ill employees and rehabilitation services. The business was formed after a management buyout from Royal & Sun Alliance in April. Chief executive Tim Ablett says the firm is working ...

  • FMG Fund Managers - FMG Rising 3 Fund

    26 Nov 2003

    Type: Multi-manager hedge fundAim: Growth by investing in Russia, China and IndiaMinimum investment: $10,000Investment split: 33.33% Russia, 33.34% China, 33.33% IndiaPlace of registration: BermudaCharges: Initial up to 5%, annual 2%Commission: Subject to negotiationTel: 020 7903 3955

  • FSA probe into illegal trading

    1 Dec 2003

    The FSA is reported to be focusing its investigation into illegal trading on the top 20 fund managers with significant investments abroad.The regulator's probe into abuses of market timing and late trading follows a similar investigation by authorities in the US headed by New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer which found the practices to be widespread. The FSA investigation is looking at concerns that hedge funds may be using market timing in a way that disadvantages ...

  • FSA switches fee basis from RIs to turnover

    27 Nov 2003

    The FSA is aiming to implement a new fee structure for IFAs which could result in smaller firms with high turnover facing significantly higher annual regulatory fees. In a document seen by Money Marketing, the FSA has revealed that it aims to change the tariff base for fee blocks from approved persons to an income-based measure for firms advising on investments. The regulator has already created new income-based fee blocks for mortgage and general insurance inter-mediaries ...

  • FSCS declares RJ Temple in default

    28 Nov 2003

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has declared R J Temple in default, which means that FSCS is satisfied the firm is unable to pay claims against it. A declaration of default opens the way for anyone who has lost money as a result of dealings with the firm to make a claim for compensation to FSCS.

  • Fundsdirect secures further IT link-ups

    27 Nov 2003

    Fundsdirect has struck deals with Synaptic and systems provider 1st Software to give direct access to the platform to more than 20,000 IFAs. Fundsdirect says the integration of its platform with 1st Software's adviser office product - a client management system - will enable IFAs to link from their back office to its wrap service, which launches in the second quarter of 2004. Advisers will be able to generate reports and key features documents as well as buy, sell ...

  • Fur flies over Expo bunnies

    27 Nov 2003

    The behaviour of some exhibitors at last week's Mortgage Expo in London has been branded as totally unacceptable by leading industry figures. Prudential national mortgage club manager John Malone feels so let down that he intends to write to the organisers to ask for his money back. Expo saw Majestic Mortgages trying to entice brokers to its stand with a pole-dancer while girls in hot pants were on the County Mortgages stand and The Finance Centre featured bunny girls. Malone

  • Group 300 signs GPMU deal

    2 Dec 2003

    IFA Group 300 has completed a multi million pound deal with the ninth biggest union in the UK - the Graphical Paper and Media Union that has 200,000 members. The IFA group is in talks to provide similar advisory services to several other unions including Teacher organisations.

  • Group therapy

    27 Nov 2003

    Changes in the group pension market in recent years can probably best be described as traumatic. The emergence of stakeholder pensions complete with price caps and the decline of final-salary business have dramatically increased activity in this area. Vast numbers of schemes have changed the type of product and the provider. Commission levels have been slashed so it is even more important for advisers to streamline the processing and admin of schemes. In fee-based cases, ...

  • Hargreaves Lansdown's wealth list

    27 Nov 2003

    GROWTH UK GROWTH Allianz Dresdner UK Growth Artemis UK Growth Artemis UK Special Situations Axa UK Opportunities Cazenove UK Growth & Income Cazenove UK Opportunities DWS UK Growth DWS UK Opportunities Fidelity Special Situations Fidelity UK Aggressive Framlington UK Selected Opportunities GAM UK Diversified Gartmore UK Focus Insight Inv UK Dynamic Invesco Perpetual UK Aggressive Invesco Perpetual UK Growth Investec ...

  • HealthSaver offers pay as you go cover

    1 Dec 2003

    THE PRIVATE HEALTH PARTNERSHIPHEALTHSAVERType: Budget individual private medical insuranceMinimum-maximum ages: 45-79Minimum premiums: Selected self pay level £1,500 - £42.19 level 1 hospitals, £33.70 a month level 2 hospitals, selected self-pay level £3,000 - £31.10 a month level 1 hospitals, £25.54 a month level 2 hospitals, selected self-pay level £5,000 - £25.32 a month level 1 hospitals, ...

  • Holloway planning to make IP cover friendly

    27 Nov 2003

    Holloway Friendly Society is offering an income-protection product which it says differs from traditional offerings as it will not negatively affect people in higher-risk occupations. The society claims the New Classic Plan has been designed to overcome the consumer drawbacks of income protection. Only 11 per cent of the UK workforce are covered by IP. The plan features no loadings for occupation, gender or smoking and has an own-occupation definition, meaning policyholders ...

  • House prices continue to rise in London - Hometrack

    28 Nov 2003

    House prices rose by 0.4 per cent in London in November, up from October's rise of 0.3 per cent according to Hometrack.Prices fell in two boroughs, rose in 24 and remained the same in seven. The highest price rises were in Waltham Forest (1.5 per cent), Bromley (1.4 per cent), Enfield (1.4 per cent), Lambeth (1.2 per cent) and Islington (1.1 per cent). Price falls were seen in Bexley (-0.3 per cent) and Brent (-0.1 per cent).Hometrack housing economist John Wrigleworth ...

  • House prices up by 0.4 per cent in November

    26 Nov 2003

    House prices rose by 0.4 per cent in November according to the Hometrack monthly survey. The average house cost £146,500 in November up from £145,900 in October. The highest house price rises occurred in Cumbria at 1.5 per cent, North London - 1.1 per cent, Hereford and Worcester at 0.9 per cent and mid Wales - 0.9 per cent. No counties experienced falls but both the Isle of Wight and Wiltshire reported flat prices with no change.

  • House prices up by 1.2 per cent in November - Nationwide

    1 Dec 2003

    House prices rose by 1.2 per cent in November down from a 2 per cent rise in October, according to Nationwide's monthly house price index. The average house cost £133,388 in November up from £131,947 in October.Group economist Alex Bannister says: "The housing market remained firm in November with the price of the typical house rising 1.2 per cent during the month. The price of the average house rose by just over £1,400 in the month to £133,388 and ...

  • Houses prices up by 0.4% in November

    27 Nov 2003

    House prices rose by 0.4 per cent in November, according to the Hometrack monthly survey. The average house cost £146,500, up from £145,900 in October. The highest house price rises occurred in Cumbria at 1.5 per cent, North London at 1.1 per cent, Hereford and Worcester at 0.9 per cent and mid-Wales at 0.9 per cent. No counties saw falls but the Isle of Wight and Wiltshire reported no change.

  • I told the FSA why we value our network

    27 Nov 2003

    I read with interest the back-page article about the FSA quizzing IFAs about their networks, not least as I was one of the IFAs thus quizzed. First, I received a call from our network to tell me that the FSA had selected me to take part, what the purpose and format of the interview would be and would this be OK? I was somewhat surprised that the FSA had so little idea of what networks do that they felt it necessary to spend time (and time is money, remember) interviewing ...

  • Ian Muirhead: Legal aid

    27 Nov 2003

    Identifying referrers A number of factors need to be considered when financial advisers seek to establish a relationship with a law firm. Association should be sought with law firms whose business gives rise to the need for financial advice. In England and Wales, the Law Society's directory and website at www.lawsociety.org.uk show the types of business undertaken by each firm. The Scottish Law Directory, published by T&T Clark, contains similar information. The ...

  • IFAs don't deserve trail commission, says Money Portal

    27 Nov 2003

    The vast majority of IFAs do nothing to earn their trail commission and they should have it taken away by product providers, according to retail fund distributor The Money Portal. Managing director Richard Craven, who is currently in talks to buy a number of IFA companies, says product providers should pay only up-front commission to the 90 per cent of advisers he believes do "absolutely no ongoing admin" for clients. However, he concedes that most product companies are ...

  • Independent view

    27 Nov 2003

    It has been a busy few weeks since the monetary policy committee made the decision to increase the base rate for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Judging by the consumer media reaction, you would be forgiven for thinking that we had all forgotten that the base rate can rise as well as fall. Despite the high-profile nature of the event, the recent increase in the base rate was widely predicted and came as no real surprise to anybody. It has widely been seen as the monetary ...

  • Inter-Alliance reprices share option schemes

    27 Nov 2003

    Following England's nerve-shattering win over Australia in the Rugby World Cup Final last Saturday, Aegon UK and Money Marketing have joined together to offer IFAs the chance to see the city where it all happened. Two return flights to Sydney are up for grabs, so the lucky recipient can experience the joy of being an Englishman among millions of grieving Australians. For more details, see next week's Money Marketing. Inter-Alliance has restructured its share option ...

  • Interesting times

    27 Nov 2003

    The rise in the Bank of England's base rate earlier this month was as small as it could be but that did not stop the anticipation and subsequent analysis of the 0.25 per cent rise to 3.75 per cent probably filling more column inches than the previous 12 rate announcements combined. This small change is big news and is likely to alter the emphases of advisers' dealings with their clients. What sorts of subjects are being pushed up the agenda by the recent base rate rise and ...

  • Investment analysis

    27 Nov 2003

    The terrorist atrocities in Istanbul last Thursday gave investors every excuse they needed to bank profits and although most of the world's equity markets ended the week lower, losses were not excessive given that many markets had started the week at or near to their highest level of the year. By the end of the week, the FTSE World index had fallen by 1.6 per cent. In the UK, defensive stocks were in demand, with investors continuing to bank profits in cyclical stocks that ...

  • Investment edge

    27 Nov 2003

    The FSA is launching an investigation into the extent to which IFAs trust product providers' literature. This has been hastened by the precipice bond problems and the split-capital debacle. The IFAs I come across do not glibly accept all they read and Plan Invest has a reasonable record in questioning marketing material, going back to the days of my predecessor who vociferously challenged the Barlow Clowes literature well in advance of action eventually taken by the authorities. We ...

  • Investment edge

    27 Nov 2003

    As FSA spokesman for the probe into the extent to which IFAs trust providers' marketing material, Rob McIvor says the buck stops with the adviser. So that's it then, case closed, throw away the keys, we are obviously all guilty for believing that what we read is true. But is that a fair basis on which to convict us, if the claims turn out to be untrue? In its rush to exterminate the IFA sector with the obvious glee of the anti-hunting lobby, should the FSA not also consider ...

  • Investment view

    27 Nov 2003

    Last week delivered a positive cornucopia of news and information for those whose main pastime is taking the temperature of the market. Various house price surveys demonstrated that bricks and mortar remain a solid provider of profit for those who believe an Englishman's home truly to be his castle. Inflation data came in better than the market was anticipating, with falls in both the headline rate and the inflation rate less mortgage interest payments You might have thought the market ...

  • Investor confidence still rising, says JPMF

    2 Dec 2003

    Investors are becoming increasingly confident about prospects for the stockmarket, according to JPMorgan Fleming. Its investor confidence index rose to 92 in November from 78 in October, the highest it has been since March 2002. JPMF says twice as many investors are now positive about the stockmarket than are pessimistic.Head of market research Peter Brewster says: "We have seen a sizeable decrease in the proportion of investors who are taking a neutral stance, with most of these ...

  • Is wrap the killer app that will finish off IFAs?

    27 Nov 2003

    Paul Bradshaw makes a powerful case for the revolutionary impact of wrap services but he appears to stop short of the inevitable conclusions resulting from his own analysis. From time to time, every industry experiences points of singularity when the old order is destroyed and a new order emerges, fundamentally different and often spawning new industries in its wake. In the computer world, the triggers are called killer apps. Examples of killer apps are the microprocessor, ...

  • Isis Equity Partners - Baronsmead VCT 4

    2 Dec 2003

    Type: Venture capital trustAim: Growth by investing in unquoted companies in the business services, media, healthcare and IT sectorsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Opening-closing date: November 24, 2003/January 30, 2004Investment split: 80% unquoted companies, 20% fixed-interest securitiesCharges: Initial 5%, annual 2%Commission: Initial 3% or initial 2%, renewal 0.5%Special offer: Extra 0.5% additional sharesOffer ...

  • Julian Gibbs

    27 Nov 2003

    Property bonds have been an excellent investment over the past five years or so, with the average property bond having risen by 6.3 per cent a year net over five years and 6.8 per cent a year over 10 years. But what of the future? Most forecasters believe that the all property growth yield will remain at about 7.8 per cent over the next two years or so and that the total return will be around 8 per cent a year although next year it could be as low as 6 per cent due to some rents ...

  • L&G enhances group life assurance for partnerships

    28 Nov 2003

    Legal & General has improved its partners' group life assurance policy to take advantage of changes to chargeable event rules that have come in as part of the Finance Act 2003.The change means most policies now fall outside these rules, eliminating any potential taxable gain that can arise on the second and subsequent death under the policy. Policies where the benefit is paid to a deceased partner's dependents will be exempted from the chargeable event rules, while policies ...

  • L&G to challenge misselling ruling

    27 Nov 2003

    Legal & General is taking the FSA to an independent tribunal over its ruling that L&G missold endowment policies. The ruling, which relates to "a small proportion of its mortgage-related insurance policies issued between 1997 and 1999", is expected to be heard before the financial services and markets tribunal in the second quarter of next year. L&G says it wanted the case to be aired publicly as it disagrees with the FSA's decision and with the process ...

  • Leaping the hurdles

    27 Nov 2003

    Being an IFA should be an ideal job for a woman. The hours are flexible and home working is possible, so work can be planned to fit around family life. Yet the IFA market is still dominated by men. In a recent survey by Aifa, only 10 per cent of respondents were women. Advisory & Brokerage Services director and leader of pensions Michelle Cracknell says that, for every female job applicant, she receives 10 applications from men. However, the situation is ...

  • Leeds & Holbeck brings back 25-year fix

    27 Nov 2003

    Leeds & Holbeck Building Society has relaunched a 25-year fixed-rate mortgage. The move follows last week's introduction of the European Mortgage Finance Agency Project which hopes to promote long-term fixed-rate loans. The product is fixed at 5.99 per cent for 25 years but has three-month windows to redeem or transfer the mortgage in full without early redemption charge in year five and every two years thereafter. Early redemption charges of six months' ...

  • Legal & General - Distribution Trust

    2 Dec 2003

    Type: 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 reduced to 4 per centOffer period: Until ...

  • Lending still smashing records

    27 Nov 2003

    Mortgage lending continued to hit record levels in October, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association. Total CML gross lending in October rose to £27.5bn, up by 8 per cent from September's £25.4bn and up by nearly a third on last October's £21bn. The BSA says society gross advances reached £5.2bn in October, up from £3.1bn in October 2002. The CML says remortgaging accounted for 44 ...

  • Let it be

    27 Nov 2003

    T he CML has sounded a note of caution on buy to let, saying it has yet to be tested in a market downturn. Do you agree it should be treated cautiously? Thompson: A cautious approach is sensible, although many property investors have other means to dip into should rates rise and, from talking to lenders, I understand that the risk profile of these borrowers tends to be very good. Two main risks are rates rising and tenancy gaps but many have taken fixed mortgage rates, mitigating ...

  • Letwin brands means-testing as a disincentive to save

    27 Nov 2003

    New Tory Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin says he has no plans to include a price cap in his future policies. Speaking at the Pep and Isa Managers' Association annual conference on The Future of Tax Incentivised Saving last week, after just two weeks in his new role, Letwin slammed the Treasury's stance on savings. He said it is not up to the Government to impose price caps on the industry. Letwin described means-testing through pensions and child trust ...

  • LIA wants FSA to take back industry qualification role

    27 Nov 2003

    The LIA says the Financial Services Skills Council should be stripped of its responsibility for qualifications and have it handed back to the FSA. LIA head of public affairs John Ellis says handing this responsibility over in total to the skills council would be "risky" and a better approach to reviewing the T&C regime would have been to examine and fill gaps in the existing system. Ellis believes the FSSC should not be the lead body for control of qualifications, ...

  • List opportunities

    27 Nov 2003

    Investors choosing funds without advice are always taking a bigger risk than necessary, especially as the marketing literature of providers often leaves a lot to be desired. So Hargreaves Lansdown has published a list of the 150 funds it believes investors should consider at the exclusion of the other 1,650 funds in the market. Some of the boutiques have given their deep-pocketed rivals a bloody nose. Artemis, for instance, has seven funds on the list, one more than the mighty ...

  • Liverpool Victoria - With-Profits Income Bond

    27 Nov 2003

    Type: With-profits bondAim: Income by investing in equities, corporate bonds and propertyMinimum investment: Lump sum £10,000Bonus rate: 4.25%Investment split: 30% equities, 30% corporate bonds, 40% propertyAllocation rates: £10,000-£49,999 뀬%, £50,000-£99,999 - 125%, £100,000-£500,000 - 100.5%Charges: 0.085% a month management charge for first five yearsCommission: Subject to ...

  • LivVic delivers income

    27 Nov 2003

    Liverpool Victoria has introduced a with-profits income bond with an initial bonus rate of 4.25 per cent. The bond is for single premiums from £10,000 to £500,000 and has a minimum 100 per cent allocation for most clients. It features an MVR-free guarantee on death and a two-year smoothing policy so investors are not affected by previous poor returns. Income is delivered through regular withdrawals. Intermediary division director Rye Mills says the ...

  • Long-term plans

    27 Nov 2003

    Convertibility, extendibility and renewability options, in their various forms, are an established part of the financial planning scene. They enable clients to extend the period or alter the nature - with traditional convertible term plans the change was from temporary insurance to endowment or whole-life - of the cover provided at a predetermined age or date. As the provider asks no underwriting questions at the time of the change, it is exposed to what is known as an anti-selection ...

  • Maltby takes over from Heron as Imla chairman

    27 Nov 2003

    Kensington Group chief executive John Maltby is to take over from Paragon Mortgages managing director John Heron as chairman of the Intermediary Mortgages Lenders' Association. Maltby will take over from Heron on January 1, 2004. The new management committee will comprise Allied Irish Bank head of home mortgages Iain Crump and Heron and Mortgage Express managing director Tim Dawson. Maltby says: "I am del-ighted to be taking over the chairmanship of Imla at an exciting ...

  • McCarthy stakes out his territory

    27 Nov 2003

    Are we beginning to see the first signs of a hard-hitting watchdog which will not do its master's bidding if it does not agree with the command? FSA chairman Callum McCarthy used his first press interview to voice personal concerns over selling stakeholder products without advice. He seems to have set himself up for a confrontation with the Treasury, which is still fully behind the concept and is relying on it to deliver key policy initiatives on low-cost investment ...

  • McCarthy voices concerns over Sandler sales

    27 Nov 2003

    FSA chairman Callum McCarthy has voiced personal concerns about Government plans to sell equity investments without advice in the planned stakeholder suite of products. McCarthy says he does not believe the products, proposed by Ron Sandler, are suited to forms of selling that exclude advice, particularly the use of structured questions. Some industry figures believe McCarthy's reservations could flag a change in official FSA policy. McCarthy has openly questioned ...

  • Millfield aims to fill advice gap with employee benefits service

    27 Nov 2003

    Millfield has set up an employee benefits service. Millfield Employer Partnership uses the Millfield employer value enhancement system to create bespoke employee benefits solutions, targeting SMEs and blue-chip employers. Millfield believes there is a lack of proactive employee-based financial advice in the market and it aims to address this through its scale and national coverage to offer individual tailored financial advice and benefits information to each employee. ...

  • Morley teaming up with Morgan for admin service

    27 Nov 2003

    Morley Fund Management is planning to establish an investment admin service with JP Morgan Investors Services over the next 12 months. The companies are combining Morley's admin operating platform with Morgan's investment admin infrastructure. The service will move through stages including the transfer of Morley employees and operational assets to Morgan, which will carry out the core functions of the investment activities, including fund accounting, securities ...

  • Mortgage club anger over Brain promotion

    27 Nov 2003

    Mortgage clubs are furious after Mortgage Brain sent a letter to its users promoting Mortgage 2000's mortgage club. The letter, which is headed with Mortgage Brain's logo and signed by head of marketing Claire Kennedy, was sent out at the beginning of November. It invites users to sign up for an exclusive mortgage club, 1st:Source, which is a rebranding of Mortgage 2000's mortgage club m2i. Mortgage clubs say they are angry that Mortgage Brain promoted ...

  • Mortgage Next targets niche

    27 Nov 2003

    MORTGAGE NEXTBM Solutions Self-Certification Tracker DiscountType: Discounted-rate self-cert tracker remortgage product Discounted term: Three yearsDiscount: 0.9%Tracker term: Life of loanTracker rate: Bank of England base rate plus 0.85% in first three years, Bank of England base rate plus 1.75% thereafterPayable rate: 4.6%Minimum loan: £25,001Maximum loan: Up to 85% of valuation subject to a maximum of ...

  • Mortgages for Brits in South Africa

    28 Nov 2003

    Overseas mortgage specialist Conti Financial Services is launching a new mortage product for UK residents who want to buy in South Africa. The new scheme introduces the option of Euro, Sterling or SA Rand mortgages, with rates from approx 4.85% variable in Euros, approx 6.70% variable in Sterling and 15.00% variable in SA Rand The loan will be available at 80 per cent over 20 years.

  • MP's concern at new breed of structured plan

    27 Nov 2003

    A Treasury select committee member has raised concerns with the FSA over a new breed of structured product emerging in the marketplace. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb wants the FSA to pay close attention to structured capital at risk products, a high-income bond derivative. He has written to FSA chief executive John Tiner demanding more information on companies being investigated over structured product sales and asks if these firms are marketing new product variants. At ...

  • Multiple pile-up

    27 Nov 2003

    Recent media claims that borrowers are being encouraged to inflate their salaries to qualify for mortgages they can ill afford have further damaged public perception of financial advisers. But assertions that fraudulent self-certification mortgages are to blame for the property boom do not hold much sway with IFAs. An undercover investigation by BBC's The Money Programme claimed that some brokers have been telling borrowers to exaggerate their incomes on mortgage applications, ...

  • Nationwide doubles expectations with 15.7% share of net lending

    27 Nov 2003

    Nationwide has increased its share of net mortgage lending to 15.7 per cent, well above its expected market share of 7.9 per cent. Commercial and treasury director Stuart Bernau says Nationwide wrote the same amount of mortgage business in the first half of 2003 as it did in the whole of 2002. Its interim results show its gross market share stands at 9 per cent, a 1 per cent increase from the Council of Mortgage Lenders' figure of 8 per cent in July. Bernau ...

  • Networks give help with multi-managers

    27 Nov 2003

    Tenet's M&E and Interdependence networks are organising a drive to help members use multi-managers. Scottish Widows, Skandia Investment Management and Abbey are working with the networks to share their expertise and resources.

  • Networks give help with multi-managers

    26 Nov 2003

    Tenet's M&E and Interdependence networks have launched a campaign to help their members use multi-managers with support from Scottish Widows, Skandia Investment Management and Abbey. The three providers are working with the networks to share their expertise and resources and help members inform their clients.

  • New disclosure will add massive data burden

    27 Nov 2003

    Another massive regulatory upheaval among financial advisers is in the offing next year when the rules for the so-called menu card (CP166) full commission disclosure are published. A full policy statement on CP166 is due in April 2004 but it is already clear that the FSA-favoured approach is to offer consumers a detailed comparison of costs which includes the maximum that a policyholder will pay in commission and fees for all FSA-regulated products via monthly and annual contributions. T

  • New version of L&G's distribution fund

    26 Nov 2003

    Legal & General is launching a unit trust version of its £1bn distribution life fund this week, offering 5 per cent initial commission but no trail. The fund, to be managed by David North, will be invested at least 60 per cent in bonds, enabling it to retain the tax credit within an Isa. The 5 per cent initial charge will be discounted to 4 per cent until April 6 while the annual charge will be 1.5 per cent.

  • New version of L&G's distribution fund

    27 Nov 2003

    Legal & General is launching a unit trust version of its £1bn distribution life fund this week, offering 5 per cent initial commission but no trail. The fund, to be managed by David North, will invest at least 60 per cent in bonds, enabling it to retain the tax credit within an Isa. The initial charge will be discounted to 4 per cent until April 6. The annual charge is 1.5 per cent.

  • Not such great expectations

    27 Nov 2003

    Despite all the caveats on policy projections, such as "the returns are not guaranteed" and "you could get back more or less than this", clients are heavily influenced by the figures provided. They will often quote the figures, particularly the highest one, and regard them as their minimum expectation at maturity. It is clearly very important not to raise false expectations. At Liverpool Victoria, we are concerned that not all companies are taking sufficient notice of the link ...

  • NU cuts 2,350 jobs in India move

    2 Dec 2003

    Norwich Union is axing 2,350 jobs from its UK operation as it moves call centre and back office administration functions to India where 22,500 new jobs will be created.NU expects the majority of the job losses to be made up of voluntary redundancies, redeployment and staff turnover but says around 500 staff may face compulsory redundancy, with 12 locations across the UK likely to be affected.The insurance giant says only 21 staff faced compulsory redundancy when it moved ...

  • Out of context

    27 Nov 2003

    •"I know what you are thinking. What does an Essex man with a Massachusetts accent know about our industry?" - International Financial Data Services chief executive Charles Eppinger speaking to a conference audience. •"We are going to send out 1.7 million pieces of paper with cherubs on, plus only another 700,000 each year, probably on the week of the next postal strike. It is a frightening thought." - Pima chairman John Brasington on child trust funds. •"A ...

  • Painless extraction

    27 Nov 2003

    Anybody who runs their own business should be aware that they are making an investment. Whenever a business owner makes a choice with regard to the use of funds in the business, an investment choice is being made. Much like any other investment, a business is a means of delivering an income - usually taken through a profit share, dividend or salary, the exact method depending on the structure of the business and the tax and National Insurance implications of the choices appropriate ...

  • Parents face £91bn bill for UK's children born 2002 -Liverpool Victoria

    1 Dec 2003

    Parents face a bill of £91bn to raise the generation of children born in 2002 according to the latest research from Liverpool Victoria. The cost of raising one child to the age of 21 is £140,398.

  • Payouts and prices

    27 Nov 2003

    Payouts on with-profits have fallen in recent years and this is a trend that is expected to continue. This article explains why this is the case and that it affects all types of investment, and not just with-profits. Returns relate to the period of investment It is important to realise that, where long-term savings are concerned, final payouts do not just depend on investment returns in the last few years. How an investment grows year by year throughout its term can ...

  • Pension protection fund to help victims of collapsed schemes

    26 Nov 2003

    The Queen has announced Government plans to launch a pension protection fund to help members of collapsed private schemes that have lost most or all of their pension pot. It will also introduce a new pensions regulator to root out fraud and mal-administration. It intends to step up efforts to educate the public with the creation of an online retirement planning service.

  • Pensions Bill widely predicted for December

    27 Nov 2003

    Liberal Democrat spokesman for work and pensions Steve Webb predicts that the Government will deliver a Pensions Bill by the end of the year, with detailed debates before Parliament breaks up for Christmas. Webb expects the Pensions Bill to contain details of the proposed pension protection fund and changes to the priority order for wind-up. He says the bill will be hotly contested if the Government does not give consumers, pensioners and the industry the detail they ...

  • Pensions boosted as firms raise payments

    27 Nov 2003

    Over half of firms with final-salary pension schemes have increased their contribution rates, according to research from the National Association of Pension Funds. The NAPF annual survey shows that one in four final-salary pension schemes have been closed to new entrants this year compared with 19 per cent last year. About three-quarters of companies say the move away from final-salary pension schemes was to contain costs. However, for every scheme which has ...

  • Pensions tsar Turner says with-profits is what consumers need

    27 Nov 2003

    Pensions tsar Adair Turner has thrown his weight behind with-profits, arguing that smoothing can give investors the long-term benefits of equity investment while limiting risk. The head of the Government's compulsion commission told the National Association of Pension Funds annual conference last week that both occupational schemes and insured schemes were shifting intolerable levels of risk on to the individual. He said defined-benefit schemes were effectively with-profits ...

  • Premier Asset Management - Premier Money Market Fund

    26 Nov 2003

    Type: OeicAim: Income by investing in cash, short-term deposits and money market instrumentsMinimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 100% cash, short-term deposits and other money market instrumentsIsa link: NoPep transfers: NoCharges: Annual 0.5%Commission: Subject to negotiationTel: 01483 400400

  • Product matters

    27 Nov 2003

    Is it always bad luck to walk under a ladder? Supposedly it is but as yet I have not had a bucket of water dropped on me. Anyway, looking at the recently launched HSBC Ladder plan, will something unpleasant fall on my head? Structured products are getting more competitive and launching a boring 100 per cent blah blah blah product is pretty common now. This new product from HSBC combines 100 per cent capital protection, a minimum return of 106 per cent that will ...

  • Pru Intl and St James' Place outsource admin to Capita

    27 Nov 2003

    Prudential International and St James's Place are outsourcing life and pension admin services to Capita. The 260 Prudential staff who run St James's Place admin will transfer to Capita as part of the deal but it is unclear how many of them will keep their jobs although Prudential spokesman Darragh Leeson denies that jobs will go. Life and pension administrator Capita says the deal will be worth around £110m to the company over 10 years, based on projected ...

  • Queen announces bill for CTFs

    26 Nov 2003

    A bill will be introduced to provide all children born from September 2002 with a child trust fund with an initial endowment from the Government and more for poorer children. The fund will be accessible when the child reaches 18.

  • Remortgaging will boost lending in 2004 - Mortgage Advice Bureau

    2 Dec 2003

    The Mortgage Advice Bureau is predicting a significant increase in remortgage business in 2004. It says homebuyers will be keen to take out fixed rates as they will see them as more secure after the recent base rate rise.Chief executive Peter Brodnicki says: "People are scared that rates will rise further and concerned about managing the repayments on both mortgage borrowings and other debts. They are increasingly wise to the benefits of remortgaging and since the last base rate ...

  • Richard Verdin on Protection

    27 Nov 2003

    The people I would most like to read this column, apart from IFAs, are those involved in product development, particularly those who say they are working on second-generation critical-illness products. Because I want them to read this particular column, I have employed a trick that others may want to copy in the future, that is, to name every relevant insurance company within the text of this article. You see, I know that insurance companies employ agencies to scour the press ...

  • Rodrigues steps down from FSA board

    26 Nov 2003

    Bradford & Bingley group chief executive Christopher Rodrigues is to leave the FSA board when his second term expires on 10 December. Rodrigues has been on the board for six years. National Consumer Council chairman Deirdre Hutton is to take over as deputy chairman of the board and chairman of the FSA committee of non-executive directors when Middle Temple deputy chairmanbencher Stewart Boyd retires at the end of March 2004.

  • Rodrigues steps down from FSA board

    27 Nov 2003

    Bradford & Bingley group chief executive Christopher Rodrigues is to leave the FSA board when his second term expires on December 10. Rodrigues has been on the board for six years. National Consumer Council chairman Deirdre Hutton will take over as deputy chairman of the board and chairman of the FSA committee of non-executive directors when Middle Temple deputy chairman Stewart Boyd retires at the end of March 2004.

  • Scottish Mutual - Choice Income Bond

    28 Nov 2003

    Type: Capital-protected bondAim: Income or growth linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 indexMinimum-maximum investment: £10,000-£250,000Term: Five years:Guarantee: Original capital returned in full provided index does not fall by more than 40% and returns to its starting valueReturn: 0.4% monthly income, 5% annual income or 26% growth at end of termClosing date: December 9, 2003Commission: Initial 3%Tel: ...

  • Shadow of doubt over price caps

    27 Nov 2003

    A Conservative Government would seriously reconsider the role of the Treasury in imposing price caps on the industry, says Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin. Chancellor Gordon Brown's new opposite number says a Tory Government would not necessarily support price caps. In an exclusive interview with Money Marketing, Letwin says: "That is an issue we will consider. We recognise that people have issues with price caps. Let me put it this way, I do not envisage that as part ...

  • Ship chief defends NU over equity plan

    27 Nov 2003

    Safe Home Income Plans chairman Jon King has responded to concerns raised by a mortgage broker over the fairness and simplicity of Norwich Union's equity-release mortgage. Mortgage Portfolio Services principal Simon Chalk wrote to Ship a few weeks ago, asking it to review NU's membership after he and Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger criticised NU's product for having confusing early redemption penalties. In a letter to Chalk, King says although the ...

  • Ship Shape

    27 Nov 2003

    We believe that formal control is needed across all equity-release products, including reversion schemes and that this should be implemented sooner rather than later. This is all the more pressing when you consider that people's homes are now their most valuable asset, with the average house price currently at around £160,000. However, while the UK's homeowners have been accumulating this wealth in their homes, many are finding other assets and investments ...

  • Sipps outperform stakeholder funds

    27 Nov 2003

    Stakeholder default funds are performing significantly worse than Sipps invested in unit trusts, says Hargreaves Lansdown. Its research shows the average performance of 17 major default funds is -10.3 per cent since the birth of stakeholder in April 2001. This compares with an average performance of -5.4 per cent for its 17 most popular unit trusts, net of charges. Over one year, stakeholder default funds have averaged a 10.4 per cent increase while the unit trusts have ...

  • SOFA'S VIEW

    27 Nov 2003

    Much of the talk around the industry is about consumer education. This is seen as the panacea to closing the savings gap and persuading citizens that saving is a good thing to do. Is this correct? Well, to a certain extent, of course it is. The savings ethic has been eroded over the years by a number of things. I think it goes back to the oil crisis of the early 1970s which resulted in raging inflation. This meant that saving for items became a bit of a waste of time as, by the ...

  • Solus streamlines its fund offering

    27 Nov 2003

    Brown Shipley's fund management arm Solus has seen a reshuffle of funds and management team. The shake-up has been led by new managing director Tony Hurley and chairman David Rough. Hurley, who is also Brown Shipley's head of private banking, has taken over from Graeme Sinclair, who is leaving the company. Brown Shipley's investment policy committee will now be responsible for overseeing all Solus funds, with the current portfolio of 17 funds being reduced ...

  • Southern Pacific launches range of light adverse loans

    28 Nov 2003

    Southern Pacific Mortgages Limited has launched a range of light adverse mortgages.Seven schemes will be available to borrowers, with loan to value available from 65 per cent to 95 per cent, with a 95 per cent MIG free option. Rates range from 2.25 per cent to 4.25 per cent above LIBOR depending on the loan to value and the level of adverse credit history.A discount of 1.25 per cent is available on all schemes until March 1, 2005 giving rates from 1 ...

  • Southern Pacific rides the sub-prime wave

    27 Nov 2003

    Sub-prime specialist lender Southern Pacific Mortgage is set to introduce a light adverse mortgage, believing the market has huge potential. The new product will be rolled out on December 1 and director of credit Stuart Aitken expects large amounts of interest. He predicts it could eventually account for up to 25 per cent of SPML's total business. Aitken says: "We are not really tapping the light adverse market at the moment. Our current product is flexible and we ...

  • St James's Place fined by FSA

    26 Nov 2003

    St James's Place has been fined £250,000 by the FSA for inadequate monitoring and record keeping.A final notice has been issued imposing the penalty which relates to replacement business. SJP says the issues concern the standard of file records it holds and its representatives relating to replacement sales. It says the board carried out a review of its procedures as soon as it found out about the FSA's concerns in December 2001 and has made changes in accordance.Legal ...

  • SWIP appoints investment director

    26 Nov 2003

    Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has appointed David Keir as investment director of UK equities. Keir will join in January from Edinburgh Fund Managers, where he was investment manager covering UK equities. He will assume responsibility for retail funds.SWIP says his appointment completes its recruitment drive.Head of UK equities Robert Waugh says: "We now have a full complement of investment directors in our team who are all skilled analysts as well as fund managers."

  • Swiss Life scraps deal with Unum after OFT move

    27 Nov 2003

    Swiss Life's deal to offload its UK employee benefits business to Unum Provident has been abandoned following the decision by the Office of Fair Trading to refer the deal to the Competition Commission. Swiss Life says it is not going ahead with the deal, which was announced last August. However, it says it is still looking at ways it can work with Unum, taking into the account the OFT's concern. These discussions include Unum becoming a new UK partner in the Swiss Life Network ...

  • Talkback

    27 Nov 2003

    "No. The literature is adequate and IFAs know how to use it." Vaughan Hart, Vaughan Hart Personal Financial "To an extent. But at the end of the day, provider literature should be compliant and reliable." John O'Hare, Cameron Chase "No. All the information is there to be used and it is reliable for advice." Paul Green, ACP Independent Financial Advisers "I don't think so. There is far too much literature out there and I only usually use the ...

  • Test of strength

    27 Nov 2003

    In a previous article on wrap accounts, I mentioned the importance of the asset allocation process when advising clients. 7IM marketing director Justin Urquhart Stewart was quoted earlier this month as stating that it was so important that it was "not negotiable". What, then, are we to make of with-profits investment as an asset class? As an investment medium, the public is certainly familiar with with-profits as it has been around for generations but in the last three ...

  • The green house effect

    27 Nov 2003

    The Ethical Investment Association is holding a seminar with the theme of Property and Land, the Ethical Way. Being held in Birmingham on December 1, the seminar will look at alternatives to equities and sociallyand environmentally-responsible ways of borrowing to finance house purchases. Speakers will include John Fleetwood of Philips Securities, discussing a new discretionary fund management service available to IFA clients, and Ian Hook of Quadris Environmental Investments, ...

  • The miles file

    27 Nov 2003

    What are British savers to make of the unfolding scandal in mutual funds on the other side of the Atlantic? Is this simply yet another political platform for the ambitions of Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general? Or is the heart of popular capitalism in the US truly corrupt? Since Mr Spitzer announced an investigation into a little-known hedge fund dubbed Canary at the beginning of September, the revelations have come thick and fast. The probe is gathering momentum ...

  • Transfer boost as buyout rules bite

    27 Nov 2003

    Transfer values from occupational pensions are rising by up to 50 per cent as new rules take effect. National IFA Millfield says a client who requested a cash-equivalent transfer value in November was quoted £362,573 - a 48 per cent increase on the £245,541 that was previously offered in March. Cash-equivalent transfer values received a boost when the Department for Work and Pensions introduced rules on June 11 requiring solvent firms winding up schemes to ...

  • Trusts 'found wanting' over help for splits victims

    27 Nov 2003

    AITC director general Daniel Godfrey has criticised the industry for its reluctance to offer voluntary financial assistance to the hardest-hit victims of collapsed split-capital trusts. Speaking in London last week, Godfrey said the AITC has been lucky that demand for payouts from its hardship fund has been lower than feared, as financial help from the industry has been found wanting. Some firms that prospered from splits have offered support but he said others have dragged ...

  • UBS Global Asset Management - UBS Global Emerging Markets Fund

    1 Dec 2003

    Type: OeicAim: Growth by investing in emerging markets Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000, monthly £50Investment split: 49.6% Pacific, 10.1% Europe, 9.8% South America, 9% North America, 7.7% South Africa, 7.4% Asia, 2.5% China, 3.7% cashIsa link: YesPep transfer: YesCharges: Initial 4%, annual 1.5%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal 0,5% Tel: 0800 587 2111

  • Unit-linked sales boosted

    27 Nov 2003

    Rising confidence in the stockmarkets has brought a boost to sales of unit-linked funds, according to the ABI. Its latest figures show individual regular-premium life and pension business at £863m for the third quarter of this year, down from £947m in the second quarter and £917m in Q3 of last year. However, the ABI points out that business has risen over the year so far from £836m in the first quarter this year, compared with a fall of 8.3 per ...

  • Up the pole

    27 Nov 2003

    At last week's Mortgage Expo, one bright spark hit on a great wheeze for grabbing brokers' attention. Majestic Mortgages' stand featured a pole-dancing act while attractions from other exhibitors included bunny girls and other scantily clad young women. This comes on the eve of regulation by the FSA and at a time when self-cert concerns have caught the attention of the BBC and national newspapers. Money Marketing has several questions not just for those ...

  • Warning to Treasury over Sandler discord

    27 Nov 2003

    An investment industry spokesman has hit out at the lack of cooperation between the FSA and Treasury over the Sandler suite of products. Speaking at the Pep and Isa Managers' Association's London conference on The Future of Tax-incentivised Saving last week, Pima deputy chairman Clive Shelton asked a Treasury representative whether reports that the FSA was unhappy with the Sandler suite were true. He also asked what impact this could have on implementing the Sandler ...

  • Wesleyan bond doubles up

    1 Dec 2003

    Wesleyan's capital & income bond issue is a combination of a guaranteed equity bond with a high-interest account which gives investors a choice of a five or seven year term. Up to 50 per cent can go into the high-interest account, while the remainder goes into the guaranteed equity bnnd.The guaranteed equity bond element, which is used to provide growth, is linked o four stockmarket indices - the FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, Swiss Market Index and the S&P ...

  • Win a Christmas shopping trip to New York

    27 Nov 2003

    You could win a Christmas shopping weekend for two to New York at a five-star hotel with £500 to spend in this great competition with Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments, one of the world's biggest mutual fund managers with assets over $300bn, is celebrating the launch of its four new funds for UK investors, and would like to offer you and your partner the chance to win a shopping trip to New York. New York can fulfil every shopping ...

  • With-profits is the answer

    27 Nov 2003

    Three years of negative stockmarket returns has taken its toll on investor confidence and now some would-be investors are choosing to keep their money on deposit. But we need to remind investors that keeping their medium to long-term money on deposit is seldom the best solution. Interest rates are at their lowest level for over 40 years and headline rates advertised in banks and building societies do not reflect any tax that must be paid which makes them even poorer. The truth ...

  • Woolwich maximises returns

    28 Nov 2003

    Woolwich Plan Managers has established the premium protected growth plan, a guaranteed equity bond that provides a minimum return of investors' original capital after five years and six months.The bond is linked to the FTSE 100 index and investors will also receive 100 per cent of any increase in the index at maturity.To calculate the returns, the closing level of the index is taken on January 22, 2004 and is measured against the average closing level of ...

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