Money Marketing
5 December 2007

  • Elderly to be given allowance for care

    11 Dec 2007

    Elderly people will be given money to pay for their own care under Government plans tipped to radically reform the welfare system.From next April, councils will deposit money directly into pensioners' bank accounts each month which the recipient can spend on the care package of their choice. The move means social workers will no longer have the power to dictate how care is provided to elderly people.The Government has also set out plans to crackdown on poor quality nursing homes.

  • Put off protection

    11 Dec 2007

    It is a sad state of affairs when consumers are so put off protection that they offer inducements to advisers to avoid buying cover.

  • "Personal accounts will not increase pension saving rates"

    11 Dec 2007

    Personal accounts will not make any difference to pension saving rates says EveryInvestor.

  • 66% Leave retirement planning to their 50s

    6 Dec 2007

    Two out of three people are failing to plan for retirement until after they are 50 despite 84 per cent of consumers considering that the state pension is not enough to live on.

  • A festive rate cut for you all

    7 Dec 2007

    This week has been another busy one for the mortgage market with the FSA sending out yet another warning, the battle for Northern Rock continues to be played out and at last, a very welcome base rate cut.

  • A shaw thing

    6 Dec 2007

    Sam Shaw is a reporter on Money MarketingI write this as I prepare for financial services' answer to the X Factor and, quite likely, the most public humiliation of my entire life (to date, anyway). Yes, this week is the famed event in every protection bod's calendar - the Lifesearch pre-Xmas charity fundraiser. More on that next week, if my ego-battering will allow me to leave the house again to come to work.

  • Adviser Fund Index

    6 Dec 2007

    Last week's Adviser Fund Index column looked at the fund line-up of the Aggressive index following last month's rebalancing. The 19 AFI panel0lists made significant changes at the fund level, removing 32 of the 124 holdings selected in May. They also altered the lower-risk Balanced and Cautious indices, despite continued strong performance.

  • Advisers backing T Bailey's move on institutional units

    6 Dec 2007

    T Bailey says the institutional share classes on its funds of funds are seeing increased take-up among fee-based advisers and intermediaries investing Sipp money for their clients.

  • Advisers want innovative protection products says PruProtect

    6 Dec 2007

    Almost 60 per cent of advisers believe flexible and integrated protection products are the future according to PruProtect. But 42 per cent are unconvinced of the merits of severity-based cover.

  • Aifa confident of defusing VAT bombshell for advisers

    6 Dec 2007

    Aifa says it has helped win an important amendment in Brussels that should ensure advisers are not hit by VAT as a result of the European Commission's new directive.

  • Aifa in 11th hour bid to stir up RDR responses

    6 Dec 2007

    Aifa has issued guidance on how to fill out last-minute responses to the retail distribution review in a final bid to persuade member to respond to the discussion paper.

  • Ashcroft takes stake in Arc

    6 Dec 2007

    Former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Ashcroft is buying a 21 per cent stake in specialist investment boutique Arc Fund Management for £2.1m.

  • Assure thing

    6 Dec 2007

    In my opinion, Assureweb seriously needs to raise its game to compete with other portals. I have been increasingly concerned about delays to software being launched in partnership with Assureweb.

  • Axa piloting medical tests at chemists

    6 Dec 2007

    Axa is testing medical screenings in pharmacies for protection applicants, using non-invasive techniques including skin tests, saliva tests and hair analysis.

  • Axa tests enhanced annuity deal

    6 Dec 2007

    Axa is piloting an enhanced annuity product with a group of specialist annuity advisers and plans to offer it to the wider market next year.

  • Axa trials enhanced annuity product with Hargreaves Lansdown

    7 Dec 2007

    Axa is trialing its enhanced annuity product with Hargreaves Lansdown.

  • Bailiff threat in commission battle

    6 Dec 2007

    An adviser is threatening to send in bailiffs to Lifetime after the wrap firm failed to act after he won a court judgment on commission.

  • Bank of England cuts rates to 5.5%

    6 Dec 2007

    The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee today voted to reduce interest rates from 5.75 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

  • Bill set to detail personal accounts

    6 Dec 2007

    The Government's Pensions Bill is due this week and is expected to provide greater details of the proposed personal accounts.

  • Bland ponders the known unknowns of the review

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has been criticised after saying the protection sector could come under the RDR.

  • Briault warns lenders to draw up emergency plans

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has warned the mortgage market that there is a very real prospect that credit conditions will worsen next year.

  • 'Bribes' aimed at avoiding cover

    6 Dec 2007

    Foster Denovo senior partner Brenda Santimano claims she has been offered "bribes" of up to £1,000 by clients who want to avoid taking out protection to cover their mortgage.

  • Broker Talkback

    6 Dec 2007

    Do you think the retail distribution review should incorporate protection and mortgages?

  • Brokers back Cameron's calls for lenders to cushion borrowers

    11 Dec 2007

    Brokers have backed David Cameron’s calls for lenders to help borrowers who are struggling to meet higher repayments.

  • Brought to book

    6 Dec 2007

    I cannot say I minded being regulated. Not in the beginning. I had been in the business for 33 years and the little IFA outfit I had formed 10 years before in 1976 was doing quite nicely. It would be worth coughing up 400 to 500 to see the back of a few crooks who lurked in our industry.

  • Brown facing pension battles on all fronts

    10 Dec 2007

    Political rows within Government over providing additional help for pension victims and with the Opposition regarding a rather loose-lipped civil servant and European GPP issues have over-shadowed the publication of the Pensions Bill.

  • Buckles acquires Jennings Insurance and Investment Services

    10 Dec 2007

    Welsh IFA firm Buckles has acquired Jennings Insurance and Investment Services following the retirement of its principals.

  • Burrows in business switch to MPL

    6 Dec 2007

    Annuity guru Billy Burrows has joined MPL Wealth Management but will continue to trade as William Burrows Annuities.

  • Capita taking over Pru's admin in outsource deal

    6 Dec 2007

    Prudential has signed a £722m deal with Capita that will see the outsourcing firm take on 3,000 of its staff and the administration of seven million life and pension policies.

  • CII calls for single standards structure and mandatory prof membership

    10 Dec 2007

    The Chartered Insurance Institute and Personal Finance Society have published their joint response to the retail distribution review calling for a single professional standards structure and compulsory membership of a professional body.

  • CML calls for review of bank's role

    6 Dec 2007

    Council of Mortgage Lenders chairman Jon Pain wants a review of how the Bank of England can help reopen the mortgage-backed securities market and help with liquidity in wholesale markets.

  • CML urges Conservatives to improve state support for home owners

    11 Dec 2007

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has urged the Conservatives to consider policies to improve the “woefully inadequate level of state support” that currently applies to home owners, compared with tenants.

  • CML warns of £30bn funding shortfall in 2008

    5 Dec 2007

    The UK mortgage market will face a £30bn funding shortfall next year as a result of the current credit squeeze, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned.

  • Collins Stewart launches fund management business

    5 Dec 2007

    Collins Stewart has announced the launch of its stand-alone fund management business, Collins Stewart Fund Management.

  • Commercial breaks

    6 Dec 2007

    There was a growing consensus at the start of 2007 that after three years of double-digit returns, the commercial property sector was likely to face a slowdown.

  • Cooper for pension role at Zurich

    6 Dec 2007

    Zurich has named former Winterthur product development manager Nick Cooper as its pension proposition manager. He will be based in Swindon and report to pension management director Dave Lowe.

  • Corporate raiders

    6 Dec 2007

    Cavanagh Group became the latest company to raise its profile in the corporate advisory market last week when it acquired employee benefits specialist JRG Financial Consultancy.

  • Courts approve EqLife transfer

    6 Dec 2007

    Equitable Life's agreement to transfer £1.7bn of with-profits annuity policies to Prudential has been approved by the Royal Court of Guernsey and the Royal Court of Jersey and will complete on December 31.

  • Credit Suisse pays managers to win

    6 Dec 2007

    CSAM has introduced performance bonuses in a number of fund managers' contracts in a bid to improve returns.

  • Devil's cauldron

    6 Dec 2007

    When friends from outside financial services ask me about the retail distribution review, I explain that the regulator is trying to raise the standard of financial advice in the UK while giving light-touch regulation to the banks to unleash their mighty brands and flog financial services products over the bank counters.

  • Dollar damage

    6 Dec 2007

    Since 2002, the dollar has depreciated by 32.8 per cent against sterling. Since August, uncertainty over the credit crisis and falling US interest rates have led to the dollar hitting new lows against many currencies which has threatened to turn an orderly decline into a rout.

  • Double indemnity deal from Paymentshield

    6 Dec 2007

    Paymentshield has created a new commission option for IFAs that enables intermediaries to take two years of commission payments up front.

  • DWP ministers in battle with Treasury for pensioners' compensation package

    10 Dec 2007

    The Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions are understood to be locked in a heated debate over the compensation package for the 125,000 workers who lost their pension schemes as a result of their employers going bust.

  • European Commission grants approval of Northern Rock bailout

    5 Dec 2007

    The European Commission has granted approval of the UK's bailout of Northern Rock saying that the emergency loan and deposit guarantee were in line with European emergency aid rules.

  • F&C appoints Standard & Poor’s MD in governance role

    5 Dec 2007

    F&C has announced the appointment of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) managing director George S. Dallas as the firm’s corporate governance director.

  • Fidelity changes managers for UK aggressive and growth funds

    6 Dec 2007

    Fidelity has replaced the managers on its UK growth and UK aggressive funds after two years of lack-lustre performance.

  • Firms face action as reps fail on TCF

    6 Dec 2007

    An FSA review has found that firms are not doing enough to ensure their appointed representatives are treating customers fairly, with four firms likely to face enforcement action.

  • Flat chance

    6 Dec 2007

    Aclient, Mr Smith, has asked me about the effect that the proposed changes to capital gains tax will have on his investments. He has money invested in property, unit trusts and investment bonds.

  • Former HSBC duo set up structured products boutique

    7 Dec 2007

    Former HSBC pair Chris Taylor and Mark Dickson are launching a new structured products boutique in January 2008.

  • Four-way junction

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has asked if the retail distribution review might apply to mortgages and protection, which makes a great deal of sense on one hand and is nonsense on the other.

  • Fraudsters bullied bank employee to reveal data

    6 Dec 2007

    Northampton crown court has heard of the ease with which financial information can be obtained by deception.

  • Friends appoints Cracknell to develop distribution strategy

    6 Dec 2007

    Friends Provident has picked Mark Cracknell as its new director of development of UK distribution.

  • FSA defends its role in Northern Rock debacle

    11 Dec 2007

    The FSA has defended its position in the Northern Rock fiasco, rebuffing suggestions that a false market has been created in Northern Rock share trading.

  • FSA delays RDR by four months

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has put back its timetable for the retail distribution review and admitted the final proposals need to be less complex than originally suggested.

  • FSA turns RDR spotlight on mortgages and protection

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has signalled that the retail distribution review could have a massive impact on the mortgage and protection markets, with questions over training and competence, churning and consumer understanding.

  • Gary Withers

    6 Dec 2007

    Few people can match the CV that Credit Suisse's new vice-chairman and head of asset management for EMEA Gary Withers can bring to the table.

  • GE looks at wholesale link

    6 Dec 2007

    GE Money Home Lending is considering a wholesale partnership next year.

  • GMAC-RFC revamps partners website

    10 Dec 2007

    GMAC-RFC has revamped its Partners website which offers enhanced features such as navigational short-cuts and streamlined poso login access.

  • Goal bonuses

    5 Dec 2007

    It seems that Credit Suisse is looking to follow some of its peers into the boutique culture by introducing performance bonuses into a number of fund manager contracts in a bid to bolster returns at the firm.

  • Goverment's lack of action over Equitable Life report is totally unacceptable, says MEP

    11 Dec 2007

    The UK Government’s lack of response to the Equitable Life report is totally unacceptable, according to Diana Wallis.

  • Government must do more to encourage pension saving pre-2012, says Haddrill

    6 Dec 2007

    The ABI has called on the Government and employers to do more to encourage people to save before personal accounts are introduced highlighting the eight year waiting period before employers have to make full contributions.

  • Govt fails to fully align protected rights with non-protected rights

    10 Dec 2007

    The Government's consultation on protected rights in Sipps has disappointed providers because it will not bring protected rights completely into line with non-protected rights funds.

  • Guernsey pensions take £2.25m hit due to ill-timed Northern Rock investment

    10 Dec 2007

    More than £2m of public money might be lost by the Guernsey public sector pension fund after it bought 250,000 Northern Rock shares when they were valued at £10 each.

  • Guidance needed on conflicts of interest

    6 Dec 2007

    Clear guidance on dealing with conflicts of interest should run alongside any remuneration changes brought about by the retail distribution review and be rigidly enforced by a professional standards board, says the Personal Finance Society.

  • Hain under pressure over disclosure

    6 Dec 2007

    Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain is under pressure over donation disclosure problems.

  • Happy talk

    6 Dec 2007

    Ned Cazalet is always worthy of a decent quote or two. If ever you need to liven up a dour article about insurers, he will be only too happy to oblige, if you can track him down.

  • Health management

    6 Dec 2007

    We are living in the information age and the media makes sure we are kept abreast of developments in every field.

  • Homeloan brokers reject suggestions of churning

    6 Dec 2007

    Mortgage brokers have hit out at the FSA's suggestion that the mortgage market suffers from the same problems of churning as the investment sector.

  • House prices fall by 1.1 per cent in November

    5 Dec 2007

    House prices fell by 1.1 per cent in November due to the increase in interest rates and higher mortgage repayments.

  • IFAs beware of Mifid merger into CF30

    11 Dec 2007

    ComplianceIT.com founder Joanne Roberts is warning IFAs to ensure its competence testing for key controlled functions following Mifid does not slip.

  • IMA wants HMRC to get tougher on data security

    6 Dec 2007

    The Investment Management Association has written to HM Revenue & Customs calling for tougher security measures to protect personal data being sent through the post.

  • Insight appoints trio to equity research team

    6 Dec 2007

    Insight Investment has added three equity analysts to its team with Alex Toms, Kevin Yates and Neil Cooper all joining the firm on its European and global desks.

  • Investec launches offshore emerging market debt fund

    7 Dec 2007

    Investec Asset Management has announced the launch of its offshore emerging market debt fund.

  • Italy wants EU super-regulator

    6 Dec 2007

    Italy's finance minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa is calling for the creation of a EU-wide super-regulator.

  • JC Flowers pulls out of race for Northern Rock

    7 Dec 2007

    JC Flowers has pulled out of the bid auction for Northern Rock.

  • Journalist jams protection system

    6 Dec 2007

    Aegon Scottish Equitable's online protection applica-tion system has been slammed over its inflexibility for being unable to process an application because the client was a journalist.

  • Keep the heirship flying in France

    6 Dec 2007

    France has recently been hit by a series of strikes in response to reforms brought in by president Nicolas Sarkozy.

  • Knight sees mezzanine opportunity

    6 Dec 2007

    Mortgage guru Stephen Knight predicts opportunities will arise for lenders willing to participate in mezzanine funding when the credit crunch starts to unwind.

  • Land banker shut after BERR probe

    6 Dec 2007

    A Swiss land banking company has been ordered into compulsory liquidation for running a scheme which sold land in the South of England and left investors owning useless plots which they bought at inflated prices.

  • Last gasp for RDR responses

    7 Dec 2007

    As the days get shorter and the weather can’t quite seem to make up its mind at the moment, things also seem a little, well, up in the air for all things IFA-related.

  • Lawyer warns of more sub-prime action

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA's recent sub-prime fines are just the "tip of the iceberg" as market conditions continue to expose poor mortgage advice, claims law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.

  • Levelling down could wipe five years off GPPs

    6 Dec 2007

    Aegon says group personal pension members could see five years of savings wiped off their pensions if employers level down when personal accounts are introduced.

  • Liongate links up for multi tracker note with Barclays Capital

    6 Dec 2007

    Liongate Capital has teamed up with Barclays Capital to create a tax-efficient structured product around the Liongate multi-strategy fund of hedge funds.

  • Lord and Shalton join Thinc in twin takeover

    6 Dec 2007

    Thinc Group has bought high-profile wealth management businesses Chambers Morgan James and Cavendish Financial Management.

  • Mix and match

    6 Dec 2007

    Life is not getting easier, even if shares are having the odd good day. The sheer size of daily fluctuations is enough to put off all but the most seasoned investor or those who, more through hope than real conviction, believe they can use these swings to their advantage. Although current news is hardly encouraging, there seems sufficient expectation that somehow we will muddle through to bring buyers out on a regular basis.

  • Mobile advisers hit the road

    6 Dec 2007

    Stroud & Swindon Building Society has emblazoned four Mini Coopers with its logo as an extension of its mobile mortgage arrangers service.

  • Mortgage mates

    6 Dec 2007

    The only way for many graduates to get into the property market is to pool resources with a partner, family member or friend.

  • Mortgageforce in deal with B&B

    6 Dec 2007

    Mortgageforce has signed a partnership agreement with Bradford & Bingley which will see it take on clients which the lender cannot help, such as those seeking shared ownership or loans on unusual properties. Mortgageforce says it is also in talks with a retailer, a building society and a trade union about other distribution deals.

  • Multi choice

    6 Dec 2007

    The rationale behind the development of funds of funds was to allow an expert to choose the right mix of portfolios and styles. So now that there are almost 250 different fund of fund options, who selects between them?

  • Neptune adds Asian and Latin funds

    6 Dec 2007

    Neptune has introduced a Latin America fund, run by Felix Wintle, and an Asia Pacific opportunities fund, managed by Shelley Kuhn. The funds will be run as high-conviction portfolios holdings 40 to 50 stocks.

  • New residence and non-dom rules will cost the economy, says Grant Thornton

    10 Dec 2007

    Grant Thornton says the Government's consultation on residence and domicile has ignored the cost of the changes to the UK economy.

  • New Star reduces value of UK Property Unit Trust by 8.2%

    10 Dec 2007

    New Star has reduced the value of its £2.1bn UK Property Unit Trust by 8.2 per cent, reflecting increasingly negative sentiment about the commercial property sector.

  • Northern Rock bidder drops out

    5 Dec 2007

    One of the bidders for Northern Rock is believed to be considering dropping out of the process.

  • Norwich Union believed to be missing canoeist's insurer

    5 Dec 2007

    Norwich Union is believed to be the insurance company that paid out on John Darwin's life insurance policy after he went missing in 2002.

  • Nucleus signs six new firms

    10 Dec 2007

    Six new IFA firms have signed up to the Nucleus Financial Group wrap platform, bringing the total number of firms with a stake in the business to 28. The IFAs - Wealth Port Management, Applewood Wealth Management, Budge & Co, Robson Macintosh & Co, Coleman Financial Services and H J Scott & Co mean there are now 190 advisers using the platform, with a total assets controlled - but not all held on the platform - to around £8bn.

  • Olivant Group bid gets backing from small shareholders

    7 Dec 2007

    Olivant Group, led by ex-Abbey boss Luqman Arnold, has revealed the details of its proposed bid which has already received the backing of Northern Rock's small shareholders group.

  • Only 7% backing move to fees

    6 Dec 2007

    Aifa research reveals only 7 per cent of survey respondents are in favour of paying for financial advice by fees and 54 per cent do not want a choice of payment options.

  • Out in the cold

    6 Dec 2007

    Most insurers are set to publish their contracting-out guidelines for 2007/08 within the next couple of months. Expect this year's guidance to differ significantly from what you have seen in recent times. The reason for the change is that this tax year marks the start of a new five-yearly rebate period.

  • Over 40% of under 35s have no pension, says Endsleigh

    5 Dec 2007

    Over 40 per cent of under 35s have no pension, according to Endsleigh Financial.

  • Paragon says it has funding for 10 years

    6 Dec 2007

    Paragon says it is in an enviable long-term position, with the best-performing mortgage book in the business despite concerns about its funding.

  • Pensions Bill out today prompts calls for clarity over GPPs

    5 Dec 2007

    The Pensions Bill is due to come out later today which has prompted calls from providers for clarity over the position of group personal pensions.

  • Pensions Bill provokes further calls for detail and clarification

    6 Dec 2007

    The long-awaited Pensions Bill containing details of personal accounts came out yesterday and with it a flurry of commentators by turns outraged or encouraged by various aspects of the proposed reforms.

  • Pensions Bill: Aifa warns on access to advice and means testing

    5 Dec 2007

    Aifa director general Chris Cummings says the trade body is supportive of the introduction of Personal Accounts as part of the Pensions Bill but says there are certain issues that still need to be tackled.

  • Pensions Bill: Death of stakeholder signalled by repeal of employer law

    5 Dec 2007

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

  • Pensions Bill: Exemption test for good schemes "impossible" to comply with

    6 Dec 2007

    Existing employer pension schemes may be forced to close down in favour of personal accounts because the exemption criteria is almost impossible to comply with according to Standard Life.

  • Pensions Bill: Hain says personal accounts will lead to millions more savers

    5 Dec 2007

    Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain said millions more people would benefit from the introduction of personal accounts as the Pensions Bill was introduced to Parliament today.

  • Pensions Bill: PADA has conflict of interest over choosing exempt schemes, says Standard Life

    5 Dec 2007

    A potential conflict of interest exists in the role of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority if it can set the test by which good schemes become exempt, says Standard Life.

  • Pensions Bill: Qualifying scheme tests and means-testing still big hurdles

    5 Dec 2007

    Personal accounts still have big hurdles to overcome including the issue of means-testing and the qualifying scheme tests for existing pensions before their introduction in 2012 say providers.

  • Pensions Bill: Regulator given the power to fine employers up to £50,000

    5 Dec 2007

    The Pensions Bill has given the Pensions Regulator the power to fine employers up to £50,000 if employers do not make contributions into personal accounts or do not auto-enrol eligible employees.

  • Personal account fear as insurers reject small GPP

    6 Dec 2007

    Smaller employers which do not want to enter personal accounts may be left with little alternative due to the falling number of insurers willing to write small group business, warns pension IFA Richard Jacobs.

  • Personal Accounts chairman’s position is "clearly untenable", say Tories

    5 Dec 2007

    The Conservatives have branded the position of Personal Accounts Delivery Authority chairman Paul Myners “cleary untenable” after he launched a personal attack on the Tories.

  • Premier picks triple targets

    6 Dec 2007

    Premier chief executive Mike O'Shea says the firm is targeting UK growth, Japan and emerging markets as three key areas where it can expand its fund range.

  • Progress satisfies protection advisers

    6 Dec 2007

    A Defaqto survey has found that Progress from Royal Liver is the top protection provider for overall adviser satisfaction. Skandia is second, followed by Standard Life, which has now left the market.

  • Property team look for IFAs

    6 Dec 2007

    Property services group movewithus has set up a new team to seek further adviser partners for its investment portfolios in the UK and overseas.

  • Quarter of financial websites fail FSA's tests

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has warned that a quarter of financial firms' websites are failing to present information to the consumer in a fair, clear and not misleading way.

  • Regional release

    6 Dec 2007

    Figures from Key Retirement Solutions paint a regional picture of the popularity of equity release, comparing sales from January to September 2006 with the same period this year.

  • Regret over loss of trusted brands

    6 Dec 2007

    Direct Life & Pensions sales and marketing director Richard Verdin says it is a "crying shame" that Standard Life and Scottish Widows have moved away from protection as they were best placed to close the protection gap.

  • Regulator's winter of discontent

    6 Dec 2007

    The FSA has been flexing its muscle in the mortgage market by taking action against over 70 firms.

  • Resolving conflict

    6 Dec 2007

    Conflict of interest is good copy for the press and some of it isn't too complimentary. Product and service providers are accused of disregarding their customers and the professional standards of advisers are questioned. This is leading to misgivings about the quality and appropriateness of products and services.

  • Richard Brown

    6 Dec 2007

    Money Marketing reported last week that BestInvest business development director Richard Brown had been offered voluntary redundancy. Brown, in fact, remains in the same role at the firm and MM apologises for the error.

  • Rivals step up bids for Rock

    6 Dec 2007

    The fight for Northern Rock has stepped up a gear as rival bidders make revised offers in a bid to oust Virgin's preferred status.

  • Route master

    6 Dec 2007

    The first significant milestone approa-ches with the end of December and the submission of most of the formal responses to the FSA's retail distribution review paper.

  • Scheme option feature in Sipp

    6 Dec 2007

    Hornbuckle Mitchell is offering a Sipp that features the option to switch from an income-drawdown plan or an alternatively secured pension into a scheme pension.

  • Search lists certified financial planners

    6 Dec 2007

    The Institute of Financial Planning has set up a website to help consumers search for certified financial planners by location and specialisation.

  • Short story

    6 Dec 2007

    The 130/30 concept was introduced to the UK market earlier this year but no funds have caught my attention until now. This is primarily because there has been little evidence from the managers to show they are any good at shorting - that is, until Cartesian, the boutique joint venture with Resolution, came on the scene with its UK equity 130/30 fund.

  • Sipp minimums are revealed

    6 Dec 2007

    One in eight Sipp providers still require a minimum investment into insured funds, including big life offices such as Axa, Legal & General, Zurich and Friends Provident.

  • Slipped Disp

    6 Dec 2007

    In a recent column, I gently probed the lack of accountability at the Financial Ombudsman Service, something best demonstrated by its appetite for "unashamedly making new law", as chief ombudsman Walter Merricks once confessed to the Financial Regulation Industry Group.

  • Standard Life quits protection market

    6 Dec 2007

    Standard Life has pulled out of the UK protection market after admitting that its proposition is "sub-scale".

  • Standish joins Fisher as MD

    6 Dec 2007

    Miles Standish has joined Fisher Investments as managing director of its wealth management arm.

  • Step on the gas

    6 Dec 2007

    Asia might capture the headlines but investors should not overlook the attractions of Eastern Europe. Exposure to commodities demand and ongoing convergence with developed Europe underpin the case for exposure to these markets in a well diversified portfolio. Add in the rich opportunities to be found around the region on an opportunistic basis and we believe it offers the potential for superior risk-adjusted returns.

  • Stock treatment

    6 Dec 2007

    I am always wary of emerging markets which have had a good run but I think an exception can be made where an investment manager has consistently outperformed the benchmark.

  • Stocking fillers

    6 Dec 2007

    If I write my wish list this Christmas, what should I include to ensure that next year brings the opportunities I hope for?

  • Storm over SJP client transfers

    6 Dec 2007

    IFAs have blasted St James's Place for refusing to transfer the agencies of clients wanting to move.

  • Sudden swing sends house prices reeling

    6 Dec 2007

    November saw the biggest monthly fall in house prices for 12 years, according to figures from Nationwide.

  • Sweet smell of succession

    6 Dec 2007

    Arecent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers reminds us of the importance of the small business market to financial advisers. It is hard to deny the importance of family businesses, which account for more than two-thirds of companies registered in the UK and that is without taking account of businesses constituted as partnerships and sole traders.

  • Swiss Life set to swoop for AWD

    6 Dec 2007

    Swiss Life is set to buy AWD UK's German parent for £824m but group chief executive Mike Kirsch says he has been assured the UK business is not for sale.

  • There is no alternative to the FSA

    6 Dec 2007

    Q How effective do you think the IFA community has been in responding so far to the RDR and do you think it has been too fragmented?

  • Thoresen will be keynote Protection Review speaker

    6 Dec 2007

    Aegon Scottish Equitable chief executive and head of the gen-eric advice review Otto Thoresen will be the keynote spea-ker at the launch of the 2008 Protection Review.

  • Threesixty tells trade bodies to bare their auditing teeth

    6 Dec 2007

    Trade bodies must improve their auditing of professional standards and prove they have the "teeth" to perform their roles in a post-RDR regime, says threesixty.

  • Tories demand PM activates emergency pensions package immediately

    10 Dec 2007

    Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling has written to the Prime Minister demanding he activates a pensions package immediately to compensate the victims of occupational scheme collapses.

  • Tories launch own Home-Buying Review today

    7 Dec 2007

    The Conservative Party is set to launch its own Home-Buying Review to investigate ways to speed up the home buying and selling process in England and Wales.

  • Towry Law aquires Analysis

    10 Dec 2007

    Towry Law has announced its acquisition of Analysis, a financial advisory firm based in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

  • Treasury to tighten rules on how family businesses pay themselves with dividends

    6 Dec 2007

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

  • Trustee needs

    6 Dec 2007

    Estate planning is a growing market and one of the essential tools is the trust, wrapped around various investments including investment bonds.

  • Tsars in their eyes

    6 Dec 2007

    Russia is sitting on a huge fiscal surplus and investors wanting exposure to emerging economies should take stock. This is the message from portfolio managers and advisers after the Russian government unveiled its extravagant spending plans following announcements that the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held at Sochi on the Black Sea.

  • UBS reports $10bn writedown

    10 Dec 2007

    UBS has reported a further 11.2 bn Swiss francs - $10bn; £4.9bn - in write-downs from its exposure to the US sub-prime crisis.

  • Watchdog's dinner

    6 Dec 2007

    Whenever I get really depressed about the capacity of financial services industry regulators to prove to customers how effective they are at protecting their interests, I look at other sectors where levels of protection are still virtually non-existent.

  • Widows pulls quotes from portals

    6 Dec 2007

    Scottish Widows is stopping offering protection quotations through industry portals in a move that brokers say means it is effectively pulling out of the IFA market.

  • Winterthur shows strength with pension business boost

    6 Dec 2007

    Winterthur's wealth management business saw a 36 per cent rise in individual pension business in the first nine months of this year.

  • Woe begone

    6 Dec 2007

    Paragon and Kensington are the latest lenders to have had their troubles seized upon and reported widely. Part of the problem is that both are specialist lenders identified with a particular market. Paragon, the third-biggest buy-to-let lender, is one of the most innovative suppliers of loans to landlords. Managing director John Heron is one of the most respected experts on buy to let. If Paragon is in trouble, many journalists have concluded that the buy-to-let sector as a whole must ...

  • Woolwich apologises to brokers for backlog

    6 Dec 2007

    Woolwich has emailed brokers to apologise for service problems but says it is recruiting staff to raise standards.

  • Yorkshire leads Homebuy with £170m in first year

    6 Dec 2007

    Yorkshire Building Society has lent £170m and completed 1,400 mortgages in the first year of the Open Market Homebuy scheme.

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