Money Marketing
9 February 2012

  • Friends Life may turn to equity outsourcing

    9 Feb 2012

    Provider considering outsourcing its equity mandate and is in talks with Jupiter Asset Management on running Japanese equities.

  • £4M earmarked to repay Keydata cash

    9 February 2012

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has set aside nearly £4m from its budget for next year to recover the cost of compensating Keydata investors.

  • 10-Year fixes will stay niche despite rush for N&P loan

    10 Feb 2012

    Brokers believe 10-year fixed-rate mortgages will remain niche products despite strong demand for Norwich & Peterborough’s 3.99 per cent 10-year fix which has been withdrawn after strong demand.

  • Aberdeen caps inflows into popular EM portfolio

    9 February 2012

    Aberdeen Asset Management is to stem flows into its £9bn emerging market fund range, managed by Devan Kaloo.

  • Advisers want critical cover and IP

    9 February 2012

    Protection advisers have urged Scottish Widows to focus on developing new critical-illness and income protection products.

  • Advisers warn FSA probe fails to consider phased drawdown

    9 Feb 2012

    IFA firm Intelligent Pensions says the FSA has failed to consider phased drawdown as part of its review of advice.

  • Advisers warn over HMRC pension calculator mistakes

    9 Feb 2012

    Advisers warn the pensions annual allowance calculator is producing incorrect results for certain investors.

  • Benefit of the doubt

    9 February 2012

    Using a lump sum of self-employed earnings to invest in a pension can pay off

  • Billy Burrows: Sensationalist media is harming pension savers

    14 Feb 2012

    You can hardly turn on the TV or pick up a paper without being bombarded with stories about the woes of the annuity market.

  • Bringing banks to account

    13 Feb 2012

    The furore that surrounded the granting of a bonus to RBS chief executive Stephen Hester broke just after I had submitted my thoughts on the investment world for last week.

  • Broker contests Paymentshield slashing 'dormant' trail commission

    9 February 2012

    A broker is taking legal action against Paymentshield, alleging that its decision to cut his trail commission from 27 per cent to 5 per cent is a breach of contract.

  • Buy to let gets a boost

    10 Feb 2012

    Competition in the buy-to-let sector has pushed mortgage rates down at a time when residential rates have started to rise.

  • Charcol's Lawton joins Which?

    9 February 2012

    John Charcol mortgage director Mike Lawton has left to join Which? as managing director of its mortgage advice service.

  • Charging transparency: the case for an FSCS product levy

    10 Feb 2012

    An overhaul of the compensation system to remove the hidden charges ultimately borne by clients.

  • Cicutti: Falling in love with IFAs again

    9 Feb 2012

    Are IFAs better or less well respected today than they were 10 or 20 years ago?

  • Council pension funds in 'death spiral'

    9 February 2012

    The Government is facing calls to consolidate 101 local council pension funds as part of radical proposals to improve efficiency and cut costs.

  • Court again rejects bid to review FSA's cru compensation

    9 February 2012

    The High Court has rejected campaigning group Justice in Financial Services’ application for a judicial review of the FSA’s Arch cru compensation package for a second time.

  • Dampier: My latest meeting with Neil Woodford

    13 Feb 2012

    Mark Dampier says investors can trust Neil Woodford to steer them through difficult times.

  • Disclosure deal to admit tax fraud

    9 February 2012

    HM Revenue & Customs has brought in a contractual disclosure facility that allows people suspected of serious tax fraud to come clean without being criminally investigated and prosecuted.

  • Do rebrands really work?

    10 Feb 2012

    Windsor Life is the latest in a long line of financial services firms to opt for a name change but is a rebrand a sticking plaster for more deep-rooted problems or can it fundamentally change the public perception of an organisation? Rachael Adams reports

  • Durell offers free portfolio analysis tools

    9 February 2012

    Software provider Durell has launched a suite of portfolio analysis tools for advisers and their clients. The tools are included free within advisers’ existing software package and clients can access them through their adviser’s website.

  • EIS eyes up Prime London properties

    10 Feb 2012

    RAM Capital Partners is promoting the Prime London enterprise investment scheme, an EIS that invests in the design and refurbishment of high-end residential properties in prime Central London.

  • Enrol changes to ease admin

    9 February 2012

    A series of amendments to automatic-enrolment regulations aim to ease the admin burden on employers.

  • Extend the fixed protection deadline, says Axa Wealth

    9 Feb 2012

    Axa Wealth is urging the Government to delay the fixed protection deadline by 12 months due to concerns about advisers’ workloads ahead of the retail distribution review and regulatory change.

  • F&C rejects separate SRI sector

    10 Feb 2012

    F&C and Kames Capital have warned against creating a separate IMA sector for sustainable and responsible investment funds.

  • Face value

    9 February 2012

    Last week’s news that Facebook will list on the US stockmarket has again raised questions about the valuations of the latest generation of technology companies but, away from the headlines, many tech funds have been quietly generating decent returns.

  • FE Adviser Fund Index

    9 February 2012

    Over the past three years, the FE Adviser Fund Index benchmark portfolios have weathered challenging market conditions.

  • FSA and Swiss regulator to probe UBS alleged unauthorised trading

    9 February 2012

    The FSA and the Swiss regulator say they are to start investigations into alleged unauthorised trading at UBS.

  • FSA fees to fall for advisers

    9 February 2012

    Most advisers will see their FSA fees fall by 3 per cent in 2012/13 despite an overall 16 per cent increase in FSA funding.The regulator published its consultation paper on fees and levies for 2012/13 last week.

  • FSA says 61% not willing to take risk with investments

    9 February 2012

    The FSA says the majority of people have no risk appetite at all when it comes to investments.

  • FSA should discuss prudent spending with an adviser

    9 February 2012

    Editor’s comment of the week

  • FSA shuts down sale and rentback

    9 February 2012

    The FSA has temporarily closed the entire sale and rentback market after its review of the sector found most transactions were either unaffordable or unsuitable and should never have been sold.

  • Fund firms screen out SRI

    10 Feb 2012

    Aviva is the latest mainstream investment house to pull away from offering specialist sustainable and responsible investment funds.

  • Guide to advice service offering online directory

    9 February 2012

    A new online directory has been launched covering independent, restricted and simplified advice firms, plus money coaching and execution-only services.

  • Hoban doesn't see FTT spreading

    9 February 2012

    Treasury financial secretary Mark Hoban claims France’s commitment to introduce a domestic financial transaction tax does not mean it is inevitable the levy will spread across the eurozone.

  • Ian McKenna: How prepared is Cofunds for RDR?

    13 Feb 2012

    As part of a regular series, Ian McKenna looks at how the platform is getting ready for RDR.

  • IFAs wait to see fixed-term annuity fees

    9 Feb 2012

    Advisers have welcomed Living Time’s return but uncertainty remains over how much it will charge on the new product.

  • IMA sees sales plunge by 40% as eurozone crisis scares off investors

    9 February 2012

    The Investment Management Association says net fund retail sales fell by 40 per cent in 2011 to £18bn, reflecting investors’ cautious approach due to the eurozone crisis.

  • In financial services we trust

    10 Feb 2012

    The progressive are now looking beyond the retail distribution review and towards shaping the future of financial planning.

  • Insch sets up performance analysis tool

    9 February 2012

    Insch Capital Management has launched a performance analysis tool for institutional investors, including IFAs and multi-managers, which highlights the need for improved returns or reduced fees among asset managers.

  • Insynergy waits for public to catch up on India

    10 Feb 2012

    Insynergy Investment Management is considering launching a specialist themed India fund once consumers become more comfortable investing in the country.

  • Jupiter looks at adding onshore absolute return fund

    9 Feb 2012

    Firm considers bolstering range by launching an onshore version of the £120.5m strategic total return Sicav.

  • L&G cuts charges on tracker range

    9 February 2012

    Legal & General Investments has cut the charges on five of its index funds to make its institutional share classes more competitive.

  • Labour wants FCA pricing reviews

    10 Feb 2012

    Labour is calling for the Financial Conduct Authority to regularly review product pricing and make recommendations to ministers.

  • Lead company failed to deliver IFA's order

    10 Feb 2012

    An IFA says lead company Meandmyleads failed to deliver an order for over two months and refused to issue a refund.

  • Life offices and fund firms face big rises

    9 February 2012

    Insurers and fund firms are among the businesses bearing the brunt of the FSA’s 16 per cent increase in annual costs for 2012/13.

  • Liontrust is adding two new funds as assets leap

    9 February 2012

    Liontrust Asset Management is adding two more funds to its range following a 14 per cent increase in assets under management for the final quarter of 2011.

  • LTV rate differentials narrow

    10 Feb 2012

    Borrowers are paying less of a premium for higher loan-to-value mortgages as the price difference between lower-LTV and higher-LTV products has narrowed.

  • Martin Bamford: Is the IFA model ever scalable?

    8 Feb 2012

    Systems can be scaled up but advice itself is much more difficult.

  • MEP backing shake-up for bank's court

    9 February 2012

    The European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee chair Sharon Bowles has backed the Treasury select committee in a row with the Bank of England over its accountability in the new regulatory structure.

  • Mergers and inquisitions

    13 Feb 2012

    Income tax has been in the news over the past couple of years. UK plc, like any other business under pressure, has had to look closely at income and expenditure.

  • MM Leader: Foolish to ignore calls for cost clarity

    9 Feb 2012

    It would wrong to dismiss the demands for increased transparency.

  • MM Profile: Cathi Harrison

    9 February 2012

    The founder of Para-Sols set up her outsourced paraplanning business to meet demand from recession-hit IFA firms who did not want to take on extra staff and now she is looking to widen her services to small firms with a recruitment consultancy Interview by Rachael Adams

  • Money Advice Service chief discusses ambitious growth targets

    10 Feb 2012

    The Money Advice Service has set itself an ambitious target of reaching more than 11 million people a year by 2016/17, as its budget for 2012/13 doubles to £86.8m.

  • Multi- manager view

    9 February 2012

    Every EU summit seems to bring us gradually closer to some sort of medium-term fix on the European debt issues but we expect political and social tensions to continue globally for a variety of reasons.

  • 'Murky annuity market' costs workers £1bn a year

    9 February 2012

    Private sector workers are taking a £1bn hit on their pension incomes every year as a result of the “hugely unfair and opaque” annuity system, a new report claims.

  • New £40m levy looms over MF Global failure

    9 February 2012

    Advisers are facing a Financial Services Compensation Scheme annual levy of £33m for 2012/13 but could still be hit with a further interim levy of £40m in connection with MF Global.

  • New VAT guide welcomed by professional bodies

    10 Feb 2012

    Professional bodies have welcomed HMRC’s latest draft RDR guidance on VAT liability.

  • Newbuild help is extended to homemovers

    9 February 2012

    The Government’s mortgage indemnity scheme will be available to all borrowers buying newbuild houses and flats worth up to £500,000 as their main home.

  • No signs of efficiency in FSA budget

    13 Feb 2012

    Aifa policy director Chris Hannant highlights a lack of accountability.

  • Novia warns on cost of white-label execution-only service for IFAs

    9 Feb 2012

    Novia is in talks with an IFA firm about building a white-labelled execution-only service but has warned that the cost of such projects could reach six figures.

  • Old Mutual to return £1bn after selling Nordic firm

    9 February 2012

    Old Mutual is to return £1bn to its shareholders following the sale of its Nordic business to Skandia.

  • Out of context

    9 February 2012

  • Paul Farrow: ABI should not dismiss damning NAPF report

    9 Feb 2012

    The date of the RDR draws ever closer, yet you get the impression that the regulator still has not thought it through.

  • PI costs predicted to rocket by 50%

    9 Feb 2012

    PII brokers are warning over increasing claims and insurers pulling out of the market.

  • Principality lending hits £1bn but profits fall

    9 February 2012

    Principality Building Society lent £1bn to mortgage customers in 2011, up by 6.5 per cent on £934m in 2010, although profits fell sharply.

  • Public have double the faith in IFAs than banks

    9 February 2012

    FSA research reveals IFAs’ clients are almost twice as likely to feel very confident about the advice they have received than those who see a bank adviser.

  • Public recognition of platforms falls over the last year

    10 Feb 2012

    Consumer awareness of platforms has fallen over the last 12 months, according to research from The Platforum.

  • Punter Southall takes 100% ownership of PSigma

    9 February 2012

    Punter Southall Group has taken 100 per cent ownership of joint venture PSigma Asset Management.

  • Putting the lights on

    10 Feb 2012

    All the kerfuffle over Stephen Hester’s bonus ignores one key point. I wonder how many people would voluntarily give up significant income they had been promised for doing their job, particularly how many of the most vociferous critics?

  • Senior Tory's legal warning on regulators

    9 Feb 2012

    The Financial Services Bill does not give clear legal backing to the regulators’ new judgement-based approach, says Peter Lilley.

  • Skandia IT head Tye quits

    9 Feb 2012

    Skandia head of IT Catherine Tye has left the firm.

  • Standard wins £100m PI liability court case

    9 February 2012

    Standard Life has succeeded in a claim against 11 professional indemnity insurers after it was forced to inject £100m into its pension sterling fund.

  • Stockpicker's psychology

    9 February 2012

    Why times of market turmoil are a good entry point for long-term, emotionally resilient investors

  • Thames wants absolute record on shorting

    9 February 2012

    Thames River Multi-Capital attributes the recent disappointing returns from the IMA absolute return sector to the transition of hedge fund techniques to the retail world and market volatility.

  • The hidden truth

    9 Feb 2012

    Advisers have backed calls for total investment costs, including admin and dealing costs, to be included in fund factsheets.

  • The shape of things to come

    10 Feb 2012

    The current focus on the mortgage market review is understandable but as we consider the implications, it is clear this is just one aspect affecting intermediaries, lenders and consumers.

  • Thinktank says 50% tax rate review is too narrow

    9 February 2012

    HM Revenue & Customs’ review of the 50 per cent tax rate will not be broad enough to properly assess whether to cut the tax or not, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

  • Time is of the essence

    14 Feb 2012

    Will this year see more of you creating a specific protection development plan for your business or for your own personal sales?

  • UK heading for a technical recession

    9 February 2012

    The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has warned that the UK economy is set to enter recession in the first half of this year.

  • Unwrapping charges

    13 Feb 2012

    Much has been written about the need for advisers to move to clientagreed remuneration and adviser-charging. The impact of this move to fees will create many challenges for advisers and clients as costs become even more explicitly shown.

  • 'Warning notices will treat firms like would-be criminals'

    10 Feb 2012

    The Financial Conduct Authority’s powers to publicise early warning notices will treat firms and individuals like “would-be criminals”, says City of London Conservative MP Mark Field.

  • Wealth is the wrong label

    13 Feb 2012

    IFAs mostly do financial planning, a discipline that is necessary only because people do not have enough money to achieve all their goals. When this is the case - as it is with most people apart from the very rich - the skills of the professional planner come into their own. These are prioritising objectives and agreeing timescales, defining a tolerable range of outcomes and clarifying the risks involved with different strategies - essentially, negotiating towards a plan that is inevitably ...

  • Widows back in IFA annuity and protection

    9 February 2012

    Scottish Widows is to re-enter the IFA annuity and protection markets after a review of its intermediary strategy.

  • Yousefian doubles up on US in OPM's worldwide opps fund

    9 February 2012

    OPM Fund Management chief investment officer Tony Yousefian has doubled his exposure to US assets in the £10m OPM worldwide opportunities fund from 17 per cent to 34 per cent.

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