The FCA has published a consultation on proposals to hike the maximum compensation amount the Financial Services Ombudsman can require firms to pay. Raising the maximum amount of compensation would see the cap increase from £150,000 to £350,000. Adviser and wealth manager trade body Pimfa has already criticised the proposals arguing they could lead to […]
Shares in advice giant St James’s Place are “irrationally” undervalued given the firm alone makes up 12 per cent of the advice market, analysts have said. SJP had £96.6bn in assets under management in August and is expected to surpass £100bn when it releases its interim report on Q3 later this month. Shares in the […]
Advice firm consolidator AFH is looking to raise £15m to fund more acquisitions by offering new shares in the company. It will sell new ordinary shares in the company at 370p a share in a quickfire offering, with the proceeds used to “execute the company’s acquisition pipeline”, AFH said in a stock market announcement today. […]
The acquisition of fellow wealth manager Speirs & Jeffrey has helped boost assets under management at Rathbones by £6bn, the firm’s latest results show. Rathbones’ funds at the end of the third quarter stood at £47.3bn after bolting on £6.7bn from the merger. Without the acquisition, Rathbones says it would have reported a 1.8 per cent […]
Two separate complaints about the clarity of the FCA’s guidance and expectations on Gabriel reporting requirements have been quashed by the Complaints Commissioner. However, the FCA has been asked to waive a late return charge and been asked to make sure debt collection and fees processes on Gabriel reporting are clear. In his report today, […]
Their power over fund selection is only set to increase as more firms adopt centralised investment propositions Fund research and rating agencies have enjoyed a buoyant market in advice firms thanks to the post-RDR rise of centralised investment propositions. While a minority of advisers have chosen to outsource portfolio management, the majority are selecting funds […]
Clients that suffer ill health at a young age can access their pension if certain requirements are met With the recent news that we are not living longer after all, there are questions to be asked as to why this is. Life expectancy increases the older you get, as the fact you made it that […]
If you had told me 10 years ago that not only would I be a chartered financial planner but that I would enjoy it so much I would be reading about the “science” of retirement and the “new retirementality” in my spare time, I reckon I would have asked you to kill me. But it […]
Platforms Nucleus and Transact have both taken a hit on their share prices after a suge in interest when they became listed companies. Nucleus’s share price has fallen from 239.5p a share on 26 July when it listed on Aim, to 161.5 per share as at 15 October, a fall of a third. In September […]
Despite global headwinds, don’t ignore the country yet Close to six years since coming to power, Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe’s position is looking stable. His recent victory in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election provides him with another three years as leader of the ruling party and represents his third term. He has once […]
Vitality has launched an insurance proposition to help customers meet the rising costs of later life. Dementia and “frail care” cover will be offered at no extra cost as part of Vitality’s serious illness cover, and will provide members with protection for a range of degenerative later life illnesses. The cover aims to limit the […]
I have just passed my 30-year anniversary as an adviser. Back in the day, it was possible for any Tom, Dick or Harry to become a “financial adviser” with just a few weeks of basic training. Thankfully, it is a different world today, with competence the main priority for firms up and down the country. […]
Advice network Intrinsic is funding a 58-week training programme through the Quilter Financial Adviser School to get more get more advisers to join its ranks. The course includes specific Intrinsic training throughout the core QFAS programme and means advisers will be trained on Intrinsic systems and processes. It is open to any student who will […]
Influential think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies has added to pressure on the government from the pensions industry not to restrict tax breaks ahead of the Budget later this month. The IFS says it would be a “step in the wrong direction” to resitrct pension tax breaks on high earners, even though it could […]
CYBG has completed its takeover of Virgin Money bank in a deal worth £1.7bn today. The parent company of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank says the deal will lead to the UK’s “first true national banking competitor to the status quo.” The combined company has over six million customers with around £70bn of customer loans, […]
The FCA is proposing new measures to force financial services firms to disclosure how they disclose climate change risk as it zones on in the investments pension funds make. The regulator has released a discussion paper today looking atthe effects that climate change and switching to a low carbon economy will have on the UK’s […]
Employers who do not help their staff secure financial advice may be faced with succession planning issues and an inability to retain younger staff, according to new research. Findings from Chase de Vere and research provider Lightbulb show financial advice programmes can cost as little as £5,700, and help get employees contributing more to their […]
Pension provider Embark Group has bought Liberty Sipp’s client book for an undisclosed sum. Embark has not acquired the actual Liberty Sipp company, which is set to be wound up as part of the deal. Embark says it will help the orderly wind-up of the business once the acquisition is completed. The transferring Liberty Sipp […]
Seven Investment Management has hired Martyn Surguy ex-head of investment management at Credit Suisse UK London as chief investment officer. Previously, Surguy worked also as CIO, Private Wealth Management Division for EMEA at Morgan Stanley. He also spent 16 years at Morgan Grenfell / Deutsche Bank, latterly as CIO International and Head of Portfolio Management UK.
The FCA has written to payday lenders and urged them to review their lending activity to see if their creditworthiness assessments are compliant. In a letter addressed to chief executives, it sets out how the watchdog expects payday lenders to handle issues linked to the increase of complaints about unaffordable lending. If deficiencies are found […]
Around 125,000 savers lost out when the annual allowance limit was cut from £50,000 to £40,000 in the 2014/15 tax year, according to government documents. Royal London policy director and former pensions minister Steve Webb pointed to the findings this morning in an archived government note as the firm launched a new policy paper on […]
Money Marketing Wired returns in association with The UK Edge on Tuesday 30th Otober, at 10 am with a topical debate on The politics of Brexit: What investors need to know. Discussion topics A month on from the Conservative Party conference, will the party be able to resolve its Brexit divisions? What options are still politically palatable to all sides? […]
The shackles of the industry are finally being broken but there is still much work to be done The financial planning profession has incredible potential that sadly has still not yet been achieved. But things are changing and the tide is slowly turning. The only way to bring about the fulfilment of our profession’s true […]
Over the past few weeks, I have been helping my wife act as the executor of her late father’s estate. Despite a 25-year career as an adviser for some very wealthy people and being quite familiar with the tasks involved in dealing with the financial affairs of a deceased person, I have found this time […]
Your website is your shop window and needs to support your marketing strategy An effective website should support every element of an adviser’s marketing strategy. From helping referrals understand more about your business, to being found on Google by people looking for an adviser, your website is your shop window. Essentially it has three jobs: To […]
I wonder how many client conversations come to an impasse when the subject of their existing cover is discussed. All too frequently, we find clients have little knowledge of their employment benefit package. Death in service, critical illness cover and sick pay benefit periods may have been discussed during the recruitment process and will be […]
I feel like I’ve written about defined benefit transfers about as often as Theresa May broke out her “strong and stable” catchphrase at the last election. But with a final policy statement from the FCA last week putting concrete reforms into place, we must dance the DB transfer tango once again. The good news is […]
Who could become financially dependent on your client if they became seriously ill or their spouse or partner died? How often have you heard the following statement: “We are specialist investment advisers and most of our clients are at or in retirement, so we do almost no protection business”? Do you say it yourself? Well, […]
It is not unusual for someone who has been in a defined benefit scheme for a large part of their career to have pension assets worth more than the house they are living in. The value of deferred pension benefits is something very few of us really understand, even those of us who work in […]
A worrying 75 per cent of lifetime trusts have yet to file required IHT returns in respect of the periodic charge The Finance Act 2006 must still be one of the most significant in memory for advisers operating in the estate planning market. Without warning, the government introduced sweeping changes to the way in which […]
There’s no doubt about it: 2018 is a good time to be a discretionary fund manager. Recent weeks have seen more financial results come in, with many big names reporting double-digit growth in assets and monster profit margins. As the market has grown, DFMs have strived to differentiate themselves in a competitive space. As our […]
Evidence suggests they have been cheated by successive governments’ mishandling of the NI Fund Have women born in the 1950s been short-changed? Of course they have. Their state pension age has been pushed up from 60, the age they expected to retire for much of their working lives, first to 65 and then, for most […]
The government has stepped back from the pensions dashboard but the new single financial guidance body is the ideal candidate to take the baton. In a previous article, I questioned whether a pensions dashboard was likely to drive the high levels of individual engagement envisaged by its most ardent of supporters. The dashboard itself, which […]
Protection Review chief executive Kevin Carr looks at recent market events Moving forward on mental health Some say perception is reality and, in a world driven by social media and sensitivity, the way people see things is their truth, regardless of whether their conclusions are accurate or feasible. This is not a bad way to […]
There is understandable frustration with what is seen by some as a disconnected policy machine whirring ad infinitum in the FCA’s Endeavour Towers. Take the difficulty in reconciling the stated requirement for robust, consistent, repeatable processes with the now cautionary tones over centralised investment propositions and requirement to evidence the suitability of solutions for various […]
Equilibrium Asset Management partner and investment manager Mike Deverell explains why the company’s in-house approach to investing compares favourably against the use of DFMs What does your investment management approach look like? We run our investment management in-house. We focus on asset allocation and buy collective investments including open-ended investment companies, unit trusts, some exchange-traded […]
The newest of the Mixed Investment sectors is six years old, but how is the space as a whole looking? Over the past few years, multi-asset funds have been possibly the most talked about investment product. A way to combine a multitude of assets within one fund at a lower cost, they are an easy […]
Rogue traders of the past got away with their actions because no one really knew what they were supposed to be doing I recently attended a conference where Nick Leeson, known as the man who brought down Barings Bank in the 1990s, was the keynote speaker. The conference was focused on ethics, culture and conduct, in […]
Platforms have brushed aside concerns that running their own funds and model portfolios could lead to conflicts of interest, saying they have the safeguards in place to prevent such issues arising. As submissions to the FCA’s probe into the market have now closed, Money Marketing asks if more attention should have been turned to flows […]
Economic relationships change, meaning that predictions can often prove wrong Much of Europe has enjoyed an unusually warm summer. But as the nights draw in and leaves turn brown, winter is somewhere around the corner. Like summers, economic expansions do not last forever. As the US expansion approaches its 10th birthday, investors may wonder how […]
Firms give account of the customer removal process following concerns over orphan client treatment Providers have defended how and why they remove advisers from a client relationship as debates continue over orphan clients and alleged poaching. A number of advisers have told Money Marketing in recent months that they have lost clients without their knowledge […]
Section 32 buyout plans (commonly known as Section 32s) are individual pension plans subject to FCA regulation. They are designed to accept benefits transferred from an occupational pension scheme. Are permissions required? Section 32s are personal pensions, not occupational schemes, however they will often include safeguarded benefits, which will mean the firm is likely to […]
Michael Klimes finds broad support for the proposals tinged with some disappointment
Ruth Whitehead Associates managing director on 25 years attempting to right the wrongs of the industry When Ruth Whitehead Associates managing director Ruth Whitehead says she is “proud to be anti-establishment, especially the financial services establishment” you can sense there is a story to be told. Something that runs deeper than the usual dissatisfaction with […]
Thomas Miller Wealth Management managing director Matt Phillips on how a little bit of cynicism does not hurt when it comes to fund selection Do you outsource investment management, do it in-house or combine both approaches? We combine both approaches. If you look at our assets under management, the split between our wealth management business […]
Chancellor Philip Hammond has a difficult balancing act ahead in his Budget on 29 October. On the one hand, prime minister Theresa May has promised an end to austerity and more spending on the NHS in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of middle Britain. And on the other hand, Brexit could dent […]
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Watch our latest Wired debate, where experts discuss the relative merits of growth and value investing.
Callum Abbot, co-manager of the JPM UK Equity Core Fund discusses the four key pillars of support for the UK equity market.
Blake Crawford, portfolio manager of the JPM UK Dynamic Fund, discusses quantitative easing (QE) and the UK economy.
John Baker, portfolio manager for the JPM UK Dynamic Fund, looks at the video game market, and the opportunities for investors.
Anthony Lynch, portfolio manager of the JPM UK Equity Plus Fund, JPM UK Equity Core Fund & the Mercantile Investment Trust, looks at the impact of Brexit on the housing market.
Callum Abbot, portfolio manager, discusses the changing market and end of cycle positioning.
Catch up with last week’s Money Marketing debate on what Labour would mean for financial planners with former pensions minister Steve Webb and three leading advisers.
FSCS levies are one of the biggest bills advisers have to pay. But how are they calculated? Watch our video to find out Advisers slam levy increases as FSCS bills hit desks Solving the FSCS’ long list of problems FSCS chief executive Mark Neale’s blog
FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey has just marked his first year at the top of the regulator. Money Marketing asks: Who is the man running the financial services show? Watch: Where do your FCA fees go?
Title: MM Wired: Beyond the election Date: Thursday 15th June Time: 11am Money Marketing Wired returned in association with The UK Edge on Thursday 15 June with a topical debate on the election results. To see the full on-demand version of this session, please watch the video above. Panelists Stephanie Flanders – Chief Market Strategist (UK […]
Many clients aren’t aware that their protection policy can give them access to practical and emotional support for coping with bereavement or serious illness. Such additional services can really add value, and help your clients see the tangible benefits of protection. Scottish Widows Care comes with every protection policy at no extra cost and is […]
Tom Smith, Fund Manager, Neptune Investment Management After a volatile month for emerging markets in aggregate, and for Argentina in particular, it is worth revisiting what has happened. The run on the Argentine currency reaccelerated in August, with the peso falling by a further 30% against the dollar. Read more Investment risks The value of […]
James Dowey, Chief Economist & CIO, Neptune Investment Management Above all, we learned that we can’t leave finance to its own devices. As Joseph Stiglitz said: “Now we know why the invisible hand is invisible. It’s because it isn’t there.” Read more Investment risks The value of an investment and any income from it can […]
Simon Halifax – Senior Marketing Consultant, Royal London Renovating a home could have an impact on your client’s savings and income. ‘Grand designs’ or indeed home renovations appear to have really taken off this year, especially where I live. As there are a huge number of homes getting extensions, roofs replaced or new windows and doors. I’m […]
Tracey Miller – Marketing Consultant, Royal London No one wants to think about how they’ll pay the bills if they’re sick or injured and can’t work. And that’s especially true when you’re in your 20s and getting sick is something that only ever happens to ‘old’ people, never someone like you. Unfortunately, for one of my […]
Ross Jackson – Senior Marketing Manager, Royal London Millennials are a scary bunch aren’t they? They’re more demanding of businesses that they deal with, are less loyal to brands, and have a much higher level of digital understanding than previous generations. And while those sweeping generalisations may all be true, they’re just another segment of potential […]
Tilney chief on providing financial planning while attracting investment management business from external advisers Nobody likes being the new kid at school – even those at the top. So, a year on from becoming chief executive of wealth manager Tilney, Chris Woodhouse is happy to be “part of the wallpaper”. His strategy has been clear […]
Nicholls Stevens managing director on how to solve the problems created by pension freedoms A combination of being technically minded and looking for areas with recurring income that suited her business model set IFA Carole Nicholls on her path as a pensions specialist. The managing director of Bristol-based firm Nicholls Stevens realised early in her […]
Quilter Investors chief executive on designing funds advisers want rather than giving the hard sell Anyone who thinks rebranding is marketing speak for simply changing a company’s name, think again. As Quilter Investors chief executive Paul Simpson will testify, there is much more to it. Not only does it entail strategic and marketing decisions – […]