The FCA has sent a data request to IFAs asking for the number of clients who have transferred out of a final salary scheme and continue to receive advice. Money Marketing has seen a list of questions the FCA sent to IFAs today as part of its ongoing work into defined benefit transfers. IFAs have […]
Critchleys chief executive on how accountants have finally grown to respect financial advisers Relationships between financial advisers and accountants range from the good, the bad to the downright ugly. Some advisers talk fondly of their experience running an advice service out of their local accountancy firm’s offices, while others recall joint ventures that failed due to the firms involved […]
No upheavals for financial planning in the Budget but advisers must be prepared for an uncertain year ahead There was slight trepidation in the air, when Spreadsheet Phil stood up to deliver his Budget last month. Having a Budget in October was unusual. Of course, we are now in the new cycle of autumn Budgets […]
If you want the crash course in all things leading edge in Fintech visiting a Finovate show can be time well spent, but it’s also an exhausting experience. The first two days of this year’s Fall show in New York involved no fewer than 80 demos of fintech propositions of all shapes and sizes. Anyone […]
Where to start and what to look out for when aiming to meet the financial requirements of the client For their advocates, fund panels are like a palette, which advisers can choose from to come up with a tailor-made investment solution for individual clients. As an efficient tool at the adviser’s disposal, a panel of […]
Advice partnership Beaufort Financial has formed a new advice firm in a joint venture with Worcestershire paralegal, Wills and Legal Services. The new firm, WLS Financial Services, will provide whole-of-market advice. WLS is now looking to recruit a team of advisers to work alongside Wills and Legal’s 25 paralegals. Former Stirling House Financial Services executive […]
Over three quarters of UK adults said they did not received financial education at school, but most wish they had. According to research commissioned by Quilter, 77 per cent of adults surveyed said they did not receive financial education at school, or could not remember it being available. Of that group, 79% wished they had […]
A recent decision by the Financial Ombudsman Service to uphold a complaint following “unsuitable” life insurance advice has put a spotlight on the importance of proper research. The case concerned a 53-year-old client who had been told by her adviser that life cover premiums were likely to be “excessive and unaffordable” for her. The Ombudsman found […]
When we think of income protection, the type of client that springs to mind is often someone steadily employed in a company and earning a regular wage which they’re keen to protect. However, our labour market has seen significant change since the 2008/09 financial crisis. In fact the number of part time self-employed people in […]
Two dozen City firms including Shroders and Legal and General have endorsed a network to help young professionals combat the stigma of mental health. The ‘”Thriving from the Start” initiative, launched today, will be run by people in their early careers and aims to create a supportive community for recent joiners to companies in the […]
Advice firm consolidator AFH has passed £4.5bn in funds under management after a record 16 acquisitions over the last twelve months. In a trading update this morning, AFH said that for the 12 months to 31 October, revenue is expected to come in at £50m, up 49 per cent from £33.6m in 2017. This compares […]
Close to 100 women are currently training to become advisers through the academy programme at St James’s Place, which had 41 graduates join its workforce this week. The advice giant has one of the industry’s largest programmes for training in-house advisers. SJP told Money Marketing in June that around 250 students were in the Academy, but has […]
Pensions minister Guy Opperman has promised that there will be a ‘substantial’ parliamentary bill in next year’s Queen’s Speech, that will act as a ‘roadmap’ for the long- term future of private pensions.
The Association of Investment Companies has reiterated its call for Key Information Documents to be suspended in light of proposed changes to the regime. Earlier this month, EU regulators proposed a series of amendments to the rules, with a full-cost benefit analysis to be prseented to the European Commission in January. These included proposals to […]
West Lancashire-based IFA Acumen Financial Partnership has acquired fellow advice firm Wyre Investment & Financial Management. The deal will see Acumen take on 400 active clients and £40m in funds under management. Wyre founder Liz Warren and an administrative staff member will join Acumen’s team of 17, eight of which are advisers. Acumen founder Angela Maher […]
MPs on the Treasury select committee are launching an enquiry into whether banks and other financial services firms treat vulnerable customers fairly. Financial exclusion and whether vulnerable clients could be charged too much for insurance are high up the MPs’ agenda. The committee will also assess the possibility of adopting a legal duty of care […]
The Pensions Regulator says a template designed to help scheme administrators give advisers standardised information about members who want to transfer out of defined benefit schemes will be available soon. Speaking at The Great Pension Debate III in London today, TPR executive director for regulatory policy David Fairs gave an update on how the template […]
Rules may increase quality of advice but not necessarily adviser numbers in the market Last month saw the introduction of the Insurance Distribution Directive, which means anyone involved in the distribution of insurance products must complete at least 15 hours of relevant continuing professional development each year. The new rules place no additional burden on […]
The government has launched a consultation on the business rates treatment of self-catering accommodation. There is a concern that some second home owners are valuing their properties for business rates by declaring their property as holiday accommodation and so qualifying for small business rate relief, which can reduce a property’s tax liability to zero if […]
Retirees are increasingly less likely to seek ongoing advice once they start drawing down income from their pension, new research suggests. Recent FCA showed that around than two thirds of consumers entering into drawdown sought regulated advice. Follow-up research from Zurich and YouGov has now found that proportion drops over time taking income. The poll, […]
The vast majority of flows into vertically integrated firm Tavistock’s discretionary funds are from its own advisers, according to chief executive Brian Raven. Speaking to Money Marketing after the release of its half year results today, Raven says the structure of the business means its own advisers are currently responsible for 90 per cent of inflows. He […]
Financial prosecutors are investigating investment giant Carmignac Gestion over potential tax fraud and money laundering, according to reports. A source close to the matter tells Reuters that the French asset manager with around €50bn (£43bn) in assets under management has faced a probe from authorities in France. In a statement provided to Reuters, Carmignac said that while […]
The chancellor’s last Budget before Brexit extended generosity to many, but made no mention at all of the plight of the four million women in financial hardship due to the recent seismic shifts in the state pension age. As Hammond took a seat at the end of his speech, some of the 80 or so […]
The biggest competition will come from advisers harnessing the power of technology Robo is a threat for advisers – but not in the way most would expect. That was one of the key messages to come from the excellent Vanguard Investment Symposium held last month. The conventional view of robo is that many investors will […]
Does competitive advantage mean being better than everyone else or different? Or both? Twenty or so years ago I made weekly trips from Edinburgh to London to meet advisers and journalists. British Airways served gigantic cooked breakfasts in the morning and three-course meals at night, with a couple of drink runs as well. This was […]
For a business that still makes multi-million pound losses, digital wealth manager Nutmeg sure does have a lot of fans in the investment community. Its latest plan to set up a £350 fixed-fee “advice” service to help low-value investors with their finances has surely won it a few more. I, as someone who is not […]
The number of upheld complaints outside the 15-year liability period demanded is tiny and falling Do you ever get that kind of uneasy feeling where you do a piece of work for a client but have a niggle at the back of your mind about something you might have missed? I had that sensation a […]
In September, I wrote about addressing the elephant in the room that is the fact elderly clients’ financial plans can get derailed through ill health. My request was based on recent personal experience of the NHS and its associated frustrations. Well, this month I have managed to find an even bigger elephant in the room […]
The number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019. It is thought that 36 per cent of the world’s population are using smartphones this year, up from about 10 per cent in 2011. That is a lot of folk worldwide armed with greater intelligence about […]
Having been a keen history student, I like to think I understand the importance of looking at the past as a guide to how we should move forward. The recent news stories around the judicial review into the long-standing dispute between Sipp provider Berkeley Burke and the Financial Ombudsman Service have read like a soap […]
New rules mean banks will have to take more responsibility for fraud protection. But is it enough? Last month, the police reporting service Action Fraud tweeted: “2019 will not be a happy year for fraudsters.” It was referring to a new initiative where banks will check the name of the payee before transferring money to […]
Three thousand advisers. That is, roughly, what Lloyds and Schroders will need for their new joint venture, if they want to meet their goal of becoming one of the top three financial planning firms in the UK. Honestly, us journalists should have seen this coming. Schroders has been spreading its tentacles into advice services for […]
Another year, another budget. Four and a half hours on a train to London, followed by square-eyed viewing of the live speech in case of any small furry rodents leaping out of the chancellor’s headgear and not a single mention of pensions. Thank you, Philip Hammond. Previous budget speeches have introduced us to the Annual […]
The world of investment is filled with jargon, which can pose a barrier to entry for the layman. While it is part of the financial adviser’s job to do some jargon-busting for their clients, they might find it difficult, as some investment solutions still have nebulous definitions, running the risk of comparing apples with oranges. […]
Michael Klimes finds advisers think the the inclusion of introducers in the cold call ban is a positive development
Landmark court case sees pensions transferred in serious ill health liable to significant tax charge There have been some very interesting developments lately with regards to pension transfers in serious ill health – in particular around inheritance tax. In a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeal has found in favour of HM Revenue & Customs […]
The UK’s largest online manager is venturing out to become a real player in the wider market with a financial advice offering. But, can this new fixed-fee planning service win over clients? Fresh off the back of a £12.4m loss last financial year, online investment manager Nutmeg has announced it is introducing a low price, […]
Italy could end up being a bigger problem for the union than Greece If investors didn’t experience enough of a frisson of danger from emerging markets, when the economies of Venezuela, Argentina and Turkey all suffered extreme strain, now Italy is setting everyone on edge in its own inimitable style. Italy’s coalition government, comprising those […]
Advisers must be on the lookout for clients inadvertently failing to report an annual allowance breach on their tax return How many of your clients are inadvertently lying to HM Revenue & Customs? Probably more than you think if they are affected by the complexities of the tapered annual allowance when it comes to pension […]
The new calculation to be used when advising on DB transfers is riddled with dangerous uncertainties It has been over a month since advisers have had to start including a transfer value comparator when advising on a defined benefit pension transfer. In its consultation last year (CP17/16), the FCA said consumers did not understand the […]
The influence of a fund’s style is important, especially when investing in such an efficient and broad market as the US equity space. To give an example, the 10 top-performing funds over the past five years in the IA North America sector all happen to sit in the large-cap growth space according to Morningstar, whereas […]
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The UK Edge asked Andy Robbens, Investment Specialist at J.P.Morgan Asset Management what an average day for him looks like.
Karen Ward, Chief Market Strategist for EMEA, gives her opinion on the Brexit negotiations.
At the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference, Governor Carney noted that businesses are taking a very cautious approach right now because of the uncertainty around the outcome of the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
Welcome to the on-demand version of our latest Wired event: The politics of Brexit – What investors need to know. Exclusively for UK Edge members!
The chancellor opened up his budget with the promise that the era of austerity was finally coming to an end.
Money Marketing Wired returns in association with The UK Edge on Tuesday 30th October, at 10:00 am with a topical debate on The politics of Brexit: What investors need to know.
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 […]
Clare Moffat, Head of Business Development, Royal London, looks at how you can help solicitors understand the implications of IHT on pensions and how this can affect their clients. Do your solicitor connections understand the changes to death benefits and the implications they might have? It’s important solicitors aren’t straying into giving financial advice. Why […]
Robin Nimmo, Strategic Insight Manager at Royal London, looks at the FCA’s response to its latest consultation on pension transfer advice. On Thursday 4 October the FCA published policy statement PS18/20, its response to consultation paper CP18/7 on improving the quality of pension transfer advice. What’s in the policy statement? Standards to be met before […]
Scottish Widows Pension Expert Robert Cochran caught up with Andrew Scott to discuss retirement planning in an age of longevity. Andrew Scott is a Professor of Economics at London Business School and co-author of the book ‘The 100 Year Life – Living and Working in an Age of Longevity’. Retirement planning in an age of […]
Fiona Hanrahan, Senior Product Insight and Technical Support Analyst, Royal London We look at carry forward in the latest in our series of top five FAQs on pensions technical topics. Can an individual use carry forward if they haven’t paid into a pension for a number of years? If the individual was a member of […]
As part of the advice process, when meeting a client for the first time, one of the key questions the adviser asks is whether the client has a will in place. This can then lead to discussions around the provisions a client has made for their family and heirs should they die. It is sometimes […]
Investment bonds are all about giving choices and being able to meet your client’s needs and goals. Let us consider Stephen and Sarah who have been talking about sending their children to a local private school but, having realised that the average fee is £4,473 per term, know that paying for this privilege will be […]
Jan Oliff FP director on changing the sector’s gender profile and how personal factors led her to be an ethical specialist Sometimes the reasons people do the jobs they do or hold certain views are intensely personal. That is the case with Jan Oliff Financial Planning director Jan Oliff. Since establishing her own business in […]
Hanover Wealth Management director on how client referrals make the world go round A financial adviser is not the most obvious port of call for people when they need some work carried out on their home. But when Hanover Wealth Management’s clients need help, even with non-financial matters, they know they can turn to its director, Julie […]
Susan Hill director on making finance more appealing to women and the need for a central training academy Think about your favourite products and services – the fragrance your partner bought you last Christmas; the last concert you went to; that meal you recently had at your local restaurant. Now think about the way they […]