The Royal Bank of Scotland will pay out up to £206m in costs to cover two FCA investigations into its provision of investment advice pre and post-RDR. Money Marketing reported the regulator was still looking into historic pensions and investment advice at the bank last October. Predecessor watchdog the FSA investigated investment advice offerings at […]
Will transparency increase or will new rules hit roadblocks? Beating the benchmark is the shared goal of most fund managers, and comparing a manager’s track record with their benchmark tends to be the way we assess performance. But is benchmarking the best way to measure a fund’s success and the manager’s value? Earlier this month, […]
The factors that scared off DB pensions and suppressed annuity rates are still around. Will advisers feel the backlash when risks are more apparent? Recent developments in pensions have accelerated the transfer of risk away from employers and institutions, and on to individuals. But the chances are that advisers will still get some of the […]
Being the dedicated adviser to the employees of local businesses will boost your reputation and grow your firm Taken at face value, the roles of financial planner and HR officer may not appear to have much in common. Yet, the two can dovetail perfectly in some situations. The most obvious benefit is when it comes […]
Advisers must be able to trust their discretionary fund manager as decisions that backfire could still be the advisers’ responsibility, experts say. In the latest edition of Money Marketing’s series of live debates, MM Wired, gbi2 consulting director Graham Bentley, Signpost Financial Planning chartered financial planner Nigel McTear, Charles Stanley senior investment manager Will Walker-Arnott […]
Schroders has appointed Georg Wunderlin to the newly created role of global head of private assets and will start work in May. He was most recently chief executive officer of HQ Capital, an alternatives manager and has 19 years of experience in investment finance. Wunderlin has also held a number of senior roles and will […]
Economic predictions for the coming year The crystal ball for the next few months appears particularly foggy. There are questions over how long the current economic cycle can last, along with no shortage of questions over politics and the path of interest rates. Currently, there are reasons to paint a pretty bleak picture – economic […]
Succession Wealth planner Mark Rogers has been appointed as the new president of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments’ Birmingham branch. Consolidator Succession bought Rogers’ firm in September 2016. He had previously traded under the Clay Rogers & Partners Ltd brand. Rogers, who has spent 37 years in financial services, was formerly chair of the Birmingham branch […]
Jupiter’s national development manager Chris Johns will be taking a deep dive into the bond market at the Money Marketing Interactive conference in April. Ahead of his presentation, he talks why advisers are so in demand, and why life planning isn’t just a value add. What are the keys to winning over more consumers to […]
More than 500,000 recipients of the UK state pension living abroad do not benefit from the triple-lock, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. The triple lock, introduced by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government, increases the state pension payments each year by the highest of average earnings, CPI inflation or 2.5 per […]
Earlier this week, Money Marketing hosted a live debate on how to outsource investment management while keeping clients at the heart of your advice business. Our expert panel, including Gbi2’s Graham Bentley, Signpost Financial Planning’s Nigel McTear and investment managers from Charles Stanley, discussed how advisers can keep control over their relationships and how DFMs […]
What’s the news in protection? On the surface you could be forgiven for thinking there isn’t anything new, that protection is still generally being overlooked and undervalued. Figures from Royal London’s State of the Protection Nation Report show that just 35% of people have life insurance, 12% have critical illness cover and 9% have income […]
For generations, life expectancy has been steadily increasing, with more and more people now likely to live to 100. Scottish Widows’ pension expert Robert Cochran tackles this longevity landscape with economist and co-author of the book ‘The 100-Year Life’, Andrew Scott, in episode one of Scottish Widows’ new podcast series – “The Future of Financial Planning”. Click […]
We’re all living longer – half the future generation born after 2036 is expected to live to 100*. But despite more of us saving for our retirement, and from a younger age, there’s still a lot of work to do if we want our time in retirement to be both financially and physically healthy – […]
The inflation rate coming it at 1.8 per cent, a two-year low, has fuelled talk in some quarters of the Bank of England potentially reversing its recent direction and cutting interest rates. Adding fuel to this is the fact that, despite the Monetary Policy Committee minutes that covered the last interest rate decision saying that policy […]
National advice firm Foster Denovo has acquired Kent-based adviser Orchard Wealth Cultivation for an undisclosed sum. The group says the deal is the first in “a number of expected acquisitions for 2019”. Orchard founders Mike and Sally Wiggins will now join Foster Denovo and continue servicing their existing client banks. The agreement for the purchase […]
International advice firm deVere Group has continued its acquisition trail with the purchase of UAE-based adviser Prosperity. Prosperity has more than 50 staff, and will remain an independent brand under the day-to-day management of its current chief executive Andy Cole. deVere says demand for specialist cross-border financial advice is continuing to grow across the Gulf […]
Aegon says integrating the Cofunds platform has saved it £40m a year so far, and will eventually save it £60m once final integrations are complete. In financial results for the second half of 2018 published today, Aegon adds that the actions it has taken have returned the service levels on its platform to where they […]
Vertically integrated advice and investment business Tavistock has said it has begun working with advisers at national IFA Lighthouse on the distribution of some of its products. Tavistock -which offers a discretionary management service, compliance support, and private client financial advice – announced in December it would work with Lighthouse to distribute its new capital […]
Wealth management, financial planning and legal advice group Progeny has scored another two acquisitions. The consolidator has purchased Quest Financial Solutions, based in Buckinghamshire, and Juno Wealth Management, based in Sussex. The deals mark at least five that Progeny has completed since October 2017. Their value was not disclosed. With these two acquisitions, and that […]
Embattled Sipp provider Berkeley Burke has been granted permission to appeal a ruling that says it failed to vet unregulated investments for one of its clients, Money Marketing can confirm. Last year, the High Court heard a judicial review in a longstanding dispute between Berkeley Burke Sipp Administration and the Financial Ombudsman Service. In the judicial review Judge […]
Compliance is the main business challenge for advisers who struggle to foot the bill for expensive ways to keep ahead of regulatory change, Fidelity figures show. Research from NextWealth and Fidelity Funds Network found 80 per cent of advisers place compliance ahead of increasing business efficiency, improving technology and recruiting staff on their list of […]
Investment management specialist Cardano Group has today agreed to acquire 100 per cent of workplace pension provider Now: Pensions from Danish pension fund, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension. Now: Pensions is the UK’s third largest auto-enrolment provider, serving over 30,000 businesses and 1.7 million pension savers. The acquisition is expected to be completed later this year following Now: […]
Politicians are calling for the retail price index to be scrapped as a flawed inflation measure. Last month, Economic Affairs Committee calculated that a statistical error in RPI caused it to artificially increase by 0.3 percentage points in 2010. A letter from Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan and chair of the Economic Affairs Committee, […]
National network Tenet Group has signed an initial five-year contract with back office provider Intelliflo for the provision of Intelligent Office. The Intelligent Office back office system is introduced eight years after the network developed Tenet Advantage, a front end and back office system, with Focus Solutions. It was classed at the time as a […]
I have just celebrated publishing episode 200 of my podcast. When I came up with the idea, most people did not even know what a podcast was. In case you still don’t, it is a radio show you can download and listen to whenever you want. A broadcaster friend of mine at the time warned […]
The trade body must spell out the kind of fast, aggressive, targeted regulation the industry needs It seems hard to imagine but this month marks 27 years since I started writing for Money Marketing. I still remember my first front page scoop: the merger of two financial adviser trade bodies into a single entity – […]
When MPs on the work and pensions select committee launched a probe into contingent charging last month, they were well aware its inquiry would split the financial planning community. Frank Field and his team want the practice banned, despite the fact half of advisers are estimated to conduct defined benefit transfers on that basis. Responses […]
It is not the markets that make mistakes, but investors. Advisers must take on their biases and change their approach accordingly As humans, it is in our nature to misbehave when it comes to money and investing. That is just what we do. The average person carries round a suitcase full of biases ready to […]
A marketing-driven organisation is run by the marketing department. It revolves around what marketers do. A market-driven organisation is driven by what the market wants, regardless of what the marketing department feels like doing. Now, of course, there are organisations driven by sales, shareholder relations, operations and finance too, and you can usually tell which […]
Until every single firm acts professionally, there is a risk financial planning will not be considered as such from those outside it I was asked an interesting question by Money Marketing last week: “What one word or phrase do you think sums up the state of the financial planning profession today?” A number of potential […]
They are simple and cheap, but might not necessarily equate to better performance Passive investment strategies continue to gobble up market share. Why shouldn’t they? Active funds generally had a miserable 2018 and the majority of funds in the Investment Association UK All Companies sector lagged behind the FTSE All-Share index. For advisers, passives are […]
I read with interest Alistair Cunningham’s column in Money Marketing at the end of last year, “chartered status has been cheapened”. Thomas Carroll IFA was named Chartered Financial Planners of the Year in 2009, the first time this prestigious title was awarded. We still take great pride in this accolade and can talk at length […]
Helena Morrissey, head of personal investing at Legal & General Investment Management is talking on a panel about the culture of financial services at the Money Marketing Interactive conference. Here she explains why we need a fresh look at personal finance and how it should be considered part of a person’s well being. What key […]
Why create a service proposition that depends on what you can’t control – the performance of money? There has been a recurring theme in my conversations with advisers over the past few months. When I ask the simple question, “what’s your most worrying challenge right now?” I am getting the same answer: that fee discussions […]
Henry Tapper, director of First Actuarial and British Steel campaigner believes advisers can’t be too transparent on pricing. Here are his tips for boosting trust and transparency ahead of an appearance at a panel on DB transfers at the Money Marketing Interactive conference. What is the most encouraging advice market trend you are seeing at […]
What Australia’s Royal Commission has told advisers down under After 14 months of investigation, the final report from the Australian government’s Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry was tabled in parliament last week. The 1,000-page document includes 24 recommendations for Australia’s corporate and prudential regulators to tackle misconduct better. […]
Michael Klimes and Hope William-Smith unearth the way IFAs are charging clients for transfers and if clients are being short changed
In trying to keep up with the big picture, it is easy to lose track of smaller – but still important – changes to legislation Financial planning is important. And financial goals are important. Goals are important to the success of any endeavour, of course. How can you hope to achieve anything of value if […]
The road to recovery A tricky sector to perfect, could emerging markets be the place to invest in 2019? Emerging markets can be a rather complex space. It can cover a vast variety of countries, markets and sectors. Despite this, investors remain keen. As of November 2018, the Global Emerging Markets sector had £24.8bn in […]
Confronting the darkest topics seems to be the way forward as financial advisers try to tackle the intergenerational gap Financial advisers should draw on aspects from traditional family office models to help hold on to clients across generations, leading advice market experts have said. By smoothing clients’ intergenerational wealth transfer, advisers can secure their clients’ […]
With Asia’s emerging middle class providing huge growth opportunities, firms based in countries part of the ‘global sandbox’ appear very attractive The recent announcement that Goldman Sachs has become a strategic investor in Nutmeg and that the funds will be used to facilitate the digital wealth manager’s international expansion has fascinating connotations. The £45m deal […]
Wealth head at consultancy Altus Simon Bussy is a recognised authority on advice technology. Ahead of a great debate on robo-advice at the upcoming Money Marketing Interactive conference, he gives his thoughts on why the lifetime allowance should be scrapped and why 5G will change the face of planning. What is the most encouraging advice […]
Advisers must tread carefully with arrangements that integrate life assurance and business relief Any adviser operating in the estate planning market will be aware of gifts that are immediately exempt from inheritance tax. That is, outside the donor’s estate from the date of gift. However, what is required is just that – a gift. Advisers […]
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Callum Abbot, Portfolio Manager of the JPM UK Equity Plus Fund, an active extension strategy, gives his views on markets over the last month.
Ian Butler, portfolio manager of the JPM UK Strategic Equity Income Fund, discusses UK banks
Amit Parmar, Investment Specialist, talks about the recent move in the oil price and why the energy sector remains attractive for equity income investors
In the wake of yesterday’s Parliamentary vote on the proposed Brexit deal, join Karen Ward, Chief Market Strategist for EMEA, as she assesses the outcome, impact on markets and potential next steps.
Welcome to the first episode of our newest video series on the UK Edge. Andrew Robbens walks us through J.P. Morgan’s UK Equities fund range in preparation for deep dives on individual funds coming in the new year.
Last month, star manager Terry Smith announced he was throwing £25m of his own money behind a new investment trust, Smithson. Ahead of its launch, Money Marketing editor Justin Cash sat down with Simon Barnard and Will Morgan, the fund’s managers, to talk strategy, as well as their thoughts on some of the hottest topics […]
PFS chief executive Keith Richards, Threesixty managing director Russell Facer and financial planner Susan Hill sit down with Money Marketing editor Justin Cash to discuss what’s wrong with the FSCS, and how it can be reformed.
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!
Welcome to the third instalment of our good life gurus series. We talk to Kate Shaw, an IFA and ultra runner, to find out how she got started with an exercise regime and how a healthy lifestyle helps her with her work-life balance.
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
UK investment bonds have, for too long, been overshadowed by alternative tax wrappers and the perception that tax within a life fund is a disadvantage. This thinking can automatically discount an investment solution that can be very favourable, especially when you consider the tax changes over recent years. UK investment bonds can offer the right […]
Trevor Greetham, Head of Multi Asset at Royal London Asset Management shares his 2018 & Q4 review. Volatility was back with a vengeance last year after a quiet 2017. Trevor reviews global investment returns over 2018 and explains why he starts 2019 with a relatively constructive view on stock markets. Read the review here Past […]
Read the latest thoughts from Trevor Greetham in our Investment Clock Strategy report ‘Premature recession fears’. An upturn in volatility remains apparent as Wall Street experienced one of its worst December’s since the Great Depression. Recession fears continue to rise and markets are pricing in this eventuality, but current sentiment readings are extremely depressed, the […]
At a time of extreme uncertainty, specialists from our fixed income team share their views on fixed income markets as we enter 2019 and discuss why they expect the recent volatility in markets to continue. Jonathan Platt, Head of Fixed Income, Ewan McAlpine, Fixed Income Product Specialist, and Head of Global High Yield Azhar Hussain […]
From DB transfers to Brexit: Steve Webb, Director of Policy and External Communications at Royal London, considers the big stories in pensions from the last 12 months. Transfers One of the dominant pension stories of 2018 was the large numbers of people taking advantage of pension freedoms to transfer money out of their defined benefit […]
Trevor Greetham, Head of Multi Asset at Royal London Asset Management, looks ahead to 2019 when it comes to investments. Market volatility picked up markedly in 2018 as global growth slowed, US interest rates rose and geopolitical stress intensified. Investing is about deciding which risks are really opportunities and which are best neutralised. While the […]
Panoramic Wealth managing director on why a fusion of youth and experience is the best recipe for his advice firm Bridging the generation gap is the stuff of television sitcoms. There is the middle-aged parent convinced they are “down with the kids” but making a real hash of street slang and feigning knowledge of the latest trends. […]
Trentham Invest director on not tarring all DB transfers with the same brush and how Lego helps her clients We have all played with Lego bricks. We have built cars and houses, then taken them apart to construct something new. The beauty of it lies in how the only limits are your creativity and imagination […]
Jane Smith Financial Planning director on managing her goals and developing a guidance service for clients Financial planners help clients achieve what they want from life and adapt the course of that journey when necessary. But how often do they follow their own advice when it comes to their business and personal objectives? Jane Smith […]