Directory service Compare The Platform has launched a new tool to calculate exit charges across the market. The calculator will be updated in real time to given an indication of exit costs, but also incentives to switch, for example where platforms offer to pay for part or all of the costs of leaving an adviser’s […]
The chances of living to 100 are increasing and this has important implications for financial planning The other day, I was idly wondering how long I was likely to live – and the implications for my work, finances and family life. What prompted this terminal thinking was reading a book on holiday called The 100-Year […]
Money Marketing takes a look at the role advisers should play to help DFMs build suitable discretionary portfolios With an ever-greater regulatory focus on taking the right risk for the right client, eyes are turning to how discretionary fund managers actually turn an adviser’s fact-find into an investment portfolio. Last year, the FCA looked at […]
New Leodis Wealth chief executive on supporting clients through the chaos caused by the UK’s exit from the EU The long and tortuous road to Brexit has taken us from a political soap opera to what many regard as a tragedy over the past two-and-a-half years. Whatever drama is yet to unfold, the message that […]
Consulting director at The Lang Cat Steve Nelson talks making sure clients know what they’re buying and the joys of research ahead of his appearance at Money Marketing’s flagship conference. What one word or phrase do you think sums up the state of the financial planning profession today? I’m going to defer to our adviser […]
Woodford-backed sub-prime lender Provident Financial has asked shareholders not to take action after receiving a takeover bid this morning. Fellow alternative lender Non-Standard Finance has bid £1.3bn for the struggling firm, and has secured “irrevocable undertakings” to accept the offer from shareholders accounting for at least 50 per cent of the company, including Woodford, NSF said […]
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 […]
Bruno Schroder, the great-grandson of Schroders founder John Henry Schroder, has passed away aged 86 following a short illness. Schroder had spent more than 50 years as a director at the wealth manager, where he first took up a role in 1960. He became a non-executive director in 1963 as his father and chairman of […]
Nic Cicutti’s recent article in Money Marketing saw him launch attacks on Libertatem and Pimfa. But is he right – or is it more personal than that? Generally, I avoid reading Nic Cicutti’s contributions. I have low blood pressure and I like to keep it that way. But last week, he embarked on a personal […]
Investors including Woodford Investment Management and Invesco have agreed to accept an offer for sub-prime lender Provident Financial as a £1.3bn bid for the company has been placed by a competitor. Non-Standard Finance has tabled the offer, and says investors owning more than 50 per cent of Provident’s shares have given “irrevocable undertakings” to accept it, […]
Advice, platform and investment group Quilter has revealed its gender pay gap figures for 2018, showing a mean bonus gap of 70 per cent between male and female employees. Overall, there was slight progress in the mean pay gap, which dropped from 39 per cent to 35 per cent, and the median bonus gap, which […]
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 – […]
An MP has called the government’s plans to change the pension credit system a “backward step” and a “disgrace”. In January the government announced it will limit access to pension credits for couples from May this year. It has decided that pension credits will, from now on, only be available to couples where both partners have […]
There were 0.8 per cent more residential property transactions in January 2019 than in December 2018, according to latest figures from HMRC. This equates to 101,170 properties transacted when counted on a seasonally adjusted basis, 1.3 per cent higher than the number recorded in January 2018. Additionally, HMRC reports that the start of this year […]
An asset manager has hit back at its fine from the FCA this morning over alleged price-fixing in initial public offerings and share placings. This morning, the FCA announced that, for the first time, it had used its new competition enforcement powers to fine Hargreave Hale and River and Mercantile for their role in sharing […]
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has published its latest list of defaulted firms, with financial and mortgage advice firms featuring prominently again. Three financial advisers and a mortgage adviser feature on the list of eight firms. Glasgow-based Allan McRoberts was a two-man band advice firm which also traded under the A.M. Wealth Management Services brand, […]
Australian technology provider Iress has seen increases in both revenue and profits for 2018, with 7 per cent overall driven by its UK business. Iress is known predominantly for its back office system software Xplan. Iress technology is currently used by a wide range of advisers including planning and discretionary fund management firm Charles Stanley, […]
The FCA has fined two asset managers for breaching competition law in the first use of its new enforcement powers. The watchdog has fined Hargreave Hale £306,300 and River and Mercantile Asset Management £108,600. The FCA would have also fined Newton Investment Management Limited, but the firm was given immunity under the competition leniency programme, […]
Quilter has acquired financial planning business Charles Derby in a deal that will add over 200 restricted advisers to its national advice arm. Charles Derby was already a member of Quilter’s network Intrinsic but has now been fully acquired. The acquisition will see over 200 restricted financial planners transition to Quilter’s national advice business during […]
Trade body the Investment Association will look to shine a light on companies where pensions to executives are outstripping the majority of the workforce ahead of a number of key annual general meetings. Companies who pay disproportionate pensions to newly-appointed directors will be “red-topped” in the IA’s Institutional Voting Information Service, the group has said, […]
The acquisition of fellow wealth manager Speirs and Jeffrey has helped Rathbones fight off market falls to post an increase in funds under management. In results for 2018 posted today, Rathbones says total funds under management increased by 12.8 per cent, from £39.1bn to £44.1bn in the year, despite the FTSE falling 12.5 per cent […]
Law firm Edwin Coe has commenced litigation on behalf of 400 investors against HSBC over its role in facilitating the operation of the Disney film financing investment scheme known as Eclipse. Money Marketing first reported that affected investors including celebrities and football managers were eyeing up a landmark legal challenge 18 months ago. The legal […]
As part of its retirement outcomes review, the FCA has been looking at non-advised income drawdown policies; specifically, the fact too many people are leaving their savings in cash regardless of how long they intend to keep the money there for. The regulator wants customers to set out their plans for the five years ahead. […]
Centralised retirement proposition is the latest lingo being bandied about by asset managers and consultants. Many use it to imply that you need a different set of portfolios for clients in drawdown than those in accumulation. If you ask any of these folks how decumulation portfolios should be different, they have the same tired approaches […]
Platform bosses are rich for a reason. In a matter of years, they have completely transformed the way financial advisers do business. The scale of the efficiency gains have been staggering and, in the eyes of advocates, platforms have been one of the innovations that has done the most to improve the financial lives of […]
Earlier this month, World Cancer Day raised awareness of the disease that continues to affect so many of us. There are few people who will not know someone who has been affected by cancer in some way. Cancer affects people of all ages and health types; it does not discriminate and those affected can often […]
Never underestimate the importance of a safe space for clients to talk, and do not overestimate your ability to create one. If people do not feel safe enough to unload their darkest money secrets, they will lie to you. As a side note, according to the book Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, the degree to […]
Some of the smartest financial planners struggle to make it as business owners and leaders of teams Running a business in financial services is no walk in the park. There is no amount of technical qualifications that will help you with this one. It does not matter how technically smart you are, it is not […]
My favourite news story earlier this month came into my inbox from Money Marketing. The headline read: “Treasury pushes for gender diversity interventions after ‘slow’ progress.” Maybe it is because I am a female who has worked in financial services for over 35 years that the news resonated. Economic secretary to the Treasury John Glen […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Cutting back on costs can lead to a challenging environment for risk assets TINA, meaning “there is no alternative” to owning risk assets like credit and equities, has defined much of the current bull market. TINA wasn’t an accident, central banks purposefully sought to reduce the return available on safe assets to force investors into […]
From emotion recognition systems to AI compliance functions, the T3 conference points the way forward Adviser technology that appears in the US is often a sign of things to come here and gives a chance to learn from early adopters. One of the most valuable conferences I visit around the world is Technology Tools for […]
Charges and service levels for post-retirement clients remain in the spotlight Experts are urging platforms to up their game in the decumulation space as advisers report continuing frustrations when it comes to servicing drawdown clients. Advisers have undoubtedly benefited from huge efficiency gains when dealing with clients in accumulation, but some are now questioning whether […]
In just over a month, our all-star speaker lineup will assemble in London for Money Marketing’s flagship conference. Money Marketing Interactive will bring together the finest minds in financial planning, along with senior staff at the FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service and other leading experts to debate and analyse the way forward for the profession […]
The people who govern us persist in wrongly thinking of retirement as a one-off process Freedom and choice are highly desirable. People have fought for generations for the ability to do and say what they wish without fear of reprisals. Google the phrase today, however, and the first page of entries is all about pensions. […]
City Hive founder Bev Shah has become a highly influential voice for diversity in the asset management sector. Ahead of her appearance at the forthcoming Money Marketing Interactive conference, she talks rebuilding trust in the investment sector and ditching the “bowler hat” image. What is the most encouraging advice market trend you are seeing at […]
HMRC is clamping down on remuneration schemes designed to avoid income tax and National Insurance You may have seen a bit in the financial news lately on the loan charge tax to be levied on payments received by employees through disguised remuneration schemes used to avoid income tax and National Insurance contributions. Those involved will […]
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Ben Stapley, portfolio manager for the JPM UK Equity Growth Fund, discusses what has changed in markets over the last decade
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.
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 […]
The Money Panel founder on helping women gain financial confidence and improve their relationships with money Understanding why women behave the way they do around money is important to The Money Panel founder Catherine Morgan. As a financial planner and financial coach who has had a difficult relationship with money herself, Morgan knows that being aware […]
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 […]