Four people have been arrested as the FCA and Serious Fraud Office continue their probe into collapsed mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance. The firm fell into default in January, a month after the FCA issued it with an order to take down promotional material of the bonds, ruling they were “misleading, not fair and […]
The Royal Mail is to have the first collective defined contribution pension scheme in the UK. A government consultation on CDCs published today said there was a good case for Royal Mail launching a CDC scheme and legislation would be created to allow that to happen as soon as possible. The Royal Mail and the […]
Last week I met John, an aspiring financial planner who is less than a year into his job at a mid-sized IFA firm. John told me he had always wanted to be a financial planner. He’s interested in money; he wants to make some and he wants to help people manage theirs. He had been […]
Blackrock has been named most attractive brand among European asset manager firms, according to the annual report Fund Brand 50. The study, by corporate services company Broadridge Financial Services, monitors the influence of brand on third-party fund selection. Fund Brand 50 is based on intensive interviews with nearly 900 of Europe’s most significant fund selectors, […]
J12 is not one of the most widely talked about exams but is an interesting option for advisers looking to add a string to their bow The Chartered Insurance Institute’s J12 Securities Advice and Dealing exam was introduced in 2013 following the RDR, along with its Level 4 Certificate in Securities Advice and Dealing. This […]
Research shows advisers believe consumers are not addressing their protection needs early enough Many advisers acknowledge that income protection is a hard sell, but research from Royal London has found the under-35s are a particularly difficult market to crack. The firm found 74 per cent of advisers felt younger people were addressing their protection needs […]
With more than 10 million people now newly saving or saving more into a pension, auto-enrolment has fundamentally changed the way people are planning for retirement. But this far-reaching social policy is not standing still. Next month, we will see the last scheduled increase to minimum contributions, which will mean staff saving at least 5 […]
A weekly account of the curious goings-on in the world of financial services What’s in a name?WSJ often wonders what sort of weird and wonderful Freedom of Information Act requests the FCA must receive. A request on the regulator’s website asks: “I would like to know how and by whom a name for an investigation […]
There is not a lot to celebrate when it comes to diversity in financial services. But things can change If you are a female in finance, this month’s International Women’s Day may have felt bittersweet. Yes, 300 organisations have signed up to the government’s Women in Finance Charter. Yes, several female chief executives have been […]
Miton has seen its net inflows double in 2018, while assets under management increased 14 per cent year-on-year. As at 31 December 2018, Miton saw more than £1bn net inflows, up from £494m in 2017, an increase of 106 per cent. Its AUM currently stands at £4.4bn, up from £3.8bn at the start of 2018. […]
The strategy emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius will be employing for his new investment trust is beginning to emerge. The latest factsheet for the Mobius Investment Trust, which was launched in October, shows that 85 per cent of the capital raised at IPO has now been allocated. Mobius has so far picked 21 holdings across […]
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 British Chambers of Commerce has warned that Brexit uncertainty will leave business investment growth at its lowest level in a decade this year. The lobby group estimates a 1 per cent fall in investment this year, on the back of a similar fall last year. Investment fell by 16.6 per cent in the aftermath […]
Boutique wealth management and advice firm Capital Asset Management has poached Aberdeen Standard Capital client operations manager Chirine Harb. Harb will join the firm as head of operations after leaving her role at Standard Life Aberdeen’s discretionary investment management arm. Prior to that role, Harb worked at Octopus Investments. Harb says: “The decision to move […]
The industry must rethink the language around protection to give better support to intermediaries and boost public awareness, according to Legal and General. Research from the firm shows just nine per cent of consumers associate the term “protection” with life or critical illness cover. A total 40 per cent of those surveyed thought “protection” referred […]
The FCA will collect information about which schemes are receiving defined benefit transfers as part of its effort to monitor the market better Money Marketing can reveal. Last December a Freedom of Information Act request from Money Marketing revealed the FCA was in the process of setting up a central database on firms involved in DB […]
Many years ago, I watched a film about how the farming industry had manipulated the public over many decades to buy its products regardless of consequence. A speaker in it asked an audience how many had been brought up by their parents to believe that cows’ milk was good for them and gave them strong […]
Pension transfer values remained unchanged in February, despite an initial jump. There was a broad increase throughout the start of the month, but a sharp drop later in February left the XPS Pensions Group Transfer Value Index unchanged over the period. The index, which uses the example of a defined benefit scheme to a 64-year-old […]
Influential manager Neil Woodford has hit out at the “misinformation and lazy commentary” driving investors to make “appallingly bad decisions” as he predicts a “spectacular” revival in his own funds’ fortunes. Woodford has been on the defensive after a host of recent slides in his flagship Equity Income Fund, which has halved in value since […]
National Australia Bank has said it will turn off “grandfathered commissions” for its advisers as the country’s Royal Commission into the banking sector continues to reverberate. In a letter today, NAB says it has agreed to all 10 of the Royal Commission’s recommendations for financial advice. So called grandfathered commissions – trail remuneration on legacy […]
Digital wealth management and advice firm Nutmeg has cut six members from its board in an effort to “streamline” its management team. The six members of its executive board made up more than half the total 11 individuals that made up the group, and only three new members are being bought on to replace them. […]
At the beginning of last year, I took a very scary step. I publicly spoke about my mental health issues and other conditions to highlight how difficult it is to get insurance when you are “quirky”. I worried I would be judged and that people would think less of me for having such issues. Colleagues […]
The FCA will not ban platforms from imposing extra fees on orphan clients or introduce tougher inducement rules for non-monetary benefits. In its study into competition between platforms released today, the watchdog says it is no longer considering action to prevent orphan clients from being overcharged for services they no longer use. But the regulator […]
I have an issue with how we talk about making sure more millennials get “advice”. I am one, so consider this blog both my professional and personal view about how we seem to make the following assumptions: 1. Millennials will inevitably be better off if they use a trendy robo-adviser or app to save and […]
Tax is complex enough at the best of times but its intricacies are exacerbated among high earners Taxation is a crucial factor when managing the finances of high-income clients. It is a complicated area, made even trickier by the fact there are many different variables that can affect the amount of tax owed. The standard […]
VouchedFor recently released its list of the top-rated advisers in the UK. These are advisers who receive the highest number of positive reviews from clients. The list includes 1,172 advisers from 737 different firms, be that regional directly authorised firms, large national firms or networks. The diversity of the list serves as an important reminder […]
This week, Money Marketing is celebrating International Women’s Day with an all-female cast of contributors in our print edition. Last Friday marked International Women’s Day 2019, with this year’s theme, #BalanceforBetter, aiming to build a gender-balanced world where everyone has their part to play. While men will inevitably appear where, for example, they are the […]
Too many business owners overlook the problem of client conversion rates Early in our relationship with an adviser, we will ask them to identify firms they admire and those they perceive to be competitors. The answers are almost always identical. When talking about those they admire, the same names trip easily off the tongue. There […]
I recently received an email from the owner of a manufacturing business who had been considering the Eternal Business Programme in preparation for his exit in around three years’ time. The owner advised that “my management team are not yet ready to run the business, and therefore I will not be joining the programme at […]
As a result of incessant tinkering by previous chancellors, our tax system is more complex than ever before. Successive changes have added more reliefs, created tax traps for the unwary and, in many cases, introduced perverse incentives not to earn. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is one of the earlier examples of such poor […]
Warren Buffett’s business partner Charlie Munger made an extraordinary observation the other day – and hardly anyone batted an eyelid. Munger, still razor-sharp at 95, was speaking on the subject of active money management. “These index funds have come along and basically beaten everybody,” he said. “The amount by which they beat everybody is roughly […]
With all the current focus on implement-ing the Mifid II cost and charges disclosure, as well as the product governance rules, it is easy to forget the FCA will review the RDR this year. It will not be lost on the regulator that, earlier this month, a special government-appointed inquiry berated Australia’s financial sector for […]
The new loan charge tax that could be demanded from 50,000 people sets a worrying precedent No one is more vitriolic about tax “evoiders” than me. Just the other day, I argued with a friend who was getting a four-figure sum out of the bank to pay his builder in cash because “it would be […]
Auto-enrolment has been a success so far. Ten million people are now saving into a workplace pension, most of whom would otherwise not be. The proportion of eligible private sector workers participating in a workplace pension has risen from 42 per cent in 2012 to 81 per cent today. With the long-term value of the […]
Most reports can comfortably cover the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’, but the ‘why’ and ‘how’ are often overlooked Paraplanning is about much more than suitability reports, but there is no denying they are a fundamental part of the role and one of the trickier elements to get the right balance on. Unfortunately, it is still […]
Leading female advisers share their financial services experiences While equality in the workplace takes in many more aspects than just gender, there is no doubt it is an issue that keeps bubbling up to the surface in financial services. Estimates suggest female advisers are outnumbered by male counterparts by a ratio anywhere from 10:1 to […]
Many advisers consider the cost and effort of transferring assets to outweigh the savings for clients Advisers choose to use some platforms over others for a range of reasons and may well change where they place new business from time to time, but it takes quite a bit of frustration to lead advisers to transfer […]
Michael Klimes tracks the evolution of the Sipp from 1989 to the present day.
What has gone wrong for so many managers over the past 12 months? Only five out of 80 (6.25 per cent) strategic bond managers achieved positive performance in 2018, with the sector averaging a return of -2.49 per cent. The list of achievers includes Pimco GIS Income, Allianz Strategic Bond and three Royal London AM […]
Leading experts across financial services weigh in with their thoughts on a key moment for chancellor Philip Hammond after he presented his Spring Statement today amid Brexit upheaval in parliament While we could have all predicted that today’s statement would be overshadowed by Brexit, long-term thinking is crucial in pensions policy. It’s disappointing that the […]
Many wrongly believe simply registering a business in another country will be enough to secure a UK tax advantage From time to time, the question of corporate residence and the resulting tax implications is raised. Often, it is in the context of an enquiry about registering a company abroad in a low-tax jurisdiction to reduce […]
The FCA’s proposals aim to limit damage from poor choices rather than provide the best solution. This is where advisers come in In the latest instalment of the Retirement Outcomes Review (CP19/5), published at the end of January, the FCA put forward some sensible remedies. The headline measure of default investment pathways will provide non-advised […]
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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
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.
With continuing questions around global growth, US interest rates and Brexit, Nersen Pillay, Investment Director at Royal London Asset Management provides an update on positioning within our multi asset funds, as the Investment Clock predicts soggy growth and weaker inflation expectations. Read the article here About us: Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) is one of […]
Taking a sustainable level of income is important in helping drawdown customers maintain a resilient portfolio during periods of investment volatility. Customers in income drawdown should think about the impact of volatility on their pension. While someone building up a pension can mitigate the effect of market falls by continuing to make contributions to their […]
By Kim Jarvis Even though inheritance tax (IHT) is based on a simple concept – whatever you own at the date of your death will potentially be subject to tax – people’s preconception, for very good reasons, is that it is complex. Take the introduction of the residence nil rate band (RNRB), effective from April […]
Some investors are diversifying beyond traditional sterling credit into global strategies. We compare and contrast the opportunities and risks involved, and identify more crossover and less upside in global bonds than you might imagine. Read the article here Past performance is no guide to the future. The value of investments and the income from them […]
Landlords – like any other business owner – need to make provision should the very worst happen, to protect their families and their lifestyle.
FMB managing director on how a university business programme helped to differentiate her company What makes you stand out from your peers? Highlighting your chartered or certified status on your website may have been enough several years ago but many more advisers have added those credentials to their armoury. Post-RDR, differentiation requires a little more […]
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 […]
Christopher Little & Co principal on how an active role in the local business community has helped his firm grow Building up a client base from scratch is hard enough when you have known an area all your life, but doing it as a newcomer is a different ball game altogether. Christopher Little & Co […]
