Abbey National has reportedly won the Scottish Provident sweepstakes with a deal for the purchase of the mutual insurer worth £2bn. The sale will result in windfalls for Scot Prov policyholders of an average of £4,500 to £6,500 each. Abbey was facing competition from a number of rivals including Royal London, Liverpool Victoria, Old Mutual and Swiss Life. All of them had expressed interest following Scot Prov's announcement earlier this year it was interested in demutualisation. Any deal would have to be approved by the life office's 450,000 policyholders. A vote is most likely to be held next spring, with windfalls being paid to those eligible by the autumn. Abbey will likely sell off Scot Prov's 38 per cent interest in fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management worth between £300m and £400m. Scot Prov has a total of £10.5bn in assets. If successful the move will redeem Abbey chief executive Ian Harley who failed in his bid to buy Scottish Amicable in 1997.
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First British president for MDRT in 73 years
Bristol IFA Tony Gordon has been appointed the first Brit-ish president of global fin-ancial adviser support organisation The Million Dollar Round Table.This is the first time in the organisation's 73-year history that an individual from outside the US or Canada has taken the top position.Gordon is co-founder ofIFA Redcliffe Associates and has been a member […]
First website is set up for Muslim investors
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CA's draft rules on mortgages welcomed by CML
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has welcomed the Consumers' Association guidance to lenders on best practice for drafting mortgage terms and conditions.The two organisations are in agreement on many issues regarding the fairness of mortgage terms but the CA backed down on some issues and amended the draft guidance following talks with the CML.The CML […]
Gib is on the Rocks
Staff at Clerical Medical's product development department are distraught that their mascot toy gibbon has been “gibnapped” by the shadowy Radical Anti-gibbon Unit (Ragu).Gib has been missing for over two months and has been sighted as far afield as Scotland, Ireland, France and most recently in London.Events have now taken a sinister turn for the […]
Automatic enrolment – are the right people saving?
Fiona Tait takes a closer look at the Department for Work & Pensions’ forthcoming review of automatic enrolment In December, pensions minister Richard Harrington announced the scope of the DWP’s forthcoming review of automatic enrolment (AE). The review will look at AE coverage, as well as the current thresholds and age criteria. In other words: […]
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Amber Rudd to return as work and pensions secretary
Former home secretary Amber Rudd is set to return to the cabinet as work and pensions secretary, according to reports. The appointment follows the departure of Esther McVey yesterday over her refusal to back the government’s draft Brexit deal. According to reports, Rudd, a remainer, was offered the job after environment secretary Michael Gove spent […]
FCA writes to pension transfer introducer clients over legal action
The FCA has written to all former clients of Avacade Limited, an unregulated pension introducer, to inform them about its legal action against the firm and its directors. In November 2017 the FCA said it would start civil proceedings against Avacade Limited, now in liquidation, and its three directors Craig Lummis, Lee Lummis and Raymond […]
Fears protection commission disclosure will turn clients off advisers
As new disclosure rules bring the full extent of protection commissions into the spotlight, experts are asking if this will see clients ditch their advisers in favour of execution-only services. Under the Insurance Distribution Directive, from 1 October advisers have had to provide clients with information before a product sale about any commission received, which […]
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