Consolidator Fairstone has launched a new Individual Buy Out programme to help advisers create exit strategies for their firms. The scheme enables advisers to build a long-term tax-efficient retirement fund while keeping continuity of service for their clients. Advisers will receive an initial capital sum, a proportion of ongoing fee revenue for an agreed period […]
Old Mutual Wealth Management has officially changed its name to Quilter ahead of its plans to list and separate from Old Mutual. The business’s subsidiaries will be re-branded to Quilter over a two-year period after the separation. In the meantime it will continue to use the names Old Mutual Wealth (UK Platform/Life Assurance), Old Mutual […]
Aviva Insurance chief executive Andy Briggs will take home an extra £1m in bonuses on top of a basic salary of £726,000 for 2017. The bonus is one part of Briggs’s £2.5m remuneration package, which also includes benefits and pensions contributions. Commenting on Briggs’s work in its remuneration committee report, published today, Aviva says there was […]
The world is a challenging place for a traditional one-man (or -woman) band Increased regulation and rising costs are leading to a growing number of mid-sized adviser firms. Sole trader and two-handed businesses are becoming rarer as changing rules and client demands present a greater challenge for smaller firms. Between compliance, technology and the implementation […]
Royal Bank of Scotland is mulling launching a standalone digital bank and has assigned a former top executive to the project, according to reports. Sky News says RBS’s former chief operating officer Mark Bailie is leading the “secret” project and that tens of millions of pounds have been assigned to creating the digital platform. The […]
SimplyBiz Group will float on the London Stock Exchange next month with a market capitalisation of £130m. The company has raised a before-expenses total of £30m from an institutional placing of 17,670,149 ordinary shares at a placing price of 170p, as well as £34.6m for selling shareholders though an institutional placing of 20,362,228 ordinary shares […]
Prudential is to demerge its UK and European business M&G Prudential, resulting in two separately listed companies. After the merger, shareholders will hold interests in both Prudential and M&G Prudential. The division of the group will see Prudential focus outside the UK on the US and Asian markets. Prudential also announced today the sale of […]
The pay of directors at St. James’s Place has increased 20 per cent over the year according to annual accounts published today. In the year that ended 31 December 2016 total pay was £12.1m and this went up to £14.5m in the year that ended 31 December 2017. The firm says it continues to develop […]
The primary purpose of customer service is to change feelings. Not the facts but the way your customer feels. The facts might be the price, a return or the frequency of reviews. The facts are certainly easier to address compared to such a fluffy metric as feelings – being specific, measurable and all that. But […]
Google Analytics is crucial in measuring marketing efforts, yet nowhere near enough advisers use it To market your business successfully, it is essential you have a deep understanding of your target audience. Only then can you analyse how effective you are at engaging with them. Evidence-based investing is pursued passionately by a growing band of […]
UK-listed companies face tighter rules around executive pay, diversity and shareholder votes under a shake-up of the UK Corporate Governance Code. The Financial Reporting Council released its proposed changes to the code today in response to a Government green paper released late last year. The FRC says boards need to be more specific about actions […]
Specialise wisely is the advice for firms wanting to secure profitable clients
Last-minute preparation for the next round starting on 16 April In order to complete the level 6 Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning, a student must pass the compulsory unit AF5: Financial Planning Process. Anyone that holds the level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning will already have passed R06: Financial Planning Practice. These exams do […]
Advisers who go the extra mile to impress will be rewarded many times over Marketing types are fond of talking about the “client journey”. That usually means the journey an individual takes from being a suspect, to prospect, to client. Here, however, I want to talk about an entirely different client journey: to and within your […]
Many smaller firms are mistaken in thinking they do not need an investment committee. Here are the key considerations in establishing one… Investment committees are usually associated with larger advice firms and those conducting discretionary management, but the reality is the same rules and principles apply to smaller firms. Indeed, given the number of firms […]
The biggest factor behind a successful succession is knowing when to step aside. If you are serious about creating internal successors within the business you have built up over your career, then there are some important issues to consider. The biggest of these is your specific plan and timeline. If you have been talking about […]
Follow these five rules to get communication of this tricky issue right
Three advisers share their ideas and experiences of helping employees with their financial decisions The workplace is instrumental in engaging people to save for retirement. How are advisers helping employers provide advice or guidance to their employees? Telephone guidance Financial education provider and advice firm Wealth at Work recently launched a telephone guidance service to […]
With delegation the key to business success, many advisers should consider getting extra support The most common challenge advisers face when it comes to running their business is making the time to do so as effectively as possible. Many want more profitable and productive firms but know that further developments are often required to maximise […]
Enabling clients to interact with a firm any way they want will be key to success
Too many business owners base remuneration structures on assumptions, missing the chance to make them work better for all involved
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Advice firms are doing well at the moment. What we do has been recognised as important and we have been busy. We are profitable and standards are high. But just how sustainable is even the best business? Picture yourself presenting your firm on BBC’s “Dragons’ Den”. It all sounds good to start with: a client […]
Trust only takes a moment to destroy. Just a few sentences, a broken promise, a lack of empathy, and it is gone. In most scenarios of customer dissatisfaction, there may well be significant (and often justifiable) operational barriers that either contribute to the creation of the problem or prevent us from fixing it. But in […]
Servicing smaller clients remains a challenge. Actually, it is inaccurate to refer to this service deficit as a challenge because that assumes finding a way to reach this group profitably, competitively and compliantly is something advisers are bothered about. They are not. In the main. Although some recognise the latent opportunities from the so-called mass […]
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 […]
Ali Unwin, Fund Manager & CTO, Neptune Technology has been a driving force in equity markets over the last 12 months but the sector continues to divide investors. Watch Ali Unwin discuss what he believes are some of the most common misconceptions when it comes to investing in technology. Watch video Investment risks This Fund […]
More clients than before are entering pension drawdown, especially those with smaller pots, and they are looking to you for an investment strategy which can help their money last longer into retirement. The challenge for you now is to provide an effective service to all types of clients, which is still commercially viable for your […]
As more clients than before are entering pension drawdown, your role as an adviser is so important in converting their pension pot efficiently into a regular income stream and ensuring this income is sustainable. That’s where solutions like Drip-feed Drawdown are highly valuable. In this film, Scottish Widows’ expert Roy Vickery looks at the benefit […]