Go-to guys: How to carve a niche for your advice firm
Specialise wisely is the advice for firms wanting to secure profitable clients
Buffett cuts stake in scandal-hit Wells Fargo
Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in scandal-hit Wells Fargo ahead of the US bank’s results due Thursday morning. But Warren Buffett says not to read too much into the transaction, which has been prompted by increased scrutiny from regulators, the Financial Times reports. Following share buybacks last year, Berkshire’s stake in the bank, which […]
Hargreaves Lansdown to boost adviser ranks
Hargreaves Lansdown is looking to boost its adviser numbers amid frustrations that only a few “good-quality” professionals are available to hire. Hargreaves chartered financial planner Danny Cox says the complexity around pension tax allowances, pension freedoms and changes to inheritance tax planning is driving the firm towards a hiring spree. Money Marketing understands the Bristol-based […]
LV= pours cold water on merger plans
LV= has poured cold water on reports than it is seeking a merger with another provider. Reports suggested last month that LV= had held talks with Royal London about a potential deal, but talks ended when the pair could not agree terms. It was also suggested the LV=’s general insurance business had received a number […]
Retirement Advantage chief steps aside amid raft of board changes
Retirement Advantage group chief executive Chris Evans is to step aside at the start of May Evans will make way for chief operating officer Craig Fazzini-Jones after nearly 10 years at the head of provider, but will retain non-executive roles within the group. Retirement Advantage chairman William Proby said Evans’ leadership had helped the firm […]
Standard Chartered to hike minimum wealth required for private banking clients
Standard Chartered is looking to more than double the minimum wealth needed to become a private banking client at the firm. In a pitch to ultra-high-net-worths, the London-based bank is planning to hike its investable asset minimum from $2m (£1.6m) to $5m (£4m), while focusing its attention on clients above the $30m (£24m) mark, according […]
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Phil Young: A word of warning on VCTs and EISs
As we approach tax year-end and with pension tax allowances continuing to shrink, I have noticed an increased interest in alternative income tax relief investments such as enterprise investment schemes/seed enterprise investment schemes and venture capital trusts. But while these products can be the right recommendation, they should not be seen as the next-in-line investment […]
Hornbuckle parent acquires DFM research business Discus
Embark Group, the owners of Sipp provider Hornbuckle and platform Avalon, has bought discretionary fund management research business Discus. The price of the deal was not disclosed. Discus will sit alongside The Adviser Centre and Scopic Research, Embark’s other investment research businesses. Embark said the move was targeted at helping advisers make better investment decisions. […]
Old Mutual sells $446m stake in asset management arm
Old Mutual has agreed to sell a 24.95 per cent stake in Old Mutual Asset Management to HNA Capital US for $446m (£355m). Following the sale, Old Mutual’s shareholding will halve from 50.8 per cent to 25.9 per cent. The initial part of the transaction, expected to take place in 30 days subject to US […]
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Trade bodies in six-way merger pick name for new organisation
The new financial trade association representing a merger of six bodies in the finance industry has been named as ‘UK Finance – Representing UK Finance and Banking’. The name for the new body comes after it was announced last year that the Asset Based Finance Association, British Bankers’ Association, Council of Mortgage Lenders, Financial Fraud Action UK, […]
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Standard Life and Aberdeen announce split chief executive role
Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch and Aberdeen Asset Management’s boss Martin Gilbert will share the role of chief executive following the merger of the two businesses. Skeoch and Gilbert will be co-chief executive, sharing responsibility for the executive committee, the combined group’s strategy and objectives and will oversee operational performance, strategic direction and the […]
Consolidator looks to raise acquisition funds in new share offer
Consolidator AFH Financial Group is planning to raise £10m in acquisition capital through a new share placing. The firm says net proceeds of the 175 pence per share placing will be used to “execute the company’s acquisition pipeline and for general corporate purposes”. In February, AFH made its fourth acquisition of 2017, acquiring Honiton-based IFA […]
Is adviser networking worth it?
Networking can be extremely useful to advisers in businesses that work in isolation. But how do you ensure doing so does not waste precious time?
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Striking a balance on profits and compliance
Regulatory change is occurring at a remarkable pace as the FCA strives to ensure the advice market better serves the needs of its customers. This shift in gear by the regulator has meant some firms have struggled to hit the right balance between their commercial objectives and maintaining effective compliance. Firms should address the following […]
Brett Davidson: 10 questions to get your business back on track
A lack of clarity about the direction of your business creates havoc
How Govt’s apprentice funding freeze risks the future of advice
Existing training providers have seen their funding slashed while advice firms have to wait longer to register their employees for apprenticeship schemes
Professional commitment: The drive towards better standards
The evolution of the advice profession has stemmed from a lot of hard work from advice firms. They have spent a long time working up and revisiting their propositions to ensure consistently high levels of service to clients, as well as investing in staff to help deliver on business promises. Advisers and consumers are less […]
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Malcolm Kerr: What the advice market can learn from Amazon
The drivers behind the business pose a challenge for most
life firms, asset managers and banks, but not advisers
Robert Reid: Succession should win over sale
Selling up is not the only answer for retiring advisers I am hearing the topic of selling a business being discussed a lot. What I find funny is that many financial planners advise clients on retirement and more often than not will end up discussing what they plan to do with their spare time. You would […]
The trick to clear objectives in suitability reports
Take a look at the “your objectives” section of the last five suitability reports you prepared. Can you identify each client or do you struggle to tell them apart? If the former, then well done. If the latter, then you are not alone. Paraplanners and advisers can struggle in this area and fall short of FCA […]
Marrying film and finance to engage clients
It is often said aspiring writers should write about what they know. So when Solomons IFA principal financial planner Dominic Thomas started a financial planning blog on his website, it made sense to weave in his love of the arts. Thomas uses references to the plots of films, television shows, plays and books in his […]
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CISI planning chief’s top recruiting tips
A lot of people have told me recently how hard they are finding it to recruit good quality staff. There are a number of things to think about when looking to recruit. Once you have identified the specific tasks you want doing and have written a job description, you will probably place an advert or contact […]
Phil Bray: Seven ways advisers can get the most from Twitter
Seven ways advisers can use the social media platform to gain new clients and develop their expertise
Malcolm Kerr: Has the FCA got it right on competition?
The FCA has a mandate to see how well competition is working in the markets it regulates. It defines competition as: “Innovative firms bringing ideas to market, successful firms thriving and unsuccessful ones making an exit.” It also suggests: “When markets are competitive, consumers will be offered variety and choice, with firms striving to win […]
MM Wired: Beyond the election – On demand
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 […]
Standard Life/Aberdeen merger: What we know so far
MM takes stock of the mega-merger set to shake-up the asset management industry
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Watch: Where do your FCA fees go?
Money Marketing takes a look at where your regulatory bills go after the FCA released its latest levies this week.
Watch: Danby Bloch on what advisers should expect from the Budget
Ahead of the Budget tomorrow, Money Marketing editor Natalie Holt speaks to Helm Godfrey chairman and Platforum consultant Danby Bloch about the backdrop to Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first Budget speech. Bloch discusses the expectation around changes to National Insurance contributions and income tax, and the implications for the self-employed. He also gives his thoughts on […]
The What of Trusts: Discounted Gift Trust (part 3)
Helen O’Hagan, technical manager at Prudential, has produced a third article in the trust series range exploring discounted gift trusts (DGTs). These can take different forms, but in this article she looks at a ‘standard’ DGT and will cover: W – why use a DGT H – how to use a DGT A – access […]
How family income benefit can provide an affordable protection solution
We’re all familiar with one of the key barriers to people taking out protection – affordability. In our recent State of the Protection Nation research*, this was the top reason given by consumers for not owning life insurance (29%), critical illness (32%) or income protection (31%). But protection doesn’t have to cost as much as […]
Three million missing out on workplace pension contributions
Steve Webb, Director of Policy and External Communications, Royal London New analysis by mutual insurer Royal London has found that over three million people working for larger employers are failing to take up around £2bn a year which their employers have offered to contribute to their workplace pension schemes. In many workplaces, workers pay a […]
