Following the adoption of the Insurance Mediation Directive by the European Parliament, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Ruth Kelly today confirmed that the regulation of mortgages and general insurance will come into force from October 2004. Kelly says: “I am happy to confirm that both mortgages and general insurance regulation will come into force simultaneously. Following consultation and publication of the final Orders on mortgages, and the adoption by the European Parliament of the IMD, the date by which this will be achieved can be confirmed as October 2004.”
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Survey finds fund past performance is a key indicator
Past performance is a key indicator when choosing which funds are more likely to enjoy top-quartile performance in the future, according to a report commissioned by the Investment Management Association.Ima claims the study by consultant Charles River Associates is the most comprehensive ever undertaken. It monitored 940 funds from four UK equity sectors – all […]
Lender aiming to improve IFA servicing
Lender GMAC-RFC chief executive Stephen Knight has admitted that the firm's service for intermediaries could be better and says initiatives are being developed to rectify this. Speaking at a dinner for intermediaries and partners last week Knight said it is increasingly replacing centralised credit checking with remote GMAC processors and underwriters based with packagers and […]
ScotLife puts pension tools online for IFAs
Scottish Life is launching a revamped version of its BeeHive website within a newly-created online service for IFAs.The BeeHive site offers head of pension strategy Steve Bee's views on the world of pensions, along with his political papers, press articles and a collection of his cartoons.The new IFA service, Technical Central, delivers financial statistics, analysis […]
A thrilling deal for film backers
Film partnerships company Movision Management is seeking high-net-worth individuals to invest in several projects, including A Different Loyalty, a thriller starring Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett.Movision, which is co-producing the film in a tripartite agreement with Spice Factory and Montreal-based Transfilm, is looking to attract financing from people earning at least £250,000 a year to […]
Absence management systems gone AWOL from UK’s SMEs, reports Jelf
A quarter (23 per cent)* of the UK’s small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not have an absence management system in place, according to new research from Jelf Employee Benefits. Despite 69 per cent* of organisations having a system in place, three-quarters (75 per cent) report that it is not providing them with sufficiently empowering absence or health data to inform an effective wellbeing programme.
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FCA: Most firms satisfied with regulator’s performance
Most firms regulated by the FCA are satisfied with its performance and believe it is an efficient regulator, the watchdog has said. The survey conducted by the FCA and its Practitioner Panel – one of its advisory bodies – sought feedback on the regulator’s performance from the firms it oversees. The results showed that both satisfaction and […]
Bill McQuaker: Finding pockets of value late in the cycle
Investing at this stage of the market cycle is a tough balancing act. While over-exposure to risky assets leaves a portfolio vulnerable when a correction really bites, taking too much risk off the table too soon can mean missing out on the remaining opportunities which may still present themselves over the coming months. With so […]
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Pensions ombudsman sides with Aviva on pension loss case
A complaint that an Aviva system error kept an investor from retirement for five years and resulted in substantial financial distress has been rejected by the Pensions Ombudsman. The complainant – Mr D – held an Aviva Pension Plan until 2008, during which time he was underpaid £37,010.57 due to a fault in Aviva’s processing system […]