Financial Advisor articles from April 2004

Financial Advisor archives from April 2004

Heading for a McFall.
April 1, 2004... The recent Treasury report entitled 'Restoring confidence in long term savings', dealing specifically with endowment mortgages, seems somewhat inappropriately named. Thus far it has probably had the opposite effect and dented confidence badly....

Aqera changes direction: Wrap engine will power existing platforms.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Software house Aqera, which can automate valuations for legacy life and pensions products, wants to power existing platforms or portals rather than build its own wrap account. The change of strategy comes during the middle of a feasibility...

State pension reform vital :Leading think tanks call for increase to benefits.
April 1, 2004... A radical reform of THE State pension system could breathe new life into the pensions and savings industry, according to recent reports by leading think tanks. The Adam Smith Institute argues that the State pension should be doubled to...

Split capital punishment: A resolution inches closer.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... 21 firms under investigation as part of the FSA's split capital investment trust inquiries have now informed the regulator whether or not they have acquiesced to its demands to expedite compensation. The firms were given a 16 March...

It S2P perfect: State second pension brings back investors.
April 1, 2004... Millions of investors might be best served by contracting back into the State Second Pension (S2P), formerly SERPS, but are not being told. As many as 12m have contracted out since the late 1980s. The then Tory Government had introduced...

Destroying confidence in long term savings: Treasury committee calls time on endowment mortgages.
April 1, 2004... The long awaited Treasury Select Committee report on endowment mortgages has provided the predicted damning critique of the UK life industry. The report, ironically entitled 'Restoring confidence in long term savings', looks like it may...

Life, but not as we know it: Trade body set for revamp.
April 1, 2004... The LIA is to undergo a complete overhaul as it attempts to reinvent itself as the leading trade body for IFAs. The changes are subject to approval at a forthcoming EGM, but should see the organisation position itself as a champion of the cause...

Cheaper mortgages offered to all?: Miles report calls for 'fairer' deals.
April 1, 2004... Mortgage lenders should be made to offer existing customers the cheaper deals that they offer to new customers, a Treasury- commissioned report has recommended. The Miles report encourages more borrowers to take up long term fixed rate...

Web wonder: Scottish Widows pensions advice.
April 1, 2004... In the run up to April next year, IFAs will have a variety of complex pensions questions that they will need answered in order to give best advice to their clients. Scottish Widows' site at www.pension-simplification.co.uk has been set up...

SCARPS probe: FSA questions providers.
April 1, 2004... The FSA has written to a number of structured products providers requesting details of all products sold. The regulator is seeking details of the number of sales, position and degree of capital protection, as well as details of how these...

Financial Planner of the Year Awards: Jennie Bond to host London award ceremony.
April 1, 2004... Look out for the May issue of Money Management, which will contain the case studies for the 2004 Financial Planner of the Year Awards. The awards, widely acknowledged as the best IFA awards in the industry, will be held on 14 October at...

A quick study?: Skills Council to announce IFA exams.
April 1, 2004... The Financial Services Skills Council will publish the requirements for investment and mortgage advice as well as the list of appropriate examinations this month. Under the new exams framework, candidates will be assessed on their ability...

Watching the watchdog: Consumer's Association accused of "misselling".
April 1, 2004... The Consumer's Association (CA) has long angered IFAs with its stance on endowment mortgage misselling. There is a feeling among advisers that the association encourages policyholders to make complaints irrespective of whether their policy was...

Website re-launch: Online upgrade for MM.
April 1, 2004... www.ftadviser.com is set to be re-launched at the end of April. The website has undergone a major upgrade to make it the most reliable and comprehensive online service for personal finance professionals. FTAdviser will be the quickest way...

Structured products.
April 1, 2004... I am writing in response to Graham Devile's article 'Regulatory rigour' in the February Money Management supplement on structured products page 6 which makes a number of assertions about the National Savings and Investments guaranteed equity...

Will low cost endowments survive?
April 1, 2004... Having read your feature on low cost endowments, I too fear that, as a product class, it may not survive. The combined assault from the media, the FSA and from amateur self styled endowment bashers masquerading as consultants may well prove to...

Endowment mortgages.
April 1, 2004... The article on low cost endowments presented a bleak picture. The high levels of red and amber letters indicates a problem intrinsic to the product as opposed simply to the recent economic downturn. The majority of providers have placed an...

Teetering on the precipice?: More IFAs could go under.
April 1, 2004... A number of IFAs are likely to follow RJ Temple and the David Aaron Partnership into insolvency due to 'precipice' bonds, according to the FSA and KPMG. Ros Kitley, senior manager at KPMG, said that more IFA insolvencies were likely in the...

Mortgage regulation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... With regulation for mortgage brokers imminent, the FSA has advised brokers to make an application for both direct authorisation with the FSA and, at the same time, AR status with a network. The reason for this dual application, they state, is...

Call centres.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... In view of the recent news from the Norwich Union/Aviva Group I thought readers might be interested to share my recent experiences and my favoured solution, both as consumer and an IFA. I have received calls from what are now...

Fair exchange?
April 1, 2004... It is 60 years since I learnt my sums, so in my dotage I may be wrong in questioning the effects of Martin Ansell's article on fair exchange of income for greater pension contributions (February issue Group pensions supplement). This may be...

Don't see red.
April 1, 2004... I fear that the article 'Endowment mortgages - don't see red' is doing consumers a great disservice by trying to suggest that the endowment vehicle does not deserve the bad press that it has received. It has been my experience that the...

A future for pensions.
April 1, 2004... Thank you for your excellent comment column in the March 2004 edition. A developed country like the UK should be able to provide pensions mechanisms for the great majority of its citizens to save for their older age. Our history has shown...

A UNIQUE PRODUCT.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Equity release schemes come in two different forms: lifetime mortgages, where interest rolls up on the sum borrowed, and reversionary plans where a percentage of the property's value is sold outright. In-Retirement Services' equity release...

you can do it.
April 1, 2004... Keydata is branching out from structured products and has launched a limited property partnership in conjunction with Strategic Investments. Strategic Investments has already raised GBP2.9m and has teamed up with Keydata to raise a further...

The post-cp 185 world.
April 1, 2004... Jupiter is listing an existing portfolio with an unconstrained investment objective on the Jersey stock exchange. The Offshore Portfolio Fund, which has the freedom to invest in hedge funds as well as unit trusts and OEICs, could become the...

now here's the winterthur dist' content.
April 1, 2004... Winterthur Life has unveiled its new life and pension offering. The Elite Distribution Managed funds aim to yield 25% more than the FTSE All Share each year. The life and pensions funds will each contain a mix of two thirds bonds and one third...

the empire fights back.
April 1, 2004... For years, Japan was a major driving force behind the world economy. The home of technology, Japanese companies made a lot of money very quickly during the boom years of the 1980s. In fact, from the late 1960s to the end of the 1980s, apart...

POLES APART.
April 1, 2004... Polarisation is taking an unconscionable time a-dying, but with the publication of FSA Consultative Paper 04/3, the last rites loom a little larger. CP04/3 is titled 'A menu for being open with consumers'. It incorporates the feedback on the...

Policyholders must wait for 19 May: Pleas for compensation will be heard at annual meeting.
April 1, 2004... The management of Equitable Life will be asked to pay for a legal action to compensate with profits policyholders for up to 13% of the value of their policies. EMAG's decision to pursue compensation claims through the courts follows the...

THE KEY FINANCING PROBLEM.
April 1, 2004... Tucked away in the middle of the 225-page Pensions Bill is a brilliant clause on retirement planning. It requires the provision of facilities enabling an individual to estimate (a) the financial resources likely to be available to him after his...

weathering the storm.
April 1, 2004... At some point later this year, life offices will become obliged to file financial reports on a 'realistic' basis. The smoke and mirrors that have come to characterise reporting will be expunged and - in theory - all concerned will be left with...

One Economist's view on what is happening in the world.
April 1, 2004... Richard Duncan is an economist who worked for the World Bank and the IMF during the Asian currency crisis that started in Thailand in the early 1990s. Now based in Hong Kong he recently wrote: "The most aggressive experiment in monetary...

trawling the toisas.
April 1, 2004... TESSAs - or tax exempt special savings accounts - have been one of the success stories of the past 15 years. Since their launch over GBP53bn has been saved into these accounts according to Bank of England figures. But after Gordon Brown became...

saving tax on the family home.
April 1, 2004... Many people may think that their principal residence is exempt from capital gains tax (CGT) but in fact the sale of the family home usually only escapes liability to CGT because of a relief that applies specifically to the family home, called...

CGT - SOMETHING TO aspire to, and to avoid.
April 1, 2004... You have to make substantial gains quickly to be clobbered hard by Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Indeed the tax was introduced in 1965 to curb speculators, and even now is paid mostly by short term investors. But CGT is a 'voluntary' tax, in that...

Traffic light panic.
April 1, 2004... Endowment shortfalls are likely to affect up to 3.5m borrowers, according to the FSA. Most of those borrowers will have received at least one of the FSA's red, amber, or green letters informing them of what their policies are projected to...

Taking STOCK.
April 1, 2004... The paradox of investment is simply stated. To obtain and, even more importantly, to maintain a decent income the investor must invest whatever capital he or she has. But the very act of investing capital renders the investor liable to lose...

The professionals.
April 1, 2004... The decision-making process for selecting investments for a pension in drawdown used to run something like this: the goal is to preserve the annuity purchasing power of the fund; annuity rates are determined by the 15-year gilt yield; equities...

Penrose paves the way for legal action:More court cases likely.
April 1, 2004... Equitable Life is likely to have many more legal cases brought against it, following publication of the Penrose report. Robert Morfee, partner at law firm Clarke Willmott, said that he expected increased business as a result of the report,...

1% cap starts to bite: Providers restrict group schemes.
April 1, 2004... Standard Life, Norwich Union and Prudential have denied reports that they are rebuffing approaches from small employers to set up stakeholder pensions and thus placing them at risk of breaching the law. Standard Life imposes a lower...

Policyholders penalised for persistence: Endowment surrender values higher than maturities.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Holding on for the final year of a 25 year with profit endowment from Friends Provident has cost policyholders GBP8,294, Money Management can reveal. The figure is the difference between what Friends Provident was paying last year on...

Skandia 20 year PP figures.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... In Table 3A in the individual pensions supplement the AGRs for all of the Skandia funds have been placed in the wrong columns. The figures are correct, but the single premium AGR should be in the monthly contribution column and vice versa. The...

IFAs offer smorgasbord: Market anticipates menu of charges.
April 1, 2004... At least 1,488 IFAs have started to offer consumers a choice of payment methods since depolarisation was first proposed in 2002, according to figures compiled from IFA Promotion's (IFAP) adviser register. The revelation comes as the FSA...

IFA establishes solicitor links with divorce service.(Alexander James Financial Services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... THE benefits of professional links have been increased by an IFA specialising in divorce assistance. The Divorce Bureau was established by Wolverhampton-based IFA Alexander James Financial Services, which offers the bureau to individuals...

Firms must be data protection compliant to avoid unlimited fines.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... HALF of all UK firms outsourcing sensitive personal data risk are failing to comply with the Data Protection Act. There is a legal requirement for companies to make provisions for the act, with unlimited fines from the information...

Understanding a son, staff and footballers.(Independent Financial Adviser)(Column)
April 1, 2004... MONDAY Today, I spoke to the top IFAs in our Maidstone branch, a long standing engagement, for which I had allowed four hours. It is difficult to comprehend why anyone would voluntarily listen to what I have to say about the mighty...

AMI warns over introducer problems.
April 1, 2004... ADVISERS must develop written contractual agreements with mortgage introducers or risk problems with the FSA post Mortgage Day. Chris Cummings, director for the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said advisers must set out the...

No ongoing costs pledge by network.(Professional Mortgage Network )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A new mortgage network promising members no active ongoing costs is to target appointed representatives and principals. The Professional Mortgage Network (PMN) said it wanted to recruit 400 members over the next 12 months. ...

Aon looks to IFAs to distribute products.(Independent Financial Adviser)
April 1, 2004... IFA networks are being targeted as potential distribution channels for Aon's retail proposition for the UK. Aon Asset Management, the investment arm of Aon Consulting, is looking to open its six-strong institutional manager of manager range...

BTL landlords use loan flexibility to fund investment.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Scores of buy-to-let landlords are using the flexible aspects of their mortgage to fund future investments. A survey has revealed that of those borrowers using the flexible features, more than half were using the drawdown facility. ...

Opra fines firm for not offering pension.
April 1, 2004... OPRA has imposed its first fine on a company for failing to offer employees access to a stakeholder pension. The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority fined Flowfood Limited o000 last week for failing to provide its staff with access...

FOS ups staa to cope with higher complaints levels.
April 1, 2004... THE Financial Ombudsman Service is recruiting an extra 100 complaints investigators to cope with an expected rise in cases. The FOS is taking on the extra staff to handle the anticipated 7000 extra complaints it expects next year. The...

Reversions may not be regulated.
April 1, 2004... Leading lenders are concerned that the government will reject their pleas to regulate home reversion schemes. The Treasury has received an overwhelming response from firms wanting regulation of home-reversion schemes, even though senior...

Towry Law to work with solicitors.(Russell Jones & Walker)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Towry Law has entered into a partnership to provide financial advice for the clients of law firm Russell Jones & Walker. The IFA firm will provide financial services for Russell Jones & Walker's clients in a deal brokered by the adviser's...

Mortgage 2000 may suaer from networks.
April 1, 2004... REGULATION could have an impact on Mortgage 2000 sales, according to Steve Butler, the company's national sales manager. Mr Butler is concerned that brokers who use the company's software -- many of whom are small organisations -- will take...

Move from small into dedicated mid and large UK caps.
April 1, 2004... ALLIANZ Dresdner Asset Management is launching a retail class for its UK High Alpha fund. The fund, which is jointly managed by Trevor Green and Mark Lovett, was rolled out to the institutional market on 9 February and will become...

House prices rise further in February.
April 1, 2004... THE value of UK housing stock hit orillion last year, nearly double the amount it was five years ago.

Benefits of modelling tools aimed at IFAs.(Independent Financial Adviser)(CBoxx)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A COMMISSION specialist is urging IFAs to revamp their business models to survive the depolarisation. The commission tools software provider CBoxx said IFAs had to take positive steps or risk being left behind. Responding to the FSA...

Isis results show costs of major changes.
April 1, 2004... Isis Asset Management's results for 2003 showed the costs of a year of acquisitions and rebranding. In his annual report to shareholders Howard Carter, chief executive of Isis, said the company had completed the acquisition of Royal &...

'Use it or lose it' executives are warned over pensions.
April 1, 2004... Directors and senior company executives are being warned to use or lose their remaining pre-pension simplification taxation allowances. Holders of high-end pension plans have just two tax deadlines left, next week's and 2005, before pension...

Friendly cuts with profits bonuses.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SCOTTISH Friendly has cut with profits terminal bonuses and frozen reversionary bonus rates. The friendly society has cut terminal bonus rates for with profits savings and investment policies from 2.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent for each...

Hiscox IM boosts exposure to Lloyds.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MANAGERS of Hiscox Insurance Portfolio have increased its exposure to Lloyds' companies, including their own parent company, predicting earnings growth. Alec Foster, fund manager of HIP, was positive on the outlook for insurance companies,...

Deal lands Mortgage Next founders oYY.
April 1, 2004... The two founders of Mortgage Next have become millionaires following a o deal with Freedom Finance. Both Justine Tomlinson and Martin Maynard have made millions after selling a majority stake in their business to the expanding company. ...

Rate rise fails to stop the house price boom.
April 1, 2004... The boom in house prices is likely to continue despite fears of a crash comparable to that of the early 1990s. Statistics from the Nationwide, the UK's second biggest lender, showed that March house prices saw a 16.7 per cent rise...

Terrorism will fail to damage recovering European economy.
April 1, 2004... FINANCIAL ADVISER: How damaging do you think the terrorist attacks in Madrid will prove to be for the Europe's economy and stock markets? ALIA BAIG: In the short term the impact on risk premiums will be negative, because it has reminded...

Gordon has to cut up his credit cards.
April 1, 2004... Borrowing is evil. Discuss. It could be an A-level question. It might, perhaps, have made it on to exam papers in the 1950s but not these days. Not with Mr Brown in charge of the nation's credit card. As a chancellor, Mr Brown is addicted...

We need to close the asset transfer loophole.(Column)
April 1, 2004... A few years ago, I remember writing something mildly risquA about IFAs, something along the lines that they were all money-grabbing, product mis-selling, commission-chasing cheats. For reasons that I still can't quite fathom, I received a...

Providers face the kiss of death.(Column)
April 1, 2004... My family, as I am sure all of yours do, has certain sayings. One, which we use regularly, is 'the Harry Carpenter kiss of death'. I have also heard a similar concept expressed in relation to Murray Walker. You know the sort of thing :...

Avoiding trouble with taxes.
April 1, 2004... TACKLING 'abusive tax avoidance' is a subject that has received plenty of attention in the financial press over the past couple of months. This is probably a reflection of two factors. The first is a greater interest in tax mitigation on...

Reit on track for better returns.
April 1, 2004... THE government has finally published its consultation paper on Reits - Promoting more Flexible Investment in Property. This sets out proposals for the establishment of a new property investment vehicle to be known as a Property Investment Fund....

Is it a bird, or a plane? No, it's Superbank!(single European banking system )
April 1, 2004... AREPORT from KPMG has shed light on consumer attitudes to a harmonised European financial system and the challenges it poses for providers. The prospect of a single European banking system became reality in 2000, when the European Union...

Examining the way exams will work.
April 1, 2004... FINANCIAL ADVISER: The FSA and Skills Council have been keen to take a 'light touch' approach to T&C regulation, but are firms ready for this much freedom? TOM CAPLE (business development manager for the Financial Services Skills Council):...

The medium is the message.
April 1, 2004... THE internet bank Egg has been a spectacular success in the UK. Launched just five years ago, it now has over 3m customers and is still growing. Riding on a wave of glory, Egg set its sights on France. In 2002 it acquired Zebank and...

Principal will offer high-yield fix to UK.
April 1, 2004... Principal Global Investors is offering a high-yield fixed-income fund to UK investors. The Ucits mutual fund invests in US securities. The average credit rating of bonds will be BB- to B+. Principal said the fund was well diversified,...

Keydata's income plan linked to Dow Jones.
April 1, 2004... KEYDATA'S eighth Extra Income Plan, which is linked to the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, is now available to investors. It gives an annual income of 6 per cent or quarterly income of 1.46 per cent. Investors can also opt for a growth option of...

Government cracks down on property tax loopholes.
April 1, 2004... PROPERTY tax loopholes look set to be closed under the chancellor's new get-tough anti-avoidance laws. Inheritance and capital gains tax loopholes in the property market are widely predicted to be among the first to be hit by new government...

Sector criticised for unjustified tax lobbying.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... ADVISER Brigid Benson has criticised the pensions industry for placing too much emphasis on the om lifetime allowance. Ms Benson, senior partner for Manchester-based ethical planning IFA The Gaeia Partnership, said an unjustified amount of...

B&W defends 'restricted' addition to its BTL range.(Buy-To-Let Mortgage)(Loan To Value)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... BRISTOL & West Mortgages has added a further buy-to-let mortgage to its range. Structured as a tracker, it is priced at 1.15 percentage points above the Bank of England base rate for the term of the mortgage and has no early repayment...

SPML and Mortgage Express back Exclusive.
April 1, 2004... MORTGAGE packager Exclusive Connections has unveiled a raft of products offered in conjunction with SPML and Mortgage Express. The first is a lifetime loan, funded by Mortgage Express, which is fixed at 6.74 per cent until the property is...

Widows offers new graduate loan options.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SCOTTISH Widows Bank has added two new interest rate options to its range of graduate mortgages. The stepped discount mortgage runs over three years, at 1 per cent below Scottish Widows' standard variable rate (currently 5.24 per cent) in...

Venture capital trusts require selection care.
April 1, 2004... THE predicted mushrooming of venture capital trusts should not deter investors from careful fund selection, according to IFAs. In his Budget speech, Gordon Brown announced an income tax rebate of 40 per cent on investments in VCTs for the...

Mountain of obesity needs to be cut back.
April 1, 2004... UK BUSINESSES risk paying higher premiums for group income protection policies if they do not tackle an increasingly obese workforce. This is the warning from income protection policy provider UnumProvident, following research it conducted...

Dramatic fall in term assurance premiums.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... TERM assurance premiums have fallen by around 27.5 per cent since 1999, research has revealed. A study by Sainsbury's Bank Life Cover has claimed the 1.3m people who bought cover five years ago could save around o a year, or oa person. ...