Financial Advisor articles from April 2005

Financial Advisor archives from April 2005

Pink targets BTL clients with limited companies.(Pink Home Loans)
April 14, 2005... PINK Home Loans has launched a buy-to-let product designed specifically for customers with a limited company. The deal, funded by Mortgage Express, is offering a discount of 0.51 percentage points for three years, giving it an initial pay...

First adapts to market with longer discount.(First National; Plan Invest Group)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... SHORT discounted periods have lost their sheen for consumers because of hassles with fees and paperwork, an adviser has said. Simon Firmin, mortgage adviser for the Plan Invest Group, said most clients now preferred longer discounted...

Code 'requires' higher pension contributions.
April 14, 2005... NEW measures to help prevent schemes from claiming on the PPF are likely to result in employers paying far higher pension contributions, says Mercer. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, the sums involved could easily dwarf the...

Staff confidence to be a priority for regulator.(workplace pensions)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE new pensions regulator will make confidence in workplace pensions a priority, its new chief executive has revealed. The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority last month emphasised the regulator's intentions to improve confidence in...

E-commerce protection info added to Assureweb.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... IFA portal Assureweb has added e-commerce services to its platform specifically for protection business post insurance regulations. Assureweb has provided e-commerce services for its life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and...

Training required for trustees of pensions.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... PENSION trustees will need to undergo training in order to be prepared for the now implemented Pensions Act 2004, an expert has said. The new legislation, which came into effect on 6 April, contains new statutory duties for specific...

IFA market targeted by Lincoln's whole of life.(Lincoln Financial Group)
April 14, 2005... Lincoln Financial Group has developed its distribution channels to sell more whole of life policies through IFAs. The firm has launched its whole of life protection package Financial Foundations on The Exchange for the first time. In...

ScotEq aims to make honest cash out of Fib.(Scottish Equitable)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Scottish Equitable is gearing up to relaunch its Family Income Benefit scheme, which pays out regular sums of money after a death. Scottish Equitable, which operates mainly through IFAs, is aiming to increase the sales of Fib, which has...

Market dealing regulations extended by Mad's arrival.(financial services industry regulations)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... The market abuse directive (Mad) has extended IFAs' regulatory obligations in two critical areas, according to law firm Herbert Smith. As the FSA published its final rules and guidance for implementing Mad, which is a directive from the EU,...

CMI guidelines about review requirements.(Chartered Management Institute)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE Chartered Management Institute has launched a set of guidelines for companies baffled by operating and financial review requirements. This follows the introduction by the DTI of the requirement of businesses to submit OFRs from 1 April....

Marland wins City Circle role.(JOnathan Marland)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... CONSERVATIVE leader Michael Howard has appointed Jonathan Marland as chairman of the Conservative City Circle. The liaison group, with membership of 2400, will be headed up by Mr Marland with immediate effect. Mr Marland said: "Having...

Popularity of flexible hours advocated as morale boost.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Flexible working hours boost the morale of staff and improve relationships with bosses, according to an IFA. Mark Loydall, director of Cambourne Financial Planning, which has five part-time workers, has found that flexible working hours...

London-based IFAs suffering highest levels of stress in work.(independent financial advisers)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... London-based IFAs have found their jobs more stressful than IFAs in Newcastle, according to Peninsula. In a poll of 869 IFA employees across the UK, Peninsula revealed that 72 per cent of the sector's London employees are often stressed....

Employers are better to be safe than sorry.(health and safety at work)
April 14, 2005... QI am in the process of starting a new business but have concerns about health and safety. Are there rules and procedures that must be followed? As a business, you must ensure that minimum health and safety standards are met. People...

Putting a brave spin on the working week.(Column)
April 14, 2005... MONDAY The day starts with a 7am alarm call because I have changed my exercise habits to Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings so that I can enjoy the delights of a masochistic spinning class at the local David Lloyd centre. My wife...

Industry in remembrance.(John Shuttleworth; David Norton)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
April 14, 2005... THE financial services industry mourned and celebrated the lives of two of its most influential icons this week. Colleagues were left in shock by the sudden death of John Shuttleworth, a partner in the actuarial practice of...

FSCS list names 38 defaulters.(financial services companies)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared 38 IFA companies in default. Clients from across the UK could now be now be entitled to compensation for a maximum of AGBP48,000 if they lost money as a result of their dealings with...

Ah! The joys of being in the office.
April 14, 2005... WES Budd, marketing communications co-ordinator for GMAC-RFC, set off on a cycling tour of the Indian subcontinent to raise money for charity. Mr Budd, along with 30 other sporting enthusiasts, cycled 350km from Cochin, in the south...

New Product - Link aimed at saving time.(Webline)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... WEBLINE, the financial services portal, has announced a partnership with Wealth Management Software, supplier of desktop and back office systems to IFAs. IFAs using Fairs IFA Manager, the IFA desktop software system owned by WMS, can now...

Last chance to comment on software.(financial software)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... FINANCIAL Adviser's poll on a new piece of dedicated IFA software has entered its final week. The program, iFacto produced by CTO Software, covers basic database functions but also helps track commission details, renewal dates and specific...

Gould becomes 'grey panther'.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Ronald Gould has been appointed as an FSA grey panther. Mr Gould, a former senior executive vice-president and managing director of Axa Investment Managers and a former vice-chairman of BZW/Barclays Asset Management, joins with extensive...

FSA: 'No panic to depolarise IFAs'.(Financial Services Authority)(Independant Financial Advisers)
April 14, 2005... THE FSA expects the deadline for depolarisation to pass by smoothly despite concerns IFAs are struggling to be ready for 1 June according to a senior manager of the FSA. Dan Waters, director of retail policy for the FSA, said far from...

IFAs only group to be hit by 'massive' FSCS fee rise.(financial adviser fees; financial services compensation scheme)
April 14, 2005... IFAS must pay an extra AGBP7.4m this year to cover the costs of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The FSCS has revealed IFAs would be the only group to see their fees rise, despite the scheme only needing AGBP160.7m this year...

Experts praise change to long-term health care.
April 14, 2005... LONG-term care advisers have welcomed proposed changes to the way care is funded in retirement. However, there remains scepticism that the changes can be paid for and put into practice. The health select committee reported last week...

Advisers baffled by network's pay policy.(Personal Touch Financial Services)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... TENSION between IFAs and Personal Touch Financial Services continues, with more advisers alleging the network has failed to pay commission. According to IFA Darren Yeomans, director of Yeomans Mortgage Services in East Sussex, Personal...

New Product - Club for DA advisers.(Paymentshield)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Paymentshield, supplier of protection products to the mortgage intermediary sector, has launched Paymentshield Mortgage Club. Aimed at directly authorised mortgage advisers, the club offers a range of lenders and products to registered...

Billions misinvested in consistently poor funds.(investments)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Investors are placing billions of pounds in the wrong funds, according to an Investor Connections report. The investing advice company found that at least AGBP100bn of investors' money has been placed in funds with consistently poor...

Warning to contact endowment clients.
April 14, 2005... ADVISERS are being warned to write to all of their endowment clients as a matter of urgency. Marianne Fitzjohn, director of claims handling experts Endowment Justice, said advisers still had a crucial role to play in making sure all those...

New Product - Pru enhances its valuation facility.(Prudential)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Advisers can see all their clients' holdings in a single place on Prudential's enhanced policy valuation facility. The facility is available on Prudential's adviser extranet, a secure website where advisers can carry out transactions with...

Booklet on volatility in housing market.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... IFA Promotion -- the organisation that promotes the benefits of independent financial advice -- has produced a guide on housing market volatility. The new booklet follows a market commentary from the Council of Mortgage Lenders this month...

New Product - L&G offer in wake of savings initiative.(Legal & General)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... LEGAL & General has launched its first Sandler product in the form of its Medium-Term Investment plan. L&G's product, launched on 6 April, invests in a combination of equities and bonds with at least 60 per cent invested in corporate...

New Product - Fidelity plugs gap in income funds.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... FIDELITY has launched a flexible bond fund. The Fidelity Investments Sterling Bond fund will be available with a discount for those investors who buy before noon on 31 May. The dealing in shares began this week. The fund is managed by...

IFAs' decisions not formed by 'experts'.(property market)
April 14, 2005... Announcements on the future of the property market have little influence on IFAs' decisions, advisers have said. The news came after property experts released conflicting information about the immediate future of the property market. ...

Depolarisation may draw FSA attention.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Depolarisation will bring increasing compliance problems and could draw the attention of the regulator, according to the president of St James's Place. Sir Mark Weinberg spoke to insurance industry representatives at the first FSA...

Finance Bill drops threat of tax hikes.
April 14, 2005... THE advent of the general election has helped life insurers with large with profits funds escape heftier tax bills. As the Finance Bill was rushed through parliament before MPs headed back to their constituencies, life insurers were able to...

Call to aim for safe returns.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... INVESTORS should make the most of cautious managed products for a safe return, according to two leading asset managers. The first announcement came from Credit Suisse Asset Management after figures from Old Broad Street research revealed...

Missing files may affect IFAs.(Independant Financial Advisers)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... IFAS may have to pay out thousands of pounds in professional indemnity excess fees because of missing files at a mortgage network. The news has come to light as a result of ongoing searches for endowment policies that customers believe were...

Pension simplification guide from L&G.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... IFA concerns over weighty information packs have led Legal & General to launch a guide to pensions simplification. The life office said feedback from IFAs had shown a need for an easy-to-follow A-Day guide. Martin Wigginton, pensions...

Call for property ombudsman.
April 14, 2005... A PROPERTY ombudsman should be established to provide consumers with a single route of redress, according to a review published on 6 April. In his 31-page review, Sir Bryan Carsberg, former director general of the Office of Fair Trading,...

New Product - ScotEq relaunch.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Ahead of A-Day, Scottish Equitable has relaunched its income drawdown plan. The Flexible Retirement Sipp will provide access to more than 800 funds from 40 fund managers through the company's fund supermarket. The charge structure has...

Prescott pledges to help FTBs.(first time buyers)(John Prescott, deputy rime minister)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE government has pledged to work with providers to help people get on the property ladder. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has set out his proposals in a consultation document, launched earlier this month, for extending low-cost...

SII site offers new job section.(Securities & Investment Institute)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE revamped Securities & Investment Institute is able to match investment advisers qualifications to job vacancies. The institute has launched a new-look website to ensure the navigation experience is smoother and quicker. The...

Long fixed-rate mortgages 'wise'.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... FIVE-year fixed-rate mortgages have become almost as attractive as two and three-year deals, according to Your Move's remortgage index. In its first analysis of current mortgage deals, the online prop- erty finder claimed borrowers who...

Fine and claim fear for Abbey.
April 14, 2005... ABBEY is bracing itself for a series of compensation claims and a hefty fine from the FSA, it has been revealed. The news comes after the company disclosed figures for anticipated claims relating to advice given on mortgage endowments. ...

CIS posts strong figures.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE Co-operative bank an- nounced its annual results on 7 April with a strong performance in the life, pensions and unit trust sector. Profits for the year to 8 January from products in the company's CIS portfolio reached AGBP153.6m -- up 7...

New Product - Sandler-style NU fund.(Norwich Union PLC)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Norwich Union has launched the NU Stakeholder Savings fund. The Sandler-style fund has been designed for an investment period of five to 15 years, however no minimum or maximum terms are specified. Charges are 1.5 per cent a year for the...

CTF vouchers not being used.(children trust fund)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Industry experts have warned that many CTF vouchers could be lying around the house missing out on interest. As CTFs went live on 6 April, The Children's Mutual expressed concern that parents were procrastinating on investing and losing out...

FSA releases briefing on delivery of Tiner reforms.
April 14, 2005... SIMPLIFIED PPFMs and a consultation paper setting out a risk-rating system for investment products will feature this year as the FSA embarks on delivering Tiner's insurance reforms. The Financial Services Authority last week published...

Fears that consumers will face information overload.(Principles and Practices of Financial Management)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Modified PPFMs will give consumers all the information they need, whether they want it or not, according to advisers. The FSA outlined the next stages of implementing the Tiner insurance reforms in a report last week, and among the...

Advisers warn of dangers of over-simplifying risks.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Advisers have urged the FSA not to oversimplify the risk of investment products when they consult on risk ratings later this year. Plans outlined in the Insurance Sector Briefing include a consultation paper scheduled for this year that...

Changes likely to affect critical illness insurance.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... BRIGHT Grey's product director spelt out the future of critical illness cover when he spoke at FA Today in Manchester. Roger Edwards, product director of Bright Grey, said that critical illness faced one of four possible futures in light of...

New Product - Chelsea offers three new fixes.(Chelsea Building Society)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Chelsea Building Society has added three mortgages to its fixed-rate range. The two, three and five-year fixed-rate mortgages, which incur an arrangement fee of AGBP395 and an administration fee of AGBP245, are all available on loans of up...

Groups seek clarity on Reits tax issues.
April 14, 2005... SIGNIFICANT tax and regulatory issues need to be resolved if the government's real estate investment trust programme is to be successful, according to Herbert Smith. Senior economists from the law firm launched the warning after the...

Isa investment falls by more than half.(Investment Management Association)
April 14, 2005... DESPITE a last-minute Isa rush, before the close of the tax year, Isa investment has dropped by more than half on the previous year's figures. According to the Investment Management Association, net Isa sales were up from AGBP38.9m in...

Openwork to launch in June.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... OPENWORK will launch as a multi-tied distributor on 1 June with just over half the number of staff Zurich Advice Network had. With FSA approval of Openwork now imminent, the best of breed multi-tied distributor's bosses have revealed the...

New Product - Prudential offers nine new funds.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... PRUDENTIAL has introduced the choice of two multiple and seven single asset class distribution income funds to its Distribution Income range. The provider is set to launch the range of funds, offering multiple income options, for new...

New fee flexibility from Scottish Life.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... SCOTTISH Life has extended its adviser fee flexibility to its group pension range. Scottish Life Financial Adviser Fee, which has been operating in Scottish Life's individual pension proposition since May 2003, allows advisers to set...

Pru returns to crit illness cover.
April 14, 2005... Advisers are prepared to give Prudential another chance as the life office re-enters the market for guaranteed critical illness cover. The Prudential has spent AGBP4m updating its back office systems to handle extra volumes of protection...

Treat fairness with more care.
April 14, 2005... SENIOR management at mid-sized financial services companies are failing to get involved in treating customers fairly, according to a study from Touchpaper. The supplier of customer service and support software surveyed 25 compliance...

Trustees facing new headache.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... A LEADING actuarial consultancy claims to have identified problems with occupational pensions regulations. Lane Clark & Peacock LLP said the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005, which came into force last week,...

Isas are latest lad culture.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... SAVING is becoming fashionable again, according to Legal & General's monthly MoneyMood survey. Under-35s were the most keen to put money aside among those questioned for Legal & General's financial barometer, with 74 per cent saying they...

Hartford aims to service savings gap opportunities.
April 14, 2005... AGEING populations and fears about insufficient savings are creating enormous opportunities for providers and IFAs, according to Hartford. On the eve of the large US provider's introduction of a unit-linked investment bond in the UK, Greg...

Research shows BTL retains its popularity.(buy to let)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... BUY-to-let remains a popular long-term investment strategy, according to Arla. The quarterly data from the Association of Residential Letting Agents showed that 88 per cent of landlords expect to hold their properties for 16 years on...

Urge to retain trustees' voluntary guidelines.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... GUIDELINES set down by the Myners report should remain voluntary for pension trustees, the Society of Pension Consultants has urged. In its formal response to the review of the Myners Principles, the SPC argued that the "comply or explain"...

New Product - 'Great' 10-year product.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Nationwide has launched a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage that it said was the most competitive of its type. Homebuyers looking to borrow up to 90 per cent of their property value can fix their rate at 5.19 per cent going up to 5.69 per cent...

Headteachers set to learn.(National Association of Head Teachers)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... BERRY Birch & Noble Financial Planning hopes to generate an extra AGBP1m a year through its new IFA service for the National Association of Head Teachers. BBNFP took part in a lengthy tendering process and fought off the competition to...

Pensioners can opt for AGBP32,000 payoff.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... PENSIONERS who defer their state pension could claim a lump sum of more than AGBP32,000. The rules -- which came into force last Wednesday -- allow pensioners to receive a deferred state income through either a lump sum or higher weekly...

Minister considers fast-track payments.
April 14, 2005... THE GOVERNMENT is exploring whether to fast-track payments from the new pensions safety fund to pensioners most in need. The announcement was included in draft regulations for the AGBP400m Financial Assistance Scheme published last week,...

Retirement does beat working.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... PENSIONERS' income increased faster than the average earnings of workers over the past eight years, according to a government survey. The Family Resources Survey carried out during 2003-04 showed that the average pensioner household earned...

Rise in complaints thought to be a blip.
April 14, 2005... A SHARP rise in mortgage sale complaints following regulation will prove a blip, according to the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries. Chris Cummings, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, told an audience of IFA...

New Product - Pink shows its colours.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... PINK Home Loans is promoting two mortgages to the adverse credit market. A two-year fixed-rate mortgage is being offered at a rate of 7.64 per cent maturing to the bank base rate plus 3.64 percentage points after two years. The second, a...

Hunter wins senior investment analyst promotion by Old Mutual.
April 14, 2005... INVESTMENT Analyst and fund management expert, Philip Hunter has been promoted by Old Mutual Asset Managers. With more than 10 years' experience as analyst and fund manager, including three years covering global equities for Omam, Mr...

Family Investment scoops award for CTF CTF vouchers not being used.(children trust fund)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... Family Investments has been awarded an award from baby charity Tommy's. The Brighton-based mutual, which offers a stakeholder child trust fund with funds managed by New Star, received the highest rating in the Best Children's Savings...

Millfield receives investment.
April 14, 2005... GOLDMAN Sachs has bought half a million shares worth AGBP205,000 in Millfield Group. The investment bank bought the shares in the recently merged group on 1 April on behalf of its clients. This latest purchase gives Goldman Sachs'...

Vanstone moves up at Rosenberg.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... SIMON Vanstone has been named chief executive of Axa Rosenberg Investment Management. Mr Vanstone, who will be based in London, takes over responsibility for the company's European operations from Will Jump who moves back to the company's...

Call for openness at Standard Life.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... THE most controversial candidate for a place on the board of UK mutual Standard Life has called for the company to be more transparent in its financial dealings. Prospective non-executive director Michael Horgan called on the existing...

Bristol & West alters range of mortgages.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... BRISTOL & West mortgages has recategorised its entire range. The changes, completed on Monday, follow a series of job cuts and restructuring, announced by Brian Goggin, group chief executive of parent company, Bank of Ireland, two weeks...

ISL puts block on some product sales.(Investment Strategy Limited)
April 14, 2005... INVESTMENT Strategy Limited members have been banned from selling certain products and told to ask for permission to do other business. In a letter sent out to Bankhall's nursery network's 638 registered individuals, the IFA services...

Claim EU enforcers must be consistent.
April 14, 2005... ACCOUNTING standards need consistent enforcement to generate consumer and market confidence, the FSA chief has warned. John Tiner, chief executive of the City regulator, told a meeting of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England...

Making the case for branded lending, whatever the market.(Interview)
April 14, 2005... FINANCIAL ADVISER: Can you start by telling us a little about what your job involves. JAMES CONNOR: My role is the head of channel development in our specialist mortgage business through intermediaries. I have been in this role for about...

Lenders' websites eschewed for KFIs.(key facts illustration)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... MOST mortgage intermediaries are eschewing lender websites to produce their key facts illustration (KFI) documents. The MarketView survey carried out by Mortgages plc revealed that 60 per cent of brokers would rather use sourcing systems...

Labour has squeaked pips of middle-class.(political parties)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... WHAT about the British taxpayer? called a reporter as Tony Blair announced the general election last week. What indeed? No comment from Mr Blair who smirked and sauntered back into Downing Street. Which is hardly surprising considering the...

Do not forget the priorities of MPs.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... JOURNALISTS and financial advisers may not be the most popular people on the block, but can many of us compete with the crassness of the average MP? As the election approaches we will once again be subjected to candidates oozing sincerity....

Language barrier means lettuce buyers sold garlic.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2005... A CONSIDERABLE part of my job is dealing with hundreds of requests for help from readers who have been sold products they simply do not understand. I am convinced a lot of misunderstanding, mis-selling claims (and bad publicity) could be...