Financial Advisor articles from May 2005

Financial Advisor archives from May 2005

Old product proves a real cert.(self-certified mortgages)(Column)
May 5, 2005... If you had to nominate one sector of the mortgage market which has generated more column inches than any other, the nomination would have to go to self-certification. It seems this often controversial aspect of mortgage lending has...

Retailers are losing their pound of flesh.(interest rates; consumer spending slows)
May 5, 2005... For the UK economy the outlook for interest rates and the housing market remain 'hot topics'. On interest rates, the Monetary Policy Committee has now been split for three successive months on what action to take. Each time the majority...

Losing sleep over surplus funds.(financial services regulation)
May 5, 2005... You would not think I had trouble sleeping. Let's face it, FSA consultation papers, Treasury white papers and draft European directives should be sufficient to cause a longer cat-nap than that of Rip Van Winkle. But the truth is there are...

The headache of multi-lets.(rental property)
May 5, 2005... Every landlord will have a view on whether they consider multi-lets a good idea for their portfolio. Working with many landlords on a daily basis, I will share some of the pros and cons of this type of investment. A multi-let usually...

Integrate and you will accumulate.(financial services industry and technology)
May 5, 2005... THE road to fully integrated technology has been a long one, and while we certainly have not arrived at the final destination, there has been good progress made. The regulation of mortgage and general insurance business has been a catalyst...

Heads we win, tails you lose.(mortgages)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Mortgages have been considered something of a safe bet by advisers and others in the industry. Unlike pensions and investments, which are more prone to the fluctuations of the stock market, everyone needs somewhere to live. And while...

New packs aid advisers and estate agents.(house buying report)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... HOME information packs will strengthen the link between estate agents and intermediaries, a survey has found. According to xit2's latest survey of the housing market, which covered lenders, intermediaries, estate agents, surveyors and...

North best to invest as values climb high.(property prices)
May 5, 2005... SOARING property values and high rental incomes have secured the north of England as the best place to invest. According to research from Paragon Mortgages, the best areas of the country for buy-to-let landlords over the past year have been...

CML proposes cost-saving qualification.(Council of Mortgage Lenders)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... A NEW qualification which would train people to do home condition reports and valuations has been touted by the CML. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has been in discussions over the qualification since a cost issue was highlighted....

IFA defends aggressive hiring.(Lighthouse Group, Lighthouse Group)
May 5, 2005... IFA network Lighthouse has targeted individuals at other companies as part of a poaching strategy that could lead to an additional 100 Lighthouse advisers. Lighthouse sent letters to IFAs, including partners and directors of companies,...

New price realism offers capital value.(housing market trends)
May 5, 2005... History has shown that if you are looking to predict the next housing market trends, you should look no further than recent trends in the London market. The under-performance of London house prices over the past four years means that signs...

Cuppa prevails as TV beats mattress.(first-time buyer activity)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... A bed is no longer a must-have item when moving into a new home, according to Alliance & Leicester Mortgages. Research from the building society found that people in the Naughties are more likely to move in with a TV than a bed. Only one in...

B&W sale attracts Alliance and B&B.(Bristol and West, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank PLC, Bradford & Bingley PLC)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... BANK of Ireland's sale of 90 Bristol & West branches was once again in the spotlight this week as the company gathered together a shortlist of bidders. City commentators expect the sell-off to be completed within a matter of weeks as part...

Disposable income gap is now a 'chasm'.(economics)
May 5, 2005... THE gap between those with high and low disposable incomes has become a chasm, according to the latest official figures. The research from the Office of National Statistics shows that gross disposable income a household (GDHI) is remarkably...

Zurich's million ways to help.(Zurich's Community Trust, donations)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... CHILDREN and families in the grip of drug addiction have been awarded AGBP1m from Zurich's Community Trust fund. Addaction, the charity that helps those at risk, is to receive the donation over a period of four years. Peter Martin,...

New Product - New BTL tracker deal on way.(Saffron Walden, Herts and Essex Building Society, buy-to-let tracker mortgage)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... SAFFRON Walden, Herts and Essex Building Society has announced the terms of its new buy-to-let tracker mortgage. The product tracks the Bank of England base rate plus 0.75 of a percentage point until January 2010 and reverts to the...

Funds hurt by ineffective management.(pension fund investment)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... IFAs could be losing thousands of clients' pounds by not fully investigating fund managers' backgrounds, according to a new report. The survey, from Investor Connections, shows that shopping around for the right fund manager could make a...

DBS blamed for 'mis-placed' files.(mis-selling payout)
May 5, 2005... A BIRMINGHAM IFA has blamed administration errors at mortgage network DBS for a mis-selling payout that could cost him thousands. Norman Kilby, a partner at Birmingham-based Allchurch Financial, was approached by DBS, now owned by Sesame,...

Bank statistics show loans rise.(mortgages)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... The number of loans approved for house purchase increased during March, to the highest level since August 2004, according to Bank of England lending statistics. The number of UK mortgage approvals has risen steadily since January this year...

Norwich's products mix changes but its sales fall.(Norwich Union)
May 5, 2005... A changing product mix was reflected in a fall in pension business for Norwich Union for the first quarter of 2005. By contrast, Legal & General reported growing year-on-year pension and investment business. Gary Withers, chief...

Left-out clause comes as a reprieve for pension funds.(pensions taxation)
May 5, 2005... LARGE pension funds appeared to have won a tax reprieve after the Inland Revenue omitted to include a 'double whammy' clause in the Finance Act 2005. The omission applies to pension funds which breach the new AGBP1.5m lifetime allowance...

House prices show an upward trend again.
May 5, 2005... THE slow easing of house prices may be ending, according to the latest figures from Nationwide. The building society's monthly house price survey revealed that prices increased by 0.9 per cent in April, from March, temporarily allaying...

Standard Life signs to multi-tie agreement.
May 5, 2005... STANDARD Life has signed a multi-tie distribution deal to sell its pension and life products through Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks. The Edinburgh life office confirmed the agreement with National Australia Bank Group, the banks' owners....

Cole is appointed to fill enforcement role at FSA.
May 5, 2005... THE FSA has appointed a City lawyer to head up its enforcement division, more than three months after Andrew Procter left the role. Margaret Cole, partner in the London office of international law firm White & Case, is set to take over as...

Clients must wake up to pension fund needs.(employee benefits)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... ONE in four IFA clients believe they can live 29 per cent below the minimum wage in retirement, according to research by Sesame. People's expectations about the size of the pension fund they will need in retirement are way off, new analysis...

New Product - High-end flexibility online.(Winterthur Life (UK) Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... WINTERTHUR aims to meet demand for online administration and full investment options with its new flexible Sipp. The new Winterthur Life Self Invested Personal Pension, which launched on 3 May, gives advisers the ability to access...

New Product - Friends Prov gives exposure.(Friends Provident, Activ Consensus Enhanced )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Friends Provident said its new corporate pension fund option would give exposure to active management at passive management prices. A new investment option, the Activ Consensus Enhanced fund, will be available within all Friends Provident...

CleriMed classes to focus on business.(Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance Society developed Advice Matters )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... CLERICAL Medical has developed a series of master classes as the next service in its Advice Matters intermediary support programme. The workshops have been developed to assist and support financial advisers with the day-to-day management of...

New Product - Woolwich offers four times FTSE.(markets)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... WOOLWICH Accelerated Growth Plan 6 offers a three-year as well as a six-year investment option. The plan from Woolwich Plan Managers is linked to growth in the FTSE 100, measured as the difference between the start tracking level and the...

Be careful if you're going out in the sun.(investing in Spanish property)
May 5, 2005... IFAs could be endangering clients' investments by their choice of broker, according to Oakwood, the asset manager. The company warned against the risks after disclosing research about the expanding residential property market in Spain....

New Product - Vesta fixes its rate for first two years.(Vesta Packaging, Portman mortgage )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... MORTGAGE lender Vesta Packaging announced it has added a special rate Portman mortgage to its panel of lenders. The Portman mortgage offers rates starting at 2.35 per cent, fixed for two years. The loan to value is 95 per cent and there is...

Representation at top of IFAs' agenda.(Institute of Financial Advisers)
May 5, 2005... REPRESENTATION for IFAs was high on the agenda for delegates at the FA Today event in Bristol. Advisers quizzed a panel of experts from all areas of financial services at the event, held on 27 April at the City Centre Marriott Hotel. The...

Firms urged to slash cost base to ease compliance.
May 5, 2005... MORTGAGE lenders and intermediaries could do more to streamline their compliance costs, a specialist claimed. Huntswood, a financial services compliance consultant, urged companies to use the six-month anniversary of mortgage regulation as...

Jelf boosts commercial team.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... JELF Group has grabbed a divisional director from Julian Hodge Bank and her team to head up its new commercial insurance proposition in Cardiff. Gina Dixon, formerly a divisional director with the bank, has been appointed to head up its...

Faulty Norwich opts for a AGBP6.3m refund.
May 5, 2005... NORWICH Union plans to compensate 70,000 policyholders to the tune of AGBP6.3m after it failed to disclose all of its charges. The insurance group conducted a review of the way it reveals its charges and total expense ratios back in October...

Increase in fees by mortgage providers.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Mortgage providers are increasing their redemption fees, according to a new study. The research from Moneyfacts shows that 53 providers have increased their redemption penalty fee and just under half, 23, have doubled the cost. Darren...

Make A-Day pay with FA Today.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... ADVICE opportunities created by a single pensions tax regime coming into force in April 2006 will be presented at the next FA Today in Belfast on 9 May. Mike Morrison, pensions strategy manager for Winterthur Life, is set to tell...

Clarity is key to help advisers handle KFIs.(key facts illustrations)
May 5, 2005... GREATER clarity is needed to prevent key facts illustrations remaining the biggest regulatory bugbear of mortgage advisers. The Council of Mortgage Lenders claimed that the first six months of statutory regulation has been pretty much...

Survey consults on effect of regulation.
May 5, 2005... MORTGAGE advisers' views of mortgage regulation will be the first topic to be addressed by the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries' new monthly survey. Ami recently launched the Mortgage Intermediary Census, a monthly study aimed at...

Standard bearer carries high hopes along a difficult journey.(Interview)
May 5, 2005... FINANCIAL ADVISER: This is a new role for you, so how are you hoping to develop it and what are your aims? Carol Eddleston: Well, my first priority is to see the Standards Reform through to its conclusion. The publication of National...

Prudent Pru's decision prompts an ironic smile.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... IT IS rare for a press release to make me bound around the office on my toes shouting "hurrah". And to be honest last week's decision from Prudential to cut out the endowment ambulance chasers was no exception. But it did at least raise a...

Better models hide old specimen.(building societies)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... THE great, the good and the bloated of the building society world are gathering in Harrogate for their annual shindig this week. The building society movement is a transformed beast from the wallowing, clumsy dinosaur targeted by...

Wise man takes Jupiter to starry times.(Tony Nutt joins Jupiter Income )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... HAPPY anniversary Tony Nutt. Five years ago this week Mr Nutt took charge of the Jupiter Income fund after it had been through a torrid period. Through much of the mid--to-- late 1990s Jupiter Income was the fund to invest in, regularly...

Finance Centre is to partner Platform.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... PLATFORM, the intermediary mortgage lender of Britannia Building Society, has unveiled the Finance Centre as its latest branded partner. The deal with the Finance Centre, which offers a complete service solution, now takes Platform's...

Fool's errand pays well.(Iain Smith of Accord Mortgages set for London Marathon)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Iain Smith of Accord Mortgages set himself up for a fall when he told a colleague "any fool can run the London Marathon". So, this year Mr Smith ended up joining his colleague for the 26-mile course around the sights of London. They...

Cats on cue for TV snooker.(pets enjoy television)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... It is not just humans who enjoy a relaxing evening in front of the television, according to the latest research from Marks & Spencer Money. The research shows that thousands of the UK's cats and dogs regularly settle down for an evening's...

L&G seeks cut in endowment case penalties.(Legal and General)
May 5, 2005... THE FSA's relationship with the Regulatory Decisions Committee has come under fire from Legal & General and the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal. Last week Legal & General went back to court and brought the world's most powerful...

Of mice mats and errors.(Virgin Money Personal Financial Service Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... After a boozy night celebrating Virgin Money's 10th birthday at the Babylon Roof Gardens in Kensington, journalists may have been nursing sore heads. However, heads were not fuzzy enough to miss the clanger on the mouse mats sent out by...

Just what financial planet is he on?(Sir Brian Stewart)
May 5, 2005... WHEN someone, some grey day, bothers to write yet another meaningless grey book on the great and good of Scottish business life, I am sure that Sir Brian Stewart will feature highly. Sir Brian Stewart KB CBE MSc CA, it must be said, will...

House prices will not crash.
May 5, 2005... ACCORDING to Bank of England figures, the number of new mortgage approvals during March was the highest in seven months. The sudden about-turn came as a surprise not only to the BoE, but to those pundits who have been predicting for the...

Chelsea own goal.(Chelsea Building Society)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... CHELSEA Building Society has been under the cosh from a number of unfriendly journalists -- and some brave hearts -- for its more than generous contribution to former chief executive Michael Bage's pension pot, which stands at AGBP8m. But here...

Good health and future wealth.
May 5, 2005... MANY years ago, Peter Le Beau -- now managing director of specialist marketing consultancy Le Beau Visage -- and I tried to design a new critical illness plan. This would be one that would overcome the fundamental weakness of paying out on...

Gamekeeper turned poacher.
May 5, 2005... I will soon have clocked up three months with the Association of Independent Financial Advisers. Do I regret my move from the Financial Services Authority? Not a bit of it. I have had a long association with IFAs and while some of them...

Unravelling what A-Day will mean for Sipp investments.
May 5, 2005... At present there are permitted investments that may be held by a Sipp and prohibited investments that a SSAS may not purchase. From 6 April 2006, these restrictions on scheme investments will be lifted and it will be possible for a pension...

It's party political time again.
May 5, 2005... In this year's battle, which comes to its conclusion today (5 May), there has been hours of discussion over which party is most likely to serve up the best concoction of policies and solutions for financial services. Pensions have become a...

Safe bonds can help portfolios.
May 5, 2005... Inflation-linked bonds may protect capital against erosion, but they are also increasingly helping portfolios mature gracefully. According to Baring Asset Management, inflation-protected bonds do more than just protect capital against...

Axa after yield from European market.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... AXA Investment Managers has launched its first UK-listed European and UK real estate fund. The new Axa Property Trust will be managed by Axa Investment Managers UK and advised by Axa Real Estate Investment Managers UK. Axa IM is aiming...

New rules baffle professionals.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... PENSIONS and investments confuse even accountants and lawyers, according to a new study. The survey by investment manager Baillie Gifford has found that two-thirds of accountants, lawyers, architects and other professionals were unable to...

Funds that can stockpick leave others behind.
May 5, 2005... Funds with a stockpicking style outperformed their peers in the first three months of 2005, according to Standard & Poor's. In S&P's quarterly update, managers felt that stockpicking would continue to be the decisive factor for the year...

Can structured deals become a main asset?
May 5, 2005... StructureD products may become a main asset in balanced investment portfolios, according to Zurich Financial Services. Paul Wright, investment management director with Zurich, said: "The days of double-digit inflation and interest rates are...

Do not invest in historic analysis.
May 5, 2005... I HAVE had separate conversations with two IFAs working for two different businesses in different parts of the country. One was older and had been an adviser for many years, while the other was younger. What surprised me was that both...

Service sector plays part in pushing up GDP.(gross domestic product)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Gross domestic product rose 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to preliminary figures from Gerrard. Gerrard has found that the service sector continued to drive the economy, posting growth of 0.8 per cent in the...

Nationwide products 'good' but can be beaten.(fixed rate mortgages)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... NATIONWIDE'S new lower fixed- rate mortgages are competitive but can be beaten, says an adviser. Alan Lakey, principal of Highclere Financial Services, said that with swap rates falling, a number of lenders have taken advantage and...

Taste for good life is good news for lifetime deals.(mortgages)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Lifetime mortgages are popular with people who want to maintain their lifestyles after they retire, according to a personal finance expert. Mark Kelly, director of Norwich Union Personal Finance, said that many older people, particularly...

Calls for Sipps to come under FSA umbrella.(self-invested personal pensions, Financial Services Authority)
May 5, 2005... Sipps should be regulated in the same way as other pensions products, according to an adviser. Gemma Watson, senior pensions adviser at Bath-based Chartwell Investment Management, said she saw no reason why self-invested personal pensions...

'Middle Englanders' drive equity release rise.(pension market)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... EQUITY release growth look set to continue into 2005, according to a pensions expert. Dean Mirfin, business development director at IFA Key Retirement Solutions, said he expected business growth to continue strongly in 2005 as further new...

Truth of how smoking shortens life exposed.(mortality tables)
May 5, 2005... The gap between smokers' and non-smokers' risk of dying is greater than the gap between men and women dying, according to professional body, the Actuarial Profession. The Continuous Mortality Investigation, which is part of the Actuarial...

FPI targets UK offshore business.(Friends Provident International)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... FRIENDS Provident International plans to increase its share of offshore business from intermediaries to 10 per cent within the next two years. Bob Pain, international sales director of Friends Provident International, said since buying...

Advisers log on to compliant virtual mortgage processing.(Mortgage 2000)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... MORTGAGE 2000 claimed to have signed up 250 intermediaries for its virtual processing system Casemaster. The web-based system, claims to be accessible 24 hours a day and allows intermediaries to process mortgage applications from submission...

Squatters a turn-off for homebuyers.(residential property market)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... NOISY and inconsiderate neighbours can prevent the speedy sale of residential property, a new study has shown. The study by propertyfinder.com shows that house-hunters weigh up the value of their potential neighbours before committing to...

Pension issues divide the sexes.(employee benefits survey)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... WOMEN are less confident with their finances than men, especially when it comes to pension planning, according to Watson Wyatt. The employee benefits consultancy claimed that women take less interest in planning their pension than men. ...

IFA quits Courts for new Future.(Independent Financial Adviser formed Future Asset Management)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... DAVID Wingar, a partner at Courts Independent Financial Management, has set up his own partnership called Future Asset Management. Having left the south Wales-based business Mr Wingar has created a firm in Coity, near Bridgend, and intends...

Charcol offers direct solution.(Charcol Direct)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... CHARCOLONLINE has been given a new look and now offers a telephone-based adviser service called Charcol Direct. The new-look site -- which now has more wizards -- incorporates Charcol Direct, a new telephone-based advice service that...

Lime signs up Callbruce.(contracts)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... LIME, the mortgage and general insurance arm of the Tenet Group, has signed a deal with Callbruce to join its panel. Callbruce uses seven underwriters -- Axa, Norwich Union, Zurich, RSA, NIG, Groupama and Allianz Cornhill. Bob Lander,...

New Product - Competitive discount.(Mortgage Next)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... MORTGAGE Next has launched a buy-to-let three-year discount mortgage. Homebuyers wanting to borrow up to 80 per cent of the property value pay 1 percentage point discount below the SVR for three years, giving a current pay rate of 5.79 per...

Thomson under fire at court.(Charles Thomson, Equitable Life )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Charles Thomson, chief executive of Equitable Life, questioned the "realism" of expecting him to personally sift through all information received by Equitable. He also denied giving the court a "misleading account" of legal advice to...

System for regulatorypayments.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... A SYSTEM allowing regulatory fees to be paid by instalments is on track to be in place by June. At a meeting with the FSA last week, both the Association of IFAs and Personal Finance Society gave the thumbs-up for a facility for companies...

Lazy savers hit by lowest rates.(consumer price index)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... BANKS and building societies have been accused of exploiting investors' apathy by offering savings accounts that pay interest below the current rate of inflation. In a survey by Financial Adviser, many basic instant access accounts were...

Trading beyond authorised limits is to be stamped on.(insurance industry)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... THE FSA is cracking down on insurance businesses that may be trading outside their authorisation, according to an IFA. Joanne Roberts, director of Need An Adviser.com, said: "The FSA is cracking down on those acting outside their...

Half a million heading for AGBP10k shortfall in retirement.(pensions)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... More than 500,000 people in the UK could experience a AGBP10,000 shortfall for each year of retirement, according to research from Friends Provident. The Friends Provident Pensions Realisation Research shows on average British people think...

ABI brings fees debate online.(Association of British Insurers)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... THE Association of British Insurers has dedicated a section of its website to the debate over paying for financial advice. The website allows any individual or organisation to access all the relevant reports, together with selected media...

Small concerns bedevilled by late payment worries.(small businesses)
May 5, 2005... LATE payment is one of the top three worries for small businesses, according to figures from Credit Management Research Centre. Late payments cost small businesses on average 14 working weeks a year. In a bid to tackle the issue, UK small...

Warning on EU process that ignores smaller businesses.(European Economic and Social Committee)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... The Federation of Small Businesses has warned the European Union that its social dialogue process discriminates against small businesses. The FSB has highlighted how the European Economic and Social Committee ignores 99 per cent of the...

Government could do more to help us, say most self-employed.(small businesses)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... The majority of the UK's self-employed say the government could be more supportive, according to Panasonic Business Systems. The research, which was conducted by 72 Point and used statistics from the National Federation of Enterprise...